A Post-Apocalyptic Journey to Another World

"Ring ring..." The alarm clock rang.

This is an ordinary two-bedroom apartment in the suburbs of Pingyuan City. The decoration is simple, but it is clean and tidy.

The morning sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains and onto the spider plant beside the cabinet, giving it a refreshing feel.

But the boy on the bed had a furrowed brow, his fair face was covered in cold sweat, and his eyes were darting around frantically under his tightly closed eyelids, clearly having a nightmare.

Just as the bell stopped ringing, the boy suddenly jumped out of bed and roared, "No, Old Zhao!"

If someone were standing nearby at that moment, they would be astonished at how such a frail body could unleash such a roar, like that of a lion.

As soon as the boy landed, he tossed aside a small cardboard box he was holding and quickly reached for his waist. At the same time, his eyes darted around, and he immediately froze: "This is..."

The boy's name is Zhang Xi, a very rare name, which in 2020 can no longer be described as unsophisticated.

The name was given to Zhang Xi by his great-great-grandfather, who was quite remarkable. He lived to be 105 years old and was said to have attended a military academy and fought against the Japanese invaders when he was young! Unfortunately, he passed away after giving Zhang Xi his name.

The boy had little recollection of his great-great-grandfather, who lived a long life. His parents only chose this unusual name to fulfill his great-great-grandfather's wish.

Zhang Xi's parents both work for a state-owned construction company. Since their son was admitted to the top high school two years ago, they have been frequently traveling for work to earn more money, since the tuition fees for the prestigious school are a considerable expense for this middle-class family.

Earlier this year, he even went to the other side of the world, the United States. Zhang Xi lives alone in his suburban home. Fortunately, he has gotten used to it over the past two years and has no problem taking care of himself.

Sitting blankly on the bed, Zhang Xi's mind was in turmoil. 'Is it May 23rd, 2020? Am I fourteen years old? Not twenty-four?'

'Was this all a dream?'

'But the memories of life and death from the past ten years are so vivid, every moment is so clear. Old Zhao's death feels like it just happened. What kind of dream can last for ten years?'

The boy, who had just woken up, first pinched his arm until it bled. Then he made an overseas call to his parents and learned that they were safe.

Then he sat there blankly for a while, and fiddled with the strange deck of cards for a while, hoping to calm his mind.

He was clutching the deck tightly in his right hand when he woke up; clearly, that deck had traveled through time with him.

He remembered that this was clearly a magic deck, with complex magic runes engraved on the back and various Western fantasy-style patterns representing the deck's abilities on the front.

But now the back of the cards is blank, while the front is a deck of cards? The kind of playing cards we usually play! Including the two jokers, that makes exactly fifty-four cards. And there's no energy fluctuation felt on the cards.

Zhang Xi decided to conduct a test. He put on slippers, went into the kitchen, pulled out a playing card, placed it on the cutting board, picked up a cleaver, and slammed it down.

With a "snap!" sound, sparks flew from the kitchen knife!

He picked up the playing cards again and saw that the entire surface of the cards was smooth and clean, without a single mark! "So hard!" The boy took a breath, turned on the gas, and then threw the cards on it.

The pale blue flames licked the playing card merrily for a full five minutes, yet the card remained unharmed.

"Alright! You're amazing. I was just curious, don't take it personally," Zhang Xi muttered to himself. He gave up on torturing the deck of cards. Strange things like this might have their own will, and if he angered them, he would definitely be in trouble.

He carefully placed the deck of cards close to his body and then returned to his bedroom.

Judging from the fact that a large number of people in the upper echelons of Tianjing City gathered to compete for this deck of cards, it must be an extraordinary treasure.

Zhang Xi felt no joy at obtaining the treasure. Firstly, at least for now, it was useless. Moreover, the fact that he had this set of cards meant that the past ten years were not a dream, but reality, and that his soul had traveled back in time.

The thought that nightmare might happen a year later sent chills down his spine.

At 8:00 AM on May 23, 2020, a bus was speeding along a clean and tidy road in Pingyuan City, China.

The bus was full of people. In the back row, near the rear, sat a pale-faced boy with dark circles under his eyes, looking extremely tired. He was wearing the school uniform of Pingyuan No. 1 Middle School.

Two rows ahead of the boy sat a woman with a little boy. She was chatting with a plump aunt next to her, occasionally glancing down at a large tote bag at her feet, which contained some small items for the elementary school students' extracurricular activities.

The little boy looked to be eight or nine years old and was wearing the uniform of an ordinary elementary school. His big, dark eyes looked around curiously, finally landing on Zhang Xi behind him. He then turned around and tugged at the woman's clothes: "Mommy, Mommy, is that older brother sick?"

The woman looked back, her eyes filled with envy and longing, then looked down at her child lovingly and said, "Xiaozhi, be good! Big brother isn't sick, he's just studying too hard and is a little tired. Xiaozhi, you must listen to me and keep up the good work, study hard, and get into the best high school in the future!"

"Yes, my daughter is taking the high school entrance exam this year. I told her that if she gets into the top high school, I will take her on a trip to Europe."

Upon hearing the words "No. 1 Middle School," the plump auntie perked up and immediately interjected, "No. 1 Middle School is a famous elite school in Pingyuan City, with a very high level of teaching staff."

She rubbed her hands together, shifted her posture, and continued, "Moreover, this school only admits two types of students: those with exceptional academic performance and those from extremely wealthy families. If your child gets into this school, not only will they excel academically, but they'll also make many friends with influential connections! Teenagers are most likely to develop strong bonds at this age, and these will be their future networks!"

With the continued rapid development of China's economy, the increasingly wealthy elites of Pingyuan City have changed their trend from sending their children abroad to study in middle school ten years ago, and have instead begun to favor bilingual luxury schools like the First Middle School.

Leaving aside the school's various infrastructure facilities, let's just talk about the teachers and courses: apart from the Chinese language and literature courses, 80% of the course teachers are foreign teachers hired from around the world.

Regarding the curriculum: the language program offers six major world languages ​​and four popular less commonly taught languages ​​for students to choose from, which is a truly luxurious and top-notch option for a secondary school!

An elderly man sitting nearby looked at the boy's face and dark circles and sighed, "Alas! It's not easy for these kids who get into No. 1 Middle School through hard work." The old man thought the boy was studying too late and it was affecting his rest, but that wasn't the case at all.

The boy everyone was paying attention to was Zhang Xi. The bus was still two stops away from the school when Zhang Xi suddenly waved his cards at the old man next to him and said, "Grandpa, wanna play cards?"

This was immediately met with a pitying look: "Sigh, exam-oriented education is making kids stupid! Are you alright? Why are you waving your empty hand around like that? What kind of playing cards are you talking about? Studying is important, but your health is even more important. You need to take care of yourself and get some rest!" the old man said with great concern.

Zhang Xi carefully put away the deck; now he was certain that no one else could see it.

In my previous life, I was lazy, passively avoided problems, and drifted along with the tide, struggling at the bottom for ten whole years.

This time, starting over, he resolved to change himself, take the initiative, and fight against fate. Ultimately, through his own strength, he protected his parents and carved out a free and independent world for himself, repaying their kindness in raising him.

I also need to find Old Zhao, the old mercenary who has saved me many times and taken care of me all this time. This time, let me take care of you, Old Zhao.

Zhang Xi tightened his grip on the cards, put them in his jacket pocket, and buttoned them up. He silently planned out his schedule for the coming year. A year, though short, could yield many things.

It all depends on tonight. I really hope none of this happens. Life is so wonderful now! Zhang Xi silently watched the people who were frowning and rushing around for a living: "Yeah, they don't know how lucky they are."

A fourteen-year-old boy made such a comment about a stranger among adults. If they found out, he'd definitely get a beating.