Translator’s note: Here’s the first three chapters to celebrate this new project; also because Chapter 4 is when the ‘instance’ comes and I want us to get to it fast. =)
I once purposely cast out a pawn.
Someone asked me why I abandoned it.
I answered — out of pity.
It was still early when Si Chen woke up.
Because of his bad eyesight, he didn’t bother turning on the lights. Instead, he fumbled to turn on the radio and listened to the morning news.
“A new Space Fold has materialized in Zhuangshan District, resulting in 143 missing people and 21 deaths. According to assessment from experts, the danger level of this Space Fold is 3a. The area has already been isolated. Citizens are advised to take shelter and wait for the Space Fold to end.”
Because the sound insulation of the rooms here was so poor, Si Chen even heard the sneer from the resident next door. “3a? Why don’t they just build a tourist attraction there?”
Si Chen said nothing. He climbed out of bed and went down the ladder. He took out two eggs from the refrigerator and prepared to make breakfast for himself.
With how advanced their current technology is, it only takes 10 seconds for the water in the heat transfer pot to boil on the induction cooker.
Si Chen put the eggs in then suddenly covered his mouth tightly, suppressing a few hoarse coughs.
The resident next door said quietly, “Sickling.”
The rooms here were very small, like pigeon coops.
Si Chen’s room didn’t have a toilet and there was only enough room for a bunk bed. He sleeps on the top bunk while the lower bunk was the kitchen and locker. It was installed with a small washing machine and microwave oven. Turning around brought you face to face with the only sink in the room.
In total, the room was 5.2 square meters but because it was in the “Safe Zone” and facing the sun, the price was extremely expensive.
That Si Chen was able to live in such a coffin was already the kind of jackpot that many people could only dream of.
200 years ago, the world’s first large-scale Space Fold incident occurred. Hundreds of Space Folds materialized simultaneously. All combined, they trapped nearly 400 million people. These Space Folds lasted for several years and none of the 400 million people survived.
A rare term entered the vocabulary of the general public: High Dimensional Invasion.
Within time and space there is a total of ten dimensions and the universe they lived in is in the fourth dimension, the hunting ground and breeding ground for creatures of other dimensions. The Space Folds that appeared at different times are channels connecting the different planes.
Areas where the frequency of “High Dimensional Invasion events” is lower than 1 is called a Safe Zone. Here, there’s peace and order. The economy prospered and technology flourished. Other districts are called “Disaster Zones”.
One percent of the world’s land area accommodates nearly 30 percent of the world’s “citizens.”
…
…
Order was restored after chaos and it is now the 47th year of the New Calendar.
Si Chen is 22 years old and an orphan. In the world after the High Dimensional Invasion, there were many orphans like him.
Orphans are handed over to the state to be raised until they are 12 years old, after which they are assigned to different factories after completing their compulsory education.
Only a very small number of people can obtain the qualifications to continue their studies.
Si Chen has always had excellent grades since he was a child and was lucky to be among the one percent to be included in the admission quota. After finishing middle school, he was admitted to university, beating out thousands of others. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in biology. In the end, he ranked first in the school and signed a contract to join the biological laboratory of the Serpent Staff Group, becoming a researcher.
Diplomas are extremely valuable these days.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The small and narrow room that Si Chen currently lives in is staff housing provided by the company. An ordinary college student wouldn’t be able to get it.
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Many investment managers from different foundations had come to see him, but they all regrettably passed him up in the end.
“Your grades are excellent but…” Every time, those managers hesitated to speak, their regretful eyes always stayed on Si Chen’s face.
Si Chen was very good-looking, like a graceful tree bearing fragrant orchids. Probably even God couldn’t allow such perfection, his left eye was a hazy white. But this was no gift because this was a disability.
He was blind in one eye.
As a disabled person who receives 300 credits a month from the state, he was directly disqualified for the Glorious Evolution.
The so-called Glorious Evolution is the fusion of human beings with High Dimensional objects, bringing about new life forms. Many people die in the process, but those who succeed all without exception gain great power.
One of the reasons why graduate school tuition is so expensive is that every graduate student gets a chance to evolve for free.
Data shows that the better the physical fitness, the higher the probability of a successful fusion. For a disabled person like Si Chen, the success rate is basically zero. No one wanted to gamble with the few High Dimensional objects available.
Investing in Si Chen was not worth the risk.
Today was a rare day off and Si Chen was headed to the hospital.
The place where he had grown up in had severe nuclear pollution and so he suffered from a genetic disease since he was a child. He needed to go to the hospital to get medicine every once in a while.
After breakfast, Si Chen put on his sunglasses, took out his walking stick and made his way to the elevator. In a civilized society where order still existed, being blind saved him a lot of trouble.
He lived on the 66th floor and took the elevator all the way down. The residents who greeted him along the way were very amiable.
College students like him who moved from the Disaster Zone to the Safe Zone are very much respected.
Everyone knows how difficult it is nowadays to get a resident’s permit; not to mention that Si Chen was immediately allocated a flat after graduation. Although he had some minor disability, he could still be considered a giant among men.
Si Chen entered the transport station and took the bus to the hospital.
Because of the high cost of medical treatment, not many patients come to the hospital. Si Chen had an appointment and came to the consultation room without waiting for too long.
The doctor who was in charge of his case was a senior from his university named Du Jingtian.
Du Jingtian used the scanner to load his data. He paused as he was filling out the form, “You used up 10 gene medicines in one month?”
Si Chen, seated in front of him, lowered his head slightly, looking a little nervous. “I’m poor health.”
“I know you’re in poor health.” Du Jingtian “tsk”-ed a little irritably. “Si Chen, with your citizenship certificate, gene medicines only cost a thousand but this thing costs 30,000 on the black market. You only need one tube a week for your illness. But every month you come and I give you 10 tubes.”
He lowered his voice. “Don’t take me for a fool. It’s enough even if you just sell half of it; if the dose I prescribed to you is discovered, you can kiss your performance appraisal for the next three years goodbye.”
Si Chen took off his sunglasses, one black and one white eye filled with hazy tears.
“Shixiong,” His hands trembled slightly. “I’m sorry.”
Du Jingtian’s back stiffened.
Si Chen covered his face with his hands, warm tears overflowed from between his fingers. “I want to go to graduate school. I passed the exam, but I can’t afford the tuition.”
“I should have been recommended for graduate studies. But last year’s experimental data was tampered with. Someone changed my data. In the end, the presidium decided that I had committed academic fraud. My spot was taken away. I was framed, I was framed…”
Si Chen bit his lips tightly. His body trembling all over. “Those four years I studied in university, I’ve always been first. My classmates were all SS, but only I was able to be a researcher starting all the way from the bottom. Shixiong, I just can’t accept it.”
Du Jingtian opened his mouth. Several times, he made to say something, but in the end, he could only sigh.
Although he had graduated a year earlier, he had heard a little about Si Chen. After talking amongst themselves for a bit, everyone agreed that Si Chen had probably been framed.
But it was the Ji Family Si Chen had offended back then; who would dare to stand up for him?
Donglan University is the best university in the world. It recruits students from all walks of life, but most of the students who can get in are either rich or at the very least have permanent residence in the Safe Zones.
There was a huge gap in resources in education. Si Chen was from the Disaster Zone, orphaned and disabled. It was no exaggeration to say that it had been a miracle that he was admitted to university.
But that was all. This was as far as he could reach. In today’s world there was no need for geniuses. What it needed were batteries and screws that could be replaced at any time.
Du Jingtian still remembered the first time he met Si Chen. He followed behind his mentor, looking a little embarrassed. His black and white eyes were like beautiful glass beads.
Du Jingtian’s heart softened and he said helplessly, “Go and take the medicine.”
He presented the medical bill to Si Chen.
Si Chen raised his head, a faint sparkle in his eyes. “…Thank you.”
He took the medicine and left the consulting room. He kept his head down and put on his sunglasses to cover up the faint scorn and ridicule in his eyes.
Just now Du Jingtian had brushed against his finger and it made him feel nauseous.
In fact, Si Chen didn’t dislike this senior. He was even thankful for his kindness. It was simply that he couldn’t help but feel nauseous at any form of touch.
It was true that his postgraduate spot had been snatched away. It was also true that he wanted to continue his studies. Everything had been real except the tears.
Si Chen knew he was pitiful. But he didn’t care much.
When he left the hospital, Si Chen, being that he was in a good mood, felt like have a smoke.
But he had just put his hand in his pocket when he immediately took it out again.
Cigarettes are a monopolized resource these days. Because they are added with tranquilizers and dopamine hormones, they are considered hard currency during transactions.
He was carrying on him a translucent plastic bag, which contained a box of cold medicine. No one knew that it actually contained ten expensive tubes of gene medicine.
RH type gene repair fluid. This is a low-end product developed by the company Si Chen worked for. It is also the most widely circulated gene repair fluid on the market.
There was an old street near the hospital, to the back of the transport station. It hasn’t been repaired for many years and the tiles were covered with black grime.
Of course, the most important thing was that the surveillance here was broken. There was no one monitoring this place.
Si Chen walked into the “Shancheng Noodle Restaurant”. He put down his stick and ordered a bowl of noodles.
Now it was meal time and there were many people coming in and out to eat.
He took his stick and tapped it six times on the ground in a bored manner. This was their agreed upon signal.
Half a minute later, a young man came in and sat opposite him.
Si Chen looked calmly at the other party.
The person opposite looked very ordinary. Amidst the crowd, he would be like a drop of water melting into the sea. The only noteworthy characteristic was his perpetually upturned lips, looking like he had on a smile, giving people an illusion of kindness.
The young man took the medicine and weighed it in his hand. “Ten tubes?”
“En.”
The young man found it a bit interesting. “But your health is really bad, why don’t you save some for yourself?”
Si Chen couldn’t help raising his head and looked at him like he was some idiot. “If I get better, how am I supposed to get medicine to sell?”
But the main reason was that this kind of low-level gene repair fluid had no effect on him. However, given his citizenship rights, he couldn’t buy better medicines.
The young man choked and he asked in a low voice, “I got a big order recently and I can make a lot of money. Do you want in?”
Si Chen didn’t even lift his eyes. “No.”
He was very interested in making money but he knew what could and couldn’t be done.
There were some who got themselves killed over this kind of thing.
Si Chen cherished his life. After all, only by living could he have a future. He was alone and he didn’t know who would benefit from the inheritance after his death.
Seeing Si Chen’s resolute attitude, the young man didn’t force it. He put a card under the plate. “I’ll treat you to this meal.”
Neither of them knew who the other was and Si Chen didn’t care where the medicine would go. He put the card in his wallet.
Nothing fishy; deal closed. The young man slurped up his noodles and left with the medicine.
A while later, Si Chen’s noodles arrived. Red oil and spicy peppers had been poured onto the thin noodles. There was also a small half bowl of pork to go with it. It smelled delicious.
Si Chen ate very happily.
He did the math and estimated that he had already saved almost two million. At this rate, he’ll be able to enter graduate school next year.
A graduate degree can lead to higher citizenship ratings and better-paying jobs. Most importantly, it would allow him to qualify for the Glorious Evolution.
This good mood lasted until he left the restaurant and was on his way to the transport station. When he made the turn, a sharp knife was pressed against his lower back.
Si Chen took a deep breath, clenched his stick tightly. “Who are you?”
The knife was pointing to his kidney.
If a kidney is removed, the patient wouldn’t die. But if the kidney is ruptured, he may die from internal bleeding.
“Si Chen, from the Disaster Zone. You’ve been through two Space Folds. You majored in genetic biology at Donglan University, earning a bachelor’s degree.” The knife was poking through his clothes. He was turned around gently. “Now you work in a scientific research institute under the Serpent Staff Group and live in a capsule apartment at No. 107 Chang’an Street. Single with no close relatives. Guess how long it will take for someone to find out you’ve disappeared?”
When Si Chen asked his question, he wasn’t actually curious about who it was. He was just gathering information.
The speaker had a clear voice and didn’t sound too old. It was unfamiliar. Either a stranger or someone using a false voice.
“What do you want?” Si Chen’s voice trembled nervously, but his expression was unusually calm.
Shen Yanxing: “I…”
His words though were a diversion, because the next moment, the stick in Si Chen’s hand shifted.
He struck mercilessly, with such force that under normal circumstances would have broken a person’s knee.
But when the stick made of special alloy hit Shen Yanxing’s knee, it only made a harsh hum that could have only resulted from metal colliding with metal.
Si Chen’s heart sank and his eyes twitched for a bit.
He was held by the wrist and pressed against the wall.
Si Chen was not short, with a height of 180. His joints were naturally also not that small. But Shen Yanxing only needed one hand to immobilize him.
Si Chen felt it, the hand holding him was abnormally cold.
Shen Yanxing was wearing a mechanical prosthesis.
“College students nowadays are so spicy.” Shen Yanxing took off the sunglasses Si Chen used to pretend being blind and asked with a smile, “How about a business deal?”
lol I was gonna ask if there was a mistake with his left eye being blind but then he wears the sunglasses and has a blind-mans stick. Turns out he’s faking full blindness XD
interstellar x unlimited flow? I’m in! anyway, if i haven’t read the summary i would thought that shen yanxing is the ml 😅
Not a pushover, clang…
I’m exited 😄
When he started crying, I was quite doubtful xd like: ಠಿヮಠ fr?