Alien Dust

Chapter 1 Entering the Desert
Licheng.

On campus, a man with a slightly middle-parted hair, overalls, and a white shirt walked into the classroom.

"Wu Hen, since you have dropped out of school, you should say goodbye to your classmates. After all, you have been together for two and a half years." said the head teacher Wang Shan.

"See you again if we're lucky." Wu Hen, wearing a white shirt, waved his hand with a sunny smile on his face.

In the class, all the students looked at him, some were surprised, some laughed at him, and some were regretful.

"He's about to enter university, why does Wu Hen want to drop out?" Some female classmates discussed in a low voice.

"Is he going to study abroad? I heard that his family is well-off. When he was in junior high school, the housekeeper who came to pick him up drove all kinds of luxury cars to the school gate."

"Dude, you are shortsighted. You only see luxury cars... It was a different housekeeper who came to pick him up at the school gate!"

"Oh my god, so inhumane? I didn't pay attention at the time, I just thought the housekeeper was very elegant!" the male classmate said in surprise.

"Wow, a housekeeper with a different style every day, wow~" Many male classmates shed tears of envy.

"Don't you watch the news? Last year, the richest man in our Licheng went bankrupt and was burdened with a huge amount of debt. There must be someone who doesn't know that our Wu Hen is the son of the richest man in Licheng, right?" At this time, a man with a frown and a crew cut in the class said.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the class fell silent, and everyone looked at Wu Hen.

What, bankruptcy?
Are the housekeepers also living on the streets?
Or is he looking for another good master?
Wu Hen saw that the scene was a bit awkward, so he smiled indifferently: "I have always wanted to interact with you as an ordinary person, but I didn't expect that before I could show my cards, my family's mine was gone. Even if I get into college, I don't have money to pay tuition, so I'd better go out and work as a cow and horse in society as soon as possible. I wish you all a bright future!"

After leaving these words, Wu Hen waved his hand, took his things, and left this classroom full of youthful moments.

As soon as Wu Hen left, the discussions in the class became even louder.

……

When they arrived at the school gate, the head teacher Wang Shan took a look at the gloomy weather and sighed.

The sound of weather warning sirens echoed throughout the city. Wang Shan also knew that it was not safe outside, so he did not dare to talk to the students for too long.

"Is the family really unable to hold on?" Wang Shan still cares about his students.

"Well, my sister's continued treatment requires money. My parents have been included in the creditor list. Now every penny they earn has to be repaid to the creditors. Only the money I earn can be used to treat my sister." Wu Hen said.

"So what are your plans? After all, you have just become an adult and you still have a lot to learn." Wang Shan felt very sorry.

Although Wu Hen was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he is relatively excellent in both academic performance and personal ideology and morality. It would be a pity if he could not continue his studies due to family changes.

"I have applied for the qualification for 'Alien Desert'. The official said that as long as I can find a Yuanyou ore deposit and bring it out, I can be rewarded with 100,000." Wu Hen said.

"That brain-connected virtual game?" Wang Shan asked in surprise.

With the development of science and technology, people still cannot find traces of other civilizations in the vast galaxy of stars.

In desperation, they had to switch from interstellar travel to virtual exploration.

So a very large and vast virtual world was created, called - Wild Dust.

However, everything in the wasteland was extremely unbelievable. It seemed to be gradually developing in a direction that people themselves could not control, and even out of people's cognition...

"I feel that is the future. To be honest, I can't get used to living in poverty. If I want to turn things around, this is a rare opportunity." Wu Hen said seriously.

It was because of this extremely precious qualification that Wu Hen decided to drop out of school.

"If that's the case, then I feel a little more relieved. The exploration of the virtual world has prospects. After all, in these troubled times, it's easy to die if you go out. Technologically powerful countries, cutting-edge companies, and scientific research giants have spent a lot of money on exploration and development in this area. Every year, they select trial players from the talented students of various universities. The official compensation and rewards are very exaggerated..." said the head teacher.

"Teacher Wang, don't worry. I can still study after leaving school." Wu Hen said.

"Okay, then you should be careful on your way back. If you live in the old city, be careful of thunderstorms. This thunderstorm has lasted for many years. Thousands of people have been killed in our Licheng alone..." Wang Shan said.

"Teacher Wang, you should pay more attention to it. If you have the ability, you should buy a house in Xincheng Yinpan." Wu Hen said.

"Alas, my gastric bacteria disease consumed all the money I had saved for the down payment. These days, natural disasters happen one after another. Even staying in an old house may cause accidents. I have a nephew who was playing games on the balcony because of bad signal. As a result, he suffered from rapid hypothermia while playing and died. There was also Teacher Xiaoguan in my office who held his wedding on the lawn in his early years. A thunderstorm struck the couple just after they took the oath, and they died together... Indeed, the Yinpan building in the new city is safe. I don’t know where my two children will go in the future. Sometimes I think about not treating them and leaving more for my wife and children..." Wang Shan couldn't help but chat with Wu Hen about family matters.

"Old Wang, think about it, would you feel at ease leaving your wife and children to be taken care of by another man?" Wu Hen said.

"You are really good at comforting people. Thank you." Wang Shan said unhappily.

"Hey, let's go, Lao Deng."

"You kid!" Wang Shan looked at Wu Hen's back and waved his hands helplessly.

After Wu Hen left, Wang Shan walked towards the classroom.

Just as he reached the stairs, Wang Shan ran into a girl who was standing at the teaching building looking towards the school gate.

"Yang Qin, since you want to send it, why don't you be brave?" As the class teacher, Wang Shan has always been very easy-going and not overly conservative.

"I...I..." Yang Qin hesitated, but her eyes involuntarily stared at the window of the classroom.

At the window, several men and women were looking there, seemingly waiting to see Yang Qin make a fool of herself.

"He's not a young master anymore, why are you still being so pretentious? Maybe one day the takeaway you order will be delivered by him personally. How romantic!" The man with a frown and a crew cut at the window said sarcastically.

"Stop talking!" Wang Shan scolded, and then turned his gaze to Yang Qin, "Do what you think in your heart, don't worry about what others say."

When Yang Qin heard this, she felt even more uncomfortable. She raised her face slightly and said proudly, "I'm just going to the studio. Wu Hen and I are just ordinary classmates!"

Ordinary classmate relationship?
Wang Shan couldn't help but shook his head when he saw Yang Qin's attitude.

At the beginning of the school year, Yang Qin shamelessly came to his office, giving him gifts and saying nice things, just wanting him to move her seat to Wu Hen's so that she could sit next to him.

It turned out that I found out that the family was in poverty and he was still concerned about other people's comments even when saying goodbye.

I can only say that the little girl is short-sighted.

Based on Wang Shan's understanding of Wu Hen, even without the support of his family, his brilliance cannot be concealed, and he will definitely make a name for himself in the future. He hopes that Yang Qin will not regret it by then.

……

The school is at the junction of the new city and the old city.

In the past, Wu Hen lived in the luxurious Yinpan Manor. Now, he has to pass through an old district, climb over a mountain of dilapidated buildings, and walk through an empty abandoned factory area before he can reach his new home.

The new house was bare and had only one room, which was hard to accommodate the four of them.

My parents started from scratch, and they started out by setting up a stall.

After going around in circles for most of my life, I have returned to the most difficult years. Compared with the past when I was penniless, I now have a mountain of debt.

Usually, my parents would not come back until around 11pm. But today was Father's Day, and the family had agreed to have dinner together, so Wu Hen didn't want to stay in school and say goodbye to his classmates one by one.

When I pushed the door open, I could smell the fragrance coming from the room.

A pot of bamboo shoots and meat has been stewed. Wu Yingting is sorting out the goods that have piled up in half the room. He will probably finish this meal in a hurry and then go out to sell again.

"Dad, there might be a thunderstorm today, so we won't be setting up the stall. I owe you so much money, I don't mind paying you for one night's work." Wu Hen walked in and said.

Despite what he said, Wu Hen still took the initiative to help Wu Yingting sort out the goods.

"Your fifth uncle is urging me to send his children to college," said Wu Yingting.

In fact, after the bankruptcy, major creditors and big banks were all concerned about Wu Yingting's health and advised him to eat and drink well and not to have any psychological burden.

On the contrary, the faces of those relatives and friends who had made money with my father were the most hateful.

It is clearly an investment, there are gains and losses, but when you lose money, they still ask for money.

"You are a prominent figure in Licheng after all. Can't you start a live broadcast to sell goods to pay off your debts? When will you be able to pay off this hard-earned money?" Wu Hen asked.

"I don't want to do those things. I'd rather start over from the field I'm familiar with. Times are actually changing very quickly, and people's needs are also changing. I'm starting from the bottom. It will only be hard work in the next few years, and I will make a comeback. I still miss the days when I used to set up a stall to sell small commodities. It was very fulfilling and simple." Wu Yingting said with a smile.

"Will others say you are pretending to be pitiful?" Wu Hen asked.

"Of course, but why do I care about that?" Wu Yingting's mentality was quite good. After all, he had failed in business more than once or twice. He glanced at his son and couldn't help asking, "How is school? Did you get any cold shoulder?"

"It's okay. After all, I never easily revealed my identity as a young master in the past. Of course, there are also the sons of your business partners in the class. They tend to gloat over other people's misfortunes, so it's just right that we don't have to associate with them." Wu Hen said nonchalantly.

"Let's not have any contact. By the way, something was just sent to me. Did you buy it online again? It looks quite high-end. If you have your own money, spend it sparingly." Wu Yingting said.

"Has the stuff arrived? So quickly?" Wu Hen was surprised to find that there was indeed a charcoal fiber box in the room.

Fortunately, Wu Yingting did not open it. If he had found out that there was a virtual helmet inside, he would definitely object!

In Wu Yingting's opinion, virtual technology is still immature and people who become trial players have strong aftereffects. He strongly opposes Wu Hen from being a guinea pig for technology!

"Honey, Yu Yu and I bought your favorite braised meat. Hey... Xiao Hen is back too. It's so early today. That's good. Our family hasn't had a meal together for a long time." A woman walked in holding a young girl's hand.

It was Wu Hen’s mother Yu Yi and sister Yu Yu.

It has been more than half a year since the bankruptcy.

This was the first time in six months that the whole family sat at the same table.

"Happy Father's Day!" Wu Hen was the first to raise his glass and toast to his father Wu Yingting.

Yu Yi and Yu Yu also raised their small cups to celebrate this rare meal.

Wu Yingting was smiling at first, but as he smiled, his hand holding the chopsticks began to shake violently.

He wanted to say something humorous to lighten the mood, but looking at his grown-up son, his wife who had to endure hardships with him again, and his daughter who still needed care...

The words were choked on his lips.

The circles around his eyes suddenly turned red.

"You drank white wine secretly again. Look how choked you are. Eat your food quickly!" Yu Yi knew how to cover up for her husband and hurriedly helped him pick up some food.

"I choked and tears came out. Let's eat together. You should eat together too."

As a family, we have tasted all kinds of delicacies from land and sea, but these dishes of vegetables and a plate of braised meat are more delicious than any meal they have ever had.

Wu Hen actually saw his father secretly wiping away tears.

He deliberately lowered his head to eat, leaving the old man with a bit of dignity...

All along, his father was like a majestic mountain in his heart, unshakable. Until today, when he saw his tears in his eyes and the helpless look on his face, Wu Hen realized that it was his turn to support this family.

……

After dinner, my parents continued to set up their stall, risking a thunderstorm.

My sister also attends free tutoring classes provided by the community.

Wu Hen made an excuse and said that he was staying at a classmate's house today and would not be coming back.

But in fact, Wu Hen went to the basement of the old building and rented a grocery room from the uncle next door. He planned to enter that virtual world tonight!
Close the door.

Disassembled the helmet.

Wu Hen looked at this high-tech virtual helmet and couldn't help but become curious.

What is the world like inside?
For some reason, everyone who has entered will not easily reveal what this second world looks like.

He gently put on the helmet and turned on the device.

"Hello, Wu Hen, are you sure you want to enter Huangchen?" The voice of the AI ​​​​came from the helmet.

Wu Hen took a deep breath.

There are infinite possibilities in this field. Even if you might be a guinea pig, whether it is your parents who set up a stall or your sister who goes to school, the environment they live in is at risk of being killed by disasters.

In fact, their family doesn't care about being rich and powerful. What they care about is that they can live together in peace.

The old city and old buildings cannot withstand the increasingly severe natural disasters.

He had to return to the new city to live, otherwise misfortune would still befall his family.

There will be financial subsidies for participation, a one-time amount of 30,000 yuan, and subsequent participation will be even higher.

If you find a Yuanyou ore deposit in the virtual world, you can sell it for one hundred thousand!

Must rush!!

"Confirm to enter the wasteland!"

"Please close your eyes and relax, just like you normally would when sleeping," said the AI ​​embedded in the helmet.

Wu Hen followed the AI's instructions, and soon he felt a warmth, as if his entire head was soaked in some warm oxygen liquid...

What followed was a rapid onset of drowsiness, and my consciousness completely sank.

(End of this chapter)