Chapter 1: Time Warp

ience Test.For Su Cen, who could handle internal practice exercises with ease, these questions, though full of traps, did not hinder his ability to identify and address gaps in his knowledge. By the t...Chapter 1 Time's Whirl

The moment time stopped was devoid of any sensation.

Su Can was surprised to see himself maintaining a casual posture, hands in his pockets, left foot already stepping forward with the right foot poised behind for support.

He froze like a statue on the street, an eerie and strange sight.

The mouth he had been gaping open from surprise was still slightly agape; a fly hovering just three centimeters in front of his face had raised its rear to take flight gracefully. Yet it seemed to share Su Can's fate, frozen mid-flight as if paused by an invisible hand, its green compound eyes adding layers of revulsion inside him.

A stream of wastewater thrown by a female shopkeeper from a nearby store dispersed mid-air in a claw-like pattern; droplets the size of beans hovered in the air but refused to fall.

An amber streetlamp hanging over this corner cast its glow on a swarm of mosquitoes and moths that seemed like clouds congealed into concrete.

Yet, ten seconds ago, Su Can's world was still operating within normal parameters.

Three months prior, his company’s project department saw the entry of a formidable rival—a graduate from one of China's top universities. This newcomer's academic background contrasted starkly with Su Can's own checkered record and sub-par university degree.

One month later, this new competitor integrated smoothly into the company, outshining Su Can in business acumen, making him seem inferior by comparison.

A week ago, the board adopted the rival’s project proposal, relegating Su Can to a position of insignificance. Later on, his rival was summoned by the boss at his office, where he embraced the boss's daughter.

Su Can lost decisively to this formidable opponent and relinquished the project manager role he had held for three years, only to be granted seven days' leave as a form of indirect humiliation by the victor.

Su Can’s life was far from brilliant, despite his name. Walking through the small city where he had lived for nineteen years, along this street he had traversed at least ten times, he looked up to see stars twinkling in the night sky above him while dim lights below cast a melancholy glow. Su Can could only chuckle bitterly; his life seemed as bleak and dark as the road before him.

His school performance was poor enough to barely scrape into a mediocre junior high, followed by an agonizing high school experience that resulted in an equally miserable college entrance exam score. In the end, he found himself enrolled at an institution many had never even heard of. If life is filled with countless turning points, Su Can had never been able to grasp any of them; each struggle was tied to failure, weaving a tragic tapestry of his existence.

Su Cen originally thought that his life would be like this, constantly being defeated by others and lingering on the fringes of society. He would eventually marry an unremarkably plain wife and spend his entire life supporting his family.

While walking through a street in the small hometown where he sought treatment, some yellowed and nearly moldy memories resurfaced in Su Cen's mind. Many years ago, he was just like now, walking on this road leading to the gloomy middle school.

In the same manner, at the same location, and even at the same time point, everything seemed as if two points on a timeline had suddenly converged after more than a decade during a dull winter night.

The moment before these ten seconds of convergence, time paused in an instant.

The entire world fell silent. Su Cen didn't know what he had encountered—a deity, a monster, or a terrifying scene akin to "The Grudge." All he knew was that apart from being able to think and having his senses not yet sealed off, he could do nothing else, not even blink an eye. Oddly enough, despite staring wide-eyed for nearly twenty seconds, he didn't feel the slightest bit fatigued.

As he helplessly watched the world freeze before him, was this the early arrival of the Mayan-predicted end times Or was everything merely a figment of his imagination However, Su Cen knew himself well enough to know that he wasn't delusional enough to consider such vivid scenes as mere illusions.

Su Cen was certain that no one could explain this moment, not even Einstein, Newton, Archimedes... Even those so-called experts and professors who make daily noise in the media would be rendered speechless upon encountering something like this.

The world suddenly moved again, but time defied its normal course by rewinding backwards.

Water that had just been splashed out of a nearby sundry shop viciously re-entered its basin. The mature and flirtatious female shop owner retreated back into the store, creating an eerie sensation reminiscent of a horror film.

A green-headed fly hovering three centimeters in front of Su Cen's mouth was violently flung away at supersonic speed.

The stars in the sky suddenly brightened and then quickly dimmed before illuminating again.

So swift that these rapidly changing shadows cast by time on the sky made Su Cen's surroundings flicker with light and darkness.

Everything around the neighborhood was swiftly transforming. Su Cen watched helplessly as a newly built seven-story building next to him quickly disintegrated from its completed form into an alarming skeletal structure before disappearing, leaving behind a sunken foundation that then filled up to become an empty lot with numerous old tile-roofed houses sprouting up.

The sundry shop remained intact. The wooden and concrete structure gradually became more refurbished and modernized over time.

The sky, which was originally empty, gradually filled with a dense network of antennas. Concrete utility poles sprouted out of nowhere by the roadside, narrowing streets and eliminating trees.

Su Can eventually adapted to the entire world collapsing around him as it transformed completely. The one thing that made his heart race was the fact that he never saw another person!

Not a single soul! The world changed silently and swiftly, like a silent performance, with dread and fear slowly creeping into Su Can's motionless mind.

The passage of time gradually slowed down, slowing further until it came to a complete halt once more, much like the initial moment he was frozen in time.

At this point, the surrounding neighborhood had already been completely transformed, resembling scenes from over ten years ago.

Time froze again for about ten seconds.

Return to normal!

"Cough! Cough!" Under psychological pressure, Su Can hadn't breathed for a long time and immediately coughed, gulping in air loudly. The sounds of breathing, sighing, and coughing echoed in his ears.

There was sound now! Finally, there was sound! Oh my heavens, I've finally returned to the normal world!

The surrounding noise suddenly flooded into Su Can's ears as he blinked and noticed that he was surrounded by a sea of students. Men and women, carrying backpacks or pushing carts, passed him closely.

Golden sunlight streamed in from one side, casting a warm glow across the ground, starkly contrasting with the previous dim twilight. Various small stores were doing brisk business.

No flashy attire like those of nineties post-mainstream youth could be seen yet; instead, some young girls who seemed to belong to his school days were in clusters by street stalls beside steaming potato stands.

Su Can instinctively glanced at his watch and was alarmed. Was this still his hand It had shrunk significantly!

Moreover, his shirt and suit were gone, replaced by bare arms. He was only wearing a thin T-shirt that had been bleached white. His lower half consisted of similarly bleached blue jeans, and underneath them were pairs of Star-brand sneakers that looked somewhat old. On both shoulders, there were tightened straps supporting the weight behind him.

Su Cen appeared among the crowd with an extremely peculiar posture: his hand was bent backward, stroking it, while he twisted his head to look over his shoulder as if trying to see a flea on his back. What he saw was...a backpack.

The backpack boldly printed in large letters— "ADDIS"!

MY GOD! He had almost completely left behind the antique double-shoulder bag from his distant student days, and yet it was now hanging squarely on his back. And it was such an unabashed knockoff!

The first thing Su Cen wanted to do was figure out what happened to him. The wisest course of action seemed to be finding a mirror. He eventually stood before the broken half-mirror in the grocery store and got a clear look at himself.

His face had returned to being around ten years younger, still carrying a touch of youthful innocence, his hair no longer as short as it was when he worked but instead soft yet slightly messy bangs that reached his forehead. His thin body was outlined by the T-shirt and blue jeans, along with sneakers, a typical student outfit, standing nearly ten centimeters shorter than his previous height of 174 cm.

After half a minute of being stunned in place, Su Cen finally asked what would probably be the most clichéd question of his life. "Manager, may I ask... which year is it Which month and day"

The woman with beautiful eyes blinked and was initially looking blankly at the crowd of students outside the grocery store but then laughed upon hearing Su Cen's words. She turned around and called out to someone inside, "Mom, there’s a student who asked me what year it is."

An older middle-aged woman came out from the shop, wiping her hands with a towel after washing them, and chuckled. "Which kid has their head in the clouds not knowing which year we're in They’ve really turned into someone else!"

Su Cen thought to himself that she was right; his current situation felt like he had indeed turned back into another person.

"1998, June 13th," the girl said before smiling sweetly. Upon hearing this, Su Cen realized that this girl was actually the future owner of the grocery store. Back then she would have been a woman in her thirties with charm and grace, but now she appeared to be a lively girl around twenty years old who had inherited the grocery store from her mother— presumably his stepmother. This made him feel an unexpected sense of familiarity; at least this was the first person he could identify upon inexplicably returning eleven years into the past.

"Oh, and since you don't even know what day it is, your junior high school exams are in three days. You should face them with a relaxed attitude. But judging by your confused look at the time, I bet you're one of the top students in your class. While you study hard, remember to take breaks too."

"Huh... What Junior High School Exams!" Su Cen was still trying to sort out his disoriented thoughts about being back eleven years ago when he heard the encouraging words from the future female manager.

"Top student" A few girls who had just entered the store turned their eyes toward him, then exchanged glances and broke into a mocking smile.hin it.The parents naturally felt delighted. The report submitted to Mao Nan adhered to official principles and was forwarded to the Group Investigation Team for research; Zhao Chengrong’s long-kept s...