He Xuan's father lay in bed, breath faint, his magnetic field hollowed out—like half of it had been taken.
Qin Hao attempted Life Rewind. The magnetic feedback was abnormal.
"This isn't natural aging," Qin Hao said. "His soul layer feels torn—like something ripped through it."
Zhong Li activated his record-type ability, trying to replay the past thirty days.
The footage was blurry. Angles chaotic. Like someone had scribbled over the magnetic field with an eraser.
"Someone interfered with his past," Zhong Li whispered. "All I can see are fragments."
He Xuan sat by the bed, gently holding his father's hand.
"He wasn't like this." "He was time-type. Stable magnetic field. Clear consciousness." "Now… it's like something drained him."
Lu Ye stepped aside, closed his eyes, and activated Eye of the World.
The particle man rose into the air, constructing a full-room holographic magnetic scan.
Air trembled. Magnetic feedback began.
"I see it," Lu Ye whispered. "There's a mutated ability inside him."
Zhao Yang:
"What kind?"
Lu Ye:
"I don't know. Eye of the World reads: 'No ability.'"
Zhong Li frowned.
"'No ability'? Are you sure?"
Lu Ye:
"I'm sure. But it's not a normal reading."
The particle man began to shake. The scan net glitched.
"There's one more message," Lu Ye said. "He has—100 days left."
The room fell silent.
"This isn't a standard Eye of the World alert," Lu Ye continued. "It feels… hacked."
Chen Mo:
"Who could hack the Eye?"
Lu Ye:
"Herlens. Only him."
He Xuan stared at his father, his gaze frozen in time.
"We… don't have that much time." "We don't know what he is." "We don't know my dad's ability." "We don't even know if he's still in this world."
Hu Hao's hand paused over the teapot. Zhao Yang's blood mist gently contracted. Lin Lan's weather membrane turned cloudy. Zhong Li flipped to a blank page. Chen Mo clenched his fists— but didn't strike.
They were silent. Not out of fear of Herlens— but because they didn't know how to fight him.
Lu Ye stood in the center of the room. The particle man brushed his shoulder.
He looked at the team, his magnetic field steady as stone.
"We still have time," he said. "Maybe not a full hundred days." "Maybe it's Herlens's countdown." "But we're not waiting to die." "We're preparing to hit back."
Zhong Li looked up.
"You sure we can win?"
Lu Ye:
"I'm sure we can investigate."
Chen Mo:
"You sure we can fight?"
Lu Ye:
"I'm sure we can fight harder than he expects."
The weather membrane shifted to clear skies. Blood mist resumed its flow. The particle man turned into a small flame, drifting in the air.
Zhong Li opened his log board and wrote:
"He Xuan's father · Status: Unknown mutation Ability: No display Time remaining: 100 days Source: External interference Emotion: Reignited"
He Xuan's father was moved to the quietest room in the house. The weather membrane was set to "Therapeutic Constant." Blood mist filtered the air automatically. The particle man perched on the windowsill as a tiny fan.
"His magnetic field is weak," Qin Hao said. "No stimulation. No noise. And no Chen Mo training punches."
Chen Mo:
"I can train silent punches."
Zhong Li:
"Your punches make the floor scream."
Chen Mo:
"I can train dream punches."
Hu Hao:
"You can train shut-up punches."
They began rotating care shifts.
Lin Lan managed the weather membrane, keeping humidity below "Senior Magnetic Comfort Threshold."
Zhao Yang handled blood mist cleaning— three times a day, even disinfecting the curtains.
Hu Hao brewed "Consciousness-Calming Tea," rumored to help magnetic fields dream peacefully.
Zhong Li logged magnetic fluctuations— one page per hour. He was on his sixth notebook.
He Xuan stayed bedside, gently linking magnetic fields— as if guarding time itself.
Lu Ye managed the particle man, making sure it didn't randomly evolve into diamond and scare people.
Qin Hao provided medical support, ready to activate Life Rewind— but for now, just maintaining stability.
The particle man occasionally misbehaved. One day it turned into a kitten, jumped onto He Xuan's father's bed, and rubbed against him.
The magnetic field trembled. He Xuan nearly thought his father was waking up.
Lu Ye:
"Don't move. You're a comfort cat, not a jump-scare cat."
Zhong Li tried replaying the father's past— still blurry.
"Like someone scribbled over the magnetic field with an eraser," he said. "All I can see is how he drank water yesterday."
Zhao Yang:
"How was the angle?"
Zhong Li:
"Steady. Like someone with a story behind every sip."
He Xuan stayed with his father daily. Sometimes he activated time-slowing— making the room feel like it breathed slower.
"I want him to live a little longer," he said.
Hu Hao:
"You're stealing time."
He Xuan:
"I'm borrowing it."
Chen Mo tried to help— but was banned from punching.
So he started cooking.
Day one: "Shattered-Time Scrambled Eggs"—eggs danced in the pan. Day two: "Blood Mist Stew"—the soup had a reddish tint. Day three: "Particle Man Noodles"—the noodles spiraled like DNA.
Zhao Yang:
"You're making ability cuisine."
Chen Mo:
"I'm making magnetic nutrition."
Zhong Li:
"You're making things we're afraid to eat."
Lin Lan started planting flowers. She used the weather membrane's "Magnetic Growth Mode." The flowers bloomed three times in one day.
"I want the room to feel alive," she said.
He Xuan:
"You're slowing time for plants."
Hu Hao:
"You're accelerating our emotions."
Qin Hao checked the father's condition daily. Magnetic field stable— but no improvement.
"It's like he's locked in a countdown," he said. "All we can do is stay with him."
Zhong Li logged:
"He Xuan's father · Status: Stable Emotion: Calm Magnetic field: Low frequency Visuals: Blurred Time: Precious"
They didn't leave. And they didn't give up.
They simply began— to care for one person, seriously.
The weather membrane cleared. Blood mist quieted. The particle man turned into a pillow.
No battles. No missions.
Just the soft flow of magnetic fields.
He Xuan sat by the bed, whispering:
"My dad's still here."
Zhong Li sat by the window, whispering: