Global Detachment
In the pitch-black space, a giant disc stood tall while a young boy lay on the ground, his eyes wide open, utterly motionless. Suddenly, a deep voice resonated from somewhere within the void: "What is it that you desire? Or rather, what do you wish to possess?" The boy remained silent for a moment. Then he spoke: "I want to survive. If possible, I wish to live a bit better, and then better still." As soon as his words fell, the darkness began to crumble. Light blossomed, flooding every corner of this world. The boy rose to his feet and gazed up at the sky.
Global Detachment
A fleeting life of several decades—coming and going in haste—why not drink and sing while you can, and let your name rise high, so your journey through this world will not have been in vain?
In November, the first snowflakes began to drift down from the sky, and the temperature dropped sharply. In an unremarkable small city in ancient Huaxia, in the far east of Earth, stood an orphanage.
Children played and chased one another in the courtyard.
At the orphanage gate, an old woman and a young man were bidding each other farewell.
“Yang Fan, now that you’re an adult, you have to leave the orphanage and make your way on your own, as the rules demand when you turn eighteen. Remember, live well and always walk the right path.”
The old woman, her back hunched with age, spoke gently to the boy carrying a suitcase and a backpack.
“Grandma Director, don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Thank you for taking care of me all these eighteen years. I’m leaving now, but I’ll come back to visit you.”
The boy tightened the straps of his backpack and bowed to the elderly lady.
“As long as you’re well, that’s enough. Here, take this jade pendant. It was yours when you first arrived—I’ve kept it for you. Now that you’re grown, it’s time to return it. From now on, everything depends on you.”
With these words, the old woman took a small box from her pocket.
Yang Fan hesitated, then reached out to receive the box. “Thank you. Take care of yourself, Grandma. It’s too cold out here—please go inside. I’m off now.”
He bowed once more, tears gli
