Chapter One: Victims of the Times
“Chen Nian…”
“Remember… no matter what happens, you must live on…”
Within the mist, a voice drifted, growing fainter with each word.
Chen Nian quickened his pace, chasing after the source of the voice. A blurred figure appeared in his line of sight. For reasons he could not explain, the sight of that back filled him with a deep sense of security, and the word “father” surfaced unbidden in his mind.
“Wait!”
Chen Nian tried to catch up, to see the person’s face, but the fog only thickened around him. As the figure was about to vanish completely into the mist, panic seized his heart. Desperately, he called out while running:
“Don’t leave!”
…
“Don’t go! Ugh…”
Suddenly, Chen Nian jolted awake from his dream.
The first thing he saw was the familiar setting of his bedroom. There was no mist here.
Sunlight was already streaming in through the window.
“That dream again… sigh…”
Rubbing his sleep-heavy eyes, Chen Nian let out a soft sigh.
Lately, he often dreamed of his parents—of whom he had no memory whatsoever.
To him, it seemed an ominous sign that his days were numbered.
He had grown up in an orphanage, diagnosed with a genetic terminal illness early on. In theory, he would not live past twenty-five.
He was already twenty-three.
The roots of his illness stretched back twenty years, to the global race in genetic technology. Back then, the A01 gene serum had just been invented. A new generation of humans, with higher intelligence and stronger self-discipline, had emerged. After the world witnessed the power of the A01 serum, nations poured their resources into genetic research. Countless labs—both legitimate and underground—sprang up like mushrooms after a rain.
Some illegal laboratories, in their desperation, resorted to recruiting pregnant women at exorbitant prices on the black market, even purchasing infants…
He was likely one of the many victims of that era.
…
“Another day gone, one day less to live.”
With that thought, Chen Nian rose swiftly, washed his face in the bathroom, and instructed the household robot to prepare breakfast.
Afterward, he walked toward the living room.
The spacious living room was filled to the brim. In addition to the standard sofa, coffee table, holographic projector, and metaverse pod, three display shelves stood against the right wall.
The shelves were packed with all kinds of gaming figurines, along with memorabilia gifted by metaverse game companies. Each piece bore bold, prominent inscriptions.
“First player to achieve True Immortal status in ‘Cultivation’”
“‘Warring States’ Overlord Player, Lifetime Honor Player”
“‘World War’ Ender of War Title Recipient”
“Officially Invited Guild Member of ‘Galactic’”
…
Looking at his treasured collection, Chen Nian’s mood eased considerably.
He was the top metaverse gamer in Huaxia—bar none.
These were the witnesses of his eight-year journey. In the virtual world, he could temporarily forget his fear of death.
“I wonder how many guild matters need sorting out today?”
Muttering to himself, Chen Nian reached for the VR headset on the coffee table. But just as he was about to put it on, his phone rang sharply.
“Tang Ping is calling you!”
“Tang Ping is calling you!”
He pulled out his phone and answered listlessly, “What is it? If it’s important, say it in-game.”
“Bro, forget the game! Something huge just happened!”
Chen Nian’s heart tightened. His tone grew serious. “What is it? Did someone raid the guild base?”
“No! That’s nothing!”
“Did someone in the guild get virtual-reality dissociative disorder… and commit suicide?”
“Aliens have come to Earth!”
“Get lost! Haven’t messed with you in a few days and now you’re itching for trouble?”
“I’m serious! Check the group chat! Or the news!”
Hearing this, Chen Nian didn’t hang up. Instead, he opened the Skydome Guild’s admin group.
Normally, hardly anyone used it for communication.
But today, there were over 999 unread messages. Scanning quickly, he saw the word “aliens” popping up again and again.
“Is this for real?”
Chen Nian was about to open a news app when a short news video notification popped up.
“We interrupt with breaking news. Last night, the space monitoring station received a metaverse signal from outer space. That signal has now connected to Earth’s internet and automatically generated a metaverse portal…
To prevent unforeseen incidents, the entire Huaxia region has shut down metaverse functions. Citizens are urged to remain calm, not to believe rumors… Please await official announcements.
This is a special bulletin…”
…
The news repeated three times before Chen Nian clicked ‘acknowledge’ and the screen disappeared.
“See, bro? I wasn’t lying!”
Tang Ping’s voice came through the phone.
“It’s just an alien signal, not actual aliens coming to Earth.”
Chen Nian retorted.
“Bro, you can’t think that way. In ancient times, people believed beings from the heavens would descend with flying swords. Later, they thought aliens would arrive aboard massive starships… Now, with the third technological revolution, shouldn’t alien arrivals evolve too?”
“Are you just dying to see the world in chaos?”
“No, that’s not it…”
“Alright, I’ll check out what’s going on. Hanging up now.”
With that, Chen Nian ended the call.
He knew Tang Ping all too well—if he didn’t hang up, Tang Ping could talk his ear off for two hours.
And after all that, he’d still have no idea what had actually happened.
…
After hanging up, Chen Nian opened the short video app.
With an event of this scale, countless people would be weighing in with their opinions.
All sorts of influencers were chasing the trend, saying whatever would get the most views…
Alien invasion.
Humanity’s doomsday.
A slew of so-called experts analyzed the impact on their respective industries.
But the most outrageous were the avaricious capitalists, seizing the moment for aggressive marketing, urging people to enjoy life while they still could.
Chen Nian scrolled past the nonsense, searching for the most popular videos.
Having lived as long as he had, he understood one thing clearly.
Whenever a black swan event occurred, the authorities would push someone with high credibility to the forefront, to convey statements they weren’t sure of but wanted the public to hear, to calm the masses.
If the information turned out to be false, it wouldn’t damage the government’s credibility. If true, they could build a national hero and strengthen social cohesion.
With official backing, that person would inevitably receive the most attention.
With this in mind, Chen Nian quickly found the video he was looking for, but when he saw who had posted it, he was momentarily stunned.
“I never expected it would be him…”