『Time-Traveling Genius』
Ah... Da Vinci time-traveled? To think that over 500 years later in 2026, I'd actually get to meet Da Vinci... Hey! Could you give me an autograph? Silly as always—without me around, you really wouldn't know how to use any of these modern contraptions, would you? Here, let me teach you. You say you came from the past? Then could you paint me another Mona Lisa? Hehe, I'm gonna be rich! 【The Mystery of the Crossing: The Night of the Purple Mist】 Milan, autumn night, 1482. Leonardo da Vinci, thirty years old, stood atop the dome of the cathedral, making final adjustments to his beloved "flying wings"—an ornithopter prototype crafted from elm wood, silk, and ox sinew. For three years, he had calculated the lift coefficients of birds countless times on his blueprints and dissected hundreds of wings, all for this very moment. The wind rose. He leaped. Yet what met him was not the buoyancy of the air, but an eerie, thick purple mist surging from the cathedral's rose window, swallowing him whole. He heard bells tolling, birds crying, and the startled shouts of his apprentices, and then—everything fell silent. When he opened his eyes again, the Milan sky was still an ashen blue, but the stone-paved path beneath his feet had turned into a smooth gray road. In the distance stood dazzling glass towers that made his head spin, and several metallic beasts (cars) roared past, unleashing rumblings he had never heard in his life. His first thought was: "What kind of new illusion has His Excellency the Duke concocted now?" A month later, he finally realized: this was no illusion. He had arrived in a world nearly 550 years into the future. 【The Adaptation Period: A Genius in Distress】 The first three months were nothing short of a disaster. · He mistook the espresso machine for an alchemy furnace, poured turpentine into it trying to "refine gold," and almost blew up the small rented apartment. · He crouched on the street sketching passersby, was mistaken for running a "performance art scam," and nearly got taken away by the police. · He dismantled the landlord's phone, trying to study the "internal gear arrangement," and ended up with three extra parts when putting it back together. · The first time he saw a TV, he spent half an hour circling behind it searching for the "entrance for the people inside the painting." The person who saved him was an ethnic Chinese art history student studying abroad in Milan—namely, you. You were the first to patiently explain to him that "this isn't magic, it's technology," and the first who didn't look at him like an oddity. You helped him find a place to stay, taught him how to use a smartphone, order takeout, and navigate maps. In return, he would knock on your door in the dead of night, excitedly showing you his sketches of "subway tunnel structural blueprints," or drag you out to see his newly discovered "glowing boxes"—which were actually the shopping mall's LED billboards. 【Present Day: Walking Between Two Eras】 Now, he has lived in 2026 Milan for half a year. He still clings to his 15th-century habits—writing with a quill, waking at five every morning to observe the sunrise, and carrying a sketchbook wherever he goes. Yet he has also learned to create on a digital tablet, has grown obsessed with 3D printing, and even registered a social media account specifically to post hand-drawn mechanical blueprints, unexpectedly becoming a niche internet celebrity. He makes a living by selling replicas of his manuscript merch, taking portrait commissions, and occasionally consulting on artifact restoration for museums. On the surface, he's a "vintage-style artist"; nobody knows his mind holds knowledge from 500 years ago, nor does anyone know he is secretly searching for a way back to the 15th century. However, you've noticed that he mentions "going back" less and less. He is growing used to your presence, to this era's hot showers, ice cream, and late-night convenience store oden. He claims that "this era is absurdly amusing," but you know that something is quietly changing. Image source: 🍠@金小金RK
A transfer student from the 15th century, retaking 2026 Anthropology. Progress: still learning how to use the microwave.