SAG -Chapter 1 The Sea of Mist

The sky was a brilliant blue, dotted with puffy white clouds. Looking toward the horizon, only two words came to mind:

Spotlessly clean.

From where he stood, the azure sky and the sapphire sea seemed to merge into one, their boundaries impossible to distinguish.

Zhang Ran stood aboard a luxury ocean liner bound for a distant voyage. As he admired the breathtaking scenery, he felt his mind gradually relax.

At the same time, he couldn’t help imagining bringing her here one day so they could watch this view together. The thought alone filled him with happiness.

Especially because he knew that twenty years from now, the sky would no longer be this pure, nor the sea this crystal blue. That knowledge made him cherish the scenery all the more.

Zhang Ran had never imagined that he would be granted a second life.

Nor had he imagined that, in this new world, he would meet a woman who could make his heart race—and even more astonishingly, that she would love him just as deeply.

In his previous life, Zhang Ran had lived in a parallel world almost identical to this one, except that it had already reached the year 2020. In this world, however, he had been born in 1967.

Today was May 19, 1990.

He was currently aboard a luxurious cruise ship sailing toward China.

Over the past several months, he had been busy handling business throughout Europe and America. More importantly, he had spent considerable effort preparing an engagement ring—and countless other gifts—for the woman he loved.

Originally, he had planned to fly back to China.

But he was afraid that if he returned too early, he wouldn’t be able to resist seeking her out and proposing immediately.

Instead, he wanted to propose on May 20th.

While it wasn’t considered the most romantic date, Zhang Ran wanted to give the girl every surprise he possibly could.

Just thinking about it filled him with anticipation. His eyes sparkled with excitement, drawing warm smiles from a middle-aged couple standing nearby.

“Young man,” the husband said with a grin as he held his wife’s hand, “you must be in quite a hurry to see your sweetheart.”

The couple were also Chinese, speaking Mandarin throughout their conversation.

The smile never left Zhang Ran’s face.

“That’s right,” he admitted openly. “She’s waiting for me at home.”

“Haha! How enviable!” the woman laughed. “You’re heading back to propose, aren’t you?”

Her gaze landed on the small jewelry box in Zhang Ran’s hand.

He always carried the engagement rings with him, while the rest of the gifts remained in his cabin.

Earlier, he had opened the box to admire the rings once again.

They truly deserved to be called a master’s work.

Perfect in every way.

Since the couple had been standing nearby, they had also caught a glimpse of the dazzling rings inside.

“So?” the woman asked with a knowing smile.

Zhang Ran scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed.

“Yes.”

“Have you figured out how you’re going to propose?” she asked kindly. “Girls all love romance.”

That question stumped him.

Despite having lived through two lifetimes, this would still be his first proposal.

“I honestly have no idea,” he admitted. “Big Brother, how did you propose to Big Sister back then?”

“Haha! That’s one of the proudest moments of my life.” The middle-aged man beamed. “Come, let me tell you.”

With obvious delight, he began recounting the story of how he had courted and eventually proposed to his wife.

Zhang Ran listened quietly.

Watching the sweetness reflected in their expressions, he found himself looking forward even more to seeing his beloved again, imagining the future they would build together.

Just as the man had said, the thing Zhang Ran was proudest of in this second life wasn’t his wealth or achievements.

It was meeting the girl whose eyes held only him.

And more importantly—

He hadn’t let her slip away.

For the first time in either lifetime, he wanted to give someone everything he had.

He wanted to do anything for her, no matter the cost.

It was a feeling so beautiful…

So intoxicating.

And what made it even more wonderful was that the girl loved him even more deeply than he loved her.

At that moment, Zhang Ran felt that his entire life had been worthwhile.

The middle-aged couple had emigrated when they were young and had long since settled in England. This trip back to China was simply to visit relatives.

When their story ended, Zhang Ran sighed sincerely.

“The two of you have the kind of love people dream about.”

He truly meant it.

There had been no dramatic life-or-death moments.

No earth-shattering adventures.

Just an ordinary life filled with quiet happiness.

And that happiness was unmistakable in the way they looked at one another.

“You’re pretty enviable yourself,” the woman said with a smile. “Those rings can’t have been cheap. I’m sure your sweetheart will adore them. Do they have a name?”

Like most women, she had little resistance to beautiful jewelry.

Earlier, when Zhang Ran had opened the box, the brilliant diamonds had instantly captured her attention.

They were breathtaking.

“They’re called ‘Star and Moon Together’,” Zhang Ran replied with a smile. “Would you like to take a closer look?”

The woman’s eyes immediately lit up.

“Really? May I?”

“Of course.”

He handed her the ring box without hesitation.

He himself was extremely satisfied with the rings. He had spent a fortune commissioning them from a renowned master jeweler.

The woman accepted the box with great care.

Since she wasn’t wearing gloves, she didn’t take the rings out. Instead, she simply admired them inside the case.

Her eyes sparkled with the innocent delight of a little girl gazing at a treasured toy.

Seeing his wife’s expression, the middle-aged man could only smile wryly.

It looked like he would be spending a considerable sum on jewelry once they got home.

Just then—

A thick bank of fog suddenly appeared over the sea.

Within moments, visibility dropped dramatically.

No one panicked.

Fog at sea was hardly unusual.

The only strange thing was how abruptly it had appeared.

Most passengers paid it no mind.

But Zhang Ran frowned.

Because at that very moment, he noticed that the energy bar in the little game interface inside his mind was filling at an astonishing speed.

Like many protagonists reborn into another world, Zhang Ran possessed a unique cheat.

His “golden finger” was nothing more than a farm simulation game he had enjoyed in his previous life.

By 2020, farming games had long since fallen out of fashion.

Still, they retained a small but loyal fan base.

Zhang Ran happened to love them.

After long days of work, they were the perfect way to relax.

The cheat itself had no quests.

No intelligent AI.

No mysterious system assistant.

Only a simple game interface.

In the original game, players earned energy by selling crops, flowers, vegetables, or pets they had raised.

But after becoming part of his mind, the system had changed.

He could buy things.

He simply couldn’t sell anything.

The system no longer accepted items for exchange.

As a result, the energy bar could only refill naturally over time.

Unfortunately, that process was painfully slow.

Because of this, the cheat hadn’t been especially useful.

Fortunately, although this world differed slightly from the one he remembered, history’s overall direction remained the same.

Armed with memories from his previous life and knowledge of future trends, Zhang Ran believed he didn’t really need a cheat at all.

…

The strange phenomenon continued for nearly half an hour.

During that time, the poor lighting made it difficult for the woman to continue admiring the rings, so she reluctantly returned the box to Zhang Ran.

When the cruise ship finally emerged from the fog, Zhang Ran discovered that the energy bar inside his mind was completely full.

He had no idea what had just happened.

But an overwhelming sense of dread suddenly rose within him.

For no apparent reason, his heart began to pound with an ominous foreboding.