A computer from the future

"Ah, my wallet!"

"My phone! I just bought a Nokia!"

"Darn it, where are my new Nike shoes?!"

In Room 207 of Building 14 at HeXie University, a group of guys cried out in such loud voices, so mournful and pitiful, that if you didn't hear clearly, you might think these animals were being beaten by some fierce attackers.

Several people stared at the broken lock on the door, on the verge of tears. In truth, anyone would be the same... Their things were stolen, and it was the first day of school! What's even more unforgivable is that this was a freshman dormitory.

What could be more frustrating than losing things on the first day of university? The level of frustration might even surpass watching a match of the Chinese national football team!

Several people nervously checked their belongings, but Chen Xu stood dumbfounded by his bed, staring fixedly at his pillow, as if there were flowers blooming on it...

"Hey, Third Brother," Second Brother Qin Xia'an said with a hint of sarcasm, "didn't you lose anything?"

Chen Xu slowly turned his head, a look of almost crying on his face. "Nothing lost? Damn it! You only lost a pair of fake Nike shoes you bought for 80 yuan from a street vendor... I lost an 8,000 yuan brand-new laptop!"

The commotion in Room 207 quickly attracted a crowd. When they learned that Chen Xu had lost an 8,000 yuan laptop on the first day of school, some sympathized, some secretly gloated, and some were filled with righteous indignation and went to find the dormitory administrator. However, since everyone on this floor was a freshman with no experience, they eventually alarmed the senior students upstairs, who persuaded everyone to return to their rooms before calling the police.

"Here, have a smoke." Sitting in front of Chen Xu was a burly man like a black iron tower, a senior from the same college named Wang Dong. It was he who dealt with the police uncle who came here to investigate. Skillfully lighting a "Yellow Mountain" for himself, Wang Dong waved the cigarette towards Chen Xu.

"Damn, you guys are really unlucky. Losing things right after entering freshman year, and such valuable things." Chen Xu, still trembling, lit the cigarette. Wang Dong blew a smoke ring and chuckled, "Well, this kind of thing happens many times every year, especially at the beginning of the school year. With so many people around and everything in disorder, remember to lock your valuables in a box next time. And don't use the locks provided by the school. Buy one at the school gate yourself; it's only ten yuan, much sturdier than the ones the school provides."

Chen Xu didn't know what he was feeling right now, perhaps mostly regret. In their dorm, both he and the eldest brother had laptops, but while the eldest brother always locked his laptop in the cabinet after use, he would casually toss his on the bed each time. Now, it's good. The eldest brother's laptop wasn't stolen, but his was. If only they were stolen together, at least there would be some solace in shared misery, right?

Eight thousand yuan, that's not a small amount. Although his family was quite well-off, it's not like they could casually lose eight thousand yuan. If he told his family that he lost the most valuable thing on the first day of school, he'd probably be scolded by his mom to death.

"Senior, who do you think did it?" Fourth Brother Dong Qingjie said through gritted teeth. He lost his wallet, but the thief was relatively ethical, only taking the money from inside and throwing the bank cards and ID on the table. Although he didn't know exactly how much money he lost, judging from his gnashing teeth, it seemed like he lost a few million...

Wang Dong chuckled. "There will be plenty of opportunities. But why, you want to catch the thief? Among the students in this building, there are scammers who impersonate parents to enter the dorm, and peddlers who come to sell things in the dorm, all of whom are possible suspects. Forget it, forget it, this kind of thing happens every year, but nobody ever gets caught. So, just accept it."

Seeing that some of them still looked dissatisfied, Wang Dong smiled. They were all freshmen, after all, with no experience. If it were them, practically everyone has lost something before. In their department, there was someone who set a record of losing two phones, an MP3 player, a wallet, and a school meal card in three days... They were used to it.

"Alright, I'm going back. Don't worry too much about it. Learn from this experience and be more careful in the future." Wang Dong walked to the door, then turned back. "Someone will come up later, and I'll give you some reference books we used before. They're useful for exams, but useless after the exams. Pass them on to the next batch of freshmen after you're done with them."

"Thank you, Senior!" The four people in the room thanked him in unison, and Wang Dong waved his hand, saying "You're welcome," before leaving, leaving behind only a towering and formidable figure.

"Never mind, Third Brother, don't be upset." Eldest Brother Wu Yuan advised. Although he also lost his phone, compared to Chen Xu's loss, his was less valuable, so thinking that someone was worse off than himself, this despicable guy didn't feel so upset.

Second Brother Qin Xia'an also said, "Let's go, let's go eat. Damn it, real men shouldn't be bothered by losing something. If I catch that thief, I'll kill him!"

Chen Xu rolled his

 eyes at him. "Stop talking nonsense, what can you do if you catch him? Beat him up? Then you'll be the one going to jail."

Picking up his key, Chen Xu opened the door. The four of them walked out of the dormitory, heading towards the canteen. Today, they might as well go for a good meal to comfort themselves.

In fact, even if the thief was caught, what could they do? The police might not even bother to come over, let alone investigate the case thoroughly. This kind of thing happens all the time, and there's no shortage of similar incidents every year. As Wang Dong said, it's better to just accept it and move on.

"Alright, I'm heading back now. Don't dwell on it too much. Learn from this experience, and be more careful in the future." Wang Dong walked to the door, then turned back and said, "Someone will come up later, and I'll give you some reference books we used before. They're useful for exams, but useless after the exams. Pass them on to the next batch of freshmen after you're done with them."

"Thank you, Senior!" The four of them thanked him in unison, and Wang Dong waved his hand and said, "You're welcome," before turning and walking out, leaving behind only the imposing silhouette of his towering figure.

"Never mind, Third Brother, don't be upset," Eldest Brother Wu Yuan advised. Although he also lost his phone, compared to Chen Xu's loss, his was less valuable, so thinking that someone was worse off than himself, this despicable guy didn't feel so upset.

Second Brother Qin Xia'an also chimed in, "Let's go, let's go eat. Damn it, real men shouldn't be bothered by losing something. If I catch that thief, I'll kill him!"

Chen Xu rolled his eyes, "Damn it, you lost the least valuable thing, of course it's easy for you to say. Forget it, forget it, go eat. I'll think about what to do, whether I should explain to my family. Let me be alone for a while."

With that said, the others fell silent, and only Eldest Brother Wu Yuan patted Chen Xu's shoulder, saying, "I'll bring you some food later. Take care," before they walked out of the door.

"F*ck, so damn unlucky!" After the others left, Chen Xu punched the door, emitting a dull thud, releasing some of his frustration.

Asking his family to buy him another computer?

That possibility was out of the question. The laptop he had was already hard-earned. Originally, his dad was worried that he would bring the computer to school just to play, not to study... Actually, that was his intention. Now that the laptop was lost, he would be lucky if his dad didn't scold him. How could he possibly ask for another one?

"Forget it, I can only accept my misfortune!" Chen Xu lay on the bed, rolling his eyes, cursing the thief who gave birth to a son without a butt hole, and cursing the poor management of the school. How could they let just anyone into the school?

Grabbing a magazine, Chen Xu had bought it at the train station when he came here. It was full of miscellaneous stuff like Ultraman fighting the Gourd Brothers, and aliens being the godfather of George W. Bush...

Chen Xu's mind was in chaos right now. After all, he was just a freshman, and losing such valuable things all at once, his hands were even shaking now. He picked up the magazine, not because he was indifferent, but because he wanted to do something to distract himself from his current state of mind.

Flipping through a few pages casually, Chen Xu still couldn't calm down. Just as he was about to toss the magazine aside, a line of text suddenly caught his eye: "Time Tunnels and Parallel Spaces..."

"Scientists are all lunatics and neurotic children!" Chen Xu flipped through the magazine and casually tossed it aside. But just then, a thought flashed through his mind, and he sat up abruptly.

It was a ludicrous idea!

An absurd, whimsical thought!

Under normal circumstances, even if he had such a thought, he would never act on it because it was too absurd, absurd to the point of being boundless, even more absurd than the idea of George W. Bush being related to Uncle Lardan! But now, Chen Xu was feeling a bit dizzy from anger, and with a desperate idea in mind, he actually went ahead and did it...

Chen Xu found a sturdy piece of paper and took a black pen. He wrote down these words on the paper:

"My descendants, I am your ancestor Chen Xu. The time now is September 1st, 2006, 12:07 PM Beijing time. Today, your ancestor, me, encountered the most miserable thing in life... On the first day of my university, my laptop worth eight thousand yuan was stolen. If you are my descendants, please do something for your ancestor.

If the time machine, as rumored, has appeared in your era, then please send a laptop to the time period I am currently in. The address is Room 207, Building 14, Hexie University, XX Province, XX City."

After writing this, Chen Xu carefully folded the paper and put it in his wallet, treasuring it.

"Sigh, I must be a bit crazy. Otherwise, how could I come up with such an absurd idea?" Chen Xu chuckled at himself, stood up, and decided to go out for a pee. But just as he stood up, there was suddenly a dull thud on his head, as if he had been hit by something hard, making him dizzy.

"Damn it, who the hell has no sense of public decency!" Chen Xu cursed, "Actually throwing... throwing..."

He couldn't finish his curse because he realized that he was now inside the room! Apart from the ceiling, there was nothing above his head!

Looking up at the intact ceiling, there was no sign of it falling down. So what hit his head?

Chen Xu turned his head and saw, lying quietly on the floor beside him, a silver laptop...