Chapter 1.1: The Lucky Winners
Elena Shen jolted awake. Floating in front of her was... something glowing, soft, and round—like a digital dumpling made of starlight.
She blinked. Was she still dreaming?
Then the dumpling spoke.
"Hello! Welcome to EncoDream Valley. Congratulations—you've been selected as one of our very first beta testers! I'm your AI assistant, Echo-Goo. Together with the other lucky winners, you've just activated our Life Challenge Mode.
Here, you'll swap life scripts with one another. Experience someone else's life—fully and completely. Complete your assigned challenge, and choose how to rewrite their fate."
Her brain stalled. Five full seconds of nothing. Then she blurted out:
"Wait, wait—who are you? Where am I? What challenge?!"
Echo-Goo blinked its giant cartoon eyes and tilted slightly.
"Don't you remember last night?You won… at the Nexus Lab party."
Rewind. To just before midnight.
Elena Shen
Elena Shen crouched in the emergency stairwell behind 86 Club, clutching a broken stiletto heel.
She watched, helpless, as the heel bounced down the steps and vanished into the darkness.
"Perfect," she muttered, closing her eyes and trying very hard not to curse out loud.
Her bare foot hit the cold concrete. The tight straps had left angry red marks around her ankle.
Just as she picked up the broken heel, her phone buzzed twice in her pocket.[Salary received: ¥3,276.50]
Her throat tightened.
She immediately opened her payment app and transferred rent to her landlord. She couldn't afford to delay—not if she wanted to keep living in that dingy, cockroach-infested studio where the bed was practically the front door.
After rent, her bank balance showed: ¥1,138.She still had to survive a month—with transportation, phone bills, and food.
"Seriously? You chose now to die on me?" she glared at her shoe."Do you think I have money for a new pair? I can barely eat."
She scrolled again. Balance: ¥38.9. Below it: Credit card minimum due: ¥500.
She let out a laugh. Not the funny kind—the "so hopeless it's hilarious" kind.
"Why am I still here?" she whispered bitterly."I could've gone home, gotten married, had an easy life. But no... I stayed. For what?"
Her walkie-talkie exploded with her manager's voice.
"Elena! The champagne tower on the 38th floor is collapsing! Where the hell are you?!"
Elena jumped, fumbling to press the button.
"On my way!"
She shoved the walkie-talkie into her bag, grabbed her shoe, and bolted into the venue.
That night, Nexus Lab—one of the hottest tech companies in AI—was hosting an exclusive launch party. The ballroom glittered with business elites, investors, and entertainment power players.
A massive screen above the stage displayed one sleek line:
EncoDream™ – Limited Edition Smart Crystal Sleepwear. Fall asleep. Fall in love with dreaming.
Under the crystal chandeliers, towers of champagne sparkled like diamonds. The air was thick with cedarwood cologne and expensive brandy.
Elena weaved through the crowd, checking on every last detail. She was the lead planner of this event—but of course, her manager would take all the credit. As always.
She was invisible. Just the girl who cleaned up the mess behind the scenes.
"Elena, what's with your shoes?"Her manager strutted over in bright red Jimmy Choo, narrowing her eyes at Elena's makeshift canvas sneakers."Are you working or embarrassing us?"
Elena glanced down. The borrowed sneakers weren't exactly glam.
"I twisted my ankle. I'll change, right away."
"Do it now. You're ruining our company image.""Yes. Right away," Elena said, turning away with clenched fists.
Her lips curved into a bitter smile.
"Yes. Right away."That was her entire life.
Three sleepless nights. Endless emails. Clients, logistics, crisis control. And in the end, her manager always got the spotlight.
But what could she do?
She had done everything right. Ace the exams. Get the degree from the top university. Stay in Shanghai.And still, at 25, she was broke, burnt out, and couldn't even afford dumplings—much less dating.
Just a disposable office girl—stuck on the wall like a Post-it note, easy to use, easier to forget. At the very bottom of the corporate food chain.
She slipped on a pair of flats borrowed from a colleague and checked the champagne tower for structural stability.
"Elena, can you test this QR code for the raffle?"Her coworker handed her a flyer.
Tonight's centerpiece was EncoDream, the AI-powered smart crystal earring with a dreamy alias: EchoDream Valley.
A nanochip embedded in pure crystal. Jewelry meets cutting-edge tech.
"I heard the CEO's wife designed it," the coworker whispered, eyes sparkling."He bought a rare crystal at an auction—meant to be a wedding gift. But it matched their new tech so well, she turned it into earrings herself. Only four pairs exist. Not even on the market yet, and Nexus Lab stock is already skyrocketing!"
"If I win one... I could quit this job and sell it for cash," she joked.
Elena took out her phone and scanned the code.
"Rich people really live in another universe…"
Ding!Her phone lit up.
[EncoDream: EchoDream Valley has been activated. Can you hear the echo?]
She paused, confused.
"Looks fine."She exhaled and handed the flyer back, never noticing the stream of code flashing across her screen.
"Elena Shen!"
Her manager's shrill voice shattered her thoughts. She turned sharply—and slammed into someone behind her.
"Ah—sorry—"
Her eyes met a gaze as cold and polished as cut crystal.
Vivian Lin.
CEO of William Palos International China. Formerly based in London,UK. Now returned home.
Her black curls were pinned up perfectly. Chanel blazer. Manolo heels. Bvlgari mini tote. Forty-two years old, yet looked barely thirty. She stood like the queen of the room, with every sparkle of the chandelier reflecting her dominance.
Elena's throat tightened.A strong, slender hand reached out to steady her.
"Careful," Vivian said, voice low and composed.
Elena froze.Wonderful. She'd just run into a CEO in heels worth more than her month's rent.
She bowed quickly, cheeks burning."Apologies, Miss Lin! I didn't see you—please excuse me!"