IGSB – Chapter 1
Chapter 1: Entering the New World (Part 1)
Xia Zhiyi had quit her job.
She was tired after working for so long.
She wanted to travel, to relax, to reorganize her life instead of being trapped in the daily grind of a busy job.
Fortunately, the savings she had accumulated from years of hard work were enough to support her in giving her soul a long vacation.
Her colleagues expressed their reluctance to see her go and their regret.
She was smart, efficient, witty, and charming. It was never boring to be around her. For her to just up and leave now was too sudden.
But to Xia Zhiyi, it wasn't sudden at all.
This outcome was within her expectations.
That was just the kind of person she was. If something caused her pain, she would fight back rather than submit.
Money could be earned again, but if a person was gone, everything was gone.
As long as she was alive, she would always have the courage to start over.
Besides, hadn't she worked so hard to earn money just so she could live a good life?
The money had been earned; it was time to reward herself.
On the third night after quitting, she went out with her friend, Liang Xiaoling, as a sort of farewell before officially starting her travels.
After hanging out for a while, the two of them, each holding a cup of milk tea, walked and chatted along the brightly lit riverside path.
Liang Xiaoling asked if she had thought things through about quitting.
She said she had thought it through very clearly.
Liang Xiaoling suddenly smiled, patted her on the shoulder, and joked, "You didn't quit the company because of your ex, did you?"
Xia Zhiyi's ex, as it happened, was her boss, Jing Ruyu, an exceptionally beautiful woman.
When they first met, they both just said they were ordinary office workers and didn't go into detail about their workplaces. It wasn't until a month into their relationship that they dramatically discovered they worked at the same company. Because Jing Ruyu rarely visited her department, the two had never met there.
However, they didn't make it public, tacitly carrying on a secret romance between a boss and her subordinate. Because they liked each other so much, their relationship progressed smoothly for over a year, and they even lived together during that time.
Back then, she truly thought they could go on forever...
She swallowed the boba pearls, her gaze drifting into the distance. "You're overthinking it. It has nothing to do with her.
"I was just too tired from work and wanted to rest. Come on, I told you a long time ago that I wanted to travel. I would have quit even without her, okay!"
"Alright, alright, fine," Liang Xiaoling agreed with a smile, but then her lips turned down, and worry filled her eyes. "So, are you still thinking about her?"
Jing Ruyu was the one who had initiated the breakup, just half a month ago.
It was very sudden, even more so than Xia Zhiyi's decision to quit.
After all, before that, their relationship had been stable, without any apparent problems.
Yet Xia Zhiyi couldn't say for sure whether there had been problems or not.
Because the breakup had its warning signs.
They were still living together at the time, but the frequency of Jing Ruyu's returns to their home had dropped drastically, along with the number of times they saw each other.
Then, Jing Ruyu brought up the breakup. It was both sudden and, in a way, expected.
She said she was leaving, leaving this place, going abroad, and might never come back.
In that moment, Xia Zhiyi couldn't believe that a scene straight out of a TV drama could actually happen to her.
But why go abroad so suddenly?
Why couldn't they stay together if she was going abroad?
Why would she never come back?
Why hadn't she thought of keeping her by her side, even if it meant going abroad together to build a future?
Jing Ruyu didn't give her an answer, only looked at her deeply for a long time.
In the end, she simply gave her a hug, turned, and left. She never appeared again, as if she had evaporated from her world.
Xia Zhiyi pulled her thoughts back, suppressing the heat welling in her eyes and the turmoil in her heart. She took a sip of her milk tea, chewed on the pearls for a moment, and finally said nonchalantly, "I've forgotten. I don't remember."
She wasn't that foolish.
They had been together for so long and knew each other well. So she knew better than anyone that Jing Ruyu had made up her mind to leave, and nothing could change it.
"Hey, why bring this up? We're out to have fun.
"Come on, let's go get some barbecue!"
It was no big deal. There were plenty of fish in the sea. If Jing Ruyu dared to leave, she dared to forget her!
With no work the next day, the two of them ate, drank, and had fun for a long time before saying goodbye and heading home in separate vehicles.
Xia Zhiyi hadn't driven today, so she opted to take the bus.
There were few people on the bus, and the seats were empty. She could pick any she wanted. She chose a seat in the back and turned her head to look at the night scenery outside the window.
She suddenly thought of her parents.
She hadn't told them about quitting her job yet.
She hadn't figured out how to phrase it and knew they would most likely disapprove of her leaving such a good company.
But it was her life, and she knew how to live it. She would tell them later.
The bus started slowly and pulled back onto the road.
The scenery outside the window receded continuously as the deep night enveloped the entire city.
The massive bus moved forward smoothly, turning onto a familiar road. Before long, the entrance to a tunnel was just ahead.
This was a necessary part of her route home.
The tunnel entrance was pitch-black, like a silent, unfathomable black hole.
The lights inside were broken and had never been repaired. The only source of light was the bus itself.
Amidst the unfathomable darkness and the low hum of the engine, the tunnel exuded a sense of oppressive emptiness.
Fortunately, Xia Zhiyi was brave and had taken this route many times. She was already used to it, her mind calm and untroubled.
She was even a little sleepy.
Having had so much fun with her friend, she had used up a lot of energy. The cool, comfortable air conditioning inside the bus brushing against her skin suddenly made her eyelids feel heavy, and she couldn't help but want to close her eyes for a short nap.
The journey was still long, anyway. She would just nap for a little while...
Her eyes closed, and she rested.
Knowing she was out in public, she didn't dare to fall completely asleep. Her consciousness remained alert, ready to wake at the slightest disturbance.
But the journey was very quiet.
Time passed silently, second by second, in the tranquil space.
Gradually, her consciousness began to uncontrollably slip into a hazy chaos.
In a daze, she opened her eyes and saw the lights inside the bus suddenly go out, too fast to register.
At that moment, a thread of ominous premonition rose in her heart.
It felt like a sign of something.
A sign of what?
She couldn't think of it, couldn't figure it out...
Fortunately, nothing happened. She eventually arrived home safely, took a shower, and lay down comfortably to sleep.
The nights had been particularly cool lately, so there was no need for air conditioning; just opening the window was enough.
Outside the window, the moonlight was soft, solitary, and cool. She slowly drifted off to sleep in its glow.
She dreamed she was on that bus again.
Her head rested against the window, her eyes closed, her heart full of anticipation for her future travels.
Everything was the same, incredibly real, as if she were still on the bus and had never left.
But soon, something different appeared in the dream.
"Clang."
A strange sound suddenly echoed in the silent tunnel.
It was the sound of a coin dropping into a metal box.
Someone had boarded the bus.
Someone had boarded...
No, that's not right.
The bus hadn't stopped at all, so how could someone have gotten on!
In the dream, she reacted instantly, her eyes flying open. She instinctively looked ahead and froze on the spot.
She saw a woman.
The woman's features were so exquisite they were almost demonic, dreamlike and unreal, beautiful beyond words.
Her pupils held a faint red glow, bewitchingly beautiful, yet it suited her appearance perfectly.
It was her ex-girlfriend, Jing Ruyu.
Jing Ruyu was dressed all in black, standing perfectly still, not taking a seat.
The driver seemed oblivious as the bus continued to move steadily.
The lights inside the bus suddenly malfunctioned, flickering incessantly. The alternating light and shadow fell upon Jing Ruyu, making it impossible for Xia Zhiyi to ignore her presence.
Especially her limbs below the waist—
A long, powerful snake tail was coiled around Jing Ruyu.
The black scales glinted with a cold luster in the dim light, like the gleam of a dagger held to someone's throat, radiating danger from every angle.
Jing Ruyu's red pupils suddenly narrowed into slits, staring intently at Xia Zhiyi in the darkness without blinking, as if gazing at prey.
A suffocating chill slowly crept up Xia Zhiyi's spine, as if countless withered, ghostly hands were roaming over her back.
All the past affection and sweetness turned to ice in that moment.
The next second, the bus lights went out completely.
Boundless darkness instantly invaded every wisp of air.
The light took the warmth with it, and a bone-chilling cold filled the air, as if a baring-fanged monster was clinging to the darkness, waiting for its chance to strike.
Including Jing Ruyu.
However, before Xia Zhiyi could react, within the space of a breath, the lights inside the bus came back on.
Jing Ruyu was nowhere to be seen.
Outside, the tunnel exit was just ahead.
Just then, a piercing horn blared from outside, growing closer and closer, unexpectedly amplifying in Xia Zhiyi's ears and making her heart pound with panic.
She looked up again to see a bright light shining at her, followed by a truck fully loaded with cargo!
Bang—
The two vehicles collided violently. The front of the bus crumpled, and shards of glass grazed Xia Zhiyi's face, drawing crimson blood.
Her ears rang, and blood flowed freely.
In an instant, a scorching blaze erupted!
At the same moment, a "ding" sounded in her mind, followed by a light and ethereal voice—
"To die and be reborn, to cherish life—this is everyone's responsibility.
"Congratulations, you have obtained the qualification to enter the New World!
"Quickly find the entrance and enter the New World to fight for a chance at survival!"
Xia Zhiyi's eyes snapped open. She shot up in bed, drenched in a cold sweat. Realizing it was just a dream, her tense nerves instantly relaxed, as if she'd been granted a pardon.
What the hell...
How could she dream about getting into an accident?
And if that wasn't enough, how could she also dream that her ex-girlfriend was a snake?!
She admitted her ex-girlfriend was ridiculously beautiful, but spirits aren't allowed to exist after the founding of the nation!!!
The dream left her physically and mentally exhausted, her mouth dry.
She turned on the bedside lamp, threw off the covers, and got out of bed, planning to pour herself a glass of water.
Opening her bedroom door, she yawned and stepped out, right into a fog.
...Into a fog?
Her sleepiness vanished instantly.
Where her living room should have been, there was now only a vast white fog. The places where her furniture stood were completely empty.
She rubbed her eyes.
It was fog... fog everywhere!
Stunned for two seconds, she quickly turned to go back into her bedroom, only to hear a "bang"—the door had shut on its own.
It was completely unexpected.
The next second, the familiar, light voice echoed in the empty space around her.
【The gate for your return journey has closed. Welcome, lucky one, to the New World. Welcome to the pursuit of your new life!】
As the words faded, the surrounding white fog suddenly surged forward, swallowing the astonished Xia Zhiyi.
The white fog grew thicker and thicker, then dissipated completely in an instant.
Vaguely, Xia Zhiyi heard the sounds of soft sobbing and terrified cries.
"Sob..."
"Wh-where is this?! How did I get here!"
"Are we filming a movie? What on earth is going on!"
Xia Zhiyi opened her instinctively closed eyes and turned toward the source of the sounds.
She saw a cluster of ancient, traditional buildings.
She also saw several other people dressed in modern clothes like her; some were in pajamas, others in suits or casual wear.
Among them, one person was the calmest and also the most conspicuous.
Sensing her gaze, that person slowly turned to look at her.
Their eyes met silently in the air, and the atmosphere grew quiet.
She saw shock slowly seep into the other person's calm expression.
She was also very shocked.
"What are you doing here? Did you come here to go abroad?"
Could someone please tell her why she would run into her 'gone abroad' ex-girlfriend just by opening her bedroom door in the middle of the night?!
If you enjoy my translations, please consider supporting me!
Comments
Post a Comment