The Time Stealer: Age Zero

This is a vertical wasteland dominated by towering chimneys and criss-crossing steam pipes - "Cage City". Here, time is no longer an abstract physical concept, but the only absolute currency and lifespan. When everyone is born, a "life dial" will be implanted in the chest. When the gold sand runs out, the person will transform into an irrational mechanical monster - a time breaker. The nobles of the Sanctuary in the upper city enjoy the miracle of pseudo-eternal life, while the lower-class civilians in the lower city linger among the gray embers of burning slag, facing the fate of being forcibly drained of their lifespan at any time. Shen Yu, a time picker at the bottom, was dug alive in a brutal robbery of a black factory, his heartbeat and dials were removed, and he was abandoned in the cold ruins of engine oil. However, when death came, the hollow in his chest that should have returned to zero lit up with a faint blue high-dimensional light - the [Time Stealer] protocol was forcibly activated. There is no heartbeat or countdown. He is the only "bug" in the law of cause and effect in Cage City. When the taboo that deprives time awakens in the dark alley, Shen Yu embarks on a road of revenge and awakening that involves blood for blood. He will transform from a thug in the gutter to a chess player in the shadows, peeling off the hypocritical mask of the Hourglass Sanctuary, until he faces the giant mechanical god sleeping deep underground, devouring the life of all things. When the ticking of the second hand turns into the death knell of judgment, the dome of the Cage City will eventually shatter, and the broken world is waiting for a complete return to zero.