Through the Spark Era

Chapter 1

The Thunder Beast Wasteland, deep into the night. In the thick fog, you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

It was spring, the season when all things came back to life, and the wasteland was filled with the breath of spring.

Lightning flashed through the darkness shrouded in mist. Many rhino-like Thunder Beasts fought over mates, unaware that hunters had already set their sights on them from not far away. They continued their most primitive duels, clashing their horns as sparks of electricity crackled from them.

From a small, naturally formed mound in the wasteland, an Infrared Telescope slowly rose out of the loose soil.

Beneath the mound was a cramped space of just two cubic meters. A handsome young man sat inside, looking about seventeen or eighteen. Wrapped from head to toe in camouflage cloth that absorbed electromagnetic waves, he stared intently through the Infrared Telescope.

He had been hiding here in a dugout for two days, waiting without sleep or rest.

He was Li Mu, a new-generation transmigrator from an orphanage on Blue Star.

That day, he had been pondering the meaning of life when he suddenly shrank into an infant and arrived in this Spark World, shrouded in mist.

He had been fairly lucky. Instead of landing in the wilderness, he had arrived in Frostfire City, a Titan Mech City.

Seeing the towering buildings made entirely of metal all around him, his first thought had been that he'd transmigrated to an alien planet. He wondered if aliens had abducted him, but fortunately, a kindhearted "person" soon found him and brought him to the Frostfire Orphanage.

Only after gradually growing up in the orphanage did he learn the truth about this world.

Strictly speaking, this was still Blue Star, just Blue Star in a parallel timeline. The turning point had come after the end of the First World War, on the eve of the Second. A Life Seed had descended from the cosmos and fused with Blue Star, giving birth to the Gaia Consciousness, which until then had existed only in people's imaginations. Blue Star had become a living Spark Planet.

Wandering was human nature. Even after Blue Star came to life, it was no less eager to roam than humanity. (.-`ω-)

It had left the Solar System and turned into a glutton, constantly searching the universe for living planets to devour and incorporate into the Spark World. (╯▽╰) So delicious~~

After Blue Star devoured these living planets, Spark Energy spread throughout the Spark World in ever greater abundance.

All things gradually absorbed and fused with Spark Energy. Spark after spark awakened in turn, ushering in the sixteen-thousand-year-long Spark Era.

Some Sparks could bring metal cities to life, transforming them into Titan Mech Cities that roamed the Misty Wilderness.

Others could fuse with domesticated giant beasts, allowing humans to build Titan Beast Cities on their backs and inside their bellies.

There were also Titan Sky Cities floating in the air, Titan Underground Cities buried deep beneath the earth, and Titan Deep-Sea Cities beneath the ocean. All sorts of Spark Cities were scattered across the mist-shrouded Spark Planet, protecting the sparks of Human Civilization while exploring the Misty World.

If Spark Cities were the shield that protected humanity, then humanity's spear was the Seedship—a vessel capable of crossing dimensions and entering other worlds.

Frostfire City was a mobile Titan Mech City.

It had metal walls like an ancient city and metal treads like a tank. The giant cannons lining its walls could reduce everything within dozens of miles to scorched earth or a frozen wasteland with a single volley.

Two days ago, Frostfire City had moved to the vicinity of the Thunder Beast Wasteland.

There were no serious threats here, so the Spark Hunters in the city had left in droves to hunt for meat.

Thunder Beast Meat was dry, tough, and not particularly tasty, but it was highly effective for tempering the body through the Spark Body Tempering Technique. The only problem was that it lost its tempering effect an hour after the Thunder Beast died. Unless someone had Space Spark Equipment, Thunder Beasts weren't worth hunting.

That property of Thunder Beast Meat was precisely why Li Mu had set his sights on the Thunder Beasts.

The Frostfire Orphanage never lacked food, but eating well was a pipe dream.

In two months, he would turn eighteen and become eligible to undergo the Awakening Ceremony, which could awaken humanity's unique Innate Spark and make him a HuoZhong Professional.

The Awakening Ceremony required communicating with the Gaia Consciousness and absorbing Life Flame. The more he absorbed, the greater the chance of awakening a higher-quality Innate Spark.

Li Mu knew very well that his physique couldn't compare to those of his peers who had been nourished with all kinds of resources since childhood.

If he wanted to absorb more Life Flame, he needed to eat more Thunder Beast Meat and build up his strength.

He didn't have Space Spark Equipment, but within his consciousness was a Seedship—the very thing that had brought him here.

At first, he had been delighted. Even in the Spark World, Seedships were extremely precious. ヾ()".

But his excitement didn't last. For now, his Seedship could only store things. o(╥﹏╥)o

The Seedship didn't belong to him yet. Only after awakening the Innate Spark in his soul would he be qualified to bond with it, awaken its dormant Shipboard Spark, and perhaps use it to cross dimensions and reach other worlds.

He didn't know whether the quality of his Innate Spark would affect his chances of bonding with the Seedship.

But a high-quality Innate Spark would certainly affect his personal transcendent strength.

Whether he could successfully hunt a Thunder Beast today was crucial to awakening a better Innate Spark.

This wasn't just about whether he could awaken a better Innate Spark; it was also about his health.

He had Hyperthymesia, an illness countless people dreamed of having. ()

He could read any book once and recite it backwards. Any scene he saw stayed with him forever. But the more he took in—especially after nearly clearing out the entire library at the Spark Academy in this life—the more his head had started to ache over the past two years. o(╥﹏╥)o

A man could let anything else go soft, but never his body. (_)

"Something's up..."

Li Mu turned the Infrared Telescope this way and that.

At the edge of the Thunder Beast herd, several figures had appeared, stealthily closing in.

Comparing them against the images in his brain's database, he recognized them as the Fierce Wolves he'd been waiting for over the past two days. They were the greatest threat to the nearby Thunder Beasts. Once they got into a fight, both sides would leave a few Thunder Beast corpses behind, no matter who won.

If he was lucky, he could simply collect the corpses and head straight back to the city.

Even if there were no corpses lying around, he'd have a chance to hunt a Thunder Beast injured by the Fierce Wolves.

Li Mu pulled back the Infrared Telescope and passed a loudspeaker out through the opening.

"Awoooo..."

The wolf's mournful howl boomed through the loudspeaker. Several Thunder Beasts jolted in fright and emptied their bowels. (-＂-怒)

Li Mu immediately pulled the loudspeaker back inside and wrapped himself securely in the camouflage cloth that blocked electromagnetic waves.

The rest was easy to predict. A Thunder Beast's horn functioned like a short-range radar. Spooked by his Ghost Cry Wolf Howl, they would scan their surroundings, immediately exposing the Fierce Wolves that had been preparing to ambush them.

Given the Thunder Beasts' fiery tempers, they wouldn't let the Fierce Wolves get away.

With their ambush advantage gone and their short-range burst speed no match for the Thunder Beasts, the Fierce Wolves could only face them head-on. After killing a few, those big, hotheaded bullies who preyed on the weak would come to their senses and give up the chase.