The air in the "Velocity Storm" internet cafe was thick – a greasy cocktail of cheap smoke, instant noodle broth, and stale sweat. Chu Xuan jerked his head up from the oily keyboard, a sharp ache radiating from his stiff neck. The seventeen-inch curved monitor before him blazed with the radiant login screen of Multiverse, its triumphant soundtrack pounding. It was the exact scene imprinted on his soul at the moment of death in his previous life – the instant the final human Ark City dissolved into cosmic dust under the breath of a Chaos Fiend God during the End War.
"F*ck! AFKer! Wipe!" A yellow-haired punk beside him slammed his keyboard as his character exploded into pixels under the paw of an elite "Earthrend Direbear."
Ignoring the rant, Chu Xuan stared fixedly at the pulsing date on the screen: August 16, 2025. An icy hand clenched around his heart, then released, sending it hammering against his ribs like a trapped beast. A torrent of despair, dizzying elation, and bone-deep dread shattered his mental dam.
"Ten months... I really came back..." His voice was a ragged whisper, foreign to his own ears. His fingertips brushed the cool plastic of the mouse, the tangible sensation almost bringing tears. Memories of the hellish decade past flooded in: global datafication, alien invasions, fallen cities, the agonized wails of humans harvested like cattle, the shriek of rending metal as the Ark City collapsed... Fragments of horror spun like a grinding wheel against his nerves.
Then, without warning, a spike of soul-piercing agony detonated deep within his brain!
"Ugh!" Chu Xuan grunted, forehead smacking the cold desk. Blinding white light consumed his vision, followed by a deluge of meaningless, icy symbols and data streams, scouring his consciousness like a flash flood. A flat, synthetic voice, muffled as if behind thick metal, stuttered directly into his skull:
[Detecting... consciousness... anchor... re-binding...]
[Dao... Strife... System... Core... Damaged... 97.3%...]
[Basic... Module... Scan... Initiating...]
[Warning... Hongmeng... Lock... Detected... Energy... Insufficient... Forcing... Core... Functions...]
The pain receded like a tide, leaving dizziness and ringing ears. Chu Xuan gasped, sweat plastering his hair to his forehead. The world's noise returned – the punk's curses, keyboard clatter, gunfire leaking from headphones. But in the top-right corner of his vision, a crude, flickering, pale blue semi-transparent interface stubbornly persisted.
Its edges crackled with static snow. At its core, only two dim icons and a near-invisible energy bar pulsed weakly.
[Scan (LV0)]: Analyze target basic status & significant weaknesses (Minimal Energy Cost).
[Devour (Locked)]: ??? (Unlock Condition: ???).
[Primordial Energy]: 0.01% (Critically Depleted).
"Hongmeng Lock Detected..." Chu Xuan's gaze sharpened like honed steel on the red text almost lost in the static. In his past life, he'd never cracked this damned lock! Whose hand was behind this "Dao Strife" System? Why choose him, a "livestock breed" scrabbling at the bottom of the cosmic food chain?
"Hey! Deaf?! Talking to you! Got me wiped! Pay up! Compensation!" Spittle flew from the yellow-haired punk's mouth as he roared, a greasy hand whistling through the air to grab Chu Xuan's collar. Two thuggish cronies flanked him, blocking escape routes with malicious grins. Patrons turned, smirking with voyeuristic interest.
The hand froze inches from its target.
Chu Xuan didn't fully turn. A mere tilt of his head, and his eyes – icy blades, fathomless frozen pools – instantly froze the trio's bravado. It wasn't a student's gaze. It was the chilling indifference of one who'd crawled through mountains of corpses.
"Scram." His voice was low, metallic, cutting.
The punk flinched, then flushed with rage. "F*ck! Think you scare me?!" Bolstered by numbers, he shifted grip, driving a meaty fist straight at Chu Xuan's face with street-brawler force.
Simultaneously, the crude system interface flickered violently.
[Target Locked: Zhang Qiang (Human)]
[Status: Mildly Intoxicated, Adrenaline Surge]
[Base Strength: 1.5 (Avg. Human Male: 1)]
[Base Agility: 0.8 (Alcohol Impairment)]
[Significant Weaknesses: Unstable Footing (Old Left Knee Injury), Poor Coordination (Large Guard Gap Left Shoulder During Right Punch)]
[Optimal Strike Points: Left Knee Lateral Ligament, Left Rib Gap 3-4 (Nerve Cluster)]
Cold analysis cascaded. To Chu Xuan, the furious punch became a slow-motion parade of flaws. He saw the off-balance shift in weight, the subtle tremor in the supporting left knee – the ghost of an old injury.
No wasted motion. Chu Xuan's body uncoiled like a released bowstring. His left foot anchored, right sliding back half a step. His torso swayed like boneless willow, slipping back just enough. The fist grazed his nose, stirring his hair.
As Zhang Qiang overextended, his left knee bearing full weight, Chu Xuan struck!
His right hand shot out, not a fist, but fingers rigid as a knife blade. Guided by an imperceptible force from the system scan, they speared precisely into the marked "Significant Weakness" on the knee.
Snap!
A sickening, brittle sound – not bone, but ligament tearing under extreme stress.
"Aaaaaaaarrrgh!" Zhang Qiang's shriek was inhuman. His left leg buckled. He crumpled sideways like a broken puppet, curling in agony. Sweat burst from his contorted face.
Chu Xuan's motion flowed seamlessly. As Zhang Qiang fell, Chu Xuan's left elbow, like a cannonball powered by minimal forward momentum, slammed into the marked "Nerve Cluster" under the ribs.
"Guh!" The shriek choked off. Zhang Qiang's eyes bulged, face purpling then ashen. Neural agony and suffocation stole his voice. He flopped bonelessly, twitching, only ragged gasps escaping.
The fight ended in a flash.
Dead silence gripped the cafe. Keyboards stilled. Game sounds muted. Everyone stared, stunned. The raging bully now writhed like a dying insect, defeated by a seemingly frail student's casual movements.
The cronies stood petrified, eyes wide with primal terror, seeing not a student, but a monster in human skin.
Ignoring the downed thug and his terrified lackeys, Chu Xuan closed his eyes, sensing the change. As his strikes hit their marks, a minuscule, cold, serpentine energy slithered from the contact point into his parched system reservoir. The 0.01% energy bar crawled upward by an imperceptible sliver.
[Absorbed Trace Life Essence…]
[Primordial Energy: 0.011%…]
So this is Devour? Understanding dawned, heavy with implication. This power demanded plunder… be it thugs or future alien horrors.
Then, a subtle, instinctually repulsive chill – like static – echoed back along the stolen energy. Chu Xuan's eyes snapped open, hawk-sharp, locking onto Zhang Qiang's crumpled form.
Through the system's crude scan, faint, almost transparent wisps of grey-black energy snaked around the thug's outline! Like living worms, they exuded a nauseating aura of decay and malice, trying to burrow into his wounds. Yet, an invisible pressure thwarted them, forcing them to writhe, coil, and finally dissipate.
[Detecting Residual Energy Imprint… Analyzing…]
[Energy Signature: Yin-corrupted, Cursed, Flesh-Eroding…]
[Preliminary Match: Low-tier Negative Energy Signature – Nine Hells Celestial Domain… Correlation: 72.3%…]
Nine Hells Clan!
Chu Xuan's pupils contracted. A mere wisp, but unmistakable! He'd fought their minions countless times in his past life; this soul-chilling venom was etched into his being. How did this lowlife carry their taint? Accidental contact? Or… were the Nine Hells' tendrils already probing Earth, ten months before the official invasion, through unseen cracks?
A chill far deeper than before raced up his spine. Time was tighter than he feared! In his past life, humanity learned of the Nine Hells only after the invasion began. By then, it was far too late.
"Murder! He killed him!" A woman's shrill scream shattered the silence.
"Call the police!" Someone yelled.
Chu Xuan took a deep breath, forcing down the internal tsunami. Ignoring the chaos and fearful stares, he swiftly bent down. Amidst Zhang Qiang's agonized thrashing, he fished out an old smartphone. Using the thug's twitching finger, he unlocked it. His fingers became blurs across the screen. Seconds later, he found it – photos and a shaky video clip set in a luxury club booth. Mayor Wang, grinning broadly, had his arms around two scantily clad women, accepting toasts from Zhang Qiang and a bald, heavyset man (clearly the boss). Bundles of cash littered the table. The blurry video captured Mayor Wang's distinct, raspy voice: "No problem, no problem… that plot in East New District…"
Enough. Leverage for the first domino.
Deleting his digital footprints, Chu Xuan shoved the phone back into Zhang Qiang's pocket. He stood, casting one last icy glance at the whimpering thug and the vanished Nine Hells residue.
He strode purposefully towards the exit, ignoring everything. The rising wail of sirens, the gawking crowd, Zhang Qiang's moans – it all seemed muffled behind an invisible barrier.
Pushing through the heavy glass door, the humid August heat and city roar hit him. Sunlight glared. Traffic flowed. Pedestrians hurried. The world spun on its deceptively calm axis. Skyscraper glass reflected dazzling shards of light. A massive billboard showcased the latest Multiverse expansion trailer – dazzling magic clashing with mechs, drawing gasps from onlookers.
False prosperity. Chu Xuan squinted, gazing at the seemingly pristine blue sky. Through his system scan, the sky's backdrop revealed faint, circuit-like energy grids, undetectable to normal eyes, flowing and shifting.
[Passive Scan: Detected Planetary Law Enforcement Field (Damaged/Dormant)… Strength: 0.0001%…]
[Passive Scan: Detected Faint Spatial Ripples… Coordinates: 39°54'N, 116°23'E (Capital City Center)… Nature: Non-Natural Oscillation… Correlation: High…]
Capital center… What's attracting instability there? Or… what's trying to break through?
He didn't pause. His target: a nondescript red public phone booth on the corner. Coin inserted. Receiver lifted. He dialed a number known only to the highest echelons of China's power in his past life – a line always open, always secure.
Beep… Beep…
Brief silence, then connection. No voice. Only profound, pressure-laden quiet.
Chu Xuan spoke, calm yet resonant, each word crystal clear:
"Transfer to Supreme Emergency Office. Codeword: 'Great Wall'. I possess irrefutable evidence of Mayor Wang Zhenhai's severe legal violations: massive bribery, power-for-sex. Evidence chain complete. Simultaneously, I hold first-hand core intelligence regarding Codeword: 'Multiverse Invasion'. Event Classification: Annihilation. Repeat, Event Classification: Annihilation. Evidence and intel will be transferred upon identity verification and secure channel establishment. My location is…"
He gave the cafe address and hung up decisively. The coin clattered into the return slot.
Leaning against the cool glass, he breathed heavily. Sweat beaded at his temples again – not from heat, but the strain of intense focus and tapping the system's feeble power. The energy bar in his vision dipped minutely.
[Primordial Energy: 0.010%…]
Cost. Every shred of power from this broken system drained his own essence and the scraps he stole. The road ahead was brutal. But he had no choice.
His gaze pierced the booth glass, landing on the Multiverse billboard opposite. Players cheered a virtual victory, bathed in glorious light. But reflected deep within Chu Xuan's eyes were scenes from his past: alien warships tearing through the atmosphere, burning city ruins, the despair in his people's eyes.
"Ten months..." he murmured, icy resolve and burning determination warring within. "This time… humanity will not be cattle!"
He pushed open the booth door, merging back into the bustling crowd. Sunlight cast a long, unwavering shadow behind his slender frame as he walked steadfastly towards the brewing storm. And at the edge of his vision, the red warning pulsed stubbornly: [Hongmeng Lock Detected…] – a cold shackle, and perhaps, the key to the ultimate enigma.