Chen Lin's feet splashed in the rain as he trudged down the narrow alley, eager to get home after a long day of lectures and his part-time job. The hum of the city surrounded him, the soft glow of neon lights bouncing off the wet pavement. It was a typical evening in Beijing, though his exhaustion made everything seem distant and dreamlike.
As he approached a familiar shortcut through the alley, a strange sensation washed over him, an inexplicable chill running down his spine. His steps slowed, and he instinctively looked around, scanning the shadows. The alley seemed darker than usual, as if the rain itself had thickened the air.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw it—a shimmering disturbance in the air, almost like a mirage. At first, he thought it was just the rain playing tricks on his tired mind, but the glow was too bright, too real. A faint, pulsing light appeared ahead of him, hanging in the air like a crack in the fabric of reality itself.
"What the…?" Chen Lin whispered, stopping dead in his tracks.
The light intensified, the air around him vibrating with energy. It wasn't just a reflection—it was a gate. The edges of the swirling anomaly crackled with an otherworldly energy, distorting the space around it.
Chen Lin's heart raced. Is this some kind of prank? But as he took a step closer, the gate suddenly expanded, its force dragging him forward before he could react.
"What the hell?!" he shouted, struggling to break free, but it was as though the gate had its own gravitational pull. His body was sucked into it, and the world around him twisted violently. A flash of light blinded him, and before he could even process what was happening, everything he knew was gone.
When Chen Lin opened his eyes, he found himself lying on the ground, gasping for air. His head throbbed with dizziness, and he had to take a moment to steady himself. His surroundings were nothing like the bustling streets of Beijing. The city he had just walked through seemed like a distant memory now.
The air was thick with smoke, and the sky above was painted in dark shades of red, casting a grim light over the ruins of buildings and streets cracked open by deep fissures. The remnants of a once-thriving urban landscape lay in decay, with shattered skyscrapers standing like hollow shells. Fires smoldered in the distance, sending plumes of smoke into the strange, crimson sky.
Chen Lin pushed himself to his feet, his mind spinning. Where am I? He glanced around, his heart pounding in his chest. The place felt wrong, otherworldly, like a nightmare come to life.
"What… What happened?" he muttered to himself. He felt the weight of the rain-soaked streets beneath him, but everything felt unfamiliar. The air tasted different—thicker, heavier, as if the very atmosphere here was hostile.
Suddenly, a low growl rumbled through the air. Chen Lin's heart skipped a beat as he turned to face the source of the noise. From the shadows of a ruined building, a massive creature emerged—a hulking wolf-like figure, its body surrounded by swirling flames. Its eyes burned like molten lava, glowing fiercely as it locked its gaze onto him. The creature's fangs gleamed, dripping with molten liquid.
Chen Lin's breath caught in his throat as the creature let out another menacing growl. Instinctively, he began to back away, but his legs felt frozen in place. His body refused to cooperate, as though some unseen force was holding him still.
This is it, Chen Lin thought, panic rising in his chest. I'm going to die here.
The creature moved forward with terrifying speed, its fiery claws slashing at the air. Without thinking, Chen Lin threw his arms up in a futile attempt to protect himself. But the heat that radiated from the creature was unbearable. He could feel the searing flames burning his skin, yet the pain didn't come.
The heat should have been unbearable, but his body remained untouched. The fire danced around him like a breeze, but it did no harm. His hands were still steady, his chest rising and falling in shallow breaths, but there was no scorching agony to stop him from thinking clearly.
"What… What's happening?" Chen Lin muttered, his voice trembling.
A strange, metallic voice suddenly echoed in his mind, sending a shockwave through his consciousness.
> "Counter System activated. Threat detected: Fire Element. Generating Fire Resistance Level 1."
Before he could even comprehend the words, a translucent screen appeared before him. It was made up of bright blue text, and as he focused on it, it flickered and displayed new information.
> "Resistance Level 1: Fire"
"Ability: Immunity to fire-based attacks."
He looked up just in time to see the wolf creature rearing back for another strike. But this time, he didn't feel the overwhelming urge to flee. Instead, he stood his ground, the flames no longer a threat to him. The heat swirled around him, but it parted as if it couldn't touch him.
The creature's fiery body seemed to flicker, confused by the sudden resistance. It let out a frustrated snarl before charging at him once more. But before it could reach him, a bright streak of light sliced through the air, striking the beast with pinpoint accuracy.
The wolf let out a final, pained growl before collapsing to the ground, its fiery form extinguishing in an instant. Chen Lin blinked, still in shock, as he watched the last embers of the creature fade into nothingness.
From the ruins above, a voice called down to him, cold and commanding.
"You shouldn't have stood there," the voice said. "You're lucky you survived."
Chen Lin turned to see a woman standing on a nearby rooftop, looking down at him. She was tall, with dark hair tied back in a sleek ponytail. Her attire was practical, a dark combat suit that blended with the shadows of the crumbling city. In her hands, she held a glowing bow, its energy faintly pulsing as she relaxed her stance.
"I—" Chen Lin stammered, still trying to process what had just happened. "I don't know how… I didn't get hurt."
The woman narrowed her eyes, studying him. "You didn't get hurt because the fire didn't affect you. That's not normal."
Chen Lin took a step back, his thoughts racing. "What are you talking about? What is this place? And what was that thing?"
"The creature was a Flame Wolf," she said, leaping down from the rooftop with ease. She landed gracefully in front of him, her eyes scanning the area as if waiting for the next attack. "As for this place, you're in a world that's been ravaged by the appearance of gates. These gates lead to other realms, and monsters like that wolf come through them. It's a battleground, and only the strong survive."
Chen Lin shook his head in disbelief. "I didn't ask for this. How did I even get here?"
The woman sighed, turning away. "You didn't ask for it, but you're here now. The gates don't care who gets pulled through. And if you want to stay alive, you'll have to fight. I'm Liu Yurong, a hunter. Follow me, and I'll get you somewhere safer."
Liu Yurong's words felt like an order, but Chen Lin didn't have the energy to argue. He had barely survived his first encounter in this strange world. There was no way he was going to make it on his own.
"I—I'll follow," he said, his voice hoarse.
"Good," Liu Yurong replied, glancing back at him with a calculating gaze. "If you want to survive, you'll need to be more than just lucky."
The two of them moved swiftly through the ruined city, Chen Lin struggling to process the sheer enormity of what was happening. The world around him was a warzone, and monsters from another dimension were tearing it apart. But there was something else, too—a sense that whatever had brought him here was far from over.
He couldn't shake the feeling that the Counter System had only just begun to unlock its secrets. And whatever those secrets were, they would shape the future of this world—and his place in it.