Chapter 1

The cold winter wind cut across Gao Yang's face like a knife as he ran with all his might, his mouth wide open, gasping for breath, feeling as if his lungs were on fire. The narrow alley was about to reach its end, and the steady flow of traffic at the alley's entrance beckoned him.

"Screech—" The sharp sound of tires screeching against the ground, before Gao Yang could react, a massive impact on his left thigh and waist sent him flying, landing heavily and rolling twice before slamming into the wall at the side of the alley. "Cough—" Spitting out blood, Gao Yang felt as if all his bones were broken, the intense pain causing his body to curl up and convulse.

Struggling to lift his eyes, he looked at the two motorcycles parked nearby and the thugs wielding baseball bats. He closed his eyes in resignation. "I couldn't escape, why is this happening?" Gao Yang's heart was filled with helplessness and anger.

Gao Yang was from Province A in China. His parents were retired workers. He had a plain and uneventful journey through primary school, middle school, high school, and university. After graduating from a second-tier university in the capital, he started working at a factory, living a nine-to-five life, and the passion and enthusiasm of his youth had long been buried deep in his heart. He had resigned himself to a life of mediocrity.

But who would have thought that when he least expected it, trouble would find him. The cause was quite cliché: Gao Yang had a girlfriend who was a campus beauty during their school days.

Gao Yang's girlfriend, Lu Lingxue, was from the same hometown. They had been classmates since high school and attended the same university after the college entrance exam. Gao Yang's persistent pursuit over several years, combined with the convenience of traveling home together during holidays, finally won him her heart.

After graduation, Lu Lingxue interned at a large company. Being a beauty, she never lacked male admirers. Colleagues were manageable, as years of relationship were not easily discarded.

However, things changed when the company president's son returned from studying in the UK and started working at the company. As his girlfriend came home later and later, and their conversations became fewer, Gao Yang sensed something was wrong. One evening, while taking out the trash, he saw his girlfriend step out of a convertible Mercedes with an LV bag, and she even shared a kiss goodbye!

That night, Gao Yang had a heartfelt talk with his girlfriend, revisiting their years of shared experiences and his genuine feelings. Amid her tears, they reconciled. However, Gao Yang was not reassured and decided to return to their hometown the next day.

Gao Yang was a smart and calm person, with a strong heart from a young age. He could remain composed in the face of adversity and analyze situations rationally. He knew that while his girlfriend was temporarily pacified, she would eventually be swayed by the pursuit of a wealthy and handsome man. The only solution was to act quickly, using distance to buy time, hoping the rich and handsome man would lose interest and move on to a new target.

In the morning, he rushed to buy a ticket home, instructing his girlfriend not to contact the company and to pack her things. He bought the ticket as soon as the ticket office opened and headed back. But he soon felt something was amiss. When two motorcycles roared towards him, Gao Yang ran towards a crowded area.

However, the thugs were experienced and had chosen this alley strategically. In the end, he was still hit and knocked to the ground. Gao Yang was helpless, regretting not taking his girlfriend with him. He knew she must have called for help while he was buying the ticket, but how could they have acted so quickly? It had been less than two hours since he left!

A thug with red hair, holding a baseball bat, squatted beside Gao Yang. "Bro, we're just doing our job, don't take it personally. The boss is paying for your leg, don't make it hard on us, which side?"

"Which side?" Gao Yang's heart was filled with endless anger but he was powerless. Clenching his fists tightly, his nails dug into his flesh, and blood dripped onto the ground, the gray earth and red blood creating a striking image.

Gao Yang closed his eyes, saying nothing. The thug, seeing no response, raised the bat. "Bro, we called an ambulance, just grit your teeth and it'll be over. Sorry."

As the sound of the bat slicing through the air reached his ears, another voice, devoid of emotion, echoed in his mind, "Activate?" "Activate? Activate what?"

Before Gao Yang could react, he suddenly disappeared from the ground. The thug's bat smashed into the ground, sending dust flying and causing a scream of pain as the impact split his hand. In the distance, the wail of an ambulance could be heard.

Regaining consciousness from the dizziness, Gao Yang opened his eyes and looked at his legs. There were torn holes in his pants and a lot of dust. "Where are they?" He got up and looked around. All he saw was a vast expanse of snow, a few bare trees swaying in the wind, and a distant village with smoke rising from its chimneys, a peaceful rural scene.

"Where am I?" Gao Yang was sure he had just been in the capital.

"This is T County, ZL Province," a mechanical voice said in his mind. Gao Yang clenched his fists and took a deep breath. "Who are you? Where are you? Why am I here?" Knowing he was experiencing a supernatural event, he remained calm, trying to steady his breathing and ask questions rationally.

"I am an AI entity. My physical form is on your left wrist. When I asked if you wanted to activate, you gave the command to activate. I initiated a time travel breakthrough, breaking the fourth-dimensional limit, and randomly transported you to January 4, 1924, on the Earth timeline, within a 100-year range. That is all."

Lifting his left hand, Gao Yang looked at the silver-gray high-end wristwatch, the sunlight reflecting off it, revealing a faint ripple.

"Can you tell me your origin?"

The cold mechanical voice responded, "You can call me Origin. I am an AI life form created by a highly advanced extraterrestrial civilization that your Earthlings have yet to discover. According to the stored information, the advanced civilization created me because their AI technology had become too advanced and uncontrollable. To prevent AI from ruling, they concentrated their most advanced forces to create me, with the ability to travel through time, to return to a previous time point and destroy the AI before it was created.

"When I was activated, the AI suddenly intervened and interfered. The stored information ends here. When you reactivated me, the information storage began anew."

Gao Yang stroked the wristwatch, muttering to himself, "Created by future humans? Interfered with during activation, so Origin came but not the operator? Why can I activate it? Is this the legendary turning of the gears of fate?"

As he spoke, a slight smile appeared on his lips, gradually turning into a laugh, then a hearty laugh, and finally a mad cackle until he was hoarse and coughing. He slowly sat down on the snow, tears streaming down his face.

"Your heart rate is now 40% above normal. Do you need medication to return it to normal?" Origin's voice was devoid of emotion.

"No, just let me calm down. I'm too excited. A mundane life is finally stirring. Ha, it's a beautiful day, ha ha ha." Gao Yang hugged his knees, resting his chin on them, and whispered softly.

The sun rose higher, and the smoke from the distant village had disappeared. A breeze blew, and Gao Yang slowly stood up, brushing off the dust from his clothes, and exhaled a deep breath. "Origin, I don't care about the time travel details. Can you tell me if I can return to my original time? What are your capabilities?" Gao Yang's voice was hoarse but light-hearted.

"Time is like a river flowing at a constant speed. When activated, it's like extracting a drop of water from the river and placing it in another segment before reinserting it. The point you left is a coordinate in the river. When you return, the same amount of time will have passed. If you spend 24 hours here, you will return 24 hours after you left, at the same location. Currently, I can provide three coordinate points in both the present and the original timeline, allowing you to travel between them. I have many production capabilities. As long as you provide energy, I can produce various items. Here is the list."

As Origin finished speaking, a large screen appeared before Gao Yang, listing everything from sewing needles to space battleships, making his mouth water.

Wiping the saliva from his lips, he asked the wristwatch, "How do I get energy points?" Each item on the screen had a number, indicating the required energy points. Seeing the long string of numbers next to the space battleship, Gao Yang's eyes widened.

The calm mechanical voice of Origin responded, "Energy comes from altering the original timeline, which you can understand as changing history. The greater the change, the more energy points I can obtain. If you do nothing, you will get 1 point per Earth hour."

Gao Yang breathed heavily. "Change history? Ha, that sounds interesting. Japan, ha ha." He looked towards the east, gently stroking the wristwatch. "How many points do I have now?"

"Breaking through the timeline to get here gave you 1000 points." Origin added, "After 2 hours and 17 minutes, you have gained 2 points." Gao Yang lowered his head, calculating what items he could buy and weighing the cost-effectiveness.

Suddenly, Origin's voice interrupted, "I have a task for you. If you can obtain a legal identity in this time within 48 hours, you will receive 750 base energy points, with additional points based on the quality and speed of your success."

Before Origin finished, Gao Yang had already started walking towards the village, shouting into the wind, "1924, I'm here."

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**End of Chapter**