Era of Mist

Zhou Nan looked a bit down, his expression anxious. He was stammering, a far cry from his usual loudmouthed, rascally demeanor.

"Brother Shi, my older brother would like to treat you to dinner. I was wondering if you’re free tonight."

Shi Tiexin gave Zhou Nan a surprised look, intending to shut him down with a blunt, "I’m busy." ’This is a critical time for my calligraphy practice. Who has time to go out for some meal?’ Besides, Shi Tiexin had a nagging feeling that his return to his original timeline was imminent. Every minute and every second was precious now; he had no time to spare.

But Zhou Nan was good at reading people. Over the past few days, he had gradually learned how to discern Lord Shi’s intentions from his expressionless face. Seeing the impatience in his eyes, Zhou Nan quickly tried to persuade him, "Brother Shi, don’t be so quick to refuse! There are other perks to my brother treating you to dinner!"

Perks?

What kind of perks?

’No matter what perks there are, they can’t be more important than perfecting my Rhetoric. I’m busy!’

However, just as he was about to refuse, he saw Zhou Nan’s pitiful expression and his heart softened a little. The kid had been quite attentive these past two days. Besides, his brother was extending an invitation. If he couldn’t even be bothered to show up, it would really make the kid lose face.

’Whatever. It’s just a meal, no big deal. I have to eat anyway, so what does it matter where?’

’I’ll go. I’ll give him some face and see what this kid is up to, acting all secretive and nonsensical.’

"Fine."

Shi Tiexin nodded.

Zhou Nan immediately brightened up. "This way, please! This way! Follow me!"

Setting down his pen, Shi Tiexin followed Zhou Nan out of the classroom.

He thought Zhou Nan would lead him to the cafeteria as usual. He thought he’d see Zhou Nan’s cheerful brother treating his younger sibling and a classmate to a meal. He thought it would be like a parent-teacher conference, chatting about the child’s studies and whether the child was behaving at school—uh, child?

’Why did I subconsciously put myself in the parent’s position?’

’Pah, pah, my thoughts are running wild again. But it should be something like that.’ Shi Tiexin figured Zhou Nan’s older brother would be a mature and steady type, the kind who’d have a wide, prosperous-looking grin while treating them to a simple meal.

However, the way things unfolded was completely beyond Shi Tiexin’s expectations.

「Ten minutes later.」

Zhou Nan led Shi Tiexin over the school wall. Just like that, they’d skipped school and left Fengming First Middle School.

Standing on the wall, Zhou Nan looked left and right, then skillfully dodged any onlookers and leaped down with a SWOOSH. "Brother Shi, be careful!" Zhou Nan turned to call out to Lord Shi, only to see the man had already landed, solid and unmoving as a mountain. His footing was firm, showing no hesitation whatsoever.

His respect for Lord Shi growing even more, Zhou Nan said no more and simply led Shi Tiexin on a winding path. They left the residential area, turned onto Old Ma Road, ducked into a small alley, and headed straight for the shadier-looking corners of the city.

This was, in fact, Shi Tiexin’s first time leaving Fengming First Middle School. He observed his surroundings subtly, taking in the sights of Central Star beyond the school walls.

After looking around for a while, he had only one impression—’This place is so... backward!’

The roads were narrow and the alleys cramped. The streets were crowded with people, but there weren’t many vehicles. The four-wheeled, internal combustion engine cars on the road were of an ancient design, and their drivers would lay on the horn whenever they neared a pedestrian. It seemed there were no regulations against honking here.

The screech of brakes would occasionally pierce the air, followed by a driver sticking his head out the window and roaring something like, "You got a death wish?!" before speeding off. The yelled-at pedestrians would be fuming with anger but wouldn’t dare to act on it, simply staring at the car’s taillights with a mixture of envy, jealousy, and hatred.

Shi Tiexin understood. In this timeline, these cars seemed to be uncommon, affordable only to those with considerable social status. For ordinary people, riding in a human-powered tricycle, with its JINGLE JINGLE bell, was already a rather luxurious indulgence.

As for the buildings lining the road, structures like the Middle Ages Building for the honors classes were everywhere. Even buildings like the Ancient Tower for the remedial class, with their exposed red brick, were not uncommon.

In that light, the garden villas in the elite class dormitory area of Fengming First Middle School were, by far, the most luxurious mansions around!

Shi Tiexin didn’t bother looking any further.

A hundred years had passed since the first year of the Mist Era. The other timeline had seen unprecedented development, but this one seemed to have had its delay button pressed; there hadn’t been much progress in a century.

According to his history textbook, Donghua Country had only begun to integrate with other nations of the world ten years ago. The book called it the "Reform and Opening-Up," and it was currently in a chaotic, early stage of development.

Just look around. It wasn’t at all rare to see young men swaggering down the street like they owned the place, wearing bell-bottoms, with a cigarette dangling from their lips, sporting tattoos and bleached-blond hair. The delinquents at Fengming First Middle School weren’t an isolated phenomenon. They were inextricably linked to the general environment of this timeline.

Just as he was thinking this, Zhou Nan led him into a very hidden alley. At the entrance was a barbecue stall, the meat skewers on their metal sticks sizzling over the fire. SIZZLE. Flames licked at the meat, and the fat bubbled and spat. SIZZLE. A dash of chili powder and cumin, TSSSS, and a plume of fragrant smoke shot up.

Shi Tiexin sniffed the air. ’Hmm, that smells pretty good. No idea what it is, though.’

The smell instantly made him hungry.

’Is this what Zhou Nan’s brother plans to treat me to? If so, this trip will have been well worth it. Hey, boss, start me off with fifty skewers to fill the gaps between my teeth! My gaps are wide!’

"Brother Shi, over here, over here!"

Zhou Nan waved from a distance. Though reluctant to leave the smell behind, Shi Tiexin followed with a look of cool indifference on his face. Pushing aside a cotton curtain, he ducked through a small doorway. Suddenly, a wall of sound—loud music, shouting, and the smell of smoke and alcohol—hit him square in the face.

Shi Tiexin’s eyes adjusted, and he saw the place was packed with iron cabinet-like machines, their colorful lights flashing. A stir from his other consciousness told him that this was a legendary arcade.

Arcade games like these had been popular in his own timeline for a while, but they quickly vanished into history with the rapid development of personal computer performance.

’Let me think... Around 1941, right about when the United Human Government was formed, the Soertu company was founded and released the first-generation So’inu game console. The following year, the Xiansun Semiconductor company was established and released the Ray-Tracing series of graphics cards.’

’In those years, masterpieces were released in a deluge. Titles like *Sorceress Piledriver: The Wild Gamble*, *Get That Amor: Three Men and One Dog*, *If You Call Me Zelda One More Time, I’ll Kill You*, and *Cranky Baldy’s Online God-Slaying* came out one after another. Video games entered a new era, and arcades were completely kicked out of the market.’

Looking at this frenetic arcade, he felt like he had stepped into a history museum!

Glancing around curiously, Shi Tiexin found that all the arcade machines were running ancient versions of games he’d never played.

"Bro, I’m here."

Zhou Nan ran toward the back of the arcade, where a man was intently focused on wiggling a joystick and mashing buttons. CLACK, CLACK! With two quick taps, the fighting game on the screen entered its final moments.