Life Is But One

When extraordinary events entered one's ordinary life, it felt romantic.

Like a fairy tale for adults.

The Hogwarts acceptance letter you never received as a child suddenly felt within reach.

However, this sensational news was like a bucket of cold water, dousing the enthusiasm in many hearts.

Only at times like this did people realize the world wasn't as beautiful as they thought.

Perhaps the world changes, but human nature does not.

Future technology was incredibly valuable. Setting aside the materials and structures of the bionic mechanical limbs, just the technology to connect mechanical limbs to the nervous system was enough to drive many people mad.

This was true future technology. Rather than hoping for alien technology, it was more practical to seize what was right beside them.

What's more, the ordinary people who had transmigrated and returned were still no match for certain armed organizations, even with their mechanical limbs.

The deceased had collapsed at home, the killer having stabbed him through the heart from under his ribs with a dagger.

Compared to mechanical limbs, this dagger was completely devoid of technological sophistication.

This wasn't a fairy tale; it was more like a satirical fable for adults.

For a time, many Transmigrators who had impulsively revealed their identities due to the hype began to feel fear.

Some who had returned with mechanical limbs worried about being ambushed themselves.

Others, like Qing Chen, who didn't have mechanical limbs, were fine for now, but who knew if others might covet something else?

Now, Japanese media outlets were even speculating that perhaps killing a Transmigrator could grant one their transmigration qualification.

This speculation was absolutely insane!

Before it could be proven feasible or infeasible, trust between people would likely be completely destroyed.

Nan Gengchen, who had been so enthusiastic earlier, no longer thought about where to invite Qing Chen for a meal.

Nan Gengchen muttered softly, "An opportunity to change one's fate, and it suddenly turned into a horror survival game."

It could be said that Nan Gengchen and Qing Chen were in the same boat, both burdened by gambling fathers, causing chaos at home.

Nan Gengchen had it slightly better; at least his parents hadn't divorced, and their house hadn't been sold yet. Daily life was secure, just without much pocket money.

Qing Chen had it worse; he had nothing left.

At usual class gatherings, they wouldn't be invited, as they couldn't even afford to pay for a game of billiards.

Nan Gengchen had a girl he liked, but due to his lack of pocket money, he felt insecure and didn't dare say anything to her.

So, both of them were quite eager to make money. Nan Gengchen had even written novels and submitted them to magazines, hoping to earn some manuscript fees, but they vanished without a trace.

Seeing Nan Gengchen's dejection, Qing Chen felt it was a good thing. "You saw the news. I'm just saying, hypothetically, if you transmigrated too, you'd have to be very careful. And don't talk too much when you get back."

"I know," Nan Gengchen nodded, saying with some emotion, "Why are we two so poor?"

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "When other dads were working hard, your dad was playing cards."

Although Nan Gengchen resented his father a little, he felt uncomfortable being told that by Qing Chen. He retorted, "What about your dad?"

Qing Chen: "Oh, my dad was working hard at playing cards."

Nan Gengchen: "..."

A silence fell between them. After a while, Nan Gengchen asked, "By the way, how did your dad get caught?"

"I reported him. I hope he can reflect on himself properly inside," Qing Chen replied calmly.

Nan Gengchen was stunned for a moment. "How about you report my dad too?"

Qing Chen: "???"

Just then, the class bell rang.

The second class of the morning was supposed to be English, but the geography teacher walked in.

Luocheng Foreign Language School's name included "Foreign Language," so foreign languages were naturally emphasized.

English teachers held a higher status; generally, the English teachers for every class were excellent. The school had even hired foreign teachers, and from junior high onwards, students had foreign teacher classes every week.

Moreover, some classes in the school even offered specialized courses in 'Japanese' and 'German,' bypassing English.

The middle-aged geography teacher, Chen Yandong, said from the podium, "Your homeroom teacher, Mr. Du, has taken leave due to some matters. The second period will be geography instead, and English has been moved to the third period tomorrow morning."

Hearing this, Qing Chen was taken aback. Perhaps it was the sheer number of shocking events today, but he felt that the homeroom teacher's absence wasn't that simple.

Could Mr. Du Yihong also be a Transmigrator?

But if so many Transmigrators were concentrated in Luocheng, how many would there be nationwide?

No, no!

Qing Chen lowered his head to hide his pupils from view. Instantly, his pupils constricted sharply.

Everything that had happened today flashed through his mind like a movie. All the information was instantly gathered, summarized, and organized.

The second batch of Transmigrators, who had just gotten the countdown on their arms.

The little girl who, knowing she was about to transmigrate, was interviewed with her parents, looking terrified.

A Transmigrator streamer doing live sales.

The messages floated down like fallen leaves from the sky, and Qing Chen casually plucked the "useful" ones from the air.

The next moment, Qing Chen looked up in astonishment. The Transmigrators discovered today seemed to be distributed like scattered points, concentrated in over a dozen cities.

Some residents in certain cities were even posting online, wondering why they hadn't seen any Transmigrators in their city.

This meant that the distribution of Transmigrators might be very concentrated!

Concentrated in over a dozen cities!

The amount of data to analyze made Qing Chen feel dizzy.

At 5:40 PM, after the last class ended, Qing Chen skipped class again.

Before he left, the class monitor shouted, "Qing Chen, you need to pay for the textbooks tomorrow, don't forget!"

"Got it," Qing Chen waved his hand.

Then, he quickly left the classroom under Nan Gengchen's envious gaze.

In the twilight dusk, students who had just finished class rushed towards the cafeteria to eat, awaiting the arrival of evening self-study.

Qing Chen, however, quickly moved through the crowd and climbed over a corner of the school wall to get out.

He went home, took off his school uniform, changed into clothes he rarely wore, and then put on a baseball cap before heading out.

He searched for the address of Yinrun Central Garden on his phone. It was about six kilometers from the school, the residential area where Huang Jixian lived.

For some reason, he felt an urge to go and see, even though he didn't know which building or unit the person lived in. He just wanted to take a look, to know what had happened to Huang Jixian after his return, and what he had experienced in the Inner World.

Qing Chen didn't have any extra money for a taxi. He only had fifty cents left in his pocket, which was all his savings until he played chess with Grandpa Zhang from Fulai Supermarket next time.

Let's run.

In the past, Qing Chen didn't pay much attention to physical training, only participating in the school's exercises.

But now he suddenly realized that he couldn't do without training; he had to have a strong physique to face such a dangerous world.

After all.

The word "life" (命) in Chinese characters has never had a homophone, which perhaps implies that there is only one life.

He had to cherish it.