“Damn the weather, why is it so hot?”
“Can’t it cool down a bit so I can get some more sleep? Do you know how late I stayed up last night? Is there any humanity left?”
“Oh, God, have mercy on your child! I’ve only had three hours of sleep.”
At eight o’clock in the morning, Zhou Sheng Chen, a night owl who had been woken up by the heat, lay in bed grumbling and tossing and turning, unable to fall back asleep.
The restless summer night filled the room with a stifling heat wave, making it hard to breathe.
It was only early summer, but the temperature had suddenly shot up to thirty-four or thirty-five degrees Celsius. Can you believe it?
Zhou Sheng Chen used his sticky hand to wipe the sweat dripping from his forehead. He sat up and reached behind him, immediately becoming furious:
“It’s all sweat! I can’t take it anymore! I’m going to die, I’m going to die!”
“I don’t know what’s going on with the landlord. I’ve told her three times already, why hasn’t she sent a repairman over yet?
“Does she want me to die of heatstroke so she can inherit my Ant Hua Bei credit?”
Muttering to himself, Zhou Sheng Chen sprayed some floral water on his body to cool down a bit.
He picked up his phone and looked at the time: 8:88.
Such a lucky number!
But he felt something was off.
Suddenly, Zhou Sheng Chen’s face darkened.
An hour has sixty minutes. Where did those extra twenty-eight minutes come from? Did they give it to me when I topped up my phone at four in the morning?
“My phone is infected with a virus? This is really going to kill me! I just bought it a month ago!” Zhou Sheng Chen couldn’t help but complain.
“Whoosh whoosh whoosh～”
A sudden gust of wind blew in from outside, and Zhou Sheng Chen felt his whole body come alive with the cool air.
“Finally, it’s cooling down.
“Let the wind blow even stronger!”
As soon as he finished saying that, a flash of light appeared outside, followed by a continuous rumble of thunder.
The wind grew stronger, blowing things in the room around, making a clatter as they fell to the ground.
Looking at the sky, Zhou Sheng Chen realized there was going to be a heavy downpour, so he quickly got out of bed to close the windows and tidy up the things that had been blown down by the wind.
After finishing, Zhou Sheng Chen went to the bathroom to take a shower and then went out.
He went downstairs, left the apartment building, and walked towards a breakfast shop across the street, something he did every morning.
“Ah～”
A sudden scream startled Zhou Sheng Chen, and he looked in the direction of the sound.
He saw a large truck speeding toward them from the left on the road.
People were scrambling to get out of the way, but a little girl of about four years old was standing there in a panic.
Seeing this, Zhou Sheng Chen’s pupils contracted, and he quickly shouted loudly: “Little girl, get out of the way, get out of the way!”
Zhou Sheng Chen’s voice was loud, but the little girl seemed not to hear him, just standing there helplessly.
“She’s so young! She can’t be hurt!”
Without hesitation, Zhou Sheng Chen dashed towards them.
“Bang.”
“Screech...”
The truck’s brakes screeched to a halt after hitting the road sign.
At the same time, a pool of blood suddenly surged onto the ground, winding its way to the side.
The piercing sound caused the crowd to panic, and screams rang out.
“Call the police, there’s been a car accident.”
“Call the police quickly.” Someone shouted.
“I’m… I’m going to die?
“Dad, Mom, Grandpa, Grandma, I’m coming to join you! Our family is finally reunited.”
“It’s a pity that my script is about to be made into a TV series. Dad won’t be able to witness your birth. Forgive me!”
Lying in a pool of blood, Zhou Sheng Chen looked ahead with blurred eyes at the little girl who was sitting on the ground. The noise of the crowd filled his ears.
At the same time, the crystal pendant hanging around his neck emitted a blinding light, enveloping Zhou Sheng Chen’s soul and opening a spatial portal. He stepped into it.
The next day, the XX Newspaper reported:
XXX was tragically killed in a car accident while saving a person. Let us remember this hero. It was he who saved a four-year-old girl. It was he who saved a family on the verge of breaking apart. It was he who moved…
————
Zhou Sheng Chen had a very long, very long dream. He felt like he was enveloped in a warm liquid.
Not only that, he felt that the liquid seemed to contain spiritual energy from heaven and earth, constantly nourishing him.
For a while, he was so comfortable he didn’t want to open his eyes.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Sheng Chen opened his eyes, but his vision was obscured by darkness. A silver light then appeared in his eyes.
But Zhou Sheng Chen didn’t notice anything unusual. He just thought it was too dark, that he hadn’t woken up yet, and he continued to sleep.
After a long time, Zhou Sheng Chen woke up again. Suddenly he felt a force pushing him, and there were a few unfamiliar voices in his ear.
“It’s a baby, it’s a baby!”
“It’s a boy.”
————
Nineteen years later.
New York, USA.
A house in the suburbs.
The chandelier in the middle of the hall emitted an orange glow. Zhou Sheng Chen stood under the chandelier, looking coldly at the white-haired old man sitting on the sofa.
Although Zhou Sheng Chen was standing right in front of him, the old man acted as if he couldn’t see Zhou Sheng Chen. He was looking around.
“Cough cough cough!”
The old man coughed and said in English, panting, “Five… five years have passed. You’ve been to my place a dozen times, haven’t you? Now… now I’m going to die, and you’re not going to let me see you?”
Zhou Sheng Chen didn’t say anything. He just looked at the old man expressionlessly, waiting for him to die and see if he could get what he wanted.
The old man sighed, “Don’t… don’t bother. I… I’ve lived a life of joy, sadness…”
The old man said a lot, but eventually he died after half an hour.
At the same time, an inexplicable energy began to dissipate from his body.
Seeing this, Zhou Sheng Chen quickly withdrew his spatial ability.
Suddenly, a figure completely shrouded in black robes appeared out of thin air.
Zhou Sheng Chen stepped forward and placed his hand on the old man’s head. A terrifying suction force immediately drew the energy about to dissipate from the old man’s body and stored it in Zhou Sheng Chen’s dantian.
Three minutes later, Zhou Sheng Chen withdrew his hand, destroyed the old man’s body, set fire to the house, and then a silver light flashed in his eyes.
A crack immediately appeared in front of him, and Zhou Sheng Chen stepped into it without hesitation.
Alice Apartment, Room 5220, bathroom, Zhou Sheng Chen appeared out of thin air.
He took off his black robe and looked at himself in the mirror. Zhou Sheng Chen’s lips curled into a smile, obviously very happy.
“Five years! Five whole years! This old man finally died, and I finally got this ability.” Zhou Sheng Chen suddenly said to himself excitedly.