Reversing the Milky Way

Back home, Bai Cheng's emotions remained unsettled for a long time. So much had happened that day: first, his girlfriend had betrayed him on his way to work; then, there was the fortune teller downstairs—it all left him with an indescribable feeling. Looking at his 120-square-meter apartment, it felt somewhat empty. Because of his frugal lifestyle, he hadn't added many things; there were only basic household appliances like a TV, washing machine, and refrigerator—nothing else.

When my parents were alive, we never had to worry about household expenses. My father was a key member of a research team, conducting geological and mining research on Mars, while my mother served as his assistant.

Although my family wasn't wealthy at the time, we could meet all our material needs. When I was with Ye Yao, she would often come to visit. My parents were quite pleased with her when they met her. It turned out that my father and Ye Yao's father, Ye Wenbin, were old acquaintances. They had worked at the same research company, but for some reason, Ye Wenbin left the research team with some employees. When buying this house, Ye Wenbin even lent my father some money, which enabled us to purchase this house near the city center. Although it was close to the city center, the neighborhood was quite old. Even so, it cost more than 400 million yuan to buy it in full. I just don't know how much money my father borrowed from Ye Wenbin, and he hasn't paid it back yet.

When her father saw Ye Yao, he said, "What luck you have, kid, to have found such a beautiful girlfriend. You'd better treat her well from now on." Ye Yao gave him a professional smile.

Bai Cheng saved money and tried his best to meet Ye Yao's requests because of his father's words. However, all of this changed in the second semester of Bai Cheng's freshman year. His father had made a major discovery and went abroad to exchange ideas with a research team in the United States. Because his mother had just returned from Mars, she was worried about him and went with him.

While the aircraft was en route, the passenger plane carrying the parents malfunctioned due to aging equipment and lack of timely maintenance, leading to the tragedy. All 17 members of the research team on board perished, and their significant discovery was lost in the depths of the ocean.

Subsequently, the US and China jointly launched a rescue operation. The sea where the accident occurred was over 8000 meters deep. The rescue team searched the surface for three days, finding only a few bodies of victims. They then began exploring the seabed in an attempt to find the box used to carry the important discovery, but to no avail.

It is rumored that a rare mineral capable of altering human genes was discovered on Mars, which could significantly improve the human body's environment. However, the box has never been found. Due to concerns about intelligence leaks, the box used to transport the information was specially made, making it impossible to locate even with the most advanced electromagnetic radar. It remains in some area on the ocean floor to this day.

Back to the present, Bai Cheng's thoughts had returned. After a simple dinner, he turned on the TV. The Banana TV logo was playing a virtual animation called "Battle Through the Continent." Just as Bai Cheng started watching, an advertisement popped up, lasting almost two minutes. A notification in the lower left corner read: "Want to skip the ad? Banana TV membership solves your ad-free experience and makes you love the Banana Channel! VIP membership: ** yuan per month."

Bai Cheng frowned. He wouldn't have watched this channel if it weren't exclusively broadcast on Banana TV. He had no choice but to watch the commercials. After the commercials, the opening animation began. Bai Cheng thought, "Phew, it's finally starting. These distributors are really greedy for profit." The opening animation finished, and a recap of the previous episode appeared, showing the scene of the protagonist, Xiao, being jilted at his engagement. Then the screen flashed, displaying "Episode X," before going black and a pop-up window appeared: "The preview has ended. The following content is VIP content. Please recharge to become a VIP member, XX yuan per month."

"Tsk---- Are you kidding me? It wasn't like this yesterday. It was only 20 minutes long. Two minutes were for commercials, two minutes for the beginning, and then two minutes for the recap of the previous episode. And then my preview was over?" I have to say, these distributors are getting more and more outrageous. They don't even give you a chance to see the full episode.

Helpless, Bai Cheng switched to the news channel again. This time, an expert with a receding hairline appeared on TV, reporting on the time it took for the electromagnetic energy to pass through the solar system. A countdown timer showed 108:21:34. Looking at the countdown, Bai Cheng fell into deep thought. The old man's inauspicious divination for him also predicted this timeframe. Could his bad luck be related to this electromagnetic storm? That's impossible. Then why are others unaffected? That old man must have seen the report in the morning and then came out to mislead people at night. Hmm... that must be it.

Bai Cheng didn't think much of it. He checked the time; it was already 9 PM. He tidied up and prepared for bed. Too many things had happened today. Lying in bed, Bai Cheng couldn't fall asleep for a long time. He couldn't believe that his girlfriend of over four years wasn't truly sincere. It seemed that love ultimately couldn't withstand reality. With these reflections, Bai Cheng gradually drifted off to sleep.

(In my sleep...)

"Huh? Where am I?" Bai Cheng stood amidst the starry sky. Countless glittering stars twinkled in the dark night, their light dazzling. Looking out, the Milky Way stretched across the sky like a ribbon, radiant and majestic. Gazing at this scene, Bai Cheng couldn't help but feel a profound sense of awe. Compared to the universe, he felt incredibly small, his life seeming like a mere drop in the ocean.

Just then, space began to tremble, and the surrounding planets started moving erratically. As the tremors intensified, the planets' orbits became increasingly chaotic. Finally, two planets collided due to their overlapping trajectories. In the instant of impact, the surfaces of both planets shattered, spewing out massive waves of magma and volcanic eruptions. The enormous energy surge spread in all directions, triggering a series of terrifying natural disasters. Lightning crackled across the sky, storms raged, and the surrounding universe was plunged into chaos.

The immense impact of the collision forced Bai Cheng to take a step back, his body trembling from the force. Even from a distance, the impact still made his heart race and filled him with awe. As the tremors intensified, a crack appeared in the exploding space, growing larger with each tremor until it stretched for millions of kilometers. As the crack widened, different colors began to appear inside.

One second it was a brilliant blue light, the next it turned red. As the light flickered, the inside of the crack gradually darkened. Bai Cheng was dumbfounded. He couldn't imagine what was happening here. The strange crack space seemed to belong to a different universe. No matter which angle he looked at it from, the crack looked the same to Bai Cheng, even though it had expanded to a diameter of hundreds of thousands of kilometers.

Gradually, the surrounding space weakened considerably, and the crack stopped expanding. Only then could Bai Cheng slowly see the scene inside the crack. Inside, there seemed to be two enormous humanoid figures. Based on the proportions of the crack, their figures were at least tens of thousands of feet tall. They were wielding weapons and clashing together. One of the figures was entirely blue, and the weapon in its hand seemed to be a sword. The sword emitted a blue light. As the enormous figure swung the sword, the blue light, along with energy, continuously spread outward through the crack. The planet struck by the blue light was instantly split in two, and the specific internal structure of the planet could even be clearly seen.

Another enormous red figure held a long spear, its tip pointing upwards as it was raised with one hand. Instantly, the spear erupted with a fierce red light, and the red light from the cracks was accompanied by a surge of energy. Upon closer inspection, the red light was also mixed with dense lightning. The surface of the planet touched by the red light rippled, and the enormous energy shattered the planet's surface in an instant, leaving only the planet's internal structure, much like a dandelion.

At that moment, the red figure gripped the spear and thrust it forward fiercely. The blue figure, not to be outdone, gripped the sword hilt with both hands to meet the attack. The instant the two weapons collided, it was as if time itself stood still. A blinding white light erupted at the point of impact, instantly covering the crack and illuminating the surrounding darkness of the universe. The white light was so intense that Bai Cheng couldn't open his eyes. Then, immense energy surged from the crack, causing the surrounding space to tremble once more. With the massive impact, the crack slowly succumbed, collapsing from its surroundings. Planets closer to the crack were instantly shattered by the immense energy, while more distant planets had their orbits altered. Even some smaller star systems were scattered. The crack could no longer withstand the enormous energy and, along with the surrounding collapse, instantly disintegrated, exploding. A stream of red energy shot out from the explosion, heading towards the depths of space.

Bai Cheng, who witnessed the entire process, was speechless. His eyes were wide open, his mouth slightly agape, completely shocked. He seemed unable to believe what he had seen. It took him a long time to recover from his shock.

Bai Cheng: "Is this...is this really real? I can't believe it!" He patted his face, trying to clear his head, then pinched his cheeks a couple of times, confirming that he was dreaming. Then he noticed a series of rhythmic ringing sounds coming from where he was, as if the entire universe was being moved by these sounds, and gradually, everything before his eyes blurred.

The next moment, Bai Cheng, lying in bed, sat up abruptly from his dream. A crisp ringtone sounded from beside his pillow. Bai Cheng casually turned off his phone, got out of bed, and washed his face. The scenes from his dream kept replaying in his mind. They were as vivid as if he had personally experienced them. Generally, people don't remember their dreams when they wake up the next day, or they can only recall the general outline. Bai Cheng thought it was probably because he had a good memory and remembered things clearly, so he didn't pay much attention to it. He then got ready and prepared to go to work.

Just like yesterday, the streets in the neighborhood were bustling with people. The large screen in the distance was still broadcasting that a huge electromagnetic storm was about to pass through Blue Star, and there was a countdown in the lower left corner of the screen. The people in the square below were not affected at all, and it seemed that there were even more people than yesterday.

Bai Cheng approached a street vendor and ordered an egg crepe. It must be said that even in 2050, these kinds of street stalls will still exist; the government doesn't excessively regulate these people, as people at different levels have different consumption habits. Bai Cheng arrived at the company shortly afterward.

Just like yesterday, as soon as Bai Cheng entered the company, he saw his boss, Supervisor Cui, standing at the entrance of the lobby, glancing at his watch every now and then. Upon seeing Bai Cheng enter, Cui snorted and walked away. Clearly, Cui was deliberately waiting for Bai Cheng at the company entrance. Bai Cheng ignored him and began working. However, the company was rather noisy today, with many people whispering and discussing something.

Just then, a colleague leaned closer. It was the same colleague from yesterday. "Hey? Xiao Cheng, did you hear? The company's new general manager announced his engagement today! I heard the dowry alone is a small fortune." Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng felt a strange sense of unease, unsure if it was influenced by yesterday's scene. However, Bai Cheng's attention was now focused on what the fortune teller had said last night and the strange dream. After all, his own life was more important than that bitch, and he felt a sense of unease.

'What am I thinking? That old man must be a fraud.' Anyway, I still have four days left. Once my internship is over, I can be transferred to another department. After thinking this, Bai Cheng calmed himself down and started working again. Soon, the day was over. When he got home that evening, he paid special attention to the area downstairs and found that the old man from yesterday was not there. Back home, Bai Cheng slumped onto the sofa, closed his eyes, and the dream from last night involuntarily floated into his mind.

Just then, his phone rang. Bai Cheng picked it up and saw that it was Ye Yao's mother, Zhao Cuilan, calling. The person on the other end of the line said, "Xiao Cheng, it's like this. After more than a year of getting to know each other, your uncle and I have realized that you and my daughter are not a good match. You know how beautiful my daughter is. There are men who could line up from the south of the city to the north of the city to pursue her. We arranged for you two to be together to give you this opportunity, but who knew that you couldn't even afford a smart bracelet? You two are not a good match at all. You are not worthy of her. Also, Ye Yao is already engaged. You should not contact her again. And one last thing, your parents borrowed 1 million yuan from us when they bought the house. They promised to pay it back within 4 years. There are 3 days left until the due date. We'll give you 3 days. If you can't pay it back by then, we will have to apply to the court for enforcement."

The phone call ended with a beep, leaving Bai Cheng dumbfounded. He knew his father had borrowed some money from Ye Wenbin, but he hadn't expected it to be so much. Given his current financial situation, he had given all his salary to Ye Yao except for his monthly allowance. He simply couldn't come up with that much money, and there were only three days left. Once those three days were up, Ye Wenbin could apply to the court for enforcement.

This is not good news for Bai Cheng, because the current laws are basically perfect, and with the rapid rise of family businesses in recent years, their influence has reached the point where they can affect the country's development. The country's laws have begun to favor them. As for a low-level office worker like Bai Cheng, who has no connections and no money, once he applies for enforcement, he will be kicked out by the enforcement officer on the same day without any chance, and will be put on the blacklist and will never be hired by the company again.

This had a significant impact on Bai Cheng, as he was about to receive a promotion and a raise, and he couldn't afford any mishaps. Therefore, he had to find every possible way to raise the money. Bai Cheng frowned. He couldn't understand why Ye Yao, who clearly hadn't been interested in him from the beginning, had kept him hanging for so long.

Since graduation, Ye Yao would often ask to come to his home. He thought their relationship had gotten closer, but he didn't expect that she would not let him touch this or that. She would just wander around his house and say things like, "This is nice" or "That is too ugly." She would either ask to give him something or say that she didn't like it and wanted to sell it, which made Bai Cheng very depressed.

Could there be something else going on here? Thinking about it carefully, he realized he had almost no furniture left in the past few months. Ye Yao hadn't come over at all, and he had been communicating with her by phone. Every time, she would say she was too busy to meet him, and Bai Cheng hadn't taken it to heart. But now, he was starting to feel something was off.

However, the most urgent task now is to find a way to raise 100 million within 3 days; nothing else matters. With that, Bai Cheng went to bed early. Meanwhile, on the other end of the phone, a man was standing on his living room balcony gazing into the distance, with a woman standing behind him. The man was Ye Wenbin, and the woman was his wife, Zhao Cuilan.