Era of Mist

Although Natural History had its own internal logic and interconnected concepts, the links weren’t absolute. It was a discipline that relied on the accumulation of knowledge. As long as you were literate, you could pick it up at any point and still learn the more advanced topics.

This knowledge didn’t even have to come from secret manuals; everyday experiences, reading books, and following the news could all increase one’s proficiency in Natural History. That was why, even though Shi Tiexin was terrible at all his other subjects, he was able to stand out in Natural History alone, achieving a "Good" rank.

Today, Shi Tiexin was going to search for the answers he wanted in his history and geography textbooks.

First, he opened the geography textbook. Shi Tiexin scanned the pages, searching for the information he needed.

Nothing...

Nothing...

Nothing...

FLIP, FLIP, FLIP. He flipped through the entire book. Absolutely nothing!

This geography book was filled with information on the geography and landforms of Donghua Country, and at most, some details on the hydrology and climate of the Pacific Ocean. But there wasn’t a single mention of the other planets in the solar system.

This would be impossible in Shi Tiexin’s own world!

’How could you study geography without learning about Saturn? How could they not mention Saturn’s Rings and Saturn’s Moons?’ This textbook described Earth’s geography in painstaking detail, but it was completely silent about the other planets in the solar system. For this to be the case, there were only two possibilities.

One: in this world, this place, this region of Nanzhili Fengming First Middle School, geographical information about other planets in the solar system was quarantined and suppressed, completely inaccessible to ordinary students.

Two: this world’s exploration of the other planets in the solar system was simply not very advanced. Even if they knew something, that knowledge wouldn’t be made public—or at least, it wouldn’t be included in a high school geography textbook, a "Basic Natural History, Third Level" tier manual.

In Shi Tiexin’s opinion, the second possibility was more likely.

And if the second possibility was true, it would also mean that the humans here had probably not yet ventured beyond Earth. The place he was in right now wasn’t somewhere else—it was Earth itself, the Central Star of human civilization!

’So that white jade plate I saw last night was actually the legendary moon?’

’They say only the great figures on the Central Star get to enjoy such a magnificent view.’

’The Central Star...’

’The lifelong dream of so many people!’

A wave of emotions washed over Shi Tiexin, and he stared blankly, lost in a daze for who knows how long.

"Brother Shi... your... the homework... um..." Zhao Qingmiao’s voice sounded from beside him. Shi Tiexin snapped back to his senses and realized morning reading was about to begin. Zhao Qingmiao was making her usual rounds to collect homework.

Shi Tiexin also gave his usual reply: "Didn’t do it."

"Oh, oh, okay. I’ll... I won’t disturb you then." Zhao Qingmiao retreated without another word, her attitude completely unlike how a class president should act toward a slacker who hadn’t done his homework.

Pulled back to reality by Zhao Qingmiao, Shi Tiexin temporarily set aside his scattered thoughts, collected himself, and reopened his history book. The Central Star was one thing, and while being on it was a shock, it wasn’t the most stunning or unbelievable thing he had learned last night.

What had truly left him dumbfounded were the stars.

FLIP, FLIP, FLIP. Shi Tiexin scanned the pages, searching relentlessly.

History of the Ming Dynasty, no.

History of the Qing Dynasty, no.

Late Qing, modern history... that’s it, right here!

Shi Tiexin meticulously examined the historical records from the period after the late Qing Dynasty. He read through it once, forward—nothing. He read through it again, backward—still nothing. He went over the section on the early twentieth century of the Western calendar again and again, poring over every word. He studied it so intensely that his Natural History proficiency even increased by several increments, but he still couldn’t find what he was looking for.

It really wasn’t there!

Shi Tiexin was stunned for a long moment, then RUSTLE, RUSTLE, he started flipping backward through the book. After modern history, it discussed the founding of the Donghua Country and the revival of the Hua Race, going on and on at length, but again, there was absolutely no record of what Shi Tiexin was searching for.

Finally, with a SNAP, Shi Tiexin slammed the book shut.

Synthesizing what he had seen and heard over the past two days, the records in the books, and the fragmented messages from the other consciousness as it dissolved in his spiritual sea, Shi Tiexin was now almost certain that this world and his own were inextricably linked.

Looking at both worlds, their astronomical conditions and historical records were almost completely identical. Shi Tiexin had once thought he’d crossed over to an Otherworld or some Colonization Star, but in the end, he discovered he had arrived on Earth.

The history recorded in the books, though differing in its level of detail, was no different from the history he knew. The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, the Opium Wars—they were all the same.

Other things like language, writing, culture, and customs, including food, were also largely consistent. If both worlds didn’t have steamed buns, how could Shi Tiexin have blurted out the name ’big ol’ buns’ the moment he entered the cafeteria?

Then there was himself.

This current body of his was also named Shi Tiexin. Not only was the name the same, but his appearance was too. He was a bit shorter, much lighter, and his physical fitness was a lot weaker, but these were all caused by postnatal factors like nutrition and exercise, not Innate issues.

He was now almost certain that the body he had descended into was also highly connected to his self from the other world.

You could say that for a very long period of history, there were no differences between this world and his original one that Shi Tiexin could discern. With his store of knowledge, the two worlds were practically identical.

But!

Starting from a certain point in time, the two worlds diverged dramatically.

That point in time was the year 1919 of the Western calendar.

Shi Tiexin pinched the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes, and began to carefully recall the knowledge recorded in the Natural History manual.

January 21, 1919, was a day that would go down in history. This day was also known as the Eve of the Mist. On this very day, the former United States on the other side of the Pacific Ocean discovered an astronomical phenomenon that shocked all of humanity. And that was—

A vast, incomprehensible fog had appeared in front of Earth.

To be specific, Earth and the other planets of the solar system follow the Sun as it moves through the cosmos. Ordinary people can hardly perceive this movement, but the solar system is indeed charging forward at an incredible speed. Since the dawn of recorded human history, there had never been a single exception, nor a single unexpected event.

But on January 21, 1919, astronomers discovered that on the solar system’s forward trajectory lay a colossal region of fog—so vast it was immeasurable, unimaginable, and incomprehensible.

Humanity saw it but was powerless. Humanity knew of it but was unable to resist.

At approximately 5:00 AM on January 22, 1919, in the Central Star’s East Eighth Time Zone, as if by fate, as if by destiny, with an utterly irreversible momentum, the entire solar system plunged into the Foggy Zone.