After being chosen by the Ice Queen

The university campus in June afternoon was like a steamer. The asphalt road was softened by the sun, and the air was filled with the hot, grassy smell.

Gu Yan pushed up his black-rimmed glasses that had slipped off his nose, clutched his meal card in his hand, and headed towards the cafeteria. He walked a little fast; if he was late, the pork rib and winter melon soup would definitely only have soup left.

"Gu Yan! Wait!"

He subconsciously shrank his neck. The voice sounded familiar; it belonged to the literature and art committee member from the next class. He had "bumped into" him several times on the way.

He didn't stop, but pretended not to hear. His gaze behind his glasses was fixed on the toes of his old sneakers, and he silently chanted: Hurry up, hurry up, rib soup, rib soup.

It's not that he's a coward. His parents have been telling him since he was little: study hard, don't do anything else, get into a good university, what kind of job can't you find?

He believed it, and indeed did the first half. His studies were decent; his grades in high school consistently ranked around tenth in his class, and teachers would say, "Gu Yan, he's quite reliable." The second half...

"With glasses on, he doesn't care about anyone. He's a repressed pervert, but he can't express it." That's the dorm leader's assessment, so accurate it's exasperating. He's a bunch of close buddies, but buddies can't be girlfriends.

With his senior year of college fast approaching, the "dating experience" section on his resume was as clean as his study notes the night before his final exams.

It's not that I don't want to, it's that I'm afraid to, and I don't know how. My heart races and I don't know where to look when I talk to a girl for more than three sentences. All the theories we discuss in our dorm late at night are completely useless in real-world situations.

A turning point? He scoffed and pushed open the glass door of the cafeteria. A blast of cool air mixed with the smell of food hit him. A turning point only existed in the gala games his roommate loved to play.

When will I meet a beautiful girl who falls from the sky?

Sure enough, there was only a sliver of pork rib soup left. He sighed, got a plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and found a corner to sit down. He had just taken a couple of bites when a shadow fell over him.

It wasn't the gentle, approachable aura of the arts committee member, tinged with a fragrant breeze. Instead, it carried a cool, slightly oppressive presence, exuding a powerful sense of presence and pressure.

He looked up.

My glasses almost slipped off.

A beautiful woman leaned against the table. She wore a white shirt, a dark blue long skirt, and her long, straight black hair cascaded down to her waist like fine silk. Her eyes seemed to be able to captivate the soul.

She had no expression whatsoever, her eyes were flat and unwavering, and she looked at him as if he were an ordinary chair in the cafeteria.

Gu Yan's mind went blank for a moment. He knew her, or rather, there were probably very few people in the entire school who didn't know her.

Lin Xue, the ice queen of the School of Economics and Management, is also a well-known heiress, rumored to have suitors who could line up from the school gate to the train station. What's she doing here? And standing right in front of me?

"Gu Yan." She spoke, her voice clear and cold, without much inflection, yet strangely penetrating the noise of the cafeteria and clearly reaching his ears, "You've been chosen."

"...Huh?" Gu Yan's tomato fell back into the plate, but his mind was racing.

Wait a minute, isn't this script wrong? Shouldn't the legendary opening line for a goddess to pick someone up be "Excuse me, can I borrow your meal card?" or "Is this seat taken?"

"You've been chosen"—what kind of sci-fi movie line is that? The only prize I've won recently was a "buy one get one free" offer!

"Host detected a strong desire and potential talent for deep interpersonal connections—that is, love in the conventional sense. Beginner level now activated—'Accidentally Entering the Land of Women.' Quest being issued, countdown begins. Ten, nine, eight…"

Before Gu Yan could even complain, everything went black. The noise from the surrounding cafeteria seemed to be blurred through a film of water.

In the darkness, the faint sound of heavy bells rang out, mixed with the murmurs of countless people, as if in prayer.

"May the gods bestow blessings, and may Heaven grant us a son to ensure the continuation of our Wuchao Kingdom's bloodline, so that it may never be severed."

In the flickering firelight, incense smoke rose from the ancient bronze artifacts. In the dimly lit hall, an old woman dressed entirely in black was praying to the gods. Behind her, more than a hundred women, all dressed in plain white, prostrated themselves in worship, chanting incantations.

Unbeknownst to anyone, above the cauldron, a space began to distort and gradually expand.

Gu Yan was completely naked, only feeling a constant downward pull. He frantically flailed his limbs like a struggling insect. Finally, a sliver of light appeared directly below him. The large cauldron, the old woman, and the prostrate crowd came into his view.

Unable to contain his fear, Gu Yan roared. The roar echoed like thunder in the confined hall.

On the steps, the old woman froze, looking up in disbelief.

"It...it appeared?"

The figure landed, overturning the large cauldron. Gu Yan rolled to the ground and fainted.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself bound hand and foot and stuffed into a dark, sack. The sack was untied, and a blinding ray of sunlight made Gu Yan squint.

Gu Yan looked around; a dense crowd was gathered together. "Holy crap, what's going on? Have I been kidnapped to a primitive tribe? Ahhh, don't eat me!"

A burly woman stepped forward, carrying a basin of water, about to throw it away. An old woman in black beside her waved her hand, stopping her. The old woman approached Gu Yan, her face full of wrinkles, her rough features scrunched up, her expression serious. Gu Yan felt a stench hit him, making him tremble with fear.

The old woman spoke, rattling off a long string of words. Gu Yan regretted not having learned a foreign language well; he didn't know whether to nod or shake his head, fearing these "primitive people" would roast and eat him.

Suddenly, a light and melodious voice clearly reached Gu Yan's ears.

"Host, welcome to the new world. The system has detected an unfamiliar language and is now implanting a language system for you."

Immediately afterwards, a line of small print appeared clearly in Gu Yan's eyes.

Time: 640 AD

Location: Hengduan Mountains. 32.5°N, 100.5°E

In the Kingdom of Wu, the Zimu River has dried up, and its cracked riverbed resembles a festering sore on the earth.

To the north, the iron hooves of the Huang Empire were stirring on the border, sending marriage contracts sealed with sealing wax that was in reality an offer of "annexation." To the west, undercurrents were surging in the Youlan Federation. In the court, the pro-war faction clamored for imperial destruction, while the surrender faction whispered of survival in disguise, and beneath the Queen's throne lay a powder keg about to explode.

In the alleyways, the bottoms of earthenware jars storing water are almost exposed to the light, for a single sip of clean water could pierce the throat of a kinsman. The black market for offspring is openly priced, and the witchcraft of stealing fetuses circulates in the shadows. What was once the source of life is now a cursed relic, surrounded by vulture-like eyes.

The time requirements for this event are as follows:

1. Investigating the reasons for the interruption of the Zimu River's flow

2. Explore the secret realms left behind by the gods.

(The event officially begins when any condition is met.)

You can stay for a maximum of one month.

(Please note that if you encounter a life-threatening situation, ignore your current progress and return immediately.)

Lin Xue's gift: Cha You (can use divine sense to explore the situation within a ten-mile radius).

Your personal information is as follows:

Name: Gu Yan

Status: Minor injury

Inheritance: None

"Of course, you can also refuse the event. In that case, the system will disappear, related memories will be erased, and you will continue your cafeteria pork rib soup life."

At this moment, perhaps due to the system, the surrounding crowd seemed to be frozen in place.

"Continue with the pork rib soup life." Gu Yan swallowed hard; those words pierced his heart like needles. That life, predictable from beginning to end, a life even he often found tedious.

A surge of heat overwhelmed my reason. To hell with the rib soup!

"I accept," Gu Yan said in a deep voice.

"This event has begun. Have fun in this new world." Lin Xue's figure appeared in the distance, a smile on her face. It seems this story is going to be quite interesting.