The year was 2023, July 10th, in the sweltering summer of Shuangqing City.
The heat outside was a vicious beast, the temperature climbing past 40°C as if trying to roast the entire city alive.
Li Daoxuan shut down his computer, shook his head a little, and rubbed his temples vigorously before collapsing back into his chair like a salted fish with no dreams left to give.
Work—finally done.
And the sky outside had already turned pitch black.
Today was supposed to be his birthday. He had actually planned to take the day off, relax, enjoy life—
But the client's merciless decree, "must be finished today," shattered that fantasy into dust.
So his birthday had been spent in glorious overtime misery.
Is this what people call happiness?
He'd like to file a complaint with whoever invented adulthood.
Li Daoxuan slumped in the chair for a long time before dragging himself up and walking toward the door.
A giant delivery box sat there—a package about the size of a refrigerator. A courier had delivered it that afternoon. On its packaging, there was only one short message:
"Happy Birthday."
No sender. No note. Nothing else.
He had no idea which friend had sent it. Thinking about it… he didn't have many friends anyway.
Aside from his best buddy, Cai Xinzi, there wasn't anyone else who'd bother with birthday gifts.
He'd been too busy during the day to open it. But now—finally—he could see what this mysterious gift was.
With some effort, he tore open the packaging.
Inside was a massive diorama box—over two meters long, and more than a meter tall and wide. After placing it on the floor, he peered through the glass.
Inside was a miniature ancient village.
A very depressing ancient village.
Dilapidated houses. Torn thatched roofs. The surroundings barren and lifeless. Yellow sand swirling like a dying world.
Li Daoxuan couldn't help muttering:
"Most diorama boxes go for elegant pavilions, waterfalls, little mountains—things that look nice!
Who in their right mind gifts me a sand-blasted apocalypse village? Are they hinting my taste is this miserable?"
Just then—
The wooden door of one shabby hut creaked open.
A tiny plastic figurine—less than one centimeter tall—walked out.
A little girl, long hair and all.
Li Daoxuan jumped.
Plastic figurines… that move?
What, is this an ultra-high-end electronic model? Something this realistic?
Cai Xinzi must've spent a fortune!
He leaned in closer.
The miniature girl's face was delicate and pretty, though far too thin—she looked malnourished.
She didn't notice the giant human staring down at her from outside the box. Carrying a tiny bamboo basket, she walked toward the yellow wasteland beyond the village. Digging, scraping, searching. Soon she found something, carefully placing it in the basket.
She was simply too small. Even the basket was smaller than Daoxuan's fingernail. He couldn't see what she'd picked up.
He rummaged around, found a magnifying glass, and looked again.
Grass roots.
She was digging up grass roots.
The girl searched desperately through the barren land. Sometimes she found a root, sometimes a piece of dead tree bark. Occasionally, she stumbled upon a few green wild leaves—and those moments made her light up with joy, as if she'd unearthed treasure.
She hurried back to the village hut with her basket of tree bark and scraps. Soon, smoke curled from the chimney.
Through the magnifying glass, Li Daoxuan even saw the girl and a middle-aged woman—mother and daughter—holding cracked bowls, pretending to eat.
"Eating bark and roots…?"
Li Daoxuan instantly understood.
"So that's the theme. This diorama must depict a famine era. A reminder to cherish my modern blessed life, huh? Very inspirational. Very positive-energy."
He pulled out his phone and dialed Cai Xinzi.
"Bro, this birthday gift is something else. A whole moral lesson built in. I'm touched. Thanks, man."
A very confused voice replied:
"What gift? Today is your birthday?"
Li Daoxuan: "…"
Before he could respond, a strange noise rose from inside the diorama.
He turned sharply—
Outside the village, a horde of tiny figurines was rushing in.
Ragged clothes. Rusty blades. Wooden spears. Someone was even using a pot lid as a shield. One had a broken plank tied to his chest like armor.
Bandits.
Absolutely, unmistakably, bandits.
They stormed into the village, shouting something tiny and unclear—like mosquito-sized whispers.
Li Daoxuan quickly shut the doors and windows to eliminate outside noise.
Only then could he barely make out:
"Listen up! Bring out all your food! If you don't—
I'll kill every last one of you!"
All the hut doors stayed tightly shut. No one dared step out.
Through a window, Li Daoxuan saw the little girl and her mother curled together, trembling.
"This diorama is insanely detailed…" he murmured. "Who on earth gave me something this high-end?"
Then the bandits kicked doors open, dragging villagers out. The plastic villagers wailed in tiny cries.
One shouted, "We don't have food! Kill me and I still can't make grain out of thin air!"
"Bastard!"
A bandit swung his blade.
The villager collapsed, red dye spilling from his neck.
Daoxuan winced. Too realistic.
A bandit then kicked open the mother and daughter's hut.
The girl burst into tears, her tiny voice trembling:
"Lord Bandit, please spare us… We truly have no food… Look—look at our bowl, it's all grass roots…"
Her voice was soft, sweet, but weak—clearly long-term starvation had left her with no strength.
The bandit cursed, "Damn beggars! I don't care if you eat roots or dirt. No food? Then I'll kill you and eat you instead!"
The girl sobbed harder.
Her mother rushed forward to shield her.
The bandit didn't hesitate—his blade flashed.
Red fluid spurted.
The woman collapsed.
The girl wailed over the corpse.
The bandit raised his blade again, aiming right at her neck—
That was it.
Li Daoxuan couldn't take it anymore.
He yanked open the diorama's top cover, stuck his hand inside, curled his index finger—
Flick.
"PONG!"
The tiny bandit flew like a launched rocket, soaring a full meter before crashing into the yellow sand outside the village. His neck twisted at an impossible angle.
He didn't move again.
Li Daoxuan blinked.
"…Huh.
I can actually flick them to death?"