Chapter 1

In this era, living is not easy, and Yi Yun has a deep understanding of this. However, he never imagined that he would face such a day when he was still in the prime of his life, about to die.

This morning, Yi Yun had planned to go mountain climbing with two good friends, one of whom was a pretty girl. Naturally, this was a wonderful thing.

Young people always seek excitement, and Yi Yun was no exception. Climbing a mountain that had been developed for tourism was not interesting, so they chose a remote, uninhabited mountain.

When they reached the halfway point of the mountain, they discovered a cave.

The girl with them became very interested and insisted on going inside. No one could have predicted that once they entered, something would go wrong.

Yi Yun found a square purple crystal in the cave. It looked like a crystal card from a sci-fi movie. When Yi Yun, thinking it was a natural purple crystal, touched the card out of curiosity, the cave suddenly trembled and then collapsed!

It's hard to describe Yi Yun's feelings when he saw tons of rocks falling down. If he had to put it in one sentence, it would be: you only know what it means to die when you are about to die.

He was young, with a decent appearance, a healthy body, and he was still a virgin...

There were so many beautiful things waiting for him in the future, but now they were all gone.

This sorrow and despair suffocated him.

The rocks did not crush Yi Yun, but they blocked his way back.

Trapped in a sealed space within the mountain, with no food, no water, and even limited air, Yi Yun knew very well that this place was probably his grave.

Yi Yun stared blankly at the thick mountain wall. Under the light of his phone's flashlight, the rough rock wall looked like the faces of demons, and the cold sensation made Yi Yun's heart sink.

He didn't know where his companions had gone. Logically, they had been following him closely when they entered the cave, so they should have been trapped together. But... they were gone.

It was as if they had never entered the cave with him. Yet, Yi Yun clearly remembered that just half a minute before the cave collapsed, he had heard the girl speaking behind him, asking if there might be snakes in the cave.

How could two living people suddenly disappear?

Why did the cave collapse out of nowhere?

In the cave, his phone had no signal, and his two friends were of unknown fate. It was truly a situation where no one could hear his cries for help. Yi Yun did not want to sit and wait to die. He even thought about digging a tunnel out—if the collapsed rocks were only a small block, digging might offer a slim hope.

When a person is about to die, they can always muster a strong will and fighting spirit. Even the smallest hope is worth trying.

Yi Yun decided to act. Using his hands to dig was clearly not feasible, and he didn't have any tools like a dagger. At that moment, a flash of inspiration came to him, and he remembered the crystal card.

It looked somewhat like a small shovel, though it was a bit small and had no handle, but it was better than using his hands.

Turning to look at the mysterious crystal card in the cave, Yi Yun's heart skipped a beat. He remembered that the cave collapsed the moment he touched the card.

How could this be such a coincidence?

What was even more puzzling was that his two friends had vanished without a trace.

Combining all these inexplicable phenomena, Yi Yun suddenly had a strange thought: could everything that happened today be due to the crystal card?

He looked at the purple card, which was a slightly raised, very flat rock. On this rock, the nightmare-like purple crystal card was placed, emitting a faint light.

Yi Yun hesitated for a moment, then turned off the flashlight on his phone. In the pitch-black cave, he found that he could see dimly by the faint light of the purple card.

Yi Yun knew that the crystal card might not be a purple crystal, as crystals do not glow. In nature, some minerals containing radioactive elements can emit light.

Now, Yi Yun didn't care if the radiation from the radioactive elements would harm his body. He picked up the purple crystal card, wanting to study it. If the card caused the cave to collapse, could it also be the key to his escape?

Yi Yun knew the hope was slim, but with death looming, he was willing to try anything.

The crystal card was cold to the touch, and the chill seemed to travel up his arm to his heart. It was only slightly larger than an adult's palm and a bit thinner.

The crystal card was entirely purple, with mysterious patterns etched on it. These patterns were clearly not natural but seemed to be engraved by someone.

Who could have engraved them? Could these patterns be an ancient totem or a mysterious language?

Or could it even be from beyond Earth, from an extraterrestrial civilization?

With such a bizarre event, Yi Yun's imagination grew wild. He was convinced that the cave's collapse was related to the purple crystal card. Otherwise, why would a natural cave collapse without an earthquake?

Holding the crystal card, Yi Yun noticed that its edges were as sharp as a blade, which gave him a glimmer of hope. At least, using it to dig would be less strenuous.

Without hesitation, Yi Yun took the crystal card and approached the thick wall of earth and rock.

Gripping the edges of the card, he pushed it down forcefully. To his amazement, the hard earth and rock, which should have been solid, cut like tofu. Yi Yun, using too much force, ended up falling onto the rock wall.

Yi Yun was stunned. Ignoring the cut on his forehead, he stared at the purple crystal card in his hand, first in shock, then in joy.

This was like a laser knife from a sci-fi movie.

At that moment, he had no time to wonder why it was so sharp. His only thought was to dig his way out.

Holding the crystal card tightly, Yi Yun began digging like a mole. The crystal card was incredibly effective, slicing through even the hardest granite.

Yi Yun felt excited. He felt he had found a treasure!

If he could survive, this thing could change his fate. It might even contain alien technology!

Yi Yun didn't know how long he had been digging, but every time he felt exhausted, the crystal card seemed to emit a faint chill, giving him a bit more strength to continue digging persistently.

In the cave, there was no way to tell day from night. Yi Yun didn't sleep, driven by the instinct to survive, he kept digging forward, further and further.

His phone was long dead, and he had no way to measure time. Three days? Five days? Seven days?

Yi Yun didn't know. He hadn't eaten or drunk anything, but miraculously, he didn't die. The mysterious force from the crystal card seemed to sustain his life.

If one looked at the path Yi Yun had dug, it would be quite long and terrifying, but Yi Yun was no longer paying attention. His vision was blurry.

He could no longer see clearly, but the cold sensation from the purple crystal card in his hand was crystal clear.

He seemed to have lost his senses, digging on with sheer willpower and perseverance. At one moment, he suddenly felt a faint light through the gaps in the soil, illuminating his face.

Like a person waking up from a coma, Yi Yun snapped to attention, fully awake!

Light!

There was light!

Yi Yun had never thought that light could be so beautiful. He couldn't help but cry, and the strength he had lost seemed to return. He gritted his teeth and dug furiously.

Finally!

Yi Yun felt a sudden emptiness in front of him, and bright, blinding light shone down, almost blinding him.

He had crawled out from underground!

"Success!"

"I'm alive!"

Yi Yun wanted to shout three times. One doesn't appreciate the value of light without experiencing darkness, and one doesn't understand the preciousness of life without facing death.

Yi Yun lay on the ground, breathing heavily. He looked at the blue sky and the leisurely clouds, feeling that the sky had never been so beautiful.

Although he was extremely tired and thirsty, Yi Yun didn't rest much. He got up, determined to contact his two friends.

Yi Yun had narrowly escaped death, but he didn't know what had happened to his friends.

But... his phone was dead.

Yi Yun looked around, hoping to find signs of civilization. As he did, he froze.

How was this possible?

Yi Yun clearly remembered being buried alive in a cave on the mountain. The cave was halfway up the mountain, so he should have emerged halfway up the mountain.

But he was actually on a vast plain, surrounded by mountains, but so far away that he doubted he could have dug such a long tunnel.

Around him, there were several mounds of earth, with rough wooden stakes stuck in front of them, bearing strange, crude writing.

Could these be... graves?

Yi Yun was stunned. How could he end up between several graves? After nearly dying once, his nerves were much stronger, and even in such an unreasonable situation, he could still remain calm and observe the graves carefully.

These graves were not from a modern cemetery. Modern cemeteries have marble or granite tombstones, neatly arranged.

But the graves in front of him... even the most remote graves in the mountains were better than these.

Wait...

Yi Yun suddenly noticed something. Looking down, he saw the tunnel he had just crawled out of, and the tunnel's exit was in front of one of the mounds, with a wooden stake serving as a tombstone.

The wooden stake also had strange writing, but for some reason, Yi Yun's mind flashed, and he understood the words.

It read— "Dear Brother, Yi Yun's Tomb."

Next to it were five more words— "Elder Sister Jiang Xiaorou."

Yi... Yi Yun...'s tomb!?

Yi Yun was completely dumbfounded. What kind of supernatural event was this? He was clearly buried alive in a cave on a remote mountain, but he had dug himself out of a grave, and it was his own!

What kind of international joke is this!

And the writing wasn't Chinese or English. How could he recognize such bizarre writing?

This must be a dream...

Yes, it must be a dream. This dream is quite realistic... It's too realistic...

He pinched himself hard, and it hurt.

He pinched again, and it still hurt!

"Not a dream? This is actually not a dream?"

Yi Yun felt a million horses galloping through his mind. Who can tell me what's going on?

Yi Yun was already cursing in his mind.

Could he have died when he was buried in the cave, and then been dug out and buried, with the tunnel digging being a hallucination before he died?

But... what does "Dear Brother" mean? He didn't have a sister. If he had to say, he had a cousin who lived in another city, whom he rarely saw. It was impossible for her to have set up his tombstone!

If the "Yi Yun" on the tombstone was just a namesake, it was impossible for him to have crawled out of a namesake's grave by coincidence.

Yi Yun felt completely confused. At that moment, he suddenly froze, staring at the distance. On a muddy country path, a girl in rough clothes, carrying a bamboo basket, was walking towards him...

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