"Are you really not going to reconsider? If it's about the salary, we can still negotiate…"
"I've already made up my mind."
"…Alright then. The doors of this company will always be open for you."
Ten minutes later, Lin Tuo, carrying a backpack, stepped out of the office building. Standing by the roadside, he turned back to glance at the building behind him, a faint trace of melancholy in his eyes.
Lin Tuo had studied advertising design in university. With talent, diligence, and a bit of luck, he made a name for himself early on and successfully joined this well-known company in the industry.
Over the past two years, he had taken on several major projects, earning recognition and respect. Combined with some side jobs, he had saved up hundreds of thousands in savings. If he continued on this path, his future would be bright.
Yet today, he had still resolutely chosen to resign.
He had already returned his rental apartment, and his luggage had been shipped by courier. Hailing a taxi, Lin Tuo left Yang City.
Over an hour later, he stood at the foot of Li Mountain, his hometown.
Li Mountain was an obscure peak, part of the Taihe Mountain Range, located on the outskirts of Yang City. Since it had no famous scenic spots and little development, it had retained a rare, rustic simplicity.
It was midsummer, the mountain lush and green. On rainy days, mist would rise up its slopes. Lin Tuo had grown up here, attending elementary and middle school in the town at the mountain's base. But counting the years, it had been a long time since he last returned.
Following the mountain path upward, he soon stepped onto Li Mountain and saw, halfway up the slope, a large courtyard house.
The residence had two sections, built in a traditional style, and occupied a sizable area. But as he approached, he saw it had already fallen into disrepair.
This was Lin Tuo's old family home. He had grown up in this very courtyard. Orphaned at a young age, he was raised by his grandfather, who ran a martial arts school and taught disciples martial practice for health and strength.
Back when Lin Tuo was a child, people still came to study martial arts here. But as times changed, traditional martial schools gradually lost their appeal. Saddened, his grandfather fell into decline and passed away.
His greatest regret before death had been that the family martial school ended in his hands, leaving him with no face to meet his ancestors in the afterlife.
Thus, long ago, Lin Tuo had secretly vowed: once he earned enough money, he would return to reopen the martial school, fulfilling his grandfather's wish. That was the real reason he resigned.
Creak.
He twisted the rusty lock, pushed open the main gate, walked through the first courtyard, and crossed the silent, overgrown training grounds. Looking at the weeds sprouting from the cracks between the stones, Lin Tuo sighed.
"Looks like I'll have to do a thorough cleaning. After that, a full renovation."
Already planning his next steps, Lin Tuo immediately found a broom and began sweeping the courtyard with effort.
Cough, cough.
When he pushed open the door of a large room in the back courtyard, a cloud of dust choked him into coughing fits. Fanning the air and waiting for ventilation, he stepped inside—only to be stunned to see a gaping hole in the roof from years of disrepair.
"You've got to be kidding me…" He sighed helplessly and shifted his gaze, only to be further surprised: the room was completely empty, except for a massive desk. The surface was bare, covered with dust, its original purpose unknown.
"I don't remember there being such a big table here." Muttering softly, Lin Tuo reached out, somewhat sentimentally, to touch the corner of the desk.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp sting—something had pricked his finger. As his blood seeped into the ancient desk, the dim room abruptly lit up.
[Beep—Blood medium detected. Evolution Sand Table rebooting.]
Before Lin Tuo could react, a mysterious voice echoed in his mind. Even more astonishing, in his vision, the old desk—once coated in dust—was now covered by a faint, nearly invisible light barrier.
The dust vanished, leaving the surface spotless and new.
Not only that—the once empty tabletop now shimmered with countless shifting beams of light, flickering, weaving together. In mere moments, they formed into… a miniature modern city!
Yes—an entire city, scaled down countless times, had appeared on the desk!
"This is… Yang City?" Lin Tuo froze in shock, then quickly realized the city looked extremely familiar.
Closer inspection confirmed it—it was exactly the same as Yang City, where he had lived and worked for years!The skyscrapers, streets, districts, even the cars speeding through the avenues and the pedestrians walking the sidewalks—all bustling with life.
Wherever his eyes focused, the sand table would zoom in slightly, making it easier to observe. He even spotted the very building where his company was located, with people going in and out—though they were too small to make out clearly.
[Evolution Sand Table reboot complete. Location calibrated. "Observation Mode" activated. Observation range: 15,000 square kilometers.]
[Current Ether concentration: Low.]
More mysterious prompts echoed in his mind, and then, within his vision, a translucent virtual panel appeared.
The panel was simple. At the top, in bold, were the words: Observation Mode.
At the bottom, it displayed:
Ether Concentration: Low.
Aside from that, there was nothing else.
"What is this? Some kind of black technology? Observation mode? Could it be… I'm actually observing the real Yang City? And the observation range… 15,000 square kilometers… that's about the area of Yang City."
Thanks to his martial training since childhood, Lin Tuo quickly calmed his shock and began analyzing.
"But… how is this possible? An actual city shrunk and placed onto a desk? A sand table… so this is what the name means?"
"Incredible…" His heart couldn't settle. It all felt far too surreal. After some hesitation, he tried moving closer to the "sand table" for a better look.
The entire sand table indeed encompassed the city and its surroundings. At the edges, however, the landscape cut off cleanly. Lin Tuo noticed a cargo truck driving along the highway. When it reached the boundary of the sand table, it vanished into thin air.
Above the city hovered a layer of drifting dark clouds, partially obscuring the view. Lin Tuo thought to himself—it really had been overcast today.
Just then, from the sand table's edge, an Air China passenger plane suddenly appeared, flying straight through the clouds like a model. It passed over the city in a steady line.
"Could this really be real?" Lin Tuo's breath quickened. Finding the clouds obstructive, he instinctively bent down, leaning closer from above, trying to see the city in finer detail.
At the same time—
In Yang City, not far from Li Mountain, it was noon. Office workers crowded into elevators, heading out for lunch. Delivery riders rushed through the streets in waves.
Outside the very building where Lin Tuo had resigned earlier, his manager had just stepped out when suddenly the city's light shifted dramatically—the gloomy sky turned bright.
Moments later, exclamations erupted all around.
"Look at the sky!"
"Holy crap, what is that?!"
"Am I seeing things? Why is there… why is there… a face in the sky?!"
"Quick, record it! Where's my phone?!"
On the streets, countless people tilted their heads back, staring upward at the heavens as the shifting light drew their eyes.
The manager froze, then looked up as well. His pupils widened, his mouth falling open, shock plain on his face.
Above the city, the dense clouds suddenly churned, disturbed by some mysterious force. And then, within the rolling clouds, a gigantic, indistinct human face gradually imprinted itself!
That face, formed from cloudstuff, looked lifelike, almost real. Empty sockets marked the eyes, which gazed down with solemn majesty upon the land below.
(End of Chapter)