The truck horn tore through the air.
Ear-piercing, rapid.
In the middle of the road, a little girl stood frozen, as if her soul had been ripped away.
Qin Yi didn't think.
His body had already rushed forward.
In the second before the impact, he only had time to see the girl being pushed aside—
Then.
Darkness.
Heavy, cold, utter darkness.
Death engulfed his consciousness like a tide.
—
"...Beep."
A soft electronic sound rang in his mind.
[Causal-level sacrifice detected.]
[Compensation mechanism activated.]
[Permissions loading...]
Qin Yi suddenly opened his eyes.
He was still standing on the side of the road.
The truck was stopped ten meters away.
The driver's face was frozen in terror.
The air was eerily quiet.
He slowly turned his head.
The entire street— froze.
Pedestrians hung suspended in mid-air, still in their running postures; fallen leaves hovered in the air; the traffic light's numbers were frozen at "7."
There was no wind.
No sound.
No breath.
"This is...the afterlife?"
He looked down at himself.
His body was intact.
His heartbeat was normal.
His body temperature was real.
But in his mind, a memory that wasn't his own had appeared.
—This world was divided into nine layers.
The first layer was the birthplace of magical beasts.
The second layer was the bunker city guarding the first layer.
The third layer—the primordial world.
This was the starting point for all alien civilizations a thousand years ago.
Later, the strong continued to ascend.
Higher layers possessed more concentrated energy and rules.
They possessed magic.
They possessed superpowers.
They possessed naturally powerful bloodlines.
But the third layer was left only with ordinary people.
Psionic energy was sparse, and the rules were dormant.
To reach higher levels—
Only by becoming stronger.
And now.
Qin Yi heard that cold voice ring out again.
[Ability Bound.]
[Permission Name: No Man's Time.]
[Effect: Gain an extra 24 hours daily.]
[Status: World Frozen, all life forms except the host are suspended.]
[Note: Death during No Man's Time = Real-world death.]
[Countdown Begins: 23:59:58]
Qin Yi's pupils suddenly contracted.
Twenty-four hours.
The world was deserted.
He was all alone.
He instinctively walked towards a shop on the street.
The glass door opened gently.
No resistance.
No shopkeeper.
No sound.
The entire city—as if its soul had been drained.
He suddenly realized something.
If this time was real.
That meant— Others cultivated for 24 hours a day.
But he.
had 48 hours.