Modern Line

Yixing Peak, Wangshu Terrace.

As dusk settled, Sendai was enveloped in a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere.

Fang Li and her friends, enjoying a rare moment of leisure, sipped tea and chatted idly.

Ling'er, now a young woman, was diligently practicing a newly learned butterfly step in the center of the platform. Her movements were graceful, and her skirt fluttered in the breeze. Little Liuli, a fluffy ball of fur, was chasing its own tail and rolling around happily nearby.

However, this tranquility was broken by a slight, unusual noise.

Ling'er's footwork flowed smoothly, and her toes unintentionally stepped on a seemingly ordinary boundary stone on the edge of the platform, which was actually engraved with ancient spatial runes.

The boundary stone, constantly imbued with the aura of immortals, was inherently unstable. Stimulated by this rhythmic footwork, it suddenly emitted a dazzling light!

"Snap—"

The space shattered with a cracking sound, and a fissure with chaotic electric sparks at its edges tore open instantly beside Ling'er! A terrifying suction force surged forth from it!

"Oh no! It's a random void rift! Ling'er, retreat quickly!" Little Liuli's fur stood on end as she screamed a warning!

Ye Wuyang and Shen Yunzhou, who were closest, reacted the fastest! Ye Wuyang moved with lightning speed, pulling the stunned Ling'er behind him and shielding her with his body. Shen Yunzhou pointed his fingers like a sword, his sharp sword energy piercing the edge of the crack, attempting to stabilize or sever it!

But the suction from the crack was far greater than expected, violent and chaotic!

Ji Qianqiu roared, "What's going on?!" His massive body lunged forward, trying to grab Shen Yunzhou. Xie Chen cried out, "The crack structure is unstable; we cannot attack it by force!" Fang Li's face turned deathly pale, and she cried out in a trembling voice, "Ling'er!"

Everything happened in the blink of an eye!

The powerful suction formed a vortex that instantly swallowed up Ye Wuyang, Shen Yunzhou, Ji Qianqiu, and Ling'er, who were closest to them!

Fang Li and Xie Chen instinctively reached out to pull them in, but were also dragged in by that irresistible force!

Little Liuli transformed into a streak of light and plunged into the crack!

After swallowing several people, the crack quickly closed, and the platform returned to calm, as if the dramatic change had just been an illusion.

In a modern city, behind a skyscraper, lies a quiet, damp back alley.

The colorful lights of distant neon lights barely penetrated, casting bizarre shadows on the ground.

Thump! Ouch!

With a few muffled thuds and low shouts, the group of people tumbled and fell into a heap on the cold, rough cement ground.

The surrounding area was filled with overturned trash cans, discarded cardboard boxes, and other debris.

The drastic spatial shift brought intense dizziness and weakness, as if all the strength in my body had been drained.

Xiao Liuli lay weakly on the lid of a relatively clean trash can, groaning listlessly, "Ugh... spiritual power... am I in the modern world? Why am I being suppressed so severely by the laws of this world... it feels so bad... I feel like my body has been hollowed out..."

Ling'er was the first to wake up with a start. She rubbed her sore arm and grabbed Ye Wuyang's sleeve in fear, her voice trembling, "Father! Where is this place? It's so noisy, my ears hurt!"

Ye Wuyang quickly got up, suppressing his discomfort, and firmly protected his daughter behind him, his sharp eyes scanning the narrow alleyway.

He subconsciously circulated his immortal energy, trying to condense an ice shield, but found that the once vast power could now only generate a faint chill, causing the temperature in the alley to drop slightly.

His expression was solemn, and his voice was low: "...The spiritual energy here is almost exhausted, and the laws are very different. Our spiritual power... is greatly suppressed."

Shen Yunzhou stood up, pressing his throbbing temples. He instinctively pointed his fingers like a sword, but found that he couldn't even unleash the simplest sword energy.

He gazed at the towering buildings and endless stream of car lights in the distance, his brow furrowed: "This world... is not the world we are familiar with. The spiritual energy is so thin, and the rules are completely different."

Ji Qianqiu rubbed his sore arm as he stood up, staring wide-eyed at his surroundings, his mouth agape: "My goodness! How were these buildings built? How are they so tall? They're practically piercing the sky! What are those incredibly fast iron boxes? They're faster than my flying axe!"

Xie Chen was the quickest to calm down. He carefully examined the building materials, the clothing of the pedestrians passing by the alleyway, and the speeding cars, and pondered, "The clothing, buildings, and objects... are quite similar to the descriptions of the 'modern' world that Li'er had mentioned sporadically. We... have probably fallen into this world by accident."

With Xie Chen's help, Fang Li stood up and looked at the scene before her that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

Skyscrapers, neon lights, car horns.

She seemed to be in another world, her eyes filled with complex emotions, as she murmured, "...It really is...this place...the world I came from." Her tone was filled with shock, as well as a distant memory that had been suddenly stirred deep within her heart.

Just then, a night breeze blew by, and Ling'er, who was dressed in thin clothes, couldn't help but sneeze and hugged her arms tightly.

Ji Qianqiu's stomach also rumbled, and he awkwardly rubbed his stomach: "Uh... I think... I'm hungry." With his spiritual power suppressed, his most primal physiological needs became urgent.

At the alley's exit, a small noodle shop with a warm yellow lightbox that read "Old Zhang's Beef Noodles" was still lit, seemingly about to close. The aroma of food wafting from the shop was pure torture for the group, who were both cold and hungry.

Fang Li took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, and said to her family, "Don't panic, everyone... This world doesn't use spirit stones, we use this." She took out several pieces of spirit jade that she had brought from the cultivation world, which in this world were considered to be of extremely high quality ancient jade. "Hopefully we can exchange them for some food. Let's go to that noodle shop and ask."

Ye Wuyang nodded and said in a deep voice, "As you wish." Although he had almost completely lost his spiritual power, he still subconsciously walked at the front, maintaining a protective posture.

Shen Yunzhou and Ji Qianqiu stood guard on either side and behind them, while Xie Chen held Ling'er's hand. Little Liuli lay listlessly on Ling'er's shoulder as the group walked towards the warm light.

The glass door of the noodle shop was polished to a shine, and inside were simple plastic tables and chairs.

The owner, Lao Zhang, was a kind-looking middle-aged man who was cleaning with a mop, preparing to close up shop.

Seeing a group of people dressed in ancient costumes, with extraordinary bearing but looking tired, suddenly appear at the door, he was taken aback. Especially when he saw Ling'er shivering from the cold, his heart softened, and he opened the door: "Gentlemen... want to eat? We're about to close. Oh, this child is so cold... Come in, come in, it's cold outside!"

Fang Li stepped forward and, forcing a smile, explained, "Boss, I'm sorry to bother you so late... We... had a bit of an accident and lost our wallet. Could we... use this to get a bowl of noodles?" She handed over a piece of warm, smooth jade.

Old Zhang took the jade, feeling its smooth, heavy texture and excellent color. A look of surprise flashed in his eyes: "This... the quality is really good!" Seeing Fang Li's earnest expression and Ling'er's pitiful look, his heart softened, and he waved his hand: "Sigh! What's there to say about exchanging it! Everyone has their difficulties! Judging from your outfits, you must be extras filming a period drama, right? Finishing work so late, and the crew doesn't provide meals? That's really tough! Come in and sit down, it's my treat! I can afford to treat you to a few bowls of noodles!" He warmly invited them to sit down, quickly tied on his apron, and started boiling water to make noodles, adding double portions of beef and braised eggs to each bowl.

The noodle shop was immediately filled with the aroma of food.

Ji Qianqiu held the disposable chopsticks, looking at them from left to right, and said with a troubled expression, "Boss, how do I use these... these two little sticks?" Old Zhang laughed heartily, "Brother, first time using chopsticks? Here, a spoon! Use this, it'll fill you up!" He handed over a large soup spoon.

Ye Wuyang tried to use chopsticks like Fang Li, but his movements were stiff. When he picked up the noodles, soup dripped out. He frowned slightly, but still tried patiently.

Ling'er whispered to Fang Li, "Mother, is this 'noodle' delicious? It smells so good." Little Liuli, smelling the aroma of meat, perked up slightly and weakly transmitted her thoughts to Fang Li: "Host! Meat! High-quality protein and energy! Eat it quickly! It will help me recover!"

The group wolfed down their noodles, feeling much warmer, and were extremely grateful to Old Zhang.

While clearing away the dishes, Old Zhang said, "Turn right at the intersection ahead, there's a 'Cozy Inn,' it's cheap."

"Tomorrow morning, go to the neighborhood committee and find Aunt Liu to register your temporary residence. She's a very helpful person; she might be able to help you find some odd jobs."

Just then, a loud-voiced middle-aged woman wearing a red armband happened to pass by the noodle shop and poked her head in: "Old Zhang, who are you chatting with? And who are these people...?" It was none other than Director Liu from the neighborhood committee.

Old Zhang hurriedly explained, "Director Liu! These are some extras who ran into trouble while filming. I treated them to a bowl of noodles."

Aunt Liu's eyes were sharp as she swept over the group, lingering for a moment on the four distinguished men and the pretty Ling'er, her gaze scrutinizing: "Extras? Young lady, what's your relationship with these... colleagues? Where do you live? According to regulations, outsiders need to register."

Fang Li braced herself and continued making things up: "Auntie, they are my... distant cousins. They came from our hometown to the city to visit me and wanted to find some work together. We were just about to find a hotel to stay in."

Aunt Liu's eyes darted between Fang Li and the four "distant cousins," a subtle "I understand" expression appearing on her face. Her tone softened as she said, "Oh—distant cousins!" Her gaze then shifted to Ye Wuyang, whose face was still somewhat pale. "This cousin doesn't look too well. He needs to take better care of himself! Coincidentally, our community is currently recruiting night patrol officers. Two meals are provided, and those in good physical condition will be given priority! If you're interested, come to the neighborhood committee tomorrow morning to register!"