Twenty-three years after the Great Awakening, nearly a third of the world's population had gained supernatural talents. Some could shatter buildings with a single palm strike; others could set a city ablaze with a glance. The Sequence Bureau brought them into the system, granted them ranks, and entered them into official records.
Lu Chen was just a food delivery rider working the night shift around the South Third Ring Road in Jincheng. No talent, no rank, and only thirty-seven yuan in his bank account.
That was until, on a rainy night on the seventeenth floor of the Red Flame Building, a wanted criminal stopped his heart with a sonic attack.
The instant his heartbeat ceased, a System activated.
It was called "Zero Point."
It had only one rule: whenever his heart stopped, it would automatically steal the talent of the nearest Awakened within his range. The other person would lose their ability forever, and he would gain everything.
He had no choice in the matter, and it made no distinction between friend and foe.
Lu Chen survived, but now he held a double-edged blade, dangerous to others and to himself.
He wanted to live. He wanted to protect those around him. But if his mental energy reached zero, his heartbeat would be forcibly stopped. Then the nearest person to him, whether foe or ally, would have their talent taken away.
That meant the closer the people who trusted him got, the greater the danger they were in.
A delivery rider who stole talents, a group of Awakened hiding their own secrets, and an underground organization buried deep within the system that had been harvesting talents for twenty years.
When he discovered that he was the "perfect vessel," everyone's eyes turned to his heart.
As long as it kept beating, everyone was safe. If it stopped, all would be lost.
He had to survive, and he had to make sure the people he protected survived too.
