I changed the world.

Holding the wishing book, Zhang Jing took a few steps back and bowed deeply three times to the skeleton: "Senior, I have taken the opportunity you left behind, and I would like to express my gratitude to you here!"

After bowing three times, Zhang Jing opened the wishing book again and made a wish: "I wish that I will leave here safely and return home smoothly."

After seeing the black text appear on the wishing book, Zhang Jing put it away with satisfaction. At this moment, he could hear the increasingly loud tearing sounds outside the cave entrance. The sense of urgency, as if the entire mountain was about to explode at any moment, put enormous psychological pressure on him, forcing him to add a protective charm to himself.

He jogged to the cave entrance and peered out. He glanced down at his feet; the swirling smoke and the flickering red light made him hesitant to look any longer. Looking up, he saw he was about ten meters from the top. His position resembled a canyon, with two sheer cliffs rising opposite each other. Zhang Jing noticed the surrounding walls were primarily composed of rock. He wasn't sure if it was granite or some other material, but it felt incredibly hard to the touch, and should be able to support his weight while climbing.

This put his mind at ease. To lighten the load, he rummaged through his backpack and took out heavy items such as his water bottle, binoculars, and military rations, which he would leave behind. Afterward, he took out climbing ropes, carabiners, and belay devices, assembled them, and connected the climbing rope to his climbing belt with a carabiner, in case he lost his grip and fell straight off the cliff.

To be honest, Zhang Jing wasn't a rock climbing expert at all; he'd only learned his techniques online beforehand. However, at this moment, he was quite grateful for his thorough preparation. When he bought these things, he hadn't actually thought he'd need them; he was just thinking about going into the mountains to seek immortality and in case he encountered something like falling off a cliff—after all, there were far too many such plot points in martial arts novels.

And now, it must be said, this equipment will greatly increase his chances of successfully climbing.

After making preparations, Zhang Jing didn't delay. He unscrewed the water bottle to add some water, then hung the rock plugs on his belt. He then found a place on the right side of the cave entrance where he could get some leverage. He took down a rock plug, grabbed the mechanism on it, and then inserted the retracted rock plug into a crevice in the rock next to him. He then released the mechanism, and the head of the rock plug expanded and got stuck firmly in it.

Zhang Jing then threaded his safety rope through the slipknot under the rock, thus completing the first safety point. If he were to accidentally fall off the cliff, the safety device around his waist would immediately lock the rope, and he would be suspended at this safety point, preventing him from falling directly into the lava below.

After climbing up about two meters, Zhang Jing found another crevice that looked relatively sturdy. He inserted a second rock plug and then threaded the safety rope through it as well. In this way, he had a second safety point.

He then continued climbing, but because his arms were not strong enough, he chose a slightly sloping path instead of taking the shortest route.

Chapter Thirteen: Escape from the Volcano

After climbing about three meters diagonally upwards to the right, he set up his third anchor point. Then, he followed a zigzag path, continuing to climb diagonally upwards to the left. After climbing another three meters or so, he found another gap where he could set up an anchor point, and thus set up his fourth anchor point there.

Zhang Jing glanced up and saw that he was still about 4 meters from the ground. At this moment, his arms were a little sore and numb. This was not only due to rock climbing, but also because his arms seemed to have been strained when he fell earlier. Since it had only been a short time, he only felt a slight swelling and pain.

After a brief rest of several tens of seconds, Zhang Jing mustered his remaining strength and began climbing again. After climbing another two meters or so, he discovered another crevice and decided to set up his final safety point there. Grabbing a protruding rock with his right hand to secure himself, he released his left hand to retrieve the rock bolt hanging from his waist. Just then, the entire ground suddenly began to shake again…

Damn it! A sudden chill ran through him, and before Zhang Jing could react, he lost his grip on the rock face and plummeted to the bottom...

At the same time, the safety harness around his waist locked, and with a muffled thud, he was suspended in mid-air by the safety rope, then flung towards the rock wall and crashed into it.

Ignoring the dull pain in his shoulder from the impact, Zhang Jing quickly grabbed the rock face to steady himself. After grimacing for a while, he calmed his heart, which was pounding so hard it felt like it was about to burst out of his chest. In that instant of losing his footing, he even had the illusion that he was about to die.

The surge of adrenaline temporarily suppressed the pain in his body. Beads of sweat slid down his forehead, some even landing in his eyes, stinging them, but he dared not wipe them away. He squinted and looked up. At this moment, he was about a meter below the fourth protective point. He sighed inwardly, cheered himself up, and tried to climb upward again.

This is not the time to stop and rest! Zhang Jing gritted his teeth, fearing that with his current lack of exercise, he would be too weak to climb any further if he rested for a while.

Fortunately, nothing else happened after that, and six minutes later, Zhang Jing finally climbed to the ground.

At this moment, Zhang Jing's hair was messy, his clothes were covered in dust and scratches, his clothes were soaked with sweat, and his arms were trembling slightly, which were symptoms of exhaustion.

After kneeling there and catching his breath for a while, Zhang Jing, who had just caught his breath, did not dare to rest for long. Although he was protected by the wishing book, he was afraid of the worst. He took a deep breath, stood up, quickly took off the safety rope from his waist, threw it back into the abyss behind him, and then ran down the mountain without looking back.

At this moment, chaos reigned at the foot of the mountain. Not only were some tourists who had run down the mountain crying and searching for vehicles to evacuate, but even some residents and merchants at the foot of the mountain had seen the thick smoke rising from the top of the mountain and were frantically sorting out their belongings and looking for vehicles to evacuate.

When Zhang Jing reached the foot of the mountain, panting, this was the scene he encountered. Many people were running in front of him, and plastic bags and even backpacks, perhaps discarded by tourists, were littered on the ground.

"Attention everyone, attention everyone... Yuxian Mountain is about to erupt. Please evacuate immediately to an area at least 10 kilometers away... Use any means of transportation you can find to evacuate quickly..."

"Attention everyone... Yuxian Mountain is about to experience a volcanic eruption. Please evacuate immediately to an area at least 10 kilometers away... Use any means of transportation you can find to evacuate quickly..."

The roar of a huge propeller overhead, accompanied by the echo of a loudspeaker, made Zhang Jing look up and see a blue and white police helicopter circling low overhead.

Anxious, Zhang Jing didn't hesitate. Calling a ride-hailing service on his phone at this point was pointless; running ten kilometers on foot was clearly impractical. After a moment's thought, he dashed towards the parking lot at the foot of the mountain, about 200 meters away.

As he ran toward the parking lot, two or three cars sped past him, accelerating toward leaving Yuxian Mountain.

With his backpack on his head to protect himself from the falling volcanic ash, Zhang Jing rushed into the parking lot, looked around, and saw a small van starting up.

This is a two-seater light electric van launched three years ago by "Northern" company. It uses a then-common graphene battery pack and a high-performance electric propulsion engine, boasting a range of 1500 kilometers. It's known for its durability, high modification potential, and low failure rate, making it a common urban freight vehicle. The van's cargo box is painted with "Antong Logistics" markings, and the cab has already pulled out of the parking space. He quickly ran forward and reached out to stop the vehicle.

Seeing someone flagging down the car, the driver naturally wouldn't just ram into them. He stopped the car, rolled down the window, and leaned out, about to speak with an unhappy expression, when Zhang Jing handed him a 100-yuan Imperial Coin: "Excuse me, sir, could you give me a ride to the city?"

Upon seeing the banknotes, the middle-aged driver with a buzz cut swallowed back the words he was about to say, took the money, and waved his hand, saying, "Get in the car quickly, we're leaving right away..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jing hurriedly went around to the passenger side of the car, opened the door, and got in. The driver, seeing him close the door, didn't say anything, stepped on the gas, and the small truck sped away from the parking lot.

The mountain road was narrow, about three cars could pass each other, and there were many houses built on both sides. The driver was clearly an experienced driver, constantly turning the steering wheel, weaving left and right to avoid pedestrians fleeing the road, while also overtaking other vehicles whenever he could find a gap. Hail-like volcanic ash kept hitting the car, making a crackling sound.

Sitting in the car, Zhang Jing was panting as he frequently looked out the window toward the volcano. The volcano was still in the early stages of eruption, intermittently spewing out large amounts of volcanic ash. Thick smoke billowed across the sky, turning the entire sky gray-black, creating a sense of impending doom.

"Young man, are you here for tourism?" The driver asked, glancing at Zhang Jing, who looked quite disheveled, as he drove. He noticed Zhang Jing's hiking gear.

"Yeah, we originally came here to hike, but we almost got stuck on the mountain..."

Chapter Fourteen Major Events

"Who would have thought? This Yuxian Mountain is actually a volcano..." The driver couldn't help but shake his head upon hearing this.

"Are you here to deliver goods, sir?"

"Yes, I was delivering to the small shop on the mountain. I just finished delivering a batch of goods and then this happened. I had to hurry up and run... Poor me, this truck..." Hearing the series of loud, popping sounds coming from the truck, the driver winced in pain.

"In this situation, it's already a miracle that anyone can get out. Damn it... Master, be careful!" Just then, a volcanic rock the size of half a car, like a cannonball launched from a medieval catapult, slammed into a bungalow on the right side of the vehicle. With a loud bang, the entire house collapsed like a shattered eggshell.

Fortunately, the driver was experienced; instead of stopping, he stepped on the gas and sped past first. Parts of the collapsed houses blocked the road behind the vehicle, forcing other vehicles to stop and clear the obstructions.

After this sudden situation, the two dared not speak again. The driver carefully looked around and accelerated all the way until about twenty minutes later, when they saw that they were getting further and further away from Yuxian Mountain and the volcanic ash in the sky had almost disappeared, the two gradually relaxed.

After chatting casually for a while, Zhang Jing realized that he was really lucky. It turned out that the truck driver was a veteran before he started this job, and his previous job was driving transport trucks in a motor transport company of a military region in Southwest China. No wonder he handled everything so well along the way.

By this time, they had left the mountain roads and were on the main road. However, the sky was already dark, as if it were night. All the vehicles had their headlights on, and many of them were flashing their hazard lights.

Occasionally, police cars with flashing lights could be seen speeding off in the opposite direction. Just then, a deep, rumbling sound like rolling thunder came from behind, instantly drowning out all other sounds, including sirens. At the same time, the ground began to tremble slowly. Zhang Jing quickly looked back and saw that at the summit of Yuxian Mountain, a large amount of golden-red lava was erupting like an explosion, standing out starkly against the dark sky. The accompanying sparks reminded him of fireworks during the Lunar New Year.

After the lava was ejected into the air, it fell back down and then flowed down the slope of the mountain, like a red river.

Where the river flowed, large swaths of flame, accompanied by even thicker smoke, began to rise—the forest had been set ablaze.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Jing knew that one of his previous concerns was no longer a worry: would the location where he had discovered his opportunity be found by others? Now it seemed that the surging lava would bury all his secrets.

"What's wrong? What happened again?" The driver couldn't turn around to look because he was driving, so he asked Zhang Jingdao.

"The volcano has erupted completely, and lava is flowing down." Zhang Jing sighed and said, "If there are any people who haven't escaped yet, they're probably in trouble."

"Watch out, I'm going to speed up a bit more..." Upon hearing this, the driver didn't say anything more, but instead pressed the accelerator even harder...

The driver drove back to Linzhou city without stopping. After entering the city, the two people in the car were noticeably more relaxed. They were about 30 kilometers away from Yuxian Mountain, well out of the volcano's influence.

However, due to volcanic ash and other volcanic materials, the sky over Linzhou City was still hazy and looked like it was covered with dark clouds, but it was not as dark as the area around Yuxian Mountain, which had already entered night.

Zhang Jing got off the bus near a bus stop and said goodbye to the driver. It was about four bus stops away from the slum where Zhang Jing lived, just enough time to take an electric bus.

The atmosphere in Linzhou was noticeably more tense than usual. The red light spewed into the sky by the volcanic eruption, along with the wildfires caused by lava, illuminated half the sky in a fiery red. This was clearly visible even within the urban area of ​​Linzhou.

Many people stopped and gazed westward, while others whispered among themselves on the street. There were also more police cars and fire trucks on the streets than usual, and Zhang Jing had already seen several convoys speeding westward along the way.

When Zhang Jing arrived at his rented room, it was around 16:00 PM. After closing the door, he took off his backpack and casually placed it on the desk. Then, he couldn't help but spread his arms and lie back on the bed in a starfish position.

At this moment, he finally relaxed completely, feeling sore all over, and almost wanted to fall asleep.

About five minutes later, Zhang Jing, who had finally mustered his energy, picked up his phone and ordered takeout for himself. Then he took off his hiking clothes, which were now dusty and covered with scratches, but fortunately they were of good quality and hadn't torn open.

Zhang Jing took a basin and went outside to fetch water. He washed himself and then noticed several wounds on his body. One was on his knee; his trousers had been worn through at the knee, and the cut had even scabbed over. There was also a cut on the edge of his left palm, which had also scabbed over. In addition, there were abrasions of varying degrees on other parts of his hands, and his right shoulder seemed to be strained; any slight movement caused him a dull ache.

Fortunately, there shouldn't be any problems with the rest of his body. Zhang Jing isn't someone without sports experience; he found some alcohol in his first-aid kit at home and cleaned his wounds, then applied iodine. He also bandaged the two more serious wounds with gauze. As for the strain on his right shoulder, he applied two liniments.

After treating his wound, Zhang Jing sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for his takeout to arrive while scrolling through his phone for the day's latest news. When he opened the Endless Network news app, a pinned post marked "Urgent News" immediately caught his attention:

According to a report by Zhaotong News Agency on its website at 15:30 on October 30th, a rare phenomenon occurred today: numerous volcanoes in different regions around the world erupted simultaneously. These volcanoes showed signs of violent eruption around 11:30 AM on October 30th, 2015 (the 36th year of the Daishojowa era), and subsequently erupted in succession within a short period. According to current information, most of these volcanoes were previously considered dormant and unlikely to erupt in the near future; several volcanoes had never erupted before. As of now, a total of 36 volcanoes have been identified as having erupted, spanning all continents. The extent of loss of life and property is still being assessed. The cause of this unusual and significant geological event is still under investigation, and several experts in related fields have expressed differing opinions. We will continue to follow up on this story…

Chapter Fifteen: I ask only one question: Is immortality attainable?

After reading the news, Zhang Jing sat on the bed in a daze for a long time. He realized that the impact of his wish seemed to be much greater than he had imagined. What made him even more uneasy was that although his wish had been fulfilled, there were even more unknowns for him to explore.

Thinking of this, Zhang Jing slapped his forehead, remembering that he still had one wish left to confirm. He quickly summoned the wish book again and looked closely; sure enough, the last wish he had left behind had been fulfilled.

My wish: I wish that I will leave this place safely and return home.

The wish has been fulfilled.

3000 wish points have been deducted.

After closing the wishing book and glancing at the back cover, Zhang Jing realized he only had 32613 wishing points remaining. This gave him a slight sense of urgency; it seemed he needed to find a way to increase his wishing points as soon as possible.

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Jing carefully reviewed today's events in his mind.

Soon, some questions arose. Although the 20000 wish points consumed seemed like a large number, compared to his previous expectations of transforming a purely technological, magic-free world into a world where technology and the extraordinary coexisted, such a huge transformation seemed a bit too easy.

Could it be that this world was originally a world of extraordinary beings, but I was unaware of it, and my wish this time happened to coincide with some truth?

Zhang Jing licked his dry lips, recalling his wishes for the day:

"The world I'm in now once possessed the legacy of some advanced, extraordinary powers, but now it has disappeared for some unknown reason..."

Perhaps, this world really is not simple to begin with...

There was a knock at the door. Zhang Jing put away his wishing book and went to open it. It turned out to be the food delivery. After thanking them, he accepted the food. For dinner, Zhang Jing specially ordered some high-protein eggs and meat, along with some noodles and vegetables, to help promote his recovery.

After finishing dinner, Zhang Jing wrapped up the lunchbox and placed it at the door, intending to carry it to the distant trash can to dispose of it when he had accumulated some other trash.

Afterwards, he logged into the "Fangboshi" (房博士) app on his phone, one of the largest real estate agencies in Dazhao. Zhang Jing had previously found the apartment he was currently living in through this agency.

This time, Zhang Jing planned to move to a better place. Now that he no longer had to worry about money, he had no intention of continuing to live a life of hardship. Besides, having transmigrated from a middle-class family in his previous life, he was truly unaccustomed to such a cramped existence.

After browsing through the client app for a while, Zhang Jing chose a senior agent with a high positive review rate and called them. After a conversation, he described his needs to the agent, who immediately agreed to find a suitable house for him and told him that the information would be sent to his email address upon his request.

After that, Zhang Jing didn't do anything else. Instead, he washed up early and went to bed to rest. He had been exhausted all day, both mentally and physically. After all, he was still just an ordinary person, so he decided to rest early and adjust his condition.

The next day, when Zhang Jing woke up early, he felt sore all over, especially his right arm. The intense soreness made him afraid to make any large movements.