Chen Mo thought that all the luck in his life had been used up on the two words "bad luck".
As a bottom-tier operator in an internet company, his daily routine was working overtime until midnight, being PUAed by his boss with "Young people should endure more hardships", and his salary was barely enough to make ends meet. Finally, he squeezed out some time on the weekend to visit the Provincial Museum, hoping to absorb some cultural atmosphere to change his luck—only to accidentally teleport himself into a time-space vortex.
That afternoon, there weren't many visitors in the "Cultural Relics Unearthed in the 1980s Exhibition Area" of the Provincial Museum. Chen Mo, wearing a shabby pair of black-rimmed glasses and a newly bought hoodie, held an unfinished bubble tea in his hand—bought with his last pocket money, planning to go back to revise the plan after the visit. When he walked to the central showcase, his eyes were instantly drawn to the bronze pendant inside.
The pendant was about the size of a palm, entirely turquoise green, with dense spiral patterns carved on the surface. A faint blue light seemed to glow in the gaps of the patterns, flowing like it was alive. The label on the showcase read: "Unearthed in northern Jiangsu Province in 1985, bronze pendant, tomb owner unknown, purpose not yet determined".
"Tomb owner unknown? How mysterious." Chen Mo perked up and leaned closer. He had always been particularly curious about such mysterious cultural relics. After finishing the last sip of bubble tea, he casually threw the cup into the trash can next to him, and his fingertips subconsciously touched the glass of the showcase—that one careless move completely changed his life.
As soon as his fingertips touched the cold glass, the bronze pendant in the showcase suddenly erupted into a dazzling blue-white light, like a small flash grenade exploding instantly. Chen Mo only felt a white light in front of his eyes, a buzzing in his ears, and the mini notepad in his hand (which he used to record work inspiration) almost fell to the ground. He tried to step back, but found his body tightly wrapped by the strong light, unable to move at all.
"Damn it! What's going on here? Did the cultural relic come to life?" Chen Mo panicked like hell. He vaguely heard the scolding of security guards and the exclamations of tourists in the distance, but his body was already uncontrollably swallowed by the strong light. His last memory was the three black Song-style characters "1985" on the label, and the residual sweetness of the unfinished bubble tea.
He didn't know how long it had been before Chen Mo suddenly fell to the ground, his buttocks almost split into eight pieces. He struggled to get up, rubbed his dizzy head, opened his eyes, and was instantly dumbfounded.
What appeared in front of him was not the bright and clean modern museum, but a dusty asphalt road. The buildings on both sides of the road were all old red-brick houses, with red slogans painted on the walls: "Labor is the most glorious" and "Protect cultural relics, everyone's responsibility". The streets were full of "Forever" and "Feige" brand bicycles. Most of the cyclists were wearing Zhongshan suits and Dacron shirts, and several girls with braids were wearing floral dresses.
What shocked him the most was that on the gate tower of the museum across the street, there hung a striking red banner with yellow brush characters: "1985 Jiangsu Provincial Museum Recruitment Notice".
"1985?" Chen Mo blinked hard, suspecting that he was hallucinating from working too much overtime. He pinched his thigh hard, grinning in pain—it was not a hallucination! He had really time-traveled! Traveled back to the 1980s more than 30 years ago!
"Are you kidding me, God?" Chen Mo looked at his hoodie and then at the clothes of the people around him, feeling like an outsider. He patted all his pockets—his ID card, mobile phone, and wallet were all gone. Only the mini notepad was still there, and a few pearls from the bubble tea left at the bottom of his pocket.
"My phone! The plan I just revised halfway!" Chen Mo was on the verge of tears. Without his phone, he was completely cut off from the modern world; without his wallet, he was penniless; without his ID card, he became an unaccounted-for black household.
Just as he was in despair, his stomach gurgled. Time-traveling had consumed too much energy, and now he was hungry and thirsty. He looked up at the museum's recruitment notice, which said: "Recruiting 2 security guards. Requirements: male, 20-30 years old, healthy, strong sense of responsibility, favorable treatment."
"Favorable treatment? Do they provide meals?" Chen Mo swallowed. Now he was penniless and of unknown origin. To survive in this unfamiliar era, he had to find a job first. Although being a security guard didn't sound very good, it could at least solve the problem of food and accommodation. Moreover, it was in the museum—maybe he would have a chance to find that bronze pendant and see if he could travel back.
With a "what the hell" attitude, Chen Mo took a deep breath and strode towards the museum gate.
The museum's gate was an ancient vermilion wooden door. Two security guards stood at the entrance. One of them had gray hair, was smoking a cigarette, and had sharp eyes—he was Captain Wang, the head of the security team. The other was younger, wearing the same security uniform as Captain Wang, with a hint of arrogance on his face—he was Xiao Li, who would deliberately make things difficult for Chen Mo later.
"Stop! What are you doing here?" When Captain Wang saw Chen Mo, he narrowed his eyes and looked him up and down, his eyes full of vigilance. In the 1980s, hoodies were very rare. Chen Mo's attire really stood out like a sore thumb.
"Uncle, I'm here to apply for a security guard position." Chen Mo smiled obsequiously, trying to look friendly.
Apply?" Captain Wang sneered, exhaled a smoke ring, "Where's your recommendation letter? Show me your ID card."
"I... My hometown was hit by a flood, and everything at home was washed away, including my recommendation letter and ID card." Chen Mo had already made up an excuse, saying sincerely, "Uncle, I really need this job. I'm strong and know a little about cultural relics. I can definitely do the security work well."
"Know about cultural relics?" Captain Wang obviously didn't believe it, raising his eyebrows, "Don't brag, kid! I've worked in the museum for more than ten years, and I've seen all kinds of people! There are at least eighty or a hundred people who want to sneak into the museum to steal things!"
Xiao Li next to him chipped in: "Captain Wang, I think he's of unknown origin. He's probably a thief, trying to sneak into the museum to steal cultural relics under the pretext of applying for security guard!"
Chen Mo cursed both of them in his heart, but still had a smile on his face: "Uncle, brother, I'm really not a thief. I really know about cultural relics. If you don't believe me, test me."
"Okay, then I'll test you!" Captain Wang became interested, put out his cigarette, "How many articles of the Cultural Relics Protection Law do you know? Can you name three of our museum's treasures? If you can't, get out of here quickly and don't waste our time!"
Chen Mo sneered in his heart—this little knowledge was a piece of cake for him. He usually liked to watch documentaries and read books about cultural relics. Although he hadn't read the entire Cultural Relics Protection Law, he knew the core clauses. What's more, he had just read the introduction of the museum's treasures in the museum before time-traveling.
"Article 3 of the Cultural Relics Protection Law stipulates that the state protects the ownership of cultural relics from infringement, and prohibits any organization or individual from occupying, looting, privately dividing, retaining or destroying cultural relics." Chen Mo blurted out quickly, "And Article 5: All cultural relics remaining underground, in internal waters and territorial seas within the territory of the People's Republic of China belong to the state."
Both Captain Wang and Xiao Li were stunned, not expecting this strangely dressed young man to really be able to recite a few articles.
Chen Mo continued: "As for the treasures of our museum, the first one is a Shang Dynasty bronze tripod, about seventy centimeters high and fifty kilograms heavy. The body of the tripod is carved with taotie patterns, and there are three scratches on the left ear left during casting; the second one is a Song Dynasty blue and white porcelain, with an open mouth, slanting wall and ring foot. There is a four-character seal script 'Xuande Reign Period' at the bottom, with uniform glaze and rich blue and white color; the third one is a copy of the Ming Dynasty painting 'A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains'. Although it's a copy, the brushwork is exquisite, and there is a vermilion collection seal 'Qianlong Emperor's Appreciation' in the upper right corner."
As he spoke, he observed the expressions of Captain Wang and Xiao Li. Seeing the surprise on their faces, Chen Mo secretly rejoiced: "You rookies, you're no match for me!"
The disdain on Captain Wang's face gradually disappeared, replaced by a bit of surprise and scrutiny. He didn't expect this young man, although of unknown origin, to really have some skills and strength. Maybe he could really stay.
Xiao Li, on the other hand, looked jealous, muttering in his heart: "This kid is so lucky to really know about cultural relics. I hope he can't carry the box and leave quickly."
Chen Mo finally carried the box safely to the back warehouse with great difficulty. He put down the box, gasped for breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and his shoulders were already red from the pressure.
"How about it, uncle? I did it!" Chen Mo turned around and said to Captain Wang who followed, with a hint of pride in his tone.
Captain Wang nodded, finally showing a smile on his face: "Not bad, you have strength and know about cultural relics. Come to the museum to report at eight o'clock tomorrow morning, dress neatly, and I'll take you to the security team to get familiar with the environment."
"Thank you, uncle!" Chen Mo was overjoyed, almost jumping up. He had finally found a job in this unfamiliar 1980s and had a place to stay.
"By the way, my name is Wang Tou. You can call me Captain Wang from now on." Captain Wang patted him on the shoulder, "That's Xiao Li, who applied with you. You'll be colleagues from now on."
Xiao Li snorted, didn't say a word, turned around and left, obviously dissatisfied with Chen Mo's joining.
Chen Mo looked at Xiao Li's back, thinking to himself: "It seems that the workplace life in the future won't be so peaceful."
But he couldn't care about that now—being hired was the most important thing. He touched the mini notepad in his pocket, thinking: "First, stabilize myself, do a good job as a security guard, and then find a chance to find that bronze pendant. When I go back, I must resign from that lousy job and drink all flavors of bubble tea!"
The golden sun shone on the red wall of the museum, looking particularly solemn. Chen Mo stood at the museum gate, watching the bicycles and pedestrians passing by on the street, feeling full of confusion and expectation. He didn't know what he would encounter in this 1980s, nor did he know if he could find his way back, but he knew that from tomorrow on, he would be a museum security guard in the 1980s.
What he didn't know was that this seemingly ordinary security job hides a huge conspiracy, and his time-travel was not just an accident...