Chapter 1, Opening.

On that day, the weather was fine, with not a cloud in the sky. The sky was as blue as calm porcelain, and all of South China lay bare under the gentle sunlight

On the outskirts of Yangmingshan, the grass sways uniformly towards the north, with the tips resembling swords, exuding a palpable aura of menace. The hot springs in the mountains also seem to be drawn by some unseen force, as their temperature gradually rises. A middle-aged man, slightly balding and somewhat portly, suddenly shouted and hurriedly ran out of the hot spring. Fortunately, there were few people soaking in the springs at that moment, but the sight of bubbles violently breaking the surface of the water left the nearby attendant wide-eyed in astonishment

Half an hour after the formation of the air column, the streets of Taipei were suddenly swept by a fierce wind, causing leaves to tumble and abandon their branches, while raindrops fell in torrents, and motorcycles struggled to advance on the slippery ground

The people on the ground cannot see the source of the white column of gas. Therefore, they are unaware of how long the column extends in the sky, as its origin is actually over a thousand miles away, across the strait.

In this month of this year, the implementation details of the Equal Land Rights Regulation began on the island, causing various concerns and joys among real estate developers and landowners.

The explosion site is a large pit, three meters deep and three meters wide. Nothing was found in the pit, only a large area of granite that had been charred black, exposed beneath the *illustration* book. The military officer who arrived afterward circled the pit three times and then reported to superiors that the conclusion was: ball lightning had detonated the detonators used by fishermen for fishing.

Meteorological experts will surely be astonished, unable to comprehend how this column of clouds suddenly appeared in the sky

A baby lies on the bed, with a rosy complexion and bright, sparkling eyes, gazing around in a serene and spotless environment, utterly adorable

Thus, a vigorous educational campaign to prohibit dangerous fishing was launched locally, during which various types of detonators and explosives were confiscated and piled into a small mountain on the playground in Chengguan County

At three thirty in the afternoon, a column of white vapor appeared in the sky, slanting across the air like an extraordinarily long scar. A white rainbow spanning the sky? But it was not a rainbow; rather, it was a somewhat peculiar vapor column. Some people on the ground had already noticed the celestial phenomenon above and began to look up, when suddenly, a self-proclaimed knowledgeable individual shouted, "What are you looking at? It's just a jet plane."

And at the moment when the white cloud column finally dissipated, an explosion occurred outside a small town located in the western mountainous region of Hubei.

Chen Shuping is a mathematics teacher at Jiujiang No. 2 Middle School, belonging to the group of individuals who have just been rehabilitated. At this moment, he is engaging in voluntary labor with his students, listening to the announcement of "Chairman Hua..." from the loudspeaker, and reflecting on the two "whatevers" that were extensively covered in last month's People's Daily and Hongqi. This ordinary teacher cannot help but smile. He stands on the riverbank, gazing at the unusual phenomena above him, his thick glasses reflecting his bewildered expression. Suddenly, a drop of rain quietly falls, landing on his brow.

Fortunately, the clouds in the sky gradually dissipated into the azure, and everything on the ground slowly returned to normal

A white column of gas streaked across the sky of China, while the phenomena below only manifested after a period of time. Thus, following that mysterious trajectory, from Taipei, Fuzhou, Nanping, Nanchang, Jiujiang, to Wuhan... torrential rain poured down, and thunder and lightning roared.

... ...

The azure waters of the strait began to grow restless, with waves rising out of nowhere, causing the fishing boats to sway incessantly. Yet, no one noticed that a smuggler was struggling to float in the sea, clutching a wooden box.

Yet no one noticed that, two hundred meters away from the pit, there was an old man scavenging, who at that moment was cooking thin porridge in a blackened, broken pot while looking affectionately at the filthy and stinky bed.

... ...

April 15, 1977, an utterly ordinary day according to the lunar calendar