"Enlarge the map, you jerk! If you can't play, why are you stealing the jungle monsters?"
"Honey, I'll come see you tonight. Get clean and wait for me, muah~"
"Damian, why are you still writing your thesis?"
In the dorm, Damian remained calmly focused on his work despite his three roommates' relentless barrage. The speaker was Jasper, a skinny who'd been admitted to the Institute of Technology.
Damian replied, "I'll publish it directly after revisions. If the international community recognizes it, I don't care if the school approves it."
"Aren't you graduating?" Wilson, who'd just hung up, asked, his shiny bald head gleaming like a lightbulb. This rich second-generation heir inherited both his father's womanizing tendencies and his premature balding.
The other roommate, Kairo, had a standard square-shaped face and stood nearly two meters tall. He only played games out of boredom. His skills were so bad that no one in the dorm wanted to team up with him.
"I have to graduate. I've got other unpublished drafts. Just tweak one. Marcus wouldn't dare screw me over twice; he'd look bad in front of the department heads."
Wilson smirked, "Marcus must've grown a pair to mess with our great physicist. Don't back down, Damian. Stand your ground. Once you're famous, I'll hire ninety-nine bodyguards to escort you back to campus to slap that thesis in the old man's face."
Kairo joined in, showering Marcus with "blessings" from all angles.
"Hey, Damian, what's this paper about? Purple Star exploding?" Jasper glanced at it curiously.
Damian explained the same way he'd told Lilith, but his roommates lacked her patience. They nodded off halfway through.
"Great job, Damian. The data's spot-on, even though I didn't understand a word."
"If the Purple Star really explodes, should we stockpise survival supplies?"
"Survive where? Mars? Plus, the explosion's in five hundred years—our ashes will be long gone by then."
Suddenly, Wilson, on the balcony, screamed, "Damian! You said solar expansion is a precursor to the Purple Star's explosion, right?"
Damian confirmed, "Correct. The sun's vibrations will grow uncontrollably within three centuries, appearing larger and heating the surface until everyone's roasted."
"Come *look* at this! Is this what you meant?"
Damian rushed to the balcony. The once-tiny sun now loomed massive. "What the hell?"
...
Meanwhile, the news broadcast:
"Astronomers confirm the sun's violent tremors. The Purple Star will soon heat up by at least ten degrees. Everyone, take shelter in basements or near water."
"All trains halted, planes diverted. Solar winds will strike the surface imminently."
"Regrettably, international observatory scientists confirm the sun's tremors are irreversible. It will expand endlessly until it crushes the Purple Star."
In the dorm, Damian's roommates gawked at him like he was a deity.
"Damian, are you a god sent from heaven? Tell me this isn't real—it's just a prank!" Jasper freaked out.
Damian sighed, "I don't know what caused this, but reality matches my theory. The Purple Star's explosion just got fast-tracked. Guys, call your families—we've got three hours left. The heat will incinerate us."
His casual tone sent chills down their spines. After a stunned silence, Wilson called his dad first, followed by Jasper and Kairo.
Damian scrolled his contacts but realized he had no parents—a basic rule for time-travelers. Buried in research, he'd made few friends. Besides the breakfast shop owner, only his roommates remained.
"Should I call Lilith?" He dialed, and she answered frantically:
"Damian! Is it true? The Purple Star's exploding?" Even Lilith's usual toughness cracked, her voice choking.
"Relax. We won't suffer long. We'll either burn or get crushed by atmospheric pressure before that."
"I can't breathe—the air feels so heavy… Will you come? I'm at…" Her signal cut out.
Damian's voice turned grave, "Solar wind's here."
Roar! A particle storm slammed into the planet like a physical force. Indoors fared better, but outsiders faced lethal radiation.
"Seal windows and doors! Board them up with wood, metal, blankets—anything!"
But as the dorm shook, cracks spiderwebbed through the building.
Damian muttered, "As predicted. Some force altered the Purple Star's core, triggering runaway fusion. We're basically sitting on a live hydrogen bomb."
Wilson yelled, "Damian! What do we do?"
"Evacuate. No use dying here."
Chaos erupted outside—screams, wails. Ten minutes prior, everything had been peaceful. By the time they reached the lobby, the crowd froze in horror.
Ships hung suspended in the sky, their hatches opening one by one.
A mechanical voice echoed across the planet: "The Purple Star will explode. Passengers of the Purple Star system, please board the trains in an orderly manner. The journey departs from the Purple Star system, with the first stop at the Azure Continent." Panic erupted worldwide.
"Damian, did you predict this too?" Kairo shouted, turning to find no trace of Damian. "Where did he go?"
"Is he still inside? Quick, find him!"
Boom! The dormitory collapsed, sending dust billowing into the sky.
"The trains sent spaceships—are they here for us?"
"Find where the ships are landing! It's our only chance to survive!" People surged like floodwaters toward the streets, then froze in confusion.
Several ships arrived in Yuan City, but only two landing sites were viable: the suburban airport and Central Park, as these were the only locations large enough to accommodate them.
"God, there aren't enough trains or ships… they're not taking everyone?" As the truth spread, chaos escalated. Those living near rejoiced; others frantically rushed on foot, bicycles, or vehicles—every second a battle for survival.
Meanwhile, the Purple Star's seismic activity worsened, reaching magnitude-6 earthquakes. Skyscrapers crumbled, roads cracked, and desperate crowds fled on foot. Survival now depended on luck—or fate.