Chapter 1 Nine Stars in a Row
"Dear citizens, an extremely rare natural phenomenon will occur on time at 11:53 tonight - the conjunction of nine planets. At that time, the nine planets in the solar system will be in a straight line. This is the first time in nearly three thousand years that such a rare phenomenon has occurred. So what does this phenomenon represent? And what impact will it have on our lives? Now we would like to invite an astronomical expert to interpret it..."
On the narrow screen of an old TV, a beautiful female host in a suit showed a dignified smile and reported the news fluently. A note on the screen also scrolled, "Rare astronomical phenomenon of nine planets in a row, which occurs only once in three thousand years."
It was around seven in the evening. Gu Nian had just come back from work and was sitting on the sofa to rest. Unexpectedly, she turned on the TV and heard such a news. Gu Nian couldn't help but get interested. Nine planets in a row? It sounded like the beginning of a time-travel novel. While listening to the experts on TV interpreting the rare astronomical phenomenon of nine planets in a row, Gu Nian went to the kitchen to cook a bowl of quick-frozen dumplings.
The hot dumplings were served on a plate, and Gu Nian prepared a dipping sauce with sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, and red oil before eating dinner. Gu Nian's parents passed away early, and she grew up with her grandfather. Her grandfather also passed away a few years ago. Gu Nian has long been accustomed to living alone, and she tries to live a fulfilling life. Even if she can only cook frozen dumplings every night because of her busy work and daily overtime, she will insist on making a dipping sauce for herself, as a way to have fun in her ordinary life.
The news about the nine planets in a row had stopped on TV, so Gu Nian simply ate her dumplings while searching on her phone. As expected, netizens on social networking sites were discussing this rare astronomical phenomenon.
Someone had a wild idea and said that this might be a sign of time travel. The netizens below began to discuss enthusiastically which essential books for time travel or what equipment they should bring before going to bed tonight. Amid the heated discussion among netizens, one comment was particularly inconspicuous: "Am I the only one who thinks that maybe this nine-star conjunction is a sign of doomsday?"
Gu Nian was scrolling through his phone all the way, and he just found this doomsday comment funny. Are netizens' imaginations getting bigger and bigger these days? But Gu Nian thought again, maybe the one with the biggest imagination is his grandfather.
Gu Nian's grandfather taught physics in middle school for his whole life. He was a rare college student in that era. It was said that he had studied abroad. Strangely enough, Gu Nian's grandfather never mentioned these past events. He didn't even believe in science. He only focused on teaching Gu Nian breathing techniques. Yes, it was breathing techniques. According to his grandfather, this was a breathing technique passed down from generation to generation by ancestors. It had a great connection with Taoism. It was said that if one practiced it to a high level, one could fly several feet into the air and prolong one's life by a hundred years. Gu Nian questioned the old man's statement in a scientific spirit, but his grandfather would only insist on telling Gu Nian that he didn't understand. The end of science was metaphysics.
When Gu Nian's grandfather passed away, the old man mysteriously took out a jade lotus from his pocket and handed it to Gu Nian, saying that this lotus was left by the ancestor who taught him the breathing technique. It has been passed down from generation to generation in the Gu family, along with the ancestor's will - if his descendants encounter nine stars in a row, they must wear this jade lotus to sleep, so that they can see divine revelations in their dreams and obtain divine treasures when they wake up.
Gu Nian felt that his grandfather was simply stubborn. First, his grandfather practiced breathing techniques for his entire life, but he died at the age of 80. The so-called breathing technique can prolong life by a hundred years is nonsense; second, Gu Nian has practiced breathing techniques for more than 20 years, but his physique is that of an ordinary person, and he can only fly several feet in the air in his dreams. From this, it can be seen that the ancestors were either teasing their children and grandchildren, or they also met a liar and passed down the liar's words from generation to generation.
Grandpa Gu closed his eyes and passed away peacefully. Gu Nian buried him and became an ordinary high school student, then an ordinary college student, and then an ordinary office worker. Her life was peaceful and uneventful. It was not until today when she heard the news of the nine planets in a row that Gu Nian remembered the old man's last words and the jade lotus that she had kept in the bedside table.
This jade lotus is extremely delicate. On the walnut-sized white jade, petals bloom one after another, and you can even see the lotus pod and lotus seeds in the middle of the flower. It is a rare treasure. Gu Nian fell in love with it as soon as she saw it. She never showed it to anyone and kept it in the bedside table, playing with it from time to time. Thinking of her grandfather's last words before his death, Gu Nian hesitated for a moment, but decided to sleep with the jade lotus tonight.
Forget it, just treat it as a filial son and a good grandson. Gu Nian consoled herself. After a busy day at work, she lay in her warm little bed and fell asleep quickly.
In the dark bedroom, the clock ticked to eleven fifty-three.
Nine stars in a row.
Gu Nian had a long dream. In the dream, the Antarctic ice shelf suddenly collapsed, and then the world was hit by an extreme cold storm. The cruel low temperature swept over in just a few days, and the global temperature reached more than minus 50 degrees Celsius. Then there was a cold fog that swept the world, bringing the entire Blue Water Planet to minus 100 degrees Celsius! Countless people were frozen into ice sculptures in their sleep and could never wake up again. Tornadoes stirred up the sea water and roared in. All coastal cities were flooded and submerged. The world was wailing, and only one in ten human races survived.
When the low temperature hit, Gu Nian was in the north, living in the house left to her by her parents. Because of the doomsday trend, the house could not be sold at all, and the cash in her hand depreciated rapidly. She used up all the cash in her hand, and even pawned the jade lotus, in exchange for a ticket to the southern refuge base. She suffered a lot along the way, lacking food and clothing. Her left hand was completely frozen and necrotic, so she had to amputate it to save her life. Even so, she died the day before she arrived at the refuge base. She was casually abandoned by her entourage on the side of the road, waiting to be devoured by wild beasts. Gu Nian’s biggest regret before her death was that if she had known this, she would not sell the relics that her grandfather had passed down in the end...
The dream continues.
Gu Nian saw that after her death, natural disasters continued. After the extreme cold, meteorites hit the remaining bases. Then there were volcanic eruptions, floods, water and soil pollution, and food crises. Animals and plants mutated and lived on human blood... The entire Blue Water Planet seemed to be constantly cycling in extreme natural disasters. All environments were full of cruel malice towards humans. Fewer and fewer humans survived, and eventually, the earth became completely dead, with no trace of any human activity.
Gu Nian woke up from her dream with cold sweat rolling down her forehead. She touched her back and found that her pajamas were soaked.
Thinking of the tragic scene in the dream, Gu Nian seemed to still remember her unwillingness before death. She was only 23 years old and had not had time to enjoy the beauty of life. She was going to die like a grass in hunger and cold. The pain before death seemed to still remain in her body. She shuddered suddenly.
This dream was absolutely true, Gu Nian had no doubt. The feeling of reality that was right in front of her eyes was definitely not a simple nightmare. She had a clear understanding from the bottom of her heart. This was a prophetic dream! Could this be the divine revelation that our ancestors had talked about? Thinking of this, she hurriedly touched the jade lotus on her neck, but found nothing. There was only an empty hanging rope.
The jade lotus is gone! Gu Nian quickly turned on the bedside lamp and searched everywhere, but there was no trace of the jade lotus beside the pillow or on the bed sheet. She had clearly hung it around her neck before going to bed? How could it be gone? The jade lotus was indeed gone, and Gu Nian was so anxious that she simply took off her pajamas and checked the hanging rope.
As soon as she took off her pajamas, Gu Nian's eyes froze. On her smooth and white belly skin, three inches below her belly button, there was a lifelike lotus tattoo. Looking closely, how come the pattern was exactly the same as her own jade lotus? Gu Nian was shocked and her head was dizzy as if she had never had a tattoo! Could it be that the jade lotus disappeared and turned into this tattoo that suddenly appeared on her body?
Gu Nian looked at the lotus tattoo tentatively. As soon as she focused on it, she felt her eyes blurred. When she came to her senses, she was already in a quiet farm!
The farm was quiet and beautiful. In front of Gu Nian were neatly laid out farmlands, and beyond them were dense forests, green grasslands, and rivers flowing far away. The wind blew by, and the sound of flowing water and the fragrance of grass and trees filled her nose. But she was clearly in her own bedroom just now? Gu Nian took a few steps outside in astonishment, intending to go to the farmland to take a look.
"Meow, look at me, look at me!" a voice came.
Gu Nian looked over and found a cat lying on the ground. When the cat saw Gu Nian looking over, it walked over, stood up, and put its two front paws on Gu Nian's calves. The cat had brown patterns on its snow-white fur, long and fluffy hair, a beautiful symmetrical face, blue eyes, a round face, and a cocky beard. "Congratulations to the host Gu Nian for binding the portable farm. I am the system elf Lotus. I will provide the host with newbie guidance next."
Cats can talk? It's actually a system? Really, this amount of information is really too much. Fortunately, Gu Nian has read a few apocalyptic system novels before, so he calmed his mind and began to concentrate on listening to the novice's instructions.
The kitten named Lotus spoke in human language and introduced itself to Gu Nian. It turned out that the jade lotus that Gu Nian's family had inherited was the carrier of the system. The system detected the nine stars in a row and finally activated, successfully binding with Gu Nian and activating this portable farm that belonged to Gu Nian. Lotus was the projection of the system in the portable farm, and the precognitive dream was a novice benefit for the host. According to Lotus, Gu Nian needed to work hard to explore the farm and cultivate crops, which would greatly increase Gu Nian's survival rate in the world of natural disasters.
"...The farm can be used for planting, harvesting, and opening a workbench to synthesize food and tools. It is as smart and convenient as in the game, meow, but it requires the host to work hard to upgrade meow~" The lotus kitten shook its head, its tail lifted up, and explained cutely, meowing from time to time.
Planting? But it seems that there are no seeds now? Could it be that the seeds have to be brought from the outside world? Gu Nian quickly discovered the loophole in Lianhua's words. She quickly asked: "Can I bring things from outside into this farm?"
"Of course. However, the host has only unlocked part of the farm area. You need to upgrade to unlock more land meow~" Lotus said.
I didn't expect such a good thing to happen! It seems that I not only have an extra farm that I can grow with me, but also an extra storage space and a shelter that I can hide in in an emergency! Thinking of this, Gu Nian couldn't help but get excited. Following the guidance of the lotus, she changed her mind and left the portable farm and returned to her familiar bedroom.
It was still August, and the night air was still filled with the warmth of late summer. Gu Nian could still feel the heat on her skin. Recalling the cruel cold she had foreseen in her dream, she felt extremely grateful for the hot weather now.
However, according to the prophetic dream, there is still a month before the world changes drastically and the severe cold will officially arrive. She doesn't have much time left. Fortunately, society is functioning normally now. As long as she quickly buys various supplies and stores them in her portable farm, and then finds a suitable place to live, she will be able to survive the natural disaster and wait until the Blue Water Planet regains its vitality!
Gu Nian carefully counted her assets. Her parents passed away when she was in elementary school, and her grandfather passed away when she was in high school. The cash left by her family was only enough for her to finish college. She had just graduated for a year, and she had saved 50,000 yuan by working 996 and living frugally. This was enough for daily living expenses, but it was a drop in the bucket to stock up on goods.
It seems that I have to find a way to raise funds. At this moment, Gu Nian's cell phone suddenly rang. It was Gu Nian's uncle calling.
Why did the eldest uncle call him? Gu Nian quickly understood and came up with an idea to raise funds.
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