Chapter 1
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Chapter 1: Who Am I
Epigraph:
Huainanzi·Tianwen Xun: “Five stars and eight winds, twenty-eight constellations. Five offices and six bureaus, Purple Palace, Taiwei, Xuanyuan, Xianchi, Four Guardians, Tian’e.”
Wang Niansun of the Qing Dynasty also stated: Tian’e refers to the Milky Way.
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A pleasant melody awakened him from deep sleep. “It’s time to get up. Your breakfast has been prepared. The shuttle will arrive in 45 minutes. Please don’t miss your departure time.”
He turned over and sat up, looking around.
This was a spacious apartment where soft lights gradually illuminated one by one. The bed occupied one corner of the room, with a built-in wardrobe embedded in the adjacent wall. A square touch panel adorned the wardrobe door.
He reached out and touched the wardrobe door. The silver lightweight alloy door automatically slid open, revealing rows of clothes inside.
All identical in style.
On the other side of the room, an open-plan kitchen connected to the living area, with an automatic meal preparation machine positioned on the island counter. He walked over and hesitated for a moment among several buttons marked with different food symbols, then chose ‘Random,’ hoping today might bring a surprise.
The meal machine emitted a soft beep. A minute later, the curtain door opened and delivered a sandwich.
“This again.” He silently accepted his fate, picked up the sandwich, and finished it in a few bites.
Honestly, the sandwich tasted decent, but the biggest problem was that the flavor never changed, just like Forest Food Company’s famous slogan: Quality remains eternally consistent. Apparently, the taste followed the same principle.
However, he already knew that regardless of his choice—sandwich, hot dog, or meat bun—they all tasted exactly the same. Despite the unchanging flavor, synthetic food provided adequate nutrition and calories. This palm-sized sandwich contained more calories than an equivalent volume of pure fat, enough to sustain his morning activities.
He snapped his fingers, and the blackout curtains on one side of the living room automatically opened, revealing the floor-to-ceiling windows behind them. Bright sunlight already flooded the view outside.
The apartment occupied the top floor, offering an excellent view that encompassed the bay below and the mountains extending into the sea in the distance. Along the coastline stretched a white beach dotted with rows of lounge chairs and umbrellas. Even from this height, he could see bikini-clad women with stunning figures, some jogging, others sunbathing. The sea sparkled blue, already scattered with white sails. The wealthy residents of this city seemed quite industrious—despite the early hour, many had already taken their yachts and sailboats out to sea.
An old-fashioned airplane slowly flew across the bay, trailing a colorful banner that condensed into large letters: Deep Space Energy.
Although the bay area offered an unbeatable view, seeing it every day made it rather ordinary.
He habitually glanced outside, walked to his workstation, picked up his organized tool bag, checked today’s schedule, and headed toward the door.
Outside lay a long corridor. Behind an equipment panel cover, a faint burning smell seemed to drift out, instinctively making him uncomfortable. He looked at the panel, then at the time, and dismissed the thought of investigating. After all, if equipment malfunctioned, maintenance personnel would arrive within half an hour.
But would this building, equipped with self-diagnostic cycles and automatic repair and replacement capabilities for critical equipment, really have equipment problems?
The timer on his wrist began vibrating gently, reminding him that time was running short. He quickened his pace, took the elevator to the rooftop, where a twin-rotor shuttle helicopter already waited. When he appeared, the cabin door automatically opened.
He boarded the shuttle and sat in his familiar window seat.
“Please remain seated. The entire journey will take approximately eight minutes.” The gentle electronic synthesized voice sounded as familiar as always—he had heard it countless times.
He thought to himself, ‘Maybe Deep Space Equipment should hire a different voice actor.’
The shuttle had no pilot; everything operated according to pre-downloaded flight paths. The aircraft circled the bay, taking in the scenic beauty of the bay area, before accelerating toward the city center.
The shuttle approached the middle section of a skyscraper, where the glass curtain wall ahead split apart, revealing an internal landing pad.
He exited the shuttle and followed the familiar route through winding corridors to the reception hall.
A female researcher in a silver robe already waited at the entrance. She glanced at the data pad in her hands and said, “You’re always so punctual.”
He bowed slightly in respect.
The female researcher led him into another room. After passing through three different colored light scans, she pointed toward the far end of the room and said, “Go through that door. Inside, you’ll find the equipment you need for today.”
He nodded and passed through the automatic door. Inside, he saw a workbench displaying a pistol, an arm shield, and a rectangular, palm-sized automatic injector.
The automatic door closed and locked. Then an electronic synthesized voice with a special frequency resonated:
“Test Subject 1120, please use the standard interface to receive today’s experimental program.”
Upon hearing this voice, the color in his pupils changed accordingly—a closer look revealed blue light composed of countless microscopic numbers. From this moment, all his emotions receded, leaving only mechanically cold consciousness.
He extended his hand toward a square device on the wall, pressing it against the designated area. A metal probe emerged, piercing his palm, and a stream of data transmitted. Today’s experimental program appeared in his field of vision.
“Today’s Experimental Procedure:
1) Download Close-Combat Firearms Fighting Technique version 0.1a… Download complete.
2) Inject low-light vision enhancer.
3) Enter combat room to test Close-Combat Firearms Fighting Technique.
4) After testing completion, proceed to Room 3 for intelligent personality testing.”
As the data download completed, his consciousness naturally acquired all the data for this electromagnetic-driven pistol, complete specifications for the alloy arm shield, and hundreds of different stances and combat techniques combining gun and shield.
He picked up the automatic injector from the table, aimed it at his forearm, and pressed the switch. With a soft pop, the injection needle penetrated his arm, completing the injection. He felt some soreness and swelling. Moments later, his vision began changing—the room seemed brighter.
Following the program, he picked up the pistol, equipped the arm shield, and entered the adjacent combat testing hall. The hall was spacious. After he entered, the lights began dimming until only four dim red lamps remained in the ceiling corners.
In the vast hall, these few small lamps could only illuminate about a meter around him, leaving the central area almost pitch black.
However, his vision adjusted as the lighting changed, taking in everything in the hall, though details remained slightly blurred.
“Transmitting visual data… Transmission complete. Combat test item one, basic attack, prepare to begin. Three, two, one!”
Hidden doors suddenly appeared on the hall walls, releasing more than ten small drones. Instantly, multiple dark red laser dots targeted his head.
The moment the targeting lasers hit his head, he suddenly executed a sliding sidestep, evading all laser locks. His right hand holding the gun flew up, creating afterimages, and the muzzle instantly spat ghostly blue fire. Electromagnetic explosion sounds merged into a continuous roar.
The airborne drones were struck one by one, catching fire and burning. The surviving drones began desperate evasive maneuvers, but none escaped targeting—they were eliminated one by one.
“First test successful. Preparing second test.”
A cigar-shaped large cleaning drone flew in, opened its belly compartment, sucked up all the debris from the floor, and flew out.
“Test item two, basic defense.”
Another automatic turret extended from the hall wall, and a targeting laser beam illuminated him. The turret immediately spat fire, beginning to shoot at a deliberately slow rate of three rounds per second.
This turret used old-fashioned gunpowder ammunition and intentionally reduced firing speed.
The instant the turret locked onto him, he executed a standard retreat step from the Close-Combat Firearms Fighting Technique, stepping back three meters and perfectly avoiding the turret’s lock, causing the bullets to miss completely. Although it was an old-style turret, its targeting program was advanced. After missing the first shot, the turret began dynamically changing strategies, no longer focusing solely on his head and chest vitals, but occasionally targeting his limbs and even predicting his movements to block escape routes in advance.
After avoiding the first wave of attacks, he no longer relied purely on evasion, as the turret’s firing rate began increasing and more turrets appeared.
In his vision, the turrets’ firing trajectories displayed as straight lines, while his consciousness automatically presented several close-combat fighting technique postures—either evasive or defensive.
He executed several consecutive movements, avoiding most shots, and used his arm shield to block attacks he couldn’t evade. The barrage continuously sparked against his arm shield, quickly leaving it pitted and scarred. However, this fighting technique proved remarkably effective—under the all-angle siege of multiple turrets, he still managed to respond with ease.
But as the turrets’ firing rate increased once more, he finally found himself unable to cover all angles. In a critical moment, he blocked two bullets aimed at his chest, then grunted as a bullet struck his thigh.
“Test two complete. Rating: Excellent.”
As the synthesized voice announced the result, all turrets ceased firing and retracted into the walls. Another drone flew into the hall, hovering near his thigh wound. Three wire-thin mechanical arms extended into the wound, extracted the bullet, and sprayed medical gel.
He moved his leg—mobility had returned to normal.
A door opened at the far end of the hall, and the synthesized voice instructed: “Please proceed to Room 3 for intelligent personality testing.”
A tiny question emerged from his cold emotions: ‘Intelligent personality?’
The synthesized voice suddenly rose in pitch and became urgent: “Detecting abnormal data fluctuation outside program parameters! Warning, detecting abnormal data fluctuation outside program parameters!”
He was startled, actually experiencing a sense of danger. Instinctively, he suppressed all emotional fluctuations and restored his mechanically cold state.
More than ten fully armed soldiers rushed out from hidden doors, surrounding him completely, followed by several researchers hurrying to the scene. The female researcher who had brought him in carefully observed him, slowly approached, and reached toward his eyes.
He remained motionless while red danger warnings continuously flashed in his vision.
The female researcher opened his eyelids wide and carefully examined his pupils, then turned back and said, “Data shows no abnormalities. This should be a false alarm. Cancel alert. Continue experiment.”
Everyone relaxed, and the armed soldiers filed away, disappearing into the hidden doors.
A nearby researcher whispered, “Shouldn’t we stop and conduct another examination?”
“No need. Our progress is already 15% behind schedule.”
The male researcher shrugged and said, “You’re in charge.”
He continued forward and entered Room 3.
This was a room decorated in white and light blue tones, containing nothing but a single chair. In front of the chair stood a blank wall.
He walked over and naturally sat in the chair, placing his hands on the armrests in a perfectly standard upright posture.
The room lights dimmed, and the wall ahead changed colors, transforming into a wall-sized screen. A very short sentence appeared on the screen—just three large characters.
Who are you?
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[Sidebar Note: The Huainanzi (淮南子) is a classic work of Chinese philosophy written during the Han Dynasty. Within it, the chapter titled *Tianwen Xun* (天文訓) is particularly noteworthy for its exploration of astronomy and astrology, linking celestial patterns to the art of governance. The text is considered a fundamental source for understanding ancient Chinese astronomy and its astrological practices.**
### In summary:
* **Huainanzi**: A classical Chinese philosophical text from the Han Dynasty.
* **Tianwen Xun**: A specific chapter within the *Huainanzi* that focuses on astronomy and astrology.
* **Significance**: The *Tianwen Xun* is crucial for understanding ancient Chinese astronomy and astrology, as well as their connections to politics and governance.
### More about the *Huainanzi* and the *Tianwen Xun*:
The *Huainanzi* was compiled under the patronage of Liu An, Prince of Huainan, before 139 BCE. The text covers a wide range of topics, including cosmology, self-cultivation, and divination practices, all with an emphasis on how celestial knowledge can aid a wise ruler.
The *Tianwen Xun* chapter delves into the relationship between celestial patterns and sociopolitical order—how the movements of heavenly bodies are reflected in earthly events, and how understanding these patterns can guide effective governance.
This chapter is regarded as a valuable source for studying the earliest forms of Chinese astrology and the intricate connections between constellations and political affairs.
The *Tianwen Xun* also contains a detailed description of the **Twenty-Four Solar Terms**, an ancient Chinese invention that was later recognized by UNESCO as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
### Conclusion:
The *Huainanzi* and its chapter *Tianwen Xun* offer a fascinating glimpse into the ancient Chinese worldview, where astronomical and astrological knowledge played a central role in understanding the universe and practicing wise governance.]
