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The sky looked particularly terrifying with its eerie and twisted appearance.
Gray was the main color of this world, with tall gray buildings, gray alloy ground, gray transport vehicles, gray skies, and three immense gray spheres hanging in the sky.
This was a metal world that was already dead.
This should be a ruin, right?
Walking in the silent steel jungle, I couldn't help but think that, but unlike the ruins in my impression, there were no signs of damage here. At least from the outside, these cold steel surfaces had no scars. It didn't seem like they were abandoned due to severe destruction but rather entered a state of hibernation, a sleeping giant beast—that was a more fitting name I came up with.
This sleeping world was so silent that the sound of footsteps became the only sound in my ears. After walking for an unknown period, I finally felt a bit tired, so I sat down in a place that looked like a platform for some kind of flying tool.
There was still some time before leaving here, so out of boredom, I began to look at the three enormous metal spheres in the sky again. They were so immense that they occupied almost one-third of the sky. On their surfaces, countless sharp protrusions and grid-like textures could be faintly seen, giving the impression of massive planetary fortresses from a sci-fi movie—to be honest, everything in this world was more sci-fi than any sci-fi movie.
I kept staring at those planet-like giant metal spheres in the sky until the oppressive feeling they gave me forced me to look away.
I felt that they seemed closer to the ground.
In fact, they were indeed continuously approaching the ground. When I first came here, they were just three small black dots hanging high in the sky. But each time I entered this world, they would get closer to the ground. Sometimes significantly, sometimes just a tiny bit, so subtle that if you didn't look carefully, you couldn't tell if they had moved, but I knew they were always descending. Maybe one day they would touch the ground, and I wondered if this world would change then. I was quite looking forward to it out of boredom.
"Still haven't found it..." A voice suddenly echoed throughout the sky, and then the entire world began to shake violently. I knew it was time to leave.
"Ring ring ring..." A harsh alarm clock sound woke me from my deep dream. I struggled to open my eyes, shaking my groggy head hard. It took a moment for my vision to stabilize, and after a long time, I finally woke up from that bizarre dream.
A bizarre dream...
I didn't know since when I had been having this bizarre dream, walking alone in a dead metal world in the dream. The surroundings looked like a future world, with an end-of-the-world-like desolate atmosphere. But despite the oppressive surroundings, I didn't feel any panic in the dream. It was as if everything was familiar to me. Every time the dream ended, a voice would always sound, saying, "Still haven't found it..." in a seemingly disappointed voice.
But till now, this voice wouldn't tell me what it was looking for...
What was this voice searching for? Or was it hoping I would find something?
Unfortunately, I never found the answer in the dream.
I never told anyone about this dream. Although I didn't know what it meant, my intuition always told me that this dream had an unusual significance, and rashly revealing this secret would bring me great trouble.
"Monday..." I muttered, reluctantly crawling out from the covers. The early winter weather made me shiver, but I finally managed to resist the warmth of the bed because if I didn't hurry, I would surely be late for class—I had to at least show up once before the dean forgot what I looked like.
I, Chen Jun, a senior high school student, an orphan, had no parents or siblings. I was adopted by a merchant couple when I was young. After my adoptive parents passed away, it was just my elder sister, five years older than me but not related by blood, and me relying on each other. Life was as bland as a cup of water. The only fortunate thing was that this cup of water wasn't cold: My sister and I inherited a substantial legacy from our adoptive parents, making our life not as difficult as other orphans. My sister, who managed the household on her own from a young age, treated me well. At least I could still feel the warmth of home.
While still pondering whether last night's dream was different from usual, my sister's voice called from outside the door, "Ah Jun, are you up? It's late!"
"Oh, I'm coming out!" I responded, quickly tidying the bed, putting on clothes, wearing socks, taking off the left sock and putting it on the right foot, then suddenly realizing socks had no difference—finally, I scrambled to open the door. You can see how lively my morning was.
Standing outside was a pretty girl with long hair, wearing a simple house dress, smiling, holding a spatula and a knife—this dangerous habit of hers still hadn't changed.
This was my adoptive sister, Chen Qian, five years older than me. Although she looked like a fragile girl, having managed the family and raised a brother like me from such a young age, you could imagine her strength. From various aspects, I felt my sister was probably the strongest creature in the world, no exception... This was learned from experience growing up.
"What is it, Ah Jun? Is there something on my face?" Maybe feeling a bit embarrassed from my stare, my sister's face turned red, and then she asked awkwardly.
"Oh, nothing. I was thinking... I'm going to school!"
"Wait—you haven't had breakfast..."
"No time, I gotta go!"
Canglan Private High School, a veritable noble school, with high expenses and excellent teaching quality far surpassing ordinary public schools. This made the renowned noble school a place ordinary civilian students couldn't even dream of. Students here were either descendants of billionaires or children of influential officials or super-geniuses famous nationwide—after all, a school's development couldn't rely solely on money; some brilliant students were also indispensable. In short, this school was like a perfect setting for an idol drama, complete with Cinderella and Prince Charming at every corner. If the school were in South Korea, they wouldn't need to recruit actors; it could directly be used as a movie base.
I'm explaining so much about this school because I'm studying... in the school opposite it...
K City Second High School, my alma mater, exuded an air of the countryside even from its name. In all aspects, it was as ordinary as it could be. Compared to the opposite Canglan Private High School, which looked like a royal garden, it was like comparing Paris to Changli. The students here were quite ordinary, too. Most of us didn't even know the names of the clothes the students on the opposite side wore daily, making these two contrasting schools separated by just a street one of the famous scenes here.
I was one of the students here. Although my sister and I were financially quite well-off, we were still far from Canglan's admission standards. My brain, which relied mostly on guessing for multiple-choice questions and scribbling for fill-in-the-blanks, didn't seem capable of being recruited as an elite student...
"Ah Jun!" A crisp voice called from behind. I turned my head and saw a petite girl with short hair running towards me. The hem of her skirt fluttered and her hair flew, like a little white flower spinning in the spring breeze, although the wind was a bit strong.
This running girl was Xu Qianqian, one of my best friends, a childhood neighbor. But after entering middle school, her family moved to another part of the city, and we had fewer chances to meet. However, this didn't affect the relationship between Qianqian and me. When we discovered we both chose this school, which combined both middle and high school departments, we were pleasantly surprised. Again, we shared the daily routine of going to school together, as we did before. According to general development, such a childhood friend had an eighty percent chance of becoming my lover, securing my future—the fact was, we both thought so too. But for some reason, we never progressed further, maintaining a relationship somewhere between best friends and lovers. The reason—maybe too familiar?
Indeed, it was partly this. When you know a girl so well that you even know how many times she wet the bed as a child, it's hard to see her as a romantic partner.
"Ah Jun, what are you thinking?" Qianqian quickly walked to me, waving her hand in front of my face, looking displeased.
"Oh, introducing the female lead to the readers..."
Qianqian: "…?"
Just then, a crowd gathering not far away caught our attention.
The onlookers were clearly divided into two groups, leaving a large enough gap between them for me to see what was happening inside without any effort.
The first thing that caught my eye was a young man with an irritated expression. From his attire, he at least belonged to a family who could afford to buy a house within the Third Ring with cash. Behind him stood two students who seemed to be around his age. Judging by their expressions, I concluded that this was a rich kid leading his two lackeys. In front of these three stood a boy with a nervous look in his eyes; I vaguely remembered he was a junior from our school.
I couldn't help but turn my face away. What a cliché scenario of bullying, and I didn't expect to run into it myself.
Although City Second Middle School and Canglan High School were so close to each other, such incidents were actually quite rare. Despite being a renowned elite school, Canglan High School was known for its strict discipline. Moreover, these wealthy students weren't as arrogant as commonly thought. For most of these noble kids, good manners were an essential part of their upbringing, which means the vast majority of them wouldn't be rude or bully others like many imagined—rather, they might be even more polite and kind than one would expect. However, we must separate a particular group from these wealthy kids: the nouveau riche and the brainless.
It was hard to tell if the person in front of me was a nouveau riche or brainless. Nonetheless, it was my first time witnessing such a melodramatic scene of bullying. Regardless of whether this rich kid would be punished by his school later, it was clear that the boy in front of him was in for a bad day. After all, he was outnumbered.
The crowd around them chattered, but no one stepped forward.
Most of our students didn't dare provoke the other side, while some people from Canglan High School disdained the rich kid's behavior also seemed reluctant to cause trouble.
Who would have thought I'd encounter something so infuriating early in the morning.
"Ah Jun," Qianqian gently tugged at my clothes and whispered, "Let's go, don't get involved."
I gritted my teeth and looked down to find a brick—but Qianqian pulled at me again. I knew finding a brick wouldn't help, so I could only sigh and turn to leave.
What would happen next was easily predictable—any flimsy excuse could escalate into a three-on-one beating or humiliation. The irritated young man would enjoy his perverse pleasure during this process, while the unlucky boy from our school would just have to accept his fate. I didn't know the origin of their conflict, but it would undoubtedly end this way.
To be honest, it's not that I lacked sympathy or a sense of justice. But as an ordinary student, I was powerless in this situation. Perhaps if I swung a brick unexpectedly, I might manage to land a blow, but the trouble it would cause afterward would be immense. Moreover, it might even implicate my sister. Life wasn't easy for a commoner…
But the frustration in my heart was still hard to shake off. Would it be more discreet to find a secluded place and throw a brick at him?
Before leaving the crowd, I turned back to glare at that rich kid once more.
"Tch," I muttered under my breath, "I really want to beat him up."
I didn't mean it seriously, but after I spoke, I seemed to hear a "click" deep in my mind. I shook my head in confusion, confirming I didn't hear an actual sound, but that "click" seemed to flash through my consciousness clearly and distinctly.
Suddenly, I felt dizzy. The desolate Metal World I always dreamt of at night flashed through my mind. Then, a voice echoed in my consciousness.
"Accepting external command set…permission confirmed…fuzzy command analyzed…executing…target confirmed, initiating Zenith remote space strike system, preparing for probing attack…fire!"
As the voice in my mind ended, I caught a glimpse of a translucent, arm-thick pillar, looking like flowing water, descending from the sky and silently disappearing beneath the feet of the suspected nouveau riche in the center of the crowd.
No one seemed to notice the light pillar. Everyone's attention was focused on the people in the center, so the nearly transparent "pillar" was ignored. Normally, I wouldn't have noticed such a hidden thing, but for some reason, I saw the trajectory of this "water flow" clearly.
Then, I noticed that where the "water flow" disappeared, there was a small dark red hole on the originally pebble-decorated ground. Around the hole, the molten ground slowly flowed into the vaporized cavity.
What was this? Supernatural phenomenon? Paranormal event? Close encounter of the third kind? Alien refueling tank leakage? Jade Emperor's random urination?
A series of chaotic explanations flooded my mind instantly. I had the habit of constantly thinking wild thoughts since childhood. These bizarre explanations didn't even convince myself, leading me to believe that what happened before me was probably an illusion. But what happened next confirmed that the scene in front of me was indeed real.
The arrogant young man suddenly took a step forward, seemingly intending to take action himself. But as he lifted his foot, he stepped right onto the magma-covered ground.
A few seconds later, a piercing scream like a pig being slaughtered suddenly echoed: "Oh oww oww oww!!"
Fabric is inherently flammable, and the ground, melted by the mysterious energy, far exceeded the burning point of fabric. In no time, the young man's pants caught fire, and the blaze quickly spread up his leg. Chaos erupted instantly; nearby people rushed to help, while many students further away quickly pulled out their phones to snap pictures and post online, writing, "I'm at the school gate and saw spontaneous human combustion!"
But at that moment, I couldn't focus on the chaotic scene in front of me.
The next voice in my mind caused utter panic.
"Probing attack complete…recalculating parameters…calculation complete, switching to formal strike mode…primary weapon array charging…secondary weapon array charging…ready, all combat units free to fire in ten seconds…ten, nine, eight, seven…"
Whatever was happening, one thing was clear: we were in serious trouble!
A single probing attack could burn a hole in the ground; if it fired formally, the best case scenario would be our school making headlines on Central TV—as either a fire site or an explosion report.
"Damn it, stop!" I screamed internally, but no matter how hard I tried, that mysterious state didn't reappear, and the countdown continued unhurriedly. I was sweating cold bullets, "Where's the power-off button for this thing?!"
"Ah Jun, what's wrong? Why is your face so pale?" Qianqian noticed my abnormality and asked nervously, but I had no time to respond.
Damn it! Damn it! What on earth was this thing? Why wouldn't it listen to me now?!
"Six, five…"
Cold sweat started trickling down my face.
"Four, three…"
"Qianqian!" I suddenly shouted, pulling her and running toward the outer edge—though I estimated our running speed wouldn't be enough to escape the imminent overwhelming attack or whatever it was.
But no matter what, I couldn't let Qianqian get hurt because of me!
"Ah Jun, what…" Qianqian was shocked by my sudden action and screamed.
"Two, one…"
A wave of dizziness hit me again, and my vision went black.
Qianqian's panicked voice blurred in my ears.
"Severe system error, external command set anomaly, highest permission lost…Zenith remote space strike system halting operation…"
Damn, what was this thing—so painful!
That was my last thought before I completely passed out.