A colossal, mysterious human face—formed of swirling clouds—hung high above the entire city, gazing down upon the earth with divine majesty. This eerie "celestial phenomenon" instantly threw the city into chaos.
From Lin Tuo's perspective, as he leaned his face into the cloud layer, he suddenly realized: the ant-sized people within the sand table city were all raising their heads—as if they had noticed him.
They looked astonished, pointing, gesturing, or hurriedly lifting their phones to take photos and videos.
"They can see me?" Lin Tuo's heart jolted. Startled, he instinctively straightened up, stepped back several paces, and withdrew beyond the sand table's boundary, watching only from the outside.
Sure enough, once he "left," the dense clusters of tiny people gradually dispersed.
Inside the old house, Lin Tuo's eyes were filled with unease.
Ding.
Suddenly, his phone chimed. He pulled it from his pocket—it was a notification from his company's group chat.
Since he had only just resigned, he hadn't left the group yet. Now, his old department's chat was exploding.
Message after message scrolled past like a flood.
"Did you guys see that just now? The clouds formed a giant human face over the city!"
"I saw it! I even took photos—look!" A young female colleague quickly uploaded a picture, along with a few seconds of video.
"What the hell? I was waiting for my takeout, didn't even step outside. What happened?"
"…Damn, I missed it."
The department atmosphere had always been relaxed, and since it was lunch break, everyone chatted freely, even the managers joining in as spectators.
Lin Tuo didn't speak. He quietly lurked in the chat, his expression shifting constantly.
Opening the short video, he replayed it several times, finally confirming—this was all real.
"This sand table doesn't just provide a perspective to observe… what I do through it actually manifests in reality…"
"Only, my body seems to be transparent."
In the video, the vision of him leaning over the city was indeed visible—but not his "skin." Even the eye sockets were hollow voids.
The so-called giant face was nothing more than his features pressing against the clouds, imprinting themselves. Certain areas even appeared broken or incomplete.
Thus, it was impossible for anyone to recognize him.
"I need to confirm this." After a moment of thought, Lin Tuo's eyes lit up with curiosity. He leaned over the sand table again, puffed his cheeks, and blew gently.
Immediately, the dense clouds over the city center dispersed.
Because his movements were cautious, this didn't draw too much public attention.
Then, he stretched out a single finger, lowering it toward the streets beneath the now-clear sky.
In Yang City's bustling downtown commercial district—
The streets bustled with people. A well-dressed man tugged at his tie as he walked toward an outdoor parking lot, car keys in hand.
Suddenly, he felt a hot gust of wind pressing down from above. Dust on the pavement swirled outward in a perfect ring.
"Huh?" The man froze, glancing upward—only to see the blazing sky. "Strange."
Muttering to himself, he shook his head and left it at that.
Back in the old house—
Lin Tuo watched the tiny humans' reactions within the sand table and slowly withdrew his hand.
"Looks like my limbs are invisible when entering the sand table. That face earlier was only seen because of the clouds."
"But what about physical objects? If I placed an apple inside, would it also be transparent?" His imagination ran wild, but after some thought, he decided against trying.
"Even though my limbs are invisible, their impact on the city is real. If I tossed in something as small as an apple, it might cause an earthquake… and it would actually reflect in reality."
Swallowing hard, Lin Tuo realized that a careless movement on his part could destroy Yang City. He instinctively even slowed his breathing.
"Wait—if this sand table truly represents the real Yang City, then… does a version of me exist inside it?"
Suddenly, a bold idea struck him.
Circling the sand table, he soon arrived at Yang City's outskirts—where he found Li Mountain included in the model as well.
He even saw the miniature Li Mountain… and his own martial school upon it.
"It's really there?" His heart leapt with excitement. Waving his hand, he cleared away the clouds above Li Mountain.
Then, carefully lowering his face close, he peered toward the martial school's inner courtyard—the very spot where he now stood.
There, through the broken roof hole, he saw inside the house.
And in that tiny matchbox-sized building… there was also a desk. At that desk… sat a miniature himself, leaning over, staring at something.
Lin Tuo's breath caught. He jerked upright, glancing instinctively at the real roof above him—but of course, there was no giant "eye" looking back.
[Logical conflict detected. Repairing…]
[Sand table host's mental will detached. Control transferred to real host.]
Dazed, mysterious messages echoed in his mind again. When he looked back at the sand table, he saw the ant-sized version of himself standing blankly in place, lifeless like a puppet.
At the same time, Lin Tuo felt a strange sensation rising within. Almost instinctively, he tried controlling the miniature self—guiding him to push open the door, walk out of the martial school, and step onto the mountain path.
Then, Lin Tuo lowered his massive hand into the sand table, hovering it at the mountain's base without touching the ground.
He commanded the tiny self to leap into his palm.
Slowly, he lifted the miniature out of the sand table.
"It really works?" In the old house, Lin Tuo stared in astonishment at the "miniature Lin Tuo" standing in his palm. "So because two versions of me can't coexist in one timeline, the system repaired the bug? And now this 'small me' has become… an avatar?"
Complex emotions welled in his chest. Suddenly, he had a thought—and shifted his perspective.
In the next instant, his consciousness switched into the avatar.
Now, from this view, he was standing upon vast, crisscrossing land. Looking up, he saw the colossal figure of his true body looming above like a god.
Only, because his awareness had switched, his "true body" now stood motionless, eyes vacant like a puppet.
With a thought, he switched back into his main body, gazing again at the avatar in his palm, his heart racing wildly.
The sensation was exhilarating—almost overwhelming.
He exhaled deeply, forcing himself to calm down.
"So… this sand table really can influence reality. Or rather—it is reality."
Clarity flashed in his eyes, followed quickly by restless anticipation:
"In that case… can I use this avatar to enter Yang City from the sand table's dimension?"
Without hesitation, he placed the avatar back inside the sand table, at the foot of Li Mountain, beside a remote stretch of highway.
Withdrew his hand—and switched.
Whoosh…
The world blurred. In the blink of an eye, Lin Tuo found himself no longer in the martial school.
He was standing beside a highway.
Raising his head, the world was vividly real. Jogging down the road into the nearby town, he found everything perfectly identical to reality.
No—this was reality.
He had simply "teleported" from the martial school to the town below.
"Xiao Tuo? When did you come back?"
Unknowingly, he had reached his old middle school. From a nearby shop, an older woman who had watched him grow up stepped out, surprised to see him.
"Ah, just got back…" Lin Tuo replied with a smile, chatting briefly. He didn't mention reopening the martial school—only said he was visiting home.
He even bought himself lunch before heading back up the mountain under the blazing sun.
Half an hour later, Lin Tuo returned outside the martial school.
During the whole experiment, he had deliberately not switched back to his main body.
When he finally pushed open the door and stepped into the weed-choked training ground, carrying a bag of steaming rice noodles, he walked into the old house—only to see his "true body" standing stiffly by the sand table like a puppet.
The next moment, his avatar body suddenly shrank, the takeout bag slipping from his hands and hitting the ground. His consciousness automatically returned to his true body.
Half a minute later—
Picking up the fallen takeout and the ant-sized avatar, Lin Tuo willed the miniature into his palm. In a flash of light, it merged into him.
He could faintly sense its presence, able to summon it at will.
It seemed the Evolution Sand Table, in fixing the earlier bug, had gifted him this ability.
Slurping his rice noodles on the old house's doorstep, Lin Tuo forced himself to ignore the city shimmering within the sand table.
Only after finishing his meal and cooling off in the summer breeze did his heart gradually settle.
He sat dazed for several minutes. Then, suddenly rubbing his face vigorously, his eyes shone with light. He cleared his throat, straightened, and fixed his gaze on the virtual panel before his eyes.
In a solemn tone, he asked:
"So… just what exactly are you?"
(End of Chapter)