Night had grown denser, like thick ink, swallowing the entire village of Huangnigang. In Chu Tianyi's cramped rented room of less than ten square meters, the only light came from an old cellphone on the desk, its cracked screen emitting a faint, pallid glow. That weak beam illuminated Chu Tianyi's face—twisted and haggard from utter exhaustion, manic excitement, and a hangover-like headache.
He had barely slept all night.
Outside, the neon lights of Star City never dimmed, glaring through the grime-stained curtains like countless devilish eyes brimming with lust and temptation. Their distorted reflections danced across his bloodshot eyes.
"Heart-Hunting Spectrum…"
Chu Tianyi's lips moved soundlessly. The term—engulfing his mind like a sudden apocalypse—felt like a black flame igniting in the depths of his soul, capable of incinerating everything. It unleashed an indescribable shock and bone-deep terror, yet also sparked a fragile hope blossoming in the abyss of despair—beautiful and perilous like a hellish flower.
He sensed his life—no, his very fate—might now veer off its original course because of this sudden, morally ambiguous "gift" or "curse," propelling him onto a journey rife with infinite unknowns and limitless possibilities.
He forced himself to recall, with near-greedy intensity, the roller-coaster of events in these past two days:
From the suffocating workplace bullying at Feichi Group, where cold ruthlessness and backstabbing reigned, to witnessing Wang Hai's twisted face contorted by jealousy and pathological control.
From the moment his psyche teetered on the brink of collapse and he heard that cosmic "click" inside his head, to the first godlike glimpse of the raw, shameful desires festering in the minds of Wang Hai, Zhao Yuhang, Lin Qiqi, and other mask-wearing colleagues.
From the desperation when the ferocious landlady Liu Guifang cornered him at the door, screaming for rent, to the exhilaration and intoxicating power he felt using the Spectrum to sense her hidden anxieties about her son's studies and her husband's illness—defusing a crisis that would have left him homeless with mere tens of yuan and genuine empathy.
To yesterday's audacious infiltration of Wang Hai's office—a den of conspiracy and malice—where, like a master psychologist, Chu Tianyi stripped away layer after layer of Wang Hai's darkest fears, shameful blame-shifting schemes, and even Director Su's secret, degrading fantasies; tasting, for the first time, the sweet vengeance of manipulating those who once tormented him.
Every detail played out in his mind like a surreal, magical-realist thriller—so visceral it chilled him even as it inflamed his blood. He truly possessed a form of mind-reading, yet he preferred the grand name Heart-Hunting Spectrum.
This power went far beyond the crude "hearing thoughts" trope in low-grade web novels. It was like decoding the deepest emotional spectrum and desire profile of a target's soul.
What he "heard" were fractured thought-fragments fused with the target's strongest current emotion: greed for power, buried fears, spiteful calculations, or furtive hopes. These fragments rearranged themselves in his mind like living creatures, ultimately forming an unerringly clear "map" of the target's inner world.
On this "mental score," each person's true thoughts shimmered like musical notes—some soaring with avarice, others sinking in fear; some radiating kindness, others buzzing with jealousy, hatred, or lust.
And Chu Tianyi felt himself shedding his former insignificance, rising into a top-tier Heart-Hunting Master, able to read and manipulate these inner compositions at will.
Indeed, the Spectrum was a divine weapon capable of reshaping destiny itself. Its blade could slice through every pretense to reach the hidden shadows of any heart. In the cutthroat arena of business, in the ruthless battles of office politics, or amid the treacherous currents of romance, mastery of this skill would grant an overwhelming, near-invincible advantage.
Imagine foreknowledge of every adversary's true bottom line, silencing all threats. Detecting hidden schemes behind false smiles would let him sidestep countless pitfalls before they even formed.
He even glimpsed Lin Qiqi's sweet, blushing face—and sensed her unspoken compassion and a tender admiration she didn't even realize she felt for him:
"…Chu Tianyi… his eyes… they're actually quite nice—dark and bright. If he were just a bit more confident… more assertive… he could be truly captivating…"
These heavenly "whispers of the heart" thawed the ice around his soul, stirring a new, exhilarating warmth he'd never known.
He dared to dream: if he could uncover every hidden longing, every secret fear of a pure heart like Lin Qiqi's, might he not become a master of hearts, winning her devotion with perfect precision—making her the brightest bloom on his personal "Peach Blossom Chart"?
This thought struck him like lightning, electrifying every vein of his body.
He fantasized still greater feats: unveiling the defenses of any woman—from the ice-cold Director Su to the merciless Li Manting, to every enchanting beauty thereafter—laying bare their deepest needs and weaknesses so they would surrender wholly to him.
The potential was so vast it made his blood race and his heart pound in equal measure—and yet, it also chilled him with its enormity.
For with this godlike potential came an equally horrific price.
His hand shook as he pressed on his temples, throbbing as though countless needles stabbed inward. Each activation of the Spectrum—especially probing complex minds or wading through a cacophony of thoughts in a crowd—sent waves of mental fatigue crashing through him, followed by a headache like his skull would burst.
He now realized his mental energy—the mysterious force powering the Spectrum—was perilously finite. Each use depleted that reservoir. Overuse could be catastrophic: at best, debilitating exhaustion; at worst, mental collapse or even death.
"This Spectrum is a cursed sword," he warned himself with solemn reverence. "Each draw may clear the path ahead, but it exacts a terrible toll… perhaps my life."
Until he found a way to replenish or regulate this energy, he must treat every use like a high-stakes gamble—calculating meticulously to ensure the reward far outweighs the risk, or risk plunging into irreversible ruin.
He thought of Wang Hai's vile ultimatum: three days to charm the notorious "witch" Li Manting—a sales powerhouse deemed untouchable by Feichi Group elites—and seal a 30-million-yuan deal. It was a death sentence for any ordinary person.
But with the Spectrum as his secret weapon, Chu Tianyi saw it as the ultimate thrill, a gamble promising infinite possibilities.
If he could discern Li Manting's deepest fears, pain points, and unspoken desires, perhaps he could forge the one key to unlock the "ice queen" and perform a miracle that would shake Feichi Group—and command her awe.
This vision made his pulse surge like war drums. His motives transcended job security or survival instincts. They stemmed from a fierce rebellion against a life of insignificance, and an insatiable hunger to master this wondrous power.
For over twenty years, he had lived like an ant underfoot in the merciless steel jungle of Star City, crushed and humiliated. He had had enough. He longed for change. He craved power. He yearned to seize his destiny.
Now fate had smiled upon him with a deadly, irresistible offer: a blade sharp enough to sever every chain, yet fraught with mortal peril.
He could bury it and continue crawling in obscurity until the world ground him to dust… or, like a true warrior, grip it tightly, even if it drew his blood, and charge headlong toward a blood-red dawn—for himself and those who still silently believed in him.
His eyes, heavy with exhaustion yet blazing with determination, sharpened to a steely resolve.
He knew the Spectrum could unleash unimaginable dangers—or a fate worse than death. Yet compared to its power to upend his life and grant absolute control, those risks seemed trivial… even exhilarating.
He would no longer be an ant beneath others' feet. He would become… a legendary Heart-Hunter.
Outside, the night pressed in like spilled ink. But within Chu Tianyi, a long-suppressed inferno roared to life, unstoppable. He glanced at Li Manting's dossier and her frost-cold, stunning photo on the cover one final time.
No trace of doubt or fear remained in his gaze—only ferocious battle lust, unshakable confidence, and ecstatic anticipation of the unknown challenge.
Taking a slow, deep breath—drawing every shard of cold night air into himself—he picked up the neglected, dry ballpoint pen and began circling, annotating, and analyzing every possible breakthrough in Li Manting's file, plotting the first decisive move to shape his destiny.
Wang Hai's twisted three-day "death sentence" loomed like a pistol barrel at his temple, reminding him of time's cruel ticking, the impossible task ahead, and the horrors of failure.
Yet he believed: even unleashing a fraction of the Spectrum's might would let him forge a miracle so astounding it would shake Feichi Group and command Li Manting's awe.
This night—like countless sleepless nights before—stretched endlessly. But unlike those nights of fear and doubt, this time his mind was free of hesitation. Instead, it brimmed with meticulous plans, boundless visions of his power, and ecstatic excitement for the ultimate gamble.
Heart-Hunting Spectrum…
These three words held the promise to… forever change his fate.