The Return of Stars to the Jianghu

Luo Yifei picked up a beverage from the shelf. The plastic beverage bottle was deformed, but the beverage inside was still there, while the canned beverage seemed to be completely unaffected.

"Uncle Chen said not to move around." Luo Yifei recalled Shen Lixi's words to him four years ago when he sat on the sofa in front of him. At the time, he was only thinking about being thirsty, so he picked it up and drank it. Later, Sister Lan told him that the drink had long expired.

Thinking of this, Luo Yifei unconsciously glanced at the production date on the beverage bottle. Although the writing was difficult to decipher due to the bottle's deformation, he knew it was January 2010. Looking at the production date, Luo Yifei seemed to remember something else and couldn't help but sigh. Uncle Chen and Sister Lan ultimately couldn't be together; it was truly a cruel twist of fate! Chen Ming and Yang Lan were originally deeply in love, but unfortunately, they were separated as if by death; they would probably never see each other again in this life.

But Luo Yifei refused to bow to fate. Even with only a one in a million chance, he would try his best to see his old friends and acquaintances. He had previously received a message from Mu Qing, asking him to go to the deserted island to retrieve the only remaining game backup. Despite being in the Northwest, he rushed to the island in the east of the mainland as soon as possible.

This small island, called "Desert Island," is just one of many in this tourist area. There are hardly any buildings on the island now; most of them collapsed in the earthquake four years ago. Among the remaining buildings is the famous coffee shop.

Although the four-story building bears a sign that reads "Desert Island Cafe," only one floor is actually a cafe. The basement is a warehouse, the second floor serves as a youth hostel, and the third floor is the owner's family residence. The study on the third floor also functions as a psychological counseling room run by the owner, Yuntian. Yuntian was originally a licensed psychological counselor, but lost his license after inadvertently leaking client information. He then turned to this island to help lost travelers find their way.

After traveling by plane, train, bus, and steamer, Luo Yifei finally arrived on the deserted island. When he walked into the coffee shop, he didn't know that the person who had invited him was not Mu Qing, the programmer he had met in the game studio in Xia City that year, but a middle-aged man who called himself Wen Bin.

It was the off-season for tourism, and there weren't many people in the café. When Luo Yifei walked in, the person waved to him.

Luo Yifei assumed it was Mu Qing's friend and walked over with a puzzled look.

"Are you Mu Qing's friend? I haven't seen him." Luo Yifei asked impatiently.

"Mu Qing won't come. The person who invited you wasn't him, but me. My name is Wen Bin," the man said to Luo Yifei, gesturing for him to sit down.

“There’s no game backup. That game was completely deleted by a computer virus four years ago. But I can give you a map,” Wen Bin continued after Luo Yifei sat down.

"Here's your coffee," said the proprietress, Yuan Quan, as she brought it over.

Wen Bin handed Luo Yifei a folded piece of paper. Luo Yifei opened it and saw a hand-drawn map depicting mountains and rivers, cities of varying sizes, and even the names of some post stations. Luo Yifei knew at a glance that this must be a map of that world.

While Luo Yifei was looking at the map, Wen Bin looked out the window and talked to him about the "tunnel reconstruction".

"You said some tunnels have already been built? Does that mean I still have a chance to go to that world?" Luo Yifei asked eagerly.

“That’s right, the tunnel you passed through four years ago has been repaired from the other end,” Wen Bin replied calmly, taking a sip of coffee as he turned around.

"Who exactly are you? Why are you telling me all this?" Luo Yifei asked urgently.

“I am an observer, and I will only intervene when the influence between these worlds becomes too great. I am not from your world, nor am I from that world.”

"Then where did you come from?"

"More distant galaxies."

Luo Yifei asked many more questions, but Wen Bin's answer to most of them was "no comment".

"Then how can I find them?" Luo Yifei asked unwillingly.

“It’s not that you found them, it’s that they found you.” Wen Bin finished speaking and got up to leave. “Prepare more things, you’ll probably be staying there for a long time.”

"How long?" Luo Yifei also stood up and looked at Wen Bin, who was heading towards the coffee shop's restroom.

"No comment."

After listening, Luo Yifei sat down and waited for a long time, but Wen Bin didn't come out of the restroom. He went into the restroom and discovered that there was another door in another direction that opened out of the building.

"They found me," Luo Yifei muttered, putting down the bottle without lingering and walking straight inside.

Luo Yifei passed by various laboratories and office areas. Apart from some deformed tables and chairs, the rooms were empty. The further in he went, the more dilapidated the scene became, with shattered glass appearing on the floor and charred wooden doors.

Luo Yifei entered the room called the Interstellar Laboratory. In the center of the room was a well. A few meters from the well, one could vaguely make out several circles of desks, now just rings of charred wood.