Chapter 3: I Have a Great World
Chapter 3: I Have a Great World
“98, 99, 100!”
Inside his rented apartment, Gao Jing pressed himself against the cheap composite wood floor, finishing 100 standard push-ups. Sweat poured down.
Ever since his grandfather fell ill and passed away when Gao Jing was eighteen, he’d deeply realized the importance of health. With nothing to his name, he couldn’t afford the cost of sickness.
Because of this, Gao Jing exercised persistently, rain or shine, never missing a day.
After years of this routine, Gao Jing had built up an excellent physique and form.
Not only had he never suffered illnesses beyond small colds, but his barely above-average looks, combined with his build, also drew attention from girls. He’d dated several beautiful girlfriends before.
Yet no matter how sweet the romance, icy reality always shattered it.
Living in a Provincial Capital of 12 million people, he had no car, no house, no money, no secure job, and no high degree. Seeing no bright future ahead, breaking up became the inevitable result of Gao Jing’s relationships.
Now he’d been single for two years.
He climbed up from the floor and took a shower in the bathroom.
After drying his hair, Gao Jing sat down at his small desk. He needed to rethink his life path.
Gao Jing could confidently quit his job at Jin Hui without fear.
Because of his work connections over the past four years, he’d met all sorts of people and grasped many business tricks. Some had even admired Gao Jing’s character and abilities, inviting him to jump ship and help them.
So finding another job wouldn’t be hard for him now.
Besides, even if truly desperate, he could always just deliver food. With his motorcycle skills and his build, earning a meal wouldn’t be tough, right?
Delivery was the last resort, though. He’d rather build something in a Domain he knew well and was good at.
Who didn’t hold onto some dreams?
But Gao Jing’s capital was painfully thin.
His bank savings totaled just over twenty thousand. He might borrow about a hundred thousand from Old Ma, but high-interest loans were too risky for starting a venture. If he failed…
Gao Jing rubbed his temples with frustration and stopped sketching ideas on paper.
His gaze unintentionally caught the Bronze Anchor resting beside the desk lamp. After returning home yesterday, he’d pulled it out before showering and casually placed it on the table.
Under the lamp’s light, the Bronze Anchor shimmered faintly. Gao Jing lived in an Urban Village, a cramped area crammed with tall buildings offering terrible light. His room barely got any sun, forcing him to turn on lights even during the day.
Gao Jing reached over and picked up the Bronze Anchor.
He examined it closely under the lamp. The object was incredibly intricate. Though small, its craftsmanship felt natural and flawless. The detailed carving of the serpent coiled into the anchor handle was especially astonishing; a closer look made his heart race. It felt alive, ready to spread its claws and soar skyward!
Running his fingers over the sculpted scales on the anchor handle, Gao Jing inexplicably felt like it was a part of his own flesh and blood. This Bronze Anchor seemed like an extension of himself—a deeply strange sensation.
Gao Jing’s mind suddenly recalled last night’s dream—the emerald-green planet, towering mountains, sky-blocking forests, and countless ancient beasts… all reappeared with startling clarity.
If the dream were real, going to such a world would be utterly fascinating!
Gao Jing couldn’t help but smile.
That instant, change struck abruptly!
His consciousness plunged into an indescribably weird state. Everything around him turned unreal, like his soul had left its shell. In a blink, it raced across billions of light-years, arriving at some unknown place.
An eternity could have passed, or maybe just a second. Then Gao Jing’s awareness snapped back to his body. He gasped for air, his lungs burning sharply—as if squeezed by invisible hands, forcing out every last breath.
But Gao Jing soon forgot his lungs.
Because the scene before him left him wide-eyed in disbelief!
He was no longer in his cramped apartment but in the middle of a vast, ancient forest. Giant trees towered all around, tangled with thick, sprawling vines.
Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, dappling the misty forest floor below. Unseen beasts roared somewhere in the distance, the sound booming against his chest like heavy drums.
Wasn’t this a dream?
Gao Jing rubbed his eyes hard, suspecting a hallucination. But the sights his eyes confirmed, the sounds his ears caught, and the smells his nose detected—every sense screamed that this… this was real!
Just what was happening?
Tension and fear of the unknown made Gao Jing clench his fist instinctively. Pain shot through his palm.
The Bronze Anchor had stabbed his wound.
This definitely wasn’t a dream!
The pain snapped him back to focus. Forcing down the chaos within, he pushed himself to stay logical. This couldn’t be his world. Forests this colossal didn’t exist on Blue Star—not with trees whose trunks spanned several yards or even wider.
Most importantly, this scene matched part of his dream exactly!
Had he… crossed worlds?
Gao Jing looked down at the Bronze Anchor in his hand. If he wasn’t mistaken, this anchor had brought him here.
Could it take him back to Blue Star?
If the teleportation was one-way, then without food, water, tools, or gear, his survival chances here were slim. He had to go back!
Fear gripped him. Gao Jing squeezed the Bronze Anchor tight.
The same bizarre sensation flared again. The next moment, he was back in his room.
Holy crap!
He’d never felt his tiny, simple ten-square-meter apartment so welcoming, cozy, and safe before.
Free from danger, his tension and fear vanished. Boundless excitement and thrill coursed through him instead. Holy crap—holy crap!
Gao Jing leaped up from his chair. He paced the room, clutching the anchor, his mind racing furiously. His face flushed, heart pounded, hands trembled slightly, and sweat beaded his forehead.
What was this Bronze Anchor? Who made it? Why this power? He didn’t know. But one thing was crystal clear: the biggest opportunity of his life had dropped into his lap!
That was a whole new world! Endless wealth potentially hidden everywhere—something trivial brought back could make him insanely rich overnight.
A Great World all his own!
Yet after the wild surge of excitement faded, Gao Jing gradually calmed down. He’d gotten way ahead of himself. An unknown Great World might hold endless riches, but it also meant boundless dangers.
Gao Jing wasn’t Superman. His build was decent but still all too mortal. And his wilderness survival experience? Practically zero. Charging recklessly into that world wouldn’t end well for him.
He couldn’t let this chance go, but solid preparation and extreme caution were non-negotiable! Chewing things over carefully cleared his head.
He headed back to his desk.
That’s when Gao Jing noticed something.
He’d been sitting on this chair when teleported. It seemed the chair went with him! And came right back too. He quickly spotted clumps of dirt clinging to the chair legs and even a rotting leaf!
Proof again: that world was real. Plus, he could bring items closely connected to him along for the ride—clothes he was wearing, the chair he sat on.
A new question popped up: How big or heavy an object could he take? Could he bring a living thing? He’d need repeated experiments to find out.
Also: if someone else got this magical Bronze Anchor… could they also reach that world? Gao Jing instinctively shook his head. Intuition told him only he could activate its power.
The anchor was bound to him!
But he wouldn’t test that hunch. He wasn’t foolish enough to hand it over to anyone else.
He’d take this secret to his grave!
After a moment’s thought, Gao Jing opened a drawer and dug out a necklace. A gift from an ex-girlfriend for his birthday, it hung with a fang pendant—supposedly for warding off evil.
Seeing it stirred memories, plunging his mood into gloom. Their split wasn’t about betrayal; reality had simply crushed them. That only fueled Gao Jing’s resolve to explore the new world.
He took off the wolf fang pendant, leaving it in the drawer. Securing the Bronze Anchor tightly onto the necklace chain, he clasped it around his neck and tucked it inside his T-shirt.