Chapter 1 Unexpected time travel

On July 26, 2012, in the midst of summer, with scorching sun, Happiness Lin stood in front of the ice fruit stall, holding a flat wallet and reluctantly looked away from the assorted fruit shaved ice that cost eight yuan per bowl, and bought 50¢ ice Popsicle instead.

Across the street, there was a guy in a suit and tie holding up a cardboard sign, with bold black characters that read: "Harmony Saves the Earth." Next to him, a well-dressed beauty with brand name clothes handed out flyer to everyone she saw, occasionally running to a luxurious BMW X6 to fetch ice water for the guy with the sign.

Happiness squatted at the entrance of the shopping mall, enjoying the air conditioning and sucking on her ice Popsicle. She disdainfully rolled her big eyes and thought that rich people were just wasting their time, not doing anything productive on such a hot day. If harmony could save the Earth, then please, save her first!

After finishing the Popsicle, Happiness picked up her plastic bag and headed home. The bag was light and empty, containing only two tomatoes, a cucumber, and a cheap cream cake commonly found in supermarkets.

Coming out of the bustling commercial street, Happiness turned into the old street hidden behind the glamorous high-rise buildings. This residential area was like a scaly skin patch, dilapidated and run-down. The wooden building from the 1940s where she lived was even more precarious. Walking up the creaking stairs to the second floor, the first room on the right was her home.

The desktop fan was said to be a souvenir from when her parents got married. Happiness plugged it in, pressed the button, and the red cloth strip tied to the wire flew up. A gentle breeze blew, causing Happiness to squint her eyes and loudly say, "Mom, Dad, I'm back!"

The room was empty, and Happiness took out three sticks of incense from the plastic bag on top of the refrigerator. She lit them and put them in the small incense burner. Behind the incense burner, there was a photo of her parents leaning against the wall, smiling happily.

"Mom, Dad, today I turned seventeen. I bought a cake for us to eat together." Happiness took out the cake from the plastic bag, opened the lid, pushed the incense burner back a bit, and placed the cake box on top. The smoke from the incense rose, and the air conditioner upstairs dripped like rain. The room was filled with the creaking sound of the fan's rusty axle.

Halfway through the incense burning, Happiness took the cake down. Smelling the enticing sweetness, her stomach growled loudly. She used a plastic spoon to forcefully scoop a dollop of cream into her mouth. Just as Happiness was enjoying her food, she heard a cat's meow that sounded urgent outside the window. She angrily slapped the table and reluctantly took the remaining half of the cake outside.

"Eat, you stinky big black cat. Not that I'm saying this to you, but how come your nose is as sensitive as a dog's!" Happiness grumbled in frustration. Big Black was originally the neighbor's cat, but they abandoned it after moving away. Since then, it had been wandering nearby. Although her own life was not affluent, she often managed to squeeze out some food for it. Recently, it had become pregnant and was scratching its heart and lungs out of hunger, often running into her house every day.

Watching Big Black's greedy eating, Happiness prepared a bowl of water for it and happily scratched its back with her hand. This cat was clean, although it didn't take many baths, its fur was smooth and shiny. The cake was already small, and Big Black finished it in a few bites. It then drank water with a splashing sound. Happiness happily stroked it and was about to bring it inside when suddenly, Big Black's back hair stood up and its tail, which was usually soft, stood up like a knife. Its throat let out a mournful howl that startled Happiness. Big Black called out once more and jumped outside, running away as if flying.

What's gotten into Big Black? Just as Happiness was thinking this, the floor beneath her feet suddenly started shaking. Before she could react, there was a rumbling sound from underground. Happiness was thrown onto the floor by the intense shaking. An earthquake! Her heart tightened, and she reached out to grab the leg of a chair to try and stand up. However, the shaking became stronger and stronger. It was difficult to even maintain stability, let alone stand up.

Could today be her day of death?

Happiness tightly gripped a rolling tomato on the floor, trying to curl up under the table, desperately praying that this dilapidated wooden building could withstand the earthquake as the legends said. Clearly, no god received her prayers. Before losing consciousness, she only saw the floor tearing apart and collapsing, raising a thick cloud of smoke, leaving everything in front of her pitch black.

She woke up from the intense pain in her left ankle. Opening her eyes, she felt like she was still in a dream as the horrifying memories flooded back into her mind. Wait, she was clearly trapped under the floor, so why could she see the entire night sky now?! Could it be that the People's Liberation Army acted so quickly and dug her out? The soldiers of the People's Republic are indeed efficient. She wondered what the magnitude of this earthquake was; it felt stronger than the Wenchuan earthquake. Slowly moving her body, she was pleasantly surprised to find that despite the strong earthquake, she didn't suffer multiple injuries. Even her most painful left foot could be slightly moved. It must be her parents watching over her from above.

However, why was it so quiet around her? It was completely unlike a city that had just experienced an earthquake. There were no sounds of excavation machinery, not even a single voice. Happiness shivered and looked around. She was stunned to see nothing but vast yellow sand, with several crooked buildings standing in the desert. The ominous black shadows under the starlight indicated something foreboding.

Happiness was dumbfounded. Everything that had happened so far was beyond her comprehension. Could it be that 2012 was truly the end of the world? And who moved her here?

"Hello! Is anyone there?! Help me!!" her cries went from loud to hoarse. The half-eaten tomato she had been holding in her hand had long been swallowed, but the little bit of moisture couldn't quench her throat. She felt her body losing moisture, and as time passed, the environment became colder. The thin summer dress she was wearing provided no warmth in the desert. Happiness had to tightly hug herself, trying to retain some body heat. Her teeth chattered, and she couldn't even scream anymore.

Happiness had always been strong and optimistic, but growing up in the city, she had never experienced such a desperate situation and had no idea how to survive in the desert. She was completely out of ideas.

However, there's always a way. Her efforts to stay awake finally paid off when she saw a group of figures in the distance. She almost thought she was hallucinating in the desert until those people got closer, confirming that she had indeed encountered living beings. The infinite will to survive erupted from her fragile body. She shouted with her hoarse voice, jumping up and waving her hands, desperately running towards them.

Happiness crawled and rolled, enduring the pain in her feet as she rushed towards the figures. The group seemed hesitant for a moment but then started walking towards her. When they were close enough, Happiness saw the guns and black uniforms they wore and felt overjoyed, thinking that she had encountered her fellow comrades in the People's Liberation Army. She didn't even notice that the uniforms of the People's Liberation Army had turned completely black.

The tall man leading the group took out a thin tube from his backpack and twisted it casually. With a snap, the tube emitted a faint cold light, illuminating his face. It was a face with sharp features, exuding a soldier's temperament. Although he had black hair and eyes, his facial features were not as flat as an Asian's. His eyes were deep, and his nose was high and prominent. In short, this soldier of the People's Liberation Army looked reliable. Happiness smiled foolishly at him, revealing her white teeth. Her cracked lips moved as she said, "Comrade, there was an earthquake in City C today, and when I woke up, I was here. Do you know what's going on? I am a citizen of City C!"

The man used the cold light to look at her dirty face and scanned her entire body. He seemed quite surprised. Then, he took out a water bottle from his waist and poured some water onto a cloth, wiping her face clean.

Happiness pursed her lips, feeling that the soldier's actions were somewhat strange. Instead of giving her water first when rescuing a disaster victim, he cleaned her face first! Unable to resist, Happiness reached out and touched the water bottle the man had put aside, giving him an embarrassed smile. She quickly grabbed the water bottle and unscrewed the cap, tilting her head back to drink from it.

Happiness, who was busy drinking water, naturally didn't notice the strange expressions on these "soldiers". After finishing half of the pot of water, Happiness wiped his mouth with his arm, covered the lid, and handed it back, repeatedly thanking them.

The man grabbed her hand, hung the water bottle around his waist, and lifted her up in one swift motion. Happiness felt extremely embarrassed. First, she had never been in such close contact with a man before, even if he was just a soldier. Second, his hand went under her armpit and happened to support the side of her chest. It seemed like he intentionally pressed his fingers against her chest. Happiness squirmed and squeezed her arms. The man might not have understood her hint and continued walking forward confidently. So Happiness became a little unhappy but still politely said, "Comrade, your hand, could you move it somewhere else? Or maybe it would be better if you carried me on your back?" She knew her feet hurt and didn't want to force herself to walk.

The man quickly realized that his hand was in the wrong place and moved it up. Now Happiness comfortably lay in his arms. This was how our country rescues people in disasters, she thought. She had thought she was doomed to die, at least buried under the ruins for a few days. But now she was successfully rescued. If this had happened in a foreign country, she would probably still be lying under the collapsed building right now!

Soon, the joy of being rescued by Happiness was replaced by a heavy cloud of doubt. How could this group of people be moving so fast while the surrounding scenery remained an endless desert?