12dz 1. I really don't want to time travel!
1. I really don't want to time travel!
Several months ago, on the 22nd floor of Unit 5, Building 9, Binhu Residential Area.
slam-la-
The landlady picked out a key from a pile of keys, opened the security door, and a musty smell of someone who hadn't lived there for a long time wafted out.
"Please come in!" The landlord stepped in first, enthusiastically introducing, "My place is fully furnished with appliances, just bring your suitcase and move in. The only downside is that it's a bit small, but the rent isn't expensive. It's 2800 a month, with a 1000 discount for a six-month lease, and a free month for a full year lease. One month's deposit and three months' rent in advance, monthly payments are out of the question!"
As he spoke, he opened the window, and fresh air rushed into the room.
Xu Yan didn't say anything, and glanced at it.
Although it's only about 40 square meters, it's small but perfectly formed, making it a high-quality small apartment.
He was somewhat tempted, but not very satisfied with the price. He ran his fingers across the edge of the table, and his fingertips immediately became covered in a thick layer of dust.
"How long has it been since anyone lived here?" he asked.
"It's been more than half a year." The landlord was furious when he said this. "Don't think I can't rent out this place. To tell you the truth, the previous tenant disappeared. The police came to investigate and said the security camera footage showed him coming back and never leaving again. They said this was the last place he was seen, but they searched inside and out several times, almost tearing the building down, and they didn't find a single thing!"
At this point, the landlord became even angrier: "I thought it was fine if we couldn't find it, but then the police said this place might be a crime scene and they sealed it off! I would accept it if something really happened in my house, but we haven't found it!"
Xu Yan hesitated for a moment: "Big sister, you're not trying to fool me, this isn't a haunted house, is it?"
"Pah, pah, pah, what are you yelling about? Nothing like that!" the landlord interrupted repeatedly. "Don't worry, the disappearance has absolutely nothing to do with the house. The police have already confirmed it. If you don't believe me, go ask the police station first. If it's different from what I'm saying, I'll refund you double... triple the rent, and I'll write it directly into the contract!"
Xu Yan remained hesitant, looking very uncertain.
The landlady sensed a chance and quickly added more pressure: "How about this, since I see you're really interested in renting, I'll lower the price by another 50 yuan per month, how about that?"
Xu Yan was speechless. Good grief, after holding back for so long, all you did was reduce it by 50? Are you planning to use it on me to make up for the losses of the past six months?
He didn't hold back, sticking his tongue out and saying, "2000 it is, I'll rent it for 2000 a month, at least a year!"
"Deal!" The landlady readily agreed and immediately revised the contract amount, afraid that Xu Yan would back out if she was too slow.
Xu Yan inwardly cried out in alarm, "I gave too much!"
He didn't care about saving face or anything else, and continued to push the price down without saying a word.
The landlady argued her case forcefully and refused to budge.
In the end, the two compromised, and the monthly rent remained at 2000 yuan, but on top of the double discounts of six months and one year, an additional half month's rent was waived.
The cost is a one-time payment of the entire year's rent.
The eldest sister was quite satisfied, and Xu Yan also felt it was great value for money.
Given the location and conditions, 2000 is indeed very cheap. Even if it were a haunted house, Xu Yan would accept it, let alone the fact that nothing has happened there.
Just kidding, can an ethereal ghost be more terrifying than being broke?
Xu Yan moved into her new home that very afternoon and never left the house again, much to the landlady's dismay.
One tenant has already disappeared. If another one doesn't come, not only will 2201 be unrentable, but the other apartments will also be affected, and her losses will be huge!
Without hesitation, the older sister knocked on Xu Yan's door and learned that he was an online writer whose daily work consisted of staying at home brainstorming and coming up with all sorts of bizarre and mindless plots.
The logic can be a little lacking, but the plot must be exciting!
Unfortunately, although he believed he had mastered all the skills of online novel writing and had produced quite a few works, he just couldn't become popular and remained a struggling nobody barely making ends meet.
Before he knew it, it was the end of the month, and Xu Yan was in a particularly bad mood. It wasn't until midnight that he managed to squeeze out 4,000 words, clicked upload, and barely made it into the perfect attendance record.
After mentally calculating that next month's royalties would not only cover living expenses but also leave a little surplus, he was in a great mood. Humming a nonsensical tune, he headed to the bathroom, intending to wash up and go to sleep.
Unexpectedly, sleepiness overwhelmed him, and he couldn't help but yawn as he entered the room. Then, he lost his footing and fell flat on his back into a clump of weeds.
Xu Yan was completely stunned. He stared wide-eyed and saw a huge full moon hanging obliquely on the treetops, its dim moonlight barely illuminating the mountains and fields under the night sky.
What's going on? Did it rise too quickly?
Turning around, I saw a door of light floating in mid-air, just over half a meter behind me, and on the other side of the door was the living room of the rented apartment!
Holy crap, where did they put me? Did the previous tenant just disappear like this?
The plot of the novel has become reality!
Online writers never lack imagination. He immediately realized what he had encountered and mentally added seven or eight plot points and more than ten storylines, covering several genres including fantasy cultivation and urban suspense. Even the subsequent story was beginning to take shape.
But Xu Yan felt no surprise at all and quickly got up to cling to the light gate.
Someone else might see time travel as an opportunity to defy fate, but he's a novelist who has a deeper understanding of it.
What are the components of air? Is the oxygen content appropriate? Does it contain harmful gases?
Is the environmental radiation level high? Are there high-intensity rays present? Are there any dangerous plants, animals, or microorganisms?
The natural environment is a minor issue; the more worrying problem is the social environment.
Whether it's magic, cultivation, wasteland, or anything else, I can accept even a group of aliens suddenly appearing, but what if they're from ancient times?
Dancing around a campfire with a group of apes?
What if apes hadn't evolved yet?
Earth has a history of 4.5 billion years, while human history is only a few million years, and the history of civilization is only a little over 5,000 years. What if it were a prehistoric world before humans evolved?
To catch a female monkey to reproduce?
No, no, I want a phone, I want a computer, and I want pretty girls giving away freebies!
Without these, I might as well just die!
However, the moment he touched the light gate, a piercing pain shot through his palm, as if he were touching a red-hot branding iron.
Xu Yan groaned in pain and instinctively withdrew his hand.
The light gate contracted rapidly in the next second, twisting and deforming like a wisp of smoke, before disappearing onto the left wrist, leaving only a faint burning sensation.
Xu Yan was struck dumb: "Damn it, where's my bare door? Where did my bare door go?"
He stared intently at his wrist, but he couldn't see anything in the moonlight.
Touch it and there's nothing wrong, pat it and there's no change, scratch it and there's no reaction!
I tried every method I could think of, almost wearing myself out, but the light gate never reappeared.
Xu Yan was almost in tears. "If I can't turn it on anytime, anywhere, what are you doing in my hands?"
I need to go back, don't mess with me, boss!
After struggling for a while, Xu Yan was finally forced to face reality. After a moment's thought, he looked up at the moon in the sky.
The full moon was not only much brighter than usual, but the area below it, where Tycho Crater should have been, was instead a dark plain!
Don't ask him how he knew; he just said he looked up information while writing the novel.
It's confirmed: this isn't Earth, but a strange, alien world.
Xu Yan was on the verge of tears. "I really didn't want to transmigrate!"