Chapter 1: Graduation and Mutual Deletion
“Mu Lantu, stop playing dead—drink up! This is our last college dinner together. Don’t tell me you can’t even give us this bit of face?”
Someone gave him a rough shove on the shoulder. The young man who had been slumped over the table suddenly sat up, blinking at the grand crystal chandelier overhead and the phone on the round banquet table. A flicker of uncontrollable joy flashed through his eyes.
Had he finally returned to the modern world?
[Xiao Wu?]
A childlike electronic voice sounded in Mu Lantu’s mind, chirping brightly [Master, I’m here!]
“Mu Lantu, the class monitor’s talking to you!”
The boy sitting to Mu Lantu’s left bumped into him.
This didn’t seem like a place filled with danger. Ignoring the boy, Mu Lantu quickly and skillfully absorbed the original host’s memories and grasped the current situation.
The original host was a marketing major who had just graduated. Yesterday, the class had completed their thesis defense, and today, class monitor Zhou Xianlin had organized this farewell dinner—the final gathering of their college years. Tomorrow, everyone would go their separate ways. At the dinner, Zhou Xianlin and a few classmates pressured the original host into drinking excessively. Even with one roommate’s help and others trying to intervene, it was no use—he collapsed from alcohol poisoning before the dinner ended. When he woke up again, he had become Mu Lantu, now equipped with a system.
Mu Lantu looked at the man raising a toast to him—that was Zhou Xianlin. With upright features, over 180cm tall, slicked-back hair and a crisp blue suit, he gave off a somewhat polished and successful vibe. But the smirk on his face and the malice in his eyes greatly undermined any real charisma.
“A toast to you?”
“How could I dare? Here, let me toast you, class monitor. Thanks for all your ‘care’ over these four years. I’ll drink it all—your choice whether to join.”
Mu Lantu’s starry eyes scanned the table, quickly found his glass, picked up the bottle, and poured with swift, graceful ease. Though fast, his long, beautiful hands were steady and precise—he didn’t spill a drop. It was almost like watching a performance.
Several girls were momentarily entranced.
The classmates mulled over the word “care”, each with a different expression, and after Mu Lantu downed the drink in one go, all eyes subtly shifted to Zhou Xianlin.
Zhou Xianlin hadn’t expected Mu Lantu to handle alcohol so well—he’d already had nearly two bottles and still wasn’t showing any signs of collapsing. It felt like planning to punch someone, only to get punched first. He felt even more irritated but could only respond with a forced down-in-one under everyone’s gaze. He subtly looked to the others for backup.
The entertainment committee member, Meng Jiaqi, picked up the baton with a sweet smile, though her eyes were cold.
“Classmate Mu, still hanging in there? I’d like to toast you as well.”
“Honored. But since it’s a toast, shouldn’t our esteemed committee rep give a proper blessing first? Otherwise, I won’t recognize it.”
Mu Lantu replied half-seriously as he casually picked up his chopsticks and slowly chewed a piece of beef, silently savoring it. Modern food really was better—seasoned well, expertly cooked. This cumin grilled chicken wing, for example, was delicious.
Meng Jiaqi’s face twisted for a moment.
“Of course! Then I wish you a glorious future, endless wealth, and a meteoric rise to success!”
Mu Lantu nodded and raised a full glass again.
“Thanks for the kind words, Classmate Meng.”
Li Guangchao grabbed his arm in alarm and whispered, “Are you crazy? You know they’re up to no good!” The girls were drinking red wine or beer, but the guys were all drinking hard liquor!
Mu Lantu gave him a knowing glance and downed the drink like it was water, showing no sign of discomfort.
Even Zhou Xianlin looked stunned.
Mu Lantu poured himself another glass.
“Class monitor, one more for you.”
Zhou Xianlin was starting to feel it and cast meaningful glances at his helpers.
After a few more rounds, Zhou Xianlin and his crew were visibly flushed, while Mu Lantu remained perfectly composed.
Zhou Xianlin now realized he had met his match. His original dislike for Mu Lantu, which had been minor, was now full-blown hatred.
Mu Lantu acted like nothing was wrong, happily enjoying his food.
Meng Jiaqi’s eyes gleamed with mischief as she spoke up loudly, “By the way, how many people in our class have landed jobs already?”
The room fell into an awkward silence as several students’ expressions changed.
It was 2036. Job hunting for college grads had become even harder. Even as students from a prestigious university, they weren’t spared. “Graduation equals unemployment” had become a tired mantra.
“There should be quite a few, right?” Meng Jiaqi’s roommate, Tang Baili, picked up the thread.
“I remember you already signed with a TV station, Jiaqi. You’re going to be a big-time host. Class monitor got an offer from a Fortune 500 company, probably heading to settle in the capital soon. Zhu Hongwei got into civil service… Oh, right—Mu, what about you? You’ve always ranked top three in every exam for four years. Surely you’ve found a job too?”
Meng Jiaqi faked a thoughtful pause.
“Didn’t you not have one yet?”
Xu Yanbo chuckled, “Mu Lantu, I think your family’s from the countryside? Are you planning to go back and farm? No offense, really. Farming’s not bad. I heard a Huaxing graduate went back to collect trash and now makes over 20k a month—better than a lot of jobs. If you can’t find anything, maybe try that? Making money’s not shameful, right, guys?”
Li Guangchao sneered, “Xu Yanbo, look at you acting all smug. Did you find a job? Let’s hear it—civil servant? TV station? Or are you inheriting your family’s business like Gu Jincheng?”
Xu Yanbo’s face turned beet red, unable to respond. Mostly because Li Guangchao was a big guy with a temper—he didn’t want to end up in a sack somewhere.
Mu Lantu patted Li Guangchao’s shoulder, then gave Zhou Xianlin and Meng Jiaqi a long, lazy look.
“Thanks for the concern, everyone. I’ve got no plans. Just gonna take it easy for now.”
His job would depend on what he pulled from the system. He couldn’t decide on his own.
Zhou Xianlin scoffed, “Useless people can’t be helped. No need to keep in touch. Let’s delete each other!” He pulled out his phone and started operating it.
To say something like that to his face—even students who weren’t particularly close to Mu Lantu felt the sting of humiliation and looked over with sympathy.
