Chapter One: The Mysterious Crystal

The most talked-about aspect of Jiangning City is not its fast-paced urban life, nor the rows upon rows of towering buildings, but rather the famous Bar Street.

By day, Bar Street is eerily quiet, but as night falls, it transforms into a bustling thoroughfare, alive with excitement. Everywhere, young men and women brim with youthful energy, wandering in small groups—some seek to drown their sorrows, others hope for a romantic encounter, and there are even those who come for the notorious practice known as “body picking.”

For those familiar with bar culture, “body picking” carries a certain unsavory connotation: taking advantage of a woman who is too drunk to be aware, spiriting her away in her unconscious state—a blatant violation of morality. Of course, as the saying goes, flies do not swarm around unbroken eggs, and a single hand cannot clap alone; many of the women who fall victim to this are themselves not without fault, and not all of them warrant sympathy.

It was already two in the morning. Lan Tian sat on the edge of the flowerbed outside the bar, visibly drunk, as if lost in thought. His unfocused gaze followed one woman after another as they emerged from the bar—many of them young and beautiful—yet none of them stirred the slightest reaction in his eyes.

He was wholly absorbed in his own sorrow.

Not long after, a pretty young woman stumbled out of the bar, took a few faltering steps, and promptly collapsed onto the ground, falling fast asleep.

Lan Tian was startled from his stupor by her actions. He saw that as soon as the girl lay down, several young men nearby eyed her with unconcealed delight, subtly moving closer. Instinctively, he hurried over and helped the woman to her feet before the others could reach her, then quickly made his way toward a nearby 24-hour fast food restaurant.

He had no intention of taking advantage of her; he simply couldn’t stand by and watch as a group of predatory men set upon her.

“Lan Tian, I never expected... you would stoop so low?!”

Just as he took a few steps, an angry yet clear voice rang out behind him. He turned to see a beautiful, slender woman glaring at him in disappointment.

“Heh, Li Mei, haven’t we already broken up? What kind of man I am—does that have anything to do with you?” Lan Tian, upon seeing her, instinctively released the girl in his arms. But when he noticed the well-dressed young man standing beside her, his expression darkened. He drew the girl back protectively, replying with defiant arrogance.

“Li Mei, so this is your ex-boyfriend? He hangs around bar entrances looking for drunk girls, and you actually fancied this kind of man?” the well-dressed youth sneered with open disdain.

“Let’s just go...” Li Mei gave Lan Tian a long, searching look, shook her head, and turned away. The young man beside her jabbed a finger at Lan Tian before following her into the night.

Watching their retreating figures, Lan Tian felt a moment of dazed emptiness. He couldn’t be bothered to explain—it wouldn’t make any difference, anyway.

You’ve already abandoned me. Why should I care about my reputation anymore?

Jiangning, also called Ning City, was not Lan Tian’s hometown. He came from a small city to attend university here, and after graduating, stayed on.

Though his alma mater was decent, Lan Tian had no connections or background in Ning City. In the end, he barely managed to find a job at a small company; after rent and food, there was almost nothing left from his monthly salary.

Li Mei had been his girlfriend—now, more accurately, his ex. Three days ago, the woman he’d loved deeply broke up with him. There was no other reason: the man she’d been with tonight was the son of the city’s wealthiest tycoon. That alone told Lan Tian he had lost her forever.

Two years of affection could not compete with the allure of wealth.

He had tried countless times to persuade himself that such a woman was not worth his tears, but pain and memories do not simply vanish at will.

Lan Tian shook his head forcefully, determined to stop thinking about it. Life had to go on; he still had work in the morning. In a way, the misunderstanding earlier had done him a favor by severing any lingering hope.

He helped the unconscious girl into the 24-hour fast food restaurant, still uneasy. He pulled aside a female staff member, gave her careful instructions, and handed her a hundred yuan tip. Only when she repeatedly assured him she would take care of the girl did he finally leave, dejected, riding slowly home on his second-hand electric bike, which had cost him a little over a thousand yuan.

Half an hour later, when Lan Tian arrived at his rented room, he was stunned at the sight of the front door—his drunkenness instantly sobered by fright.

The battered old security door had a section that was caved inward, as if struck by something extremely hard. In the center of the dent was a hole the size of a fist.

“What happened?!”

His face turned pale. The apartment came fully furnished; everything inside belonged to the landlord. If he’d been robbed, he couldn’t afford to compensate for the loss.

Fumbling with his keys in panic, he opened the door, wanting to check what had happened—completely forgetting that if it had been a burglary, the lock would hardly be intact.

Fortunately, once inside, he found all the furniture and belongings in perfect order—nothing amiss. But when he saw the deep pit in the marble floor, his face grew even paler.

“What the hell is this?!”

After a careful inspection, Lan Tian came to a realization.

He might have hit the jackpot: whatever had smashed through the door and into the ground was probably a small meteorite.

How unlucky could he be—to have a meteorite smash his front door?

He was frustrated. If he’d rented an apartment on an upper floor, the meteorite would have crashed straight through to the floor below; the downstairs tenant could have testified that it wasn’t his fault. But he was renting a ground-floor garage—who would vouch for him now?

Grinding his teeth, he began searching for tools, determined to dig out the meteorite. He’d heard that meteorites could fetch a high price. Even if it turned out to be worthless, he could at least keep it as evidence to prove to the landlord that it wasn’t his doing.

Lan Tian knew the landlord’s stingy nature—without solid proof, the man would surely deny everything and make him pay for the damage.

At last, in a corner, Lan Tian found a small iron trowel—one he’d used before to unclog the drains and forgotten to throw away. Unexpectedly, it now proved useful.

Luckily, his rental was on the building’s lowest level; beneath the marble floor was only earth. Lan Tian took photos of the area for evidence, then moved aside the broken marble slab.

The sound of shoveling earth echoed through the tiny apartment.

Minutes passed, then hours. By the time Lan Tian was drenched in sweat, his back aching, he finally reached his target about half a meter below the floor.

It was a black stone the size of a fist. Lan Tian picked it up, surprised at how light it was. He washed it in the sink, then stared at it in shock and uncertainty.

Once rinsed, the black, soil-encrusted stone revealed itself to be a translucent, diamond-shaped crystal, about the size of a chicken egg.

“A strange little thing like this managed to punch through a solid iron security door and bury itself half a meter into the ground?” Lan Tian muttered as he turned the odd crystal in his hands. “This… is probably no ordinary meteorite…”