Our neighborhood has been transported again.

Chapter 1 Crossing
"Brother, brother, wake up! There seems to be something outside my window."

Qin Ziwen, who was exhausted from moving all day, was woken up by the noise and was furious. "You're a 187cm tall sports student, what are you afraid of!"

"It looks like a bat, a really big bat."

"You're so scared of a bat!"

Qin Ziwen reached out to the bedside table and pressed the light switch.

"Pah, pah."

I pressed the switch several times, but the room remained dark.

"Brother, it seems there's a power outage in the neighborhood. I couldn't turn on the lights earlier."

Sitting up in bed, Qin Ziwen glanced at his younger brother sitting beside him in the moonlight streaming through the window. He grumbled as he got up: "I'm going to see just how awesome this bat that scared you like this is. I'll beat it to a pulp and hang it by your bedside every day."

Upon entering the second bedroom, I asked, "Where are the bats? Why did you put such a big poster on your window?"

"That's not a poster. I didn't put anything on my window." Qin Ziwu's voice trembled slightly.

Qin Ziwen: ?

He looked out the window at the dark, wriggling thing that almost filled the entire pane of glass.

The 1.2*1.8m glass was almost completely filled.

Moonlight streamed in through the window, making its outline vaguely visible; it looked somewhat like a bat. A huge question mark flashed through his mind: "Is this a bat?"

But that's not the point. The point is that the house I just bought in the city center has turned into a wilderness forest house, and there's even a river winding through it not far away.

He pointed out the window, "What about my huge city center?"

"Holy crap! Bro, your house's worthless now." Qin Ziwu finally realized that his attention had been completely focused on this thing, and he hadn't had time to observe the outside world.

"Boom!"

A loud bang came from the glass, and the sound of the two people talking caught its attention. It began to scratch at the window with its claws.

Qin Ziwen took a step back and hooked the doorknob with his left hand. "Go to the kitchen and get a knife, quick."

Qin Ziwu quickly ran to the kitchen and grabbed two kitchen knives.

Taking the knife from his younger brother and holding it in his hand, Qin Ziwen felt a little more at ease.

After a brief standoff, the bat perched on the window suddenly spread its wings, instantly increasing its size two or three times, and flapped its wings as it flew towards the forest behind.

Even through the window, you could hear the "bag-like" sound of its strong, powerful wings flapping.

Only after the bat flew away did Qin Ziwen's tense body relax slightly, and he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

I went back to the bedroom, picked up my phone from beside my pillow, unlocked the screen, and saw that the signal strength was zero in the upper right corner.

When I saw the view outside the window, although I was mentally prepared, I was still momentarily stunned as the truth drew closer.

So, my neighborhood really time-traveled?

"Shh-"

Pull back the curtains in the master bedroom.

Under the cover of night, the apartment buildings were bathed in the cold moonlight, and outside the complex, in every direction, stretched a vast, endless black forest.

"Chirp chirp~"

On the trees on both sides, colorful birds, unlike any native species, curiously watched the group of uninvited guests below.

On the open ground not far from the eight buildings, many homeowners gathered together, creating a somber atmosphere.

The middle-aged man in a suit said in a deep voice, "I've tried many times, but the phone call won't go through. There's no signal at all. Even going to the rooftop doesn't help. Besides, I've looked around from the rooftop, and it's all forest."

An elderly woman asked worriedly, "Will the government come to our rescue?"

The younger woman next to her pointed to the two suns in the sky and said, "I think it's a bit uncertain; it's hard to say whether they're still on Earth."

The boy in the gray tracksuit angrily accused his companion, "It's all your fault! You insisted on inviting us to your house. Now look what happened, we've all time-traveled! How am I supposed to get back? My mom must be worried sick."

His companion, who was slightly taller, also looked rather grim in response to his companion's accusations. "How the hell was I supposed to know you were the only one with a mother? How could I have predicted something like this? Instead of blaming me, you should be thinking about how to survive."

Qin Ziwen and his younger brother Qin Ziwu stood to the side, exchanging a glance.

Qin Ziwu whispered, "Brother, it's a good thing you time-traveled at night, so your house is still there. If you had time-traveled during the day, you would not only have lost your house, but you would also have to pay off the loan."

Qin Ziwen glanced at his younger brother and said, "Do you think you're funny?"

Qin Ziwu gave an awkward smile. "It's already like this, so let's be optimistic. It can't get any worse anyway."

After waking up in the middle of the night, the two brothers didn't dare to sleep all night and accepted the fact that they had been transported to another world. They held on until dawn, when the residents of the neighborhood gradually noticed something was wrong, and some even knocked on doors one by one.

Their Yujing Jiangcheng residential complex has a total of 10 buildings, mostly low-rise residential buildings. The area they traverse covers the entire complex, including the outer wall, the south gate, the east gate, and a large iron gate on the north side that is usually closed and locked.

Meanwhile, the underground parking garage on the first basement level is also well preserved, with the entrance and exit located next to the east side door.

Considering that the time of the journey was at night, and most residents were at home, there must have been at least one or two thousand people.

In the center of the crowd, a middle-aged man in a suit looked around and said, "Our water, electricity, and gas have all been cut off. I guess it's the same for you. Food in the refrigerator won't keep for long after the power goes out. If we want to survive, I think we should stick together and find a stable source of food around here."

A bald man in a short-sleeved shirt across the street suddenly interjected, "There's a forest right next door, how could we possibly lack food? I think you're just trying to seize power. I've seen plenty of people like you."

The middle-aged man in the suit remained expressionless. "I'm just making a suggestion, not forcing anyone. I'm looking for like-minded friends. If you're willing to cooperate, we can try to survive together."

My name is Huang Tao, I live in Building 7, I studied freestyle fighting for a few years, and I enjoy hiking and camping. I have some experience with setting up camp and making fires.

Outside the crowd, an elderly woman surnamed Li, who lived on the second floor of Building 8, clapped her hands and said, "Oh dear, the power is out! The meat in the refrigerator is going to spoil. I need to smoke it quickly."

After saying that, Granny Li hurriedly turned and left.

Many onlookers were reminded to go home immediately.

Some people didn't know how to do it and quickly asked their neighbors who knew. Many people only know that smoking meat involves placing it over a fire to smoke it, but they don't know exactly how long to smoke it, how high to place the meat rack, whether to rub it with salt, or whether to dry-roast it directly.

Qin Ziwen nudged his younger brother with his elbow. "Let's go take a look."

Qin Ziwu was shocked. "Brother, we usually order takeout. We don't have any meat at home."

Qin Ziwen: "Just because it's not happening now doesn't mean it won't happen in the future."

Grandma Li was very hospitable. She answered everyone who came to ask her questions, and later she even invited others to her home to demonstrate how to marinate meat. "This smoked meat, the technique is actually simple, just remember to marinate, smoke, and store it. In the past, we would rub the meat inside and out several times with coarse salt, then press out the blood with stones, and then smoke it with smoke. Remember not to roast it directly with fire, you have to use wet wood or sawdust, something that produces smoke but not fire, and slowly simmer it, hanging the meat on it to dry slowly. When the meat turns dark red, feels firm to the touch, and feels light in your hand, it's smoked."

"No salt? You can smoke it directly. Cut the meat thinly, don't leave big pieces, cut it into thin strips, hang it up and smoke it slowly. This way it will last a little longer, but it won't last very long without salt."

Grandma Li's husband, in his wheelchair, went to the sink to wash some fruit and shared it with the neighbors who came into the house.

Some people ate the fruit directly, while others put it in their pockets.

"Thank you." Qin Ziwen accepted the apple with both hands.

The old man smiled kindly at Qin Ziwen, then handed Qin Ziwu an apple, which Qin Ziwu quickly accepted.

After marinating the meat, Grandma Li also shared many tips on food preservation with her neighbors.

She used to live in the countryside, but her husband broke his leg and life in the countryside became inconvenient. After her son got divorced, he simply brought the elderly couple to live with him.

"Where is your son?" someone asked.

Grandma Li said with a smile, "He was on the night shift yesterday and wasn't home."

Many people in the room felt a chill run down their spines, and the atmosphere seemed to have subtly changed.

Qin Ziwen left with his younger brother.

"Kacha."

On the stairs, Qin Ziwu took a big bite, smacked his lips in remembrance, and said with some regret, "This apple is really sweet; I guess I'll have a hard time getting one like this again."

Back home, Qin Ziwen began to take stock of the family's belongings.

Actually, I already cleaned it up last night.

Most of the household appliances are now just for show. The tables and chairs are still usable, but there's not much food. There's just a box of small breads that arrived by courier the day before yesterday and a box of White Oak Turkey Noodles. There's also half a can of protein powder in the cabinet and half a bucket of water under the water dispenser.

There was a bottle of unused glue, two large buckets, a solid wood clothesline, several pieces of clothing and bedding rope, two kitchen knives, a fruit knife, and a pair of scissors in the drawer.

“Some of them have gone out,” the younger brother, standing by the window, pointed outside.

Outside the residential compound wall, a dozen adults were cautiously exploring outwards.

The surrounding trees are sparse, about several dozen steps away.

"what!"

A gasp of surprise rippled through the crowd below.

Someone pointed ahead.

In the dim light, Qin Ziwen heard, "Snake." "A huge snake."

Not far from the group of people, the grass rippled, and a dark green snake, thicker than a sewer pipe, was startled and fled.

From the perspective of the upper floor, the snake was at least five or six meters long.

Qin Ziwu raised an eyebrow. "Brother, this snake is probably big enough to swallow a person whole."

Qin Ziwen's expression was grave. "Snakes this long can eat people. I have a feeling that the animals here are all quite large. We need to be careful."

After encountering the giant snake, the group downstairs came to a standstill, and some of the people in the group were exchanging information.

A moment later, the group dispersed, and three people turned around and went back to the residential area.

Qin Ziwen took the fruit knife blade, then used a kitchen knife to sharpen and cut a groove at the top of the clothesline, and then inserted the blade.

Wrap the joint with rope, drip glue into the gap, and after the glue dries, wrap another layer of rope around the outside.

This made a simple spear. After several adjustments, I confirmed that it wouldn't come loose easily.

"Put it on." Qin Ziwen tossed a long-sleeved winter coat to his younger brother. They were about the same height and build, so their clothes were basically interchangeable.

Before leaving home, Qin Ziwen specially wore thickened winter Martin boots, a leather jacket and trousers, and tucked his thermal underwear into thick cotton socks, making sure he was fully covered.

After going downstairs, the two headed straight for the South Gate.

In the open space in front of the South Gate, people gathered in twos and threes, mostly in family units, somewhat like a team channel in a game. Teams with strong, adult men were more popular.

"Hey, Xiao Qin, come here." A woman waved to Qin Ziwen from not far away.

"Sister Wang?" Qin Ziwen didn't expect to run into Wang Juan, the department head, here.

Beside Wang Juan was her husband, whom Qin Ziwen had met a few times, and a slightly younger woman wearing glasses, who was secretly sizing up Qin Ziwu.

"Xiao Qin, what's going on? The company has a project progress meeting today, and now it's all delayed!" Wang Juan sighed.

Qin Ziwu glanced at her, somewhat displeased. "Who do you think you are, calling my brother 'Little Qin' like that?"

The woman with glasses said, "Anyway, there aren't two suns on Earth, so we probably can't go back."

Wang Juan said with a smile, "You and your brother are perfect, you can team up with my husband. It's safer with more people, and you men are strong enough to scout ahead and provide protection."

She continued, "My sister is a nurse and has studied first aid. She can be in charge of logistics. We're just short two strong men. You can come with us; it'll be more efficient."

Qin Ziwen's lips twitched, he laughed in exasperation, and said indifferently, "We have our own plans, so we won't trouble Sister Wang."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

"Hey, wait a minute! How can young people have no team spirit at all? What kind of time is this? What can you accomplish by going it alone? There are three of us and two of you."

Qin Ziwen stopped responding; encountering such a weirdo so early in the morning was just bad luck.

I still think I'm at the company.

Wang Juan's husband watched the two of them walk away, frowning in displeasure: "How can your subordinates be so disobedient? They have no sense of the bigger picture at all."

After walking a distance, Qin Ziwu complained, "Bro, your boss... does he still think of himself as someone working at the company?"

"Perhaps some people are just used to being leaders."

After descending a short flight of stairs, Qin Ziwen arrived at the main south gate. He paused, and the visual impact of what he saw was immense.

One side of the glass door was broken, and the other was open. Inside the door was a smooth floor, and outside was a wilderness overgrown with weeds.

Large patches of knee-high weeds grew haphazardly, and further away lay a vast, lush forest. Several birds flew across the sky.

(End of this chapter)