Chapter Summaries

Wolverine arrived at the Linshengtun Hunting Ground with Sing Sing and Wandering Girl, where Zhao Dezhu welcomed him and explained the hunting rules. Sing Sing let Wolverine stay in a cabin but required him to memorize the protected-animal list before hunting.

• Wolverine, Sing Sing, and Wandering Girl landed in a cabbage tricycle and paid its driver to take them to the hunting ground administration office.
• Zhao Dezhu greeted the group, and Sing Sing introduced Wolverine as an observation subject from the 749 Bureau.
• Sing Sing accepted Zhao Dezhu’s invitation to a fresh pork stew meal on Wolverine’s behalf.
• Zhao Dezhu explained the hunting rules, and Sing Sing described Wolverine’s claw-based hunting as a traditional, environmentally friendly method.
• Zhao Dezhu arranged a cabin for Wolverine, but Sing Sing gave him the Red Booklet and told him to memorize the protected-animal list before hunting.

Sing Sing and Zhao Dezhu convinced Wolverine to follow Peach Mountain’s rules and work as an ecological observer. Left alone in the cabin, Logan chopped firewood and found the quiet life surprisingly peaceful.

• Sing Sing lectured Wolverine on protected wildlife and patrol rules until Wolverine lost his temper.
• Zhao Dezhu explained that the rules protected the mountain, calming Wolverine and giving him an orange ecological observer vest.
• Sing Sing pressured Wolverine into wearing the vest and photographed him for a work record.
• Sing Sing left Wolverine at Peach Mountain, which he had chosen to suit Wolverine’s weaknesses and past lumberjack experience.
• Wolverine chopped firewood with his claws and reflected that using them for something other than killing felt good.

Sing Sing explained Old Jin’s horrific history of being turned into a weapon and persuaded Zhao Dezhu to let him live freely in the forest. The chapter ended with Sing Sing trying to get Zhao to stamp a massage receipt as a cold-protection expense, prompting Zhao to storm off.

• Sing Sing sent the masseuse away and told Zhao Dezhu that American operatives had kidnapped Old Jin, reinforced every bone with alloy, and subjected him to torture and mind control.
• Zhao Dezhu sympathized with Old Jin and agreed to protect him in Linshengtun, letting him live in the forest without strict work demands.
• Sing Sing praised Zhao Dezhu, then asked him to get the foot-massage receipt stamped as a wildlife cold-protection expense.
• Zhao Dezhu rejected Sing Sing’s reimbursement scheme and tried to leave as the masseuse returned and asked whether they wanted extra time.

Wolverine struggled to fish and then fought a black bear without using his claws, remembering that protected animals could land him in prison. After encountering a bold sable and sharing a hot spring with a silly roe deer, he settled into life as a forest ranger in Peach Mountain.

• Wolverine abandoned fishing when a black bear approached, but held back his claws after recalling Sing Sing’s warning about protected animals.
• Wolverine blocked the bear’s attack, threw it into the snow, and beat it until it fled in terror.
• Wolverine returned to his cabin with two fish, where a sable climbed onto his leg and then stole one of the fish.
• Wolverine used his claws to stack a large pile of firewood beside the cabin.
• Wolverine entered a natural hot spring, where a silly roe deer jumped into the water and rested beside him.

Sing Sing returned to the 749 Bureau and discovered Director Wang had assigned the Mutants to jobs suited to their abilities. After learning where everyone had gone, Sing Sing tried to claim reimbursement for his train ticket, but Director Wang ordered him to get lost.

• Sing Sing found Wolverine chopping wood and left the cabin, then failed to get Blue Elf to send him a ride because Director Wang had banned bureau-funded travel expenses.
• After returning to the Beijing Siheyuan, Sing Sing found it empty and rushed to 749 Bureau General Headquarters to ask Director Wang where everyone had gone.
• Director Wang showed Sing Sing assignments sending Harry Kane to inspect water quality, Luke Shaw to agricultural research and forest patrol, Martha Barton to desert restoration, and Nina Stewart to security risk warnings.
• Director Wang explained that he had sent Sand Rat Miguel to drill anchor-bolt slots at the Guizhou sinkhole worksite.
• Sing Sing asked Director Wang to reimburse his train ticket, but Director Wang accused him of taking a personal trip and threatened him.

Sing Sing received a nationwide assignment to check on the overseas recruits’ well-being and integration, with extra pay for each completed report but no travel reimbursements. He began mapping his visits and preparing notes to help the recruits settle in.

• Sing Sing complained about denied expenses until Director Wang summoned him and assigned him to check on the overseas recruits.
• Director Wang explained that Sing Sing must assess their health, adjustment to local life, and treatment by their host organizations, offering two thousand yuan per completed report while excluding personal-care expenses from reimbursement.
• Sing Sing accepted the assignment after Director Wang threatened to give it to Lingling Liu or Ling Lingjiu.
• Sing Sing reviewed practical follow-up questions about sleep, food intake, and accidental damage caused by superpowers, then annoyed Director Wang by asking whether the bureau’s tea was year-old leftovers.
• Sing Sing mapped out the recruits’ distant work sites and made personal notes about their needs, including sleep, damp archives, sunscreen, and avoiding blood-drawing talk.
• Sing Sing rejected Xiao Liu’s guess that the recruits needed security and said what they really wanted was full reimbursement before heading to the archives.

Sing Sing visited Anton Quist at the 749 Bureau archives room and found him thriving in his orderly filing job. The visit ended with Sing Sing scrambling to stop Anton from exposing questionable expense claims.

• Sing Sing found Anton calmly sorting files while Auntie Wang and Uncle Li used the archives room’s strong internet to shop online.
• Sing Sing conducted Anton’s follow-up visit and checked that his sleep, eating, and behavior were normal.
• Anton thanked Sing Sing for giving him a job where the files’ order made the world feel under control.
• Anton showed Sing Sing old reimbursement records containing suspicious receipts for pork, a bathing center, bumper cars, and video games.
• Sing Sing covered the ledger, argued that the expenses were covert-work costs, and distracted Anton with his sketchpad before ending the visit.

Sing Sing visited Nina in the security department and discovered that the burly guards were doting on her while she exposed their hidden secrets with her ability to see threads. The chapter ended with Nina warning Sing Sing that a broken golden thread from his pocket connected to the finance office, suggesting his reimbursement was doomed.

• Sing Sing finished writing a warning about a financially obsessive employee on a follow-up form and went to check on Nina.
• Sing Sing found Zhang Tiehan and the other security guards caring for Nina while cartoons played in the surveillance hall.
• Nina revealed that Zhang Tiehan had a pink thread leading to Widow Li and that the bald guard had hidden two thousand yuan behind a toilet tank.
• Sing Sing asked Nina to inspect his own threads, and she told him a broken golden thread from his pocket led to the finance office.

Sing Sing faced an audit of his expenses and was forced to surrender the Black Shark’s gold bars to settle his outstanding accounts. After losing his stash, he set off to make others pay for his losses by pursuing a meal from Janos Quested, also known as Riptide.

• Zhang Tiehan told Sing Sing that the finance office was reviewing three years of reimbursement forms, with Anton in charge.
• Nina saw white lines connecting Sing Sing to distant places and to herself, while the finance office summoned him to submit missing documents.
• Director Wang confronted Sing Sing with questionable reimbursement forms and demanded the gold bars from the Black Shark.
• Sing Sing signed an agreement surrendering the gold bars to offset his bad debts in exchange for written-off accounts and a doubled travel allowance.
• Sing Sing left determined to recoup his losses from powerful targets and went looking for Janos Quested, or Riptide, to arrange a meal.

Sing Sing visited Riptide at the Beijing Special Operations Fire Brigade and saw him demonstrate precise wind control before checking on his recovery. Just as Sing Sing was about to enjoy a meal, a level-one alarm sent Riptide rushing to respond to a toxic gas leak.

• Sing Sing watched Riptide use wind to extract simulated toxic smoke and stop a sudden smoke release from reaching the observation area.
• Sing Sing asked Riptide about his sleep, eating habits, and relationships, then recorded that he was doing well.
• Sing Sing asked Zhang Tiezhu for a feast, but the cook brought him bitter melon stir-fried with eggs instead of red-braised pork.
• An alarm announced a highly concentrated toxic gas leak at warehouse three of the eastern suburbs chemical plant.
• Riptide ran to the garage to respond, and Sing Sing grabbed a steamed bun and hurried after him.

Riptide dispersed a deadly chemical cloud and rescued three firefighters, earning praise from his team and attention online. Back at the station, Sing Sing spotted a comment linking Riptide to a sewer incident in Queens and left for another stop, telling him to keep doing good work.

• Sing Sing and Zhang Tiezhu arrived at the chemical plant, where Riptide refused a protective mask and plunged into the toxic smoke as a tornado.
• Riptide split and lifted the toxic cloud, eliminating the danger in just over two minutes and allowing three firefighters to be rescued.
• A livestream reporter questioned Riptide about being a Mutant, but an older firefighter defended him as an official deputy chief on the state payroll.
• Sing Sing filmed the exchange and sent it to Director Wang as potential promotional material, asking for a share of the monetization money.
• At the fire station, Sing Sing and Riptide ate the meal the cafeteria auntie had kept warm, while Sing Sing noticed a comment claiming the commenter had seen Riptide in Queens three months earlier.
• Sing Sing decided to investigate the commenter, then told Riptide he had another stop to make and urged him not to bring shame on the Overseas Recruitment Office.

Sing Sing tested Wandering Girl’s teleportation accuracy and reassured her that her job and press pass were safe. After her milk-tea-seeking teleportation caused a surprise stop at a milk tea shop, the group prepared to visit Harry at a Zhengzhou excavation site, where Wandering Girl charged six cups for the trip.

• Sing Sing questioned Wandering Girl about her conduct, and Da Vinci arrived with a device to test her teleportation accuracy.
• Wandering Girl admitted she feared losing her press pass, and Sing Sing reassured her that the bureau would support her.
• Wandering Girl landed precisely in the training room and near the cafeteria serving window before teleporting the group into a milk tea shop’s kitchen.
• Da Vinci’s results showed that Wandering Girl’s landing points shifted toward milk tea when she was hungry or emotional, and Sing Sing noted the risk in her assessment.
• Sing Sing announced that the bureau visits were over and proposed visiting Harry at the Zhengzhou excavation site, while Wandering Girl demanded six cups of milk tea as the travel fee.

Sing Sing traveled to an underground river survey site in Zhengzhou for a follow-up visit and watched Harry use his webbed hands and keen senses to map the riverbed where sonar had failed. Harry showed how well he had settled in, revealing his new work badge and codename, “Deep Abyss.”

• After Director Wang suspended Little Yi’s assignments, Sing Sing took a series of crowded public transports to the Zhengzhou survey site.
• Sing Sing arrived at the site and learned that the team’s sonar detector could not locate reefs in the subterranean river.
• Harry volunteered to dive without equipment, and the captain organized a safety rope and rescue team while the other workers questioned the plan.
• Harry returned from the dive and reported the river’s water quality, currents, submerged reefs, and geological vibrations using his natural abilities.
• Sing Sing filled out a follow-up form as Harry ate spicy pepper soup and showed off his water quality inspector badge and self-chosen codename, “Deep Abyss.”

Sing Sing stayed in Henan for a crew dinner, where Harry’s unusual alcohol tolerance left him drunk and unable to catch his morning train. He woke to find his ticket unused and blamed Harry for the lost fare as Harry brought him hangover soup.

• Harry persuaded Sing Sing to stay for dinner and showed him the logistics department, where Harry used his X-Gene to assess pickled cabbage.
• Captain Yan toasted Sing Sing at the food stall, and Sing Sing used qigong to expel the baijiu while drinking with the crew.
• Harry drank baijiu without getting drunk because his Aquatic Adaptation rapidly processed the alcohol, while Sing Sing eventually collapsed.
• Sing Sing woke at half past twelve, found his missed train ticket in his suit pocket, and shouted at Harry to repay him.
• Harry arrived with pepper soup made by Auntie Wang and wondered whether Sing Sing was grumpy after waking.

Sing Sing traveled to the northwestern desertification control base to check on Martha and found her helping a struggling afforestation project. Martha revived the dying seedlings by drawing moisture from underground, and Sing Sing left her a glowing follow-up report recommending her for an award and medical reimbursement.

• Sing Sing rode business class to Yongliang and was removed from the 749 Bureau Loving Family group chat after boasting about his free trip.
• Sing Sing endured a dusty journey to the desertification control base and was mistaken for a worker, then put to work planting saxaul seedlings.
• The team leader called for Martha when the broken pump and drought threatened to kill the seedlings.
• Martha used Land Resonance to draw underground moisture across a wide area, reviving the seedlings and cheering the workers.
• Martha told Sing Sing that the workers treated her kindly, and he gave her high marks for adapting to the project and its community.
• Sing Sing recommended Martha for a National March Eighth Red Banner Bearer award and full reimbursement for licorice tablets.

Sing Sing stayed at the desert-control camp for a roast-sheep feast and helped the workers plant saplings, but Lao Zhao and the others challenged him to drink bottle after bottle of Da Wusu. Martha’s licorice-and-cistanche soup disrupted his True Qi and knocked him out, and he woke at noon the next day after missing his train again.

• Lao Zhao persuaded Sing Sing to stay for a feast by stressing Martha’s help and promising roast lamb and Da Wusu.
• Sing Sing joined Martha and the desert-control workers in planting saplings until dark so he could earn his meal.
• At the feast, Sing Sing used an Alcohol-Expelling Divine Skill while chugging Da Wusu, but Lao Zhao and the workers kept bringing him more bottles.
• Martha gave Sing Sing a bowl of licorice-and-cistanche soup, whose medicinal power and the delayed effects of the beer disrupted his True Qi.
• Sing Sing collapsed at the drinking table, and he woke at noon the next day, realizing he had missed his train again.

Sing Sing endured a punishing journey to Jiuquan, where Polaris picked him up in a flying jeep and Soft Serve gave him medicinal ice cream. Over dinner, he learned their work was going well and decided to turn Soft Serve’s UV-protective ice cream into a business.

• Sing Sing reached Jiuquan South Station after a grueling trip, found Polaris had not arrived, and rejected an unlicensed cab driver’s two-thousand-yuan fare.
• Polaris arrived in a hovering jeep, and Soft Serve gave Sing Sing mint ice cream that eased his pain and nausea.
• Sing Sing, Polaris, and Soft Serve ate at a barbecue stall, where Polaris said Lao Gao was treating her well and Soft Serve described the success of her cold-drink business.
• Soft Serve told Sing Sing she had started making sunscreen ice cream, and he planned to call Director Wang to register a company called “Sunscreen Assassin.”

Sing Sing rode with Polaris and Soft Serve to the Jiuquan Space City family housing compound, where Polaris’s magnetically levitating jeep passed a drunk-driving checkpoint without being stopped. He discovered Polaris had arranged a guest room for him, then ended the night with two black eyes and a free bed.

• Polaris punched Sing Sing after he threatened her over making a move on Amy, then drove the group in a floating jeep while Soft Serve gave him ice cream for his eye.
• Sing Sing panicked when Polaris approached a drunk-driving checkpoint, but the traffic officers recognized her and let the jeep pass as usual.
• Soft Serve told Sing Sing that Polaris had insisted on reserving a south-facing guest room for him at the family housing compound.
• Sing Sing celebrated the chance to save money on lodging, prompting Polaris to punch his other eye.
• Sing Sing entered the guest room, admired his symmetrical bruises, and settled into the free bed.

Sing Sing visited Polaris at Space City and tried to earn extra money, but she stopped him and accompanied him to the market. There, Sing Sing confronted a pork vendor until he admitted to pumping water into the meat.

• Sing Sing woke to an extravagant breakfast meant for Lorna and ate the leftovers.
• Polaris used her magnetic field to fix a faulty titanium alloy casing in Space City's assembly workshop, and Lao Gao warned Sing Sing not to take her away.
• Sing Sing tried to recruit Soft Serve into an unofficial money-making scheme, but Polaris punched him and threatened him.
• Sing Sing showed Polaris how to bargain at the market and accused a pork vendor of selling water-pumped meat.
• The vendor finally admitted he had pumped water into the pork.

Sing Sing cooked Heartbroken Rice and Exploding-juice Beef Balls for Polaris and Soft Serve, then completed their follow-up forms and prepared to leave. He headed for the station, asking whether either woman would drive him there.

• Sing Sing bought meat and ingredients, then pounded beef and prepared the meal while Polaris and Soft Serve watched.
• Polaris and Soft Serve ate the Heartbroken Rice and cried from its flavor, while the beef balls sprayed juice across Sing Sing’s face.
• Sing Sing asked Polaris and Soft Serve follow-up questions and filled in forms that described them as thriving.
• Sing Sing packed his suitcase and told them he had left the recipes on a sticky note, then asked if either would drive him to the station.