In the era of the end of magic, fierce specters are reviving, and humanity has reached a dead end.

A watch passed down from Adam Carter's late parents allows him to travel through the past and future.

Ancient legacies severed from the past, taboos passed down by word of mouth, and skills fallen into dust are thus revived with new life.

In the Secret Vault Domain, there are methods to bind fierce specters using sutras, offerings, and one's own body;

Within the Kitchen God Sect, there are techniques for refining oil, weighing rice, and deep-frying specters...

The spark is rekindled,

And the chaotic mysteries shrouding the present and future are faintly outlined by the firelight...

Chapter 1: Perfect Life Simulator

　　A light rain was falling outside the window.

　　Adam Carter gazed at the rain outside, sighing silently; his mood was as gloomy as the sky.

　　It had rained like this three years ago today, the day the news of his parents' death was delivered to his school.

　　Sitting at his desk, he picked up a watch.

　　The watch was an old item; as a child, he had seen his grandfather always wearing it, and later it was passed to his father.

　　After his parents passed away, the watch came into Adam Carter's possession.

　　He always kept the watch by his side, as a way to remember them.

　　The watch face was somewhat yellowed and blurry, but the metal band still shone. At this moment, the hands beneath the glass were motionless, stubbornly pointing to 2:15.

　　"Why did it stop?"

　　Adam Carter frowned at the stopped hands. Ever since he found the watch among his parents' belongings, it had kept running; this was the first time in three years it had stopped.

　　Was it broken?

　　Cutting off his train of thought, he twisted the crown on the right side of the watch, trying to wind it.

　　However, the crown seemed welded to the case; no matter how hard Adam Carter tried, it wouldn't budge.

　　He grew anxious and applied even more force.

　　Unexpectedly, his finger scraped against the edge of the watch. Normally harmless, the edge cut a small wound on his fingertip due to his excessive force.

　　Blood immediately seeped out, staining the watch glass red.

　　Adam Carter hurriedly grabbed a tissue to wipe the blood from the glass—but before he could, the blood beaded up on the surface, then quickly seeped into the watch, landing on the hands.

　　'Tick, tick, tick...'

　　The hands, which had been motionless, began to move again.

　　As if powered by that drop of blood.

　　The entire watch face turned a vivid red, and then the crimson color spread to the band, tightly wrapping around Adam Carter's wrist.

　　He saw the second hand, stained with blood, spinning clockwise at a speed almost too fast to see, circling again and again.

　　The minute and hour hands also began to move rapidly.

　　As the hands kept spinning, Adam Carter's room was plunged into utter darkness.

　　A giant watch face floated in the darkness, all the hands pointing to '0'. A mechanical female electronic voice sounded in Adam Carter's mind: "Welcome to the Perfect Life Simulator!"

　　"You may spend Yuan Jade to simulate your own or others' lives, seeking solutions to many of life's problems!"

　　"Currently, you can only simulate your future life. Would you like to begin the simulation?"

　　The string of female voices crashed into Adam Carter's thoughts. He saw on the giant watch face, the second hand pointed to '1', and next to the '1' a display screen appeared.

　　On the screen, Adam Carter sat at his desk, frowning in thought at his empty palm.

　　Is this the life he could currently choose to simulate?

　　Where did the Yuan Jade to be spent come from?

　　How did the watch passed down from his grandfather become this so-called 'Perfect Life Simulator'?

　　Adam Carter's mind was filled with chaotic thoughts.

　　All these jumbled thoughts were swept away as the electronic voice sounded again: "After each simulation, you will receive Yuan Jade and other rewards based on your score."

　　Listening to the electronic voice, Adam Carter suddenly thought of his parents' mysterious deaths—could it be related to this simulator?

　　His heart skipped a beat, and he finally made up his mind.

　　—Maybe he could find some answers to these mysteries from this bizarre life simulator!

　　"I want to start the simulation!" he responded in his mind.

　　"Detected: your Yuan Jade wallet balance is '5'. A personal life simulation costs one Yuan Jade."

　　"As a first-time user of the Perfect Life Simulator, you may spend one Yuan Jade to randomly obtain a permanent talent. Would you like to spend it?"

　　Adam Carter still didn't understand why there was Yuan Jade in his wallet, but upon hearing the simulator's prompt, he didn't hesitate and spent one Yuan Jade to draw a permanent talent.

　　No matter what the game, to entice players to spend, the first top-up reward is always extremely generous.

　　"Drawing talent..."

　　"Draw successful! You have obtained the permanent talent 'Calm (Green)'."

　　"Calm (Green): You possess a level of caution above the average person, able to carefully observe your surroundings in chaotic situations, and have a certain degree of logical thinking ability."

　　The moment the talent was drawn, Adam Carter's mind suddenly cleared, and all the thoughts that had been drifting in his mind settled down, allowing him to carefully assess the current situation.