Chapter 1 A World Map

A series of news events seemed to unfold the moment Li Cheng颐 opened a world map link.

As this jumble of news information popped up, a massive amount of overall, macro-level information about this world flooded his mind.

'Ugh...' He put down his phone, gently covering his forehead, a constant stabbing pain radiating from the inner side.

A vast sea of data and memories surged forth, frantically merging with his current consciousness.

As the information poured in, he finally gained a comprehensive understanding of his predecessor's situation.

This was a unique era of bipolar hegemony, teetering on the brink of peace and war.

Yi and Bai Xing were the two poles in this struggle, the two great powers.

The Earth and Moon were influenced by the vast empire known as Yi. No country on the entire Earth and Moon could compete with Yi.

And where he lived now was Suiyang City, in the country of Yi.

Yi was a country somewhat similar to Hua, with similarities in culture, ideas, and lifestyle, but also many differences in the details.

As for Bai Xing, his predecessor didn't know much, after all, it was a true empire on another planet.

All he knew was that Bai Xing's technology was more advanced than that of the Earth and Moon, and it currently held the advantage in the bipolar rivalry.

And his predecessor was just an ordinary member of the millions of college students in Yi.

If he hadn't crossed over, without any unexpected occurrences, his predecessor would have lowered his standards after failing to find a good job and taken on work with lower income and social status.

Then he would slowly improve himself, look for opportunities, increase his income, then get married, have children, worry about their education and training, and so on, repeating the cycle.

Until he lived out his ordinary and unremarkable life.

But now, although he had memories from his past life, many things were simply not applicable in a different environment, and he was somewhat confused about what to do in the future, whether he could still go back, and what his plans were.

He was still in a state of disorientation, as if he had been forcibly inserted into a harmonious environment.

Apart from all this, in Li Cheng颐's impression...

This world, he felt, was strange in many ways.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but it was just a feeling, a feeling that arose from comparing it to his previous life, very strange.

After sitting for a while and looking up various information, he checked the time, and it was almost time to leave for school.

He was supposed to meet his tutor, Chen Shan, in half an hour, which was just enough time to get there.

Ding-dong.

Suddenly, a text message arrived.

Li Cheng颐 was about to put away his phone when he quickly glanced at the screen upon hearing the sound.

Text messages would automatically appear on the lit screen.

'A friend has a small garden with a pest problem, aren't you studying this kind of major? Come to this address and help take a look.' -- Lin Sang.

Li Cheng颐 thought for a moment and quickly replied.

'What kind of pest? Send a picture.'

'You'll know when you get here. Just think of it as helping me out. It's the same people you met this morning, getting on their good side will be beneficial for you, trust me!' -- Lin Sang.

'How much will it cost?' Li Cheng颐 asked again.

'You're charging for helping a friend? Do you have to be so stingy? Hurry up and come, you must arrive before 2 PM, or don't blame me for falling out with you.' Lin Sang said in a tone as if she was having a little tantrum.

In the past, whenever the three of them had any disputes, she would get angry, and the other two would soften and start trying to coax her.

So this trick was always effective.

Li Cheng颐 looked at the address she sent, about thirty-two kilometers away. Taking public transportation would definitely be too late, so he could only take a taxi. The taxi fare, plus the necessary medicine and pest detection cards, would cost several hundred to go back and forth.

And that was for a pest problem that was easy to treat. If it was a troublesome one, the cost of the medicine alone would be at least a thousand.

Although he wanted to live according to his predecessor's habits and slowly transition them into his own...

This matter was a bit too outrageous. He didn't know those people at all, which meant that going to help was actually doing Lin Sang a favor.

Putting aside whether it was worth it, he himself was still fuzzy on his memories, and didn't have the ability to do it.

So Li Cheng颐 decisively ignored Lin Sang, and then turned off his phone and put it on silent.

It wasn't just that he wasn't the predecessor, even if he was, without the filter of love, Lin Sang's request would be a waste of time and energy.

No longer paying attention to the vibrations from his phone, he quickly went out, got on a bus at the entrance of the residential area, and headed towards the school in the suburbs.

Suiyang University, a local comprehensive university located in the southern suburbs.

It occupied almost the equivalent of a small town, with dozens of buildings arranged in an orderly manner.

When Li Cheng颐 arrived, it was already more than twenty minutes later.

On the third floor of the school's Building One, he followed the nameplates and found the fifth office.

The office door was open, and two young men were standing not far from the door talking. Both of them wore glasses, one tall and one short, both dressed in shirts and trousers, looking refined.

Li Cheng颐 recognized them as Chen Shan's graduate students. They could also be considered his senior classmates.

"Rong Qing and Xu Nanhang are coming to participate in the school's symposium, and I am very happy about that, but I really can't get any extra spots. I have more than many other professors..."

Inside the office, next to a yellow wooden bookcase, a balding old man with silver-rimmed glasses, dressed in a suit and tie with a dark red tie and a white shirt underneath, was speaking in a low voice to a middle-aged woman in front of him.

He was Chen Shan, the guidance tutor of Li Cheng颐, majoring in plant conservation.

Seeing Li Cheng颐 enter, the balding man Chen Shan waved at him, signaling him to wait a moment, and then continued talking to the middle-aged woman.

The two seemed to be arguing over some quota.

Feeling bored, Li Cheng颐 didn't know what his tutor wanted him to come over for. His relationship with Chen Shan stemmed from the fact that he had been extremely outstanding in his plant conservation studies at school, which led to Chen Shan's appreciation and recommendation for him to participate in an advanced training course related to plant conservation.

Chen Shan also became Li Cheng颐's guidance tutor.

Originally, both Chen Shan and Li Cheng颐's predecessor thought that he would naturally apply to become Chen Shan's graduate student.

Unfortunately, they didn't expect that later, Li Cheng颐's talent and performance would not be enough to continue.

Later, Li Cheng颐 gave up. After a big fight with his sister, he gave up this major and this course, and chose to graduate and find a job directly.

After Chen Shan spoke with the middle-aged woman for a while, the woman snorted coldly and turned to leave with the form.

Chen Shan then took off his glasses wearily, rubbed his eyes, and looked at Li Cheng颐, who was sitting on the sofa to the side.

He had actually quite admired Li Cheng颐, this disciple, in the beginning.

But now....

He had a total of four students, the other three were his graduate students, one of whom was now a senior executive in a large company, and another had started his own professional logistics company and was on the rise.

Another one had stayed at the school to teach and had now published several top-tier academic papers with a bright future.

But only Li Cheng颐, the student he had once intended to take, was now....

"Xiao Yi, I took a look, your file hasn't been transferred out yet, so you probably haven't found a job yet, right?" He asked softly.

"Not yet, but I'm looking. Don't worry, I already have some leads." Li Cheng颐 got up and walked closer, he could vaguely see a trace of regret and helplessness in the man's eyes.

Behind him, outside the door, he could faintly hear the sounds of his other two senior classmates chatting, and it seemed that the last senior female classmate was also arriving by car.

"Don't be embarrassed. I know your temper." Chen Shan said in a low voice. As a teacher and student, although Li Cheng颐 was now down on his luck, he had decided to give him one last helping hand, and there happened to be an opportunity.

As he spoke, he opened the second drawer of his desk, took out a locked file, opened the metal lock, and pulled out a brown envelope that had already been wrapped.

"You can try this company, this is a letter of introduction that I wrote, their general manager is a good friend of mine from the past, it shouldn't be a problem to arrange a position for you." Chen Shan handed the envelope to Li Cheng颐.

"Tutor...." Li Cheng颐 was a little stunned and didn't know what to say.

"I also know a little about your family situation, your sister needs money, your parents have low incomes, and the factory has started to cut wages, but you have to believe that the difficulties are temporary. If you really can't do it, just call me!" Chen Shan said earnestly.

"I...." Li Cheng颐 suddenly felt a little touched. Although his predecessor was gone, it was really too rare to be able to meet someone who was truly good to him in one's life.

"Remember, don't waste your talent...." Chen Shan sighed, patted Li Cheng颐 on the shoulder, and stuffed the letter into his hand.

Compared to the development of other students, with all the glory, the situation of Li Cheng颐 in front of him seemed even more difficult.

"Thank you." Li Cheng颐 took a step back earnestly and bowed.

"I will remember it."

"Go, go." Chen Shan waved his hand, his expression a bit lonely.

He lowered his head and picked up a pack of cigarettes from the corner of the desk, took one out and put it in his mouth, and was about to look for a lighter, but after feeling around for a while, he put it down again.

Putting the cigarette back down, he no longer spoke, waved at Li Cheng颐 again, and turned his back to him, looking at the pink flowers outside the window.

Li Cheng颐 bowed again, turned around and left with the letter.

Walking out of the office, he turned to go downstairs and almost bumped into a red-haired girl wearing a yellow short leather jacket and tight gray trousers.

"Ah, you are....?" The girl paused, seeming to recognize Li Cheng颐.

"It's Chen Pi, long time no see." Li Cheng颐 recognized the other party. The girl in front of him was Chen Pi, Professor Chen Shan's own daughter, who had been studying abroad and had only recently returned.

Back then, his predecessor and Chen Pi were quite familiar, and they often joked that when he started a company and made it big, he would let Chen Pi be his secretary.

Now it seemed....

"Chen Pi, hurry up, over here." Chen Pi was about to reply when someone suddenly called her from the office.

"See you at the alumni association tonight." She smiled and walked away quickly.

Li Cheng颐 didn't have time to reply, and saw the other party walking away quickly.

The alumni association was for people who had achieved some success, and he was someone who hadn't even found a job after graduating...

He glanced back, watching the three of them walk together, the two senior classmates looking like successful people, constantly chatting intimately with Chen Pi.

His predecessor should have been one of them, but....

Without saying anything, he turned around and walked downstairs.

Downstairs, there were two cars parked, one black and one white, parked quite tightly.

Li Cheng颐 looked around and chose to pass through the gap between the vehicles.

He walked forward quickly with his head down, and after walking for a distance, he suddenly stopped in front of the rearview mirrors of the two cars.

'What's that?'

His eyes were fixed on the rearview mirror in front of him.

In the mirror, on the back of his right hand, there seemed to be a dark black pattern, like vines and roots.

The pattern extended from the back of his hand all the way to his wrist, as if something was parasitic on the back of his hand and had grown roots.

Swish.

Li Cheng颐 raised his right hand and looked down closely, the back of his hand was smooth and white, there was nothing there.

No pattern, not even a scar.

He shifted his gaze to the rearview mirror again.

In the rearview mirror of the car, his right hand was clearly reflected, with a black pattern the size of an egg.

But in reality, he waved his hand, and there was nothing on the back of his hand.

Li Cheng颐 felt a little dazed. He had just been immersed in thinking about his future job and future plans.

At this moment, the scene in front of him instantly pulled him out of reality and made him recall the strange experiences of the previous night.

He recalled the dream that was so real it felt like reality.

And now this situation had appeared again....

'What is this thing?'

He carefully stroked the black pattern against the rearview mirror, but couldn't feel anything. He could only see that the shape of the pattern seemed very similar to the flower bushes he had last seen before he crossed over.

Those dark, strange, mysterious flower bushes!