Chapter Summaries

As the Monster Tide began, Su Luo watched survivors post desperate farewell messages and reviewed the system’s warnings and his latest ranking rewards. He prepared to face the coming waves alone, surrounded by the darkness beyond his shelter.

• Huaianke posted a final letter about the ordinary things they would miss and urged anyone who survived to see tomorrow’s sun for them.
• Survivors flooded the forum with farewells and pleas for help, while Song Shige urged them to shelter and endure.
• Su Luo checked his improved meditation, Flame Attachment, Spirit, and Mana stats as the system announced the start of the Monster Tide and warned survivors to return to shelters.
• The system revealed the tide’s rules, including stronger waves for survivors outside shelters, shelter buffs, Despair Mist, and future Guardian Rankings and party features.
• Su Luo received daily ranking rewards, including vouchers, skill stones, potions, equipment, and building blueprint chests, then set the items aside at the dungeon entrance.

Su Luo faced stronger-than-normal monsters during the Monster Tide while isolated in the darkness, defeating the first three waves with fire magic and an Earth Collapse Spell. After the third wave ended, he meditated and rested for the next attack.

• Su Luo learned that his Fighting Alone state reduced experience gain and increased monster wave intensity, and the first wave reached him ten minutes late.
• Su Luo defeated three level 1 Bloodthirsty Wolf Beasts with fireballs, observing one survive through its Berserk skill before killing it near the end of the wave.
• Survivors who failed to fight during the first wave lost their shelters when the time limit expired, and everyone entered a ten-minute rest period.
• Su Luo destroyed a level 2 Skeleton Warrior and five Bloodthirsty Demon Hounds in seconds during the second wave, while other survivors struggled against weaker monsters.
• Su Luo vaporized five Enhanced Corpse Bats with fireballs and swallowed three Axe-Wielding Skeletons in softened earth during the third wave.
• Su Luo meditated to restore mana and rested after the third wave ended.

After the third wave ended, Su Luo accepted the challenge of the fourth wave, whose coordinated attackers included a Level 3 Burrowing Impaler and several Level 2 monsters. He annihilated the horde in under two minutes, repaired the damaged stone wall, and returned to meditation.

• The third wave ended, survivors received a ten-minute rest period, and Su Luo chose to continue despite the warning that the fourth wave would be much harder.
• The fourth wave approached with a Level 3 Burrowing Impaler, five Level 2 monsters, and ten Level 1 monsters.
• Su Luo multiplied his fireballs and destroyed the Screeching Banshee, Enhanced Corpse Bats, Shadow Stalkers, and Frenzied Corpse Tiger while deflecting the Spear-Throwing Skeleton's attack.
• Su Luo fused more than twenty fireballs into a compressed energy blast that killed the Burrowing Impaler and nearby monsters, then finished off the skeleton warrior.
• Su Luo repaired the hole in his stone wall and resumed meditating.

Su Luo faced the fifth wave, which introduced four level 3 elite monsters and fifteen level 2 attackers, and used precise fire and earth magic to defeat them. The battlefield fell quiet as the wave ended.

• After the fourth wave, Su Luo recovered his mana, secured his potions and supplies, and prepared for the next attack.
• The fifth wave arrived with a [Bone Mammoth], a [Wraith Weaver], a [Plague Butcher], a [Shadow Leopard], and fifteen level 2 monsters in formation.
• The [Shadow Leopard] rushed Su Luo as the other elites and ranged attackers launched their assaults, but Su Luo drove them back with flames and raised stone pillars.
• Su Luo shaped his fireballs into targeted attacks against each elite monster and sent fire tornadoes through the level 2 formation, destroying it.
• Su Luo shattered the [Bone Mammoth]'s leg bones with precise fireballs, and a fire tornado swallowed its fallen skeleton as the fifth wave ended.

Su Luo, Ye Xu, and Song Shige were the only survivors who challenged the sixth wave, drawing the attention of the newly activated livestream system. Their battles began, with Ye Xu testing his new magic before relying on his turrets and Song Shige cleaving an Abyssal Worm in two—only for its halves to become two smaller worms.

• The sixth wave left only just over twenty thousand survivors, and Su Luo, Song Shige, and Ye Xu chose to challenge it.
• The system activated livestreams for the three challengers, and Su Luo inspected his airborne camera while viewers commented on his stone pillar and circling fireballs.
• Ye Xu faced a Rock Golem, three Skeletal Knights, and ten Rotting Walkers, then jumped from his wall to showcase his fireballs.
• The Rock Golem burst through Ye Xu's flames and forced him back onto his wall, where he activated his three Automatic Ballista Towers.
• Song Shige charged an Abyssal Worm, three Shadow Hunters, and ten Enhanced Corpse Bats, using his fire abilities to attack the monsters.
• Song Shige split the Abyssal Worm with one saber strike, but its halves burrowed underground and returned as two smaller worms.

Su Luo faced a powerful Monster Tide alone and unleashed a massive fireball attack that destroyed nearly every monster. The level 4 Shadow Curse Binder survived through Rebirth but emerged weakened and unable to attack for the moment.

• A level 4 Shadow Curse Binder, three level 3 elite monsters, and ten level 3 Demonized Gnolls appeared before Su Luo.
• The monsters attacked together, and Su Luo used earth, wind, and fire spells to slow their assault and defeat the Soul-Snatching Enchantress.
• The Shadow Curse Binder cursed and embraced Su Luo, but he escaped into the stone pillar and detonated a prepared Fireball Formation, destabilizing the monster.
• Su Luo gathered his remaining flames into a gigantic fireball and detonated it, killing the Demonized Gnolls and Razorblade Demon and badly burning the Thunder Rhino and Shadow Curse Binder.
• The Shadow Curse Binder revived through Rebirth, but it was left transparent and temporarily unable to attack as the battlefield fell silent.

After recovering from the fight with the [Shadow Curse Binder], Su Luo chose to enter the seventh wave, where he faced the [Earthshaking Boulder (elite)]. He dodged its attacks and took to the air, while others began considering cooperation with him after the Monster Tide.

• Su Luo used fireballs to weaken the [Shadow Curse Binder], then destroyed it with three flame-wreathed arms of sand and stone.
• After the rest period began, Su Luo selected “Yes” to challenge the next wave and prepared for the single monster approaching.
• Ye Xu watched Su Luo’s livestream and wondered why Su Luo’s fire magic differed from his own, while Qin Lang received orders to contact Su Luo about future cooperation.
• The [Earthshaking Boulder (elite)] attacked Su Luo by hurling earth, charging through a stone wall, and throwing another boulder at him.
• Su Luo deflected the boulder with compressed fireballs and flew three hundred meters into the air to evade the monster.

Su Luo exhausted his strongest spells against the Level 5 [Earthshaking Boulder] but could not break its defenses, though his mana attribute increased during the fight. After the seventh wave ended in failure, he watched Song Shige face and defeat the eighth wave at his shelter.

• Su Luo repeatedly bombarded [Earthshaking Boulder] with Fireball Formations, but its crystal core strengthened its armor and left the monster unharmed.
• Su Luo noticed his mana attribute had risen by one point after pushing himself through the prolonged battle.
• Su Luo stopped attacking and meditated in the air while viewers discussed the monster's defenses and the gap between levels.
• The system declared the seventh wave a failure, the Fighting Alone effect ended, and [Earthshaking Boulder] withdrew into the darkness.
• Su Luo opened Song Shige's livestream and watched Song Shige defeat the eighth wave's monsters while defending his shelter.

Su Luo watched Song Shige and Ye Xu survive their ninth Monster Tide waves, then advised Song Shige that he could not defeat the Level 5 elite waiting in the tenth. No one in Zone 76 attempted the final wave, and the Monster Tide ended as Su Luo fell asleep while the system began updating.

• Su Luo watched Ye Xu and Song Shige clear their eighth waves and continue the challenge.
• Song Shige fought powerful monsters in the ninth wave and risked himself to protect his shelter wall, while Ye Xu used up supplies and an expensive area spell against a swarm summoned by a Broodmother.
• After the system warned that the tenth wave contained one monster, Song Shige asked Su Luo for advice, and Su Luo sent him the Earthshaking Boulder’s status and said he could not win.
• Song Shige followed the analysis department’s advice and declined to reallocate his stat points, while Ye Xu also chose not to face the Level 5 elite; no one in Zone 76 started the tenth wave.
• The system announced the Monster Tide’s end, reported a 20.03% survival rate, restored standard regional rules, and scheduled the Team System launch and the next Monster Tide.
• Su Luo ignored his reward message, made a bed, and fell asleep as the system began updating.

After the seven-day safe period ended, the system introduced new currencies, rankings, teams, instances, and other functions while survivors faced the dangers of the Land of Darkness. Su Luo collected his ranking rewards, lifted Fireball’s ban, and tested his enhanced magic as dozens of fireballs formed around him.

• The system announced that the safe period had ended and introduced Survival Coins, the System Store, teams, instances, skill tiers, and expanded trading functions.
• Survivors discussed the changes on the forum as some began facing monsters outside their shelters.
• Su Luo received rewards for ranking third in the Kill and Level Rankings and first in the temporary Guardian Ranking, which the system then restricted after an error.
• Su Luo used an Exemption Stone to lift Fireball’s ban and discovered that Quick Cast launched three fireballs, though the skill had a short cooldown.
• Su Luo gathered dozens of fireballs around himself, illuminating the surrounding darkness.

After settling his Monster Tide rewards, Su Luo entered the Wizard's Abandoned Experimental Field to inspect his equipment and Skill Books. He discovered tools for recording spells and learned about a fragmentary technique that could make spell effects persist in objects or areas.

• Su Luo received the Lone Flame title and Monster Tide rewards, then inventoried his accumulated supplies.
• Su Luo entered the Wizard's Abandoned Experimental Field carrying his rewards and inspected the equipment he had collected.
• Su Luo tested an Apprentice Staff and an Environmental Stabilization Barrier Generator, finding that the staff reduced Mana consumption and the generator stabilized energy and airflow.
• Su Luo used a Spell Recording Crystal to record Fireball and saw a detailed three-dimensional model of the spell's Mana structure.
• Su Luo reviewed his Skill Books, set aside several that overlapped with skills he already knew, and examined the blue fragmentary Spell Permanence Technique.
• Su Luo realized that Spell Permanence Technique could make a mastered spell effect persist within an object or area by continuously consuming Mana.

Su Luo used his rewards and Skill Experience Stones to strengthen his Constitution and Strength, then planned to improve his Spirit. Meanwhile, Song Shige lent Survival Coins to Qin Lang’s organization and considered traveling to a dungeon before heading out to gain experience.

• Su Luo opened treasure chests, ate a Manchu-Han banquet, and used Skill Experience Stones and Stamina Potions to raise his Constitution to 7.5 and Strength to 6.1.
• Su Luo decided to study Meditation and related skills to improve his Spirit and learning speed before the next Monster Tide.
• Song Shige lent Qin Lang’s organization 30,000 Survival Coins to support shelter fusion and market stabilization.
• Song Shige discovered dungeon teleport tickets in the System Shop and considered visiting the Wizard’s Abandoned Experimental Field.
• Song Shige raised Flame Attachment to its maximum level, invested his remaining experience in Constitution-related skills, and went out to reach Level 5.

Ye Xu gained nearly 400,000 Survival Coins by recycling monster parts and corpses, then considered partnering with Mei Chuanyi’s group to profit from the market. Han Song bought a temporary shelter teleport ticket to join a monster-hunting team, while Su Luo learned that enormous monsters might guard Zone 76’s boundary and continued publishing beginner skill guides.

• Ye Xu recycled pointy monster parts, rare items, and corpses for nearly 400,000 Survival Coins, then asked Mei Chuanyi’s foreign organization about its plans for making money.
• Han Song recycled a level 1 monster corpse, paid to read a guide to level 2 monsters, and applied to join a team recruiting survivors to hunt monsters.
• Han Song bought a temporary Shelter Teleport Ticket so he could travel to the team’s shelter and hunt monsters for a day.
• Qin Lang told Su Luo that the Analysis Department suspected giant monsters near the zone’s edge formed a boundary wall, including a Giant capable of striking with at least 400 tons of force.
• Su Luo judged the giants too dangerous to confront and began writing beginner guides for class skills such as Ice Arrow, Raise Shield, and Gale Step.

Su Luo learned that Ye Xu and his gang were using impersonation and market manipulation to scam survivors under Su Luo’s name. He publicly clarified that his guides were free and urged survivors to report fraud, while the Mutual Aid Association considered how to handle Ye Xu.

• Su Luo questioned the shelter teleport tickets and wondered whether using a forced teleport ticket would trigger a system bug or send him back to Blue Star.
• Su Luo asked Qin Lang why survivors were accusing him of scamming them, and Qin Lang explained that Ye Xu’s group had used fake guides, impersonation, and anonymous trading to defraud people.
• Qin Lang asked Su Luo for his view of Ye Xu, and Su Luo suggested mind control as a possible way to handle him.
• Su Luo marked all his existing posts free and published a statement denying the paid guides, naming Ye Xu and his gang as the alleged scammers, and advising survivors to verify posts and report fraud.

Su Luo continued studying Meditation while Qin Lang attended the Mutual Aid Association’s first meeting, where the group established its Council and debated leadership, resource strategy, and how to handle foreign survivors. The meeting ended with the issue postponed, and Su Luo told Qin Lang that Ye Xu’s foreign allies should all be killed.

• Su Luo was expelled from the dungeon after failing its challenge, then asked Qin Lang for pictures of several mind-related Skill Books and resumed studying.
• Qin Lang attended the Mutual Aid Association’s first meeting, where the nine attendees formed a Council and appointed him deputy head of the Resource Allocation Department.
• Qin Lang presented a plan to counter Ye Xu’s financial attacks by selling supplies at fair prices and exposing the gang’s methods on the forum.
• Number Two proposed adding Song Shige to the Council, Number Four objected, and the motion passed after Number One called for a vote.
• The Council debated whether to eliminate foreign survivors, but Number One postponed the decision because forced teleportation tickets were too costly.
• Qin Lang asked Su Luo about the foreign survivors, and Su Luo said Ye Xu’s foreign allies should all be killed.

Su Luo fused Meditation, the Basic Visualization Method, and Zen Meditation into a cultivation technique he named the Dual-Cycle Method, which improved his mana recovery and mental control. After claiming his settlement rewards, he checked the rankings and found that he was slipping toward the edge of the top ten while Song Shige and Ye Xu remained far ahead.

• Su Luo continued developing his mental domain and studied Zen Meditation to help combine it with Meditation and the Basic Visualization Method.
• After more than twenty hours of failed attempts, Su Luo used Zen Meditation as a stable foundation and successfully fused the three skills into the Dual-Cycle Method.
• Su Luo tested the method and found that it improved mana recovery, mental tempering, control, environmental awareness, and passive cultivation.
• Su Luo collected four days of settlement rewards and equipped a Multifunctional Scalpel, an Apprentice Robe, and Clown Shoes.
• Su Luo checked the rankings, saw himself at Level 4 and ninth in kills, and noticed that Song Shige and Ye Xu were both Level 5; puzzled that they had not obtained Profession Certificates, he browsed the forum.

After failing to clear the Song of the Siren instance, Ye Xu decided to save his free attribute points and seek other ways to strengthen his attacks. Su Luo raised his attributes with skill experience and unleashed nine Fireball Formations into his Dungeon, devastating its entrance.

• Ye Xu fled the final room of the Song of the Siren instance after the Level 5 elite boss immobilized him, then wondered whether he should spend his three free attribute points.
• Ye Xu reasoned that the Level 5 class change was designed for people who saved attribute points and grew powerful enough to clear the instance, but chose to wait for other opportunities to improve.
• Su Luo read about the market war and the growing services and organizations in Zone 76, then allocated skill experience to Diamond Sutra, raising his Constitution and Strength.
• Su Luo returned to his Dungeon and sent nine Fireball Formations through its entrance, blasting apart the hall and several rooms as his experience soared.

Su Luo studied fire spell models in the Dungeon while Song Shige entered the Wizard's Abandoned Experimental Field to investigate its rules and report to the Mutual Aid Association. Su Luo's attempts to develop a stable flaming spear still ended in explosions, but he recorded and compared the spell's energy flows.

• Su Luo checked the rankings, then left the collapsed Dungeon entrance and began studying Fireball models.
• Song Shige turned in a Level 5 Goblin Chieftain corpse, received 4,300 SC, and prepared to test the Dungeon for the Mutual Aid Association.
• The five-person team confirmed that the Dungeon allowed parties of up to five and that its surrounding area was a safe zone, so Song Shige teleported in and reported that entry was blocked while Su Luo remained inside.
• Su Luo shaped Mana into a flaming sword and assessed its unstable flight, poor efficiency, and wasteful explosion.
• Su Luo used Spell Recording Crystals to record failed flaming spear attempts, tested a stabilization barrier, and compared the spells' energy flows.

After failing the Wizard's Abandoned Testing Ground, Su Luo met Song Shige, received valuable supplies from the Mutual Aid Association, and strengthened his attributes and skills. As he refined a spell and watched the newly active World Channel, he learned how survivors became class holders and that its speakers were among the earliest to pass the trials.

• Su Luo emerged from the Dungeon and met Song Shige, who delivered equipment, rare attribute-boosting resources, materials, clothes, and five Food Vouchers of Choice from the Mutual Aid Association and Qin Lang.
• Song Shige entered the Dungeon to fight for a Class Change Certificate while Su Luo inspected his gifts, equipped a cloak and ring, and used resources to raise his attributes.
• Su Luo used a Skill Experience Stone on the Diamond Sutra, increasing his Strength and Constitution, and realized he could now hurt the Earthshaking Boulder.
• The World Channel became active, and Su Luo observed messages from survivors including Ye Fan and Ye Zizhen.
• Su Luo learned that only class holders could speak in the World Channel once per day, and that using a Class Change Certificate sent survivors to a trial offering three class options.

Su Luo entered the Wizard's Abandoned Experimental Field to obtain a Class Change Certificate and fought his way through the dungeon with his increasingly refined fire magic. He reached the final chamber, destroyed its four skeletal guards, and faced the humanoid creature rising from the pool of blood.

• Su Luo strengthened the Diamond Sutra, gathered supplies, and entered the dungeon as soon as its cooldown ended.
• Su Luo swiftly killed seven Armed Skeletons and a Level 3 elite, then found experiment logs describing the creature designated Experiment Subject 003.
• Su Luo cleared the dungeon rooms, collected manuscripts, and reached the chamber beyond a rune-covered metal door.
• Su Luo restrained and destroyed the four skeletal guards with waves of flame, then engulfed the chamber in fire.
• The faceless humanoid stood up from the pool of blood and silently watched Su Luo.