Chapter One: District 16, Year 23 of the New Calendar
“Hope Fragment 0 fusion complete. Initiating transformation.”
“Heartbeat normal... blood pressure normal... Transformation complete. Hunter mode activated.”
“Initializing, please wait...”
...
The chaos before his eyes gradually cleared, and the yellowish glow of dusk began to dispel the darkness.
Fang Nian finally opened his eyes with a startled cry, his hand pressing to his fevered chest, his face full of confusion. It took a long while before he regained his senses.
“Fatty, are we there yet?”
Fatty Feng Xiu sat slumped behind the wheel of their battered QQ, one hand on the steering wheel, the other gripping a large machete. His dark, sunken eyes were narrowed to slits, exhaustion etched into every line of his face.
But even so, his gaze remained alert, scanning the surroundings with a wariness honed by surviving in the Black Triangle. He knew all too well that in this post-cataclysm world, a single misstep could cost one’s life.
He took several seconds to respond to Fang Nian’s call, then replied with a bitter expression, “My ancestor, you’re finally awake after two days and two nights. I was about to fall asleep at the wheel. We’re already at District 16, lining up to enter the city. Please don’t pass out again—let me at least catch a nap for once.”
Fang Nian rubbed his aching temples, then wiped the thick condensation from the rear window to peer outside.
The landscape was a vast, barren wasteland, stretching as far as the eye could see—nothing but sand and dust. At the horizon, a fortress of iron loomed tall, its walls rising a hundred meters high, a bastion in this doomsday, strong and unyielding.
Outside the gates, the queue to enter the city snaked for kilometers. Some stood by battered vehicles, others trudged forward on foot. Judging by their ragged clothes, more than eighty percent were refugees seeking shelter in District 16.
Fatty had said a sandstorm would hit in three days, and only within these walls would they be safe. Their luck had held—they’d secured entry passes for today. If they paid the entrance tax, they’d be inside by nightfall.
Stretching his limbs, Fang Nian clambered clumsily into the front passenger seat. He squeezed Fatty’s greasy cheek in mock affection. “You’ve worked hard, Fatty. Once we’re in, I’ll find you the best girl in town to look after you.”
Fatty batted his hand away, sighing. “Cut it out. Instead of daydreaming, how about figuring out how we’ll actually survive in there? Are you sure your grandfather’s marriage contract is real? I heard the Xia family is powerful in District 16, and Xia Moyan is supposed to be a stunning beauty. Marrying you? Please. District 16 isn’t as peaceful as 4. The factions here are a tangled mess, each vying for power. Don’t make any more trouble. We’ve got nothing left but two dry pieces of bread. If we don’t make it in tonight...”
He broke off, glancing at Fang Nian, who was already wiping his mouth, and exploded, “Fang Nian, are you even human? You flirt with the black market boss’s daughter, steal their stuff, and then faint. To save you, I abandoned everything and drove for two days straight. Now all we have is bread, and you still—”
Fang Nian waved him off, mouth cleaned. “Hey, that’s not fair. You say I flirted with her, but she flirted with me too—it was mutually beneficial, nothing wrong with that. In fact, she got the better deal. Taking a little something from her father to balance things out is only reasonable. As for your help, Fatty, I’ll repay you once we’re inside.”
As he spoke, Fang Nian unbuttoned his shirt, revealing two square, blue crystals embedded in the left side of his chest, each the size of a ring. The crystals were exquisitely clear, shimmering with a faint, mysterious light.
Fatty, used to Fang Nian’s shamelessness, just curled his lip.
“Back to the point—what exactly did you steal? Why does it look just like the one your grandfather left you? Are these crystals male and female or something? The old one sees the new one, falls in love, and builds a nest in your chest? You know Ye Qingtian chased us for hundreds of kilometers for this, and Ye Qingluan isn’t any easier to deal with. Are you sure the Xia family can really protect us?”
Fang Nian spread his hands, unbothered. “Relax. The Ye family’s reach doesn’t extend here. For now, our priority is to get inside and find a hunting ground—get ourselves a place to belong.”
With that, he buttoned his shirt and turned to the window, gazing at the distant iron city and, above it, the two suns in the sky.
...
Fang Nian did not belong to this world—more precisely, not to the Earth of the year 2319 in this timeline.
Before crossing over, Fang Nian was an ordinary homebody, living a simple routine of work and study, his greatest pleasure watching movies at his computer. He’d watched over ten thousand, spanning action, sci-fi, suspense, romance, comedy—even the more risqué genres.
He never expected that, one day in 2019, he would die in a car accident at home—a domineering Toyota Land Cruiser fell from the sky, snuffing out his young life. Yes, it was that sudden—so sudden he didn’t even see if the driver was a woman.
What he expected even less was being reborn, his soul miraculously traversing to another Earth in an alternate timeline.
However, the clock had advanced nearly three hundred years.
...
Year 23 of the New Calendar—so named because, twenty-three years prior, Earth suffered its greatest calamity: the sun’s decline.
In 2296 AD, the sun’s core unexpectedly and rapidly cooled, its dazzling brilliance fading in the strangest way. Humanity realized disaster was imminent.
As the sun died, Earth’s ecology unraveled. Light dwindled, plants and animals perished en masse, disease swept the globe. Night became pitch black, and even daytime had no clear skies—everywhere glowed with dim, reddish phosphorescence.
Temperatures plummeted. Spring and summer vanished. The farthest north and south became uninhabitably cold.
The climate’s upheaval brought disaster—earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons—draining humanity’s numbers and resources. Wars erupted everywhere over what little remained; nuclear weapons were even deployed.
In just a few decades, half of humanity vanished, survival and reproduction threatened as never before.
And yet, as always, humanity adapted.
To ensure survival, to keep Earth alive, the World Grand Alliance emerged—gathering global wisdom to create a new sun: Hope.
Hope was no ordinary artificial sun. It powered Earth, but also contained a living environment for people inside.
It was said that only in Hope could one find true sunlight, beaches, fresh air, pure water—ancient luxuries in this age of scarcity.
Of course, those who could live there were few indeed.
...
While Fang Nian was lost in thought, a sudden heat flared in his chest, his head throbbing as fiercely as when he’d collapsed before.
Fatty’s face paled. “Crap, you’re going to pass out again?”
Fang Nian was speechless. This was ridiculous—even women didn’t get their period this often.
But this time, a flicker of delight flashed in his eyes. The pain felt different—less agony, more like growth. Power and his senses seemed to sharpen, especially his sense of smell.
Sitting there, he could even smell Fatty’s sour, stinky feet.
“Am I ascending to immortality or something?”
Suddenly, everything went silent. A mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
“Hope Fragment 0 loaded. Basic body transformation complete. System activated. Task panel updated. Assistant Xi at your service.”
“Whoa, is this a system? Am I the chosen one? Xi, Xi—show me a menu!”
Excited, Fang Nian saw a menu appear in his mind:
Host: Fang Nian
Body Level: F- (Please pay attention to kidney health; human vitality is finite.)
Sensory Level: F- (Slightly enhanced sense of smell; other senses normal.)
Sixth Sense: None
Occupation: Soul Hunter (Novice), Hunting Ground Architect (Uninitiated)
Hunter Profession: None
Hunting Ground Architect Type: None
Skills: None
Items: None
Achievements: None
Cleared Hunting Grounds: None
Self-Designed Hunting Grounds: None
Hunting Ground Templates:
- Terror Platform (Human Nature Template): The weakness of human nature is greed, selfishness, complaint, and vanity. Build a hunting ground prison from the ugliness of human desire, destroying the last shreds of humanity in the hunter. (Unlocks at Novice; construction budget: 5,000 Hope Coins)
- Mirage (Mind-Bending Template): Under the butterfly effect, the hunter’s life path will shift unpredictably. Returning to the original trajectory to fulfill their mission? Impossible. As the architect, can you break the hunter’s mind, force a death loop, and shatter their psychological defenses? (Unlocks at Initiate; construction budget: 30,000 Hope Coins)
System Tasks: Complete system-assigned missions to earn rewards, improve physical attributes, unlock more professions, and obtain additional templates.
Fate Lottery Box: Contains astonishing rewards—and abyssal demons. Enter at your own risk.
Other functions: To be updated.