The moment the iron gate was pushed open, a gust of cold wind carrying the smell of rust rushed in. Chen Su subconsciously clenched the "No. 6 pocket watch" in his palm—the blue light of the pocket watch suddenly dimmed, leaving only a faint halo around the edge, like a dying firefly. This was an anomaly that hadn't been written in the hoodie man's diary. His heart skipped a beat, and he stopped at the doorway, using the last glimpse of the pocket watch to scan inside.
It wasn't the secret room where the sister was imprisoned as imagined, but a circular room filled with gears. A huge bronze hourglass hung in the center of the ceiling, and sand was dripping down at a visible speed. With each grain, a gear pattern on the wall lit up and made a crisp "click" sound, like a countdown. Shen Shi was stuck in a corner by two iron bars, his entrenching tool lying at his feet. The cuff of his black trench coat was torn, revealing a bleeding scratch. Old Zhou stood below the hourglass, holding a "No. 7 pocket watch" in one hand and gripping Chen Yue's wrist with the other. Chen Yue's "No. 6 pocket watch" was pressed into the groove of the hourglass base by him. The blue light on the watch face was being absorbed by the hourglass, turning into wisps of pale blue mist that melted into the sand in the hourglass.
"You've come at the perfect time." Old Zhou looked up, a cold smile playing on his lips. "Any later and your sister's 'rule imprint' would have been drained by the hourglass—at that point, she would have become a puppet like the Cleaner, recognizing only the rules and not her family."
Chen Yue's face was deathly pale, her lips trembling, but she didn't utter a sound, only gesturing with her eyes for Chen Su to stay away. Chen Su's nails were almost digging into his palms, and just as he was about to rush forward, A-Qiang suddenly grabbed his arm, his voice trembling: "Brother Su, look at the wall..."
Chen Su followed A-Qiang's gaze and saw seven dark shadows appear on the wall of the circular room. These shadows had no fixed shape, flowing like melted ink on the wall. In the very center of each shadow was a bright red eye, the seven eyes forming a circle, staring intently at the person in the room. The glow of the pocket watch dimmed further, and Chen Su could clearly feel the surrounding air growing colder, his skin feeling as if it were covered in ice, even his breath carrying a white mist.
"This is the 'Rule Warning Shadow'." Shen Shi's voice was breathless. "Old Zhou activated the hourglass base, triggering the pre-signal of 'Changes Every Seven' – each shadow represents an anomaly, and the appearance of all seven shadows means that the rules are about to be calibrated."
Old Zhou seemed not to hear Shen Shi's words, his fingers rapidly moving across the "No. 7 Pocket Watch." Suddenly, the groove in the hourglass base lit up red, and Chen Yue's "No. 6 Pocket Watch" emitted a piercing buzz, the hourglass pattern on its dial beginning to rotate in the opposite direction. "Stop struggling, Chen Yue," Old Zhou said smugly. "You are the sixth Anomaly, born with the mark of the 'Hourglass Key.' Only your pocket watch can activate the base—once I collect all three core fragments and absorb all your mark, I will completely control the rules and never have to suffer the torment of a hundred restarts again!"
Only then did Chen Su notice that in Old Zhou's other pocket, half a red core fragment was sticking out—the very one they hadn't had time to take from the watch factory office. Adding it to the two he already had, the three fragments were complete. He quietly reached into his pocket, and the moment his fingertips touched the core fragment, it suddenly became hot, resonating strongly with the pocket watch. The halo around the edge of the pocket watch flashed brightly, and a dark shadow on the wall suddenly sizzled, as if burned, and shrank back.
"Oh? So you brought a fragment too." Old Zhou's gaze fell on Chen Su's pocket, his eyes turning greedy. "Perfect, saves me the trouble of looking again—throw the fragment over here, and I can let you see your sister one last time. Otherwise, once the rules calibration begins, she'll be swallowed by the shadows first, leaving not even bones behind."
The shadow on the wall began to slowly slide down, getting closer and closer to the ground. The light from the seven red eyes grew brighter and brighter, turning the entire room crimson. Suddenly, A-Qiang grabbed an iron rod from the ground and hurled it at the nearest shadow. The rod passed through the shadow but didn't touch anything. Instead, the end of the rod became entangled in the shadow, as if glued on, and he couldn't pull it out no matter how hard he tried. "Brother Su, this thing is an illusion!" A-Qiang shouted anxiously. His hand trembled, and the shadow suddenly pulled the iron rod away, slamming it against the wall with a "clang," sending dust flying from the ceiling.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shen Shi struggled violently, the iron bars creaking. She stared into Chen Su's eyes, mouthing a gesture of "pocket watch + blood"—Chen Su instantly recalled how the blood on his palm had activated the pocket watch's power at the watch factory. He immediately bit his fingertip, dripping blood onto the pocket watch. The moment the blood droplet touched the dial, the pocket watch suddenly emitted a blinding blue light, ten times brighter than when fighting the Seven-Eyed Monster, like a sharp knife, slashing straight at Old Zhou.
Old Zhou instinctively used his "No. 7 pocket watch" to block the impact. The two beams of light collided with a loud "bang," and the circular room shook violently. A few grains of sand fell from the hourglass on the ceiling, turning into black mist as they hit the ground. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Chen Yue struggled free from Old Zhou's grasp and staggered towards Chen Su. The "No. 6 pocket watch" fell out of the groove in the hourglass base, landing on the ground with a crisp sound.
"Trying to run?" Old Zhou, enraged, grabbed the pocket watch from the ground and threw it at Chen Yue's back. The watch, glowing green, hurtled towards Chen Yue's heart like a bullet. Chen Su reacted quickly, shoving Chen Yue aside and shielding the watch with his own body. The watch grazed his arm, struck the wall with a "crack," and shattered. Gears fell out from the dial, transforming into a black shadow that merged with the seven shadows on the wall, becoming the eighth shadow—a shadow larger than the others, with a green eye in the center, the same color as Old Zhou's pocket watch.
"Damn it! Old Zhou's pocket watch has triggered the rules too!" Shen Shi finally broke free of the iron bars, picked up his entrenching tool, and rushed over. "There are eight shadows now, and the rule calibration will be accelerated—we must leave here within half an hour, or we'll be trapped in the rule gap forever!"
Chen Su pulled Chen Yue up and was about to run towards the door when they discovered a dark figure had appeared there, blocking their path. The figure's red eyes were fixed on them, as if guarding the exit. Other dark figures on the wall also surrounded them, trapping them in the center of the room. The light from seven red eyes and one green eye intertwined, forming an invisible net that made it hard to breathe.
"Give me the fragment, and I'll let you go." Old Zhou was panting heavily, the core fragment in his hand beginning to heat up. "This is the last chance. Don't push me—once the rule calibration begins, I won't be able to control these shadows, and we'll all die here!"
Chen Yue suddenly grabbed Chen Su's hand, her voice weak but firm: "Don't give it to him, brother. Once the fragments are all gathered, he can open the 'Hourglass Core,' and then everyone who has been rebooted will become his puppet, which is worse than death." She took out a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Chen Su, "This is what I found in the safe house of the 5th Anomalous Person. It says that during rule calibration, the Shadow is afraid of the 'Same Source Mark'—that is, our blood, and the light of the pocket watch."
Chen Su unfolded the note, and the handwriting on it was exactly the same as the handwriting in the hoodie man's log—it turned out that the hoodie man was the 5th Anomalous Person! He immediately handed another core fragment to Chen Yue and stuffed the pocket watch into A Qiang's hands: "Qiangzi, you take the pocket watch and continue to activate it with my blood; Yueyue, you and I use the fragment to draw light together; Shen Shi, you are in charge of keeping an eye on Lao Zhou and don't let him do anything funny!"
The group immediately sprang into action. A-Qiang took the pocket watch and reactivated it with Chen Su's blood, causing its blue light to continue shining. Chen Su and Chen Yue each held a core fragment; the red light from the fragments intertwined with the blue light from the pocket watch, forming a red and blue light shield that blocked their path. The shadows on the wall touched the light shield, making a sizzling sound as if scalded by boiling water, and they all retreated.
Old Zhou's face turned ashen as he watched. Suddenly, he grabbed another core fragment from the ground and threw it at the light shield. The three fragments collided in mid-air with a deafening "hum," and a surge of red light instantly enveloped the entire room. The shadows on the wall began to shake violently, as if they were about to be torn apart by the red light. "Since you won't let me live, then we'll all die together!" Old Zhou shouted madly. Suddenly, the "Number 7 Pocket Watch" in his hand cracked, and green light surged out from the crack, colliding with the red light.
The room shook violently again, and the hourglass on the ceiling began to leak sand rapidly. The sand fell to the ground and transformed into more dark shadows, increasing in number until it was impossible to tell whether there were seven or eight shadows in the room. Chen Su felt the ground beneath his feet soften, as if he were walking on cotton, and he felt he might sink into it at any moment. "Run to the door!" he shouted, pushing Chen Yue and A Qiang towards the door. Shen Shi followed behind, using an entrenching tool to block the approaching shadows.
Just as they were about to rush to the door, Old Zhou suddenly pounced and grabbed Chen Su's leg tightly. "If I can't have it, neither can you!" His hand grabbed the core fragment in Chen Su's pocket. The fragment became hot again, and red light climbed up his hand. Old Zhou let out a scream and pulled his hand back as if he had been burned, leaving a red mark on his skin.
Taking advantage of the moment, Chen Su kicked Lao Zhou away, grabbed Chen Yue, and rushed out the door, with A Qiang and Shen Shi following closely behind. Just as they ran out of the circular room, a loud "bang" came from behind them. The door of the circular room slammed shut instantly, and inside came Lao Zhou's screams, the roars of a dark figure, and the "shush-shush" of sand flowing rapidly through an hourglass.
The group ran back along the path they had come from. Inside the watch factory, an abandoned pocket watch began to spin wildly, the numbers on its dial jumping rapidly, as if counting down. Chen Su glanced at the pocket watch; the red numbers on the dial displayed "7 days, 2 hours, 10 minutes, and 35 seconds," with a line of small white text next to it: "Rule calibration initiated, to be completed in 24 hours, during which time the number of anomalies will double."
"24 hours…" Shen Shi gasped for breath, leaning against the wall to steady himself. "We must find the location of the 'hourglass core' within 24 hours, otherwise the rules will become even more terrifying after the calibration is completed, and even the pocket watch may be useless then."
Chen Yue leaned against Chen Su, her face still pale. She pointed to the streetlights in the distance and said in a weak voice, "I know where the core is... The fifth Anomalous Person wrote in his log that the core is hidden in the basement of a watch repair shop in the old alley in the west of the city. There is a mechanism left by the first Anomalous Person there, which can only be opened by the 'No. 6 Pocket Watch'."
Chen Su was overjoyed and was about to speak when A-Qiang suddenly pointed behind them, his voice trembling: "Brother Su, look..."
The group turned around and saw a plume of black smoke rising from the direction of the watch factory. Within the smoke, seven crimson eyes vaguely appeared, drifting towards them—the shadowy figures had come after them. And there was more than one; a dense swarm of black figures surged towards them along the street like a tide. The light from the seven eyes was particularly dazzling in the darkness, like countless will-o'-the-wisps.
"Get in the car!" Shen Shi suddenly remembered the black sedan parked at the alley entrance and pulled the group towards it. Luckily, the car was still there. The group climbed in, and Shen Shi immediately started the engine. The tires screeched against the ground as they sped off towards the old alley in the west of the city.
In the back seat, Chen Yue leaned on Chen Su's shoulder, slowly closing her eyes, looking utterly exhausted. Chen Su stroked her head, his heart aching with a mixture of sorrow and pain—for three years, he had believed his sister was merely missing, never imagining she had been fighting against such a terrifying set of rules. He gripped the pocket watch and the core fragment tightly, silently vowing to protect his sister this time, to break these damned rules, and never let her suffer any harm again.
The car drove into the old alley in the west of the city. The alley was quiet, except for the watch repair shop, whose dim light was still on. Shen Shi parked the car at the entrance of the alley, and the group got out and slowly walked towards the watch repair shop. The door of the watch repair shop was still ajar, and the ticking of a clock could be heard from inside. Unlike before, this time there was a faint rustling sound in the sound—like the sound of an hourglass.
Chen Su pushed open the door and walked into the watch repair shop. His pocket watch suddenly vibrated, and the blue light pointed to a hidden compartment behind the counter. He walked over, opened the compartment, and inside was a small hourglass, exactly the same as the huge hourglass in the circular room, only much smaller. Sand was slowly leaking out. Next to the hourglass was a brass key, engraved with the number "6".
"This is the key to open the basement." Chen Yue walked over and picked up the key. "The log of the 5th Anomalous Person says that the mechanism in the basement requires the 'Pocket Watch No. 6' and this key together to open it, and…" She paused, her voice becoming low, "and the basement contains the body of the 1st Anomalous Person, and his body contains the other half of the 'Hourglass Core'."
Chen Su's heart sank. He looked at the hidden compartment behind the counter, then glanced out the window—black smoke had already drifted to the alley entrance, and the light from seven red eyes shone through the window, illuminating the watch repair shop floor like thin red lines. He knew they had no time to hesitate; they had to open the basement immediately, find the hourglass core, or they would have no chance if the shadowy figure caught up with them.
Chen Yue took the key and walked to the corner of the watch repair shop. There was an inconspicuous brick there. She pressed the brick, and suddenly a small door appeared in the corner. The door had a keyhole and a pocket watch-shaped groove. She inserted the key into the keyhole, put the "No. 6 pocket watch" into the groove, and gently turned it. The door opened with a "click," and a cold wind came out, mixed with a faint musty smell.
"I'll go down with you." Chen Su grabbed Chen Yue's hand. "Qiangzi, you and Shen Shi stay up here. If any shadows come, use the light from your pocket watch to block them. We'll come back up as soon as possible."
A-Qiang and Shen Shi nodded. Shen Shi gripped his entrenching tool, while A-Qiang, holding his pocket watch, stood at the door, watching the outside warily. Chen Su and Chen Yue entered the basement, the door slowly closing behind them. It was pitch black inside, with only the blue light from the pocket watch guiding the way and illuminating a narrow staircase. From below the stairs, a "rustling" sound grew clearer and clearer—the sound of the hourglass's core.The basement stairs were steeper than expected; with each step, the wooden planks creaked and groaned, as if they might break at any moment. Chen Su gripped Chen Yue's hand, his palms sweaty—the blue light of the pocket watch flickered in the darkness, making the rust on the stair railing look like jagged scars, while the rustling of the hourglass grew louder with each step, like breathing right next to his ear.
"Go down three more levels, there's a corner, and behind that is the secret room." Chen Yue's voice was soft, with a slight tremor. "The fifth person's log says that there is a 'blood-patterned lock' at the entrance to the secret room, which can only be opened with the blood of an abnormal person—I tried my blood, but it didn't work. I might need yours."
Chen Su nodded, his other hand reaching for the core fragment in his pocket. The fragment was still hot, its resonance with the pocket watch growing stronger. The hourglass pattern on the dial began to slowly rotate, and the red numbers jumped faster: "7 days 01 hours 45 minutes 12 seconds" "7 days 01 hours 45 minutes 11 seconds"... With each jump, the surrounding air grew colder, as if countless eyes were hidden in the darkness, staring at their backs.
As Chen Su reached the corner, he suddenly stopped—the blue light from the pocket watch dimmed, leaving only a faint glow in the center, like a candle flame in the wind. Just as he was about to warn Chen Yue to be careful, he suddenly kicked something hard. Bending down to touch it, his fingertips touched a cold piece of metal. By the light from the pocket watch, he saw that it was a metal hourglass piece exactly like the one he had found in the safe house, engraved with the number "5"—it belonged to the fifth Anomalous Person.
"He's been here." Chen Yue crouched down, her fingertips brushing against the rust on the metal plate. "The last page of the log says 'The core is in the secret chamber, the shadow moves with the blood.' I didn't understand it then, but now…" Before she could finish, a "sizzle" sound suddenly came from the darkness around the corner, like electricity passing through metal. Then a dark shadow slid down from the crack in the stairs, landing on the ground and taking the shape of a half-person tall figure. The red eye in the center lit up—it was Seven-Eyed Shadow who had chased into the basement!
Chen Su immediately shielded Chen Yue behind him, bit his fingertip, and dripped blood onto the pocket watch. The moment the blood touched the dial, the watch suddenly vibrated with a "hum," and the blue light surged dramatically, like a drawn sword slashing straight at the shadowy figure. The shadowy figure let out a piercing scream, shrinking back, but instead of dissipating as before, it split into two smaller shadows, their red eyes glowing even brighter.
"How could this be?" Chen Su was stunned—before, at the watch factory, the blue light from the pocket watch could clearly repel the shadows, but now it didn't work. Chen Yue suddenly grabbed his wrist, her voice tight: "It's because of the rule calibration! During calibration, the abilities of abnormal beings will double. Ordinary blood can't activate the full power of the pocket watch; we need 'same-origin blood'—we're siblings, and your blood has the same mark as mine. Try mixing our blood together!"
Chen Su immediately had Chen Yue bite her fingertip, and two drops of blood fell simultaneously onto the pocket watch. The blood beads merged on the dial, transforming into a pale red light that spread along the hourglass pattern. Suddenly, the pocket watch emitted a red and blue interwoven light, ten times brighter than before, like a small sun illuminating the entire corner. The two dark figures, illuminated by the light, emitted a sizzling sound, as if burned by a raging fire, slowly turning into black mist and dissipating into the air.
"It works!" Chen Su breathed a sigh of relief and pulled Chen Yue along as they continued down the stairs. At the end of the stairs was a heavy iron door, covered with dense blood-red patterns that formed a huge hourglass shape. In the center was a small groove, exactly the same shape as a pocket watch. "This is the blood-pattern lock," Chen Yue pointed to the groove. "Put the pocket watch in there, and then drip our mixed blood on it. It should open."
Chen Su placed the pocket watch into the groove, and two drops of mixed blood fell onto the blood-patterned markings. The markings instantly activated, as if they came to life, spreading along the iron gate with a clicking sound, like gears turning. The iron gate slowly opened to both sides, and the scene inside made both of them gasp simultaneously—
The chamber wasn't large. In the center stood a stone coffin, about half a person's height, inscribed with the words "The First Anomaly." Beside the coffin hung a transparent glass hourglass filled with silvery-white sand, which was visibly dripping down, emitting a soft "shh" sound. Below the hourglass lay a bronze box, engraved with an hourglass pattern similar to that of a pocket watch, its interior faintly glowing red—this was the hourglass's core!
"The core is in the box." Chen Yue took a step forward and was about to reach for the bronze box when the stone coffin suddenly shook with a "bang." The coffin lid slowly lifted, and black mist seeped out from the gap. In the mist, a pair of green eyes could be vaguely seen, exactly the same color as Old Zhou's pocket watch.
"Watch out!" Chen Su grabbed Chen Yue and took two steps back. The pocket watch suddenly became hot, popped out of its groove, and landed on the ground with a crisp sound. The lid of the stone coffin was completely opened, revealing a person wearing a black trench coat, his face as pale as paper, clutching a "Number 1 Pocket Watch" tightly in his hand—the first Anomaly! But his eyes were open, his green pupils devoid of any light, like a manipulated puppet.
The first anomalous individual slowly sat up from the stone coffin, his movements stiff, like a puppet on strings. Suddenly, the "Number 1 Pocket Watch" in his hand lit up with a green light, and six black shadows instantly appeared on the wall of the secret chamber. Together with the two that had appeared before, there were exactly eight shadows, and eight eyes (seven red and one green) formed a circle, trapping Chen Su and Chen Yue in the center.
"It was Old Zhou's doing!" Chen Yue suddenly realized. "He must have put a 'corpse-controlling talisman' in the first person's body and used the 'No. 7 pocket watch' to control him—he deliberately made us run out in the circular room earlier to lure us here and use the first person to steal the core!"
The first Anomalous One emerged from the stone coffin and walked slowly but resolutely toward the bronze box. Chen Su picked up the pocket watch, dripped the mixed blood onto it again, and unleashed a blue light at the first Anomalous One, only to have it blocked by the "Number 1 Pocket Watch." The two beams collided with a loud "bang," causing the chamber to shake violently. A few specks of dust fell from the ceiling, landing on the glass hourglass, where they were instantly sucked in by the sand.
"We can't let him get the core!" Chen Su shouted, rushing forward to stop the First One, but a dark shadow entangled his leg. The shadow climbed up like a vine, wrapping around his waist, rendering him immobile. Chen Yue immediately used the blue light from her pocket watch to slash at the shadow, but the shadow split into more smaller shadows, lunging at her.
Just then, the bronze box suddenly opened with a "click," revealing the hourglass core inside—a fist-sized red crystal with a miniature hourglass embedded within, sand rapidly flowing down. The moment the core was exposed to the air, the first Anomalous Person quickened their pace, reaching out to grab it.
Chen Su was sweating profusely with anxiety when he suddenly remembered the core fragments in his pocket—the three fragments were now complete! He immediately took out the fragments and threw them towards the core. The fragments streaked through the air with three red lights, landing precisely on the core and merging with it. Suddenly, the core emitted a blinding red light, like the sun, illuminating the entire secret chamber.
The first anomalous individual, illuminated by the red light, suddenly stopped moving. His green eyes slowly returned to their normal color, and he swayed before collapsing beside the stone coffin. The "Number 1 Pocket Watch" in his hand fell to the ground and stopped glowing. The eight dark shadows on the wall made a "sizzling" sound, as if melting in the red light, and slowly dissipated into the air.
Chen Su and Chen Yue breathed a sigh of relief and were about to retrieve the core when the pocket watch suddenly became hot again, hotter than ever before, as if they were holding a branding iron. The hourglass pattern on the dial began to spin wildly, synchronized with the mini hourglass inside the core, the red numbers jumping so fast they were almost invisible: "7 days 01 hours 30 minutes 05 seconds," "7 days 01 hours 30 minutes 04 seconds,"...
"What's going on?" Chen Yue grabbed Chen Su's arm, her voice trembling. Chen Su stared at the pocket watch and suddenly realized that the hourglass pattern on the dial was exactly the same as the hourglass pattern in the core, even the speed at which the sand dripped was exactly the same—"The pocket watch and the core are from the same source!" He suddenly understood, "The hoodie man said the pocket watch was the 'key to the rules,' but in fact, the pocket watch is part of the core. The previous anomalies were all slowly activating the core using the pocket watch!"
Just then, the door to the secret room was suddenly kicked open, and Shen Shi stumbled in, his face pale: "It's terrible! A-Qiang has been captured by the shadowy figure, and Lao Zhou... Lao Zhou is still alive. He's leading a group of Seven-Eyed Monsters this way, saying he wants the core and your lives!"
Chen Su's heart skipped a beat. Just as he was about to pick up the core, it suddenly floated up and flew towards the door of the secret chamber. The pocket watch also broke free from his hand and flew after the core. The two immediately gave chase. As soon as they reached the door, they saw Old Zhou standing at the top of the stairs, holding up the "Number 7 Pocket Watch." A-Qiang was being held by two Seven-Eyed Monsters, with a rusty knife held to his neck.
"Give me the core and the pocket watch, or I'll kill him." Old Zhou's face was contorted with rage. "Don't think you've won. The rule calibration isn't over yet. Once I get the core, I can regain control of the rules, and then you'll all be dead!"
Ah Qiang's face turned deathly pale, but he still shouted at Chen Su, "Brother Su, don't give it to him! I'm not afraid to die, I can't let him break the rules!"
Old Zhou kicked A-Qiang hard, and A-Qiang cried out in pain. Chen Su clenched his fists so tightly that they cracked, staring into Old Zhou's eyes: "If you release A-Qiang, I can give you the core, but you must promise never to manipulate the rules again and to let everyone involved leave."
Old Zhou sneered, "You think I'll believe you? Throw the core over here, or I'll kill him right now!" He pressed the knife against A-Qiang's neck again, drawing a trickle of blood.
Chen Yue tugged at Chen Su's arm and whispered, "Brother, don't believe him. He'll definitely kill us all after he gets the core. The pocket watch and the core are from the same source. We can use the pocket watch to control the core, and maybe we can trap him instead."
Chen Su nodded, secretly winked at Chen Yue, and then said to Lao Zhou, "Okay, I'll give you the core, but you have to release A-Qiang first." He slowly picked up the core, making a move to throw it over. Lao Zhou's eyes were fixed on the core, a greedy smile curling at the corner of his mouth, and he slowly released his grip on A-Qiang.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, A-Qiang retreated and ran towards Chen Su. Just then, Chen Su suddenly threw the core towards Chen Yue and shouted, "Yueyue, activate the core with the pocket watch!" Chen Yue immediately caught the core and pressed the pocket watch onto it. The pocket watch and the core resonated again, emitting a blinding blue light that slashed towards Lao Zhou.
Old Zhou hadn't expected their sudden attack and had no time to dodge. He was struck in the chest by the blue light, letting out a scream as he collapsed to the ground. The "No. 7 Pocket Watch" in his hand fell out, cracking on the ground and spilling its gears, which vanished into thin air as a black shadow. The two seven-eyed monsters holding A-Qiang were also affected by the blue light, turning into a pile of gears that clattered to the ground.
"Qiang, are you alright?" Chen Su ran over and helped Qiang up. Qiang shook his head, his face still pale: "Brother Su, I'm fine, just a little scared. Those dark figures were terrifying. Luckily, Sister Shen saved me."
Shen Shi walked over and wiped the sweat from his face: "Now is not the time to talk about this. We need to get out of here quickly. When the core was glowing just now, I saw more and more dark shadows outside, as if something was about to crawl out from underground—it might be the final form of the rule calibration."
Chen Su nodded, picked up the core and the pocket watch, and put them into his inner pocket. The four of them walked up the stairs. As soon as they reached the entrance of the watch repair shop, they saw that the alley was pitch black. Countless dark shadows were writhing on the ground, surging towards them like a tide. The light of seven red eyes illuminated half of the night sky, and the air was filled with the smell of rust and decay.
"Where do we run to?" A-Qiang shouted anxiously. Chen Yue suddenly pointed to a small alley at the end of the alley: "There is a secret passage there, left by the 5th Abnormal Being. It leads to an abandoned warehouse outside the city. We can go there to take refuge for a while, and then find a way to completely break the rules."
The four immediately ran into the alley, with the dark figure hot on their heels, getting closer and closer. Chen Su glanced back and saw a gigantic shadow slowly rising from within the shadow. In the very center of the shadow was a green eye, ten times larger than the others, like a giant lantern, staring intently at them—it was the final form of the rule calibration, the "Seven-Eyed Mother Shadow"!
"Quick! The passage is just ahead!" Chen Yue shouted, pushing open a wooden door at the end of the alley. The four of them squeezed through the door into a narrow passage filled with a damp, musty smell. Only the blue light from their pocket watches guided them forward. They ran along the passage, the roar of the "Seven-Eyed Mother Shadow" echoing behind them, shaking the walls of the passage and sending dust flying.
After running for about ten minutes, a light appeared at the end of the passage. The four quickened their pace, rushed out of the passage, and found themselves in an abandoned warehouse area. The surroundings were empty, with only a few dilapidated warehouses that looked like huge tombstones in the moonlight.
"Let's hide in that warehouse up ahead first," Chen Su said, pointing to the nearest warehouse. "We'll figure something out when it gets light. The rules calibration isn't finished yet, and it's too dangerous outside."
The four of them crawled into the warehouse, closed the door, and leaned against it, panting heavily. Chen Su took out his pocket watch and glanced at the numbers on it: "7 days, 1 hour, 15 minutes, and 30 seconds." The small white text next to it changed: "Rule calibration countdown, completed in 18 hours. The final form 'Seven-Eyed Mother Shadow' has been activated and can devour all abnormal entities."
He gripped the pocket watch and the core tightly, knowing that this game of rules was not over yet. Although they had temporarily repelled Lao Zhou and found the core, the "Seven-Eyed Mother Shadow" had already appeared. In 18 hours, the rule calibration would be completed, and then not only them, but everyone involved in the rules would be devoured by the Mother Shadow.
"We must find a way to break the rules within 18 hours." Chen Su looked at the other three with a determined look in his eyes. "The core and the pocket watch are from the same source. Perhaps we can use them to manipulate the rules in reverse, restart the rules, and send all the anomalies back to their original time—including Old Zhou, the Cleaner, and those shadowy figures."
Chen Yue nodded: "The fifth person's log says, 'The starting point of the rules is the end point.' Perhaps the core's starting point is the key to breaking the rules. We can try using the pocket watch to activate the core's full power, find the starting point of the rules, and then restart it."
Shen Shi and A-Qiang agreed. The four of them sat in the warehouse, using the blue light from the pocket watch to study the relationship between the core and the watch. The blue light from the pocket watch and the red light from the core intertwined, reflecting on their faces like flames of hope. They knew that the next 18 hours would be their last chance, their only hope to break this cycle of a hundred restarts.
Just then, the warehouse door suddenly shook in the wind, and a rustling sound came from outside, like sand falling to the ground. Chen Su immediately gripped his pocket watch and looked warily towards the door—"Seven-Eyed Mother Shadow" might have already caught up.The rattling of the warehouse door hadn't stopped when a rustling sound seeped in through the crack, like countless grains of sand piling up outside. Chen Su pressed his pocket watch against the door, his fingertips clearly feeling the slight vibration coming from it—not from the wind, but from something hitting the door, a very light thud, yet with a chilling rhythm, perfectly synchronized with the speed of the hourglass.
"It's the tentacles of the Mother Shadow." Chen Yue leaned close to the crack in the door, only to peek for a moment before pulling her head back, her voice trembling. "The ground outside is covered in fine black sand, and that sand is seeping into the door, as if it's going to fill the entire warehouse."
Shen Shi immediately grabbed a steel pipe from the corner and used it to prop open the warehouse door. A-Qiang ran over to help, and the two of them held the steel pipe down tightly, their faces turning red. "We can't hold this up for long," Shen Shi said, panting. "The sand in Mother Shadow can corrode metal. Look at the bottom of the steel pipe, it's already starting to rust."
Chen Su looked down and, sure enough, the spot where the steel pipe touched the ground was covered in dark red rust, which was climbing up at a visible speed. He suddenly remembered the resonance between the pocket watch and the core, and immediately took out the core and pressed the pocket watch against it—the red and blue lights intertwined again, spreading along the door panel. The rustling sound outside the door suddenly stopped, and the vibration on the door panel disappeared. Only the fine sand in the crack of the door was still trembling slightly, but it dared not go any further.
"It works!" A-Qiang breathed a sigh of relief and was about to straighten up when Chen Su's secondhand phone suddenly started vibrating wildly in his pocket. The screen was blindingly bright, and the caller ID showed a string of unfamiliar numbers, but it had the distinctive green light of Old Zhou's pocket watch—it was Old Zhou.
Chen Su hesitated for a moment, but still answered the phone. As soon as he brought the phone to his ear, Old Zhou's voice came through, a little weak, but still full of calculation: "Chen Su, don't bother blocking the Mother Shadow. It is the final form of the rule calibration. Unless you get all the power of the core, no one can stop it."
"You're not dead yet?" Chen Su's voice was as cold as ice. "I haven't settled things with you about A-Qiang yet."
"Now is not the time to settle scores." Old Zhou's voice paused, and the clicking sound of gears turning came from the background. "I know you want to break the rules, and so do I—I was too hasty before, trying to monopolize the core. Now I realize that I can't control the Mother Shadow by myself, let alone break the rules. Let's cooperate. I know the location of the 'starting point of the rules.' You have the core and the pocket watch. Let's go to the starting point together. Maybe we can end these hundred reboots completely."
Chen Su's fingers were so tight that the phone case was almost deformed. He glanced at Chen Yue, who gently shook her head and mouthed "Don't believe it." Shen Shi also leaned over and whispered, "Old Zhou is definitely up to no good. He's probably being chased by Mu Ying to the point of desperation, so he's trying to drag us down with him."
"I know you don't believe me." Old Zhou seemed to have overheard their conversation, his voice becoming more urgent. "I'll send you something; you can decide after you've read it." The moment the call ended, his phone received a multimedia message. Opening it revealed a photo—a secret room filled with gears. In the center of the room was a huge hourglass base, engraved with "Rules' Starting Point: October 3, 1998." Next to the base was a "No. 6 Pocket Watch" exactly like the one Chen Su held, except that the hourglass pattern on the dial was complete.
"October 3, 1998..." Chen Yue suddenly froze. "That was the day my parents passed away, and it was also the first time I saw a pocket watch."
Chen Su's heart clenched—he had always thought his parents' deaths were accidents, but now it seemed they might be related to the rules. His phone vibrated again; it was a text from Lao Zhou: "I'm waiting for you in the underground chamber of the watch factory in the west of the city. Come within an hour. If you're late, the Mother Shadow will devour me first, then you. Oh, and a reminder: the sand in the warehouse will penetrate the door in 20 minutes. Don't think your pocket watch can keep you out forever."
Chen Su walked to the door, and sure enough, the red and blue light on the door panel began to dim slowly. The fine sand in the crack of the door began to seep in again, this time much faster than before. It had already accumulated into a small pile on the ground, emitting a faint smell of rust.
"What should we do?" A-Qiang stamped his feet anxiously. "If we go, we're afraid Old Zhou will set a trap. If we don't go, we'll be buried in the sand sooner or later."
Shen Shi suddenly remembered something and took out a metal piece from her pocket—the "Number 3" metal piece she had found in the safe house. She placed the metal piece next to the core, and it suddenly lit up with a red light, forming a triangle with the core and the pocket watch. In the center of the triangle, a line of small words appeared: "Old Zhou is looking for the 'key slot' of the hourglass core. Chen Su's bloodline is the key."
"A key?" Chen Su was stunned. "My bloodline?"
Chen Yue suddenly grabbed his hand, her fingertips tracing a shallow scar on his wrist—a scar from when he dropped his pocket watch as a child. "Brother, do you remember? Your blood dripped onto the pocket watch, and it lit up for the first time. The fifth brother's diary says, 'The hourglass key is hidden in our shared bloodline, and the number 6 pocket watch is the fuse.' So you were the key!"
The pocket watch suddenly became hot, and the hourglass pattern on its dial began to rotate, resonating with the scar on Chen Su's wrist. A faint red line appeared on the scar, exactly the same as the hourglass pattern on the pocket watch. "What Old Zhou wants is not the core, but me." Chen Su finally understood. "He knows I am the key and wants to use me to open the key slot of the hourglass core and completely control the rules."
The rustling sound outside the door grew louder, and small cracks began to appear on the warehouse door. Black sand seeped in through the cracks, sizzling as it fell to the ground and corroding small pits. "We don't have time," Shen Shi said, grabbing his entrenching tool. "Why don't we go and meet Old Zhou? He wants to use us, but we can use him in return to find the starting point of the rules—as long as we protect the core and you, the 'key,' he won't dare to do anything."
Chen Su nodded, put the core into his pocket, and handed the pocket watch to Chen Yue: "Yueyue, you take this pocket watch. If there is any danger, activate it with our blood. Aqiang, you follow behind Shen Shi and keep an eye on the surroundings."
The four of them got ready, and Chen Su opened the warehouse door—the sight outside made them gasp: the entire abandoned warehouse area was covered by black fine sand, the sand reaching their ankles, and every step felt like walking on a sponge. In the distance, a huge black shadow floated in the sky, which was the "Seven-Eyed Mother Shadow". Its seven red eyes shone brightly in the darkness and were slowly moving towards them.
"Quick, run towards the watch factory!" Chen Su led the way, running forward. Although the sand hindered their steps, it didn't corrode their skin as Lao Zhou had said—it seemed the watch's glow was still protecting them. The four ran along the sand dunes, with Mother Shadow slowly chasing behind, like a patient hunter waiting for them to run out of energy.
After running for about 20 minutes, the outline of the West City Watch Factory finally came into view. Unlike before, the watch factory was now shrouded in a layer of black fog, through which the shadows of turning gears could be vaguely seen, and a "click-clack" sound came from underground.
"Old Zhou should be in the underground secret room." Chen Su pointed to an abandoned chimney in the watch factory. "We saw it before in the east warehouse. There's an entrance under the chimney that leads underground."
The four of them crawled into the chimney, where, sure enough, there was a narrow staircase leading down into the darkness. The blue light from the pocket watch guided them, illuminating the gear patterns on the staircase—patterns exactly the same as those on the base of the photograph of the starting point of the rules.
At the end of the stairs stood a massive iron door, engraved with a complete hourglass. In the center of the hourglass was a groove perfectly sized to fit the core in Chen Su's hand. "This is the door to the underground chamber," Chen Su said, placing the core into the groove. Suddenly, the core glowed red, activating the hourglass pattern and producing a clicking sound. The iron door slowly opened to both sides.
The scene inside the secret room was exactly the same as in the photograph: in the center was a huge hourglass base, engraved with "October 3, 1998," and several pocket watches were scattered around it, numbered "1," "2," "3," and a "7"—the one Old Zhou had dropped in the circular room. Old Zhou sat beside the base, pale-faced, with a noticeable scar on his chest, presumably where he had been struck by the blue light.
"You've finally arrived." Old Zhou struggled to his feet when he saw them. "The Mother Shadow is almost here. We need to activate the base quickly and find the starting point of the rules."
Chen Su looked at him warily: "What do you need to start the base? Don't try anything funny with me."
Old Zhou pointed to a small hole in the center of the base: "We need a core and a key—that is, you, Chen Su. You have to drip your blood into the hole, then put the core in, and the base will activate and lead us to the starting point of the rules."
Chen Yue immediately stepped in front of Chen Su: "You're lying! Activating the base definitely has side effects. You want to make my brother a sacrifice!"
Old Zhou's expression changed. Just as he was about to speak, a rustling sound suddenly came from the ceiling of the secret chamber. Black sand leaked down from the cracks, corroding small pits on the floor. "The Mother Shadow is here!" Old Zhou shouted anxiously. "There's no time to argue now. Either activate the base, or we'll all be swallowed by the Mother Shadow!"
Chen Su watched as the cracks in the ceiling grew larger, then glanced at the date on the base—October 3, 1998, the day his parents passed away, the day his sister first saw the pocket watch. This couldn't be a coincidence. He took a deep breath and pushed Chen Yue away: "I'll try. You guys keep an eye on it. If there's a problem, smash the base with the pocket watch."
He walked to the base, bit his fingertip, and dripped blood into the small hole. The moment the blood touched the hole, the base suddenly lit up red, and the gears around the hole began to turn, making a rumbling sound. Old Zhou's eyes lit up instantly, staring intently at the hole: "Quick, put the core in!"
Chen Su hesitated for a moment, just about to take out the core, when the pocket watch suddenly flew out of Chen Yue's hand and landed on the base. The hourglass pattern on the dial perfectly matched the pattern on the base, emitting a dazzling blue light. In the blue light, a line of words appeared on the base: "Old Zhou, the 7th Anomalous One, once tampered with the rules and attempted to devour other Anomalous Ones, not trustworthy."
Old Zhou's face turned deathly pale instantly. He suddenly grabbed the "No. 7 pocket watch" from the ground and lunged at Chen Su: "Since you refuse, then I'll have to force you!"
Chen Su was prepared and dodged to the side. Shen Shi immediately used his entrenching tool to smash Lao Zhou's back. Lao Zhou screamed and fell to the ground. The "No. 7 Pocket Watch" also fell out, cracked on the ground, and the gears inside fell out, turning into black sand, which was sucked into the base.
"You were definitely up to no good!" Chen Su stepped forward and stepped on Lao Zhou's hand. "Tell me, what's this about tampering with the rules? Is my parents' death related to you?"
Old Zhou was sweating profusely from the pain, but he still sneered: "Your parents? They were the zeroth Abnormal Being, they created the rules! On October 3, 1998, they tried to destroy the rules, but were devoured by them and died here—the pocket watch your sister saw was the 'Number 6 Pocket Watch' they left behind!"
Chen Su and Chen Yue were both stunned—they had never imagined that their parents were the creators of the rules. Suddenly, the base began to shake violently, sand rained down from the ceiling, and the door to the secret chamber began to slowly close. "The Mother Shadow is in!" A-Qiang shouted, pointing to the doorway. Black sand had already piled up at the entrance and was surging into the secret chamber.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lao Zhou pushed Chen Su aside, got up and lunged at the base: "Since you won't help, then I'll do it myself!" He grabbed a pocket watch from the ground, bit his fingertip, and dripped blood into the small hole. The red light on the base suddenly dimmed, and black mist began to emerge from the small hole.
"Don't touch it!" Chen Su shouted, rushing over to pull Lao Zhou away. "Your blood is the blood that tampered with the rules; it will cause the base to go out of control!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the base suddenly made a loud "bang," and red light and black mist intertwined to form a huge vortex, sucking in the pocket watch and metal pieces in the secret chamber. The Mother Shadow's sand was also sucked into the vortex, like a black snake, and slithered into it.
"Quick, use the core and your blood!" Old Zhou was pushed backward by the force of the vortex, his voice filled with despair. "Only your bloodline can stabilize the base, otherwise we will all be swept into the vortex into the gaps of the rules and never be able to get out!"
Chen Su watched the ever-growing vortex, then glanced at Chen Yue, Shen Shi, and A Qiang beside him—their clothes were already entangled in the black mist, and they could be sucked into the vortex at any moment. Without further hesitation, he took out the core, dripped blood onto it, and then placed the core into the small hole.
As soon as the core was placed inside, the vortex suddenly stopped, and the red light shone again, brighter than before, illuminating the entire chamber. The date on the base began to rotate, slowly changing from "October 3, 1998" to "October 3, 2023"—the current date. In the center of the base, a door slowly emerged, leading to a room filled with white light. A familiar room could be vaguely seen inside—their childhood home.
"That's the entrance to the starting point of the rules!" Chen Yue shouted excitedly. "As long as we go in and find the core of the rules left by my parents, we can completely break the rules!"
Old Zhou also saw the door, his eyes filled with longing: "Let's go in together. I'll help you find the core. I can apologize for what happened before!"
Chen Su looked at Lao Zhou, then at the door—he knew that going inside might mean facing more dangers, confronting the truth about the rules his parents had created, and perhaps never coming back. But he had no choice. For his sister, for A-Qiang, for everyone caught up in the rules, he had to go in.
He reached out and grabbed Chen Yue, Shen Shi, and A Qiang: "Let's go, let's end all of this together."
The four walked towards the door, with Old Zhou following behind, a complicated expression on his face. Just as they were about to enter, the base suddenly vibrated again, and a familiar figure slowly emerged in the white light—it was the hooded man, the fifth Anomalous Person, with a smile on his face and holding a pocket watch in his hand, the "Number 5 Pocket Watch".
"You've finally arrived." The hoodie's voice was soft, yet carried a reassuring power. "The truth of the rules lies behind the door. Good luck."
The figures slowly disappeared, and the white light grew brighter, engulfing the four figures. Old Zhou stood there, watching the door slowly close, a look of resentment mixed with a hint of relief on his face—perhaps he had always known that he was not the one to break the rules.
The vortex in the secret chamber slowly disappeared, and the black sand stopped surging. Only the red light on the base remained, like a lamp of hope, awaiting the return of the four. The pocket watch lay quietly on the base, the red numbers on the dial stopped at "7 days 00 hours 00 minutes 00 seconds"—the countdown to the restart of the rules had finally stopped.