Civilization: Beyond Two Worlds

When the inexplicable surge disappeared, Kang De opened his eyes.

The familiar ceiling, the soft bed under him, and a piece of paper in his hand.

He sat up silently. The chandelier, the wardrobe, the bed, the table, the curtains, and everything around him was extremely familiar. This was the place he had lived in for more than twenty years. This was his home.

This was Earth.

He pushed open the bedroom door and walked towards the living room. The curtains were drawn in the living room, and the sunlight was dyed in a dim yellow color. The entire house was terrifyingly quiet, revealing a lonely and cold feeling.

Kang De silently turned on the gasoline generator on the ground.

With a buzzing sound, he turned on the electric light. The light chased away the gloomy yellow hue and the house became bright. The old music player also made the sound of it starting.

”

Time passes and never returns. The past can only be recalled

…”

The old song of the previous century sounded slowly. A pleasant female voice filled the cold living room. That was the song that her parents liked to hear the most. Usually, these retro music pieces would echo in the house.

Kang De sat down at the table and opened the binder diary in front of him.

This diary was very thick. There were about 300 to 400 pages, and every piece was filled with words. He flipped to the end and neatly placed a piece of paper beside him on the second last page.

He gently touched the beginning of the latest page of the diary.

“22nd of January, 317 days after I transmigrated. Peace.”

“Dad, Mom, I’m back.”

Every day, he would bring back a new piece of paper and put it in this binder diary.

Every time, it was placed on the second last page.

Because the last page… was not part of the diary.

Kang De slowly exhaled and put the diary aside.

Apart from the diary, there was also a handmade radio transmitter that was pieced together on the table.

He had completed this with Old Wang next door when he was in junior high… Old Wang liked to fiddle with these things.

He picked up his earpiece and turned on the radio. There was silence for a moment.

Then, he said something he was already familiar with.

“Hey, can you hear me?”

“My name is Kang De, a citizen of the People’s Republic of China. My ID number is 330100…”

“My father’s name is Kang Jinzhu. He works overseas. He’s in Africa. The company is…”

“My mother’s name is Li Shaoyuan, a teacher of the people. Her work unit is…”

“I live in the Jinxiu Qian River District. I’m here now.”

“I can’t go out. What surrounds the district is an invisible white fog. It’s like an invisible wall that can’t be broken or passed through. I’ve tried every method I can think of. Be it hitting it with a car, burning it, or digging a tunnel… All methods are useless. I’m trapped here.”

“No electricity, no mobile signal, no network, nothing.”

“I can only use this method to send a message out in hopes that someone will receive it.”

“If you’re someone who happens to hear this message, please report to the police immediately. If you’re a staff member of any national agency, please know that I’m still here. I want to leave.”

“I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t know if this is an alien invasion or a joke from the gods. There are no signs of life in the district anymore. There are no bacteria, insects, animals, or people here. Please think of a way to contact me. Please save me.”

“Perhaps at this moment, the country has already worked hard around this white fog wall. Perhaps everyone is thinking of all ways to break through this wall. I’ve already done all I can to try. I can only wait and pray that everything is fine. If there are no better methods for the time being, please at least tell my family and tell them not to worry. I’m fine here.”

“I don’t have to worry about food and clothing for the time being, but I’ve used many things and have caused some ‘irreversible losses’. I’ll compensate you accordingly. Therefore, please give me a chance to compensate.”

“So… did anyone hear that?”

Kang De whispered softly, then there was silence as he held his breath, listening and praying.

However, there was only static in the earpiece, as before.

The hope he prayed for did not appear as usual.

After a long time, Kang De whispered again, “Can anyone hear me?”

Still, there was no answer.

After a long time, he slowly put down the earpiece in his hand.

His name was Kang De, a Chinese man, the luckiest person in the world, and a pitiful worm.

He was lucky because a certain power that surpassed humans had descended in the district he lived in at a certain moment. The white fog that could not penetrate and destroy surrounded this place. All the living beings had disappeared. Kang De would have been among them—but he had transmigrated at that moment to the other world.

Moreover, he could transmigrate back.

It was a two-way transmigration.

He was pitiful because he had transmigrated to a deserted island in the middle of nowhere. There was no one there, only various strange, ferocious, and strange animals and plants from another world. When he activated his ability to go back to Earth, he discovered that he was surrounded by this white fog and could not leave. He was alone…

It had been nearly a year.

He stood up, walked to the French windows in the living room, and pulled open the curtains.

He looked at the city.

He had already witnessed everything in front of him 316 times. It was identical.

This residential building was in the northernmost part of the district. From the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room, one could see a bustling main road. Opposite it was a towering commercial building. Further north was another district and another commercial street. Further north from that was the Qian River that connected the entire city.

This was the scenery he had seen for more than 20 years.

—But that was a year ago.

What he saw now was another scene.

At this moment, there were dense cars parked on the bustling main road. The traffic lights were no longer shining, and the traffic was no longer moving. It was as if time had frozen. North of the road were the two commercial buildings, the bank downstairs, and the hotel upstairs.

Further north… was an endless white fog.

There was no neighborhood, no commercial street, no river view, and no opposite shore.

Everything familiar was enveloped in a misty white fog.

He could not see the outside nor could he go outside.

The entire district, and even the area around it, was enveloped by white fog.

It formed an uninhabited city siege.

This was the situation that Kang De faced.

He did not know what had happened. He did not know anything. There was no one he could confide in or ask for help. He could not contact anyone, be it his parents or friends, or the government.

Clearly, during the short period of time he transmigrated to the other world, Earth had changed drastically.

Perhaps the aliens had captured all the living creatures in this district, or perhaps a power that humans could not understand had instantly descended, but all the living creatures were captured without any resistance. Only a person who happened to have transmigrated to the other world escaped, but he was also trapped here.

He could activate the ability to transmigrate once a day. He could only return for a short period of time every day. Most of the time, he had to survive on the desolate island of the other world and… struggle with loneliness.

He looked at the diary on the table.

He would write in his diary every day. This was a habit he had developed after transmigrating. He would bring back the new diary page every day and add it, leaving it here just in case.

Just in case…

he thought.

The diary recorded everything that happened every day.

“I ate an egg pancake in the morning, made braised eggplant and stir-fried meat with garlic at noon, and heated them up at night. My culinary skills have improved, my writing has improved, and I eat healthily. Everything is good.”

“I exercise every day. I wear thicker clothes when it’s cold. I try not to turn on the air conditioner when I’m hot. I don’t take cold showers or drink cold water. I don’t take any risks, don’t swim in the sea, sleep on time, and wake up early.”

“Look, Mom, you don’t have to nag anymore.”

“I want to be healthy, safe, and alive until the country saves me, until I’m reunited with you… I understand, I know. Everything is fine. Really, really.”

“Your son has also spent a fulfilling and peaceful day on a deserted island in the other world today.”

There were traces of water droplets soaking on the paper.

Kang De closed the diary.

He rubbed his cheeks forcefully.

“Actually, it’s very satisfying. Really.”

He muttered to himself, “The air in the other world is good, the scenery is good, and I don’t have to go to work. I can even kill black beasts and cut open their bodies to retrieve crystals that strengthen my body. I can become Superman. Moreover, I can take anything from the district and shopping center. I don’t have to worry about food and drink. I can also use solar panels and the gasoline generator to generate electricity. I can play on the computer and watch movies. I can even come back every day… What else is there to be dissatisfied about?”

“Be happy, be happy.”

He turned off the generator and went to the master bedroom balcony. The window opened and a steel cable hung down. He untied his coat and revealed the rope landing device tied inside. He went down in a flash.

This was probably an experience that most people had never experienced. If it was an ordinary person, they would definitely shout. However, Kang De had already done this a hundred times and his heart was no longer shaken.

Speaking of which, this set of rope landing equipment was his mother’s. His mother had also taught him the technique, but she probably did not expect that such a skill would be used in a place like this.

After landing and undoing the lock, Kang De heaved a sigh of relief and strolled down the steps.

The entire district was silent.

The walls and ground around him were covered in graffiti.

They were the testament to his growth, loneliness, and madness.

He walked all the way and first stopped in front of a wall.

It was an image project facing the entrance of the district. On the tall curved stone wall was the name of a Song Dynasty poet. It was considered the entrance to the district, but at this moment, it was covered by a thick canvas that covered the words on it. Beside it was various chiseling tools and buckets, as well as a simple stove.

He stared at the covered stone tablet and was silent for a moment without removing the canvas.

Instead, he slowly walked away.

He walked towards the entrance of the district.

The walls on both sides were painted with large words.

“People of the past, stop here. When you see this line of words, it means that I’m already dead. This is definitely the greatest loss to the country and even to humans.”

“The aliens actually missed me. They didn’t expect me to have this move!”

“It’s the 108th day. No one has come to save me today. I’m going to start looting the place. Hurry up and arrest me.”

Things like that.

Some were instances of laughing and cursing, some were gloomy and sad, and some were serious.

“It feels like… a long time has passed.”

Kang De sighed softly, feeling as if a lifetime had passed.

When he first transmigrated, his life was far less comfortable than now.

The ever-changing weather, arduous environment, and the dual challenges of physical and mental health were an unfamiliar and brand new world. An extremely lush ecosystem inhabited by all kinds of dangerous creatures, extremely aggressive insects and snakes, and ferocious predators… He had to face these alone.

It was not until he encountered those magical animals that the situation slowly improved.

“Ah, I’m getting more and more sentimental… Seriously.”

Kang De patted his head and quickly walked out of the neighborhood to escape this sudden sense of melancholy.

Crossing to an empty and dangerous deserted island and being able to cross back to Earth, but being trapped in this narrow area that was like a siege, could be said to be a double dilemma. If there was any good news…

That was resources.

The abundant resources brought about by the modern industrial society.

At the foot of the west and south sides of the district were more than ten shops.

Apart from the real estate agency, the barbershop, the instrument store, the express hotel, and a few other useless shops, there were also five small restaurants, two pharmacies, a shop, a medium-sized supermarket, an imported snack shop, a deli, and three fruit stores… All of them were open for business. The customers and employees inside had all disappeared, leaving only a large number of goods, fruits and vegetables, ingredients, and medicine.

These were only the appetizers.

The real feast came from the west of the district. It was a shopping center that covered more than 300,000 square meters. There were seven floors above ground and one floor underground. It was filled with various clothing stores, famous restaurants, digital brand shops, and furniture shops. The underground floor was even a large supermarket of 12,000 square meters. The fruits, vegetables, eggs, and food reserves of more than a hundred restaurants in the shopping center were completely enough for Kang De to eat for the rest of his life.

This did not include all kinds of packaged food.

It did not count the stock of ingredients in every household in the entire district.

These were the most important factors why Kang De could survive on the deserted island.

He did not have to take all kinds of risks to hunt for food. He did not have to take the risk of falling ill or even being poisoned to eat food with unknown dangers. He did not have to drink raw water or catch a cold. If not for that, he would have died on this deserted island because of various health problems in a month at most.

However, even if there were so many resources, he could not resist the loneliness and longing that seeped into his bones.

That was the greatest enemy.

He walked out of the district. There were a large number of cars parked on the road. On his left was a row of shops. There were newly opened shops. There were all kinds of flower baskets at the door and a row of cannons. He crossed the guardrail and crossed the road.

He entered the mall.

He followed the elevator with the blackout to the first floor.

He turned left and arrived at the large supermarket. He casually pulled a shopping cart and turned on the xenon light he carried with him. He strolled through this dark underground space.

When he first transmigrated and came to the underground supermarket to collect resources, he was always a little on tenterhooks, afraid that there was a terrifying monster hiding in the darkness.

After all, that strange white fog could not be explained by science. The phenomenon of all the living beings in the district evaporating into thin air was sufficiently terrifying. Then, it did not seem strange for a few monsters to appear in the darkness.

However, he did not. Be it light or darkness, day or night, he was the only living being here, the only guest, and the only resident.

“I’m going to eat shredded potatoes and stir-fried celery today.”

He took a few potatoes and a small handful of celery from the vegetable area and went to the meat area next door to pick up a piece of pork.

“Now for some snacks… Two bags of crispy rice, one bag of cumin, and one bag of five-spice powder.”

“I can also make some fried peanuts for the pigeon and parrot.”

“I’ll get a few apples for the gorilla…”

“Also…”

“Oh, right. There’s also ink.”

“Let’s take another notebook.”

The strong light of the xenon lamp shone in all directions. Ignoring the other areas, the ingredients in the fruit and vegetable area had clearly decreased. This was a problem that needed to be paid attention to.

“Fortunately, staple food like rice and noodles are basically endless…”

Kang De muttered, “For sustainability, I seem to have to start studying how to grow vegetables… I hope the bookstore on the fourth floor is related to agriculture… I don’t think so.”

There was a bookstore on the fourth floor that also functioned as a coffee shop. It could be seen that this bookstore was quite modern in design. What it sold was either the current bestsellers or motivational books by inspirational authors. In any case, it did not have books on farming and agricultural knowledge.

“Forget it, I’ll figure it out myself… Potatoes should be able to grow easily, and chives are very easy to take care of. The others shouldn’t be too difficult. The main problem is that pesticide is very troublesome…”

He muttered to himself, “In short, I have to think of a way. I don’t want to replenish my vitamins through pills…”

“However, I can do it in a while. There’s no need to be too anxious.”

“Perhaps… someone will save me tomorrow.”

He pushed the shopping cart and silently walked past the cash register. As the saying went, he took it without telling anyone.

In the beginning, he would leave money behind no matter what he took. Before long, when his cash ran out, he wrote an IOU. After a month or two, after a drinking session and bout of hysteria, he completely let go of himself.

“After I’m saved, let the country compensate for these losses and let the motherland clean up my mess. In exchange, I’ll offer this huge secret of transmigration to the country.”

“Look at how patriotic I am.”

“Therefore, my great motherland, you must save me…”

He lifted the shopping cart, carried it to the elevator, and left the mall.

The sky was bright and clear, and there were also clouds. Everything was as usual, but the sky was not endless. Outside the square inch was a thick white fog that rose until it was very high as if it would never end.

It was as if this area of activity was only a well.

Kang De was here, looking at the sky from the bottom of a well.

“Seriously, what… happened…”

This question puzzled him for a long time.

It was very difficult to answer.

In the face of such a supernatural phenomenon, human strength was extremely small. Even civilization was extremely small. Not only could Kang De not leave, the people outside… had never entered.

He sighed silently.

“Then… goodbye.”

Kang De looked at his home and the siege under the white fog. He nodded goodbye to the daily life he was familiar with in the past and secretly prayed.

He prayed that everything was fine, that the reunion was not far away, and that something new would happen tomorrow.

“See you tomorrow.”

He closed his eyes and called out silently. A shattered black halo appeared around his body as if a bug had appeared in the game. The doors of time and space continuously overlapped.

In the next moment, Kang De left this silent world.

…