April 13th, 2025 – Haizhou City, China
The digital clock on the bedside table flipped to 6:00 AM. Precisely one second later, Chen Mu's eyes opened. No alarm needed; his internal clock was a finely tuned instrument, honed over years of unwavering self-discipline.
Today was different, though. April 13th. His eighteenth birthday. A legal adult. Yet, the morning routine remained immutable.
He swung his legs out of bed, the cool floorboards a familiar sensation against his bare feet. His small, impeccably tidy room reflected his personality – books arranged by subject and height, clothes folded with military precision in the modest wardrobe, a simple desk clear except for his current study materials. Chen Mu wasn't wealthy, nor was he struggling. His parents worked steady, unspectacular jobs, providing a comfortable, if unremarkable, middle-class existence in the bustling coastal city of Haizhou. They'd given him a small red envelope with some cash this morning before leaving for work, a practical gesture he appreciated more than any lavish party.
Discipline was Chen Mu's anchor, his defining trait. While his peers chased fleeting trends, navigated complex social hierarchies, or lost themselves in virtual worlds, Chen Mu focused. His schedule was his scripture: 6:00 AM wake up, 6:15 AM morning run, 7:00 AM simple breakfast (oatmeal, one egg, soy milk – optimized for nutritional value and cost-effectiveness), 7:30 AM study session one (Mathematics), and so on, until his scheduled 10:30 PM lights out. Weekends involved slightly adjusted schedules, factoring in chores and extended study blocks for the looming Gaokao – the national college entrance examination that felt like the single most important determinant of his future.
Today, his eighteenth birthday, featured only one deviation: he allowed himself an extra five minutes during his run to appreciate the sunrise over Haizhou Bay, a brief concession to the milestone.
By 8:00 AM, he was back at his desk, the faint scent of salty sea air replaced by the familiar smell of old paper and ink. He'd just finished his Math review and was about to switch to Physics when it happened.
It wasn't a sound or a light, initially. It was a feeling. A strange pressure building behind his eyes, followed by a faint, high-frequency hum that seemed to resonate directly within his skull. He blinked, attributing it to eye strain. Perhaps he needed a new prescription.
He rubbed his temples, preparing to refocus, but the sensation intensified. Then, directly in his field of vision, superimposed over his Physics textbook, shimmering blue text began to materialize.
[System Initializing...]
[Searching for Suitable Host...]
[Host Identified: Chen Mu]
[Age: 18 Years, 0 Days]
[Mental Fortitude: High]
[Physical Condition: Above Average]
[Compatibility Check: 98.7%]
[Binding Process Initiated...]
Chen Mu froze. His heart hammered against his ribs, a chaotic rhythm completely alien to his usual measured calm. Hallucination? Stress-induced psychosis? Had the pressure of the upcoming Gaokao finally cracked his meticulously maintained composure?
He squeezed his eyes shut, took a deep, controlled breath – inhale for four seconds, hold for four, exhale for six – a technique he used to manage stress. He opened them again.
The text remained, clearer now, hanging in the air like a holographic projection only he could see. It pulsed with a soft, internal light.
[Binding Successful!]
[Welcome, Host Chen Mu, to the Infinite Time Loop Simulation System!]
He reached out tentatively, his fingers passing straight through the ethereal blue letters. It wasn't physical. It was... in his head? Or projected onto his retinas?
[System Core Functions Initialized:]
[1. Time Loop Simulation: Configure loop duration. Upon cycle completion, time resets to Day 0, Hour 0. Memories and System Data retained by Host.]
[2. Simulation Rewards: Based on achievements, discoveries, and overall performance within each loop cycle, the System will issue variable rewards (e.g., Skill Points, Attribute Enhancements, Knowledge Fragments, Special Abilities, Physical Items - generation dependent on simulation context).]
[3. Host Status Tracking: Comprehensive monitoring and quantification of all Host attributes (Physical, Mental, Skill-based, etc.).]
Chen Mu stared, his disciplined mind frantically trying to process the impossible information. Infinite time loop? Simulation? Rewards? This sounded like the premise of a third-rate web novel, not something happening in his mundane reality.
He instinctively tried to analyze. Okay, assume this is real. What does it mean?
A new panel appeared below the introductory text.
[Host Status]
Name: Chen Mu
Age: 18
Physique: 1.1 (Average Adult Male = 1.0)
Mentality: 1.4 (Average Adult Male = 1.0)
Skills: [Basic Cooking], [Mandarin (Native)], [English (Intermediate)], [Running (Proficient)], [Mathematics (Advanced High School)], [Physics (Advanced High School)], [Chemistry (Advanced High School)] ... (Expand for details)
System Points: 0
Current Status: Normal
His stats? Quantified? Mentality 1.4 – likely reflecting his focus and discipline. Physique 1.1 – a result of his consistent exercise. It felt disturbingly accurate.
Another section flickered into view.
[Time Loop Configuration]
Current Setting: 7 Days
Cycle Start: April 13th, 2025, 00:00:00
Cycle End: April 19th, 2025, 23:59:59
Time Remaining in Current Cycle: 6 Days, 15 Hours, 51 Minutes, XX Seconds (The seconds ticked down in real-time)
[Option: Modify Loop Duration? (Requires System Points or Specific Achievement)]
Seven days. So, according to this... thing... in just under a week, time would rewind to midnight last night, the very beginning of his eighteenth birthday. He would relive these seven days, over and over again, unless... unless he did something? Achieved something?
The sheer absurdity washed over him, followed by a wave of dizziness. He gripped the edge of his desk, knuckles white. His entire life had been built on predictability, control, and steady progression towards defined goals. University, a good job, a stable future.
This system... this was an unscheduled variable of cosmic proportions. It shattered every plan, every assumption.
Infinite loops. Infinite chances? Infinite failures?
Rewards. What kind of rewards? Could he improve his 'Stats'? Gain 'Skills'? What would that even mean in the real world?
His ultra-disciplined mind, trained for years to analyze, plan, and execute, kicked into gear, overriding the initial shock. Panic was inefficient. Confusion was unproductive. He needed data. He needed understanding.
He focused his intent on the shimmering interface, a question forming in his mind: System, explain the objective.
The blue text shifted slightly.
[Primary Objective: Utilize the time loop to simulate possibilities, explore potential, acquire knowledge and skills, enhance Host attributes, and achieve optimal outcomes within each cycle.]
[Secondary Objective: Uncover the full potential and origins of the System (Requires significant progress).]
Optimal outcomes. Simulate possibilities. It was vague, terrifying, and... undeniably intriguing.
For eighteen years, Chen Mu had walked a straight, narrow path he had paved himself. Now, an impossible force had presented him with a playground spanning time itself.
He looked at the timer counting down. 6 days, 15 hours, 50 minutes...
His meticulously planned eighteenth birthday, and indeed the rest of his planned life, had just become Day 1 of something entirely new. The simulation had begun.