Longxia Nation.
At a Mars observation and research base, whose name is not disclosed.
Dormitory building.
Bide lay on his dorm bed, his left hand swollen into a small lump, wrapped in white gauze.
He was a researcher in Longxia Nation, currently an intern at this observation base, with only six months of practice under his belt.
This so-called "Astronomical Observation Base" was a major project of Longxia Nation, primarily dedicated to studying Earth's neighboring planet—Mars.
Here, they observed Mars using telescopes while also receiving data and even samples transmitted from Martian probes.
All of this was in preparation for future exploration, and eventually, even manned missions to Mars.
As for Bide's injury—it was somewhat frustrating.
A few days ago, a Mars rover had sent back some collected items to Earth.
Bide and his mentor, Dr. Liao Shian, received the batch of items.
Everything was going smoothly until Bide accidentally got bitten by a spider that had mysteriously appeared while handling a Mars soil sample.
By all rights, there shouldn't have been such a spider in the research facility.
The researchers assumed that Bide had brought it in from the outside desert himself, so they thought it was his own fault.
To make matters worse, the bite caused him to accidentally break the precious soil sample.
Dr. Liao was furious and confined him for two whole weeks.
Of course, considering the state of his hand, a period of rest was indeed necessary.
"I wonder how the returned samples are coming along," Bide sighed, turning on his computer and plugging in a hard drive. He decided to pass the time by watching a movie he had downloaded.
"Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse… that'll do."
Perhaps because he had just been bitten by a spider himself, Bide instinctively chose this film.
He double-clicked the video and started watching.
Crackle—
The screen flickered.
"Huh?" Bide patted the screen, puzzled.
The laptop was fairly new—it shouldn't break this quickly.
The magical "pat-pat" gesture seemed to work, and the screen stabilized, showing the opening scenes of the movie.
Bide lay back in his chair.
Crackle—
The screen flickered again, more violently this time.
The entire screen was covered in multicolored static.
"What the…?" Bide reached out, intending to pat it again—but stopped just before touching the screen.
A look of horror spread across his face.
It wasn't just the screen that was distorted—it was the laptop itself!
It was as if the entire space around him had warped!
Panicking, Bide stood up and tried to move away.
But a powerful suction pulled him toward the chaotic vortex of warped space, dragging him forward.
"No!"
Bide screamed in terror as he was sucked into the spatial anomaly.
"Where… am I?"
He tapped his slightly dizzy head and slowly got to his feet.
Looking around, he realized he was no longer at the observation base. The surroundings resembled buildings he'd seen while studying in New York as an exchange student in his third year—but slightly different.
Since he hadn't been abroad since, he couldn't immediately pinpoint what was off.
But one thing was certain—something was very wrong.
"In the blink of an eye, I've gone from Longxia Nation to… the United States? What kind of intercontinental joke is this? Quantum collapse? Did I just witness a cosmic wonder?"
As a researcher, Bide had a habit of thinking boldly and imagining wildly.
After the initial panic, he calmed down and began examining the surroundings.
Even if he had somehow been transported across the ocean by a "quantum collapse phenomenon," he could find the Longxia Embassy and get back home.
Being detained was not a concern.
Though the observation base was a front for studying Mars, scientific progress was limited—it was mostly just spending money.
In short, his generation, and perhaps several generations after, were laying groundwork for the future.
As an intern, Bide was not privy to any deep secrets.
In other words, he had some value, but not much.
Thus, while his situation was odd, it was not dangerous.
More fascinating to him was the apparent "quantum collapse phenomenon."
As everyone knows, if a physical quantity has a smallest indivisible unit, it is said to be quantized.
Its basic concept is that all tangible properties might be "quantized."
"Quantized" means that the values of a physical quantity take on discrete numbers, not arbitrary ones.
In short, quanta are the basic units of the microscopic world—they cannot be subdivided further.
But now, he was witnessing something that completely overturned conventional physical understanding.
If he could unravel its secrets, he might become as great as Einstein or Planck.
Thinking this, Bide excitedly began searching the area.
Then…
Buzz—
A strange "voice" suddenly echoed in his mind. His body hair stood on end.
Danger?
Bide's senses were on high alert.
"Hey, buddy… I think you've experienced the same thing I have," a voice came from above.
He looked up and saw a figure almost completely shrouded in darkness, hanging upside down from a high rooftop.
"How is he doing that?" Bide's eyes widened in astonishment.
"Who are you?" he called out.
"Relax, man. You have spider-sense too, right? I think we're… kindred spirits."
The figure laughed softly and performed a move that left Bide in awe.
He jumped from the rooftop over ten meters above.
(End of Chapter 1)