(I didn't expect anyone to actually read this, so I'll put some real effort into writing it. My writing isn't great, and I only have a middle school education. If anything needs improving, feel free to discuss it.)
On the island's school campus.
Chen Yu and Senku were deep in research.
As for what they were researching, they were trying to find which medicinal herbs available in a primitive society could maximize a person's recovery-a sort of health potion like the ones in games.
But after a month or two of research, they still had no results.
If a health potion won't work, why not try adrenaline? Could we extract its components from medicinal herbs without relying on existing technology?
Tsukasa plus adrenaline should be invincible, right? I just don't know whether there would be any side effects.
And so, the two spent nearly half a year researching, only to solve half the problem.
"Senku! Chen Yu!" Taiju's voice rang out from a distance.
They turned toward the sound and saw Taiju running toward them, waving and shouting with excitement all over his face.
"What is it?" Senku dug at his ear. Taiju really was loud.
Even Chen Yu found it a bit much. He wondered how Zhang Fei from the Three Kingdoms would compare to him.
"Senku, I have something to say." Taiju looked utterly serious. "I've made up my mind. Today, I'm definitely going to tell Yuzuriha how I've felt about her for the past five years."
"Oh? Now that's interesting. Go tell her, then. I'm busy right now. Anyway, Chen Yu, what should we do next?"
Chen Yu: "(●-●)"
Is it coming? The petrification beam?
At that thought, Chen Yu got up to leave.
"Senku, let's work on this another time. I've got something to do, so I'll head off first."
Senku watched Chen Yu hurry away, baffled.
"Fine, fine. It's not like you'd back down anyway." Senku waved a hand, showing he didn't mind.
Seeing that, Chen Yu said nothing more and left.
As he walked away, Chen Yu surveyed his surroundings, wondering what this place would become after thirty-seven hundred years. Would it be at the bottom of the sea, in a river, on a cliff, or buried in the earth?
In the end, he found a corner by a wall and sat down.
There was no one around, only birds chirping overhead.
Gradually, Chen Yu caught a distant light in the corner of his vision. He turned to look at it. The green light kept slowly spreading.
"See you in thirty-seven hundred years, Senku. You too, Tsukasa." With that, Chen Yu took out his phone and sent a message to Tsukasa, who would be petrified shortly afterward: "Tsukasa, let's meet again if we get the chance."
Not far away, Tsukasa had just finished a match and changed his clothes when he felt a vibration in his pocket. He took out his phone and saw that the person pinned at the top of his messages had sent him a line.
"Tsukasa, let's meet again if we get the chance."
Tsukasa's pupils suddenly contracted. Without even gathering his things, he rushed out of the venue and saw people fleeing down the street in panic, a dazzling light on the other side, and stone statues.
Without another thought, Tsukasa ran toward the school. The moment he touched the light, his body began to petrify. In the final instant before his consciousness faded, his last thought was, Chen Yu, my little sister...
A little over ten minutes earlier...
Senku watched Taiju and Yuzuriha below, eagerly observing his best friend's impending romantic success.
Then he heard someone nearby shouting about a strange light.
Senku looked over and discovered an eerie light steadily approaching.
At the sight, he suddenly remembered what Chen Yu had said before leaving.
It seemed as though he had known this would happen.
After all, he couldn't possibly have walked away at the most crucial stage of their research just like that. He must have known something.
Below, Taiju stepped directly in front of Yuzuriha to protect her and was petrified.
In the end, Senku was no exception.
Within his consciousness, Chen Yu felt the loneliness of awareness.
Chen Yu: "(^_^)"
Why the hell am I still conscious?!
Chen Yu was losing his mind. What the hell? He was petrified, and he was still conscious?
Thirty-seven hundred years of this would kill a person, wouldn't it?
Ugh, this feels awful. Suddenly I'm thinking about venomous snakes. Types of venomous snakes. The animal world.
Huh? What's this image? Why is it so clear?
This looks like something I saw on TV before.
Hmm, not bad. Reliving it feels pretty good.
But how much time has passed? I'm getting bored.
Forget it. I'll just see what else I remember. This superbrain really is great. It remembers everything I've seen. If I'd known I'd stay conscious, I would've watched a few more TV dramas.
And so, Chen Yu kept going through the events and images in his memories.
He had no idea how many times he had watched them or how many times he had sorted through his knowledge. Only when he first felt his consciousness fading, and finally wanted to sleep, did Chen Yu drift off.
Meanwhile, Senku was counting: "One thousand six hundred eighty-five years and one second..."
(I just picked a random number.)
Finally, thirty-seven hundred years later, Chen Yu's consciousness began to return to his body. He could feel his body again, along with its stiffness. He couldn't move, but then cracking sounds rang out, stone fell away from him, and Chen Yu opened his eyes.
What he saw was Senku, Taiju, and Tsukasa...
Thirty-seven hundred years later, huh? A primitive world...
Seeing the boy emerge from the stone statue, Tsukasa immediately pulled him into his arms.
Beside them, Taiju was a little afraid that Tsukasa's powerful body would squeeze Chen Yu to death.
Still, looking at Chen Yu's build, he was actually in pretty good shape.
"Cough, cough! Tsukasa, you're going to squeeze me to death," Chen Yu said, patting Tsukasa's back.
Only then did Tsukasa remember that Chen Yu wasn't very strong.
"Hah... Honestly, you suddenly hugged me out of nowhere. Huh? Where are we?"
Chen Yu patted his chest as he spoke, gasping for breath.
"This is the island, thirty-seven hundred years later," Senku answered casually.
"Thirty-seven hundred years later? Huh? Stone statues?" Chen Yu asked, pretending not to know what was going on.
"Right. Thirty-seven hundred years ago, a strange light engulfed the world, petrifying every human, along with the swallows. But the other living creatures weren't petrified. You're a medical expert, so we waited a while and revived you."
After speaking, Senku looked at Chen Yu, hoping to learn the secret of petrification from him.
"A petrification beam? Hmm, I've never heard of anything like it. Unfortunately, I don't know what it is. But I think that since people can be revived from stone statues, science must be able to explain it. Still, I really don't know what it is. I suppose we'll only find out later," Chen Yu said after thinking for a while.
He genuinely didn't know. He only knew that something had reacted with something else to produce the petrification beam, but he hadn't watched that part back then.
He had only watched up to their arrival on the American continent. Because he had grown weaker afterward, he only vaguely remembered Senku and the others fleeing from those people in America. He was rather looking forward to it. When they escaped with that man whose name had an X in it, he would blindfold him, bind his hands and feet, and restrain every part of him that could move. He would even make him a pair of iron underpants to cover that part, too, and see how he tapped out Morse code then.
"Even Chen Yu doesn't know? I thought that if you knew what it was, we'd be able to revive all of humanity faster," Taiju said dejectedly.
"You're giving me way too much credit. I really don't know what it is. Let's take it slowly. Hmm? Tsukasa, you're hurt? Let me look." With that, Chen Yu took Tsukasa's arm and examined it.
"Claw wounds from a wild animal. Hmm, I'll need to find some medicinal herbs. Wait here. I'll be right back. Tsukasa, you stay here. You're injured." With those words, Chen Yu immediately put an end to Tsukasa's idea of tagging along.
He didn't know why, but ever since he had taken his parents to the hospital to arrange treatment for Tsukasa's little sister, spent some time with Tsukasa, and then returned to his home country...
When he came back to the island, he seemed to discover that, apart from Tsukasa's little sister, he was the one Tsukasa doted on.
What kind of feeling was this?
(This will mainly follow the plot, with changes made along the way. The female lead is undecided. I won't break up any canon couples.)
Before you continue