Rubik's Cube
1084 Words
"In the year 1,947,520 BCE, the Xia Dynasty was established by Qi, the son of Yu the Great. The capital was set at Yangcheng, and the dynasty lasted for 1,940 years, marking the end of the system of abdication."
"In the year 314,410 BCE, the Qin Dynasty swept away the six kingdoms and established China's first unified dynasty, with its capital at Xianyang. Ying Zheng, the First Emperor of Qin, died during his fifth inspection tour. Hu Hai ascended the throne, and the Qin Dynasty fell after just two rulers."
"In the year 1,723,018 CE, the New China was founded."
Jiang Chen closed the history book and rubbed his temples, his fingers tapping absently on the desk.
Even though he had already learned about this world's history online the day before, reading it in detail still felt utterly absurd.
In this world, due to the extreme scarcity of the "geniuses" who drove progress, the timeline of human civilization had been stretched nearly a thousandfold compared to his original world. Recorded human history spanned five million years.
What did that mean?
In Jiang Chen's original world, five million years ago, Homo sapiens hadn't even appeared yet. Humans back then were australopithecines—lying on the savannah, hungry, staring up at the stars.
But oddly enough, while the timescale of history had been massively extended, the key historical milestones were nearly identical to the world Jiang Chen knew.
The rise of humanity, the founding and succession of dynasties, the exchanges between civilizations—all basically matched the world he remembered.
Coincidence? Or something else?
Jiang Chen couldn't figure it out.
In summary, this world was like Earth Online with a debuff applied to intelligence.
Without a doubt, from every angle, this world seemed better than the one he'd come from.
He could easily start a business, play the stock market, harvest some "leeks," and his life would take off.
Or at the very least, he could teach at some university, occasionally show off in front of others, and live a perfectly comfortable life.
For now, all Jiang Chen cared about was whether he and his father could live without worrying about money. Since the world had essentially offered him an "easy mode" to speedrun life, there was no reason not to be happy.
Yet somehow, he felt an inexplicable unease.
It was like swimming in deep water. The surface sparkled in the sunlight, a gentle breeze brushed his face—but beneath the surface, in the dark abyss, something seemed to be writhing.
Enough of that. Better to think about how to spend my days from now on.
Maybe I should make some money and improve our lives?
Or join some competitions, get good rankings, and earn a recommendation to a top university?
He stacked the books by the edge of his desk and was about to ask Chen Xi about student competitions.
But when he looked up, the seat in front of him was empty.
Jiang Chen glanced around the room. Over twenty seats—most of them empty. Only a few students were still napping at their desks.
A breeze drifted through the window, carrying with it the sound of cicadas and the noisy chants of students exercising.
Unnoticed, the time for the morning running exercises had arrived.
Of course, the Innovation Class didn't have to join the runs. But most students took this time to go out for a bit—buy some snacks, soak up the sun, or stand by the school stadium's main platform to watch the regular classes run, calling it "soaking in the atmosphere of youth."
Jiang Chen wasn't in the mood for that. He stood up, planning to find Li Mingde, confirm his future study direction, and ask about competition slots.
Smack.
Jiang Chen turned toward the sound. A small object had fallen from Bai Bing's empty seat.
"A... Rubik's Cube? That's surprising. I didn't think anyone in this world still played with these."
He bent down, picked up the cube, and examined it curiously.
The cube had a peculiar texture—smooth and warm. Its colors were somewhat faded, its corners marked with small scratches. It looked quite old.
Jiang Chen was about to set it back on her desk when he noticed that only one face of the cube was solved. Even the first layer wasn't properly aligned.
"Tsk."
Ever since junior high, when Jiang Chen had learned speedcubing, no Rubik's Cube had ever left his hands unsolved.
Not one.
"Hey, just a quick fix!"
He began to turn the cube in his hands.
"Let me try using the most basic method this time. What was the sequence again...?" His fingers moved deftly, the colored blocks sliding and clicking into place.
"Left up, right down, right reverse, left reverse..."
He had just finished the second layer when he heard a sharp c***k from the doorway.
Jiang Chen looked up toward the classroom entrance.
Bai Bing stood there.
Her forehead glistened with sweat. Her hair was tied up in a neat high ponytail, a few stray strands sticking to the side of her flushed neck. Her school jacket was casually tied around her waist, and the blue-and-white short-sleeved uniform shirt showed a dark patch of sweat at the collar. She had clearly just engaged in heavy exercise.
But her eyes weren't on the shattered water bottle at her feet. They were locked onto the half-solved Rubik's Cube in Jiang Chen's hands. Her expression was one of utter shock.
"Uh... sorry," Jiang Chen said awkwardly. "It fell on the floor, and when I picked it up, I just sort of..."
Bai Bing stared blankly at the cube for a moment. Then she swallowed and spoke.
"You... can you finish solving it?"
"Oh. Sure."
The cube spun between Jiang Chen's fingers, the colored blocks flowing back into place like water. In less than thirty seconds, the fully solved cube sat gently on the desk.
"There. All yours."
Jiang Chen looked up to hand the cube to Bai Bing—and found himself frozen.
The girl was staring at the cube before her, her breath coming fast and shallow.
She walked toward him, her steps noticeably unsteady.
When she reached him, she extended a hand slick with sweat—but instead of taking the cube, she grabbed Jiang Chen by the wrist.
It was only then, slow as he might be, that Jiang Chen realized something was very wrong.
"Oh no. I think I've stepped into something." His heart tightened.
- Writer
