Chapter 1 – The First World 第一个世界

Lin Yuan was sitting at a position by the window in the library. The warm sunlight spilled onto the desk. He was holding a science fiction novel, the pages open, but his thoughts had already drifted far away. The corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up, as if he was savoring some interesting thing. His good friend, Lu Chenglin, strode over, raised his hand and patted him on the shoulder, and said with a teasing smile, "Lin Yuan, don't tell me you're imagining yourself as the male protagonist in the novel again? You've been daydreaming in the library every day, looking like the 'chosen one' by fate."

Lin Yuan let out a soft laugh, crossed his hands behind his head, and leaned back comfortably on the chair. He said self-deprecatingly, "Ah, what's so great about being a novel protagonist? They're so miserable. Either they're transported to a dangerous place or chased and killed by all kinds of people... Besides, where is there a 'chosen one' as ordinary as me?"

The two of them looked at each other and laughed. The atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant. Neither of them expected that this joke would come true.

Suddenly, a faint light flashed across the corner of the desk, instantly catching Lin Yuan's attention. He was slightly stunned and instinctively reached out his hand to pick up a bronze ring on the desk. The ring felt cold in his hand, with a simple material. Its surface was carved with complex and mysterious patterns, and one of the symbols seemed to be alive, faintly shimmering with a dim light.

"Eh? Whose is this thing? Chenglin, is it yours?" Lin Yuan held up the ring and asked in confusion.

[The sky suddenly darkened, and dark clouds quickly gathered, piling up layer upon layer.]

Lu Chenglin curiously leaned over to take a look and quickly shook his head. "It's not mine. I guess someone left it behind. Don't touch it randomly. Be careful of getting bad luck."

However, Lin Yuan seemed to be drawn by some mysterious force and didn't take Lu Chenglin's words to heart at all. He stared intently at the ring. Just then, the patterns on the ring suddenly became slightly warm, and a blinding light burst out from the patterns. His eyes widened in horror, and he just wanted to throw the ring away, but he found that his arm seemed to be frozen in place and couldn't move. A powerful suction force tightly enveloped his whole body.

"Damn it! What the hell is this thing?!" He shouted in horror.

[The dark clouds in the sky were penetrated by a strange red light, as if they were burning with raging fire. The doomsday-like scene was terrifying.]

A low humming sound rang in his ears, and the light and shadow of the world began to distort violently. Lin Yuan only felt that the world was spinning before his eyes, and his consciousness gradually blurred, as if his body was being torn apart. He vaguely heard Lu Chenglin's anxious shout, "Lin Yuan! What's wrong with you?!"

In an instant, the light and shadow completely engulfed him. Then, a biting cold sensation hit him, and he fell heavily onto a wet ground.

Lin Yuan slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying on a desolate hillside. All around was a dense and deep forest, and the breeze carried a mixture of the smell of soil and grass. His palm was pressed against the rough ground, and the dry sand and weeds hurt his palm, which was completely different from the smooth touch of the desk.

"Where... am I?" Lin Yuan struggled to get up and rubbed his dizzy head.

He subconsciously looked down at himself and found that he was wearing a tattered coarse linen robe, and the style was very unfamiliar. Then he looked at his hands, which had become small and slender, and it seemed that his whole body had shrunk by a circle.

"Wait a minute, these hands... this body... why are they so small?"

He hurriedly ran to a nearby puddle, and in the water was reflected the appearance of a thin boy around ten years old. Lin Yuan's mind went blank instantly. His first reaction was that he was dreaming. He pinched his thigh hard, and the excruciating pain made him realize that this was not a dream.

He looked flustered, his brows furrowed, and all kinds of possibilities flashed through his mind: Was it someone playing a prank? Or some new kind of trick? Or was he having an illusion? But the real scene in front of him made him have to believe that this was no ordinary situation.

"Could it be... time travel?" Lin Yuan's voice trembled, full of disbelief. He looked around carefully again. There were no familiar buildings or streets. Only this strange mountain forest and the simple clothes made him finally accept this absurd fact.

"Oh my god, am I... time-traveled?!" Lin Yuan shouted in shock, and his voice couldn't help but tremble. He looked up and down at his small body. The coarse linen robe was full of stains and gave off a faint smell of sweat.

Just then, a clear and rapid ringing of a copper bell came from a distance. Vaguely, he heard someone shouting loudly, "The servant disciple Lin Yuan, come and gather quickly! If you're late again, your spirit stones will be deducted!"

"A servant disciple? An immortal cultivation sect?!" Lin Yuan's mind went blank again. He stood there in a daze for a moment, and then he murmured to himself in disbelief, "My god... The plot in the novel actually happened! But I've only read up to the fifth chapter!"

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林远坐在图书馆靠窗的位置,阳光暖烘烘地洒在桌面上.他拿着一本科幻小说,书页翻开,思绪却早已飘远,嘴角不自觉地上扬,仿佛在回味什么趣事.好友陆承霖大步走来,抬手拍了拍他的肩膀,笑着打趣道:"林远,你该不会又在幻想自己是小说里的男主角吧?天天在图书馆发呆,搞得跟被命运选中的'天选之人'似的."

林远轻轻笑出了声,双手交叉枕在脑后,惬意地靠在椅背上,自嘲道:"哎,小说主角有什么好当的,惨得很.不是穿越到危险境地,就是被各种追杀... 而且,哪有我这么普通的天选之人?"

两人相视而笑,氛围轻松愉悦,谁都没料到,这番玩笑话竟一语成谶.

突然,一抹微弱的光芒在书桌角落一闪而过,瞬间吸引了林远的目光.他微微一怔,下意识地伸手拿起桌上一枚古铜色戒指.这戒指入手冰凉,材质古朴,表面雕刻着复杂而神秘的纹路,其中一个符号像是被赋予了生命,隐隐闪烁着微光.

"诶?这东西是谁的?承霖,是你的吗?" 林远举起戒指,疑惑地问道.

[天空陡然阴沉,乌云迅速汇聚,层层叠叠地堆积起来]

陆承霖好奇地探过头看了一眼,赶忙摇头:"不是我的,估计是别人落下的.别乱碰,小心沾上不好的运气."

林远却像被什么神秘力量牵引,完全没把陆承霖的话放在心上,专注地端详着戒指.就在这时,戒指的纹路突然微微发热,一道刺目的亮光从纹路中迸发而出.他惊恐地瞪大双眼,刚想把戒指扔出去,却发现手臂像是被定住了,动弹不得,紧接着,一股强大的吸力将他整个人紧紧包裹.

"我去!这是什么鬼东西?!" 他惊恐地大喊.

[天空中的乌云被诡异的红色亮光穿透,仿佛被熊熊烈火燃烧,末日般的景象令人胆寒]

低沉的嗡鸣声在耳边响起,世界的光影开始剧烈扭曲.林远只觉眼前天旋地转,意识渐渐模糊,仿佛身体被生生撕裂.他隐约听到陆承霖焦急的呼喊:"林远!你怎么了?!"

刹那间,光影彻底将他吞噬,紧接着,一阵刺骨的冰冷触感袭来,他重重地摔在了一片湿漉漉的地面上.

林远缓缓睁开双眼,发现自己正趴在一片荒凉的山坡上.四周是茂密幽深的树林,微风中夹杂着泥土和青草的混合气息.他的手掌按在粗糙的地面上,干燥的砂砾和杂草硌得手心生疼,与书桌的光滑触感截然不同.

"我... 这是在哪儿?" 林远挣扎着爬起身,揉了揉发晕的脑袋.

他下意识地低头看向自己,身上穿着一套破旧不堪的粗布麻衣,款式十分陌生.再看看自己的手,变得小巧纤细,似乎连身体都缩小了一圈.

"等等,这手... 这身体... 怎么这么小?"

他急忙跑到附近的水洼边,水中倒映出一个十岁左右瘦弱少年的模样.林远的大脑瞬间一片空白,他的第一反应是自己在做梦,狠狠掐了一下自己的大腿,钻心的疼痛让他意识到这并非梦境.

他神情慌乱,眉头紧锁,脑海中不断闪过各种可能:是有人恶作剧?还是某种新型的整蛊手段?又或者是自己产生了幻觉?但眼前真实的一切,让他不得不相信,这绝非普通的状况.

"难道是... 穿越?" 林远的声音颤抖,充满了不敢置信.他又仔细打量四周,没有任何熟悉的建筑和街道,只有这陌生的山林和古朴的衣着,他才终于接受了这个荒谬的事实.

"天啊,我这是... 穿越了?!" 林远震惊地大喊,声音都忍不住颤抖.他上下打量着自己这副小小的身躯,粗布麻衣上满是污渍,还散发着一股淡淡的汗臭味.

就在这时,一阵清脆急促的铜铃声从远处传来.隐约间,他听到有人大声喊道:"杂役弟子林远,还不快来集合!再迟到就扣你的灵石!"

"杂役弟子?修仙门派?!" 林远的大脑瞬间再次一片空白.他呆愣了片刻,随后满脸难以置信地喃喃自语:"我的天... 小说里的情节,竟然真的发生了!我才看到第五章啊～!"