Chapter One: A Dream That Was Not a Dream
Li Daoran looked around, left and right; everything here was so novel to him. A bus-like flying car rose from the ground—he had just arrived in it. He had originally been a sophomore at university, spending his holidays at home, just finished lunch and was napping, when he inexplicably found himself here.
This must be a dream, he thought.
After getting off the vehicle, he fell in line behind others. Finally, it was his turn. Since it was a dream, he acted with a bit more abandon.
He addressed the nurse registering people, dressed in white, “Nurse, what are you all doing here? Do you think I look handsome?”
The nurse looked up, rolled her eyes, and said, “You’re the tenth person today brave enough to flirt with me. You go to Class Ten. Move ahead—see that burly man who looks like a bear? That’s Bear Instructor. He’ll be in charge of you now. Don’t say I’m not looking out for you; that’s a reconnaissance training camp, most people can’t even get in.”
Li Daoran’s mouth fell open when he spotted the instructor, towering among the crowd, barking profanities at the recruits, his spit flying everywhere.
He wanted to retort, but the nurse waved him off, “Hurry up, there are people waiting behind you.”
“Sister, I’m sorry. I really am.” If Li Daoran could choose again, he’d never have spoken so recklessly.
The nurse cast him a disdainful glance, “Go get your injection, then pick up your uniform. Change and return to your squad. Weren’t you bold just now? Little brother, you softened pretty quickly. You disappoint me.”
Li Daoran’s face flushed. He thought, since it’s a dream, I might as well go all out. Enduring that kind of teasing? I’m not a Ninja Turtle.
He struck quickly and lightly, and seeing the nurse’s stunned expression, he was secretly delighted. He dashed away.
“Troublemaker, don’t let me catch you again!” the nurse called after him.
Li Daoran arrived at the next station, behaving himself this time—this nurse was armed with a syringe.
The fine needle pierced his biceps, slowly injecting the contents.
He gasped—dear heavens, it hurt so much! Isn’t this a dream? Why does the pain feel so real?
A troubling thought crept in: was this not a dream, but a crossing into another world?
“Hey, you’re done. Move on. Next! This batch of recruits is the worst I’ve ever seen.”
Li Daoran took a set of green camouflage clothes and a wristwatch. The outfit resembled a military training uniform, but the material was much better.
Putting it on, he felt a cool sensation against his skin. The watch bound automatically, prompting him to report to the Class Ten Reconnaissance Camp and displaying a map route.
He felt lost, but didn’t dare dawdle, so he followed the instructions to stand before the Bear Instructor.
“Name?”
“Li Daoran.”
“From now on, you’re number 1019. Ten’s your class, nineteen your student number.”
“Got it.”
“This is a military camp. Answer loudly, none of that soft tone like a woman. Understood?”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t hear you—louder.”
“Yes!!”
“Good. Stand third in the first row. Rejoin your squad.”
“Yes!”
“My name’s Xiong Kaishan, your instructor. Just call me Bear Instructor. I don't tolerate weaklings. Anyone who doesn’t follow orders can spend some time in the infirmary. Let me tell you, a famous student from the last batch spent a whole month there. I put him in, he came out, I put him in again. For a whole month. If any of you want to try, I’ll let you—try it and you’ll meet your end. First, run three laps around the base, let’s see your basics. Start now.” The burly instructor announced.
The wristwatch chimed: “Trainee 1019, new instruction received: run three laps around the base, total distance 30 kilometers. Please complete the task as directed.”
Li Daoran tasted bitterness in his mouth. Looking at the route on his watch—thirty kilometers. Was this meant to kill him?
Wake up, wake up, please wake up.
He kept wishing to awaken.
The world spun, shattering like glass before his eyes, everything breaking into fragments and sucked into a vortex.
When Li Daoran opened his eyes again, he found himself back on his familiar planet, Azure Water Star.
He sat up abruptly, feeling suddenly relieved. Everything from the dream lingered vividly in his memory.
He knocked his head and rubbed his eyes, but something felt off—as though there was a double image before his eyes.
He picked up his phone to check, thinking to make a post sharing his nightmare—maybe it was an omen; hearing those so-called experts talk nonsense was amusing.
But as soon as he opened the webpage, he was flooded by sensational headlines, and there was a live thread with tens of millions participating.
“Shocking!!! The entire world witnessed someone flirting with a nurse—is this moral decay or a twist of human nature?”
“Shocking!!! Bus-like flying cars spotted at a military base.”
“Suddenly, the whole world can see the same scene—is it an alien plot or a demonstration by superhumans?”
Li Daoran blurted, “Holy—”
He clicked into the live thread.
“Triple slow-motion—just think about slowing it down, and it’ll sync with our time. I’m used to double speed myself, but suit yourselves.”
“When you think about closing it, you stop seeing it—it’s not forced viewing. I think it’s an alien scheme, letting us see how aliens live. Their technology is so much more advanced, but we’re not afraid. Just go for it.”
A series of posts gave Li Daoran a bad feeling.
Suddenly, a post was pinned, its popularity soaring to number one.
“Pull the progress bar to the latest—he’s back! Really back! One ‘Holy—’ across the world? Anyone got analysis on his location? I want to pay my respects.”
“The expert’s watching—look at the phone screen, watching this post. Why not just ask? Who are you? Where are you? Looks like you’re in a bedroom. No need to type, just speak, we can hear you.”
Li Daoran tried, “Can you hear me?”
A flurry of replies: Yes, we can.
“You guys think the enforcement squad will arrest me and treat me as an alien? I swear, I’m a bona fide native of Azure Water Star.”
“Hard to say—my advice, be careful and hand your tech over to the state. Might save your hide. Dog-head shield.”
“No, no, we’re watching—don’t close the stream, you’ll be fine.”
Close the stream? Li Daoran thought about how to shut it off, so he mentally commanded the live broadcast to close.
He checked the thread again.
“Expert, why did you close the stream? It’s blacked out! Turn it back on.”
Li Daoran thought about turning it back on, and instantly the double image reappeared.
He roughly understood how to operate it now.
“Everyone, check the latest posts—do you have a needle mark on your arm?”