Chapter Two: The Meteorite Disappears!
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In the year 3001, somewhere unknown to the world, dazzling light emanated beside a great mountain.
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Z Country Control Center
The first fast-moving meteorite radiated a brilliant light, then vanished, leaving only a large crater as evidence.
“Bring up the footage for me!”
On the screen, minute particles gradually converged from afar, forming an image.
The land, scarred by war, had endured for nearly two millennia, yet remained pitch-black. Within a forty-kilometer radius, not a single blade of grass grew—the wilderness stretched bleak and desolate.
A meteorite stood upright amid the wasteland, its impact crater strikingly prominent. Despite thousands of years of wind and rain, it appeared as if it had just fallen—untouched by rust or dust.
Like the saying, “not a speck of earth adheres,” scanning diagonally beneath the meteorite revealed it had not touched the ground at all, seeming to float in a void.
“No signs of life detected. No genetic features.”
For three brief seconds, the meteorite emitted no waves, silently disappearing from the screen, leaving only the enormous crater to testify to its former presence.
“Hurry! Investigate the scene from the past fifty years, check whether anyone passed by or if any anomalies occurred!”
The person slapped his forehead—then as if remembering something, slapped it again.
“Also, report immediately if there are any abnormal fluctuations within a fifty-kilometer radius! If nothing unusual is found, trace it back further—go back as far as three hundred years!”
If nothing was found in three centuries, then there was nothing more to be done.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the screen rapidly rewound time. In the blink of an eye, the playback was complete.
“Time trace finished. Aside from some animal activity, there is nothing unusual!
Though, there is something odd now!”
A synthesized electronic voice abruptly announced.
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“What? Show me!”
Forty-three kilometers south from where the meteorite disappeared, a small boy suddenly appeared on screen.
“Spatial fluctuations normal! Wormhole position normal! Sunlight and temperature normal!… Judging by the circumstances, his sudden appearance bears some resemblance to the meteorite’s vanishing, yet no abnormal fluctuations occurred with the boy!”
“Assess all possible explanations!” the middle-aged man exclaimed, slapping his leg.
“Evaluating spatial overlap possibility! Evaluating pulse wave possibility…”
“No probable cause found! The phenomenon originated out of thin air, with no wave activity!”
An anomaly had emerged!
==…===
On the other side of time and space—
“Where am I?” A boy of about eleven or twelve stood in the wasteland, speaking aloud.
He looked at his own hands, his large eyes full of confusion, evidently bewildered by his surroundings.
“Whoosh!” The silent forest was startled by his voice, sending a flock of birds flying into the distance.
“Rustle, rustle,” sounds came from the distant grass.
“Who’s there?” The boy called out suspiciously, peering ahead. He tilted his head, his wide eyes seeming even larger, clearly perplexed by the environment.
The distant grass seemed to react to his voice, the rustling growing louder and closer.
“Huh! Where is this?” A small hand emerged first from the grass, and with it, a petite, delicate girl stepped into view.
She addressed the boy, “Who are you? Why are you here?”
She wore a white dress, her hair carefully braided in curls, and her shoes appeared to be canvas with a cute butterfly bow on the tip. Amid the green grass, she stood out vividly. The girl seemed to be visiting this place for the first time, her puzzled expression adorable.
This place was strange indeed. Behind the girl stretched boundless forest, while before her lay endless wasteland and barren mountains—a striking contrast that would baffle anyone except perhaps a scientist.
“Me!” Hearing her question, the boy shook his head, pressing his index finger to his lips in instinctive contemplation.
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His mind stalled—he found his memory empty, not a single recollection, and he didn’t know how to respond to the girl, stunned into silence.
“You don’t know?” The girl saw his gesture, assuming he didn’t recall his own name. She stepped closer, circling around him, finding nothing unusual about him.
His simple clothes were spotless, free of dust or stains. The shoes—whose type she couldn’t discern—were immaculate, gleaming with a faint technological glow. His hair stood upright, as if affected by an explosion, suggesting some special treatment. Clearly, he was a very tidy boy.
“You don’t know your own name?” she asked, puzzled. After all, the boy was about her height, likely around eleven or twelve; it seemed impossible he wouldn’t know his own name.
“Me!” The boy hesitated, unsure how to answer.
“Shall I give you a name?” The girl paused, thinking hard about what name would suit him.
Before the boy could reply, she exclaimed excitedly, “Little Mountain! Little Grey! Forest Mountain? Last Mountain! Li Last Mountain?…”
She rattled off a string of names, watching him intently, hoping he would choose one.
“Little Grey! Little Mountain? Forest Mountain! Li Last Mountain? I don’t like any of these! I’d rather you call me… hmm!” The boy sucked his finger and declared firmly, “Little Mountain!!!! Last Mountain… which is better? I don’t know! Haha!” He smiled at her, clearly unsure what name suited him.
“Then I’ll call you Little Mountain! Little Mountain!…? I just like calling you Little Mountain!” The girl’s words seemed contradictory, but sincere.
“Little Mountain! Haha!” The boy grinned foolishly.
The girl shook her head, looking mildly exasperated.
“By the way, what’s your name?” The boy gazed intently at the girl on his left.
“Me?” She tilted her head, as if pondering. “My name is Lin Ruoxi, but my parents like to call me Xiaoxi!” she said. “You can call me Xiaoxi! Hehe!”
“Xiaoxi! I’m glad to meet you!” Little Mountain turned toward her, beaming, and extended his right hand.
Seeing his gesture, Xiaoxi smiled with satisfaction, reached out her own right hand, and they shook hands, up and down.
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