The April breeze drifted gently through Nanjiang Town, carrying the scent of fresh grass and blooming flowers. Morning light stretched lazily across the cracked tiles and faded walls of an old courtyard home. Birds chirped faintly in the distance, blending into the quiet rhythm of rural life.
Lin Mu sat on a creaky bamboo chair just outside the main door, a cup of steaming brown sugar ginger tea in his hand. The tea warmed his palms, but his thoughts were far from comfort.
He had graduated from a technical college a year ago, but work had been elusive. Job after job either required connections he didn't have or experience he couldn't acquire. He returned home to help with his parents' small, aging grocery store. Business had been declining for years, and the competition from large chain stores in the city made things worse.
Still, Lin Mu wasn't someone who easily complained. Even when life was hard, he believed in moving forward one step at a time.
"Just another quiet day," he murmured to himself, taking a slow sip of tea.
The town was still asleep, except for the faint clatter of a breakfast stall down the street. The familiar scent of soy milk and fried dough wafted through the air, tugging at his memories of high school days. Life was slow here, almost as if time itself had decided to walk rather than run.
As he stood up to head to the store, a faint buzzing came from inside his room.
It was his phone.
Strange.
He hadn't used it all morning, and the battery had been nearly dead last night. He stepped inside, the old wooden floor creaking beneath his feet, and found his phone glowing faintly on the bedside table. The screen was on, though he clearly remembered turning it off before sleeping.
A new app was sitting in the middle of the screen, icon pulsing gently like a heartbeat. There was no name beneath it—just a symbol: a circle within a square, shimmering with a soft, bluish hue.
He frowned. Did I download something in my sleep?
Cautiously, Lin Mu tapped the icon.
The screen turned black.
Then, white text appeared:
"Welcome, Lin Mu. Access granted."
Before he could react, a blinding light flashed, and the room vanished from under his feet.
---
Lin Mu opened his eyes and found himself standing in the middle of a vast, unfamiliar valley.
The sky was a gentle shade of blue, clouds drifting lazily overhead. The air was crisp and fresh, scented faintly with pine and wildflowers. A river sparkled nearby, its waters impossibly clear. Tall grass swayed in the breeze, and the land stretched in every direction, bordered by misty hills in the distance.
Where... am I? he thought, heart pounding.
Just as panic began to set in, a soft chime rang in the air, and a translucent screen appeared before him.
---
[Portable World System Activated]
Host: Lin Mu
Time Ratio: 100:1 (1 day in the real world = 100 days inside)
Functions Unlocked:
• Farming Plot (Level 1)
• Spring Water Source
• Basic Storage Hut
• Return Point
---
"What kind of dream is this…" he muttered, blinking in disbelief.
He reached down and touched the soil. It felt warm and rich. Real. The river's water was ice-cold against his fingers. He could smell the grass. Hear the birds. Everything was vividly, unmistakably real.
Still unsure, Lin Mu explored cautiously. The valley was peaceful, serene—like something from an ancient painting. At the center was a small wooden shed, and beside it, a neat square of tilled land. Next to that, a bubbling spring fed into the river.
Another screen popped up as he approached the field.
---
[Farming Plot - Level 1]
• Current size: 10m x 10m
• Soil fertility: High
• Crop growth speed: x10
• Seed Bank: [Basic Vegetables]
→ Plantable: Chinese cabbage, scallions, carrots, spinach
---
He stared in silence. It didn't make sense. And yet, it all felt real.
On a whim, he selected "Chinese cabbage" and "scallions" from the seed bank. The seeds appeared in his hands—warm, earthy, fragrant. He crouched down and planted them gently into the soil, smoothing it over with practiced care. He'd helped his grandfather plant vegetables in their tiny garden as a child. The memory made him smile.
A gentle glow spread across the field, and before his eyes, green sprouts began to rise—fast. In less than a minute, they had become young plants, already taking root.
"Unbelievable…" he whispered.
He stood up and glanced around. There was no one else here. No noise, no interruptions, no demands—just nature, quiet and pure. Time here felt like it had slowed down... or rather, everything outside had stopped moving.
"Portable world... So, I can come in and out?" he said aloud, hoping for a response.
As if answering him, a gentle ring echoed in the air.
---
[Would you like to return to the real world?]
[Y/N]
---
Lin Mu hesitated only a moment before choosing "Yes".
The same flash of light engulfed him.
---
When he opened his eyes, he was back in his room. The cup of tea still steamed gently. Not a second seemed to have passed.
He stood there in stunned silence.
It's real. I wasn't hallucinating. I really went somewhere else.
He sat down slowly, staring at his phone.
---
For the rest of the morning, he couldn't stop thinking about the place. He tried going back—and it worked. He visited it three more times, each time experimenting. He planted more vegetables, drew spring water into a gourd, even discovered wild herbs growing in the hills. When he brought the vegetables back—fresh, fragrant, and vibrant—he cooked them for lunch.
His mother took one bite and paused.
"Where did you buy this spinach?" she asked, surprised. "It tastes like something from twenty years ago."
Lin Mu smiled. "Just a new supplier I found."
He said nothing more. The secret was his alone—for now.
---
That night, as the stars blinked above the tiled roof, Lin Mu lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. His mind was racing, but in a quiet, steady way.
For the first time in months—maybe years—he felt like his life was no longer standing still.
If I can grow vegetables in a world where time flows slower... maybe I can sell them. Maybe I can build something. A small business. A small life. A quiet future.
He reached for his phone again.
The icon still pulsed quietly on the screen, waiting.
He smiled.
Tomorrow would be the first day of something new.
---
End of Chapter 1