1 A Messed Up World
Very early in the morning, wailing sounds could be heard from the Shen family's home.
Standing outside was a middle-aged woman and a little girl, all engulfed in a wave of emotion while staring at the 17 years old boy before them.
The young man allowed them to hug him while rubbing her backs gently.
"Mother, sister... I'm going now. This is the only way for our family to survive. Remember to keep the bank card safe. The enlisting money should be enough to ease the burden of taking care of Yao Yao's schooling for a while. Don't worry. After I get into the Federation, I'll be able to earn way more and send some back fast!
The middle-aged woman tapped her fists on his chest in pain: "Stupid fool! It's not the money I'm worried about. If I had known that you had signed up behind my back, I would've never left you out of the house that day. Don't you know how risky it is to serve the Federation? Every day, people die. And every day, people get recruited. Do you know how dangerous and brutal those Ugorian bastards are? I've already lost my husband to the war. So why do I have to lose my only son?"
Tears streamed down the pale woman's face as she tightened her grip on his clothes.
Why?
Why did it have to be him?
The little girl of only 9 years old cried her eyes out as well, as she hugged her brother's legs firmly, unwilling to let go.
"Brother, brother, please don't go."
The young man looked at them and sighed: "Don't be like this. As a man, I have to do what I have to do to make sure that you are properly cared for. And besides, I promise you that I won't die. If possible, I would also like to bring dad home."
The middle-aged woman placed her hand over her mouth and choked in tears.
"Mom. The reports said he was missing and not dead. Knowing dad, I believe he would be out there somewhere. I know you don't want me to look for him. But no matter how risky it is, as his son, I owe it to him to find him. Mom... Yao Yao... I have to go."
The middle-aged woman firmed her grip on her son before pulling away painfully: "Mother knows that there's no other way since you already signed up. Just promise mom that you will stay alive and not do anything reckless."
Ji Shen paused for a bit before nodding in agreement: "Alright. I promise to stay alive and not do anything I'm not sure of. As for you, little sister, you have to remember to take good care of mother when I'm away. Right now, make sure to study hard and do your best in school. Your brother will be counting on you to make it and get a good job in future."
The little girl fisted her tiny hands in determination: "Don't worry, brother. I won't let you down."
"Hmmm. I know. Yao Yao is the best."
With that, Ji Shen quickly left the duo with a high backpack on his shoulders as he made his way towards the village entrance.
The Federation Vehicles should be waiting just outside.
Ji Shen looked at his surroundings and couldn't help lamenting a bit.
Sure enough, even this place was more dangerous than earth.
Yup!
Ji Shen was a transmigrator from earth who died from cancer.
He woke up 3 days ago on this planet called Blue Star and quickly analyzed his situation.
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This Blue Star was very similar to that of earth. But rather than having 7 continents, it had just 6.
Even the way the continents and regions got named were entirely different from what he was used to.
There was no such thing as Japan, Asia or any of the common names.
To further understand this world, one had to begin from 250 years ago.
In the year 2015, a catastrophe happened that instantly shook this world, destroying all buildings and 70% of the population.
The records written by those who survived, said that they only saw thousands of blinding lights falling from the sky.
And what followed was chaos.
Humanity had been pushed back, losing geniuses, books, technology, and was left helpless.
With over 70% of its population lost, they had to start from scratch, living like ancient people.
For the last 250 years, humanity had spent its time rebuilding its civilization and clearing out all the rubble returning to a world that now looked similar to 2015.
So even though this was the year, 2,365... It still looked like 2015.
It wasn't easy building everything back, had by many geniuses and books had been lost.
It was truly a miracle that they could get everything back to the way it was in the span of 250 years.
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Another key thing to note was that after those flashy lights from the sky fell, people discovered massive white crystals deposited everywhere on Blue star.
And after an accidental event, they discovered that these crystals could prolong their lives.
The crystals seemed to internally strengthen and extend the lifespans of plants, humans and animals alike.
And now, people could live up to the age of 200 years.
A 100-year-old woman in this world looked like a 30-year-old woman instead.
And 160 years old was now the age of menopause, where women could stop childbearing.
It was as if they found the fountain of youth.
And so all children from birth, now get injected a certain amount into their bodies.
The crystals seemed to grow like trees after getting cut.
As for transforming them into drugs, it was studied and reserved, just like one would transform herbs into pills.
Only professionals could transform them.
Hence, common folks didn't have much use for it.
So they typically took rewards for turning them in instead. It was the same pay one would get for bringing in herbs, wild ginseng or something else.
The crystals also had grades too. So one had to be lucky to find the purest ones.
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Again, these crystals couldn't give anyone superhuman ability.
It just had one advantage, prolonging one's life and making people less prone to illnesses.
The crystal seemed to be able to cure things like cancer.
It typically worked if one's organs weren't ruptured or damaged beyond repair.
But if one got shot or stabbed even in the foot, the crustal wouldn't be able to heal it.
The person would need surgery.
The crystals were like a gift after the destruction.
Humanity now had a fresh start. But things weren't as simple as they seemed.
