The sky was a clear, vibrant blue. The sun shone brightly through the mountains and forests, and the entire world felt calm and peaceful, with a unique sense of serenity.
"Click!"
"Boom!"
Suddenly, a series of thunderous sounds erupted overhead—genuine lightning strikes!
The previously cloudless sky darkened almost instantly, as if night was falling, due to the thunderclaps that seemed to tear the world apart.
"Puff!"
The continuous thunder abruptly ceased, replaced by a strange, irregular sound—like an amplified, muffled fart.
Following this odd noise, the sky couldn't hold itself together, as if it had eaten something bad. A flash of fire and lightning shot down from the gloomy clouds.
The brilliance grew brighter in the dim environment, making it dazzling to behold.
After this mix of fire and lightning descended, the world fell silent immediately.
Dark clouds that had obscured the sky quickly gathered and disappeared without a trace.
The sun continued to shine through the mountains and forests, and the sky was as clear as a tranquil lake.
Except for the distant forest, still glowing with fire and blue smoke, it was hard to believe what had just happened—almost like an illusion.
The rapid, violent scene of destruction and the sky changing color were shocking, as if the heavens were trying to expel something tumbling inside.
It was a moment of chaos, but the forest below suffered the consequences: trees were struck down, burning with green smoke. It took some time to extinguish the fires.
Amidst the smoky air, mixed with the smell of burnt wood, someone unlucky was affected by this rare spectacle and ended up resembling a barbecue.
As the smoke dispersed, the scene came into view.
A roughly ten-meter-wide circle of burnt ashes appeared in the relatively flat woods, evoking surprise and admiration once again. The handiwork of the divine—truly artistic.
In the center of the circle stood a completely scorched object, about one meter tall, with bursts of burnt flesh smell emanating from the top.
The world was quiet—only wisps of smoke still floated upward.
The sun's rays shone through the tall, dense trees surrounding the ashes, as if wondering what kind of noise the heavens had made and what was happening.
Time passed quietly. The smaller blue smoke dissipated completely, leaving no trace. It seemed like just an extraordinary spectacle.
Whether it was an illusion or something real, there was an almost inaudible sound coming from the top of the charred remains.
Gradually, several pieces of burnt shell fell away.
Two white, shiny "things" appeared behind the blackened shells—most startling, they still moved!
"Huh!"
"Huh!"
Han Cheng, feeling like he was suffocating, gasped for fresh air as if a fish returning to water after dying. It took a long moment to catch his breath.
He stared at the ashes in front of him, as well as the dense trees that almost blocked out the sky and sun. A confused look flashed in his eyes.
As his memory slowly returned, his eyes widened even more—if they weren't blocked by his eye sockets, they'd probably fall out!
Mother!
What's going on?
Wasn't I just looking for three foreign friends who had wandered into the desert and couldn't come back?
Why am I suddenly in this strange place?
Han Cheng stared at the dense, silent woods, full of confusion and surprise.
This definitely wasn't where he used to be.
That ghostly place had become a desert hundreds of years ago. If such dense woods existed, the three foreign friends wouldn't have been able to return!
He had searched for four or five days alone in the desert with his equipment, and hadn't seen his three dead foreign friends. Thinking about it made him furious.
How can he explain this now?
Based on what he knew, there was no way such dense forests could be within three hundred miles of where he was before!
That meant he had traveled at least three hundred miles!
—This...
Could it really be a crossing?
A ridiculous thought suddenly appeared in Han Cheng's mind, making his heart tremble.
Although he desperately wanted to deny this unreliable idea, combined with everything he had just seen, he had to consider it.
And there was only one clear explanation.
He didn't have any friends who liked pranks; in fact, he had no close friends at all.
If anything, he probably wouldn't have agreed to do something like this with Li Lin, who was supposed to be with him, or at a stall on Valentine's Day. He'd have done this alone.
Who makes him single in the team?
This alone ruled out the possibility of a prank.
As for hallucinations—impossible. Han Cheng was now very clear-headed. The pain all over his body reminded him that this was not a dream.
After the initial shock, Han Cheng's heart gradually relaxed.
Who cares! Anyway, I'm a person who's naked and unconcerned—alive is enough.
Crossing over and living differently isn't a big deal.
He'd read many novels in his free time and knew how happily traversers lived after their journeys.
Han Cheng wasn't greedy. Having three wives and four concubines, or being rich and powerful—none of that mattered to him.
He had worked hard in his previous life for half his life, yet achieved little. Now that he had a chance to start over, why go back to his old life?
Be kind to himself and make life easier.
Thinking this, he turned his attention to see if there were any other memories left, as described in novels.
He searched hard but found nothing unusual.
Looks like he's not carrying someone else's soul, nor did he bring anything back.
He thought about it for a while, planning to see if there was a system or some divine force like in the stories, and if there was nothing, he'd just remove the "little bird," shorten himself by 36 centimeters, and threaten people.
But again, he was disappointed—no sign of any system.
Han Cheng felt very depressed. Damn, why do others have systems to accompany them when they cross over, and they can all level up? Not even the most basic memories of their previous life!
He raised his hand to wipe his nose, a habitual movement when feeling down.
But something even more depressing happened: he couldn't move his hands. After a moment of thought, he realized he couldn't move his whole body—except his eyes, nose, and mouth, which could still breathe and move slightly!
He couldn't even make a sound!
Mother!
Are all good traversers favored by heaven? Can they confuse the air?
Why did everything change once I arrived here?
It's fine if I don't have some kind of cheat device. But to be a vegetable—what's the point?
This isn't what the basic laws say should happen!
"Shasha shasha..."
A series of faint sounds came from the forest on the left—the branches and leaves rustled gently.
Han Cheng, overwhelmed with grief and surprise, was overjoyed—It seems his noble savior is coming!
According to the novel's storyline, after crossing over, most people will meet kind nobles, especially vegetative beings like himself.