Perhaps it was the deceptive lull before the revival of spiritual energy, or perhaps this world was truly just ordinary. As a transmigrator, Jiang Yi had found nothing special about this new world, even after half a year of living in it.
"Six months... Finally, it's time to begin."
In his small, rented room, the handsome young man murmured to himself, exhaling a long, weary breath. In this mundane world, perhaps only the system he carried within him could be considered an extraordinary existence.
[Deduction of the Heavens — Progress: 100%]
To be honest, looking at those four words, Jiang Yi had many theories but no certainty. After a long moment of hesitation, he reached out with his consciousness and pressed the button of the mysterious system—a power beyond the reach of any other mortal.
He had lived an ordinary life once before; he had no desire to repeat it. In this world, he had no ties, no relatives, and no worries. It was better to embrace the unknown than to wither away in mediocrity.
Whir!
The moment the thought crossed his mind, the "Deduction of the Heavens" button erupted in a magnificent light. Stardust-like particles swirled, instantly consuming his entire field of vision. Suddenly, the world around him shattered. In its place appeared a completely unfamiliar sight.
In the vast blue sky, thick white clouds drifted beneath his feet as if buoyed by an invisible force. However, Jiang Yi soon realized it wasn't the clouds lifting him—he was simply positioned far above them. Despite the extreme altitude, he felt no difficulty breathing. It was as if he were walking on solid ground, with no sensation of falling or suspension.
"Am I in the air? Am I even in the original world anymore?"
Confusion filled Jiang Yi's eyes. Even with the experience of transmigration under his belt, he couldn't remain entirely calm in the face of such a phenomenon. He took a few tentative steps and waved his hand through the air, but his skin felt nothing. A bird flew directly through his chest as if passing through a ghost, meeting no resistance whatsoever.
"I exist, yet I do not exist in this space..." Jiang Yi mused, recalling the webnovels he had read in his past life. He was starting to grasp his situation.
[Timeline No. 001 has commenced deduction. The Host may archive and save progress at any time.]
The sudden, cold mechanical voice startled him for a moment before he realized it was the system.
"System, can you explain the current situation?"
[The future of the world and the direction of time hold infinite possibilities. Even the same event can yield polar opposite results due to a millisecond's deviation in timing.]
[The function of the Deduction of the Heavens System is to help the Host simulate and deduce various parallel times and spaces. The Host can personally intervene, change the direction of the deduced world, and archive progress.]
"Deducing parallel timelines..."
Jiang Yi's pupils narrowed. This function was far beyond his expectations. In a sense, this was a "cheat" of the highest order. Even in high-fantasy myths with exaggerated power systems, those who mastered the laws of causality and time were top-tier experts. This system... was terrifying!
[Does the Host wish to archive?]
Jiang Yi no longer hesitated. He nodded firmly. "Create an archive."
As he spoke, he felt a new slot appear in his mind labeled "1." With a thought, he renamed it to [Initial]—the source of all possible futures.
"Operational through thought alone. Convenient."
Before he could explore the system further, the environment around him underwent a violent transformation.
[November 20, 2020. Blue Star remains a scene of prosperity. A noisy, stable life has caused many to forget the bloody nature of reality. As if to remind humanity of their most primitive fears, a meteorite from the depths of space arrived without warning.]
The system's narration acted like a voiceover, explaining the unfolding tragedy. The surrounding clouds evaporated instantly under intense heat. The light refracting through the distorted air turned into a chaotic prism of colors. Jiang Yi looked up, only to see an "Eternal Sun" occupying his entire vision, screaming through the atmosphere as it rushed toward Blue Star. Behind it lay a trail of pulverized satellites and destroyed space stations.
"Such a massive meteorite..." Jiang Yi frowned. If a rock that size hit directly, human civilization would be declared dead on arrival.
[The Host shows caution, sensing that things are not so simple.]
[Although the governments of Blue Star failed to detect the meteorite in time, they mobilized a counter-offensive with staggering speed. Countless high-energy weapons were aimed at the sky, launching the most violent thermal offensive in human history.]
"For humanity!" "This is our last stand!"
Inside high-level military commands, generals barked orders with ferocious expressions. Simultaneously, an overwhelming swarm of missiles took flight, turning into a brilliant rain of light as they intercepted the burning titan from all directions. Jiang Yi even noticed "forbidden weapons" mixed in—technologies that were supposed to be purely theoretical.
"Even so, it shouldn't be enough to erase it," Jiang Yi said, shaking his head.
Indeed, while the global firepower was fierce, it could only shatter the meteorite into smaller fragments. Current human technology wasn't capable of vaporizing such mass instantly. Just as he predicted, the meteorite broke apart under the nuclear and thermal barrage, raining down across the globe on a massive scale.
[The sudden threat was shattered by Blue Star's military, avoiding the total extinction of civilization. However, the fragments brought a different kind of doom.]
[In a microscopic world undetectable by humans, an unknown virus spread through the air along the burning remains of the meteorite, eroding the biology of plants and animals alike.]
The scene shifted. Jiang Yi was no longer in the sky but deep within a jungle scarred by a meteorite strike. A squad of fully armed soldiers was cautiously approaching the impact site, their movements tense and wary.
"A virus, a special ops squad... this plot feels familiar," Jiang Yi thought, stroking his chin with interest. It was like watching a high-budget blockbuster.
Perhaps due to the system's inherent magic, Jiang Yi found he could perfectly understand the foreign languages the elite squad was speaking, despite never having studied them.
The system was truly impressive!