Chapter 342: Old Friends

After confirming no one else chose to withdraw, the leading level-eight wizard in the air nodded slightly.

“Good.”

He said no more, merely raising his hand and gently waving toward the void behind him.

In that instant, the simulated firmament overhead parted slowly to both sides like a curtain, revealing the profound, boundless starry sky beyond.

Against that starry backdrop, a massive, shadowy circular spatial rift—its edges constantly twisting, emanating an ominous suction—hovered silently, like the eye of a colossal beast gazing at all the wizards ready for battle.

“Go!”

The level-eight wizard’s voice rang out like a great bell, echoing through the entire ship plane:

“Depart!”

…

…

“Jie Ming, get up and eat! If you don’t hurry, you’ll be late for school!!”

A familiar, slightly urgent female voice pierced through the door, forcibly dragging Jie Ming from the haze of sleep.

He sat up in a daze, rubbing his eyes. The sunlight from the window was somewhat blinding.

His mind felt shrouded in a thin veil, thoughts sluggish and sticky.

Instinctively, he grabbed the clothes by his bed—a set of ordinary teenage casual wear—and mechanically put them on, then shuffled out of the bedroom into the living room.

The air was filled with the aroma of food.

His mother, wearing an apron, was placing the last plate of stir-fried greens on the table.

His father sat in his usual chair as always, eyes fixed on the ultra-thin television screen on the wall, where a news anchor’s clear voice broadcasted:

“…The military spokesperson confirmed yesterday that the Seventh Mixed Fleet has successfully seized the third jump node on the periphery of the ‘Charon’ star system, dealing a heavy blow to the alien creatures… Next is our local news: the city hall calls on citizens to actively participate in the ‘Clean Beach’ volunteer activity; registration channels opened today…”

Fleet battles… Clean Beach?

The two starkly different pieces of information mingled, making Jie Ming’s head feel even heavier.

He shook his head and walked to the bathroom.

Cold water splashed on his face, bringing a brief moment of clarity, but that strange sense of dissonance lingered.

The scenes before him, his mother’s voice, the news… everything carried an indescribable familiarity, yet it was as if viewed through frosted glass, unclear.

He kept feeling as though he had forgotten something extremely important.

“Hurry up, Jie Ming! The soy milk is getting cold!” his mother’s voice called again.

Jie Ming wiped his face with a towel and sat down at the table.

Before him was a standard home-cooked breakfast: golden fried dough sticks, milky soy milk, and two plates of vibrant green stir-fried vegetables.

“Eat more. Today’s your first day reporting to university—look lively,” his mother nagged, clipping a dough stick onto his plate.

His father finally shifted his gaze from the news, glancing at Jie Ming with a flat tone: “Listen to your mom. Don’t be late.”

Jie Ming hummed in response, lowered his head, and began chewing.

The taste was normal—just the usual flavor of home.

The family chatted casually at the table, topics nothing more than neighborhood relations, the weather, the news, and reminders about his university life.

Jie Ming instinctively responded, as if this had repeated countless times.

After the meal, Jie Ming returned to his room to pack his bag.

Brand-new textbooks, stationery… everything appeared neatly organized.

Just then, the doorbell rang with a “ding-dong.”

Followed by his mother’s footsteps, the sound of the door opening, then her surprised and delighted voice: “Oh, it’s Little Ai and Little Wei! Come in, come in!”

She turned and shouted into the house: “Jie Ming! Hurry up—Little Ai and Little Wei are here to pick you up for school!”

Two young voices came from outside.

A crisp female voice greeted with a laugh.

The other male voice, somewhat helplessly serious, corrected: “Auntie, my name is Victor, not surname Wei.”

Jie Ming, still immersed in the eerie feeling that he had forgotten something, grabbed his bag and shuffled out of the room. He said to his parents, “I’m off,” then turned toward the door.

A boy and a girl stood there.

The girl’s smile was bright—it was Amy.

The boy’s expression was slightly stern—it was Victor.

“Ha! Jie Ming! Too slow!” Amy said with a laugh.

Jie Ming looked at them, almost instinctively, as he had countless times before, greeting:

“Good morning, Amy, Victor.”

The two responded naturally.

However, the instant those words left his mouth…

Boom!

Jie Ming felt his mind struck by an invisible sledgehammer!

All the haze and sluggishness shattered in that moment!

He froze in place, pupils contracting sharply, as if witnessing the most inconceivable sight in the world, staring fixedly at the two before him!

Amy?! Victor?!

They… hadn’t they died long ago?!!

Why were they standing here alive?

And as his classmates?

Coming to pick him up for university?!

No!!!

Even more wrong was himself!!!

Why had he so naturally blended into this scene?!

Waking up, eating, preparing for school like a real ordinary student?!

For a moment earlier, he had even thought it all perfectly natural!

He wasn’t some university student! He was Jie Ming! A wizard!

A level-three wizard from the Star Ring Federation’s Noren Academy, here to participate in a plane war!

He possessed Nascent Soul cultivation, the Infernal Sulfur plane, a black giant legion!

As memories surged back, Jie Ming instantly understood what had happened:

He had fallen for it!

When exactly?!

The moment he crossed that spatial rift? Or earlier?

A chill shot from his spine to the top of his head, making his hair stand on end.

Beneath the calm and peaceful facade of this world lurked a suffocating terror capable of silently ensnaring a million wizards.

He struggled to keep his facial expression calm, but the storm raging within nearly overwhelmed him.

He quickly looked inward, sensing his dantian—the Nascent Soul was still there, but wrapped in an invisible membrane, spiritual power circulation obscure and nearly stagnant.

He immediately focused on his left wrist—nothing there. The rune artifacts equipped before entering this plane were gone.

He could feel that deep in his sea of consciousness, his natal treasure, the Five Aggregates Rainbow Mirror, still existed.

Jie Ming sensed his protective treasure, the Mysterious Astral Mortal Dust Barrier—it was essentially operating normally, no fluctuations, no alerts, not even consuming liquid essence gold.

It showed no reaction… because this wasn’t an illusion at all?

Impossible—how could this not be an illusion?!

Jie Ming’s back was instantly soaked in cold sweat.

He looked at Amy and Victor, their smiles unchanged; at the “mother” bustling in the kitchen behind; at the “father” in the living room, attention back on the news.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm.

Now was not the time to panic.

He had to figure out exactly what was going on.

“Let’s go, or we’ll really be late,” Amy urged with a smile, her expression matching Jie Ming’s memory, showing no trace of fakery.

Jie Ming nodded, forcing a smile indistinguishable from usual.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

He stepped forward, following his two “deceased” companions, leaving this seemingly warm yet utterly bizarre “home,” stepping into this unknown world.