The Twelve-Hour Wheel

When the roots of Sanxingdui’s bronze sacred tree appeared in a subway tunnel, Su Bai discovered that his genes had long since been contaminated. Snake-scale black markings spread with the countdown, while Zhang Lei’s seven-star tattoo could actually suppress the ghosts of ancient Shu. A scan from mechanic Chen Que’s artificial eye revealed the truth: they were all living vessels for the “Seed Project,” and the sacred tree’s roots were devouring the city. Even the bottle cap from a North Ice Ocean soda turned out to be a monitoring device from a higher civilization. To break the deadlock, Chen Que sacrificed his mechanical heart, Su Bai devoured his clone and awakened the power of the Snake, and the group charged into the Twelve Branch domains. Amid the slaughter of bronze and flesh, Lin Han uncovered the cruel truth behind civilization’s endless cycles: the seed is no human, and all who dare raise an axe against the gods are sparks destined to set the world ablaze.