Chapter 1: Plot Strings. Liu Ming: What? The world is destroyed? Wha…

The world is ending.

The massive World Tree is withering; the continents are collapsing and shattering.

Volcanic lava flows into the sea, and hurricanes trigger tsunamis that howl across the globe, drowning everything in their path.

The highest peak in the world is splintering. Ice and rock slide together as if cleaved by some invisible force, a power that has turned the sky pitch black, stretching all the way to the edge of the world.

The tree is dying, and the world is dying with it.

People are wailing, people are screaming, and people are whispering.

The sky presses down heavily. Tides, magma, earth, and hurricanes converge, coalescing under a singular, specialized power to form a towering throne.

Upon that throne, a pitch-black dragon opens its blood-red eyes.

In a ward at the Tree Tower Academy Affiliated Hospital, a silver-blue-haired youth lying on a hospital bed also snapped open a pair of blood-red eyes.

The youth’s name was Liu Ming. He was a student at Tree Tower Academy, the highest institution for combating Anomalies, and the young master of the Liu Family, the administrators of the First District. A few days ago, he had clashed with a classmate named Yun Zhou. Upon returning, he had fallen gravely ill and remained in a deep sleep until now.

“Just now… was that a dream?”

Liu Ming sat up. He rolled off the bed, his steps stumbling and unsteady. He nearly collapsed, but he didn’t care. He reached down, ripped the IV needle from the back of his hand, and rushed to the window of the ward.

Drip, drip.

Blood dripped from the site of the indwelling needle, but Liu Ming had no time to worry about it. He simply pushed open the window and stared blankly at the night sky.

In the dark blue night, stars were twinkling. The massive, translucent World Tree grew at the very center of the First District. Its canopy, like soft clouds, flowed with star-like points of light, encircling the surrounding buildings like a gentle cradle.

That was the World Tree, the prison where humanity contained and suppressed Anomalies.

Everything looked normal. The terrifyingly realistic scenes from his dream seemed like a fleeting illusion, but Liu Ming knew with absolute certainty that it hadn’t been a dream.

The human world was going to be destroyed in the near future.

As for the evidence…

The silver-blue-haired youth looked up with difficulty. He tried his best not to let his gaze focus too obviously. Ever since that dream, lines of green text had been floating before his eyes. These words appeared out of thin air, branded onto his retinas; no matter where he looked, they persisted stubbornly.

As for the content of those words… it was even more soul-shaking.

【Isn’t this way too intense? The story starts with the wolf-cub Yun Zhou dreaming about the end of the world?】

【As expected of the protagonist, having prophetic dreams right off the bat. The Chosen One really is different. It’s a pity this ending can’t be changed. After all, the protagonist is only on his First Cycle¹. There’s still a second cycle to go. How can you start a Second Cycle if the world doesn’t end?】

【Hee hee, you’re right. If the world doesn’t end, how can the “protagonist’s” golden finger² be born?】

…

Liu Ming silently clenched his fists. What do they mean the world “must” be destroyed? The things these people were saying were infuriating.

And… wolf-cub… so the scene just now was Yun Zhou’s dream… but was that nickname really for the Yun Zhou he knew? That guy came from the cursed Seventh District. Before being recruited by the Tree Tower as a Corrector³ freshman, he was a wanderer on the high plateaus. While his Spiritual Body was indeed a wolf, he didn’t seem like the type to fit such a cute nickname at all.

What exactly were these things flashing before his eyes like a live bullet-chat⁴?

Liu Ming’s lip twitched. He felt like he was going to be sick with disgust.

However, the bullet-chat didn’t care about his will. It continued to narrate a terrifying reality.

【Let me see what that cannon-fodder⁵ villain young master, the one who clashed with our cute wolf-cub a few days ago, is doing—why is he still standing there dazing off?!】

【The moment this young master appeared, I knew he was either the type to be redeemed into a sidekick or the type of cannon fodder who meets a miserable end. Looking at him now, it’s definitely the latter.】

【True. This young master is just a fool raised into uselessness by his family. He can’t possibly have a deep character arc like the protagonist’s group.】

【I can’t take it anymore. I know he doesn’t have an omniscient perspective like us and doesn’t know what’s happening, but his own grandfather is about to die and he’s still standing there leisurely enjoying the night view. As expected of a pampered young master—】

【By the way, what’s going on with the head of the Liu Family? Wasn’t he fine before?】

【No idea. It’s probably the influence of an Anomaly. These things come with natural disasters; they’re impossible to guard against. When one of the Top 10 Anomalies appeared, it turned the entire Seventh District into the wasteland it is today.】

In this world, there existed special creatures called Anomalies. Some were like the ghosts and spirits of legend, others were the source of urban legends, and some were no different from the beings in ancient myths, possessing terrifying power capable of destroying heaven and earth.

Humanity had evolved alongside the appearance of Anomalies. Some humans became espers with spiritual power, categorized into two main types: Sentinels and Guides⁶. The Tree Tower Academy, where Liu Ming and Yun Zhou studied, was the highest institution for espers across all nine districts.

The Liu Family had established its position in the Tree Tower and the First District because of its many Guides. However, the head of the family, Liu Ming’s grandfather Liu Lin, held a fatal secret. Years ago, his spiritual power had been severely damaged while containing the Sequence 35 Anomaly, 【Scorching Ghost】. He was no longer capable of fighting Anomalies.

No, he had to go find his grandfather immediately!

Liu Ming took a deep breath. The strict family rules he had been raised with allowed him to calm down instantly. He thought of those bullet-chat comments, those “eyes” watching him, and turned his gaze toward a small box on the bedside table.

That was the birthday gift he had originally intended to give his grandfather.

He spoke aloud on purpose: “I can’t sleep anyway. I might as well go give Grandfather his gift now to earn some favor.”

Sure enough, the perspective of the bullet-chat remained fixed on him: 【Heh, as expected, this cannon-fodder Liu Ming is also brainwashed by power. No one in the Liu Family is any good; they’re all fighting for the succession. I thought this cannon fodder might be the type to be redeemed and become the protagonist’s lackey later, but it turns out he’s just as blinded by greed. He’s already starting to fight for the inheritance.】

【You’re not kidding. Old Man Liu really was grooming Liu Ming as his heir. Out of all the Liu children, Liu Ming was clearly his favorite.】

Liu Ming’s eyes darkened as he read this.

His favorite… was he?

If the family rules and punishments carved into his skin and the relentless demands he’d faced since childhood counted as being “favored,” then there wasn’t a parent in the world who didn’t dote on their child.

The bullet chat soon followed up with something even more terrifying: 【Sigh, if that’s the case, it makes sense why he died so miserably in the First Cycle. Even if I don’t like him, I still think the young master’s end was a bit too brutal—dying in the middle of an Anomaly swarm out in the Seventh District’s wasteland, getting devoured by ten thousand monsters.】

Liu Ming shuddered. These comments seemed deadly serious.

【Whatever, let’s go check on Yun Zhou’s side. It looks like they’ve run into another Anomaly—hiss, as expected of the protagonist!】

Liu Ming breathed a small sigh of relief. The sensation of being watched abruptly vanished as those eyes of unknown origin finally shifted their gaze away from him.

His grandfather’s current condition, his own fate… there were too many questions, and now was not the time to drown in his emotions.

The youth’s deep red eyes turned sharp and somber. Ignoring the fact that he was still in his hospital gown, he simply threw on a black trench coat, grabbed the silver-rimmed glasses from his bedside table, and rushed straight to the hospital’s main entrance.

A black car arrived shortly after. The driver was a Serpent Guard of the Liu Family; he was tight-lipped and wouldn’t ask why Liu Ming was running around in the middle of the night.

Liu Ming got into the car, his voice cold and concise. “To the Withered Lotus Courtyard.”

The Withered Lotus Courtyard was a Liu Family estate not far from the Tree Tower’s affiliated hospital. The residence was usually empty, but Liu Ming knew for certain that his grandfather would be there tonight.

He looked up. The sky was pitch black, but between the layers of clouds, a full moon shone with a shimmering light.

Tonight was a full moon, and his grandfather… every month on the night of the full moon, the Head of the Liu Family would come to this estate alone. He would stare at the moon and the pond full of rotting, withered lotuses, reminiscing about something.

Liu Ming didn’t know what was buried beneath that pond of withered lotuses; he could only see the sorrow and pain in the depths of his grandfather’s eyes.

And now…

Liu Ming pushed open the door to the small courtyard. Under the cascading moonlight, the scene before him nearly stole his breath. it was a terrifying sight, so bizarre it was beyond description, utterly overturning everything Liu Ming understood about the word “Anomaly.”

The white-haired Head of the Liu Family, Liu Lin, stood in the very center of the exquisitely constructed vintage courtyard. Behind him lay the pond of withered lotuses.

He stood there like a puppet. His spiritual body, a King Cobra, had its long body coiled almost entirely around the courtyard. Pale spiritual power merged with the moonlight. Sensing Liu Ming’s arrival, Liu Lin looked up and offered a kind, loving smile, just as he always did.

But Liu Ming found himself unable to bow to his grandfather as usual.

Because his grandfather’s movements were stiff and his expression was uncanny. Thin gold threads were wound around his joints, leading directly into the invisible depths of the sky above.

Several of the Liu Family’s Serpent Guards stood around Liu Lin. Those guards were also entangled in the same eerie gold threads.

“Come here, Liu Ming.”

After the initial stiffness, Liu Lin seemed to return to normal. He acted as if he couldn’t see the bizarre gold threads at all, smiling as he invited his favorite child to his side.

“Yes, Grandfather.”

Liu Ming felt his voice must sound horribly raspy, but as a member of the Liu Family, he could not disobey the Head’s command.

So, he took a step forward, entering the circle formed by the massive King Cobra.

In that instant, it felt as if a freezing rain had fallen from the sky, chilling him to the bone. Liu Ming felt his entire body go rigid and frozen. He glanced at his side, only to see identical golden threads slowly manifesting at his own joints.

Those golden threads were less like physical objects and more like a form of spiritual power. They weren’t brought about by his grandfather’s spiritual power; rather, it was because of his grandfather’s spiritual power that they became visible.

“Grandfather… what is this…?”

He snapped his head up, staring at the elder standing among the unconscious Serpent Guards.

“These are Plot Strings.”

Liu Lin answered Liu Ming’s question. He was still smiling, looking every bit as refined and elegant as he did during the Seven-District Council meetings at The Tower.

“Plot Strings…?” Liu Ming thought back to the bullet chat he’d seen. To those commenters, the world he lived in seemed to be nothing more than entertainment, like a novel for people’s amusement. “What are they?”

His own voice sounded incredibly bitter to his ears.

“Who knows? Perhaps an Anomaly, or perhaps something even more terrifying than an Anomaly. Is the world we live in a book? A game? A manga? Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we are here, and…”

Liu Lin smiled again. Liu Ming could tell his grandfather was in a relaxed state tonight, completely devoid of the terrifying pressure he exerted when handling affairs for the First District and The Tower. It was as if, after glimpsing the truth of the world, everything else had instantly become nothing more than raindrops falling outside a window.

None of it mattered anymore.

“We must move forward according to the future planned by these strings, otherwise—”

Liu Lin suddenly laughed. He walked over to a Serpent Guard wearing a silver snake mask, drew the dagger from the guard’s waist, and plunged it violently into his own chest!

“Grandfather!”

It all happened in a single second. Liu Ming didn’t even have time to react. He lunged forward to stop his grandfather, only to see the gruesome wound—without any soothing from a Healing-type spiritual power…

Actually begin to recover.

No, it wasn’t just recovering; it was regenerating with extreme speed!

Five seconds? Ten? Liu Ming felt his perception dulling from the sheer shock, but he remained acutely aware that this was wrong.

With the appearance of Anomalies, espers had gradually emerged among humanity. Espers were divided into two major categories: Sentinels and Guides. Combat-oriented espers who could use their spiritual power for abilities were called Sentinels. Meanwhile, those with spiritual, healing, or certain auxiliary abilities were called Guides, named for their ability to guide and soothe the spiritual bodies of Sentinels who had overexerted themselves in battle.

Guides were extremely rare. The immense mental power they possessed brought not only scarcity in numbers but also physical constitutions far inferior to those of Sentinels.

The speed at which the wounds on Liu Lin’s body were healing was faster than that of a Sentinel treated by a healing-type Guide. This was clearly abnormal!

Liu Ming instantly realized the crux of the issue. “Is it because of these golden threads?”

Liu Lin wore a rare expression of relief and nodded. “Yes. Because of these golden threads, the future of every one of us has been completely determined. We have even lost the right to choose death.”

“I just saw our future through Y231. It was a future of darkness, total destruction, where even the World Tree had withered. And before that future fully arrives… we will die. The Liu Family will be expelled from the Tower’s Seven-District Council, deserted by all, and become the laughingstock of the world.”

Liu Lin looked at Liu Ming, emphasizing every word. “You, too, will die a miserable death.”

Liu Ming felt a chill run down his spine.

‘Y’ was the abbreviation for Anomaly. Y231 was the entity ranked 231st on the Anomaly Sequence List. Liu Ming had always scored full marks on his dictation tests for the Anomaly sequences. He suddenly stared at his grandfather’s hand. At some point, a ring had appeared there.

It was a simple, silver, snake-shaped ring.

But… hadn’t Y231 remained undiscovered by the Tower? Since the arrival of the Anomalies, the Tower—the anti-anomaly combat organization governing the seven human safety districts—had paid a price in blood to create the Anomaly Sequence List that was now common knowledge. The names, characteristics, and weaknesses of all Anomalies were recorded on that list. Yet Y231 was the most eerie Anomaly on the entire chart.

It wasn’t a terrifying existence like those in the top fifty, but humans simply could not perceive it. Even the most sensitive mental-type Guides could not detect the true form of Y231. Because of this, it was known as the “Non-existent Anomaly.”

And now, that non-existent Anomaly was resting in his grandfather’s hand, transformed into a quiet silver snake ring.

Combined with the ending his grandfather described and the bullet chat mentioning that he would die miserably in the First Cycle…

Liu Ming took a deep breath. He could not accept such a future, nor could he accept the downfall of the Liu Family. He looked at Liu Lin. “Grandfather, you have a way. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be waiting for me here.”

Liu Lin sighed. “Though it sounds a bit sentimental to say this now, as your elder, I still want to ask: that is a very, very difficult path. Are you ready… to walk it?”

Liu Ming didn’t speak. He simply reached out his hand, ready to take the ring from Liu Lin at any moment.

“I know, Grandfather. It is precisely because I know the identity of the Liu Family heir is shrouded in countless conspiracies that I chose to compete for this position with my brothers and sisters.”

Liu Ming smiled.

He had grown up following Liu Lin since childhood and knew far more than his siblings. Because of that, he was certain of one thing: the position of heir to the Liu Family, the administrators of the First District, was a bottomless abyss.

That was exactly why he had to seize it.

“…Y231 actually has its own name. It is called the Ring of the Nibelung⁷.”

Liu Lin picked up the ring and personally placed it on his descendant’s finger.

“Y231 can help its host completely isolate the influence of these Plot Strings. But only for one person. Because I discovered the Plot Strings, I have already been marked by Him. The future of the Liu Family… I leave it to you.”

Liu Lin pulled the stunned Liu Ming toward the door. His expression turned grave as he spoke with heavy emphasis.

“After tonight, even I will be your enemy.”

He abruptly pushed Liu Ming out the door.

In the next second, a strange, electronic mechanical voice rang out.

【Hello, Host. Welcome to the World Regulatory Bureau Service System. This is Misunderstanding Value System T231, at your service!】

【Detected that the Host has discovered one of the world’s most terrifying “Anomalies”—Y003 Wheel of Fate (Plot Strings). If you wish to eradicate this Anomaly, then after learning the truth of this world, please start running.】

The voice of the system calling itself T231 suddenly seemed to carry a hint of emotion. In a playful tone that was no longer entirely mechanical, it whispered.

【Heir of the Liu Family.】

Translator’s Notes