As sunrise comes, Mr. Zhu jolts out of bed, exhausted, and realizes he is two and a half hours late for his minimum-wage job at Dawn’s Antiques. The 26-year-old man quickly puts on his working attire — consisting of a dark red sweater and brown jeans — and drives to the antique shop in his rusty, red Toyota. Upon arriving at the store, Mr. Zhu is confronted by Tyler — the manager of Dawn’s Antiques — who has fury in his eyes.

“How many times have I told you not to be late,” Tyler says. “I will cut your pay by another 20%!” 

“No, please, I’m sorry,” Mr. Zhu begs. “I’ve been struggling with money and personal family issues ever since I arrived in the U.S. I haven’t been able to afford food or medicine for my ill parents and siblings, so can you please let this slide one more time?”

Tyler laughed maniacally and said, “Who do you think I am? I need workers to help me make cold, hard cash, and I can’t get money if employees like you keep coming in late. Now, come in and help me unpack these newly imported packages.”

Mr. Zhu reluctantly follows the manager, knowing he has no choice, as he has been fired from every other job in his area. While unboxing the imports, Mr. Zhu finds a gleaming, scarlet stone in one of the packages. He quickly grabs the gem and stares at it, hypnotized by the rock’s glimmering color. The stone then floats in the air and merges with Mr. Zhu’s chest, surprising him. The employee feels a painful, dizzy sensation and is overwhelmed with confusion, knocking him out.

The employee wakes up in a dark alleyway, reeking of trash. He looks outside and sees a crowd of cats, dogs, and cows standing on their hind legs and talking with worrying expressions. Mr. Zhu spots a prominent and rectangular sign in his peripheral vision that says, “Welcome to New Elisia: The Largest City of the East.” He examines his surroundings, seeing plants made of rotten flesh and utility poles with moving limbs and eyes. The employee then glances at the sky, noticing its purple hue and yellow clouds. Mr. Zhu then realizes he has been transported to another world.

Outside of the alleyway, Mr. Zhu hears terrified screams and leaves the area to investigate. His search for the location of the shrieks leads him to a dilapidated section of the city, filled with broken chunks of rubble, torn wooden planks, and run-down buildings. As he looks around, he sees a group of deer and buffalos bowing to a tall, menacing polar bear and trembling in fear.

“That’s right, show your honor to me, King Tyron of the North kingdom, or you will suffer,” the polar bear says. “Now, I will need to continue destroying New Elisia to expand my territory, so if you interfere with the demolition of this city, you will face severe punishments like that puny little elk who tried to stop me.”

Driven by a sense of justice, Mr. Zhu tackles the polar bear to the ground, surprising the deer and buffalos. King Tyron, now angry, grabs the employee’s body and strangles him, causing Mr. Zhu to screech.

“What is this? An ignorant and strange creature is trying to attack me,” said the king. “What are you? Oh well, let this be another example of what happens if you try to obstruct the king’s actions.”

The corrupt polar bear crushes Mr. Zhu harder, making his cries louder. As the employee is screaming, a glowing red light in the shape of a stone forms on his chest and explodes, blowing the tyrant away and severely injuring him. The impact of the explosion leaves King Tyron and Mr. Zhu gasping on the ground.

Encouraged by Mr. Zhu’s action, the deer and buffalos stand up and rush towards the polar bear to attack him. Though their hits don’t hurt the bear, they still manage to force King Tyron to leave New Elisia. Mr. Zhu smiles as he watches the animals celebrate their success in driving the tyrant out of the city, but the pain he received from King Tyron and the explosion have been too much for his body to handle, causing Mr. Zhu to pass out.