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Beneath the video, the original poster's text was so excited it bordered on incoherent.

"Just now! I'd been hiding at home all day, but I couldn't take it anymore and went up to the roof to check the situation, and then I saw this!

It's absolutely real! I swear it on my ten-year-old forum account!

It flew in from the east, circled twice in the sky, and then headed west...

It was moving too fast, this is all my phone could capture...

But what on earth is happening to this world? Monsters were one thing, but now dragons are showing up too?!"

Jiang Ran stared at the screen, silent for a long time.

He slowly leaned back into his chair, his fingers tapping lightly against the desk.

It was exactly as he had thought.

This world harbored the creatures from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, beings capable of overturning the heavens and shifting the earth.

However, Jiang Ran suddenly realized something.

He immediately stood up and began rapidly browsing other popular threads.

Inside the Abyssal Void, he wasn't sure why the forum hadn't deleted these posts.

But if these posts remained after returning to reality, given the usual nature of the authorities, they would definitely be scrubbed immediately.

He had to gather the information on his phone while he still could.

Sure enough, besides the post about the dragon, there were many others discussing their own encounters.

Some had seen giant lizards breathing fire.

Others said they were hiding in subway stations and heard eerie sounds coming from deep within the tunnels, like a baby crying or a woman laughing.

There were also posts asking for help, claiming their companions had been ensnared by a translucent shadow, after which they were drained of all vitality and now lay in a coma...

Others posted looking to group up for safety.

The information was chaotic, making it hard to distinguish truth from fiction.

But one thing was certain: the people who had entered the Abyssal Void were spread across the country, perhaps even the entire globe.

And a portion of them had already made contact with the extraordinary.

Jiang Ran used his phone to photograph each piece of information.

His expression couldn't help but turn strange.

Something didn't seem right.

Compared to what they had seen, the Feng City he was in... seemed a bit too safe!?

But there wasn't much time left.

Jiang Ran glanced at the countdown.

Only sixty seconds remained.

He immediately stood up and tucked the remaining Spirit Crystals into his clothes.

The countdown slowly ticked to zero, and his consciousness blurred for an instant.

It was like being extremely drowsy late at night, when your consciousness suddenly cuts out, only to reconnect the next moment.

Jiang Ran opened his eyes.

He was still standing in the middle of his living room.

The soft rustle of the night wind drifted in from outside the window, and in the distance, the faint sound of passing vehicles could be heard.

The world had come back to life.

And he had returned.

Having the experience of the first time, Jiang Ran was much calmer during this return.

His first instinct was to reach for the tactical pouch at his waist.

The Spirit Crystals were still there, cool to the touch.

Almost simultaneously, that familiar voice echoed in the depths of his mind.

[Next Abyssal Void opening time: October 16th, 00:00]

Jiang Ran frowned slightly.

The first entry was at midnight on October 14th, and the next was at midnight on October 16th.

Two days of interval, one day of entry.

Was this a fixed cycle, or would it change later on?

He temporarily suppressed his questions and picked up the phone on the table.

The screen lit up, displaying the time:

October 14, 00:00:14.

Only fourteen seconds had passed.

Jiang Ran's eyes narrowed slightly.

As expected, once one enters the Abyssal Void, real-world time remains completely frozen.

This discovery made him heave a sigh of relief.

If this were the case, it would save him a great deal of trouble.

He would not need to worry about raising suspicion due to long absences in reality, nor would he have to explain his whereabouts to anyone.

Jiang Ran sat back down in front of his computer.

He turned it on, opened his browser, and logged into Mouhu.

He quickly typed in the keywords "Dragon," "Monster," and "Abyssal Void," then pressed Enter.

The page refreshed.

Nothing.

The viral post from just moments ago, which had garnered over ten thousand clicks and thousands of replies, had vanished.

He tried searching for a few other post titles from his memory, but he came up empty-handed as well.

"It really was deleted."

Jiang Ran closed the webpage, his expression calm.

This was well within his expectations.

If information regarding such a large-scale supernatural event were allowed to ferment on the internet, it would inevitably incite panic.

But this had nothing to do with Jiang Ran.

Regardless of whether it was deleted or not, he had no intention of exposing his ability to enter the Abyssal Void.

On the contrary, he needed to properly plan his next steps in reality.

Jiang Ran took out a sheet of paper from the side.

He wrote down the tasks he needed to prepare for in reality over the next 48 hours.

First, some professions he had previously abandoned needed to be picked back up.

For instance, professions related to firearms training and archery.

These types of professions were not just for the sake of profession points; they could also play a significant role within the Abyssal Void.

There were also some easier-to-unlock professions that could be put on the schedule to farm profession points as quickly as possible.

In the end, Jiang Ran had filled the entire page...

Looking at the dense list, Jiang Ran couldn't help but feel a slight headache.

He wondered if there was a "Time Management Master" profession...

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, at a police station a few streets away from Jiang Ran's home.

In the main hall, the officers were still busy at work.

However, when one of them caught sight of Liu San in the holding cell, looking utterly disheveled, his expression froze. He immediately dropped the documents in his hand and rushed toward the bedraggled Liu San, frowning as he asked, "Liu San, what kind of trouble are you causing again!?"

Yet, Liu San remained unconscious, and it was only after the officer called out to him repeatedly that he slowly began to wake.

When he opened his eyes and saw the police officer, Liu San couldn't help but reveal his excitement. He immediately grabbed the officer and exclaimed emotionally, "I'm back! I'm back!!!"

Seeing this, the officer's brow furrowed.

After exchanging a glance with another officer who had walked over upon sensing something was wrong, he said gently, "Rest assured, you are safe now."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Liu San wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes... steadying his emotions: "If I told you I went to another world... and even met Zhang Qiling, would you believe me?"

Hearing this, the two officers exchanged a look.

The older officer remained silent for a moment before saying, "Check the surveillance footage, and while you're at it, help him book an appointment with the psychiatric department."

The next morning.

Jiang Ran woke up on time, washed up, and changed into a simple shirt and trousers.

He looked no different from usual.

A fresh, gentle young teacher.

He placed the Spirit Crystal into a velvet pouch and tucked it into the inner compartment of his backpack.

Before heading out, he glanced at the residential building across the way.

Two police cars were parked downstairs, and several officers had set up a cordon. A crowd of elderly residents who were out early to buy groceries had gathered at the entrance, whispering to one another.

Jiang Ran's expression remained calm.

The first dead person he had seen from his window in Abyssal Void lived on the fourth floor directly across from him.

That was the man who had roared in a drunken stupor before finally being attacked by a monster.

As expected, dying in Abyssal Void meant dying in reality as well.

He withdrew his gaze and walked out of the residential complex.

He hailed a taxi to school.

In the car, he closed his eyes to rest, his mind repeatedly replaying the details of yesterday's battle.

The driver had the radio on, and the morning news was reporting several suicides and accidents.

Jiang Ran's eyelashes flickered, but he did not open his eyes.

Fengcheng No. 3 High School, psychological counseling office.

Jiang Ran set down his backpack, brewed a cup of tea, and sat at his desk.

He took a thick, thread-bound facsimile of the Classic of Mountains and Seas from his bag and spread it open.

It was a facsimile of a Qing Dynasty woodblock edition, complete with illustrations and detailed annotations.

He flipped to the Classic of the Great Eastern Wilderness and found the passage regarding Abyssal Void, studying it word by word.

"East of the Bohai Sea... the waters of the eight wildernesses and nine fields, the currents of the Heavenly River, all pour into it, yet it neither increases nor decreases..."

The text was archaic, the imagery grand.

Jiang Ran's fingers traced the page lightly, lost in thought.

In ancient texts, Abyssal Void was the place where all waters converged; it was an end, and also a final destination.

Yet after entering that world, what he saw was a replica of a modern city, along with all sorts of monsters.

He wondered what the connection between the two might be.

Was myth reflecting reality, or had reality distorted myth?

Just as he was deep in thought, a knock sounded at the door.

"Knock, knock."

Jiang Ran closed the book and looked up.

"Please come in."

The door was pushed open, and in walked Teacher Chen, a homeroom teacher for the senior year.

Behind her followed a thin boy with his head bowed.

"Teacher Jiang, do you have a moment?" Teacher Chen could not hide the worry between her brows.

"Of course, what is it, Teacher Chen?" Jiang Ran stood up.

Teacher Chen gently pushed the boy behind her to the front: "This child has been in a terrible state lately and refuses to communicate with anyone.

Today, he didn't even want to come to school.

I had to go to his house to bring him here. Could you please try to talk to him?"

Jiang Ran looked at the boy.

He recognized this child.

Zhou Ming, a top student in the second-year science experimental class, who placed in the top ten of his grade in almost every exam and often stood on the podium as a student representative during morning assemblies.

But the Zhou Ming before him was a different person from the spirited youth in his memory.

He kept his head down, his shoulders hunched, his face pale, and heavy dark circles under his eyes.

"Sure, no problem," Jiang Ran said to Teacher Chen. "You can head back first; I'll communicate with him and then get in touch with you."

Teacher Chen hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Alright, thank you for the trouble, Teacher Jiang."

She pulled the door shut gently as she left.

The counseling office fell silent.

Jiang Ran did not speak immediately; instead, he walked to the water dispenser to pour a cup of warm water, placed it on the coffee table in front of Zhou Ming, and then sat on the sofa opposite him.

"Student Zhou Ming, right?" Jiang Ran's voice was very gentle. "I am the school counselor, Jiang Ran. Feel free to sit wherever you like; there are no cameras here, and our conversation will remain confidential."

Zhou Ming kept his head down, his hands gripping the knees of his school trousers so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Jiang Ran waited for about a minute, and seeing that the boy still had no intention of speaking, he tried a different approach: "Teacher Chen said you haven't been resting well lately. Have you been having nightmares?"

The boy's shoulders trembled slightly.

"Can you tell me what you dreamed about?" Jiang Ran slowed his speech. "Sometimes, saying what you're afraid of out loud makes it easier to bear."

Zhou Ming finally raised his head slowly.

When Jiang Ran saw his eyes, he felt a slight jolt in his heart.

In those bloodshot eyes... hid fear and exhaustion.

It was not a look that belonged to a boy of his age.

Zhou Ming opened his mouth: "Teacher..."

He paused for a long time, so long that Jiang Ran thought he would not continue.

Then, the boy asked a question that Jiang Ran had never expected.

"Do you believe... that a Second World exists in this world?"