A little later, Lu Yaoyao brings Jang Yu back to her place. She has him wait in her room while she heads to her father's room to find information on the awakened. She returns shortly after and tosses him something that looks like a VR headset.
"All the data on the awakened is in there. Take your time."
Jang Yu doesn't ask questions. He puts it on immediately.
The interface materializes around him. The next second, he feels himself falling into a bottomless abyss. When he opens his eyes, he's floating in that vast, endless void.
The system begins to speak. The abyss. An unknown realm filled with forbidden power and constant danger. It is the origin of the catastrophe. Aberrants are born here, consuming, destroying endlessly.
Between our world and the abyss lies a layer in between: the shadow realm. It is the projection that separates reality from the abyss. Aberrants use the shadow realm to infiltrate the real world. The Night Watch controls every known entry point, yet many still slip through.
The shadow realm resets once a month. During that window, aberrant numbers surge dramatically. Only fighters of rank four or above can enter to clear them out, but prolonged exposure corrupts the body, and corrupted fighters become new aberrants.
Jang Yu frowns. That's strange. He's been in and out of the shadow realm multiple times and hasn't felt a thing.
The system continues. To fight aberrants, you need power that can match them. That means becoming an awakened. At their core, the awakened carry an aberrant within them. They wield the power, but the power corrodes them in return. So the awakened are in constant battle against corruption and transformation. If they die, there is a high chance they become a new aberrant. At that point, their consciousness still remains. So when you begin to turn, exhaust every last drop of your power before you go.
Learning this leaves Jang Yu stunned. The awakened and the aberrants. Two sides of the same existence.
Lu Yaoyao walks over. "Done?"
"Yeah. A lot to take in. Still processing."
Then Jang Yu leans back with a grin. "Come give your boy a back rub. Eight-pack abs. All yours to admire."
Lu Yaoyao moves behind him and starts kneading his shoulders, but she's clearly not buying the abs claim. She lifts his shirt, and sure enough, eight solid abs stare back at her.
Right at that moment, Lu Nanfang shoves the door open. His expression is dark. There's something dangerously close to murder in his eyes.
The three of them sit at the long table in the living room. The silence is painful. Jang Yu sneaks a glance and finds Lu Nanfang staring at him like a mortal enemy.
Lu Yaoyao speaks up weakly. "Dad, you misunderstood."
Lu Nanfang shoots his daughter a look. "I saw it with my own eyes. Was I wrong?"
Lu Yaoyao stammers, ears going red. She spots Jang Yu shoveling food into his mouth like nothing happened. "Jang Yu, say something."
Jang Yu clears his throat and raises his glass. "Uncle Lu, no words needed. I'll take three drinks as self-punishment."
Without waiting for a response, he drains the glass in one go.
Lu Nanfang's temper shoots through the roof. "You've got some nerve, kid. Where's my knife?"
Lu Yaoyao tries to hold him back. No use. Jang Yu is already sprinting for the door. "Uncle Lu, this is a misunderstanding. A total misunderstanding."
Lu Nanfang stares him down, hand reaching into his jacket. Lu Yaoyao's brow knits together. She steps forward and snatches whatever he has clenched between his teeth.
Lu Nanfang blinks, caught off guard. He turns, eyes sharp. "Tell me exactly what you two were doing when I walked in."
Jang Yu jumps in. "We were reviewing materials on aberrants and the awakened. That's it."
Lu Nanfang turns a suspicious eye toward his daughter. Lu Yaoyao avoids his gaze and turns her head away.
Lu Nanfang lets out a long, heavy sigh, then can't help but laugh. "Look what I've let you get away with."
His tone shifts. "Serious now, Jang Yu. Do you know why the government doesn't let students access this information early?"
Jang Yu shakes his head honestly. "Not really."
Lu Nanfang lights a cigarette. "When the mind wavers, darkness takes root on its own. Despair has a way of dragging people into the abyss. Some things aren't meant for everyone to know."
The words go over Jang Yu's head. A little too cryptic.
Lu Nanfang continues. "Not everyone has the willpower to handle it. Even the smallest crack in your resolve gives an aberrant a way in. That's why there's a qualification test before the combat exam. Only those whose bodies and minds both meet the standard are cleared to enter the world of the awakened. And the path of the awakened is treacherous at every step. Even with medical support and treatment devices, people lose control every single year. It's a tragedy that never stops."
He exhales slowly. "That's why I'm telling you. Stay out of this world. Do you understand?"
Jang Yu smiles. "But the exam is mandatory this year, right? Besides, I'd rather rely on myself than anyone else. And if the sky falls, someone tall enough will hold it up. Just got to stay calm."
Lu Nanfang starts to respond, but his comm device erupts into urgent signals. The moment he picks up, a frantic voice comes through. "Captain Lu, urgent mission in the shadow realm."
Lu Nanfang acknowledges and turns for the door. Then he stops and turns back, eyes cold. "I'm heading out on a mission. You better behave yourself. One more time and I'll drag you into the Night Watch personally."
Jang Yu thumps his chest. "Promise. Don't worry, Uncle Lu. Yaoyao and I won't do anything out of line anymore."
Lu Yaoyao chokes on her drink and spits it everywhere. She grabs his face with both hands. "What do you mean anymore? We didn't do anything in the first place. You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
The new year is approaching. The streets are alive. Bustling crowds, red decorations everywhere, full of energy. Jang Yu glances at the giant Night Watch recruitment ads on the screens above and sighs.
He'd hoped to dig through more of the files at Lu Yaoyao's place, but he only got through the basics. Now here he is, wandering through the supermarket with his head down. Knowing Lu Nanfang, those files will be locked away somewhere he'll never find them. Probably gone for good.
Jang Yu lets out a quiet sigh. Then his phone rings. Lu Yaoyao.
He barely gets the call answered before her voice cuts in. "Jang Yu, grab me a carton of eggs and a bottle of milk. And, actually, never mind. Just those."
She hangs up immediately, but Jang Yu knows exactly what she actually needs. He walks straight to a specific aisle and picks up two packs with a sly grin. Just say you need pads. No need to dance around it.
On the way back, his mind won't settle. School is getting closer, and the shadow's training gains are starting to plateau. Pure training isn't enough anymore. He needs real combat experience.
His steps slow. Come to think of it, the anti-aberrant propaganda has been everywhere lately, and this year's combat exam has a mandatory expanded intake.
Jang Yu looks up at the pale moonlight. Something feels off, like the world is holding its breath before something bad.
Then he shakes it off. Overthinking gets you nowhere. Better to find that aberrant and work out his frustration the old-fashioned way.
He glances around like a thief, checking for witnesses. Dark threads weave up from his feet. He closes his eyes, and in an instant he's in the shadow realm.
An HP bar flickers into view. Jang Yu snaps into a fighting stance. "Who's there?"
No answer. Quiet footsteps ring through the empty alley. Then a figure steps slowly out of the dark.
A young man in a Night Watch uniform. Left leg broken, eyes hollow, his face covered in terrifying black veins. A horrifying sight.
The moment the young man moves, Jang Yu instinctively steps back. Then recognition hits. "You're from my building, aren't you? What are you doing here?"
The young man doesn't answer. Or rather, he can't. The next moment, he collapses.
Jang Yu's gut twists. A cold sweat runs down his neck. Not far from the young man, two small children lie slumped against each other, unconscious. And beside them, a specter, standing perfectly still, grotesque and ghastly.
Jang Yu recognizes it. The same specter that had been harassing him. Which makes what he sees next all the more shocking. The specter's HP bar is down to twenty-four percent. Its right claw is snapped in half. Dark liquid pours from the wound. A wreck, but still terrifying.
Jang Yu's mouth curls into a cold smile. "So it's you. What a small world."