Thousands of Invisible Hands navigate through servers as transit stations, gathering and dispersing, silently manipulating the flow of data.

Countless eyes open, relying on cameras and surveillance spread across Cliff City, overseeing everything.

Every blind spot, vividly clear.

Then, in the pipes under the workshop, a faint sound emerges, as if countless insects are departing...

"What's that damn noise?"

Two streets away from Ji Jue's workshop, in front of a pancake stand, a smoking man suspiciously turns his head, listening intently, puzzled.

"Hey, it's just the sound of electricity."

The pancake vendor casually gestures towards a nearby transformer box: "It's been there for years. During peak hours, the noise is really loud. Damn the municipal services, reported it so many times, not a peep. Damn, when will Xu Chaoxian die... Brother, want an egg with that?"

"Sure, add more scallions."

Unconcerned, the smoking man soon crushes his cigarette, takes two pancakes, and heads to the car parked by the roadside.

"Brother Wu, didn't you always say we'd earn big following the boss?"

Inside the car, a young man waiting sighs, full of impatience: "It's been so many days, we're taking shifts watching a lousy house, trailing behind some pretty boy for nothing... Why not just stick him tonight?"

"I'll stick your mom, damn it!"

Brother Wu irritably gives him a hard neck slap: "Eat your food, without boss's orders, you dare show up and I'll make sure you're peeing blood in a hospital tonight, believe it?"

"I'm just anxious."

"Anxious after just a few days? The real work's ahead when we eat meat."

Brother Wu is about to say more when he feels his phone vibrating in his pocket, quickly answering: "Hey, Big Head, any news?"

On the other end, only sharp static and rustling sounds, barely audible like choking: "Brother Wu, save, save me, I...

Brother Wu's expression changes abruptly, hangs up.

"Go!"

The driver flinches: "Big Head something wrong? I'll immediately —"

"Back to the company!"

Brother Wu's face is dark as he coldly glares at him.

The young man shudders, dares not to speak, starts the engine, suddenly makes a U-turn, and ignores the thick smoke rising gradually in the distance.

But soon afterward, the car sways uncontrollably, sliding as if drunk, chaotically veering onto the sidewalk.

"Watch the road, watch the road, damn it, watch the road!!!"

"I am watching, it's..."

The sound of crying and screaming erupts.

Boom!!!

The old fence snaps in the middle, then the car, in its rush, plunges into the embankment beneath it, rolling all the way down into the surging water.

Mostly submerged.

Not far away, the pancake vendor stands aghast, watching the scene across the street, rubs his eyes, abandons his stall to rush over, but hasn't taken many steps before hearing a deafening explosion.

Flames rise, smoke billows.

Screams emerge only to quickly cease.

Amidst the rolling sea water, that car is completely engulfed by flames and smoke, soon twisted beyond recognition, without even time to call for an ambulance.

The stunned vendor wipes the sweat from his forehead, suddenly thankful that the explosion was away from his stall.

"What's going on?" Passersby peek with horror.

"Who knows."

The pancake vendor sighs, lights a cigarette, lamenting: "Electric cars are deadly..."

Similarly, disasters and coincidences seem not rare today.

In just a few minutes, phone lines in the Northern Mountain District, Lihua District, Dragon Sea District, were overwhelmed. Electric car self-ignition, truck accidents, aging circuits and dust explosions...

As if everyone agreed on a flash mob event, occurrences one after another.

Causes varied, the devastation multifaceted, sadly not a single survivor.

Except on the edge of the West River District, a new internet company started in an old factory building.

Due to inadequate fire safety facilities, after a fire broke out in the data room, this massive electricity-consuming data factory sweatshop was quickly incinerated.

The terrified and fleeing employees of the cattle and horse company squatted below, their faces ashen, still reeling from the shock.

When the fire brigade arrived, they discovered that the boss was missing.

Only the familiar sounds came from the building engulfed in thick smoke, shrill wails, and cries.

"Help, help... save me... my leg..."

From sharp to blurred, from high-pitched to hoarse, until finally, even the cries were inaudible.

The fire was too fierce; all the fire brigade could do was pour some water on the spot to barely make a difference, take a photo. As for the key players who usually fawned over the boss, they stood there, staring at their 'home' turning to ashes, along with the boss who was like a second father, not daring to utter a word.

Drip, drip, drip...

A torrential downpour, long predicted by the meteorological station, fell from the sky, extinguishing the lingering flames on the ruins, preventing the fire from spreading. And amid the downpour, only the dark ruins remained, gradually collapsing.

In the distant Northern Mountain District, in the darkness of the workshop, cold starlight flickered on and off.

On the operation table, mechanical arms moved like gentle hands, caressing the small Mercury Spider in their palm. The blood-stained spider playfully wiggled its limbs, feeling extremely content.

"Good child," she said.

On the screen before her, a speeding black car suddenly braked on the road, swerved off the overpass, and doubled back.

Ahead, the red light flashed.

"Faster!"

In the car, Yin Chaoyang anxiously gripped his phone: "Head back to the company first."

The driver stuck his head out the window to take a look: "Boss, there's a traffic jam, red light."

"Forget about the damned red and green lights!" Yin Chaoyang restrained his anxiety, occasionally looking back at the slowly approaching fully-loaded truck behind them, his whole body tense.

But at the intersection behind, the truck turned a corner and drove away.

Fine dust rose from the dirty truck body, scattered, swirling.

As if mocking him.

Scaring himself.

Yin Chaoyang breathed a sigh of relief and barely had time to turn around when he heard the piercing loud noise and the harsh screeching of metal, crashing down from above!

Boom!!!

On the tower crane's jib on the construction site next door, a detached hook fell, carrying a large bundle of I-beams, crashing down and shredding the entire car to bits!

In the explosion and thick smoke, flames soared, illuminating Yin Chaoyang's pale face.

In that split second, the quick-reacting driver suddenly rose with lightning speed, tearing off his seatbelt and punching open the right car door.

Grabbing Yin Chaoyang, he leaped out of the car, landing in the greenbelt.

Broken branches like sharp blades pierced through Yin Chaoyang's palm, but he didn't even have time to feel the pain, just a flood of terror and post-fear.

Almost, almost...

"Thanks to you," Yin Chaoyang, drenched in sweat, patted the driver's shoulder: "This month, I..."

The driver remained silent, half-kneeling on the ground, unresponsive.

"Hah... hah..."

In a fearful struggle, White Deer's Chosen One slowly turned his head, blood gushing, half-twisted rusted spike had already pierced his throat, cutting off his breath, severing the artery.

No time to react, not even time to realize where it came from.

At the moment of contact with the blood, a tiny speck of rust on the twisted spike had already merged into the bloodstream, bringing a deep soul-level Mutant change.

Yet that wisp of Mutated Spirit Material was too tiny, not even enough to cause mutation, but at the same time, too deadly, penetrating the Matrix, severing the blessing.

Then, as the spike broke, blood gushed like a fountain, spraying onto Yin Chaoyang's face.

Staining his gold-rimmed glasses and high-end custom suit.

Bang!

As the body hit the ground, a dull sound echoed from the car's wreckage.

Scattered flyers on the street were swept up by the hot rising air current, lifted into the sky, and fell into the blood, gradually dyed red, so glaring.

On the back of the flyer, there was an abstract smiley face drawn with a black marker.

Looking at the survivor before it.

Sending a greeting.

[Hello]

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