Chapter Summaries

Zhuang Cheng, a university student who investigates Ghost Stories, discovered a bloodied girl at an abandoned construction site and later learned she claimed to be a survivor from an apocalyptic future. The girl asked him to return her handgun so she could stop the coming catastrophe.

• Zhuang Cheng explained that he had long investigated Ghost Stories and urban legends, despite his friend's warning that he might break the law.
• Zhuang Cheng searched an abandoned construction site for a rumored Vengeful Ghost and heard a scaffold crash nearby.
• Zhuang Cheng found a bloodied girl in patient clothes sitting in the darkness instead of the ghost he had expected.
• The girl told Zhuang Cheng that monsters and supernatural forces would shatter civilization, and that she had traveled from the future to prevent the apocalypse.
• Zhuang Cheng examined the girl's real handgun and asked about her purpose, and she asked him to give it back.

The narrator found a blood-covered girl at an abandoned construction site, discovered she was unharmed but carried a real handgun, and chose to take her home instead of calling the police. He left her in his bedroom under watch and anticipated what would happen when she woke.

• The narrator found an unconscious girl in a hospital gown at the construction site, and she briefly warned him not to call the police.
• The narrator discovered that the girl had no injuries and was carrying a real handgun beneath her bloodstained clothes.
• The narrator decided to take the mysterious girl home, hid her in a suitcase to get her past passersby, and brought her to his rented apartment.
• The narrator placed the girl in his bedroom, slept on the living room sofa, and balanced a cola can on the door handle to hear if she left.

Zhuang Cheng woke after a nightmare about being imprisoned for hiding the blood-covered girl and discovered she was still asleep in his bedroom. After she woke and attacked him, he turned the tables with her handgun, but a police officer arrived searching for an escaped serial killer whose photograph showed the girl.

• Zhuang Cheng woke on his living-room floor, checked that the girl was still asleep, and worried about the risks of hiding her.
• The girl suddenly woke, pinned Zhuang Cheng to the floor, and demanded to know who he was and where she was.
• Zhuang Cheng drew her handgun and held her at bay, then the two stopped their confrontation when someone knocked at the front door.
• Zhuang Cheng hid the handgun and opened the door to a police officer searching for an escaped serial killer.
• Zhuang Cheng recognized the girl in the officer's photograph as the person hidden in his bedroom.

Zhuang Cheng hid Maza from a police officer investigating a serial killer and questioned her about her identity. Maza introduced herself and claimed she had traveled from a future where human civilization had been destroyed.

• A policeman showed Zhuang Cheng Maza’s photo and asked whether he had seen her, but Zhuang Cheng denied recognizing her.
• After the policeman left, Zhuang Cheng searched for reports about five brutal murders in Xianshui City and wondered whether Maza was the killer.
• Zhuang Cheng confronted Maza with the reports, and she insisted she had not killed anyone in this era.
• Zhuang Cheng told Maza he had hidden her because he wanted to protect her, and she believed him enough to introduce herself.
• Maza told Zhuang Cheng she had come from the future, where human civilization had been destroyed and the world had entered doomsday.

The narrator questioned Maza about her claim that she came from an apocalyptic future, where she was a Blessed Cultivator fleeing a Great Demon. After Maza fainted while trying to leave, the narrator reflected on her story and revealed that he himself was a superhuman.

• The narrator pressed Maza to explain the apocalypse, and she described a distorted world overrun by monsters where Blessed Cultivators could not restore civilization.
• Maza said she had escaped the Great Demon with her friends by using spatial transference, but had ended up in the present alone.
• The narrator demanded that Maza demonstrate her power, but she explained that her soul had been damaged and she could no longer use it.
• Maza said she believed she had traveled through time to warn people about the coming apocalypse, but fainted when she tried to stand and leave.
• The narrator considered Maza's story and recalled that he had evidence of real supernatural powers because he was a superhuman himself.

The narrator tried to keep Maza at his home while she recovered and warned him that her presence brought deadly, inexplicable incidents. After agreeing to stay for up to three days, Maza and the narrator were interrupted by a visit from his only university friend, who appeared shaken by a strange event.

• The narrator stopped Maza from leaving, convinced her to shower, and lent her clean clothes.
• Maza asked for her handgun, but the narrator refused and questioned why she carried it.
• Maza said she was searching for clues to the apocalypse and warned that people close to her tended to die in bizarre incidents.
• The narrator persuaded Maza to remain while she recovered, and she reluctantly agreed to stay for no more than three days.
• Someone knocked at the door, and the narrator found his university friend outside, visibly frightened by an inexplicable incident.

The narrator left Maza at home under supernatural surveillance and went with Chang'an to investigate a ghost-story incident. Chang'an began explaining the history of the house where someone had died before showing him the phenomenon.

• Chang'an asked the narrator to visit his home because he had encountered something that would be hard to believe without seeing it.
• The narrator left Maza at home, hid his gun in his backpack, and used orange-red supernatural lights to watch her while he was away.
• Maza explored the apartment and checked the corridor but returned inside without leaving.
• The narrator accompanied Chang'an to a nearby café, where Chang'an said he would explain the situation before showing him the phenomenon.
• Chang'an asked whether the narrator remembered his home, and the narrator replied that it was the house where someone had died.

The narrator’s friend Zhu Changan described discovering a hidden basement beneath a hatch in his Fifteenth Floor apartment, though the hatch vanished when police arrived. The narrator accompanied him back to investigate, and they found the Magic Circle and hatch beneath the carpet again.

• The narrator explained that Zhu Changan rented an apartment on the Fifteenth Floor where a tenant had been brutally murdered.
• Zhu Changan told the narrator that he found a Magic Circle and a staircase descending into an impossible basement beneath a floor hatch.
• Zhu Changan said the hatch vanished when police came, leaving him nearly detained for making a false report.
• The narrator connected Zhu Changan’s experience to Maza and agreed to inspect the apartment with him.
• Zhu Changan lifted the carpet, revealing the Magic Circle and a wooden hatch beneath it.

Acheng and Chang'an discovered that a blood-drawn Magic Circle concealed a staircase to a basement on the Fifteenth Floor, a space that did not exist in reality. After confirming the anomaly, Acheng tried to investigate it with a Firefly, which vanished and severed its connection to him.

• Chang'an reacted excitedly when a wooden cover appeared in the center of the Magic Circle, and Acheng found that the circle's black pigment was dried blood.
• Acheng lifted the cover and revealed a concrete staircase descending into darkness beneath the Fifteenth Floor.
• Acheng used Fireflies to confirm that the hole existed while Chang'an watched it, but no corresponding staircase or opening appeared in a neighboring resident's home.
• Acheng concluded that the hole led to a space outside reality and wondered whether Maza's supposed calamity had somehow drawn Chang'an into the anomaly.
• Chang'an stopped Acheng from entering the hole, so Acheng sent a Firefly below instead, but it disappeared and their spiritual connection was severed.

The narrator tried to investigate the supernatural cave in Chang'an’s house, but the cave disappeared when a police officer arrived. The officer identified blood on the magic circle and revealed that the unsolved murderer from eight months earlier was still in Xianshui City and was likely the recent Serial Killer.

• The narrator found that the cave blocked spiritual and electronic signals, then considered recording its interior with a phone instead of entering.
• A police officer arrived to question Chang'an about his report of a haunting and the murder at the house.
• Chang'an uncovered the magic circle for the officer, but the cave and its cover had vanished.
• The officer touched the circle, suspected it was blood, and barred Chang'an from returning to the house while it was treated as a crime scene.
• The officer said the murderer from eight months earlier was still in Xianshui City and causing trouble, and the narrator concluded that the murderer was the recent Serial Killer.

After questioning the narrator and Chang'an about the Fifteenth Floor room, a police officer warned Chang'an that he might be targeted by the serial killer and revealed that the victims had been torn and bitten. The narrator suspected Maza might have been attacked rather than being the killer, then grew suspicious of the officer and followed him with a Firefly.

• The police officer questioned the narrator in the residential complex, but refused to explain why the Magic Circle had gone unnoticed at the original crime scene or share evidence against Maza.
• The narrator secretly left a Firefly near the pavilion and watched as the police officer questioned Chang'an alone.
• The officer warned Chang'an that the serial killer had killed five wealthy or powerful victims and might target him because of his family background.
• The officer said the victims and the previous tenant had suffered extensive tearing and bite marks, making the narrator reconsider whether Maza had been attacked by the killer.
• After taking Chang'an's house keys and leaving without arranging immediate protection, the officer aroused the narrator's suspicions, and the narrator used the Firefly to follow him.

Zhuang Cheng secretly monitored Agent Kong and learned that Luoshan’s Demon Hunters were investigating the ritual circle and cave at Chang’an’s home. He resolved to explore the cave before they destroyed it, while the Demon Hunter woman agreed to protect Chang’an and postpone dealing with the site until the next morning.

• Zhuang Cheng met Chang’an, heard that he planned to visit his hospitalized mother, and secretly attached a Firefly to him before monitoring Agent Kong.
• Agent Kong called a Demon Hunter woman and reported that Chang’an’s home contained an incomplete ritual circle intended to open an overlapping alternate space.
• Agent Kong and the woman discussed Zhuang Cheng’s interest in supernatural incidents and speculated that he might already have encountered the Demon Hunter world or possessed some power.
• The Demon Hunter woman said she would visit Chang’an’s home to investigate the ritual circle and cave, possibly destroying the living-room floor if necessary.
• Zhuang Cheng decided he had to explore the cave before the Demon Hunters could remove it.
• Agent Kong warned that a Fallen Demon Hunter might target Chang’an, and the woman agreed to protect him, delaying work on the cave until the next morning.

The narrator investigated the cave’s connection to a ritual formation and learned that Luoshan was an organization handling supernatural incidents. After returning home to Maza, the narrator questioned whether her strange influence could reach beyond the people directly around her.

• The female Demon Hunter suspended Maza’s execution, and the narrator continued monitoring Agent Kong and their conversation about Fallen Demon Hunters and Luoshan.
• Agent Kong inspected the ritual formation beneath a carpet, wondered how its incomplete design could activate, photographed it, and left.
• The narrator searched the residential compound for suspicious observers while monitoring Maza, Chang'an, Agent Kong, and the compound, but found no one.
• The narrator returned home and found Maza waiting in silence; she checked the narrator for signs of supernatural trouble and considered leaving.
• The narrator insisted Maza stay, then asked whether her calamity-attracting constitution could affect people beyond those directly around her.

The narrator questioned Maza about whether her calamity-attracting constitution endangered those around her, then learned that her soul was badly injured and realized he had left her without food. After preparing to feed her, he asked about the serial-killer accusations and ended the chapter by wondering whether her current body belonged to someone else.

• The narrator asked Maza whether her broom-star constitution affected people connected to her, and she said survivor statistics had shown that her misfortune gradually affected her companions.
• Maza nearly collapsed, explained that her fainting came from severe soul trauma, and then revealed she was hungry because she had not eaten since the previous day.
• The narrator apologized for forgetting to provide food and promised Maza she could use anything in his home before he began making fried rice.
• The narrator asked Maza about the police officer’s claim that she had killed five people, and Maza insisted she had not been in this era before the previous day.
• The narrator considered whether the real serial killer had been the original owner of Maza’s body and asked her whether the body she was using was truly hers.

The narrator questioned Maza about her arrival in this era and how she got the handgun, but she remained guarded about her body and the events that left her injured. He made her fried rice, and watching her enjoy it revealed her first smile.

• Maza said she could not explain whether her body or soul had crossed into this era because she had not figured out what happened to her.
• Maza told the narrator she had stolen a handgun while infiltrating the local public-order station for information and had been discovered.
• Maza refused to explain why she had been unable to use her Blessing or why she had collapsed covered in blood.
• The narrator stopped questioning Maza and served her deluxe fried rice while she watched television.
• Maza ate the fried rice, gradually relaxed, and smiled for the first time as the narrator watched.

After Maza warned that she would bring him misfortune, he left her at home and returned to the Fifteenth Floor room to investigate the cave. He broke into the dark apartment and found the ritual formation and its wooden cover restored.

• Maza thanked him for caring for her but insisted she had to leave before he came to hate her.
• He gave Maza a mystery novel, told her to make herself at home, and left for the Fifteenth Floor room.
• He used Firefly to surveil Luo Shan's Agent Kong and the men watching Chang'an, while wondering whether Luo Shan was searching for Maza.
• He broke into the locked Fifteenth Floor room and lifted the carpet, revealing the ritual formation and the wooden cover restored on the floor.

Alone at night, the narrator investigated the cave, entered the basement hidden beneath it, and found a mysterious piece of black jade. When he focused on the jade, it trapped his gaze and pulled his mind into darkness, where gray mist began to appear.

• The narrator found the cave had reappeared and used his phone to record a spacious, bare basement beneath it.
• He spotted a small reflective object at the far end of the basement and decided to enter the cave himself.
• The narrator descended into the basement and summoned Firefly, which could not exist beneath the cave.
• He found and picked up an irregular black jade fragment that felt smooth and had no discernible temperature.
• The black jade caught the narrator's gaze, filled his vision, and drew his mind into darkness as gray mist emerged.

While investigating the impossible basement, the narrator touched black jade and experienced a misty realm with eight stone seats and three shadowy figures. After the basement entrance vanished, he suspected the cave disappeared when unobserved and decided to test what lay beyond its walls.

• The narrator encountered a gray-mist realm with eight stone seats, where a lanky shadow asked who he was before he woke.
• He picked up the black jade and continued investigating the basement, then discovered that the stairs and exit had vanished.
• He reasoned that the cave might disappear when nobody observed it, based on earlier events involving Chang'an and Agent Kong.
• With no clear way to reopen the exit, he considered using his destructive superpower to find a way out.
• The narrator walked to a basement wall, raised his right hand, and activated his superpower.

Trapped in a basement suspended in a boundless void, the narrator used his Flame Manipulation to explore outside and discovered that returning to the real world seemed impossible. After reflecting on his isolation and resolve, he decided to fight his way out, though he feared this might be the end of his adventure.

• The narrator formed a fireball, compressed it into an orb, and sent it through the concrete wall to explore beyond the basement.
• Through the flame’s perspective, he saw that the basement floated in a silent void with no matter, air, or gravity, and he concluded that returning to the real world from outside was impossible.
• He examined the basement’s shelves, lit a candle, and found no useful clues or progress in understanding his predicament.
• As time passed, he questioned whether his memories and identity had any meaning apart from society, but felt calm and relieved by the person he had become.
• He resolved to overcome the predicament, return home to Maza, and investigate Luóshān and the Demon Hunter, even as he recognized that his adventure might end there.

Zhu Shi guarded her brother Zhu Changan at the hospital while discussing the mysterious cave and Zhuang Cheng with Agent Kong. She recalled how Zhuang Cheng’s obsession with the supernatural had drawn her brother’s admiration, and ended by considering a prophecy that the Great Tribulation would bring the Age of Humanity to an end within ten years.

• Zhu Shi left Zhu Changan’s hospital room to speak with Agent Kong while agents watched her brother and her spells protected him.
• Agent Kong urged Zhu Shi to investigate the cave mentioned by Zhu Changan and suggested recruiting Zhuang Cheng as an agent.
• Zhu Shi recalled how her brother had lost his childhood memories of the supernatural world and secretly followed Zhuang Cheng’s investigations.
• Zhu Shi remembered Zhuang Cheng exposing fraudulent supernatural claims and pursuing dangerous cases, which made Zhu Changan admire him.
• Zhu Shi reflected on a prophecy that the Great Tribulation would destroy all life and end the Age of Humanity within ten years.