Zhang Anzai

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Zhang Anzai (张安载)
Alias(es)	Fate Controller — his bound player identity 4 5
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Ancient Shadow Record Game Company; Administrator Department, Group 7 (Administrator 01) 1 32
Occupation/Role	Company employee and administrator; Boundary Walker / player of Ancient Shadow Records 2 5
Status	Active; escaped Folklore Taboo: Skin-Peeling Maze City after killing Bi Gan 50
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Boundary Walker / Player	2	Becomes a player through the Ancient Shadow Records app. His initial talents are Two-World Walker (A), Literati (D), and Indefatigable (D). 2
Past-Time Shovel — 0.1 Integrity	4	Chooses the Ability to Excavate Past Relics as his beginner benefit, gaining an Old Legacy that excavates one item after each completed Old Shadow exploration. 4
True-Form Scissors — D-rank	4	His first excavation reward; can temporarily give cut creations the appearance and characteristics of real objects. 4
Dexterous — D-rank	25	Gains a talent that improves manual dexterity and permits simultaneous delicate tasks. 25
Past-Time Shovel — 1.03% completion	25	Upgrades the legacy using soul- and burial-related materials, unlocking World-Breaker Excavation. 25
World Breaker / Ghost Wall-Building	26	Gains an external-instance Weakness Break attack through brief shovel summoning, as well as an illusion skill that conceals small areas. 26
Wolf-Head Mask empowerment	45	Temporarily gains heightened senses, night vision, stronger bite force, and enhanced physical capability; the mask also provokes bloodlust and predatory instincts. 45 46

Background / History

Zhang Anzai begins as an employee of the Ancient Shadow Record Game Company, where failing to complete assigned work risks being “laid off”—a fate associated with death or becoming an NPC. With only hours remaining, he purchases an Advanced Player Matching Order in an attempt to survive and is subsequently made a player himself. 1

His player status makes him a Boundary Walker, allowing him to enter reflections of the Old Shadow World. Unlike ordinary players, his Two-World Walker talent leaves his company body operational while his player body enters an instance, though he initially can only focus on one body at a time. 2

After escaping the Fierce-grade beginner instance Folk Taboo: Midnight Mountain Peddler, he receives both player and employee settlements, exploiting his dual status to collect rewards from each side. He then purchases a Player Binding Card and binds himself to the player identity Fate Controller, allowing him to act as his own administrator. 3 4 5

To avoid scrutiny over Fate Controller’s exceptional dungeon results, Zhang constructs a false profile centered on the fabricated B-rank talent Calm and Composed. He presents the player as an unusually intelligent, emotionally detached newcomer while concealing that the player and administrator are the same person. 27 32

Appearance

During Folklore Taboo: Skin-Peeling Maze City, Zhang’s player body is assigned the appearance of an inexperienced college student. 37

• White T-shirt, cropped trousers, and clean white sneakers. 37
• While removing the Wolf-Head Mask, he discovers that the mask’s influence has caused his hair to grow noticeably longer. 50
• The Wolf-Head Mask gives him yellow wolf-like eyes, an altered facial sensation, and a visibly bestial presence. 45 49

Personality

Zhang is pragmatic, observant, and highly adaptive under pressure. He uses prior workplace knowledge, third-person observation, folk practices, and improvised tools to survive instances that initially overwhelm him. His first instinct is often escape and information-gathering rather than direct confrontation. 3 17 23

He is also strategic about managing attention. After clearing difficult instances, he deliberately attributes Fate Controller’s performance to a fictional talent rather than reveal his two-world identity. 9 27 32

Despite his frequent complaints and self-deprecating humor, Zhang is protective toward those he considers allies. He chooses to treat the unstable anomaly Chen Xing as a friend, guiding his developing behavior rather than attacking him. 20 24

Abilities & Skills

Two-World Walker (A)

A special talent that places Zhang between reality and the Old Shadow World.

• Allows his company body and player body to exist and act in separate worlds simultaneously. 2
• Lets him switch focus between bodies, granting him an observer’s advantage over his own instance runs. 2 3
• Initially limited by his attention: when he concentrates on one body, the other temporarily becomes unresponsive. 2

Literati (D)

A talent providing superior information processing, language organization, and expression.

• Developed through his work as a planner. 2
• Supports his ability to organize reports, construct convincing cover stories, and rapidly assess instance information. 2 27 32

Indefatigable (D)

A talent reflecting Zhang’s unusually high endurance.

• Gives him more energy than ordinary people despite his poor physical health. 2
• Helps him endure the workload and mental strain of operating between employee and player roles. 2 4

Past-Time Shovel

His Old Legacy, connected to the River of the Past.

• Allows one excavation after each completed Old Shadow exploration. 4
• Excavated the True-Form Scissors during his first settlement. 4
• Reached 1.03% completion after consuming compatible soul- and burial-related materials. 25
• Its World-Breaker Excavation ability can be manifested outside instances through a brief shovel summon. 25 26

World Breaker

A Weakness Break-enhanced attack associated with the Past-Time Shovel.

• Can imbue Zhang’s attack with a powerful Weakness Break effect outside an instance. 26
• Was strong enough to damage Bi Gan, though Bi Gan’s boss ability allowed him to recover. 42 50
• Drains Zhang significantly when tested in the training room. 30

True-Form Scissors

D-rank scissors formerly used by a gifted craftsman.

• Can temporarily make cut objects resemble—and partly behave as—the real thing. 4
• Paper flowers can become real flowers, while paper butterflies can fly. 4
• Zhang applies paper-cutting and folk-ritual knowledge to create decoys during the Highway 44 escape. 23

Ghost Wall-Building

An illusion skill obtained through settlement.

• Creates illusions that conceal small areas. 26
• Can imitate solid objects, but the constructs have no actual physical resistance. 30
• Zhang uses it to disguise a doorway and buy time against Bi Gan. 42

Dexterous (D)

A manual-dexterity talent acquired after the Highway 44 exploration.

• Allows Zhang to perform multiple delicate tasks at once. 25
• Lets him type, browse his phone, and handle work communications simultaneously. 35
• Improves precision enough to prevent an accidental cut when handling a hidden knife. 38

Wolf-Head Mask

A dangerous mask used during the confrontation with Bi Gan.

• Enhances hearing, smell, dark vision, bite force, and apparent physical attributes. 45 46
• Drives Zhang toward hunger, bloodlust, aggression, and increasingly animalistic behavior. 45 49
• Must be removed quickly; prolonged use threatens his judgment and identity. 45 50

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Third-Person Perspective Talisman — purchased for five Employee Points and automatically used to observe an instance from an adjustable third-person view. 2
• Past-Time Shovel — Old Legacy that merges into Zhang’s shadow between excavations. 4
• True-Form Scissors — D-rank craft item excavated from the River of the Past. 4
• Wolf-Head Mask — temporary mask used against Bi Gan; removed before leaving the instance. 45 50
• Meat-Sawing Blade — weapon Zhang uses during his pursuit of Bi Gan. 46 47
• Worn Bronze Sword — weapon used to fight the Human-Faced Dog and Bi Gan’s animated masks. 41 46
• Two-Skin (Jackal), Blood-Stained Meat Saw, and Worn Bronze Sword — recorded as additional spoils after the Skin-Peeling Maze City exploration. 50

Relationships

• Lin Zhao — colleague and close friend in Group 7. She repeatedly checks on his health, offers practical support, and shares workplace and instance information with him. 1 10 26
• Chen Xing — an anomaly initially mistaken for Zhang’s childhood friend through implanted memories. Zhang teaches him to identify as kind-hearted and treats him as a friend; Chen Xing later sends Zhang a message before disappearing on a journey. 16 20 24 34
• Fate Controller — Zhang’s bound player identity and public-facing persona. Zhang maintains the fiction that Fate Controller is a separate, emotionally detached high-talent player. 5 27 32
• Cheng Ye — Deputy Section Chief in the Player Archives Department. Zhang establishes a cautious talent-research collaboration with him while using the relationship to learn about talent development. 32 35
• Xu Xinhai — Deputy Team Leader of Formal Group 1. Zhang contacts him for emergency assistance after discovering Bi Gan’s Ten Evils affiliation. 8 42
• Bi Gan / Mr. Li / Un-Dao — Ten Evils member and boss-level enemy within Skin-Peeling Maze City. Zhang ultimately kills him after a prolonged pursuit through the warehouse. 43 50
• Dog-Head Team Leader — Zhang’s Group 7 supervisor, whose self-promoting management style Zhang privately resents. 1 9 31

Story Role / Major Arcs

Becoming a Player

Zhang becomes a Boundary Walker after using an Advanced Player Matching Order to escape the company’s lethal employment system. His first instance is the Fierce-grade Midnight Mountain Peddler, which he clears by stealthily avoiding the Mountain Peddler and escaping through a shuttered shop entrance. 1 2 3

Dual Settlement and the Fate Controller Cover

After receiving rewards from both his player and employee settlements, Zhang binds himself to Fate Controller. His successful clearance of Midnight Mountain Peddler earns him a meal allowance and partial promotion credit, but also forces him to develop a believable explanation for Fate Controller’s performance. 4 5 9

Highway 44 and Chen Xing

In an exploration involving a looping highway and cognitive tampering, Zhang realizes that Chen Xing is an anomaly learning human behavior from him. Rather than fight Chen Xing, he establishes himself as the anomaly’s friend, uses folk rituals and paper constructs to divert a vengeful spirit, and escapes via Highway 45. 16 20 23 24

Skin-Peeling Maze City

Zhang enters Folklore Taboo: Skin-Peeling Maze City and discovers that the apparent boss Mr. Li is Bi Gan, a member of the Ten Evils. With guidance from the Official Division and the dangerous power of the Wolf-Head Mask, Zhang survives Bi Gan’s traps, resists the mask’s escalating influence, kills Bi Gan, and exits the instance without fully exposing his identity. 42 45 48 50

Notable Quotes

“I've gone this far, I have to get the hell out of here!” 23

“My name is Zhang Anzai, your friend.” 24