Chapter 1: Three years... Do you know how I made it through these three years?

New Era, May 23, 2022, Monday, 2:00 a.m.

Daxia · Chengjiang University Dormitory.

Ethan Foster lay dazed on his bed.

The five other roommates in the dorm had long since fallen asleep. From the upper bunk, Grace Howard, and from the next bed, Henry Clark, there were occasional faint teeth-grinding sounds.

But Ethan Foster... was suffering from insomnia.

Insomnia always comes so suddenly, catching you completely off guard.

Ethan Foster stared blankly, gazing at the starry sky. His thoughts in his mind were as chaotic as a flurry of wild punches, hammering away in disorder.

After his thoughts punched east and hammered west... a sudden idea flashed through his mind.

[What if I graduated tomorrow, just like that? What would happen?]

—Ethan Foster wasn't dissatisfied with his university life. It was fulfilling, and he got along well with his roommates. He wouldn't get tired of this kind of college life even after a few more years.

This thought was purely a fleeting spark as his mind wandered.

But because of his insomnia, he continued to follow this train of thought, hoping it would help ease his symptoms.

[First of all, after graduation, I’d definitely have to step into society and find a job, right?]

His family was just middle-class, with no throne waiting to be inherited. If he didn’t work, he’d starve.

So, he’d have to find a job that suited him as much as possible and begin his long career of clocking in and out.

If he could find a compatible wife along the way and live a good life, that would be even better.

If he was lucky, maybe he could live to retirement age, relying on a generous pension to get by—assuming the retirement age didn’t get pushed back again.

His thoughts kept expanding... starting to pound at his skull.

Time slipped by quietly.

3:00 a.m.

Ethan Foster was still wide awake, his eyes bright.

[Not good!]

If he kept going, he felt like he’d even start thinking up names for his future granddaughter.

If this went on, when would a man ever get to sleep?

"I can’t keep imagining things."

Ethan Foster tried hard to empty his mind.

This method was much more effective.

Before long, his brain finally stopped thinking.

……

……

Morning. The rising sun clocked in for work right on time.

Ethan Foster woke up. Although he’d been sleepless for the first half of the night, the second half’s sleep was unexpectedly good and restful. So even though he’d only slept half the night, he felt energetic.

"Monday morning, there should be three classes. Time to get up," he thought.

Sunlight streamed through the curtains, falling on his face.

Ethan Foster couldn’t help but raise his hand to block the light.

"Huh?" As he lifted his hand, he felt his arm was a bit heavy—not because something was pressing on it, but because his arm itself seemed heavier?

Not just his arm, but his whole body felt heavy.

Did his weight just hire new employees?

But wasn’t the number of new weight employees a bit scary this time? It was just one night!

"I’ll have to pay attention to exercise from now on." Ethan Foster turned over and sat up halfway, opening his eyes.

And then.

He was stunned...

[???]

As soon as he opened his eyes, he found he wasn’t in his university dorm, but in a somewhat unfamiliar room.

The bed wasn’t a bunk bed, but a big bed you could roll around on.

Familiar roommates Grace Howard, William Bolton, Henry Clark... were all nowhere to be seen!

[What the heck?]

[Where is this place?]

[Wasn’t I just suffering from insomnia last night, staring at the stars, imagining half the night about "The Life of 许奇寂"? What happened after that? Was I abducted by aliens?]

The question marks in his mind scrolled by like a barrage of comments.

Each question mark could be exchanged for a cute little "卧艹".

[At this point, should I panic a little and go through the motions?]

Ethan Foster was panicking big time.

But his heartbeat was steady, not giving his owner any face at all.

The panic routine hadn’t even started before it was cut off.

In this state of "physical calm," Ethan Foster began to move his gaze, examining the things in the room.

What he saw was a normal human home decor, with no sign of alien high-tech spaceships—so most likely, he hadn’t been abducted by aliens. A bit disappointing, honestly. He was actually looking forward to that kind of development.

Then he shifted his gaze to the window, looking at the outside world.

It felt both familiar and strange—the kind of general familiarity, but with details changed enough to make it feel unfamiliar, a blend of two sensations.

"Hmm!" Ethan Foster calmly analyzed and thought carefully, quickly spotting the problem.

Oh my god...

Isn’t this our old house in the small town of Hushan City?

Back when Ethan Foster was in high school, his dad bought a house in Hushan City, but they kept the old house in the town.

Actually, the old house was only built a few years ago—a five-story building. Ethan Foster still had some memories of this house and the things around it.