Beneath Myth: Starting at a Repair Shop

The year the heavenly fire fell, Chen Zhiyu was fifteen.

He repaired equipment for people in Linjiang City. He crawled out of a burned-down power station, hungry, and killed a bird by the roadside.

The bird was called Guanguan. Ancient texts said that wearing one made you immune to confusion. After the bird died, that clarity remained within him. He had read those words long ago.

The world had changed long ago. There were things in the river, things in the mountains, and the city walls grew higher every year. He knew the names of many mutated beasts and had heard stories about how powerful they were, but he had never actually seen one.

Now they were so close he could reach out and touch them.

He had tools, and an old book whose pages had been worn fuzzy at the edges.

All that remained was to go and find them.