"Officer, I've transmigrated."
"Really, and it's a cultivation world, too. Yes, the kind where people fly around."
"Me? I can't fly. They all say I have Five Spirit Roots and terrible aptitude. I probably won't have any hope of flying in this lifetime."
"Oh, right, I think I also joined a demonic sect. If nothing unexpected happens..."
"I'll probably die tomorrow."
Inside a servant's mine pit in the Azure Pool Sect.
Lu Li clutched a fish-shaped jade pendant in both hands, keeping his voice low.
The fish-shaped jade pendant had originally been one of a pair, but now the other was missing.
If his guess was right, the other pendant was currently in the hands of the officer on the other end.
There was silence from the other side of the pendant for a few seconds.
All he could hear was breathing that sounded rather serious.
"Comrade, although I don't know how you're speaking through a jade pendant, filing a false police report is against the law."
"The old man who found the jade pendant has already fainted from fright. I advise you to stop this prank immediately and turn yourself in, so you can receive lenient treatment."
Though he hadn't been believed,
that familiar Mandarin, which represented order and safety, still soothed Lu Li's heart for the first time in months.
"Officer, believe me, I really have transmigrated."
"This place is called the Azure Pool Sect. It's a Devil Dao Sect."
"I'm working as a slave in a pitch-black mine pit. No, I mean, as a servant..."
"They said if I can't dig out four pieces of spirit ore by tomorrow evening, they'll skin me."
As Lu Li explained, in the background on the other end of the jade pendant,
a rather composed voice could faintly be heard.
"Xiao Zhang, what's going on? What jade pendant is talking?"
"Let me see it."
"Huh, wait... this material isn't right!"
"Strange, how is that possible? I don't see any electronic components..."
A faint commotion and the sound of hushed discussion made Lu Li's heart leap into his throat.
He was afraid they would take him for a madman and hang up the phone. No... hang up the jade pendant.
He immediately continued pouring out information to make himself more credible.
"My name is Lu Li. My ID number is 000... I live on such-and-such street."
"You can check. There should have been a missing-person report a few months ago."
"I was on my way home from work when I saw a pair of old-looking fish-shaped jade pendants at a street stall."
"I touched one out of curiosity, and everything went black. Then I ended up here."
Lu Li spoke clearly, his account orderly and logical.
"You really can cultivate in this world, just like in novels. You can fly through the heavens and burrow into the earth, move mountains and overturn seas."
"But my aptitude is terrible. I have what's called Five Spirit Roots, and I cultivate extremely slowly. It was only in the last few days that I sensed the faintest trace of Qi and refined a tiny bit of spiritual power. Right! Spiritual power!"
Lu Li seized on the key point.
"It was that little bit of spiritual power. I tried putting it into this jade pendant just now... and then it lit up."
"I wondered if I could summon some old grandpa, so... no, I tried calling 110."
"And then I got in touch with the organization."
On the other end of the jade pendant,
the officer called Xiao Zhang listened to the account, so bizarre yet full of detail and heartfelt sincerity.
Then he looked at the simple, antique jade pendant in his hand, which was also glowing faintly, something science couldn't explain at all.
His expression turned strange.
The veteran officer beside him frowned deeply and quickly made a decision.
"Xiao Zhang, keep him calm for now. I'll check his information and report this while I'm at it."
"If what he says is true..."
The veteran officer's voice broke off abruptly.
Clearly, he didn't dare imagine what consequences and situation would follow if Lu Li's words were true.
"No way. How could that be possible? It's not like someone's writing a novel."
"These days,"
"He's obviously lying..."
Xiao Zhang still didn't quite believe it, but with his superior there, he had no choice but to warn Lu Li in a stiff voice.
"Lu Li, right? We understand everything you've told us, and we'll report your situation to our superiors."
"In the meantime, keep the jade pendant's communication channel open. We'll get back to you as soon as possible. This is not a joke. I repeat, this is not a joke!"
"If you've filed a false police report, the punishment of the law awaits you!"
"Okay! I'll wait!"
Lu Li's voice was filled with surprise and hope.
The communication was temporarily interrupted.
The jade pendant still gave off a faint glow, proof that the connection hadn't been completely severed.
The past few months had been nothing short of a nightmare for him.
In this cultivation world where the strong preyed on the weak and human lives were treated like blades of grass,
cultivators could churn rivers and overturn seas, while great sects ran rampant without restraint.
Nations and dynasties were like hawks and hounds, Rogue Cultivators like ants.
With no cheat and no old grandpa, he was lucky to be alive.
Though he'd been fortunate enough to set foot on the path of cultivation, with his Five Spirit Roots, he was only fit to mine in the Azure Pool Demonic Sect.
Had he not secretly learned from the other disciples to absorb the meager Spiritual Qi in the ore, accumulating a strand of spiritual power as thin as a hair in his body and entering the Qi Refining First Layer,
and at the same time awakened the jade pendant that had transmigrated with him,
he would have been fated never to see the light of day again in this life.
I don't know where this Twin Fish Jade Pendant came from, but it's wondrous beyond belief.
I'm in the cultivation world right now, but I can connect to the other pendant and communicate with Great Xia by putting spiritual power into it.
I just don't know whether this jade pendant can only transmit messages or if it has other functions.
Thoughts flashed through Lu Li's mind, one after another.
He had only just awakened the jade pendant and didn't know much about it.
But whether he could establish himself and make a life in this world now depended entirely on it.
Just as Lu Li was lost in recollection, the jade pendant buzzed again, its light seemingly much steadier.
This time, it was no longer that young man's voice.
Instead, it was a steady voice, slightly world-weary but imbued with unquestionable authority and strength.
The Mandarin was standard, every word clear and powerful:
"Comrade Lu Li."
Those four words alone made Lu Li tremble all over, as though he had found someone to rely on.
"I'm the person in charge of security in Jing City. The country has gained an initial understanding of your situation and is treating it with great importance."
"The relevant departments have indeed detected a strange signal link in this jade pendant. After preliminary verification..."
"This signal is outside the range of Blue Star."
"In other words, the country believes you."
When the words "the country believes you" came clearly through the jade pendant to Lu Li's ears,
his whole body trembled violently.
The emotions he had been struggling to hold back, tormented by despair, were like a flood breaking through a dam.
In an instant, they swept away his defenses.
"Chief... I..."
Lu Li choked up before he could say anything more.
The steady, slightly world-weary voice continued without pause.
Its tone became more specific and commanding.
"Now, on behalf of the country and the people, I am formally establishing contact with you."
"Your primary mission is to survive."
"Give us a detailed report on the environment around you, the distribution of personnel, and the threat level. National resources are being mobilized in your direction."
"Tell me, what do you need? How can we help you stay alive as quickly as possible?"