Chosen: Beyond Fate

Roaring flames surged like a torrential flow. Scorching winds swept through the area, carrying clouds of dust and shattered stone. Debris rained down in every direction, stained with blood.

Out in the plaza beyond the outpatient building, a group of bedraggled figures scrambled for cover, dodging the downpour of severed limbs and mangled corpses falling from above. Their faces were pale with shock.

At the rear of the crowd, Tong Hua bent over, panting heavily as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. She felt as though she had never been this exhausted in her entire life. That bastard Ji Jue had casually tossed over the record book without saying a word, while she ended up running herself ragged.

It was one thing to haul the bombs he had prepared and set them up one by one around the hospital while terrified out of her mind. But she even had to operate all the gas valves, oxygen lines, and various dust-dispersion devices personally as well.

If Ji Jue was considered the terrorist mastermind behind the whole operation, then she was definitely his accomplice. There was no way she’d escape the law. If this had happened in the real world, her brother would probably burn bridges and uphold justice over family ties. After all, he had made the young lady of the Tong family blow up a hospital.

Just what was going on in Ji Jue’s brain? If word of this ever got out, it would become a lifelong stain on her reputation.

Tong Hua suddenly became alert. Wait. That bastard isn’t planning to use this against me later, is he?!

But then again, watching something this enormous explode right before her eyes knowing that she had personally planted the charges and connected the wires, she couldn’t help feeling an indescribable sense of accomplishment and excitement welling up inside her. It actually felt kind of satisfying.

Too bad that satisfaction did not last very long. Just beneath the ruins of the hospital, among the mangled remains of a creature, a sudden, pained howl rang out.

The collapsed rubble heaved. Broken walls and shattered concrete bulged and split apart. Then, at last, an enormous, grotesque head emerged. It was a monstrous mass formed from countless human faces fused together. On the sealed second floor of the hospital, the beast of doom, born from the aberrants of who knew how many patients, had appeared.

Just looking at it was enough to make Tong Hua, an Aether-type, feel terrified. She could clearly sense its vicious, ravenous aura and tremendous vitality, one that remained utterly unshaken even in the face of explosions. If this thing had appeared outside the Time Ruin, it would have probably been classified as a Hazard-Class threat, serious enough to warrant a military deployment for extermination.

Yet Tong Hua showed no sign of panic. She calmly took a step back and pushed several Chosen Ones, who stood there like walking corpses, in front of her as a shield. This included Xie Lan, whose face was twitching uncontrollably.

“I’ll leave it to you,” she said.

Xie Lan let out a helpless sigh.

“While I do appreciate you notifying me and the other survivors in advance so we could evacuate, I’m just a researcher,” he said coldly. “And even setting that aside, why would Ji Jue assume I’d definitely help him?”

Tong Hua recalled the contents of the record book with a peculiar look crossing her face. “He said... You know who I am. If you protect me, the Tong family will reward you generously.”

“I’m not short on money.” Xie Lan shook his head, a look of disdain taking over his expression.

Research into the Vortex Path required massive investment, but at least the returns were proportional to the costs. And besides, he had the medical industry behind him, which was a literal money-printing machine. Did Ji Jue think everyone was like those people on the Ember Path, throwing resources into a bottomless pit?

Ridiculous.

“He also said that if you’re completely useless, don’t even think about getting a share of the materials. He’s keeping the specimen of the Undying Disease all for himself. As for everything you’ve collected so far? The Security Bureau will confiscate every last bit of it.”

She paused, then delivered the final killing line, word for word. “Doctor, you wouldn’t want your medical license revoked, would you?”

The moment the words left her mouth, the smug smile on Xie Lan's face froze solid. The muscles around his eyes spasmed. Inside his collar pocket, the mouse was laughing so hard it was rolling around, unable to stop.

Hahahaha! So it’s finally your turn to get screwed today, huh, Xie Lan?!

“You Ember craftsmen are all so damn heartless!” Xie Lan snapped in frustration, practically wanting to spit in that bastard’s face. Ji Jue had clearly been scheming against him from the start. He was dragging an innocent, harmless doctor down with him while courting death himself! “I can provide some support from the sidelines, at least.”

The words left his mouth through gritted teeth. “Don’t expect me to help him deal with the Undying Disease.”

From the scorching winds, strands of dreamy light emerged. Countless kinds of gu poison[1] spread out through the heated currents, unfolding insect-like wings as they took flight. Like a brilliant, flowing river of light, they rushed toward the frenzied beast of doom crawling out of the ruins.

The countless ferocious human faces fused into the beast’s head seemed to fall into a dreamlike state. Their expressions wavered and twisted, and their hollow eyes filled with despair or venomous hatred as they were pulled into madness by the shifting flow.

The creature then abruptly plunged back into the ruins, locked in a chaotic struggle against the unseen horrors within the flames and rubble.

Xie Lan let out a whistle. Immediately, the walking corpse-like puppets behind him began to move. Their dull, vacant eyes regained a sliver of clarity, followed by fear and panic.

“Go deal with that thing,” Xie Lan said, forcing down the pang of pain in his heart as he pointed forward. “If you can take it down, I’ll honor the contract. I’ll let you out of the hospital.”

Those chaotic eyes lit up with near-crazed joy. They didn’t need further urging. They threw themselves forward like their lives depended on it and swarmed toward the battlefield, drawing the rampaging monster’s attention away from everything else.

***

Just as Lian Cheng watched the massive upper-level corruption force he had so dramatically deployed be blasted skyward in an instant, he realized he could no longer move from beneath the bone wheel, despite brimming with confidence earlier. His mind went blank, and he was confused, unable to comprehend what had happened.

Where the hell did my giant outpatient building go? Where is it? It’s gone.

In the brief silence, he only heard a faint yet clearly unmistakable “pfft” coming from below.

When he looked down in fury, he saw Ji Jue glancing around and covering his mouth, as if trying not to laugh. The crimson in Lian Cheng’s eyes deepened, turning even more brutal and unhinged.

“I’m going to kill you!”

“Alright, alright, saying it once is enough. No need to keep repeating your generic villain lines. So what’s your move? Show me.” Ji Jue tilted his head and looked at him, curling his finger in a taunting gesture. “If you’ve got a lighter, bite down on it and show off while you still can[2]. If you don’t do it soon, you won’t get another chance.”

He paused, his smile turning even more wicked. “Tell me, High Priest, you wouldn’t want people to find out that the Heretic Cult is just a bunch of losers who only know how to shout slogans, would you?”

YOU’RE COURTING DEATH!!!

Lian Cheng meant to set those thoughts free with a shout, but the moment he opened his mouth, what surfaced in his mind was Ji Jue’s mocking expression. In the clash of humiliation and rage, he suddenly found himself lacking even the confidence to deliver his threat. And what he could not ignore even more was the creeping chill spreading up his spine, along with the pressure and caution that rose within his heart.

Lian Cheng, who had nearly fused with the Lord’s medium, actually felt a sense of dread when confronting Ji Jue, as though he was facing a formidable enemy. It wasn’t just due to Ji Jue’s earlier vicious, calculated manipulation and exploitation of the rules within the Time Ruin. This was also Lian Cheng’s instinct informing him, and the conclusions he had drawn from experience.

Everything, every single sign, was telling him the same thing—that the man in front of him was absolutely, undeniably, a monster.

The hospital building, now completely transformed beyond recognition, had become a demonic domain. The moment the power of the Lord descended, all Supreme Benevolence forces should have been completely expelled, turning it into a black zone.

But that Chosen One was still standing in front of Lian Cheng, completely unharmed.

1. Gu or jincan was a venom-based poison associated with cultures of south China, particularly Nanyue. The traditional preparation of gu poison involved sealing several venomous creatures inside a closed container, where they devoured one another and allegedly concentrated their toxins into a single survivor, whose body would be fed upon by larvae until consumed. The last surviving larva held the complex poison. Gu was used in black magic practices such as manipulating sexual partners, creating malignant diseases, and causing death. According to Chinese folklore, a gu spirit could transform into various animals, typically a worm, caterpillar, snake, frog, dog, or pig. ☜

2. 咬打火机 literally means “to bite a disposable lighter.” On its own, it has no special figurative meaning. It became an internet meme after several streamers performed the dangerous stunt during livestreams, most notably Dao Ge, whose account was suspended afterward. Since then, 咬打火机 has come to symbolize doing a reckless or absurd stunt purely for attention.

As a result, the phrase 没活了可以咬打火机 (“If you’re out of material, go bite a lighter”) is used sarcastically to mock creators who have run out of ideas and are relying on cheap gimmicks or shock value to entertain their audience. In Ji Jue’s line, telling the villain, “If you’ve got a lighter, bite it,” is not a literal challenge. ☜