Chapter 1

?Chapter 1: A Dimensional Invasion

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Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The date was May 24, 2019. The location was Xianghe City, Yizhou Province, Great Flame Republic in the Northern Light Continent.

The sky was somewhat downcast. An ice-cold drizzle poured down from the sky. It was the evening rush hour in the city. The streets were crowded as public and private vehicles were all out on the road. They squeezed into the narrow streets and moved at a snail’s pace.

Smokes were emitted from vehicles. They were black and polluted the city.

Everyone was already used to pollution.

Scooters weaved between the traffic. An accident had occurred at the traffic light in a distance. Two cars got too close in a corner. The owners of the vehicles stopped and went out to check if there were damages. They were bickering and taking pictures on the street.

The cars behind them could not move forward and were irritatedly honking at them.

The sound of car horns blared and began to cause a stir. The sound grew more intense like dogs barking in the night. It only took one to start a commotion for an incident to turn into a cacophony. The traffic in the streets was in utter chaos.

As the rain kept pouring down, Xia Ping’an was napping against the window of a tram on 11th Street.

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He was exhausted.

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For the past two days, the shop had more work than usual. Xia Ping’an had been working overtime for the past few nights. He was working more than 18 hours a day. He had been eating dinner in the shop for the past few days and even slept there. Today, he finally finished his tasks and could return home to rest for a while. Exchanging shifts meant another day off. Thus, he could enjoy the weekend.

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Xia Ping’an was turning 21 this year. However, he had already been working in a car shop as a mechanic for five years.

Due to working long hours in the car shop, even though Xia Ping’an was young, his body reeked of a faint scent of engine oil once he did not shower for more than half a day. He blended right in with old mechanics. His face was also slightly pale since he didn’t get much sunlight all year long.

As compared to others who were his age, Xia Ping’an appeared unkempt. Right now, he was wearing a set of worn-out sportswear. While he was napping on the tram, a few strands of black hair were pressed onto his forehead, covering his thick eyebrows.

The sound of the car horns was muffled as it entered Xia Ping’an’s ears, as though it was a cry of the clarion from afar. Finally, the driver of the tram on 11th Street got impatient and blasted his horns too. Only then was Xia Ping’an startled by the sound which blared right beside him.

Xia Ping’an glanced at the commotion outside the window and noticed that the tram had only moved for five stations. They were still in the downtown area. It was still a long way home.

In a distance, a few traffic police had rushed over to handle the accident. The traffic at the crowded intersection was slowly regaining its flow. The massive amount of vehicles moved at a pathetic pace.

He hadn’t been able to rest well for a few nights consecutively. Xia Ping’an wanted to doze off again.

The people on the street most probably also received the same warning. Within a few minutes, there were dozens of collisions on the road. The traffic on the road came to a crippling halt.

Those who were weaving through the traffic with scooters and bicycles left them behind and ran towards the nearest shopping mall or plaza. The nearest shelters were located in the basement of these buildings. Every building which had more than seven stories had a shelter.

People with cars were in a state of panic. They left their vehicles on the road and ran through the rain towards the shelters on both sides of the street. Their lives were more precious than those vehicles after all.

Some people drove their cars onto the curb and flowerbeds by the side of the road. The drivers also quickly got out and dashed towards the shelters.

The bus drivers also opened their doors and rushed out from their seats. They followed the crowd and ran towards the side of the street. At that moment, the top priority for everyone was survival.

The street was already completely thrown into chaos. The running crowd surged towards the best shelters like ants as directed by their smartphones. Some stores along the street began to lower their security doors and roll shutters.

Xia Ping’an did not rush to make his way out of the tram. He prioritized safety. He would rather be the last to get to the shelter safe than to be there first injured.

He pulled open a window and stuck his body outside. He slid his body out of the tram nimbly.

Woop... Woop... The sirens for the dimensional invasion alert, which were placed on top of the tall buildings, shrilled. The sound reverberated in everyone’s ears.

Rain poured down on Xia Ping’an’s face. He raised his head and noticed that unbeknown when, the gloomy clouds had turned dark red. On top of the bizarrely red clouds, a gigantic tornado was swirling. Lightning could be faintly seen flashing within the tornado, as though it was a vortex to another world. The scene was somewhat frightening.

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The dark red clouds were a definite sign of a dimensional invasion.

“From the looks of it, the scale of this dimensional invasion was not small. It would most likely be a Level F invasion. It might even turn out to be a Level E invasion,” Xia Ping’an muttered to himself.

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Xia Ping’an had come to this world 21 years ago. In the past, he had experienced three dimensional invasions and had hidden in the shelters before.

However, for the past three times, the most severe dimensional invasion that he had experienced was only a Level F. At that time, he was at a little town located on the outskirts of the city. After the residents received the warning, everyone hid in the shelter in their respective homes. Not long after, the creatures which invaded the dimension were eliminated by the security force of the National Order Council. Xia Ping’an was seven years old then.

After that, the other two dimensional invasions experienced by Xia Ping’an were both Level G or lower. They were shocking, but were not dangerous.

Five years ago, Xia Ping’an’s parents passed away in an accident. He was left with a younger sister. All these years, he and his sister depended on each other for survival. As the elder brother, he was also in charge of taking care of his sister.

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Xia Ning was his younger sister. She would turn 19 this year and was a sophomore in Yizhou College of Arts. She stayed on campus. The campus had shelters, which allowed the students to seek refuge in the shortest amount of time.

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Xia Ping’an was less worried when he thought of Xia Ning being able to rush into a shelter on campus. He followed the crowd on the street and dashed towards the nearest shelter.

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