In an unknown dimension of the universe.
At the center of an unknown galaxy.
On the orbit of a gigantic red star, an immense man-made structure floats in the dark expanse of space. Occasionally, solar matter ejected from solar prominences is intercepted by a circular, transparent light shield above the structure, causing not even a ripple.
At the highest point of the artificial structure sits a humanoid creature, its entire body encased in dark brown armor, its face indiscernible.
Before it, countless similar humanoid beings clad in dark brown armor stand silently, motionless, like statues.
Further away, there are various massive man-made objects, densely packed, filling the entire space.
Another solar prominence erupts, and the bright light from the hot matter instantly illuminates the ominous fleets hidden in the darkness.
The eyes of the humanoid creature at the top light up suddenly, as if another sun has emerged in the universe.
A mysterious fluctuation begins to surface.
"This universe is beginning to die..."
"Our technology can no longer expand..."
"Has the cosmic theoretical structure been completed?"
"Too many unknown factors, unable to make predictions..."
"No time... no time..."
No sound is heard, but the communication is far from over.
"The fragments can no longer be recovered."
"The rules of theory have begun to fail."
"The collapse of the universe has begun..."
"No time..."
"The plan must be executed immediately..."
The communication pauses for a moment.
"The theory is not yet mature, cannot be executed..."
"No time..."
"The cost of forcing open the channel is unacceptable..."
"It will accelerate the collapse of the universe..."
"We cannot take everything with us..."
"Cannot be avoided... cannot..."
"We need to hurry..."
"Make a decision."
"Execute immediately."
Moments later, as the dark brown figures begin to move, the still-young star suddenly goes out, as if someone turned off a light bulb, and with it, all the stars in the surrounding galaxy.
As the stars go out, the previously orbiting planets become like orphans,derailment, wandering aimlessly in the dark space. Occasionally, planets collide, emitting a faint light before cooling immediately, turning into fragments or continuing to drift in bizarre, interconnected forms...
"We need a reference point..."
"Using life as the basis, determine the reference point..."
"Hope it reaches safely... another universe..."
A sigh echoes in the dark space.
...
"Name."
"Wang Shuo."
"Gender."
"Male."
"Age?"
"Eighteen."
"Ethnicity?"
"Han."
"Address?"
"Huazhong University of Science and Technology dormitory building."
"You are a student at Huazhong University of Science and Technology?"
"Yes."
"Place of household registration."
"Lantian County, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province."
"Do you know why we called you here?"
"Know."
"Explain what happened."
"Police uncle, I really didn't hit anyone, I was acting bravely for justice."
...
Wang Shuo felt extremely unlucky, truly unfortunate.
He was walking just fine when suddenly an unidentified object fell from the sky and hit him on the head. That alone would have been bad enough, but then he was used as a shield by a girl he didn't even know. Well, he's a man, and when a girl pleads for help, he can't just ignore her, right?
But these two hoodlums were just too unskilled.
Did he even lift a finger?
He didn't say a word, did he?
What's with the two of you lying at his feet? Extorting people isn't done this way, is it?
Without a doubt, Wang Shuo's actions landed him in the police station.
"Whether it was acting bravely for justice or not, we need to investigate to find out." Two police officers were sitting in front of Wang Shuo, and the younger one said, "Do you know this girl?"
"No." Wang Shuo shook his head.
The young police officer nodded and wrote something down in his notebook, then continued, "Wang Shuo, we need you to stay here and cooperate with our investigation. We will notify your family for you."
"Police uncle, I can't stay here. I have to attend the school's ceremony this afternoon."
"Ceremony?" The young police officer raised his eyebrows, "Are you a freshman this year?"
"Yeah." Wang Shuo nodded eagerly, "I just reported yesterday, and today I'm in the police station."
"Well, you are quite something." The young police officer said indifferently, "But the girl you mentioned is still in the hospital and hasn't regained consciousness, so you can't leave yet."
What kind of situation is this!
Wang Shuo scratched his head in distress, feeling like he had encountered all sorts of misfortunes.
When a homebody meets society, this is an unsolvable problem.
Wang Shuo was pondering how to solve this problem when suddenly a phone rang.
"Hello? Yeah, I got it." The young police officer, who was on the phone, glanced at Wang Shuo and slowly put his phone back in his pocket. "You can go now."
"Can I go now?" Wang Shuo looked up in surprise.
"Miss Chen has woken up, and the matter has been cleared up. You can go to your ceremony." The young police officer closed his notebook and opened the door to the interrogation room.
"Thank you, officer." Wang Shuo quickly grabbed his backpack and dashed out of the police station.
The cause of the incident was actually quite simple.
As previously mentioned, Wang Shuo, a male with a preference for females, had no bad habits. His only flaw was that he was a bit of a homebody. However, unlike others who indulge in movies, anime, novels, and the "Two-dimensional" world when staying at home, Wang Shuo had only one thing to do when he was at home – read books.
Compared to his peers, Wang Shuo could really be considered a good student. He had always been at the top of his class in exam results, although he had never been able to surpass the top few students, he was still part of the first tier in the class.
It was because of his excellent academic performance that he was able to get into Huazhong University of Science and Technology.
Wang Shuo had considered applying to other schools, but his fondness for City W was unparalleled. The thought of attending college in City W filled him with joy.
As for the reason... Well, everyone understands. A man's first love is always the most unforgettable, and Wang Shuo, being a complete otaku, had no resistance to goddesses.
On his first day at the university, otaku Wang Shuo realized he was the last to arrive. He had already been assigned to a class, a dormitory, and even a bed – only one bed was left.
Wang Shuo had no choice but to accept the bed next to the balcony. The reason was simple – no one wanted to sleep next to the bathroom door... Yes, the student dormitory had a bathroom, and even a shower, but if you wanted hot water, you had to heat it yourself.
Well, Wang Shuo's first thought was – what a scam!!
However, taking a shower was never a concern for an otaku, so Wang Shuo reluctantly accepted it – after all, he wouldn't be showering often anyway.
His roommates seemed like seasoned pros, greeting each other like long-lost brothers. Within a few hours, they were already buddy-buddy, and they even gave Wang Shuo a pretty good nickname – "Number Two."
Wang Shuo was quite satisfied with this.
The four brothers sat together and agreed that they had similar temperaments and it was not easy to meet again at university after years of studying. Therefore, they decided to make the start of the semester "Dormitory Day" and promised to go out for a meal together in the afternoon to celebrate.
No one objected to this.
So, the university's first dormitory gathering ended in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.
And that's when the incident happened, on Wang Shuo's way back to the school after leaving the group.
"What bad luck." Wang Shuo looked at the time on his phone; it was already 1:40 PM, just twenty minutes before the opening ceremony.
"I never thought my first time in a police station would be for something like this." Wang Shuo tried to complain while also trying to recall exactly what had happened.
He only remembered that while passing through an alley, he came across two hoodlums harassing a girl he didn't know. The girl's reaction, in Wang Shuo's eyes, was remarkably clever – she immediately used him as a shield the moment she saw him!
Come on, am I, Wang Shuo, the kind of person who would just randomly become someone's boyfriend? It's absolutely unreasonable to be claimed as someone's boyfriend so casually! Moreover, the two hoodlums in front of him looked particularly troublesome.
Just as Wang Shuo was about to say something to beg for mercy, he felt something hit the back of his head. In the moment he turned around, the girl and the hoodlums were all lying on the ground.
Wang Shuo, who had never experienced fighting in his life, was stunned by the paranormal event in front of him. Instinctively, he chose to call the police, after all, police officers did provide a sense of security.
But the police officers were clearly different from what he had imagined, so Wang Shuo was taken to the police station on charges of intentional injury...
Which led to the scene at the beginning.
As Wang Shuo thought about the course of events, he suddenly felt a headache. He had been used as a shield without even knowing the name of the person in question, and he could barely remember her face. Even worse, he had been hit on the head without seeing the attacker.
What a headache, Wang Shuo thought, massaging the back of his head. He felt that today was an extremely awful day.