Hourglass Project - Chapter 1

A black figure landed silently on a branch, crystal-like eyes reflecting the world, an existence that observed and recorded.

——

November 15, 2021, Guangzhou, China.

“Damn, a crow!” Huang Yuhan slammed on the brakes suddenly, causing Lin Yi behind her to slide forward and bump her head. Fortunately, both were wearing helmets, so no concussion resulted.

“Your mom…” Lin Yi rubbed her nose, cursing, “I’m not blind.”

Not only was she not blind, but the other two weren’t either.

The four stopped their vehicles at the roadside, looking up at a crow perched on a tree branch with curiosity.

According to old sayings, crows are the harbingers of bad luck.

They heard a sound in the air. Tao Luo, with her phoenix-like eyes, glanced at the black shapes in the distant sky and said, 

“There’s more over there.”

At her words, the others looked and indeed saw two crows flying in a line behind a tall building, then disappearing.

Soon, they realized on their way home, they spotted no less than ten crows. It was terrifying to imagine how many were now scattered throughout the city.

Passing through the city center, the big electronic screen on a skyscraper was broadcasting news about these mysterious “mascots.”

“Please remain calm, no need to overthink. A special investigation team has been formed to find the cause.”

“I have a really bad feeling,” Huang Yuhan said worriedly, then gasped, “Yao Yao wouldn’t have died, right?!”

Huang Jijun laughed, stopping the car at a red light, “Be careful of the toilet at midnight.” Maybe Li Moyao sneaked into her bathroom then.

Before Huang Yuhan could say anything, Lin Yi behind her patted her shoulder, then the screen of Huang Yuhan’s phone appeared, showing their chat with Li Moyao.

Yi: The idiot said you got torn into eight pieces. I’ll burn some needles and sew you up later.

Yao: Uh-huh, hanging my head at midnight to thank her.

Yi: [Animated emoji: little dog laughing wildly]

Huang Yuhan: “…”

Li Moyao had been on leave for three days, saying some family matters required her to travel out of town, only a Li family member could go, no proxy allowed. When asked, she said it was business-related; her parents were abroad and couldn’t come back. It was an emergency, no one knew how it was going.

Huang Yuhan glanced at the time, pressed record, and spoke in a very coaxing tone, “Yao Yao, when are you coming back?”

“Ugh!”

Before hanging up, she caught Lin Yi’s gagging sound in the recording. Huang Jijun laughed nearby, Tao Luo watched a crow standing motionless on the traffic light.

The light turned green, but the others didn’t move yet. The four continued home.

Once back in their neighborhood, Lin Yi placed the phone in front of Huang Yuhan, who looked down:

Yao: Midnight.

Lin Yi heard her snicker, then saw Huang Yuhan pull out her phone, open WeChat, and go to chat with Li Moyao. The last message was about seeing a cockroach at home at midnight, plus a cheeky emoji. Li Moyao replied, “Go meet your brothers, since you’re prowling around at midnight too.” Lin Yi laughed again, checking the time, it really was after 1 a.m.

Huang Yuhan rolled her eyes at her, sent Li Moyao a message:

Huan: So are you too↓

Huan: Little cockroach Li

Her “↓” was a cockroach foot emoji.

“What’s with that cockroach foot at the end?” Lin Yi pointed at the “↓”.

“…That’s to express my annoyance, okay?” Huang Yuhan was speechless, then slapped Lin Yi’s butt and quickly drove off.

Lin Yi didn’t mind the slap, just laughed at the cockroach foot emoji.

Next morning, 6 a.m.

Huang Jijun got up, glanced out the window, and froze.

A crow stood on the glass railing of the balcony, staring at her.

Whether she believed it or not, she didn’t want a crow at her house in this situation.

She put on shoes, opened the glass door, and stood by the railing, staring back.

The crow kept looking, then opened its beak briefly before closing it, as if yawning.

“…”

Huang Jijun looked away, her gaze caught by a flock of crows flying in formation in the distant sky.

The crow on the railing fluttered its wings and flew away.

She stood there in strange silence, then turned and went inside, closing the door behind her.

There were far more crows than yesterday, practically everywhere.

It definitely had an impact, their sudden appearance unsettled the public. Some students called for school closures, but the education bureau had not issued any notices, and the investigation team remained silent. The government released a statement: crows appeared all over the world.

This was akin to a terror attack. Many suspected a certain country had released them to defeat others, but since it was global, it might be a natural disaster.

Some caught crows for observation, finding no difference from normal ones. Others killed crows, so far, nothing happened.

When the four entered class, they saw a crow being teased by classmates. The crow didn’t mind and flew off after five minutes. When the homeroom teacher entered, students asked about school closure and other things, but she just said to wait for notice and that she didn’t know anything else. She told them to proceed with morning reading as usual.

The classroom filled with seven or eight minutes of reading.

“Look, the world’s ending and you’re still playing games,” Huang Yuhan scolded Lin Yi, who was staring at her phone, “You’re why steel is so weak!”

“Go sleep,” Lin Yi replied without lifting her head.

Huang Yuhan snorted, tried to slap her, failed to get a reaction, then gave up. She glanced at the time:

7:15 a.m.

Two or three minutes until morning exercise. No more sleep.

So she rested her head on the desk and closed her eyes.

At the same time, a dull thud from the broadcast system sounded, a sign the class bell was about to ring, and after that would come the exercise bell’s 

“deng de lang deng deng deng deng deng deng deng!”

But three minutes later, the bell did not ring as expected.

Tao Luo closed her book, glanced out the window, then turned her head to see a crow perched on a branch, slowly opening its beak. Her heart jumped! The next second.

“Caw—!!”

A harsh scream pierced the air like an alarm! Instantly, everyone in class reacted.

“Damn, damn!!” Huang Yuhan, just shaking off sleepiness, jumped up in panic, looking at the screaming crow, nearly reaching to choke its neck!

Many classmates panicked, all staring at the crow. The teacher rushed over from the office, telling them not to panic.

But the crow kept screaming, uttering terrifying bad news.

Soon, they realized it wasn’t the only crow screaming. Outside the classroom, the ones on the teaching building, street lamps, circling the sky, all had their beaks open.

Outside the school, streets, neighborhoods, restaurants, traffic lights in the city center, and even globally, crows howled to the sky, their throats producing hoarse, nearly suffocating screams.

It lasted for a full minute.

During that time, their emotions varied, confusion, tension, fear, excitement…

“Dear Earth humans, greetings.”

Suddenly, a calm male voice sounded from the broadcast system— no, from above the city, above the entire globe!

He spoke slowly, not too fast, with a tone of mockery, anticipation, and excitement.

He said,

“Maybe you’re curious about the situation. Don’t overthink it. I’ll be your commentator and explain clearly, this is what you see: the planet called Earth has been selected into the ‘Planet Selection Program.’ You, the humans currently on Earth, have all your information uploaded into the system and become game players. I believe some of you who love games will enjoy this game.

In the game, as players, you will have your own equipment to help complete missions, but this requires endurance. Also, for thrill-seeking, the game is survival-based, real players, real feelings, absolutely real. Death is also a personal experience.

Maybe for your low-level, backward planet, this isn’t too real, but you’ll get used to it. So play well and strive to become stronger~”

After half a minute, another voice suddenly sounded,

“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. The game is called ‘Hourglass Project.’ I am the game’s creator. You should call me ‘Father’ affectionately. No more nonsense, the game has begun. Regardless of your previous civilization, in the game, it’s all void.”

His tone at the end was disdainful, like looking at ants struggling in the fire.

From his words, they learned a lot, some clear, some hinted, but what hurt the most was that everything they had strived for over thousands of years was denied.

Perhaps before the game began, humans were intelligent advanced beings, but after, they were just grains of sand.

Small and fragile.

After the broadcast ended, the students were stunned for a long time until the city-wide broadcast sounded again, this time a mechanical voice without gender,

“All players worldwide, listen carefully. Players without specific orders must not leave within five meters of their current location. Players with orders follow those commands, or face system punishment!”

The “broadcast” repeated three times; they believed all humans worldwide heard it.

After the broadcast above the city ended, another male voice came from the school system,

“All players in the school must gather in front of the school complex building within five minutes. Repeating, all players must gather in front of the complex.