I Can See the Medical Records of the City's Entire Pipeline Network

In late September, Jiangzhou was still warm enough for short sleeves and light shirts. Chen Ye, a heating technician, stumbled upon a burst heating pipe in an underground trench and unexpectedly awakened a supernatural ability: he could see the city's entire network of pipes.

In his eyes, the pipes became a semi-transparent medical record of the city: scaled-up pipes, worn valve cores, damp insulation. Every hidden danger was plain to see. A line of glaring dark red text appeared: Jiangzhou Main Network Survival Countdown: 26 days, 4 hours.

The weather forecast only warned of a slight drop in temperature. No one knew that the city's heating network was on the verge of collapse. Chen Ye submitted a report on the imminent crisis, but it vanished without a trace.

While everyone else was busy stocking up to keep warm, he clutched a repair-materials estimate for just six thousand yuan and plunged into the boiler room.

Repair it, and live.

From garages to apartment buildings, from residential compounds to neighborhoods, wherever he went, he made repairs, bit by bit extending the life of a network on the verge of breaking apart. Winter arrived early. In the vast city of Jiangzhou, he alone could see the urban network of pipes slowly dying.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.