Day 1 - woke up in past

“Ahhh” Yanlong screamed as she woke up. 

Faces she has not seen in ten years surrounded her. 

“Are you awake?” Bi yu asked sarcastically. 

Yanlong looked around. 

Meibing is on her chair, flipping through a magazine. 

Mingzhu is doing nail treatment. 

Biyu is sneering at her. 

Huo Mei is staring at her. 

All her university classmates. All with their own super powers and sob stories. 

All died before their time. 

Some, heroically …

Some, tragically ...

She is the only ordinary girl among these phoenixes. That is when her eyes landed on the package held in the hands of Huomei. 

“What is that?” Yanlong asked rudely. 

Huo mei was so startled, she answered on autopilot. 

“Birthday gift.” huo mei said, bringing her hand back. She was about to throw the package in the trash. 

“Today is December twenty third?” Yanlong asked with horror in her voice. 

“No. It’s sent ahead of time. Today’s twentieth.” Huo Mei answered politely. 

She and I were not friends in the past.

Yanlong realized it suddenly. Hell, she’s not friends with any of her roommates. 

However, she went through thick and thin with these guys during their escape from the university. 

Are dreams supposed to be this in sync with reality? 

Wait! Is this a dream? 

Or more like a memory replay? 

If it is a memory replay, why is this going so slowly? 

Don't death flashes need to go mind blowingly fast? 

Wait a moment! 

Wasn’t she in the physics experimental room just till a moment ago? Doesn’t this mean this could very well be an illusion?

…

However, there’s no evidence to support either side. 

This could be an illusion, this could be a rebirth, like the plots of her favourite web novels. 

Regardless of what it is, she herself only has one goal. 

Survive. 

Yes, isn’t that right? If it were some kind of test by the physics department, chances are very high her emotional state, and battle readiness or something similar is being tested right now. 

If it were merely battle readiness, she can fail the test. After all, she probably wouldn’t like any of those jobs. 

But if it's an emotional state, then blowing her own brains is really a bad choice. After all, emotional state is tested only for cushy jobs, such as a researcher or supervisor. 

On the other hand, if it were rebirth, Yanlong would thank her lucky stars, and try to save all her friends and brother. 

Thank the gods, she’s here now. 

Only -- what happened three days before apocalypse? 

She did not remember. Yet, she did know one thing. HuoMei can’t throw away that package. 

HuoMei’s stepmother has undermined her many times with these cheap tricks. 

So, HuoMei definitely can’t afford to throw away any presents at all. 

“Can you give me that if you are throwing it away any way?” she asked Huo mei. 

If nothing else, this question will make for a nice distraction from her odd behavior. Or the unsightly way she’s sprawled on the floor. 

HuoMei handed the package to her without hesitation. It is Biyu who took offense to that. 

“Yanlong! Have you no shame? HuoMei’s parents specially sent a present to her for her birthday. How can you ask for a birthday present?”  Biyu shouted at her. 

“Ninety nine percent of the parents don’t know what their children like. Rest are just happy mistakes.” Yanlong answered leisurely. 

All the girls in the room turned to look at her. Biyu stopped and considered her words for a few seconds. 

“Can’t say you are wrong.” Biyu conceded. 

“I didn’t know you were so wise.” Mei bing mused. 

Mingzhu just nodded her head in assent, a smile on her face. 

Huo mei just stared at her, as if she’s seeing her for the first time. 

Probably true.

Yanlong’s roommates did not pay attention to her and she didn’t pay attention to them. 

Her roommates were rich kids, she’s a scholarship student. 

They were by no means mean to her, Yet, an unspoken distance existed between them from the beginning. 

Neither side did anything to bridge that distance. 

“Even so, it’s a birthday present her parents sent her. Are You a beggar?” Biyu said irritatedly. 

Yanlong stared at her. 

“If it’s sweets, I’ll share with you. Seventy five to twenty five, I’ll take small. If it’s savouries, it’s fifty-fifty.” Yanlong said. 

“Deal.” Biyu shouted before any of the remaining roommates could get so much as a syllable in. 

“You little pig! Where is your zeal for justice?” Mingzhu questioned laughingly. 

“Died of bulimia.” Biyu answered cheekily. 

“You can always get the birthday girl to throw a dinner if this gift is not food.” Yanlong said as she reached for a box cutter. 

By now, the situation is crystal clear in Yanlong's mind. 

She has been experimented on.

The experiment itself may be to send her to the past or a parallel world. 

For this world, she is sure, it is real. 

Regardless of what went wrong or right, now, she can only forge ahead.