Chapter 1: Traveling Through Time Is the Real Driving Force

In a person’s life, sleep accounts for one-third of the time. If we consider a lifespan of 100 years, that means sleep takes up more than 30 years…
During these long 30 years, we may experience many strange dreams, including nightmares.
Scientifically speaking, a nightmare is a dream with terrifying content, a sleep disorder characterized by anxiety and fear—more common in children.
There are various factors that trigger nightmares, but they generally stem from psychological and physical causes.
Scientifically, nightmares have nothing to do with good or bad fortune; they are merely images formed in the human subconscious, carrying no real meaning.
You might have had the same dream for several days in a row, but you’ve surely never had the same terrifying dream for months on end…
It all started on my 20th birthday. From that day on, every night, I kept having the same strange and terrifying dream…
I dreamed that I was trapped in a snake nest, surrounded by countless snakes—some as thin as a little finger, others as thick as an arm. Some had oval heads and were non-venomous, while others were triangular, highly venomous snakes…
Watching those cold eyes stare at me and hissing, I think you really don’t want to know what it felt like.
Chilling!
I ran frantically, running and running, not remembering how far I ran.
It wasn’t until I realized no snakes were chasing me that I tried to stop, only to find my legs wouldn’t obey me, continuing to run mechanically until I woke up the next day.
To be honest, I was on the verge of going crazy!
You might say it’s just a nightmare—just get used to it, right?
Let me tell you, sometimes after waking up from such nightmares, I’d find red, swollen patches on my arms, along with unbearable pain all over my body, especially in my legs.
Do you understand what I mean?
I think this can no longer be explained by science…
Hm? You ask what I’m doing now?
Well, I’m reading “Zhou Gong’s Interpretation of Dreams”—hoping this thing will help. I guess I’m crazy!
Phew! After complaining for so long, I still haven’t introduced myself. Sorry about that.
My name is Jiang Zhe. I’m…
What? Jiang Situ?
Uh, sorry, I don’t remember having that nickname…
What? Traveling through time?

Dude, when you talk about time travel, do you mean when a character, for some reason and through certain processes, travels from one time and space to another? Hah, there are quite a lot of novels like that… No no no, I definitely don’t mean to mock you. I just mean I like reading them too…
What? “Romancing the Three Kingdoms”?
I don’t remember reading that book… No no no, I get what you mean. Maybe it’s just a coincidence with the same name!
Alright, back to the topic. I… where was I?
Well, in short, that dream was really strange, and I’m trying to find a solution. That’s all!
※※※
In the early hours of January 17, 2009, in an ordinary residence in a certain area of Hangzhou, the protagonist of this story was fast asleep in bed…
Narrator: What? You say we came all this way just to watch him sleep?
Don’t worry!
One, two, three… wake up!
“Ah!”
With a muffled cry, the boy lying in bed suddenly sat up, leaned against the headboard, and let out a long sigh of relief.
“…” Reaching out, he turned on the light. Jiang Zhe sat up straight, his gaze falling on his arm, which was throbbing slightly—there were several red, swollen patches on it, similar to insect bites, which hadn’t been there last night.
Shaking his head helplessly, Jiang Zhe pulled back the covers and walked over to the window.
It was still dawn; the first light of day illuminated Jiang Zhe’s face, giving his originally pale complexion a slight reddish tint.
Ever since having that strange dream, he would wake up at this time almost every day, almost exactly at the same moment.
“Ring ring…” His phone by the bed rang.
Jiang Zhe frowned and went to answer it. It was Wang Liang calling.
Wang Liang was one of Jiang Zhe’s few friends—outgoing, witty, and talkative, just like his catchphrase, “Brothers are like hands and feet; women are like clothes.” He was a man of loyalty, but he had a very poor reputation at school.
Strangely enough, there were still quite a few girls around him. As for our Jiang… well, better not discourage him.
“Hehe, Brother Jiang, it’s time to go pee…” Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Zhe hung up the phone.
Staring at his phone, Jiang Zhe shook his head speechlessly, waiting for it to ring again.
“I mean, Brother Jiang, no need to overreact, right? It’s a call from out of town—six cents a minute…”
“Can’t you come up with something different? It’s always the same. Aren’t you tired of it?”
“I’m just caring about you…” Wang Liang’s teasing laughter came through the phone.

“Alright,” Jiang Zhe sat down on the bed irritably and asked in a low voice, “Regarding the thing I asked you to handle… any progress?”
“Hey, hey, Brother Jiang, don’t talk in such a deep voice over such a trivial matter, okay? Otherwise, if someone misunderstands, they might even arrest us! Well… I did ask about it, but…”
“What is it?” Jiang Zhe’s expression turned serious.
“It’s not that important. As you know, my uncle is always talkative. I just asked him, and he went on and on with a bunch of nonsense. Anyway, it can’t be explained over the phone in a short time. For the sake of our phone bills… how about we get together over the weekend and talk in person?”
“Fine!” Jiang Zhe hung up the phone helplessly. Why didn’t you care about phone bills when making those harassing calls in the middle of the night?
Though he said that, Jiang Zhe still really valued that guy. After all, he was one of the few true friends he had.
※※※
It was Saturday, so there were especially many pedestrians and vehicles on the streets, making traffic worse than usual.
There were students walking in groups, office workers neatly dressed waiting for buses by the roadside, and old men and women walking their dogs—people passing by Jiang Zhe from time to time.
That’s what “passersby” means.
Ever since he was old enough to think, Jiang Zhe had been pondering one question: What is the meaning of life?
Jiang Zhe still hadn’t figured it out—or rather, he hadn’t found his own life goal.
Is a person’s life simply about being born as a baby, growing up, getting married and having children, and spending old age in peace?
Can an entire life be summarized in just a dozen words?
That seems far too boring.
As a child, Jiang Zhe had imagined that somewhere in the world, there might be witches flying through the sky on brooms, cunning werewolves, and vampires who drank blood. But as he grew up, he realized that in this scientific era, witches, werewolves, and vampires did exist—but only in movies.
In reality, there are no Spider-Man, no Iron Man, and no Wolverine.
“The greater the power, the greater the responsibility.” When he first heard this phrase, it seemed to touch his heart, but once he calmed down, he realized it was just a line from a movie—a script, like a novel, meant for the public and not a guide for life.
People in the world can generally be divided into two categories. Of course, this isn’t referring to such superficial distinctions as men and women.

There are two kinds of people: those who see the world as it is and accept their fate, in other words, give up resistance; and those who still harbor strange and fanciful ideas… Most of the latter end up joining various churches, worshipping their beliefs, while a small portion ends up in mental hospitals—quite tragic, indeed! Clearly, Jiang Zhe doesn’t belong to the former group, nor does he belong to the latter; he’s nothing like either. As a young person in the 21st century, he’s accustomed to viewing everything from a scientific perspective, but at the same time, he subconsciously denies this view—or perhaps he simply refuses to accept it. There’s no other reason; he just finds it too boring—the world is too routine, too dull, too monotonous. A few friends once jokingly called Jiang Zhe a homebody, saying he always fantasizes about unrealistic things and is lazy… In fact, laziness stems from a lack of interest! Jiang Zhe can spend a whole day browsing fantasy and science fiction novels on the computer, but he can’t muster the enthusiasm to write his graduation thesis, even though he knows it affects his future. Some scholars have suggested that the universe is composed of infinite space and time, and in each spatial realm within a certain timeframe, civilizations may evolve differently—some toward technological civilization, some toward mechanical civilization, some toward biological civilization, and so on. In countless such spaces, there might even exist worlds with magic—of course, this is just a hypothesis with no scientific basis. But Jiang Zhe quite agrees with this view, after all, humanity still knows too little about the universe… Perhaps magic truly exists in some world! “Hm?” As he walked, Jiang Zhe suddenly saw three foreigners standing on the street not far away. Upon closer inspection, he realized they were missionaries, explaining their beliefs to passersby. To be honest, few people actually listened to them; most just walked by in a hurry. Even those who stopped out of curiosity merely watched from the sidelines. This left the three missionaries somewhat disappointed. Out of curiosity, Jiang Zhe walked over. He saw one of the missionaries holding a cross pendant, shaking his head at the crowd watching, then turning to his companions and saying a few words—probably planning to return to the church.

It seemed he stood too close, causing a missionary to misunderstand. The missionary then said to Jiang Zhe in very stiff Mandarin, “I bless you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, child…”
“Uh, thank you,” Jiang Zhe replied awkwardly, glancing at the crowd around him.
At that moment, the missionary’s two companions said something in English. The missionary nodded, turned to look at Jiang Zhe, and asked in stiff Mandarin, “Is there anything I can help you with, child?”
“Uh,” Jiang Zhe instinctively wanted to shake his head, but then remembered his dream and hesitantly said, “Father, I’ve been having a strange dream lately…”
“A dream?” The missionary narrowed his eyes, seemingly amused. He shook his head and was about to leave when Jiang Zhe added, “For the past few months, I keep dreaming that I’m bitten by a snake…”
“What? By what?” The missionary spoke in a mix of Mandarin and English, sounding rather awkward.
“A snake!” A girl among the onlookers answered for Jiang Zhe.
“A snake?” The missionary was stunned, looking surprised. Before he could say anything, his two companions started urging him to leave. After hesitating for a moment, he apologized to Jiang Zhe, “I’m sorry, my child. We have to go. If you have any questions, you can go to the church not far from here. I’ll be there…” With that, he gave Jiang Zhe the cross pendant he was holding.
Watching the three missionaries walk away, and then looking at the amused expressions on the faces of the onlookers, Jiang Zhe left in embarrassment.
I really resort to desperate measures when in trouble… Jiang Zhe wanted to leave this awkward place as soon as possible.
But as he walked, he suddenly stopped. He clearly felt a dull pain coming from his right hand, which was holding the cross…
What’s going on?
Jiang Zhe raised his right hand and realized that the silver coating on the cross had gradually begun to peel off, turning into ashes in the blink of an eye. His palm turned red before slowly returning to its normal color.
“…” Jiang Zhe rubbed his eyes. He couldn’t believe it: What was this?
※※※
Out of concern, Jiang Zhe eventually went to that church. It was the same missionary who had spoken to him earlier who received him.
Unlike Jiang Zhe, who was preoccupied, the missionary seemed very happy to see him. “I’m glad to see you again, my child. Is there anything I can help you with?” As soon as he finished speaking, it seemed he remembered something. Pointing at Jiang Zhe, he said, “I remember now. You dreamed that you were bitten by a snake, right?”

Jiang Zhe nodded and added, “Many snakes!”
The missionary was stunned for a moment before saying to Jiang Zhe, “Please don’t worry, my child. The Bible will guide us…” With that, he walked toward where the Bible was placed in the center of the church.
Glancing at the priest not far away who was flipping through the Bible, Jiang Zhe curiously examined the murals on the walls around the church. Suddenly, his gaze stopped on one mural depicting a bear-like creature seemingly asleep, with an angel holding a divine spear above it.
“What is this, Father?” Jiang Zhe asked in confusion.
The priest, who was still flipping through the Bible, looked up and said with a smile, “This is God reminding us that we must love our world and not be lazy…”
“Hah?” Jiang Zhe found it amusing. He shook his head and was about to leave when a strange sensation flashed through his mind, causing his legs to move involuntarily toward the painting.
“This is…” murmuring, Jiang Zhe slowly raised his hand and, following his inner urge, touched the painting…
“Ahah, Snake!” The priest, who had been flipping through the Bible, seemed to have found what he was looking for. But when he looked up, his face was filled with confusion.
“Child? Child?”
There was no sign of Jiang Zhe anywhere in the empty church.
“Gone?” The priest was puzzled. Suddenly, he heard a strange sound.
“Crack, crack…”
“Oh, my God…” Following the sound, the priest was shocked to see a mural on the wall gradually cracking apart.
“Slos…”