Chapter 1 The Freak of the Space-Time Administration

Hao Ren strongly suspected whether Raven 12345 was a freak from the Imperial Space-Time Administration. Anyway, he absolutely couldn't believe that a super civilization was made up of such unreliable people. It was a pity that he hadn't had the chance to contact other members of the Space-Time Administration or senior leaders from the Xi Ling Empire: Raven 12345 said that this small place was remote and poor, and its administrative level was not high enough. It was possible that no one would come to take a look for many years…

But no matter what, Hao Ren no longer doubted Raven 12345's identity and the authenticity of that super civilization. Putting everything else aside… just this large house located in another dimension, and the high-end, classy, low-key, luxurious, and profound facilities inside, could definitely not be made by humans! For example, the room he was currently in, called the New Employee On-the-Job Training Center… it looked like something out of a science fiction movie.

Raven led Hao Ren through the mansion, winding around for a long time, passing many strange rooms filled with crystals or bizarre equipment along the way. Hao Ren, like a country bumpkin, walked along with his mouth open. Just when he was about to wonder if this big house had an end, Raven led him into a hall that was completely different from the rest of the place.

This hall was full of technological atmosphere. The whole room was a regular hexagon, and each wall gleamed with a metallic silver-white luster, with blue and white light flowing on it like pulsing veins. The hall was extremely high, and many faintly glowing crystals were suspended from the ceiling, filling the entire room with a pale blue light. Along the walls of the hall, Hao Ren saw many strange and incomprehensible devices. They looked like some kind of console, but there were no buttons or joysticks. Each "console" had a holographic image floating above it, and the only possible control component of the "console" itself was a hexagonal crystal panel—completely different from the machinery on Earth.

"This is the training center, a miniaturized one," Raven 12345 said, pointing to the equipment in the hall, with a proud look on her face. "In the beginning, inspectors had to undergo unified training and assessment in the imperial capital, which is Shadow City. At that time, the Space-Time Administration was not so big, and there were not so many things in the macro-world, so we could still manage it. But now it's not possible. So the assessment, initial training, and enhancement of new inspectors have been delegated to various nodes and even basic worlds. Our place is relatively remote, and it takes several jumps to reach the nearest void node, so I simply applied for such a place in my own home. To be honest, I originally wanted to apply for magic energy equipment. I really can't handle these tech-based devices… but I made a mistake when writing the report…"

Hao Ren listened with a dizzy head. Raven 12345 had a problem of talking to herself. Once she started, she didn't care whether the audience could understand. Now Hao Ren was completely clueless about the common knowledge of the Space-Time Administration. Who could understand what this white-haired witch was saying?

"What's that enhancement you're talking about… what exactly is it?" Finally, Hao Ren was not overwhelmed by the large amount of information. He maintained at least some vigilance: the atmosphere of this place made him unable to help but think of those research centers that studied slicing and dicing all day long, and the Xi Ling Empire was still a "group of aliens" in his mind (after all, he had adhered to atheism for more than twenty years, and the word "god" was far less understandable to him than aliens). Let's imagine: an Earthling, falling into an alien biochemical laboratory, to receive enhancement… if this scene were handed to those Hollywood directors, it would be a waste of the subject matter if it didn't involve a screen full of blood!

Those guys in the novels who were overjoyed when they heard that aliens were going to strengthen their bodies obviously didn't have Hao Ren's foresight. Of course, if you insisted that Hao Ren was a coward, then there was nothing to be done…

"Just an ordinary body adjustment, don't worry, it won't make you uncomfortable, and it won't be harmful," Raven 12345 pushed Hao Ren towards the center of the hall. "Hundreds of new inspectors receive enhancement every day, and there has never been an accident. Don't worry! The standard we follow has always been humane… stand here and don't move! I'll raise the adjustment chamber."

Hao Ren stood cautiously in place, and then saw Raven reach out and press a few times in the air. The ground under his feet vibrated slightly, and then a technologically advanced device slowly rose from a rectangular opening in the ground.

This was a silver-white metal box more than two meters long, roughly rectangular in shape, with one end larger than the other, exquisite and gorgeous, with a lid on top, and a cross made of crystals on the lid…

The upper lid of the metal box slowly slid open, and Hao Ren became more and more puzzled: "...Why do I feel like this thing looks familiar?"

Raven 12345 immediately glared: "How is that possible! This is the latest model of the universal adjustment and enhancement integrated chamber. It was just unpacked a few days ago. Where have you seen it before?"

Hao Ren thought for a while, then patted his forehead and shouted, "I remember! This shape is a damn coffin!"

Raven 12345 slapped Hao Ren on the shoulder: "Did you forget the employee handbook? You're not allowed to swear in front of your leader! If you have to swear, wait until the leader is finished speaking!"

Hao Ren tilted his shoulder and tried to retreat: "Are you sure you want me to lie in this box? I'm telling you, I'm a person with principles. The shape of this thing alone is creepy enough… Hey, don't push me! I absolutely won't go in! Don't think that you can just plate it with silver and it's not a coffin! It even has a cross on it…"

Raven 12345 lifted Hao Ren with one hand and threw him into the "coffin": "Stop being so pretentious! Get in there!"

Hao Ren couldn't resist this neurotic white-haired witch at all. After a dizzying spin, he found himself lying in the big box. At the same time, a transparent barrier extended from the four walls of the metal box, completely trapping him inside.

Hao Ren could only accept his fate, but after waiting for a long time, he didn't see any further movement. He stretched his neck and looked to the side, and found that Raven 12345 was holding a data terminal and looking at it intently. He slapped the two walls of the metal box hard: "What's next? What's next?"

Raven 12345 didn't even look up: "Don't yell, I'm looking for the instructions… Why do tech-based things have to be so complicated? Where is the switch on this thing?"

Hao Ren: "...I x! I'm quitting! I'm breaking the contract! I'm withdrawing! You're completely unreliable! I…"

"Oh, found it!" Raven 12345 slapped somewhere next to the "coffin", and Hao Ren's magnificent protest came to an abrupt end. The last scene he saw was a dazzling white light that pierced through his retina.

Darkness, coldness, boundless chaos, space seemed to have lost its meaning. Hao Ren felt his soul leave his body in that instant, floating in an ethereal and indescribable dimension. He tried to find even a tiny bit of familiar sensation, but to no avail. There was no sound, no light, no temperature or touch. The spirit of man was locked in a small bottle, floating alone…

Well, it probably floated for about ten seconds, and then Hao Ren heard a "bang" next to his ear, and then he was grabbed by the arm and pulled up. His vision also began to gradually recover.

The light and lines in his vision condensed into a figure, it was Raven 12345's beautiful face and that signature silver hair. She patted Hao Ren on the shoulder, looking happy: "Alright, done."

Hao Ren jumped up all of a sudden, only to realize that he was still standing in the coffin-shaped metal box. He almost lost his balance and fell. He steadied himself, and carefully jumped to the ground: "Is that it? I feel like it's only been a short while?"

"Yeah, twelve seconds," Raven 12345 waved the data terminal in her hand. "Just like it says in the instructions: press the switch, select the idiot mode, wait twelve seconds, and when you hear a 'ding' and the red light comes on, the hatch will automatically open, and then take the user out—but you jumped out yourself."

"Is this thing a microwave oven?!"

Raven 12345 shrugged: "Anyway, the usage is similar. Aren't the procedures for idiot-proof devices all like this?"

Hao Ren was stunned by the white-haired witch's calmness and thick skin. In the end, he could only comfort himself: at least there was no accident, and all the parts on his body seemed to still be there.

Then he clenched his fist, as if to check whether this alien enhancement technology was reliable, and whether he had really embarked on the path of a white-robed, snow-like master in a novel. But when he checked, he was surprised to find—to be continued in the next chapter.