A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

"hat's wrong? what happened to you? Song?"

Song Hongfei woke up to the sound of being called. The first thing he saw was the test paper on the table in front of him—an English test paper!

He was suddenly confused. What was going on? Was he dreaming? Wasn't he just looking at English materials? How did he fall asleep and have a dream? Could it be that he was actually experiencing a dream about "dreaming of taking an exam and waking up to find himself taking an exam"?!

Song Hongfei shook his still dazed head and looked at the blonde, blue-eyed foreign lady in front of him, with exquisite makeup, wearing a foreign military uniform, and a concerned expression. He was completely bewildered.

"I must be dreaming, I must be dreaming!" Song Hongfei comforted himself, but at the same time he realized that this dream seemed a little too real.

Song Hongfei thought he was dreaming, so he blinked his eyes twice and then lay down to sleep again.

The foreign lady seemed even angrier now, glaring angrily at him.

Song Hongfei finally came to his senses, and then he was suddenly shocked to find that this was actually an exam!

He was sitting in a classroom at the moment. The layout, decoration, and furnishings of this classroom were definitely not the style of any classroom in his G Military Academy, nor the style that China should have, nor even the style that should have been in the second decade of the 21st century.

Looking around, all I could see were various signs and markings in English, and I was surrounded by blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners—clearly Caucasian Europeans!

Seeing that Song Hongfei had woken up, the foreign lady seemed relieved. Then she straightened her face and said seriously, "Song, you finished this test very quickly. But you fell asleep in class. You're breaking the rules. I'll give you a C."

Malena – West Point Military Academy Staff Officer. She had long heard that Song Hongfei was a top student. It was said that no matter how difficult the exam was, others would struggle to finish in 90 minutes, but Song Hongfei would finish in less than half an hour and then fall asleep, yet he still managed to get a perfect score.

His story shocked the entire West Point Military Academy. Through word of mouth, it evolved into multiple versions, and eventually, it was said that when Song Hongfei was still young and naive, he casually took an IQ test and scored as high as 160.

As a West Point instructor, Malena had never taught Song Hongfei or witnessed his extraordinary feat. Today, as an invigilator, she finally saw it for herself. This guy truly finished the difficult exam in 20 minutes, while others were still biting their pens, racking their brains, he was fast asleep.

But Malena felt that Song Hongfei was acting a little strange today. She had keenly noticed the confusion and shock in Song Hongfei's eyes when he looked at her after waking up. She didn't understand why, but just felt that it was a little strange.

Song Hongfei secretly pinched his thigh. Ouch! It really hurt! The pain felt so real! Was this not a dream?! But what was happening now? Could it be that even pain felt so real in this dream?

Marlena's voice came again, but it was much gentler: "Hongfei, you Chinese students have been through some things and have been under a lot of psychological pressure lately, but you need to learn to relax and not be as tense as a tightly wound spring."

Feng Liana looked concerned, thinking that Song Hongfei had overworked himself due to studying and training too hard during this period.

Little did she know that Song Hongfei was utterly terrified and speechless with shock.

What? What's going on? What did she say?

After an initial period of confusion and panic, Song Hongfei gradually came to his senses, and his wildly beating heart slowly calmed down.

But his head began to throb with pain, and memories that did not belong to him floated into his mind, mixed with a jumble of chaotic thoughts, rolling rapidly through his mind like a slideshow, causing a huge uproar in his heart.

Is this a dream?

Where am I? What kind of world is this? Have I traveled to another world?

How did I end up in this world? Was it because of those two butterflies? Did I enter the world of the two butterflies' dream?

Inception?

Who am I? How can I possess another person's consciousness, thoughts, and memories? This person is also named Song Hongfei? Which one is the real me? Are we the same person?

One body, two souls? Soul travel?

This must be a dream, right? Otherwise, how could I have complete memories of two completely different people from childhood to adulthood, spanning over 20 years? Why do I remember the other person's life experiences so vividly?

If it's a dream, why does it feel so real? So real that I truly experienced another Song Hongfei's life from childhood to adulthood?

If it's not a dream, then what is all of this?

West Point Military Academy? I am Song Hongfei, a Chinese student sent to West Point Military Academy by the Chinese Nationalist Government.

The Song family, one of the five most prominent families in China? I'm actually the eldest son of the Song family? The eldest son of the third generation of the Song family?

But I know that in the Song family of China, the eldest of the six children in the second generation is the eldest sister, and the second child is the son. When did the Song family have an eldest son who was the eldest?

Is it 1931? The September 18 Incident? But this place is completely different from history. And yet, I've actually arrived here? I've entered a fictional, otherworldly realm?

Parallel universes? Or time travel?

Will everything I do here change my original reality?

What happened in reality? Did I disappear in reality? Or is there still another me in reality? I'm at West Point now, but is there another Song Hongfei at G Military Academy in reality?

What will happen to my parents, my family, relatives, friends, teachers, and classmates? Will they think I've disappeared? How heartbroken my parents and relatives will be?

He finally figured out the unbelievable situation: he had entered a different history! This version of himself was also called Song Hongfei, a student at West Point Military Academy in the United States, and he also had an extremely illustrious background—the Song family, one of the five great families in China.

He finally understood what Malena had been talking about—the September 3 Incident that shocked the world! After the incident broke out, it aroused great indignation among three Chinese cadets, Song Hongfei, Wang Zhi, and Zhang Yi, who were studying at West Point at the time.

A myriad of thoughts, a chaotic jumble of different consciousnesses and memories belonging to two people, erupted all at once. Countless streams of consciousness, or as we would say in later times—streams of information—swirled violently in Song Hongfei's mind like a raging storm, leaving his brain in complete chaos.

However, the distinct impacts felt real, like wild horses crashing wildly in his brain. He felt his brain was in disarray, swelling as if it were about to burst.

At the same time, a terrifying thought surged into my mind: Am I going insane? Schizophrenia? Dissociative identity disorder?

He felt like he was really crazy.