Caminho Militar em Meio ao Fogo: Começando em 1978

Spring bestows its gentle grace, and all things shine with life.

In March, when nature awakens, the breeze carries the warmth of early spring. It is a season that could stir even the great poet Li Bai’s spirit, prompting him to gallop straight to the dazzling lights of Yangzhou. But if this March belongs to the year 1978, and you find yourself lying in a rattling, southbound military transport train, then it is hardly a fine time for you.

That is exactly where Chu An finds himself now. One moment, he was at his computer desk, sipping cold cola and playing PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. But after a late night, he collapsed onto his bed, and upon waking, he was here—on this train. Terror and unease gnawed at him. He had often dreamed of being reborn while reading novels, but he had imagined returning to his own childhood or youth, not to the adolescent days of his father’s generation.

Curled up on his side in the dim, stuffy train carriage, the smells he encountered were anything but pleasant; there was even a hint of pig manure. But he had no mind to care about that now. All he wanted was to ask: which well-meaning angel aunt had pulled off this “good deed”?

He was a promising youth of the twenty-first century. Although he was wary of scams and rarely helped elderly ladies cross the street, he did his share of good deeds for those in need. Even if he hadn’t accumulated merit, he had certainly endured hardship. So how could he be flung into this situation?

If he had to cross over, couldn’t it have been chosen more carefully? Was this a joke—ha