Chapter Summaries

In Haizhou, university student and mechanic Ji Jue fended off a flirtatious customer while working at Lu Ma’s repair shop, then returned to his thesis and reflected on his unusual inherited watch. The watch continued ticking despite having no visible way to wind or set it, leaving Ji Jue wondering how it worked.

• A flirtatious car owner asked Ji Jue to inspect her car, but he repeatedly tried to sell her maintenance services and a replacement exhaust pipe.
• Lu Ma arrived, sent the customer away, and ordered Lu Feng and Ji Jue to unload tires and handle chores.
• After the shop quieted down, Ji Jue worked on his mechanical-joint thesis while Lu Feng praised his progress.
• Ji Jue examined the inherited watch and recalled that its numbers had slowly advanced from 06 to 92 despite its seamless case and lack of a winding mechanism.

Ji Jue’s cursed luck brought him face-to-face with a runaway tricycle and a speeding truck, but his strange Wristwatch activated when he shouted for the truck to stop. He survived the crash and heard the machinery answer, “[as you command].”

• Ji Jue told Lu Ma that he had earned a Level 2 Lifeguard qualification, then his patched-together computer burned out.
• Ji Jue helped Old Third and Youngest with their summer homework and went to buy snacks, cigarettes, and a replacement power supply.
• An old man suffering a seizure drove a loaded tricycle into Ji Jue, and a pile of waste cardboard buried them both.
• A Nanfeng Semi-Trailer sped toward Ji Jue, who realized he could not escape and feared he was about to die.
• Ji Jue shouted [Stop] as the number on his Wristwatch reset to zero, halting the truck and causing its cargo and chassis to break apart.
• Ji Jue survived with a nosebleed while Lu Feng and others rushed to help, and he heard the machinery answer, [as you command].

Wen Wen and Tong Hua investigated the fourth Blood Thirst Syndrome murder in Yazhou and pursued a lead while the city’s authorities were distracted by a looming grotto disaster. Meanwhile, Ji Jue woke at home after a terrifying vision of a collapsing world and mysterious beings watching him.

• Tong Hua examined the massacre scene and used the victim’s memories to identify the killer as a scarlet-eyed man with a disabled left hand and facial tattoos.
• Wen Wen and Tong Hua discussed the escalating Blood Thirst Syndrome cases and the lack of support for their North Mountain Team.
• Tong Hua reported a promising lead on a rookie, and Wen Wen sent her to follow it with Lao Zhang and Little An.
• Wen Wen rode off to question old acquaintances among North Mountain District’s gangs.
• Ji Jue dreamed of a ruined world and immense beings watching him, then woke in his bedroom after drinking cold water.

After nearly dying in a truck accident, Ji Jue discovered that his Wristwatch had awakened a Talent that let him sense and affect objects, and learned he was a temporary worker for Sky Rail Group. As his Spiritual Substance began to recover and he celebrated the prospect of gaining superpowers, an uninvited guest entered his home.

• Ji Jue noticed his burn scar fading and found that he could perceive and manipulate the television, even hearing it complain about its damaged power cord.
• Ji Jue used the Wristwatch and learned that an emergency survival protocol had forcibly activated his Talent, depleted his Spiritual Substance, and instructed him to become a Chosen One and reach Central Station.
• Ji Jue questioned the silent Wristwatch about his supposed temporary employment, then decided the company was unlikely to come after him.
• Ji Jue sensed his Spiritual Substance recovering and realized his Talent might soon become an ability.
• Ji Jue heard an explosion downstairs and saw an open door, rain, and muddy footprints leading into his living room.

Ji Jue fought off the monstrous Old Ghost after he broke into Ji Jue’s home and attacked him. Ji Jue’s Wristwatch absorbed the creature’s Aberrant Spirit Essence, leaving the old man to regain a moment of clarity before turning to ashes.

• Ji Jue discovered that Old Ghost had broken into his home and eaten his leftover chicken.
• Old Ghost attacked Ji Jue, tearing apart the refrigerator and kitchen while insisting that Ji Jue smelled fragrant.
• Ji Jue wounded Old Ghost with the iron stair railing and pinned him down, but the creature kept regenerating and struggling.
• Ji Jue accepted the Wristwatch’s prompt to extract Old Ghost’s Aberrant Spirit Essence, and the watch drained the creature’s power.
• Old Ghost briefly regained clarity, appeared to remember a name, and collapsed into ashes.

After surviving an attack by a strange old man, Ji Jue learned that Lu Ma had been injured in a robbery and discovered crimson Spiritual Substance on her, which he removed. He went to the wrecked Auto Repair Shop to search for clues while Lu Feng set out to ask around for news.

• Ji Jue considered calling the police after the attacker turned to ash, but Lu Feng called and told him Lu Ma had been hurt.
• At Jici Hospital, Ji Jue learned that robbers had attacked the Auto Repair Shop and injured Lu Ma, who had nearly been carried away.
• Ji Jue detected crimson Spiritual Substance beneath Lu Ma's bandages and removed it by touching her with his Metal Matrix.
• Lu Feng learned Lu Ma had only a mild concussion and arranged for Lu Ling to take her home while he went to seek information.
• Ji Jue went to the Auto Repair Shop and found it in ruins, recognizing that Lu Ma had fought desperately against the intruders.

Ji Jue used his ability to awaken a forgotten surveillance camera and trace the white minivan that had carried off Lu Ma. He tracked it to Coastal Avenue, where he watched the vehicle and waited for its owner while struggling with the physical cost of using his power.

• Ji Jue reviewed the store footage and saw two scarlet-eyed intruders attack Lu Ma and drag her away in a white minivan.
• Ji Jue awakened the broken utility-pole camera, which retrieved fragmented footage of the minivan but could not read its license plate.
• Ji Jue questioned cameras along the route and used their recordings to track the minivan across North Mountain District to its final location.
• Ji Jue waited near the minivan at a restaurant on Coastal Avenue while eating to recover from Spiritual Substance depletion.
• Ji Jue wondered whether the Wristwatch's system had called him a Chosen One.

Ji Jue ran into Ye Chun while investigating the alluring woman he had seen at the auto repair shop, and her teasing briefly eased his anxiety about the strange events around him. He followed the woman to a tightly guarded nightlife venue, but had no clear way to get inside.

• Ji Jue discovered that the Wristwatch replenished his Spiritual Substance, then chatted with Ye Chun as she teased him about his thesis and his supposed romantic tastes.
• Ji Jue recognized the woman from the auto repair shop as she loaded a heavy box into a minivan, and saw that her eyes were vivid crimson.
• Ye Chun joked with Ji Jue, left to buy groceries, and reminded him not to become a roll dog; Ji Jue agreed by text and felt briefly reassured.
• Ji Jue followed the woman toward a nightlife venue and found the minivan in its guarded employee parking lot with a new license plate.
• Ji Jue failed to find an easy way past the venue's strict entrance security and considered entering by attaching himself to a wealthy woman.

Ji Jue infiltrated the nightclub disguised as a repairman and discovered evidence of bloody crimes, including police collusion and a hidden floor where Lu Feng had vanished. He descended to find Lu Feng alive among eleven corpses, and the two froze when they saw each other.

• Ji Jue disguised himself as a maintenance worker and entered the nightclub to investigate.
• A surveillance camera showed him bloody bags being carried from the elevator and police officers cooperating with the club’s supervisor, whose eyes bore the Blood Flame.
• Ji Jue repaired the elevator and learned that a previous repairman had disappeared on an unlisted floor; the footage revealed the man was Lu Feng.
• Ji Jue knocked out the Foreman, uploaded the evidence from his phone, and used him as a shield while descending toward the hidden floor.
• The elevator opened onto a room full of eleven corpses, where Lu Feng finished off a surviving attacker before raising his gun at Ji Jue.

Ji Jue and Lu Feng discovered a basement where the Qi Family’s people had been murdering captives and harvesting their organs, then tracked the operation to its hidden garage. They overheard Zhu Hong ordering the gang to relocate and learned the criminals were hunting Ji Jue and Lu Feng, leaving the pair poised to strike.

• Lu Feng gave Ji Jue a military handgun, and Ji Jue examined its inner workings with his unusual perception.
• Ji Jue and Lu Feng found evidence that the basement was being used to butcher kidnapped people and process their organs and blood.
• Ji Jue made crude hoods for himself and Lu Feng, then accessed the damaged surveillance cable and found the gang’s hidden garage.
• Zhu Hong ordered her crew to move the remaining captives and equipment to Nanlu after warning that the Security Bureau had destroyed the Quancheng Gang.
• Ji Jue and Lu Feng overheard the gang discussing a hunt for Ji Jue and Lu Feng, along with plans to dispose of the older man from the repair shop.

Ji Jue and Lu Feng attacked the monsters gathered in the underground garage, using Ji Jue’s power over electrical systems to plunge the building into darkness. As Lu Feng fought through the chaos, Ji Jue joined the battle with a gun and saved him from a monster’s attack.

• Lu Feng and Ji Jue agreed that the monsters had to die, and Ji Jue outlined their positions in the garage.
• Ji Jue used his power to shut down the building’s electrical equipment, plunging the garage into darkness and leaving him bleeding and exhausted.
• Lu Feng moved through the dark and killed six people before the survivors turned on the car headlights.
• Lu Feng shot at the fleeing group and fought a regenerating monster that attacked him with tentacles.
• A monster leapt at Lu Feng from the truck, and Ji Jue fired three shots from the stairwell, destroying its skull.

Ji Jue and Lu Feng battled Zhu Hong and a monstrous Giant Serpent in the nightclub parking lot, and Ji Jue killed the serpent by electrifying it through a power outlet. With his mask gone, Ji Jue faced Zhu Hong with his identity exposed and greeted her with an awkward offer of service.

• Ji Jue used his newfound gun skills to shoot Zhu Hong, but the bullets bounced off her skull as she transformed and attacked him with a Giant Serpent.
• The Giant Serpent seized Ji Jue and began crushing him, while Lu Feng attacked Zhu Hong with his shotgun and discovered her hidden limbs and monstrous form.
• Ji Jue jammed the serpent's tail into an electrical outlet and activated his ability, sending the nightclub's power surging through the creature until it burned and broke apart.
• Ji Jue recovered, realized his mask had come off, and greeted the watching Zhu Hong as his identity was exposed.

Ji Jue drained the Giant Serpent’s remains and activated the Emergency Survival Protocol while fighting Zhu Hong in the underground garage. His newly awakened power commanded a loaded South Wind Truck to strike Zhu Hong, leaving the battle’s outcome uncertain.

• Zhu Hong held Lu Feng hostage and tried to persuade Ji Jue to join her, but Ji Jue refused and fired his empty Hunter Pistol.
• Lu Feng stabbed Zhu Hong and fired his damaged Shotgun, severing her hand in a chamber explosion.
• Ji Jue extracted the Giant Serpent’s Aberrant Spirit Essence with his Wristwatch, restoring its power to 99.
• Ji Jue overloaded himself with electricity, triggering the Emergency Survival Protocol and awakening his ability to perceive and command machines.
• Ji Jue ordered a nearby South Wind Truck to kill Zhu Hong, and it accelerated into her at 210 kilometers per hour.

Ji Jue and Lu Feng survived Zhu Hong's attack, only to face a mysterious Dragon Worship Cult figure in the bloody parking lot. Wen Wen arrived, drove off the threat, and took the pair out for drinks after identifying herself as a Yacheng Security Bureau supervisor.

• Ji Jue used the truck and a grenade to destroy Zhu Hong, then absorbed Aberrant Spirit Essence to replenish his reserves.
• A mysterious figure emerged from the bloody water and reached for Ji Jue and Lu Feng, but a Crystal Flower stopped the blood from advancing.
• Wen Wen descended into the parking lot and attacked the figure with crystal growths, prompting it to scatter and escape.
• Wen Wen introduced herself as the North Mountain Supervisor of the Yacheng Security Bureau and stopped Ji Jue and Lu Feng from leaving.
• Wen Wen took Ji Jue and Lu Feng to the night market for drinks, and Ji Jue eventually passed out from drinking.

Wen Wen learned that Lu Feng had a highly classified military past and that Ji Jue was the sole survivor of the Flame Tide Disaster. After hearing that Curse Bearers almost never awaken Heavenly Selection, she wondered whether Ji Jue could still rise above his fate.

• Wen Wen asked Su Zi to investigate Lu Feng and learned his classified file tied him to the Federation's Airborne Camp.
• Su Zi revealed that Ji Jue had been the only survivor of the Flame Tide Disaster that destroyed his childhood and killed his mother.
• Ji Jue dreamed of his mother, recounted the difficult life he had built afterward, and relived the disaster before seeing mysterious stars watching him.
• Wen Wen learned that Ji Jue was a Curse Bearer and asked whether someone like him could receive Heavenly Selection; Su Zi said independent awakening was nearly impossible.
• Wen Wen ended the call and wondered whether Ji Jue might one day soar despite the odds.

Ji Jue woke in the hospital after the nightclub raid and learned from Wen Wen that the attackers had been infected with Blood Thirst Syndrome spread by the Dragon Offering Society. Wen Wen gave him Zhu Hong’s valuable watch and warned him not to misuse his abilities; Ji Jue gave the watch to Lu Ma as a gift.

• Ji Jue woke in the hospital, and Lu Ma scolded him for drinking and getting caught up in a fight with Lu Feng.
• Lu Ma ordered Ji Jue to remain hospitalized, while Wen Wen arrived to supplement his statement and assured him the Security Bureau had cleared the brothers.
• Wen Wen explained that the attackers had Blood Thirst Syndrome, a virus secretly spread in Yacheng, and said the Security Bureau was pursuing the Dragon Offering Society.
• Wen Wen gave Ji Jue Zhu Hong’s Red Wing watch and cautioned him against following the destructive paths of other Chosen Ones.
• Ji Jue accepted Wen Wen’s warning and gave the watch to Lu Ma, who put it on and smiled.

Wen Wen investigated the Blood Thirst Syndrome outbreak and learned that Zhu Hong had infected more than half of Yacheng before she was stopped. Clues pointed to an illegal blood bank as the route by which the virus had spread, and Wen Wen set out with Tong Hua to find someone connected to it.

• Tong Hua reported that Zhu Hong had become a Mutant Ghoul and infected more than half of Yacheng, while Wen Wen's team had apprehended more than twenty infected people.
• Tong Hua revealed that Chen Lusheng had lost control after his daughter died, despite having borrowed money to fund her medical care.
• Wen Wen and Tong Hua reviewed Jici Hospital's records but found little useful information about the outbreak.
• A young doctor and the Vice Dean explained that patients unable to afford official blood banks sometimes relied on illegal blood suppliers.
• Wen Wen realized that an illegal blood bank could have carried the Blood Thirst Syndrome virus into Yacheng and left with Tong Hua to find someone.

Ji Jue learned that Lu Feng was going into hiding after buying him a gun, while his Watch Dial remained stuck at 99 percent. Elsewhere, Lawrence betrayed Lu Wending, whose transformation into an Aberrant Ghoul ended when Wen Wen hurled him into a crystal Giant Pillar.

• Lu Feng returned to the hospital, updated Ji Jue on family arrangements, and gave him the keys to his Little Lamb.
• Ji Jue found that his Watch Dial had reached 99 percent coverage, but its progress remained stuck before the breakthrough from zero to one.
• Lu Feng gave Ji Jue a handgun and said he was going into hiding to avoid a scar-necked woman and the debts from buying equipment.
• Lu Wending called Lawrence during an attack on his company, but Lawrence declared their contract finished and revealed he had found a true Calamity [Artifact].
• The Heavenly Origin Contract broke, and Lu Wending transformed into a massive Aberrant Ghoul before Wen Wen hurled him into a crystal Giant Pillar.

Wen Wen learned that the mutated Blood Thirst Syndrome came from the Dragon Offering Society’s Worm, while Ji Jue discovered that the doctor treating him was an Aberrant creature. The chapter ended with Ji Jue captured and unconscious after sending Wen Wen a desperate plea for help.

• Wen Wen learned from Muller that the mutated strain was a Hope Hospital creation and that the former physician Andreas Lawrence, known as Worm, was its likely user.
• Wen Wen saw crimson Aberrant Spirit Essence rising across the North Mountain District as Worm’s attack unfolded.
• During hospital rounds, Ji Jue recognized the red-glowing medicine and the Wristwatch’s warnings as signs that something was wrong with the doctor.
• Ji Jue shot the doctor and tried to escape through a fourth-floor window, but tentacles caught him and dragged him back into the ward.
• The doctor revealed that Ji Jue was a Chosen One, and a nurse injected him with a sedative.
• Before losing consciousness, Ji Jue’s phone sent Wen Wen a message begging for help.

Wen Wen learned that Lawrence had refined the Vortex Implantation Technique to turn people into “fetuses” and had chosen Ji Jue as his ideal Calamity Implement. She arrived as Lawrence began spreading harvested despair across the North Mountain District, then unleashed a crystal growth that engulfed the hospital.

• Muller explained to Wen Wen that Hope Hospital had abandoned using humans as “fetuses” because it wasted valuable materials, and he described Lawrence’s expulsion.
• Wen Wen realized Lawrence and the Dragon Offering Society had cultivated Blood Thirst Syndrome to find a suitable “fetus,” and identified Ji Jue as Lawrence’s target.
• Lawrence’s Giant Tree absorbed vast amounts of Aberrant Spirit Essence into Ji Jue, whose resistance to corruption astonished Lawrence.
• Wen Wen smashed through Lawrence’s reality barrier on her motorcycle and ordered her subordinates to find the Vortex Implantation Technique’s anchor points and parasites.
• Lawrence spread despair gathered from Yacheng and Jici Hospital across nearly half the North Mountain District, expanding the Giant Tree.
• Wen Wen removed her goggles, and a forest of crystals erupted around the hospital, crushing Lawrence’s barrier and swallowing everything inside.