Chapter Summaries

Qu Jianlei, Hua Xiezhi, and Cindy hunted Snow Shadow Leopards, then encountered the two powerful strangers who had killed the leopards they were watching. The strangers left after finding no crystal in an old leopard, unaware that one of the cubs the hunters had killed carried a crystal, and the group returned to the Settlement having narrowly escaped disaster.

• Two strangers on a snowmobile killed three Snow Shadow Leopards with a Laser Hand Cannon and an extraordinary palm strike, then noticed Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi watching before leaving with the carcasses.
• Qu Jianlei, Hua Xiezhi, and Cindy later killed a Snow Shadow Leopard family and two more young leopards, with Xue Er helping bring down the cubs.
• On their return, the group killed an old Snow Shadow Leopard, then met the same two strangers, who demanded their catch and searched the old leopard for a crystal.
• After finding no crystal in the old leopard, the strangers left without harming the group, and Cindy told Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi about the Hong-Character Settlement Area and its pre-Doomsday equipment dump.
• Qu Jianlei realized one of the cubs they had killed had the beginnings of a crystal, which the strangers had overlooked, and understood that their mistake had spared the group.

Qu Jianlei hid the crystal, struggled to keep his finances afloat, and decided to target the Violent Bear faction after learning it might have ambushed his group. He left under the cover of seclusion and, on his way to Black Wind’s camp, killed a Snow Mastiff and shot its two owners when they stopped to confront him.

• Qu Jianlei sold the Snow Shadow Leopard materials, divided the proceeds among his companions, and took on mechanical repair work to cover his expenses.
• Spencer reported that Black Wind, a group under Violent Bear, had likely ambushed the team, and Qu Jianlei planned to learn their routes and strike them.
• Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi built five Secret Camps before returning with a Great Horned Snow Deer.
• Qu Jianlei pretended to shut himself away, then secretly left for Black Wind’s camp while Hua Xiezhi turned away Geng Shou Gong’s request for heating repairs.
• On his third day of travel, Qu Jianlei killed a nest of Blue-Eyed Snow Rabbits and stopped to grill them.
• When two men on a snowmobile stopped nearby, Qu Jianlei shot their Snow Mastiff and then struck the driver in the chest with his Laser Gun.

Qu Jianlei used a false trader’s cover to infiltrate Half Mountain and destroy most of Black Wind’s core forces, earning a large haul before returning to his companions. After resting at home, he learned that Geng Shou Gong wanted him to inspect the failing heating system and agreed to take the job for six hundred Energy Block banknotes.

• Qu Jianlei killed two men and their Snow Mastiff, took their snowmobile and supplies, and used a trader’s disguise to gather information about Black Wind at Half Mountain.
• When two local thugs tried to extort him, Qu Jianlei beat them, forced them to reveal what they knew, and learned that they were Black Wind members.
• Qu Jianlei ambushed a Black Wind squad and then its reinforcements, killing most of the group before escaping after an avalanche stopped the pursuit.
• Qu Jianlei returned with a valuable haul, told Hua Xiezhi he had earned about five thousand, and learned that Geng Shou Gong had been seeking him about the city’s faulty heating system.
• Geng Shou Gong offered Qu Jianlei six hundred Energy Block banknotes to inspect the heating system, and Qu Jianlei accepted.

Qu Jianlei identified faults and hidden risks in Universe Six’s heating system, then returned to his settlement after Geng Shou Gong compensated him with books. As Black Wind offered a bounty for clues about its attack, Qu Jianlei kept his involvement secret and prepared to break through.

• Qu Jianlei accepted six hundred Silver Coin from Geng Shou Gong and inspected the heating station, identifying six faults and thirteen hidden risks.
• Repair technicians confirmed several of Qu Jianlei’s findings, and the repairs improved the Settlement’s indoor temperatures.
• Geng Shou Gong decided to pay Qu Jianlei with books, and Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi returned from selling spoils with supplies and three hundred volumes.
• Spencer reported that Black Wind’s team had been attacked and that Black Wind was offering two thousand Silver Coins for clues; Qu Jianlei gave the old con man twenty Silver Coins and promised more if the attack was confirmed.
• Hua Xiezhi asked Qu Jianlei to continue teaching her the Tai Chi Thirteen Sabers, and he told her to master the first seven forms because he was about to break through.

Qu Jianlei completed Xiao Hu’s upgrade, sought Variant Snow Silk Ape crystals, and prepared to leave Universe Six with Hua Xiezhi while warning Cindy and Claire to stay in the city. Before they departed, he revealed that he had survived the First Generation Gene Modification Agent and suspected powerful enemies might want to capture and dissect him.

• Qu Jianlei used a Rank B Crystal to upgrade Xiao Hu, integrating Wasteland mechanical knowledge and improving its computational capacity, but lamented the cost and his dwindling crystals.
• After hearing Red Snow had placed a bounty over Black Wind’s losses, Qu Jianlei asked Spencer to seek Variant Snow Silk Ape crystals and negotiated with Geng Shou Gong about crystal access and writing for a journal.
• Four months later, Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi decided to leave Universe Six, while Cindy and Claire entered the city with Silver Coins Qu Jianlei gave them and instructions to stay there.
• Qu Jianlei told Hua Xiezhi that he had survived the First Generation Gene Modification Agent and that he intended to settle his score with his enemies once he grew stronger.
• Hua Xiezhi asked to cultivate alongside Qu Jianlei so she could fight with him, but he warned that the path was dangerous and told her to run if a real battle began.

Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi discovered that hunters from the Hong-character Settlement Area had reached Zhou-Six Settlement, so they planned an escape and counterattack. Qu Jianlei attacked the hunters’ convoy at night, setting vehicles ablaze and revealing himself as Silly Qu.

• Qu Jianlei told Hua Xiezhi he would wait two days so Cindy and her daughter could settle in, and explained why Xiao Jing’s fate mattered to him.
• A group from the Main Settlement entered Zhou-Six and was caught in an extortion scam outside the city; a child later warned Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi about the outsiders.
• Hua Xiezhi spotted a Hunter who had been involved in the pursuit of Qu Jianlei, and Qu Jianlei staged a shooting at a tavern to cover their departure.
• Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi located the hunters’ convoy, and Qu Jianlei chose to counterattack while Hua Xiezhi waited to provide support.
• Qu Jianlei destroyed the convoy’s searchlights and damaged its vehicles with a sniper rifle, then used an Incendiary Bomb to blind the machine gunner.
• The machine gunner recognized Qu Jianlei’s tactics and called for the mech as the convoy’s people scrambled to defend themselves.

Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi destroyed a pursuing convoy’s Impact Mech, seized its heavy weapons, and fled the survivors’ return fire. Qu Jianlei then led Hua Xiezhi back toward the Sai family’s wilderness camp to counterattack, ending as he opened fire on a truck from four kilometers away.

• Qu Jianlei used flares, Incendiary Bombs, and precise shots to suppress the convoy before fleeing from its Impact Mech.
• Qu Jianlei lured the pursuing mech into a huge explosion made with explosives and four Energy Blocks, then burned through its cockpit seals and stripped off its weapons.
• Hua Xiezhi drove to Qu Jianlei, and they mounted the Autocannon on their truck and destroyed two pursuing vehicles, forcing the convoy to retreat.
• Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi salvaged the mech’s weapons and ammunition, then decided to counterattack the Sai family’s wilderness camp.
• Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi drove near the camp with their lights off, and Qu Jianlei fired the Autocannon at a modified truck.

Qu Jianlei destroyed much of the Sai family’s convoy, then stopped firing when both sides reached Zhou Six’s jurisdiction. After an argument with the guards, he prepared to leave and was joined by Bentley, who offered information about Ultimate Warrior.

• Qu Jianlei blew up the Sai family’s modified truck, several vehicles, and an Impact Mech as the convoy fled toward Zhou Six Settlement Area.
• The Settlement’s guards ordered the fighting to stop, and Qu Jianlei halted his fire while warning the Sai family against provoking him.
• Qu Jianlei’s autocannon blast killed a guard and destroyed another Sai family vehicle, but he argued that the fatal shells had belonged to the Sai family’s destroyed mech.
• The guards declined to attack Qu Jianlei, and he stayed near the Settlement until daylight before deciding to leave.
• Bentley arrived on a motorcycle, offered information about Ultimate Warrior, and joined Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi.
• As the truck drove away, Bentley asked Qu Jianlei whether his superhuman strength came from a mutation.

Qu Jianlei learned that Bentley had come from Central City, awakened a weak Lightning Attribute, and wanted revenge on the people who destroyed his family. After the pair and Hua Xiezhi dealt with the Red Gold Team and set off in Bentley’s truck, Bentley discovered that Qu Jianlei knew of the lost Huang-character Settlement and questioned his remarkable age and repair skills.

• Qu Jianlei told Bentley that the Sai family had injected him with a First Generation Gene Modification Agent, and Bentley explained Ultimate Warriors and revealed his own Lightning Attribute.
• Bentley recounted how he had been robbed of a gene injection, became wanted, lost his family, and eventually came to Universe Six hoping for a chance at revenge.
• When Hua Xiezhi warned of an approaching convoy, Qu Jianlei and Bentley threatened its negotiator, then confronted the Red Gold Team at the mech wreckage.
• Hua Xiezhi negotiated two thousand Silver Coins for the wreckage after warning Red Gold not to sell it to the Sai family, and the group departed with Bentley’s heavy truck.
• Bentley listed seven Settlements and was startled when Qu Jianlei asked about a Huang Zi Settlement; he revealed that his enemies came from the destroyed Settlement.
• Qu Jianlei said he was sixteen or seventeen and showed his face, leaving Bentley astonished by his youth and advanced mechanical repair skills.

Qu Jianlei learned about Central City and Bentley’s plan to train him, then discovered the old man’s hidden storehouse and wealth. After Bentley revealed how rare direct cultivation with Mutated Crystals was, he offered Qu Jianlei resources and showed him the cultivation techniques he had collected, hoping Qu Jianlei could help improve his method.

• Bentley told Qu Jianlei about Central City, its Ultimate Warriors, and the ranks that measured their strength.
• Bentley offered to train Qu Jianlei, then led him and Hua Xiezhi to a hidden camp concealed beneath a lead-polluted forest.
• Qu Jianlei and Bentley moved their supplies and weapons into a heavy truck, and Bentley asked how Qu Jianlei cultivated.
• Qu Jianlei revealed that he cultivated directly with Mutated Crystals, shocking Bentley, who offered him crystals in exchange for help.
• Bentley dragged out a bag of collected cultivation techniques so Qu Jianlei could examine them.

Qu Jianlei, Bentley, and Hua Xiezhi fled Universe Six with supplies while Bentley learned more about Qu Jianlei’s unusual cultivation and strength. On the road, the group drove off the High Point Team’s approach and waited safely as the adventurers chose not to risk an attack.

• Qu Jianlei and Bentley discussed their consciences as they loaded supplies from the Secret Camp and decided to head toward the Tian-character Settlement Area.
• Qu Jianlei read cultivation techniques while traveling, explaining that he had developed his own method after finding half a crystal, and Bentley was astonished by his strength and enormous appetite.
• Universe Six’s leaders clashed with the Sai family over the failed manhunt, while Cindy and Claire remained safe in the city and Qu Jianlei eventually resumed meditating after leaving the Settlement.
• Bentley urged Hua Xiezhi to learn Qu Jianlei’s fundamental cultivation method, and Qu Jianlei’s advice that people should follow what suited them made Bentley reconsider his pursuit of an ideal technique.
• Bentley and Hua Xiezhi warned off two motorcycles from the High Point Team with gunfire, and Qu Jianlei refused to pursue them because ammunition cost money.
• The High Point Team watched the group’s truck for hours, then abandoned plans to attack after deciding the risk of losses outweighed the possible reward.

Qu Jianlei, Hua Xiezhi, and Bentley reached Hou Jing after a costly journey through the Settlement Areas and survived an attack by armed vehicles on the way. They rented a secluded courtyard, and while Bentley went to arrange work, Hua Xiezhi asked Qu Jianlei to begin developing her a cultivation method.

• Qu Jianlei and his companions crossed the desert into the Yellow-character Settlement Area, where Bentley used his authority to get them past inspections and checkpoints.
• Bentley guided Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi through the Xuan-character Settlement Area and into the Tian-character District, where entry fees and deposits sharply reduced their savings.
• An armed group attacked their heavy truck, and Qu Jianlei destroyed the attackers’ vehicles with the truck’s Autocannon before Bentley ordered him to leave.
• Bentley explained that bandits and corrupt checkpoint personnel sometimes targeted travelers, and the group drove on to Hou Jing, where they rented a secluded courtyard for sixty Silver Coins a month.
• Bentley left to arrange ways to earn money, and after training, Hua Xiezhi asked Qu Jianlei to start designing a cultivation method for her, but he said they needed a reference first.

Qu Jianlei tested numerous ways to modify Bentley's cultivation, leaving Bentley battered and short of money. Bentley found them a repair job at the Gold Industry Center, where Manager Shana greeted him and questioned Qu Jianlei's mask.

• Qu Jianlei used Bentley's cultivation records to devise and test methods, but the first attempt injured Bentley and an electromagnetic experiment magnetized him.
• After months of failed experiments, Qu Jianlei told Bentley that more than one hundred and eighty plans remained, and Bentley said they needed repair work to cover the costs.
• Bentley found an on-site repair job at the Gold Industry Center and bought equipment and an animal mask for Qu Jianlei.
• At the building entrance, Bentley told the guards he had an appointment with Manager Shana, who hurried out to greet him and asked why Qu Jianlei was wearing a mask.

Qu Jianlei and Bentley took inspection jobs around Hou Jing, building Qu Jianlei’s reputation for fast, knowledgeable work. After Qu Jianlei refused an impossible camera-system test and returned the travel fee, his reputation grew further, and a new client sought to use his presence to lend credibility to a construction site’s foundation inspection.

• Qu Jianlei inspected Gold Industry Center’s fresh-air system, identified thirty-one problems, and earned Shana and Thomas’s respect after Thomas verified a faulty component.
• Bentley explained that a former acquaintance had introduced them to Gold Industry, and he and Qu Jianlei went on to take several inspection jobs, including four mechs.
• Qu Jianlei agreed to inspect Hou Jing’s six smashed surveillance cameras, but refused when he learned the broken line required a cable tester they did not have; Bentley returned the travel fee to Fu Lan Ke.
• Qu Jianlei’s refusal to take payment for an impossible job and his rebuke of Fu Lan Ke strengthened his reputation among repairmen and officials.
• A client offered Bentley five hundred Silver Coins to bring Qu Jianlei to a construction site, admitting they only wanted him to appear there and would not require him to certify the foundation.

Qu Jianlei and Bentley earned more inspection work after their accurate assessments impressed local businesses, while the Hou Jing Garrison commander’s attempt to pressure Jian Lei was quietly withdrawn. As Qu Jianlei began another inspection, a crowd arrived demanding to know whether he had a repair technician’s certificate.

• Bentley verified the reports about Gold Industry Center, and Qu Jianlei inspected the site, earning five hundred Silver Coins despite the owner’s and onlookers’ reactions.
• Qu Jianlei found four faults and six potential hazards in a high-end casino’s fresh-air system, and the casino paid him six hundred Silver Coins.
• After a Tai Du maintenance worker confirmed Gold Industry Center’s faults, Shana rejected the manufacturer’s complaint, and the casino also arranged repairs.
• Bentley refused the Hou Jing Garrison’s request for Qu Jianlei to inspect its mechs before payment, angering Stahl, who then considered how to maintain contact with Jian Lei through an influential connection.
• Bentley’s contacts helped prompt Stahl to withdraw the order to investigate Jian Lei’s repair technician qualifications, and Qu Jianlei continued inspecting fresh-air systems for new clients.
• More than a dozen people arrived at a trading company while Qu Jianlei was preparing to inspect its fresh-air system and demanded to know whether he had a repair technician’s certificate.

Qu Jianlei and Bentley clashed with Tian Gong Repair Shop after Xue Mantian challenged Qu Jianlei’s credentials, then left the dispute unresolved while Bentley investigated the repair shop. After their reputation spread and Qu Jianlei took another inspection job, they caught a group following them and confronted one pursuer at a landfill.

• Xue Mantian and other Tian Gong repair technicians confronted Qu Jianlei at a company, and Bentley kicked Xue Mantian while Qu Jianlei sent two attackers through the front door.
• Bentley and Qu Jianlei left after Bentley revealed his unrestricted firing authority, and they discussed whether Stahl was using them and how to respond to Tian Gong.
• Xiao BuDian explained his actions to the Second Young Master, while news of the confrontation reached Tian Gong, Stahl, and Shana.
• Bentley gathered information on Tian Gong as both sides avoided striking first, and Qu Jianlei continued taking inspection work despite the dispute.
• Qu Jianlei and Bentley drove to a landfill after spotting pursuers; Bentley shot one pursuer’s motorcycle wheel and threatened to use a True Memory syringe to make him talk.

Bentley and Qu Jianlei uncovered a garrison tracker’s plans, then learned Tian Gong was behind a conspicuous invitation to inspect two Industrial Robots. They accepted the challenge, prepared an isolated courtyard as their battlefield, and waited as Tian Gong’s hired teams surrounded it and approached.

• Bentley and Qu Jianlei forced a garrison tracker to reveal that Stahl wanted to use them against Tian Gong, then left him behind; a helmeted rider later killed him, and other trackers witnessed the murder.
• Tian Gong’s boss and Xue Mantian discussed how to respond to Qu Jianlei and Bentley, while the boss acknowledged that confronting them could be costly.
• Bentley told Qu Jianlei that the dead tracker had been killed by an out-of-town adventurer using a false identity, and Qu Jianlei reported that their cultivation calculations were nearing completion.
• Bentley brought Qu Jianlei an offer to inspect two Industrial Robots, and they recognized it as a Tian Gong trap; they accepted the challenge, while Hua Xiezhi stayed behind to guard the house.
• Bentley rented and fortified an isolated courtyard outside the city, gave Tian Gong the address, and waited as its hired teams surrounded the property.
• A four-man squad approached the courtyard, and Bentley warned them to stop; the man in the middle asked whether he was Mr. Terry.

Qu Jianlei and Bentley resisted Heavenly Works’ attempts to investigate their courtyard, and Qu Jianlei destroyed the company’s three surveillance drones with electromagnetic interference and gunfire. After a tense night, they prepared to wait two more days for Heavenly Works to make its next move.

• Bentley warned off Heavenly Works’ representatives, refused the landlord’s attempt to inspect the courtyard, and watched the landlord reject the company’s offer to buy the property for five thousand Silver Coins.
• Heavenly Works sent three drones to survey the courtyard, but Qu Jianlei used heaters to confuse their thermal imaging before switching on full-frequency electromagnetic interference that disabled the drones and their controllers.
• After the drones crashed, Qu Jianlei fired at them repeatedly, eventually destroying them while the Heavenly Works team argued over whether to intervene.
• Qu Jianlei stayed awake expecting an attack, then discovered Bentley had slept inside a heat-shielded box; Bentley agreed to take the day shift.
• Qu Jianlei told Bentley to wait two more days for the final result, predicting that Heavenly Works could not afford to show weakness by staying away.

Tian Gong sent the City Garrison to search Bentley and Qu Jianlei’s courtyard, then attacked them in the rain with Bobopov, an Ultimate Warrior with the Water Attribute. Bentley’s Electromagnetic Attribute helped Qu Jianlei kill Bobopov and the attackers, destroy both mechs, and pursue the surviving veteran Modified Warrior.

• Bentley challenged the City Garrison during its search, and Terry appeared on the courtyard wall as Tian Gong’s people watched.
• As rain fell, Bentley and Qu Jianlei finished preparing their defenses and anticipated Tian Gong’s attack.
• Bobopov led three Modified Warriors toward the courtyard and used his Water Attribute to restrain Qu Jianlei.
• Bentley struck Bobopov with electricity, and Qu Jianlei killed Bobopov and two Modified Warriors before destroying the Impact Mech while Bentley destroyed the other mech.
• Bentley attacked the fleeing vehicles as Qu Jianlei pursued the veteran Modified Warrior and killed him after he turned to fight.
• Qu Jianlei returned to find three vehicles burning.

After the battle with Tian Gong, Qu Jianlei and Bentley escaped retaliation and sold the spoils while Tian Gong sought a settlement. Bentley negotiated with the Mountain Master over compensation, but their talks were interrupted by news that a Fallen force was attacking.

• Qu Jianlei and Bentley finished clearing the battlefield, loaded their belongings onto a truck, and left before dawn.
• City Garrison soldiers discovered Bobopov and Tian Gong’s other dead fighters, then warned Tian Gong that the battle had happened outside the city.
• Tian Gong’s little old man failed to find anyone willing to punish the culprits and paid the Mountain Master eighty thousand Silver Coins to mediate.
• Qu Jianlei and Hua Xiezhi spent three days disposing of the spoils while Bentley publicly announced that Master Jian Lei would take paid jobs again.
• The Mountain Master offered Bentley thirty thousand Silver Coins from Tian Gong’s settlement, but Bentley demanded fifty thousand.
• A shout announced that a Fallen force was attacking while Bentley and the Mountain Master were still negotiating.