In S-Town, Zhong Li woke up earlier than the cake.
He sat in the courtyard, hugging his log board, staring into the air. Not because it smelled like cream— but because he had just "seen" himself from yesterday.
Not a memory. A playback. Not blurry. HD. Not a mental reconstruction— but a 360-degree live replay.
"Am I going crazy?" he asked himself.
The particle man floated by, brushed his shoulder, and conveyed:
"You've just evolved."
Zhong Li stood up. His magnetic field trembled softly. His record-type ability unfolded automatically.
He waved his hand— and a scene appeared in the air:
Last night. Chen Mo training in the courtyard. Phase Five of the Shattered-Time Fist cracked the ground in three places. Hu Hao brewed tea nearby. Zhao Yang adjusted his blood mist by the window. Lin Lan tuned the weather membrane in the kitchen. He Xuan sipped tea in slow motion in the corner.
The image was crystal clear. Free-angle. You could even see Chen Mo's eyebrow twitch frequency during his punch.
"I… can replay the past," Zhong Li whispered. "One kilometer radius. Thirty-day window. Any angle."
He tested the day before—worked. Tried last month—magnetic field blurred, image collapsed.
"Limit: thirty days." "Range: one kilometer. Angle: free. Resolution: HD. Emotion sync: active."
He logged it.
Inside, He Xuan was eating breakfast in slow motion.
"You evolved?" Zhong Li asked.
He Xuan looked up, magnetic field gently pulsing.
"I… slowed time to twenty seconds."
Zhong Li:
"You used to be ten."
He Xuan:
"Now it's twenty."
Zhong Li:
"Are you becoming time itself?"
He Xuan:
"I can eat slow enough for the food to walk into my mouth."
Chen Mo walked in, eyeing them.
"Your magnetic fields feel different."
Zhao Yang entered too.
"You've evolved."
Lin Lan:
"Did you sneak into the crucible again?"
Qin Hao:
"I didn't approve it."
Hu Hao:
"I didn't brew tea."
Zhong Li played a replay. Everyone gathered around— like watching a courtyard documentary.
Zhao Yang:
"This is too clear. I can see my blood mist yawning."
Hu Hao:
"Too real. I can see my tea leaves contemplating life."
Chen Mo:
"Too dangerous. I can see my fists hesitating."
He Xuan demonstrated his slowdown. He activated his magnetic field— time slowed to twenty seconds.
Wind stopped. Tea hovered. Particle man froze mid-float.
Lin Lan:
"This isn't slowdown. It's pause."
He Xuan:
"Not pause. Just slow enough to feel like it."
Qin Hao logged:
"He Xuan · Time Slow · Current Limit: 20 seconds · Magnetic Field: Stable · Side Effects: Unknown."
Zhong Li logged:
"Zhong Li · Record Type · Current Evolution: Live Replay · Range: 1 km · Time Window: 30 days · Resolution: Excessive."
No panic. Just adaptation.
Chen Mo asked Zhong Li not to replay his fall during training. Zhao Yang asked him not to replay licking his fingers after cake. Hu Hao asked him not to replay talking to his tea.
Zhong Li:
"I'm not spying. I'm archiving."
He Xuan:
"You're an HD archive."
Chen Mo:
"You're an HD nuisance."
Townsfolk started gathering.
"Did you level up again?" "Did you sneak into the crucible?" "Are you filming a documentary?"
Zhong Li played a replay. Townsfolk gasped.
"Clearer than our taste-type memories!"
He Xuan slowed time. Townsfolk gasped again.
"Quieter than our construct-type pauses!"
They were now being watched like an ability exhibit.
Zhong Li posted a sign at the courtyard gate:
"This squad does not perform. I do not replay showers. The crucible does not accept takeout."
Just when they thought today was "Evolution Showcase Day," someone appeared outside the courtyard.
He stood at the gate. Magnetic field stable. Presence calm.
Not a townsfolk. Not a traveler.
He just stood there— like waiting for them to notice.
Chen Mo sensed it first.
"His magnetic field's off."
Zhao Yang second.
"He's not here for the show."
Zhong Li third.
"He… has no past."
He tried to replay the man's history— but the magnetic field was blank. No image. No data.
"He feels like he was just dropped into the world," Zhong Li whispered.
He Xuan slowed time to observe— but the man wasn't affected.
"He's immune to slowdown," He Xuan said. "It's like… he's not in time."
They didn't move. He didn't move.
Just stood there— like the beginning of a plot.
Like he'd just been loaded into the world.
Chen Mo clenched his fists. Zhao Yang's blood mist tightened. Zhong Li tried replaying again— failed.
"No past," he whispered. "At least not within my range. He's like a drop-in."
He Xuan slowed time again. Magnetic field froze for twenty seconds.
Wind stopped. Tea hovered. Particle man froze.
The man remained unaffected.
"He's outside time," He Xuan said. "Or his magnetic field doesn't belong to this timeline."
The man finally spoke. His voice rippled like water in glass.
"Which one of you is He Xuan?"
He Xuan stepped forward, magnetic field steady.
"I am."
"Who's your father?"
He Xuan:
"What do you want?"
"I'm here to kill him."
The air snapped tight.
Chen Mo punched— Shattered-Time Fist shook the courtyard wall.
Zhao Yang's blood mist surged. Lin Lan deployed the weather membrane. Lu Ye constructed a particle man. Hu Hao synced mentally. Zhong Li activated record mode.
The man didn't move. Just raised his hand. Moisture gathered.
Lin Lan:
"Water-type."
Zhong Li:
"No—mutated water-type."
Water vapor formed a carbonization ring around him—two meters wide. Plants blackened. Particle man retreated. Blood mist corroded. Magnetic field twisted.
Zhong Li logged:
"Carbonizes nearby carbon-based life. Radius: 2 meters. Non-discriminatory."
Chen Mo charged. His punch hit a water membrane. It rippled. Chen Mo staggered back— his fist slightly carbonized.
Zhao Yang:
"He absorbed chemically reactive water. Power up, speed down."
He Xuan slowed time again. The man discarded some water— his speed surged, dodging the slowdown zone.
Zhong Li logged:
"Can sacrifice water volume for speed. Magnetic field agile. Structure unstable."
The fight lasted three minutes. The squad gradually suppressed him.
Zhao Yang sealed with blood mist. Lin Lan disrupted moisture with weather membrane. Chen Mo broke rhythm with punches. Lu Ye's particle man absorbed carbonization. Hu Hao disrupted his mind. Zhong Li logged and replayed battle data.
Finally, Qin Hao acted. He locked the man's magnetic field with Life Rewind, freezing his soul layer.
The man collapsed. Moisture dispersed. Carbon ring vanished.
They didn't kill him. Just tied him up in the courtyard corner.
Zhong Li began the interrogation.
"Name?"
"Call me Shui."
"Who sent you?"
"I'm paid to do jobs."
"Target?"
"He Xuan's father."
He Xuan paused.
"What about my dad?"
Shui:
"I don't know. He's an obstacle to our boss becoming the 'ultimate lifeform.'"
Zhao Yang:
"Who's your boss?"
Shui:
"Herlens. Your dad is one of only two people who know his secret."
Hu Hao:
"Who's the other?"
Shui:
"Someone in Italy."
Chen Mo:
"You don't know much."
Shui:
"I kill. I don't understand."
Zhong Li logged:
"Herlens · Non-organizational influencer · Influence methods: Charisma / Flesh-node possession / Contract-based."
They glanced at the crucible in the corner. Shui spoke softly:
"I won't go near it."
He Xuan sat in the courtyard, his expression complex.
"My father… never told me any of this."
Zhao Yang:
"Does your dad have abilities too?"
He Xuan:
"He's time-type."
Zhong Li:
"Then you inherited it."
He Xuan:
"I thought I awakened it."
They didn't press further. Shui was just an executor— not someone with answers.
But the information he brought felt like the opening of a much larger magnetic field.
The particle man turned into a floating question mark, drifting around the courtyard.
The weather membrane gently retracted. Blood mist quieted. The crucible lay silent in the corner— as if it knew its time would come.
Zhong Li closed his log board.
"Today's magnetic field is unstable."
He Xuan:
"Too much information."
Zhao Yang:
"Even the cake doesn't taste good today."
Chen Mo:
"Even my fists aren't enough today."
They didn't leave. And they didn't release Shui.
They simply began preparing— for the next real battle.