After hanging up the phone, Xu Mo was about to remove the SIM card when HeShang waved his hand dismissively and said, "I've been using this phone for a year now. I was planning to get a new one anyway. You can have this one."
"Alright, then I'll send you the money later. But you better give me the lowest second-hand price!" Xu Mo knew HeShang's habit of frequently changing phones, so he didn't bother being overly polite.
"Just give me a symbolic amount. I never bother reselling my old stuff anyway. The ones I don't use just end up as table props or walnut crackers at home..." HeShang slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked alongside Xu Mo out of the classroom. Casually, he asked, "You don't seem like you're heading home right away. Where are you off to?"
"I want to check something out."
Xu Mo had been puzzling over the sudden vision in his mind all day but still had no clue what it meant. After thinking it over, his best bet was to try his luck online—maybe he'd find some clues.
HeShang didn't pry further and said nonchalantly, "Sounds good. I haven't played CS in a while. I'll go find someone to duel with."
Just a hundred meters from the back gate of First High School, along Huanle Street, there were at least five or six internet cafés. The two randomly picked one, walked in, and sat down at adjacent computers.
HeShang swiftly clicked on the CS icon, connected to the local network, and launched into a headshot spree. Meanwhile, Xu Mo placed his backpack aside, opened a browser, and started searching.
He typed in the date from the previous day—February 2, 2012—and hit Enter. In less than a second, the search engine returned over 48 million results. After scanning a few pages, he noticed that most reports were about the bizarre seven-colored aurora from last night.
Whether the breathtaking phenomenon was truly an aurora was still up for debate, but what really caught Xu Mo's attention was a post on a small forum asking for help identifying something.
"Calling all experts! Can someone tell me if this thing that fell from the sky last night is worth anything?"
The post was from someone in Ludong Province, who claimed that after watching the seven-colored aurora, they had accidentally picked up a glowing object that had drifted down from the broken lights in the sky. Not knowing what it was, they were seeking an expert's opinion.
The post included several digital photos. The first few, taken the previous night, showed a cluster of glowing red light resting on a glass coffee table. The later images, taken in the morning, showed the same table—but the red glow had vanished, leaving behind a red orb roughly the size of a glass marble.
According to the poster, although the orb resembled a gemstone, its texture was more like a mix of jelly and rubber—extremely soft and elastic. More astonishingly, no tool or method could cut or damage it. No matter what they tried, it stubbornly maintained its perfect spherical shape.
As Xu Mo read through the entire post, something stirred in his mind. The glowing dot in the first set of images looked incredibly familiar—it was almost identical to the one he had seen in his dream that morning, except for the slight difference in color.
But why had that person's light appeared outside, while his had entered his body? Could it be because of that wound?
Xu Mo instinctively touched his abdomen. The more he thought about it, the more logical it seemed.
That meant the phenomenon he vaguely witnessed last night—the breaking of the aurora—had actually happened. And his miraculous overnight recovery could very well be because one of those glowing dots had landed directly on his wound and seeped into his body.
But… what exactly was this strange light? Why had it given him those incomprehensible yet extraordinary visions? Could supernatural abilities really exist in this world?
Just as Xu Mo was about to dig deeper into the search results, HeShang suddenly leaned over and casually glanced at his screen. "You're interested in this stuff?" he asked curiously.
"Oh, I just stumbled upon it and thought it was interesting."
Xu Mo quickly closed the forum page. The things happening to him were too bizarre—even HeShang, his close friend, couldn't know about them.
As the next CS match was about to start, HeShang's attention quickly shifted back to his game. However, he suddenly reached into his pocket and tossed Xu Mo a yellow orb almost identical to the one in the photo.
"I found this on my balcony last night," HeShang said. "No idea what it is, but since you seem interested, you can have it."
HeShang had found one too? Did that mean the shattered fragments of the seven-colored aurora had all fallen to the ground? That would mean tens of thousands of glowing dots had rained down!
Xu Mo carefully tucked the yellow orb into his pocket. He continued searching for more related posts but found surprisingly few—only about a hundred results. It seemed that not many of these light fragments had landed in China. Of course, there was also the possibility that some had gone unnoticed, or that those who found them simply hadn't posted about it.
After all, Xu Mo himself was one of them.
Though he hadn't fully unraveled the mystery of the glowing dots, at least he now had an idea of where they came from. With the little time left, he logged into his QQ and email, replied to a few messages from friends, and then closed everything.
Meanwhile, HeShang seemed to be getting frustrated with CS. He was so focused on the game that, despite calling his name several times, he didn't respond. Seeing this, Xu Mo decided to settle the bill and leave on his own.
One hour of computer time cost three yuan. Xu Mo dug into his pocket and handed over a ten-yuan note. The cashier returned seven yuan in change along with a well-printed flyer.
Since flyers were free, Xu Mo didn't mind taking one. He casually rolled it up, tucked it under his arm, and walked out of the café.
After what had happened yesterday, there was no way he was taking any shortcuts again. He stuck to the main road and made his way to the bus stop in front of the school.
Unfortunately, the last bus had just left. Left with no choice, Xu Mo found a sheltered spot, sat down, and unrolled the flyer to pass the time.
"Saint Wind Girls' Academy Admissions Guide? So it's this…"
Xu Mo was already familiar with Saint Wind Girls' Academy, even without reading the flyer. It wasn't just one of the few private schools in Henan Province that admitted only female students—it was also famous for its luxurious facilities and exorbitant tuition fees. It ranked among the top in the entire country. A true elite school for the wealthy.
But as someone who, in terms of both gender and financial status, had zero connection to such a place, Xu Mo had little interest in learning more.
He crumpled the flyer into a ball and tossed it into a nearby trash bin. Just then, he noticed a red piece of paper lying in the middle of the road—it looked a lot like a hundred-yuan bill.
By now, night had fallen, and the streets were nearly empty due to the biting cold. Xu Mo figured that if it really was a lost bill, there was no way the owner would come back for it. Checking for traffic, he quickly dashed into the street and picked it up.
Only after holding it in his hand did he realize—it wasn't real money. It was a cheap, one-sidedly printed joss paper bill!
Cursing under his breath, Xu Mo tossed the fake note aside, turned to leave—only to be blinded by two blinding white headlights rushing toward him!
Damn! That car's speed was way over 70 km/h!
The driver slammed on the brakes, but the snow-covered road offered little traction. As the white sedan closed in, Xu Mo instinctively raised his arms to shield his face.
Just before impact, a strange sense of disorientation swept over him. In his hazy vision, he saw a faint green glow flash before his eyes.
In the next instant, instead of feeling a crushing blow—Xu Mo felt as though he had been swallowed by something soft and cushiony. His entire body sank into the car's front hood like it was made of air!