Volume 1: Entering the Future for the First Time
After digging for more than ten minutes, Shu Xun furrowed his small eyebrows. The vermilion mole between his eyebrows appeared even redder in the darkness. Shu Xun found it a bit strange that he hadn’t reached the surface yet in such a short distance. After a brief pause and confirming that the direction seemed correct, he continued to wave his little claws.
Another ten minutes passed, and Shu Xun had to stop his movements. He turned his head to glance at the darkness behind him, realizing that something was amiss. This situation could only mean that there was an error in his direction. However, even if the direction was slightly off, digging at such an upward angle should have brought him to the surface by now.
Shu Xun tried to walk back, but after a short distance, he encountered a dead-end. Perplexed, right at the moment of confusion, he witnessed the soil layer in front of the dead-end moving. It was slowly filling in towards his location, and the soil layer showed no signs of being soft as if no one had ever dug there. It was as if someone was repairing the spacetime, erasing every trace left by Shu Xun.
Shu Xun attempted to dig with his claws, but the soil in front of him quickly restored itself, even more rapidly filling in towards his position. Forced to step back, Shu Xun quickly reacted, turning and running to the other side.
Unable to comprehend what he was facing, Shu Xun knew that if he delayed any longer, the air in the passage would deplete. And there was a high possibility of being buried by the rapidly advancing soil layer, erasing all traces, making it seem like nothing ever existed.
Reaching the end where the soil seemed normal, Shu Xun quickly started digging. The silent and pitch-black cave created an immense sense of pressure. Shu Xun’s digging angle this time was almost perpendicular, with the excavated soil casually piling up behind without being cleared. After digging for two or three minutes recklessly, there was still no sign of light. However, the hollow space he dug behind him was being filled at an even faster pace.
Shu Xun’s chubby face tensed, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. His movements became faster, and with no light behind him, in his limited night vision ability, Shu Xun saw the soil layer behind him mercilessly closing in.
Within the cave, there was a faint flash of light and the little figure had disappeared. Shu Xun transformed back into his original form, a small bluish-gray furry mass carrying a small package. His two small claws were moving almost like a blur, swiftly transferring the excavated soil backward.
Even so, several minutes later, the soil layer continued to chase, gradually engulfing the small furry mass. The pitch-black and chilly underground returned to tranquility as if nothing had happened.
What Shu Xun didn’t know was that not far from where he was digging for ginseng, a man dressed in ancient black clothing stood silently. It was none other than Shu Xun’s long-awaited father. The man waited for a long time without seeing any movement. Seemingly sensing something, his aura suddenly became chaotic, and his body swiftly moved like a flash, jumping into the pit Shu Xun was digging. However, he couldn’t find Shu Xun.
After meticulously inspecting the pit and even expanding his spiritual awareness to search the surroundings, there was still no trace of the little ginseng-digging figure. The chaotic aura dispersed in the small pit, and without control, it spread out from the center, turning sand, rocks, and trees within a hundred meters into dust. The once lush forest quickly turned desolate. In the empty jungle, there seemed to be a kind of reluctant and helpless sorrow murmuring low.
After standing quietly for a long time, the man finally stood up and left, heading in a certain direction. His figure was soon engulfed by the jungle.
On the other side, Shu Xun’s figure had long been submerged in the thick soil. Thinking that he would inexplicably meet his end like this, he felt the pressure around him vanish. His body experienced a sense of weightlessness as if falling. Shu Xun tried to open his eyes but couldn’t. Overwhelmed by drowsiness, he eventually fell into a deep sleep.
When Shu Xun opened his eyes again, the surroundings were still dim, but not pitch-black. Shu Xun could see the outlines of things around him, although they all appeared very unfamiliar.
Feeling no danger, Shu Xun transformed into human form and sat cross-legged. He organized the chaotic information in his mind. Shu Xun didn’t expect the long-awaited inheritance to suddenly trigger in such a situation, catching him off guard.
After receiving the inheritance and talents, Shu Xun let out a sigh of relief. The doubts that had lingered in his heart for many days were finally answered. Since the day he was abruptly abandoned in the jungle by his father, Shu Xun had been pondering why, but he could never guess the reason.
And now, with the inheritance, Shu Xun finally gained some understanding.
The treasure-seeking mouse lineage, regardless of which race, needs to roam around, searching for heavenly materials and earthly treasures. This also means that they have a strong yearning for space. Some treasure-seeking mice even trigger special talents that allow them to shuttle between different continents and spaces. In this way, treasure-seeking mice can access a broader realm of treasure hunting. However, such talents are too extraordinary and gradually fade away over time.
Until the appearance of the Huanchen Continent. Shu Xun’s mother was born on this continent, where the spiritual energy is abundant, and the heavenly path is generous, nurturing many precious species and lives. Shu Xun’s mother inherited the talent of space-time traversal. However, this ability was too distant in bloodline history, and Shu Xun’s mother initially didn’t realize the existence of this talent.
During a disturbance that affected the entire Huanchen Continent, or rather, the collapse of the continent, this talent awakened, saving Shu Xun’s mother, who had fallen into a temporal rift due to the continent’s collapse. Shu Xun’s father tightly held her in his arms at the critical moment. Through a combination of luck and strength, they miraculously survived and were transported to another space, which is Earth.
The talent of traversing through time and space has been passed down to this day but is now extremely fragile and highly unpredictable. It has shifted from active control to passive triggering. The treasure-seeking mice inheriting this talent may never trigger it throughout their entire lives. Transforming space-time once is already quite challenging, so Shu Xun’s parents couldn’t return to their original timeline and decided to settle on Earth.
At the moment of Shu Xun’s birth, upon seeing the vermilion mole between Shu Xun’s eyebrows, his mother and father already knew that Shu Xun had inherited this talent for traversing through time and space.
However, because the activation conditions for this skill are very low, his parents never mentioned it. Moreover, this talent is quite peculiar, and if one is not aware of it, it can extend the time it takes for the talent to be triggered.
But what surprised the couple was that Shu Xun displayed the prelude to this talent’s activation immediately after birth. Besides the basic ability to traverse through time and space, this talent also includes crucial adaptability and learning skills. The three babies born were all very intelligent, but only Shu Xun, from birth, learned the Northeastern dialect and quickly mastered the operation of modern electronic devices from Earth’s era. If the Northeastern dialect could still be explained by intelligence, the untaught electronic devices made Shu Xun’s parents realize the omen of the activation of this talent. It was because of this that everything unfolded as it did.
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Shu Xun’s parents adopted a seemingly extreme approach, seemingly cutting off all paths for Shu Xun. Thus, Shu Xun could only move forward. However, looking back now, in that dense and ancient forest, was Shu Xun’s safe wandering truly just a matter of luck?
Those seemingly ruthless actions were all because time was running out. Shu Xun was very clever, and his parents dared not reveal any anomalies or information to avoid Shu Xun speculating the truth and triggering the talent in advance.
After the teleportation, Shu Xun was bound to face an entirely unfamiliar world alone. The month of living alone in the jungle served as a buffer for him. It was during that month that Shu Xun went through the bewildering period of solitary survival, learning the basic skills for survival. That seemingly brief month is now a crucial factor that allows Shu Xun to maintain his sanity and composure.
“Dad, Mom, Shu Bao, Shu Shu…” In the quiet space, faint and almost ethereal calls resonated.
Translator’s corner:
Poor Shu Xun 😭 The author is really testing my emotions 😭…I hope Shu Xun will meet his family again in the future 🥺
