Xu Qing looked around at the empty surroundings and sighed deeply. There was nothing he could do; he would have to figure something out himself in the future.
"But how do I get back now?"
Just as Xu Qing thought about returning to the outside world, the vast starry sky before him instantly blurred beyond recognition, and his figure abruptly vanished into the void.
The next moment, Xu Qing slowly opened his eyes in his bedroom.
"I'm... back."
Coming to his senses, he tried several more times, sending his spiritual body into that space and then back out again. He could come and go completely at will, with remarkable ease.
"So that's how it works. If I'm not mistaken, that place should be my Sea of Consciousness," Xu Qing murmured to himself.
He rolled out of bed, pulled on his boots, and decided to see just what the "golden finger" Earth had left him could do.
With a thought, he appeared inside his Sea of Consciousness again.
Xu Qing turned his gaze toward the crimson Earth in the starry sky.
A layer of strange energy enveloped Earth, like a defensive barrier.
How am I supposed to work this thing, huh?!
It didn't even come with an instruction manual.
There was no other way. He could only slowly feel his way through it himself.
Xu Qing concentrated on sensing it and tried releasing a thread of spiritual power toward that Earth.
As his spiritual power touched the defensive barrier, Xu Qing received a piece of information.
Enter?
So it was that simple.
With a thought, he selected "Yes."
The next moment, his figure vanished directly from that starry sky.
When he appeared again, barren ground lay beneath his feet. Traces of artillery bombardment were visible everywhere, and the wreckage of broken, collapsed houses littered the area. Almost no intact houses remained in the entire town. There were even several shriveled corpses by the roadside and in the corners of walls, their shapes still recognizable as human.
A blazing sun hung high in the sky.
Xu Qing's vision blurred, and the scene before him changed.
By the time he came to his senses, this horrifying sight was what greeted him.
He instinctively pinched his own cheek.
"Hiss, that hurts. This isn't a dream."
Fuck! Is this something a kid like me should be seeing?
This isn't suitable for children!
And it seemed that even his physical body had entered this parallel Earth along with him. Otherwise, he would not have felt pain.
Xu Qing raised his head and gazed into the distance, but a ruined wall soon blocked his view.
He hurried over to the wall and reached out to touch the holes in it. They were bullet holes. The entire wall was riddled with densely packed bullet holes.
Xu Qing could not help swallowing. He dared not look any longer, and a trace of fear rose in his heart.
Looking toward the town not far away, Xu Qing forcibly suppressed his fear and started forward, intending to investigate deeper inside.
He strode along and soon entered the town, when he suddenly spotted a figure ahead. Xu Qing's eyes lit up. It was an old man with his back to him.
Great, someone's here!
"Grandpa!"
Xu Qing hurriedly ran toward the old man, but as soon as he drew close, he stopped dead. His pupils abruptly contracted, and his face filled with horror.
Hearing the movement, the old man slowly turned around. A deathly pale face came into view, his eyes already turned a cloudy, milky white.
As he moved, his bones gave off a series of clicking sounds, like a rusted machine.
The instant he saw Xu Qing, the old man lunged at him with a roar, like an enraged beast.
"Holy shit! A ghost!"
Xu Qing was so frightened that he turned and ran, his startled cries echoing through the town.
He sprinted desperately ahead, while the old man chased swiftly after him.
Fuck! Old man, you're wasting your talents by not competing in the Olympics.
He ran desperately forward, but there were also large numbers of zombies in the town.
Those corpses seemed to detect Xu Qing's presence, and they, too, began roaring and chasing after him.
And so his pursuers gradually grew from a single person to dozens, then hundreds, finally gathering into a vast horde of corpses.
Countless zombies roared incessantly, a sight that struck fear into the heart even from afar.
"I'm done for! How do I get back?! I don't want to stay in this godforsaken place! And wasn't it supposed to be heading toward destruction? What the hell is with all these zombies?! Fuck you!"
The instant the thought of leaving arose in Xu Qing's heart, his figure abruptly vanished from where he stood.
On the Douluo Continent,
Inside Xu Qing's room, Xu Qing, who had vanished from his bed, suddenly reappeared on the large bed.
Xu Qing gulped down air, his back already drenched in genuine cold sweat, his little heart pounding rapidly.
I'm back?
Fuck!
What the hell did you leave me?!
Why are there zombies everywhere?!
Xu Qing had no idea how long it took before he finally recovered from his shaken state.
He shook his head, still gripped by lingering fear, and stopped recalling that horrifying scene filled with zombies.
"Forget it. I won't think about it."
Xu Qing burrowed under the covers, curled up, and soon fell deeply "asleep."
The night flowed slowly by, and the streets and alleys of Aolai City lay silent.
Within Xu Qing's Sea of Consciousness.
That crimson parallel Earth still floated in the void of his Sea of Consciousness, the energy barrier around it circulating quietly, as though silently waiting for his next exploration.
Meanwhile, the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon markings on his back faintly glimmered with golden light as he slept. Threads of bloodline power quietly circulated through his meridians, slowly nourishing his body.
Early the next morning, the morning light outside shone into the room through the window paper.
Xu Qing abruptly opened his eyes and sat bolt upright, gasping for breath.
The sight of zombies everywhere from last night still surfaced clearly in his mind, leaving him shaken even now.
Xu Qing wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and repeatedly took deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling, trying hard to calm his rattled mind.
Only when his mother Tang Xue called from outside, telling him to get up and eat, did Xu Qing hurriedly dress and head downstairs. He ran into the bathroom, washed his face with cold water, and changed into a clean set of clothes.
After changing, Xu Qing walked over to the dining table.
Xu Yan was already seated at the table. Seeing Xu Qing's pale face and listless appearance, he could not help looking worried.
"Xiao Qing, what's wrong? You look so pale."
Xu Qing shook his head and forced himself to perk up. "Dad, I'm fine. I just had a nightmare last night."
Hearing this, Xu Yan nodded and did not question him any further.
Just then, Tang Xue brought the food to the table, and the family sat down together to eat breakfast.
After breakfast, Xu Yan slung his bag over his shoulder and left for work, while Tang Xue took Xu Qing to Red Mountain Academy.
Today was enrollment day at Red Mountain Academy, which also meant that Xu Qing would officially enter its Soul Master class and begin at least nine years of studies.
Under the Sun Moon Federation's regulations, both elementary and intermediate academies provided free compulsory education, somewhat like the nine years of compulsory education in his previous life. Of these, elementary academies taught for three years, and intermediate academies for six.
There were three ways in total to advance to a higher academy. The first was to gain admission through excellent grades, and the second was to pay a hefty sum to get in. Finally, one could also enter certain vocational academies to learn a specialized skill.