Chapter 1: The Terrible World |
"In the year 2005, on February 19, a colossal beast, standing over a hundred meters tall and resembling a raging ape, emerged from the outskirts of the Eastern Capital, rampaging through the city and causing widespread destruction. After hundreds of thousands of casualties, it was besieged and eventually killed by three fleets from the Federal Base. During the battle, the stationed forces used a nuclear warhead equivalent to a million tons of TNT and one hundred fifty cruise missiles, while suffering the destruction of fifteen fighter jets..."
"In the year 2005, on the morning of June 1st, a colossal beast, measuring three thousand meters in length and resembling a mythical whale, appeared in the sky above Han City, once again triggering widespread panic. Fortunately, this colossal beast was far less aggressive, and its presence lasted only a short fifteen minutes, causing minimal casualties. During this period, the colossal beast disappeared despite being subjected to missile bombardment from Federal forces..."
"In the year 2005, on August 3, a colossal beast, measuring a thousand meters in length and resembling the mythical earthly python, appeared in the city of Laal in the Aukerdi Sea, causing extensive destruction. This incident resulted in the injury and death of over a million people, ultimately concluding with the colossal beast leaving with only minor injuries. The military expended three nuclear warheads—each equivalent to a million tons of TNT—three hundred twenty other missiles, five warships, and an incalculable amount of ammunition. Thus, a new era begins..."
The year 2055, evening.
In a bedroom, a young man sat in front of the computer with a serious expression as he carefully examined the mythological era information he’d found on the internet. After a while, Chen Chu rubbed his temples, feeling a headache. "What a dangerous world this is..."
Chen Chu had spent most of the day organizing the chaotic memories of this life. In the process, he had discovered that the history, technology, and civilization of this world were remarkably similar to the one he knew before.
But everything took a turn several decades ago when colossal beasts resembling mythical creatures appeared.
With the arrival of these colossal beasts, the entire world underwent a transformation. Martial practitioners, who had vanished after the advent of firearms, resurfaced once again. After decades of development, some powerful cultivators could achieve extraordinary feats. They could directly withstand missile bombardments, sink aircraft carriers with their bare hands, and tear apart colossal beasts—truly formidable and terrifying. Even as various federal nations researched more advanced technology and weapons, the trend of cultivation also flourished widely.
This, however, wasn’t what was giving Chen Chu a headache.
Chen Chu turned his head to look at the glass water tank beside him, his gaze fixing on the salamander lying on a stone within. The creature, ten centimeters long, had a completely white body, four limbs, and six delicate pink horns.
With economic development and an improvement in living standards, the pet market in this world had become increasingly prosperous, featuring a diverse array of breeds. Cats and dogs went without saying, but keeping lizards, raising pythons—these had become commonplace. There were even people who enjoyed keeping ants and other insects. This amphibious six-horned salamander was one such pet; he had even set up a nicely decorated crystal glass cabinet for it.
That was the last thing Chen Chu was thinking about, however, for in this moment, he could feel the presence of two bodies in his mind.
One was the sensation of sitting in a chair as a human, and the other was the peculiar feeling of being on all fours and breathing through gills. Compared to the easy control of the human body, the small body made him feel somewhat uncoordinated, and he hesitated to move it around.
It was like having a single-core processor trying to suddenly handle the tasks of a dual-core processor—the computational power struggled to keep up. The sudden addition of another "body" left him confused and bewildered.
He didn’t know what caused this situation, or why he had experienced a crossover rebirth. A part of him also wondered if there would be any consequences for him if this six-horned dragon were to die. What use did this body serve, anyway? It was smaller than his palm, and even if it fattened up, it wouldn’t be enough for so much as a couple of bites.
Chen Chu sat in the chair, pondering many things, but… it was all useless.
His thoughts were interrupted when a boy, who looked strong and earnest, pushed open the door and shouted to Chen Chu. "Big brother, it’s time to eat."
"Oh, I’m coming." Chen Chu stood up.
In this life, he assumed the identity of a first-year high school student. Although only in the first year, by the standards of this world, he was already considered an adult. He had a thirteen-year-old younger brother, and his mother worked as a frontline manager in a metal refining company. His father was said to have passed away at a very early age from a sickness; natural causes, nothing unexpected.
So, there wouldn’t be a melodramatic plot where Chen Chu’s father mysteriously disappeared during his childhood, only for him and his brother to discover the truth later on, leading to a vengeful and dramatic storyline. There was also no possibility of his father being from a privileged background and leaving during his childhood for some special reason, only to return over a decade later for a reunion.
When Chen Chu arrived at the kitchen downstairs, his younger brother, Chen Hu, was already at the table. Seated next to him was an elegant and gentle-looking woman in her forties.
Zhang Xiaolan looked at Chen Chu with concern as he sat down. "Ah Chu[1], how do you feel now? Will you be able to go to school tomorrow?"
"I’m fine now."
Zhang Xiaolan immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and she nodded. "As long as you’re okay. You really gave us a scare this time."
Unlike his strong and sports-loving younger brother, Chen Chu had been frail and prone to illness since childhood. Just slight exposure to lower temperatures could result in a fever or a cold, even nephritis or pneumonia in more severe cases. Last night, he suddenly developed a fever, and by morning, it had reached forty-one degrees. It took the entire morning at the clinic with intravenous fluids to bring it down. Both Zhang Xiaolan and Chen Hu were shocked, and even the doctor almost thought he wouldn’t make it, urging them to rush him to the hospital.
The truth was that the actual Chen Chu did not make it through, leading to this Chen Chu regaining consciousness. He was the only one who knew this.
"Remember to take your medicine after dinner," Zhang Xiaolan said with concern in her voice.
"Mhmm, I know."
"And if you feel uncomfortable at any point, we’ll go to the hospital to have a check-up."
"Mhmm." To avoid any mishaps, Chen Chu remained relatively silent at the dinner table.
Thankfully, the actual Chen Chu’s personality was also reserved and introverted, so Zhang Xiaolan and Chen Hu didn’t notice anything unusual.
After finishing dinner, Chen Chu was sent back to his room to rest, while Chen Hu went out to play basketball with friends, leaving Zhang Xiaolan alone in the kitchen to tidy up. Chen Chu carried a plate of thawed shrimp as he returned upstairs. This was for the six-horned salamander... no, for "him."
In the fish tank, the ten-centimeter-long white salamander raised its head. Its small eyes, like black sesame seeds, watched the enormous tweezers slowly descending from the "sky." With the combination of the salamander’s poor eyesight and small size, in its perspective, both the arm that reached over the glass tank and the twenty-centimeter-long tweezers appeared massive, while the shrimp meat held by the tweezers was about half the size of its head.
Chen Chu controlled the consciousness of the six-horned salamander, opening its mouth to swallow the shrimp meat in one gulp. The sensation of feeding himself made him feel somewhat uneasy, causing him to subconsciously lick his lips.
Hmm, the taste seemed quite good.
The small white salamander blinked. Despite its size, it had a large appetite, usually needing to consume an amount equivalent to one-third of its body weight to feel satisfied. But this time…
Chen Chu continuously picked up torn pieces of shrimp meat, and the salamander kept opening its mouth to devour them. It was like a bottomless pit, taking in food without end. In just a short while, it had consumed an amount of food equivalent to its own body weight.
In Chen Chu’s perception, as the food entered "its" mouth, it slid down its throat and dropped into its stomach. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared under incredible digestive power. As it continued to swallow down food, a warm sensation spread from the salamander’s stomach throughout the rest of its body, followed by an itch everywhere the warmth went. It was uncomfortable, and Chen Chu couldn’t help but open its mouth...
Snap!
The sound of the salamander was like a child’s cry, albeit so faint that it was barely perceptible. Immediately, to Chen Chu’s astonishment, the salamander started to grow, its body length reaching eleven centimeters.
One centimeter might not seem like much, but this growth happened in the blink of an eye. While others might have found this concerning, even frightening, Chen Chu’s eyes instead lit up with fascination. If this were just an ordinary six-horned salamander, the species limit would be around thirty centimeters, which wouldn’t make much of a difference whether Chen Chu could freely control it or not.
But this was a terrifying world where nuclear bombs had exploded everywhere, and cultivators could sink aircraft carriers. Where he previously hadn’t seen much of a future at all, now he saw a light…
Suppressing his excitement, Chen Chu went back downstairs to the refrigerator and took out more thawed shrimp meat, to continue feeding the salamander as long as it still seemed capable of eating.
It was only when the plate was emptied again that a faint sense of fullness emanated from the salamander. The warm sensation spread throughout the salamander’s body once more, accompanied by the same itchy feeling. Its body expanded at a speed perceivable to the naked eye.
Suddenly, a row of transparent text appeared before Chen Chu.
1. Ah is a prefix added to the given name of a person as a form of endearment or generally informal address. A similar practice is adding ’er after the name. ☜
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