Fantasy Chain and the Otherworld Portal
The soft morning sunlight filtered gently through the curtains, bathing the messy room in warm light.
Lin Xian slowly opened his eyes.
The room was a mess—clothes scattered on the floor, pillows out of place, and the air still faintly filled with the scent of last night's intimacy.
Next to him, Liu Yanyan was still sound asleep in his embrace.
Her gentle breath brushed against his bare chest. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, long hair spread out on the pillow, and her smooth white skin peeked from beneath the blanket.
At this moment, she looked so peaceful.
Like a sleeping kitten.
Beautiful... and now his.
The corner of Lin Xian's lips lifted into a faint smile.
Last night, they had crossed the final boundary in their relationship. The tension that had hung between them finally shattered—and now, Liu Yanyan was officially his woman.
And not just any woman.
Liu Yanyan was the office's primadonna—graceful, intelligent, and with a face worthy of a 90 out of 100.
Just thinking about it made a wave of pride swell in Lin Xian's chest.
He lowered his gaze to look at Liu Yanyan's face once more. Her body still looked tired, as if she had poured all her energy out.
Lin Xian gently pulled himself away from her embrace, careful not to wake her.
She was still deeply asleep, breathing evenly, her body clearly exhausted after their long night together.
He pulled the blanket up to cover Liu Yanyan's body softly, then silently rose from the bed.
After that, he went to the bathroom.
Cold water touched his skin, washing away the lingering warmth of the night and refreshing his mind. A few minutes later, Lin Xian was dressed in clean clothes, his hair still slightly damp.
He walked to the small kitchen of his apartment and began preparing a simple breakfast.
A pair of toasted bread slices, spread with strawberry jam.
Not a fancy meal, but enough to fill the stomach in the morning.
He prepared one plate for himself and another for Liu Yanyan—complete with a glass of cold milk. He placed his plate on the table and neatly arranged Liu Yanyan's plate on the other side, leaving a small note on a memo paper.
"For you. Eat when you wake up."
He wrote briefly.
After that, Lin Xian sat on a chair near the window, slowly biting into his toast.
....
After finishing his breakfast, Lin Xian leaned back on the sofa.
He closed his eyes slowly.
In an instant, his consciousness connected to the storage space of the Golden Chain—a hidden dimension that only he could access through his mind.
The space was silent and vast, almost without boundaries.
Lin Xian stood in the middle of the emptiness, surrounded by large piles of supplies—canned food, drinking water, medical kits, and emergency equipment—all from the "big shopping" yesterday at the supermarket.
But the supplies were not his main focus.
Lin Xian's gaze shifted to another side of the space.
There lay the bodies of mutant rats he had dragged inside, piled like carcasses on a battlefield.
The giant rat bodies began showing strange signs—like drying up from within, as if something was draining their life essence.
And indeed...
Lin Xian could feel it.
Since he placed those bodies inside this space, they were slowly absorbed by the Golden Chain dimension.
Their flesh, blood, and energy—all purified and swallowed by this space.
The result?
Lin Xian's physical strength surged dramatically.
His muscles now felt denser yet lighter, his movements faster, and his instincts sharper.
Even the raw power inside his body seemed to keep growing—like his body was being forcibly "evolved" from within.
But it wasn't just his body.
Lin Xian observed the Golden Chain floating in the air.
Once only wrist-thick, it had now grown larger, with a denser and sharper golden aura.
The chain's ends, usually shaped like swords, now looked sturdier and moved faster—as if alive.
"So this is… symbiosis…" Lin Xian muttered to himself.
Every time he killed and stored a powerful creature in the storage space, the Golden Chain would consume them and strengthen itself.
A terrifying… and perfect evolutionary system.
His eyes narrowed sharply, as if pondering something.
Lin Xian scanned the surroundings, his gaze sharp, searching every corner of the storage space.
Suddenly...
The space trembled.
A strange sound echoed in the distance, like repetitive clicking... like a machine trying to reboot itself.
Lin Xian's brows furrowed.
"Golden Chain... is this a reaction from swallowing too much living energy?"
At that moment, deep inside the storage space—where usually only darkness and emptiness existed—a flicker of pixelated light ignited.
Its shape was strange.
Like… a portal.
Composed of glowing blocks resembling digital pixels.
Full of colors, but not blinding.
"A portal?"
The portal looked similar to those he had seen in fantasy movies.
Carefully, Lin Xian approached.
The aura of the Golden Chain trembled around him, as if recognizing something familiar.
As he stepped closer to the portal, suddenly—
[Fantasy Chain System Evolving]
[Phase 1: Interdimensional Gateway Opened]
[Access to Alternate World: Virtual Reconstruction Space]
[Level 1 (Intermediate)]
[Evolution Points: 112]
[Superpower: Fantasy Chain]
[Skill: Absolute Chain Control (lev 1)]
Floating text appeared in the air, right before Lin Xian.
He froze in place. So... he had a system all along?
All this time, he thought the Golden Chain was just a superpower, never imagining that it had its own intelligence.
And… Fantasy Chain..? Not just a golden chain?
Before he could think further, his body was sucked into the light of the portal.
...
Blinding bright light.
Then…
Silence.
When Lin Xian opened his eyes, he stood in a strange place.
A vast grassland stretched below his feet—but the ground was not ordinary soil.
Everything… was made of blocks.
Three-dimensional pixel blocks formed this entire world—from grass, stones, trees, to the sky and clouds.
Even the sun in the sky looked like a glowing cube.
Yet strangely…
It all felt real.
The wind blew gently, carrying the scent of fresh grass.
A clear river flowed nearby, reflecting the light from the pixel sky.
Even the chirping of birds—whose forms he hadn't yet seen—filled the air with a faint calmness.
"This... another world..?" he whispered.
...
From the Author:
Thank you for reading my novel. If you have any suggestions for improvement, please write them in the comment section—I will definitely read them. Also, could you please leave a short comment so I know if you're a real person or a bot?