a midsummer night's dream

Lin Feng scrambled to his feet using both hands and feet, murmuring to himself as he pinched his thigh, "Blast it, can't I just enjoy being an Earthling anymore..."

He was utterly convinced that moments ago he had been lounging in front of his own home, surrounded by the familiar streets and alleys he had known for over twenty years. The dilapidated houses common on the southern outskirts, and the potholed cement roads beneath his feet, were vivid in his memory. Yet, with just a slight squint, everything around him had completely transformed.

Lin Feng found himself standing in an expansive and boundless grassland!

As he gazed into the distance, the horizon seemed endless, with only endless green grass stretching as far as the eye could see. The refreshing night breeze, even crisper than in the city, brushed against him, while the grass underfoot undulated like waves. Looking up at the sky, he beheld a sight he had never witnessed in the city—a pristine night sky, densely adorned with stars, so bright and concentrated that even amidst the darkness, he could discern the landscape of the grassland below.

And on the distant horizon, two silver orbs were slowly ascending into the sky, one large and one small, with the larger one revealing a halo-like aura around its edge—two moons!

"I knew indulging in too many novels would lead to trouble!" Lin Feng watched as the two moons ascended slowly into the sky, the night enveloped with unfamiliar stars (of course, he couldn't recognize more than a few stars even on Earth), and he couldn't help but exclaim, "Am I really in another world?"

Lin Feng had pinched his thigh more than once, now almost unable to walk from the pain, convinced that he wasn't dreaming. What was the meaning of all this before him? Could lounging on the roadside really lead to being thrown into another world? Curse it all, he even had two hungry monsters back at home!

A jumble of thoughts raced through Lin Feng's mind like a revolving lantern, recalling numerous cases of transmigration to other worlds, thinking about the troubles at home and his newly acquired identity as a spacetime management bureau employee. But ultimately, amidst countless thoughts, they all condensed into a long sigh, realizing he couldn't just languish here, especially after hearing the howl of a wolf...

With a final glance at his reclining chair, Lin Feng set off towards the direction of the two bright moons on the horizon: in that direction, he vaguely discerned silhouettes resembling buildings, at least serving as a forward target. Of course, he knew wandering aimlessly in such an unfamiliar environment was not wise, as it would either drain his energy or expose him to greater dangers. However, the key was that he felt he had "transmigrated" here! The process of arriving here was abnormal; waiting in place was simply futile, as no one would come to his rescue. It was better to assess the surroundings before deciding on the next step.

"Transmigration landing spots are so unreliable. Being dumped into such a vast grassland, with not even a tree in sight, how can one survive?" The chill of the nighttime grassland was penetrating, forcing Lin Feng to hug himself and mutter, "Do I have to eat grass? Encountering poisonous plants would be disastrous. If only there was a forest, that would be much better. I could craft a workbench from a tree trunk and perhaps survive..." (Minecraft reference)

Obviously, Lin Feng wasn't a qualified transmigrator: barely a dozen minutes into arriving in this unfamiliar environment, his mind was already racing like a runaway carriage, far from the calm, wise, resolute demeanor expected of someone entering a new world. But he couldn't control his wandering thoughts because it helped to dissipate the bone-deep unease and tension—he was just an ordinary person, a small-town dweller drifting through life aimlessly. Even the biggest crisis he had faced three days ago was merely failing to rent out his house. How could he suddenly become calm, decisive, and intelligent?

Another faint wolf howl echoed from the distance, but it could also be a hallucination caused by excessive nervousness. At this moment, Lin Feng couldn't help but think of the wolf-person with a slightly problematic brain at home: Twilight Cloud also howled like that, and it sounded much nicer. It would be great if that wolf-person were here... Although her brain wasn't fully functional, she should be able to deal with wild wolves, right? On the other hand, he wasn't sure if she could get along well with Vivian. If he couldn't return, those two would surely demolish the house within three days, but let them demolish it, it had nothing to do with him anyway.

With his mind filled with scattered thoughts, Lin Feng walked across the seemingly endless grassland, where the surroundings appeared so vast that after walking for so long, he felt as if the scenery in the distance hadn't changed at all. If it weren't for his reclining chair disappearing from sight behind him and the two bright moons ahead guiding his direction, he would have thought he was simply circling in place.

The temperature around him continued to drop; the night wind on the vast grassland was not something a T-shirt could withstand. Initially, Lin Feng felt the air here was refreshing, but now, he found himself longing for the slightly hot and polluted air of the Earth he had known half an hour ago.

Just then, another wolf howl rang out, this time much closer and unmistakably real.

Lin Feng felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, his twenty-five years of life honing a sixth sense that now kicked in. He realized he had unknowingly ventured into a deep grassy area, where the grasses even reached knee-high. From all directions, pairs of eyes shimmering with a faint green light emerged gradually from the darkness, like specters.

Ghostly wolf shadows emerged from the grass, and Lin Feng had no idea how these fellows had approached so close without his notice. To be honest, at this moment, he was frightened. When had he ever faced such a situation!

But fortunately, even as an ordinary person, Lin Feng had a proud side of composure. He restrained the urge to flee or cry out in panic because he knew it would only hasten his demise. Standing his ground against the wolf pack, he desperately sought a way to survive, feeling a heap of frustration with nowhere to vent: could his luck get any worse? To just die like this without any reason!

If only he had a weapon for self-defense now. Although Lin Feng was certain that even with a Green Dragon Crescent Blade in hand, he couldn't contend with the twenty or thirty grassland wolves before him, having a weapon would at least bolster his courage. However, after cautiously patting himself all over, all he found was an old-fashioned Nokia... Well, in a sense, this thing could be a super weapon; tying it to a stick might make it a battle hammer. But at this critical moment, let's not play around with cosmic weapon references, okay?

Of course, the wolf pack wouldn't give Lin Feng the opportunity to indulge in his wild thoughts. Just as he let his guard down for a moment, the nearest wild wolf pounced at him without a sound. Lin Feng only saw a black shadow hurtling towards him, and it seemed different from the wolves he was familiar with on Earth. His only instinctive reaction was to raise his hand to block...

"Landlord! Landlord!"

A voice calling urgently suddenly sounded in his ears, and Lin Feng felt a sharp pain in his head. The whole world seemed to spin, and when he opened his eyes groggily, what he saw was the familiar street, the familiar old houses, the familiar grayish and star-sparse city night sky, and the face of Twilight Cloud with her dumbfounded expression.

Lin Feng took a deep breath. This was the action he hadn't been able to complete when the wild wolf pounced on him. Then, he looked around in a daze, "Am I back?"

"What do you mean, 'back'?" Twilight Cloud poked Lin Feng's arm, then pulled him up, "Landlord, you've been out here for half a day. The one with long wings asked me to find you, and then I saw you lying on the ground, making strange noises."

Lin Feng was almost dislocated by the powerful werewolf, but at least he was completely awake now. He looked at himself, all was well, and then turned his head to see the reclining chair that had overturned on the ground at some point, finally confirming that the incredibly realistic "transmigration" experience just now was nothing but a ridiculous nightmare.

But was this dream too realistic?

"It's nothing, just had a dream." Lin Feng waved to Twilight Cloud, feeling touched that the two troublemakers at home were so concerned about him—if only they could stop fighting, that would be even better.

As Lin Feng waved his hand, he noticed something peeking out from between his tightly clenched fingers.

A tuft of black wolf fur.

"Oh my God!" Lin Feng quickly flicked away the tuft of fur as if it were burning coal, jumping up in shock, "Damn it!"