Chapter Summaries

Qu Jianlei attacked Mr. Sai’s camp with an Electromagnetic Cannon, then escaped on foot while the pursuers tried to corner him at an abandoned warehouse. He emerged in a Transport Mech and blasted the vehicles surrounding the warehouse, sending the survivors fleeing.

• Qu Jianlei destroyed Mr. Sai’s Armored Vehicle and central camp with two shots from his Electromagnetic Cannon, then fled with the cannon and a Gauss Machine Gun.
• Qu Jianlei used explosions, an Incendiary Bomb, and planted explosives to disrupt the pursuing vehicles and their Night Vision Devices as he ran toward an abandoned warehouse.
• Qu Jianlei reached the warehouse, equipped his Transport Mech with the Electromagnetic Cannon, and rested while the pursuers sealed the exits rather than entering.
• A man from the Main Settlement identified Qu Jianlei as Black Sky and ordered the group to capture him alive for a public execution.
• Qu Jianlei’s mech burst through the warehouse roof and destroyed three vehicles, driving the remaining pursuers away.

Qu Jianlei destroyed vehicles pursuing him, took supplies, and escaped into the Endless Mountain Range. He evaded resistance and hid in a cave as three Hong Yi Settlement Combat Mechs followed him into the mountains.

• Qu Jianlei blew up several vehicles, collected machine guns, ammunition, and a Water Purifier, then headed for the Endless Mountain Range.
• A temporarily conscripted adventurer team surrendered its truck to Qu Jianlei, who took its mounted machine gun and ammunition before continuing on.
• Qu Jianlei fought off two artillery positions while crossing into the mountain region, then proceeded into the Extremely Dangerous Zone.
• Three Combat Mechs from Hong Yi Settlement pursued Qu Jianlei, but they arrived hours after he had entered the Extremely Dangerous Zone.
• Qu Jianlei slowed down at night and hid in a prepared cave when dawn came, while the Main Settlement and Hong Yi searched for traces of Black Sky.

Qu Jianlei waited out the Main Settlement’s search of the mountains, recovered most of his buried supplies, and discovered Hua Xiezhi keeping watch near his final cache. Hua Xiezhi asked to cross the Endless Mountain Range with him, revealing that one of her companions had died and the other had been crippled.

• Qu Jianlei stayed hidden as thousands searched the mountains, using small game to divert searchers when they came close.
• Autumn beasts and mounting casualties fueled conflict between Hong One’s Survivors and the Main Settlement, which eventually withdrew most of its forces as winter arrived.
• Qu Jianlei recovered his buried supplies, finding that five kilograms of gold, some firearms, and ammunition were missing.
• At his final cache, Qu Jianlei found Hua Xiezhi lying in ambush and waited until dawn before confronting her.
• Hua Xiezhi said she had come to find Qu Jianlei and wanted to cross the Endless Mountain Range with him, then told him one companion had died and the other had been crippled.

Hua Xiezhi joined Qu Jianlei in the mountains, hoping to become as strong as him, and the two recovered their hidden supplies and set out together. As they discussed the Saifeisi family and the deaths in the conflict, Qu Jianlei pulled Hua Xiezhi aside to warn her of a Winged Snake.

• Hua Xiezhi explained that she had waited for Black Sky because she wanted a trustworthy companion and hoped to become stronger.
• Qu Jianlei tested Hua Xiezhi's intentions, then agreed to travel with her after learning she had kept his ammunition buried and brought supplies of her own.
• Hua Xiezhi and Qu Jianlei dug up their caches and headed into the mountains, with Qu Jianlei taking her heavy ammunition box as she tired on the journey.
• Hua Xiezhi told Qu Jianlei that Sailence belonged to a branch of the Saifeisi family and had sworn revenge; Qu Jianlei vowed to remember the family because his companion had died.
• Qu Jianlei pulled Hua Xiezhi aside and warned her that a Winged Snake was nearby.

Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi traveled deep into the Endless Mountain Range, relying on his Transport Mech to conserve strength and evade danger. After a cold wave forced them to seek a water source, they fought a troop of Black-backed Golden Apes and discovered a hot chamber in their cave, which Qu Jianlei guessed was caused by geothermal heat.

• Qu Jianlei killed a Winged Snake with one slash, then led Hua Xiezhi through the Dangerous Zone to his hideout, where they ate, rested, and agreed to use the names Panda and Yellow Scorpion.
• Qu Jianlei carried Hua Xiezhi through the mountains in his Transport Mech, avoiding a Rank A Horned Eagle and conserving Energy Blocks as they traveled for a month.
• A powerful cold wave slowed their journey, so Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi decided to find a safe water source instead of continuing onward.
• Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi found an unfrozen spring near a cave inhabited by Black-backed Golden Apes, and Qu Jianlei killed all seventeen after a three-hour battle.
• Qu Jianlei explored the cave and found its deepest chamber was extremely hot, leading him to suggest that geothermal heat caused the warmth.

Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi settled into the cave, using its geothermal warmth and training while the winter worsened outside. After a snowfall, a huge mammoth arrived and tried to force its way into their cave, leaving them to decide how to deal with it.

• Qu Jianlei found a hibernating Striped Hedgehog and confirmed that melted ice was safe to drink, then renovated the cave with Hua Xiezhi.
• Hua Xiezhi learned the Eight Section Brocade and Five Animals Play from Black Sky, while he withheld instruction in the more advanced exercises.
• Hua Xiezhi discovered enormous hoofprints nearby, and Qu Jianlei estimated the creature that made them weighed at least two tons.
• After three days of heavy snow, Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi saw a mammoth over three meters tall approach the cave.
• The mammoth tried to kneel and squeeze through the entrance, then angrily struck the thick ice wall when it could not get inside.
• Hua Xiezhi asked whether they should fight the mammoth for its meat, and Qu Jianlei said they had no choice.

After surviving the winter in the Endless Mountain Range, Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi set out and finally reached a plain, where they encountered a convoy. Baldy challenged Hua Xiezhi after she asked for directions to the nearest camp, leaving the pair facing a potentially hostile group.

• Qu Jianlei killed the mammoth with the Electromagnetic Cannon, and he and Hua Xiezhi later found an orange Rank A Mutated Crystal beneath its skull.
• After winter passed, Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi left their shelter, collected the mammoth tusks and crystal, and continued through the mountains as warming weather brought aggressive beasts.
• The pair escaped a flock of Iron-Feathered Vultures and, after another month and a half, spotted a plain beyond the mountains.
• Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi hid the mech and buried their remaining supplies before descending the mountain and meeting a convoy several days later.
• Baldy rode over to question them, and when Hua Xiezhi asked for directions to the nearest camp, he mocked her as the convoy's machine guns aimed at them.

Hua Xiezhi and Qu Jianlei reached a supply station with help from Baldy’s convoy, traded Black-backed Golden Ape meat, and bought a modified light truck. The convoy’s men recognized the pair as formidable and considered offering them resident identities from Zhou-2 Settlement.

• Hua Xiezhi threatened Baldy’s convoy after he tried to send them in the wrong direction, then accepted a ride to the supply station in exchange for two kilograms of C-level Mutated Beast meat.
• At the supply station, a convoy member recognized the meat as Black-backed Golden Ape and tried to buy more or learn where Hua Xiezhi had found it, but she refused.
• Qu Jianlei asked the repair shop owner about a modified sidecar motorcycle, while Hua Xiezhi showed Energy Block Store banknotes; the pair chose a modified light truck instead.
• The slightly plump middle-aged man rebuked Baldy for mistaking the pair for drifters, and Baldy apologized to Hua Xiezhi and again asked about the Golden Ape’s location.
• Baldy spotted Qu Jianlei working on an artillery mount, and the slightly plump man warned him not to provoke the pair and suggested offering them Zhou-2 Settlement resident identities.

Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi joined the defense of a supply station when a huge pack of Frost Wolves pursued a convoy there. As the defenders struggled to hold the wolves back with too few guns, the Gaunt Man spotted Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi’s vehicle.

• Qu Jianlei refused Zhou-2 Settlement’s offered identity and continued modifying his vehicle at the supply point.
• When more than a thousand Frost Wolves charged after a convoy, Qu Jianlei bought no fuel and prepared to fight because the wolves were heading straight for the station.
• Hua Xiezhi positioned their vehicle behind a trench, and the Gaunt Man organized the survivors as they prepared the defenses.
• Hua Xiezhi shot a Frost Wolf near the wall, while Qu Jianlei used a Gauss Automatic Rifle to hit another wolf hundreds of meters away.
• The Frost Wolves surrounded the station and tested its defenses, while the defenders at the main gate began running short of guns.
• The Gaunt Man asked the supply point for more weapons, learned its supply was limited, and then noticed Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi.

Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi lent weapons to the supply station as thousands of Frost Wolves gathered outside, then Hua Xiezhi went to find a teammate. She returned with Cindy, who agreed to join them if they could bring her daughter along.

• The Gaunt Man demanded weapons from Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi, and Qu Jianlei handed over his Laser Rifle while they negotiated which guns to lend.
• The Frost Wolves gathered several thousand strong and held back from the supply station as its residents prepared for an attack.
• Hua Xiezhi offered to gather information and recruit a companion, and Qu Jianlei agreed while warning her to be careful.
• Hua Xiezhi returned with Cindy, a supply station worker whose husband had died in battle and whose daughter lived apart from her.
• Cindy agreed to join them on the condition that they take her daughter, and she revealed that she had saved some fuel.

Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi defended the supply station from the Frost Wolves while Cindy helped them prepare fuel to escape. After the wolves breached the defenses and the survivors suffered casualties, Cindy warned Qu Jianlei that someone might have deliberately lured the pack there, and the Gaunt Man asked how much ammunition Qu Jianlei had left.

• Cindy joined Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi’s escape plan, offering to bring over the fuel she had saved.
• Qu Jianlei shot Frost Wolves from a distance while Hua Xiezhi watched, and Cindy revealed that the pack might have a Wolf King.
• The Frost Wolves closed in after dark, and a breach near the main gate let more than a dozen wolves into the supply station.
• The reserve team repelled the attack, but the survivors counted two dead, five seriously wounded, more than ten lightly wounded, and four missing.
• Cindy brought Qu Jianlei fuel and quietly told him that someone might have deliberately lured the Frost Wolves to the station; he invited her to sleep in the truck.
• The Gaunt Man asked Qu Jianlei how much ammunition he had left, and Qu Jianlei told him it was none of his business.

Qu Jianlei refused demands to share his ammunition and killed a one-eyed adventurer who tried to take it by force, nearly triggering a fight among the defenders. Hua Xiezhi demonstrated her sharpshooting against the Frost Wolves, and the Scarface Machine Gunner asked her to provide cover for his side.

• The Gaunt Man asked Qu Jianlei to share ammunition, but Qu Jianlei refused, explaining that he and Hua Xiezhi had brought their own supplies.
• A one-eyed man demanded ammunition from Qu Jianlei, who killed him with his blade; Baldy accused Qu Jianlei of causing internal strife.
• The Gaunt Man and the Scarface Machine Gunner calmed the defenders, and Hua Xiezhi said she was willing to lend weapons as long as no one tried to take them by force.
• When the Gaunt Man asked for Energy Blocks, Hua Xiezhi fired her Laser Gun and brought down three Frost Wolves, demonstrating her accuracy.
• The Scarface Machine Gunner asked Hua Xiezhi to use her sharpshooting to suppress the Frost Wolves attacking his direction.

Qu Jianlei proposed sniping the Frost Wolf King to disrupt the pack, then killed two Wolf Kings during the siege. The Frost Wolves retreated, leaving the survivors victorious but Qu Jianlei exhausted and Hua Xiezhi still on guard.

• Qu Jianlei questioned whether rescue would arrive and proposed locating and sniping the Wolf King, and the defenders agreed to try.
• Qu Jianlei removed the Laser Sniper Rifle's scope, tested the weapon, and rested while Hua Xiezhi killed Frost Wolves and the Gaunt Man's group searched for the Wolf King.
• After the Gaunt Man narrowed down the Wolf King's location, Qu Jianlei found it and killed it with five sniper shots.
• The Frost Wolf pack charged the supply station, and Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi struggled to hold their position as wolves broke through the defenses.
• Qu Jianlei killed a second Wolf King with his blade, and the Frost Wolves abruptly retreated.
• Qu Jianlei collapsed from exhaustion, while Hua Xiezhi scanned the area and called out to check whether the danger had passed.

After defeating the Frost Wolf pack, Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi sold most of the spoils and brought Cindy and her daughter Claire to Zhou Three Settlement. They rejected the Settlement’s offer of residency and paid service, choosing instead to continue traveling together.

• Hua Xiezhi negotiated the sale of the Frost Wolf corpses and the Wolf King, earning a large profit and rewarding Cindy for her help.
• Qu Jianlei rested while Hua Xiezhi kept watch, then accepted Cindy into their group after learning she wanted to leave the place where her partner had died.
• Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi arrived at Zhou Three with Cindy and met Claire, whose attitude toward them improved after she saw the Wolf King corpse.
• Cindy arranged to auction the remaining Wolf King and guided Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi through the Settlement, where they bought books and found useful repair references.
• Cindy asked Hua Xiezhi about transferring her Settlement identity, and she and Claire decided to leave Zhou Three with the group.
• A Settlement official offered Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi housing and waived fees in exchange for ten years of service, but Hua Xiezhi refused and Cindy rejected the official’s pressure.

Qu Jianlei and his companions left Zhou Three, sold the Wolf King's corpse, and traveled to Zhou Six, where they encountered a staged accident and attempted theft at Honest Camp. Qu Jianlei stopped the thieves and confronted the locals, exposing the camp’s hostility toward outsiders.

• Hua Xiezhi helped Cindy obtain a relocation certificate, and the group slept in their vehicle before selling the Wolf King's corpse for eighteen thousand Silver Coins.
• Qu Jianlei spent most of their earnings on Energy Blocks, weapons, and supplies, while Cindy and Claire packed their belongings and joined the group.
• The four traveled nearly three thousand kilometers to Zhou Six, hunting along the way and reaching the settlement area after almost twenty days.
• At Honest Camp, a Snow Mastiff darted in front of Cindy's vehicle, and Spencer and other locals tried to extort the group over its supposed injury.
• Qu Jianlei cut a cable attached to their truck's trough, shot at two thieves, and wounded one when he tried to flee.
• The Snow Mastiff revealed that it was unharmed, and Qu Jianlei demanded compensation from Spencer as a thief's Laser Pistol fell from his clothes.

Hua Xiezhi and Qu Jianlei’s group left Honest Camp with Spencer after punishing two thieves, and Claire claimed his Snow Mastiff. The group settled outside the Zhou Six Settlement Area and prepared for winter, where Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi began discussing how to find a safe hunting team; Claire then arrived with a promising deal.

• Hua Xiezhi threatened the onlookers, while Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi punished the thieves who had targeted them and forced Spencer to guide them away from Honest Camp.
• Claire demanded Spencer’s Snow Mastiff, Xue Er, but Hua Xiezhi told Spencer to find another young Snow Mastiff instead.
• Qu Jianlei’s group reached the Zhou Six Settlement Area, rented a courtyard, and Cindy and Claire paid for residency registration.
• Cindy organized winter supplies, Qu Jianlei prepared the house, and the first snow fell soon after they settled in.
• Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi discussed finding a reliable team for hunting, then Claire entered with Xue Er and Spencer and announced she had found a great deal.

Qu Jianlei refused to repair a Cleaner Type-3 Mechanical Arm for less than his asking price, then fixed it after its owner learned that his diagnosis had uncovered a potentially fatal flaw. As Qu Jianlei prepared for winter hunting and sought more Mutated Crystals, a repairman confronted him about how he had detected the flaw in a main shaft that had already been discarded.

• Claire brought three masked visitors to Qu Jianlei, who diagnosed their Cleaner Type-3 Mechanical Arm and demanded four hundred Silver Coins to repair it.
• Qu Jianlei turned down the visitors’ low offers, and the burly man returned later to accept the four-hundred-Silver-Coin price after confirming Qu Jianlei’s diagnosis was accurate.
• Qu Jianlei repaired the Mechanical Arm, set traps around the courtyard, and prepared with Cindy and Hua Xiezhi for winter hunting while cultivating another Mutated Crystal.
• A man and woman brought the burly man and a repairman to confront Qu Jianlei about his diagnosis, and the repairman revealed that the suspect main shaft had been sold as scrap.

Qu Jianlei confronted a repair technician who accused him of fraud, then proved his skill by identifying hidden defects in three main shafts through tapping. Geng Shou Gong, Zhou Six’s repair-certification manager, offered him access to the Settlement’s technical journals, and Qu Jianlei agreed to rent as many as two thousand books for one Silver Coin each.

• A repair technician challenged Qu Jianlei over his claim that a Cleaner Type-3 main shaft had a hidden defect, while Geng Shou Gong identified himself as Zhou Six’s repair-certification manager.
• Qu Jianlei refused to explain his inspection method but offered to identify defective main shafts, then declared all three shafts Geng Shou Gong brought should be scrapped.
• Qu Jianlei identified sand holes in one shaft and explained that he had detected them by tapping and listening to the echoes.
• Geng Shou Gong judged Qu Jianlei’s repair skills exceptional and offered him technical journals in exchange for occasional repairs, but Qu Jianlei refused a binding arrangement.
• Geng Shou Gong offered to rent Qu Jianlei the journals for one Silver Coin per book, and Qu Jianlei agreed to take as many as two thousand.

Qu Jianlei and his companions returned from a long winter hunt, then set out for Red Plain to hunt dangerous Rank B Mutated Beasts. After twenty days, they turned back with a damaged vehicle, and Xue Er suddenly sensed danger on the road.

• Geng Shou Gong loaned Qu Jianlei two hundred books at a time, while the main-shaft inspection confirmed that it had sand holes.
• Qu Jianlei read hundreds of books, then traveled with Hua Xiezhi, Cindy, Spencer, and Xue Er to hunt in the Zhou Six hunting grounds.
• The team earned little from their first hunt, but Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi used Laser Guns to kill more than ten Three-Eyed Blue Foxes and gained a fearsome reputation.
• After returning and resting, the team learned that a wanted notice described a criminal with mechanical knowledge and a mech; Hua Xiezhi recognized that Qu Jianlei was still Silly Qu and agreed to join his revenge.
• The team hunted Iron-Eating Rats and White-Bellied Bloodline Snakes in Red Plain, but the creatures badly damaged their vehicle, so they turned back.
• When Xue Er suddenly barked with its fur standing on end, Spencer shouted for the driver to turn around.

Qu Jianlei’s group fought off an ambush, sold their Mutated Beast prey, and set out to hunt Snow Shadow Leopards. After more than ten days of searching, Xue Er detected three of the predators near their camp, and Hua Xiezhi prepared to take a difficult sniper shot.

• Cindy turned the truck around after Xue Er sensed people nearby, and Qu Jianlei’s group exchanged machine-gun fire with an ambush before driving away.
• Qu Jianlei hired Spencer to investigate the attackers, then returned to Zhou Six and arranged repairs while Geng Shou Gong brought him another two hundred books.
• Cindy and Geng Shou Gong argued over payment for the Mutated Beast corpses until Qu Jianlei insisted on Energy Block banknotes or Silver Coins, and the beasts sold for thirteen hundred Silver Coins.
• After waiting twenty days for repairs, Qu Jianlei’s group left to hunt Snow Shadow Leopards, bringing Xue Er and Cindy along while Spencer stayed behind with Claire.
• After more than ten days without finding a Snow Shadow Leopard, Xue Er detected three near the group’s night camp, and Qu Jianlei asked Hua Xiezhi to try a sniper shot.