Despite trying with all his strength, Thành Dũng still couldn't open his eyes. Then it suddenly dawned on him—
he had never closed them in the first place.
The darkness wasn't because his eyes were shut.
It was because he could no longer see.
Perhaps the shock from earlier had damaged his brain, leaving him blind.
Nervously, Thành Dũng muttered to himself:
"Don't tell me… I'm permanently blind?
If I'm blind forever, should I start learning martial arts and become Lee Sin…?"
While talking, he waved his hands around, trying to find Uncle Bách. But strangely, the person who should've been right next to him was nowhere to be found. Out of options, he shouted for Uncle Bách and sat down, reaching out to feel for the pavement so he could crawl toward the sidewalk.
But then—
HE REALIZED HE COULDN'T FEEL THE GROUND AT ALL.
A wave of dread crashed over him, chilling him to the bone.
Panicked, he screamed:
"WHAT IS THIS!? Where's the ground!? Is it me, or did it disappear?? What is happening to me—
don't tell me I've been isekai'd???"
His mind was a mess of confusion and fear.
But suddenly, a thought flashed through his head.
Maybe… the problem wasn't him.
Maybe he had been transported into some kind of void.
The idea was insane, but it was the only one that made sense. He forced himself to calm down—panic wasn't going to help him now.
"What a ridiculous thought… Why am I even thinking like this?
Ah! That's right—The Void has nothing to see. It's just pure darkness. That must be why I can't see. And earlier, no matter what I did, I couldn't feel the ground either."
After thinking it through, he convinced himself.
For now, all he could do was wait and see what would happen next.
After what felt like an eternity of waiting for some godly being to appear, he suddenly sensed something—
a sound, a feeling, something familiar.
Then a blinding light pierced through his eyes, sending a wave of discomfort through his entire body. Little by little, sensation returned.
Vision followed, though painfully slow and hazy.
Shapes began to form.
Colors bled back into reality.
He blinked rapidly.
"What… where am I? A… forest?"
Everything had changed.
Gone was the bustling modern city.
Instead, towering trees blocked out the sky, and around him, people were lying on the ground, groaning as if they too had gone through the same ordeal.
Uncle Bách was still nearby—but sprawled out, clearly recovering.
Thành Dũng stood frozen.
One shock after another had left him completely numb. Every time he tried to think, something impossible would happen, throwing all logic out the window.
He stared blankly until everyone around him had already recovered—without him noticing.
"Hey, brat! You turned to stone after seeing a pretty girl or what? Why are you standing there like an idiot?"
Uncle Bách barked, knocking him on the head with a loud bonk.
That familiar pain snapped Thành Dũng back to his senses.
Uncle Bách demanded:
"Oi, kid! What the hell happened? Why did we suddenly end up in a forest? You're the educated one—explain it!"
Still disoriented, Thành Dũng finally looked at him properly and asked in surprise:
"Uncle Bách… when did you wake up?"
He realized it must've been Uncle Bách's smack that snapped him out of his stupor.
But Uncle Bách, annoyed at waiting for an answer, smacked him several more times.
"You damn fool! Is your brain filled with pond water!? I'm asking you a question and you ask me back!?
Hopeless! Twelve years of school and this is what I get?! Useless!!"