"Brother, brother, wake up! There seems to be something outside my window."
Qin Ziwen, exhausted from moving all day, was woken up by the noise and was furious. "You're a 187cm athletic guy, what are you afraid of?!"
"It looks like a bat, a huge bat."
"A bat scared you like this?!"
Qin Ziwen reached for the light switch on the bedside table.
"Click, click."
He pressed the switch several times, but the room remained dark.
"Brother, it seems the power's out in the neighborhood. I couldn't turn on the light earlier."
Sitting up in bed, using the moonlight from the window, he glanced at his younger brother sitting beside him and muttered, "I'll see just how powerful this bat that scared you like this is. I'll beat it to a pulp and hang it by your bedside every day." He
went to the second bedroom. "Where's the bat? Why are you putting such a big poster on your window?"
"That's not a poster. I didn't put anything on my window." Qin Ziwu's voice trembled slightly.
Qin Ziwen: ?
He stared at the dark, wriggling thing on the windowpane, which
almost completely filled the 1.2 x 1.8 meters.
Moonlight streamed in, making its outline vaguely visible; it looked a bit like a bat. A huge question mark flashed through his mind, "Is that a bat?"
But that wasn't the point. The point was that his house, which he had just bought in the city center, had suddenly become a desolate forest house, with a river winding through the distance.
He pointed out the window, "Where's my whole city center?"
"Damn! Bro, your house's worthless now." Qin Ziwu finally realized that his attention had been completely focused on the thing, and he hadn't had time to observe the outside world. "Thump!
"
A loud noise came from the glass; the sound of their conversation had attracted its attention, and its claws began to pry at the window.
Qin Ziwen took a step back, hooking his left hand on the doorknob. "Go to the kitchen and get a knife, quick."
Qin Ziwu quickly ran to the kitchen and grabbed two cleavers.
Taking the knives from his brother, Qin Ziwen felt a little relieved.
After a brief standoff, the bat perched on the window suddenly spread its wings, instantly expanding two or three times its original size, and flapped its wings towards the forest behind it.
Even through the window, the "bag-like" sound of its strong, powerful wings flapping could be heard. Only
after the bat had flown far away did Qin Ziwen's tense body relax slightly, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
He returned to his bedroom, picked up his phone from beside his pillow, and unlocked the screen; the signal was zero in the upper right corner.
When he saw the scenery outside the window, although he had been mentally prepared, he still felt a moment of disorientation as the truth became clearer.
So, my neighborhood really has time-traveled?
"Whoosh—"
He pulled back the curtains of the master bedroom.
Under the night sky, the apartment buildings were bathed in the cold moonlight. Outside the neighborhood, in every direction, stretched a vast, endless black forest.
"Chirp, chirp~"
On the trees on both sides, colorful birds, unlike any native species to Earth, curiously watched the group of uninvited guests below.
Not far from the eight buildings, a number of residents gathered in an open space, the atmosphere heavy with tension.
A middle-aged man in a suit said in a deep voice, "I've tried many times, but the phone doesn't go through. There's no signal at all. Even going to the rooftop is the same. Besides, I've looked around from the rooftop, and all I see is forest."
An older woman said worriedly, "Will the government come to rescue us?" A
younger woman next to her pointed to the two suns in the sky: "I think it's a bit doubtful. It's hard to say if we're even still on Earth."
The boy in the gray tracksuit angrily blamed his companion, "It's all your fault! You insisted on inviting us to your house. Now look what happened, we've all time-traveled! How am I supposed to go back? My mom must be worried sick."
His companion, slightly taller, also looked grim in response to his companion's accusation. "How the hell should I know? Are you the only one with a mother? How could I have predicted this? Instead of blaming me, you should think about how to survive."
Qin Ziwen and his younger brother Qin Ziwu stood to the side, exchanging a glance.
Qin Ziwu whispered, "Brother, it's a good thing we time-traveled at night, your house is still there. If we had time-traveled during the day, you would not only lose your house, but you would also have to pay off the loan."
Qin Ziwen glanced at his younger brother, "Do you think you're being funny?"
Qin Ziwu gave an awkward smile, "It's already like this, so let's be optimistic, it can't get any worse anyway."
After waking up in the middle of the night, the two brothers didn't dare to sleep all night and accepted the fact that they had time-traveled. By dawn, the residents of the community had gradually noticed the abnormality, and some people were knocking on doors one by one.
Their Yujing Jiangcheng community had a total of 10 buildings, mostly low-rise residential buildings. The area that had been time-traveled covered the entire community, including the outer wall of the community, the south gate and the east gate, and a large iron gate on the north side that was usually closed and locked.
At the same time, the underground parking garage was also intact, and the entrance and exit of the parking garage was next to the east gate.
In addition, the time travel happened at night, and most of the residents were at home. Roughly speaking, there must have been at least one or two thousand people.
In the center of the crowd, a middle-aged man in a suit looked around and said, "Our water, electricity, and gas have all been cut off. You're probably in the same boat. Food in the refrigerator won't keep for long after the power goes out. To survive, I think we should unite and find a stable food source nearby."
A bald man in a short-sleeved shirt diagonally opposite him suddenly interjected, "There's a forest right next door. Do you think we'll lack food? I think you're just trying to seize power. I've seen plenty of people like you."
The middle-aged man in the suit remained expressionless. "I'm just suggesting, not forcing anyone. I'm looking for like-minded friends. Those willing to cooperate can try to survive together.
My name is Huang Tao, I live in Building 7, I studied freestyle fighting for a few years, and I enjoy hiking and camping. I have some experience with setting up camp and making fires."
Outside the crowd, an elderly woman surnamed Li, living on the second floor of Building 8, clapped her hands. "Oh dear, the power's out! The meat in the refrigerator will spoil. I need to smoke it up quickly."
With that, she hurriedly turned and left.
Many onlookers, alerted by the warning, immediately went home.
Others, unsure how to proceed, quickly asked neighbors who knew. Many people only know that smoked meat is made by grilling it over a fire, but they don't know exactly how long to grill it, how high to place the grill, whether to rub it with salt, or whether to dry-grill it directly.
Qin Ziwen nudged his younger brother with his elbow, "Come on, let's go take a look."
Qin Ziwu was shocked, "Brother, we usually order takeout, we don't have any meat at home."
Qin Ziwen: "Just because it's not available now doesn't mean it won't be available in the future."
Grandma Li was very enthusiastic. She answered everyone who came to ask her questions. Later, she even invited others to her home to demonstrate how to marinate meat. Seeking someone to do … "This smoked meat, the technique is actually simple, just remember to marinate, smoke, and store it. We used to rub it inside and out several times with coarse salt, then press out the blood with stones, and then smoke it. Remember not to roast it directly over a fire; you have to use damp wood or sawdust—something that produces smoke but not fire—to slowly simmer it, hanging the meat to dry gradually. When the meat turns a deep red, feels firm to the touch, and is light in your hand, it's smoked enough."
"No salt? You can smoke it directly too. Cut the meat thinly, don't leave large pieces, cut it into thin strips, hang it up, and smoke it slowly. This way it will last a little longer, but without salt, it won't last very long."
Grandma Li's husband, in his wheelchair, went to the sink to wash some fruit and distributed it to the neighbors who came in.
Some ate it directly, while others put it in their pockets.
"Thank you." Qin Ziwen accepted the apple with both hands.
The old woman smiled kindly at Qin Ziwen, then handed Qin Ziwu an apple, which Qin Ziwu quickly accepted.
Grandma Li finished marinating the meat and shared many food preservation tips with her neighbors.
She used to live in the countryside, but after her husband broke his leg, life there became inconvenient, so her son, after their divorce, simply brought the elderly couple to live with him.
"Where's your son?" someone asked.
Grandma Li smiled and said, "He was on night shift yesterday, he's not home."
Many people in the house felt a chill, and the atmosphere in the room seemed to subtly change.
Qin Ziwen left with his younger brother.
"Crunch."
On the stairs, Qin Ziwu took a big bite, smacked his lips, and savored the taste, somewhat regretfully, "This apple is really sweet, I guess I'll have a hard time getting one like this again."
Back home, Qin Ziwen began to take stock of the house.
Actually, he had already tidied up the night before.
The household appliances were basically just for decoration now; the tables and chairs were still usable for the time being. There wasn't much food, just a box of small breads that had just arrived by express delivery the day before yesterday, a box of White Oak Turkey Noodles, half a can of protein powder in the cupboard, and half a bucket of water under the water dispenser.
Inside the drawer was a bottle of unused glue, two large buckets, a solid wood clothesline, several pieces of clothing and bedding rope, two kitchen knives, a fruit knife, and a pair of scissors.
"Some of them have gone out," the younger brother, standing by the window, pointed outside.
Outside the compound wall, a dozen adults were cautiously exploring.
The surrounding trees were sparse, about several dozen steps away.
"Ah!"
A gasp rang out from the crowd below.
Someone pointed ahead.
Faintly, Qin Ziwen heard, "Snake." "A huge snake."
Not far from the group, the grass rippled, and a dark green snake, thicker than a sewer pipe, fled in fright.
From the angle of the building, the snake was at least five or six meters long.
Qin Ziwu raised an eyebrow. "Brother, this snake could probably swallow a person whole."
Qin Ziwen's expression was grave. "A snake that long could eat a person. I have a feeling the animals around here are all quite large; we need to be careful."
The group below, after encountering the large snake, fell silent, a group of them exchanging words.
A moment later, the group dispersed, and three people turned back to the residential area.
Qin Ziwen took the blade of a fruit knife, then used a kitchen knife to sharpen it on the top of the clothesline and cut a groove to insert the blade.
He wrapped the joint with rope, dripped glue into the gap, and after the glue dried, wrapped another layer of rope around it.
This made a simple spear. He adjusted it several times to make sure it wouldn't come loose easily.
"Put it on." Qin Ziwen tossed a long-sleeved winter jacket to his younger brother. They were about the same height and build, so their clothes were basically interchangeable. Before
leaving, Qin Ziwen made sure to wear thick, high-heeled winter boots, a leather jacket and trousers, and tucked his thermal underwear into thick cotton socks, making sure it was completely covered.
After going downstairs, the two headed straight for the south gate.
In the open space in front of the south gate, people were scattered in twos and threes, mostly in family groups, somewhat like a team channel in a game. Teams with strong, adult men were more popular.
"Hey, Xiao Qin, come here." A woman waved to Qin Ziwen from a distance.
"Sister Wang?" Qin Ziwen didn't expect to run into his department head, Wang Juan, here.
Next to Wang Juan was her husband, whom Qin Ziwen had seen a few times. There was also a slightly younger woman wearing glasses, who was secretly sizing up Qin Ziwu.
"Xiao Qin, what's going on? The company had a project progress meeting today, and now everything's delayed!" Wang Juan sighed.
Qin Ziwu glanced at her, somewhat annoyed. Who does she think she is, calling my brother "Xiao Qin" like that?
The woman with glasses said, "Anyway, there aren't two suns on Earth, so we probably can't go back."
Wang Juan smiled and said, "You, and your brother, perfect, team up with my husband. More people means more safety. You men are stronger, so you can scout and provide cover."
She continued, "My sister is a nurse and has first aid training, so she can be in charge of logistics. We're just short two strong men, so you can come with us; it'll be more efficient."
Qin Ziwen's lips twitched, and he laughed angrily, saying calmly, "We have our own plans, so we won't trouble Sister Wang." He
then turned and left.
"Hey, wait a minute! Young people, how can you have no team spirit? What kind of time is this? What can you accomplish by going it alone? There are three of us, and two of you."
Qin Ziwen didn't respond anymore. Encountering such an oddball so early in the morning was unlucky.
He still thought he was at the company.
Watching their retreating figures, Wang Juan's husband frowned in displeasure: "Why is your subordinate so disobedient? She has no sense of the bigger picture."
After they'd walked a distance, Qin Ziwu complained, "Brother, your boss... does she still think she's in the company?"
"Maybe some people are just used to being bosses."
Descending a short flight of stairs to the south gate, Qin Ziwen stopped. The visual impact was striking.
One glass door was broken, while the other was wide open. Inside was a smooth floor, and outside lay a desolate wasteland overgrown with weeds.
Large patches of knee-high weeds grew haphazardly, and further on, a vast, lush forest stretched out. Several birds flew overhead.
(End of Chapter)