The First Volume Chapter One Leaked Heavenly Secrets As Soon As I Arrived

  "Old Gu, if possible, you come over too. I'll definitely throw you into the Yangtze River for a bath to wake your brain up... Am I that kind of bastard who calls people in the middle of the night and disturbs their dreams?"

  One afternoon in August 1938, at the Chongqing Chaotianmen dock, Qin Wei stared blankly at his iPhone 4, gazing at the screen that had gone black due to a power outage, and cursed under his breath.

  He actually wore it!

  Like countless writers and fellow travelers, traversing time and space. But the problem is that others are just imitating in their minds and words, while he is taking actual action... When he first appeared on the streets of Chongqing, he thought he was dreaming. Fortunately, as a veteran writer who had been in the industry for a long time and had read many online novels, his mental acceptance ability was still quite good. So, after a brief moment of confusion, he reluctantly yet somewhat secretly excitedly accepted this reality, until his stomach suddenly growled...

  He has no money and nothing on him.

  Moreover, it was also summer before he traveled through time, so he had very few clothes. If he hadn't happened to go out and buy "grain", he might not even have the shirt and pants he has now, only a vest and underwear... But what's the difference? He didn't think that street stall goods could be worth much money, even if it was during the Republic of China era.

  After a brief moment of consideration, he started running aimlessly. Along the road, along the mountain city's stairs, one step after another, he somehow walked all the way to Chao Tian Men... Then, facing the Yangtze River and Jialing River converging in front of him, he had nowhere to go forward, and in his confusion, he suddenly thought of making a phone call... for help?!

  Then, in the midst of boredom, a miracle happened. After dialing more than a dozen phone calls that couldn't get through, he actually got through to Gu Zhangyu... Unfortunately, the other party obviously couldn't accept the fact that he had traveled through time and space, and instead thought he was joking around... Okay, if it were usual times, Qin Wei could accept the other party's idea, because if he and Gu Zhangyu were in each other's positions, he would also come to the same conclusion. But the problem is, he can't change now even if he wants to...

  "What's next?"

  Before making the call, Qin Wei didn't have much hope. Although he had read a lot of web novels before and could still access the internet to look up information after crossing over, that required too much luck, second only to those "sons of good fortune" who still had a time-space tunnel to return to reality after crossing over. He was just an unlucky guy who couldn't even find a job, and writing web novels could barely cover his living expenses and underground room rent. Could he really have such good luck?

  The phone call actually went through, and the conversation was normal... He didn't have time to think about whether it was because the Apple phone in his hand was a three-handed fake good that he had bought from Gu Changjun for 300 yuan, or if it had been contaminated with the other party's aura or some kind of magnetic field. He just wanted to let the other party know his current situation... But very obviously, his purpose was not achieved.

  "Cuckoo... cuckoo..."

  His stomach started growling, and his arms and legs began to feel sore. Since college, he hadn't had such a long period of exercise, and today he was able to walk so far in Chongqing's famous mountain city... Qin Wei couldn't help but lament why he didn't eat a big meal before crossing over... He had already gone a night without eating before the crossover. Although he also had some dissatisfaction with society, no matter what, from birth, he had never worried about not being able to afford meals.

  "My phone is out of battery, but I still have..."

  Shaking his head, Qin Wei threw aside his frustration and discontent, as well as some hidden fears, and began to calculate his family's assets after crossing over:

  An iPhone 4, plus a pair of earphones (although they're knockoffs, but for this era, it's considered an absolutely high-tech product, and can even make calls in the future, unfortunately, it's out of battery. P.S. The charger wasn't brought along!

  One wallet, with some RMB inside (which is clearly worthless paper now and might even bring trouble if not handled properly), one second-generation ID card, one bus card, and two bank cards.

  Additionally, several packs of White Sand cigarettes and a one-yuan lighter...

  Then...

  It's all gone.

  Although it can't be considered as naked, it's not much different. Moreover, whether it's a mobile phone, RMB, ID card, bank card, or bus card, they are all things that can reveal one's identity at any time. Even if people in this era can't infer from the date and other information that he comes from the future, at least they will think of him as an unstable element, especially with RMB, the portrait on it may accidentally lead him to the national government's prison... Although the old Mao Zedong printed on it doesn't look much like the current Chairman Mao, but as long as you carefully distinguish, you can still tell who it is.

  "It's probably not just Old Chiang, even if we arrived at the Anti-Japanese Base and saw that the portrait on the banknote was actually an elderly Chairman Mao, they would definitely take me to the interrogation room for questioning in no time, asking why I made him look so old, eh..."

  He let out a long sigh, took out the few RMB from his wallet, and after hesitating for a moment, he finally made up his mind. With a sudden burst of strength, he...

  A few red and green RMB notes thus scattered into the vast river waters.

  "Am I ruining the precious evidence of time-space travel?"

  With a wry smile, Qin Wei threw several cards into the water one by one again.

  ……

  "What should I do next?"

  Left behind the mobile phone, wallet, cigarettes and lighter... Qin Wei lit a cigarette for himself and began to consider what to do next. He didn't notice that not far away, a pair of eyes had been staring at him all along.

  "Got several dozen, I suppose?"

  Li Quan sat on the steps that were scattered all over the mountain city, leaning against a protruding rock, staring straight ahead without blinking, occasionally licking his lips... He had been staring at that guy in front of him for half a day. As a policeman, he had never seen anyone smoke like that before. One after another, it seemed endless, and in just a short while, the ground was already littered with cigarette butts.

  "He's really generous."

  He licked his somewhat blackened lips again, and Li Quan swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He was very envious. He was also a smoker. However, as a small patrol officer, he didn't have the ability to smoke every day, so sometimes when the urge came, he would find some paper, roll up some tobacco leaves, and smoke them to satisfy his cravings. There were even times when there was no more tobacco, but the craving was too strong, so he would crush dry tree leaves and use them as a substitute for tobacco... This wasn't because he was really that poor. Chongqing was a big place, and with the Nationalist government considering moving here due to the intense battle in Wuhan, it was natural that there were many places selling cigarettes. The problem was the war! The Nationalist army couldn't defeat the Japanese, and refugees were fleeing one after another to this southwestern region. With so many people, prices for everything from food to housing were skyrocketing. In just half a year, rent in Chongqing had risen several times over. The Nationalist government didn't pay much, so these police officers had to find ways to make extra money if they wanted to live a little better. But how much could a small patrol officer like him possibly make? Even on good days, he wouldn't earn enough for a few packs of cigarettes, and with the rising cost of food, how could he afford to spend money carelessly?

  But today was good, I actually saw a guy who dressed "elegantly", smoking pack after pack, one by one... it's really annoying to watch.

  ……

  "Brother, want to take a drag?"

  His throat was getting itchier and itchier, and finally, Li Quan couldn't help but lean in.

  "Huh?"

  The man turned his head, seemingly astonished.

  "Ah, just wanting to smoke a cigarette!" What kind of gaze is this? Li Quan was stared at and felt a bit hairy. He had been a patrol officer for so many years, and he had seen all sorts of people...but such a strange gaze was the first time he had ever seen it. It seemed as if this guy was looking at a monster. A monster? Li Quan felt a little guilty and also somewhat inexplicable...what's wrong with him?!

  "Oh..."

  He stared at Li Quan for a while before he suddenly came to his senses, hastily pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handed it over.

  "Thank you..." Looking at the exquisite cigarette pack in front of him, wrapped in a layer of transparent and sparkling paper, Li Quan carefully pulled out one and smelled it under his nose: "Good cigarettes, what brand is this?"

  "White sand!"

  "Bai Sha?" Li Quan thought for a moment, "Never heard of it? New brand? Must be expensive, right?"

  "It's not expensive either, five yuan per pack!"

  "Oh, five yuan......" Li Quan nodded, and then his whole body stiffened: "More, how much?"

  "Five bucks!"

  "Ah..." Li Quanqiang swallowed his saliva, "I... I say, sir, are you kidding me? Five yuan? Even foreign cigarettes aren't that expensive!"

  "This is already very cheap." The other person sighed, looked at Li Quan again, and suddenly patted his head, "Haha, sorry, I made a mistake. Not five yuan, fifty cents... fifty cents per pack!"

  "I knew it... but this is expensive." Li Quan smiled wryly, but couldn't relax. He was a policeman! Although just an ordinary patrol officer, he had seen many people and his eyesight wasn't bad either. The person in front of him was dressed strangely, but very "particular" and stylish, with an air about him that was different from the average person. Moreover, Li Quan could tell that the clothes this guy was wearing were better than those of many rich people... In short, nine out of ten, this guy was either wealthy or noble. This was also why he had hesitated for a long time before daring to come over and ask for a cigarette to smoke... He said it was because his nicotine addiction was unbearable, but in reality, he wanted to see if he could get lucky and get some benefits. Just like the other day, one of his colleagues had met a noble and helped him out, and the guy had casually given him five big yuan as a reward. Five big yuan! It would take Li Quan half a year to save up that much money. But unexpectedly, this pack of cigarettes was actually going to cost five yuan... This price was unheard of for him. Although the other person quickly changed his words, fifty cents was enough for Li Quan's family to eat a full meal for half a month. So, the guy in front of him was lying, and it was very possible that this pack of cigarettes really did cost five yuan!

  "Could it be that I've really run into some big shot?" Li Quan's mind started racing. He thought about how he could get closer to this person, after all, even if the guy had money, now he looked like a down-on-his-luck worrywart, why else would he be smoking one by one on the riverbank?... As a small patrol officer, even if he couldn't help with anything big, it shouldn't be hard to get some reward money in the end, right? Looking at this cigarette, not to mention the shiny packaging, the logo was also nicely printed, just this cigarette itself, long and slender, one end had some weird yellow thing on it, one look and you could tell it wasn't ordinary, no wonder it sold for five yuan a pack. Even if he didn't get any reward money in the end, being able to smoke such good cigarettes wouldn't be a waste of effort.

  "Do you want fire?"

  "Hmm? Ah, yes...?"

  Li Quan was taken aback for a moment, then hastily puffed on his cigarette and approached the person. The next instant, his eyes were fixed intently on the lighter in that person's hand... It was bright red, definitely not glass, but he could see through the outer layer to the "kerosene" inside. It should be kerosene, right? But this wasn't the most important thing, the most important thing was that he clearly saw an image of a woman printed on the other person's lighter... The image was wrapped in two pieces of cloth, one on the chest and one below... With just one glance, Li Quan felt his whole body heat up, and a certain sensitive area between his legs couldn't help but stir restlessly.

  "What the hell is he, a rich playboy or a pervert? There's even such a beautiful woman printed on his lighter..."

  ……

  "Judging from your accent, sir, are you a northerner?"

  With great difficulty, he suppressed the evil fire in his abdomen, and Li Quan started to chat with the other person again. However, when speaking, his mind still flashed with the nearly ** woman on the lighter from time to time.

  "Yes, northerners."

  "Is that why you fled south to escape Japanese talent?"

  "No."

  "Isn't it? But looking at you, it seems like you have something on your mind."

  "Hehe, if you were me, you'd definitely have worries... huge worries!"

  "Haha, you're joking! I'm just a small police officer, how can I compare with someone as important as you?"

  "A big shot? Me?..." The man pointed to his own nose, shaking his head with a wry smile: "You really know how to joke. What kind of big shot am I? Someone like me was barely scraping by before, and now... it's questionable whether I can even survive."

  "Look who's talking. Someone like you, even if they're worse, how much worse can they get? You said it yourself." And yet he claims not to be a big shot? Listening to the way he speaks, with that tone, this isn't just an ordinary person. Li Quan thought to himself.

  "Thanks for your kind words..." The man smiled slightly, then looked Li Quan up and down again: "Do all of you police like to give people advice? But I've heard that the National Government's police aren't usually... enthusiastic."

  "This... heh heh!" Li Quan felt a bit embarrassed. Zealous? If it weren't for the fact that you're not an ordinary person, who would be enthusiastic about you? I wouldn't dare to show my face in this Chaotianmen area if I didn't knock all the cigarettes out of your hand... Earlier, I clearly saw that you still have several packs of this white sand cigarette on you.

  "Right, Chongqing recently..." The man looked at Li Quan with some embarrassment and didn't continue to entangle in this topic. Just as he opened his mouth, a sharp and piercing alarm suddenly sounded nearby...

  "Air raid alert!!"

  Li Quan suddenly jumped up.

  "Hurry up, the little Japanese plane is coming."

  Airplane?

  "Look at you, you're just arriving... the devils are coming to bomb, hurry up!" Regardless of anything else, Li Quan pulled that person and ran towards a nearby air raid shelter.

  "Are the devils coming to bomb again?" The man's legs and feet were not slow, and in the suddenly gathered crowd, he was actually able to closely follow Li Quan's back, running while asking.

  "It's not often that I come," Li Quan said with a sigh as he ran, "but these bastards don't distinguish between east, south, west and north, setting off explosions everywhere... they have no humanity!"

  "What humanity?" The man suddenly let out a cold snort, "If the Japanese devils had any humanity, the sun would rise in the west... They slaughtered 300,000 people in Nanjing alone!"

  "Nanjing ah, I know, was bullied by a little devil... what did you say?"

  Li Quan suddenly stopped in his tracks, "Three hundred thousand?!"