The universe began somewhere.
Some say an almighty god created it. Others believe it was born in the chaos of the Big Bang.
But its origin and its end remain unknown.
In that first moment, at the womb of existence, time was born. And with time, the roots of reality began to grow. Threads stretched across dimensions, twisting and woven like a spider's web. Each thread—a timeline. Each timeline—a consequence.
These threads could bend, distort, reshape at their roots... but not a single one could break the rule. The path would always continue. Woven with infinite possibilities, yet bound by one unseen law.
The world moves within this rule, despite the chaos of choice. The voices of the unseen merge quietly into the void, lost in an eternal darkness.
Life is the same. We make decisions. Some split the road. Some change nothing. But always, one thread becomes the destined path.
So it is with the multiverse.
One action. One unknown moment.
And a new thread begins to grow.
A new root emerges from the tree, curling outward… forever.
And remember—no one knows the outcome.
The path is already decided.
But you are the one who changes it.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The alarm rang, sounding like that same annoying morning that came every day. A sharp ray of sunlight shot through the dusty window and landed straight on a boy's face. Somewhere in the background, a voice echoed.
"Oy, Fu Xiao! Wake up, idiot!"
A fist suddenly burst through his dream, a punch landing squarely on his cheek.
Smack!
The sound burst through the room. A crow perched on the overhead wire flapped its wings and took off in panic.
Fu Xiao sat up like a spring, anger rising like fire through a burning building.
"Shut the f**k up! Can't you see I'm trying to sleep, Hua Ling?!"
His hand clung to his cheek like a magnet trying to hold the pain in place.
Hua Ling stood over him, grinning, knuckles still raised like he hadn't finished the job.
"Idiot, look at the time… it's already past 12 PM. You've been sleeping like a damn sloth. Get up! We've got work to do. You understand?"
Fu Xiao muttered under his breath, "Yeah, yeah... once the work is done, I'll kill him..." He slowly rubbed his eyes, slouching forward.
"You said something?"
"Nothing! Hehe."
"Who cares..."
Another fist flew toward his face.
"Ugh! You b*stard! You wanna die that badly?!"
"Oh? Try it! You said you'd kill me, right?"
What followed wasn't a coordinated fight, it was a messy scramble of limbs, fists, and falling hands.
Two idiots brawling across a ruined mattress like alley cats fighting over the last piece of fish.
Sometime later...
The two stood side by side, heads down, hair a mess, their faces scratched and bruised like they had just fought a war and lost.
They both sighed.
"So... what now?" Fu Xiao muttered.
Hua Ling blinked and stared toward Fu Xiao, then suddenly snapped something in his mind. "Wait! I forgot. Come on, you f**king idiot—we have to go to work!"
"What work?!" Fu Xiao shouted. "We're jobless!"
"We're jobless, not homeless," Hua Ling grinned. "And we're going to the junkyard. I've got an idea. An idea that'll make us rich."
"What's this b*stard up to now..."
"OY! Hua Ling, wait up!"
The two took off running down the narrow alleyways, moving through glowing streets of the city. Flying cars moved like jets overhead. Neon signs flickered in shifting languages. Cyber-boards flashed ads for AI enhancers, memory backups, and illegal dream drugs.
Drones hovered near market stalls, scanning ID tags and floating vegetables soaked in synthetic spice scent. Police bots moved above, their eyes sweeping the crowd.
At last, they reached the edge of the old industrial zone—the junkyard.
"So… what now?" Fu Xiao asked, panting.
"What's the plan?"
Hua Ling smirked. "Simple. We find the best-looking trash. We're going to build something. And need some materials!!"
He held up a tiny credit chip. "We've got 60 YU. That's enough for base parts."
"Your programming and my engineering," he said, eyes gleaming with confidence, "we might actually pull this off."
He slid a scratched-up holo-tab from his back pocket. A digital article flickered to life.
[ARTICLE – YEAR: 2150]
In the golden age of Cyber Asia, our greatest researchers continue their work on quantum transportation—a vice-versa teleportation device.
The research, though ongoing, has hit a dead end. Due to the lack of breakthroughs, the government has issued a public reward:
Anyone who can solve the problem will be awarded 80,000 YU by the Prime Minister personally.
Attached below: the full research summary and quantum framework logs.
If you believe you have a solution, contact: xxxx-xxxx-xxxx
"W-What the f**k?!"
Fu Xiao's eyes widened. "Eight—Eighty thousand YU?!"
Before Hua Ling could even react, Fu Xiao dove headfirst into the nearest pile of junk.
"Oi! We haven't even—"
Hua Ling shouts but before he can say anything, Fu Xiao shouts:
"Start finding parts, dammit! What are you doing standing there like an NPC?!"
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow, completely unimpressed. "He really just switched gears like that…"
Still, with a sigh, he followed and started digging.
The junkyard buzzed with the low static of old tech and rusted dreams. A broken tablet buried beneath a rusted gear flickered briefly—100 USD = 1 YU.
They threw scrap everywhere: bent circuits, melted batteries, broken servo arms. The sun slowly vanished in the smog-filled, starry sky.
Hours passed. By the time evening came, they both had gathered a decent haul:
Two backup generators, An old motherboard, A partially functioning quantum chip, Metal scraps, Bundles of tangled wiring
As they prepared to leave, Hua Ling's eyes caught something.
Half-buried in the shadows, a glowing light flickered weakly from inside a crushed robot frame.
It looked wrong. Sharp angles. Bent limbs. One eye still glowing faint red. The thing looked like it crawled out of a horror film.
Without saying a word, Hua Ling reached into his pocket, transferred 40 YU, and moved the wrecked machine over his shoulder.
"...We're bringing that?" Fu Xiao asked.
"It's still got a working core. Might be useful."
And just like that, they headed home, retracing their path through the neon-lit street.
They finally reached home.
Fu Xiao didn't even hesitate—he threw himself face-first onto the bed and let out a loud yawn.
"I'm f**king tired. Hua Ling, if you want to work, stay awake. I'm going to sleep. I'm rooting for you…"
And just like that, he passed out.
Hua Ling stood there in silence.
One eye twitched.
His smile disappeared.
Then, slowly, calmly, he rolled Fu Xiao in the blanket like a burrito, strapped him tight with a belt, picked him up over his shoulder like luggage—and marched straight into the garage.
No mercy.
With a heavy thud, he dropped the bundled body onto the concrete floor.
Then he walked to the corner, picked up a rusty iron rod, and slowly placed it into the forge.
The metal began to glow red.
"Wait—wait, NO! Hua Ling, what are you doing?! Stay back! Stay the f**k back!" Fu Xiao screamed, now fully awake, eyes wide with terror.
The rod sizzled in Hua Ling's hands.
"No, no, no... DON'T COME NEAR ME!" Fu Xiao's voice cracked. His eyes welled up. "I'M SORRY! I'LL WORK! I SWEAR!"
Tears spilled down his face as Hua Ling moved the rod closer—an evil grin spreading across his face.
Then, just before contact...
Hua Ling stopped.
"Good," he said calmly. "Now quit sleeping and get your ass to work. We've got a lot to do."
Fu Xiao sniffled, still shaking. "O-okay…"
Not long after, the garage filled with the low whir of machines.
Hua Ling started prepping tools—pliers, micro-welders, solar adapters, old metal sheets. Meanwhile, Fu Xiao plugged in the salvaged motherboard, laid out the quantum chip, and began tinkering with the circuits.
Sparks flew.
The lights dimmed.
Outside, the neon city kept humming.
And inside that tiny garage... the future quietly began to take shape.