Chapter Summaries

Wu Heng helped Imilo interrogate Occam’s wraith, uncovering the Divine Punishment Cult’s role in the attack on Treasure Island and its plan to shape Occam into a hero. Imilo explained that level 18 professionals became Reserve Heroes and needed to build sufficient reputation or influence to advance.

• Wu Heng trapped Occam’s wraith in a magic circle, and Imilo questioned him about who had helped attack Treasure Island.
• Occam revealed that the Divine Punishment Cult had held Imilo back, and its bishop had promised him support in exchange for permission to establish a church on the island.
• Under pressure from the circle, Occam admitted the Cult had also promised to use its believers to help him undergo Hero Shaping and become a hero.
• Imilo ordered Occam returned to the Demon Soul Pot, then allowed Wu Heng to handle the corpse after the investigators finished recording the testimony.
• Wu Heng asked Imilo about Hero Shaping, and Imilo explained that level 18 professionals became Reserve Heroes and needed to build their reputation or influence to become heroes.

Wu Heng learned that becoming a hero required building reputation and influence, then continued his duties on the island while considering whether he could gain Hero Shaping in Zombie World. The next morning, Millicent asked to take Philippa back to Nautilus so they could reopen their tavern.

• Imilo explained that Hero Shaping could come from a person's chosen reputation and influence, including real deeds and stories circulated by the Association.
• Wu Heng was told that merchant associations had nominated him to become the island lord, and Imilo assigned him and Shiraque to lead patrols for the next two days.
• Wu Heng preserved Occam's organs, then directed harbor teams to collect Pirate Flags so the crews could receive merit for their actions.
• Wu Heng reflected that the Divine Punishment Cult's bishop might be unable or unwilling to act openly and considered seeking Hero Shaping among survivors in Zombie World.
• After breakfast, Millicent asked Wu Heng to let her take Philippa back to Nautilus because she did not want to abandon their tavern.

Wu Heng returned to the Zombie World, prepared to expand food trading and recruited the level 18 Occam as a Skeleton Prophet. At the chapter’s end, Viola retrieved a preserved head from the Serpent Emblem Conglomerate, and it opened its eyes as she addressed it as Bishop.

• Wu Heng sent Millicent and Philippa back to the tavern with two skeleton guards, then traveled through the Portal to the Zombie World.
• Qi Hancai told Wu Heng that survivors in other regions wanted to trade for food and establish Exchange Points, and Wu Heng ordered her and Li Yahong to prepare and recruit reliable bases.
• Wu Heng used Bone Manipulation Technique on the level 18 former island master’s corpse and raised Occam as a Skeleton Prophet with abilities including Domain Premonition and Divine Source Wisdom Extraction.
• Wu Heng returned to Treasure Island and spent time with Minnie and Andeviel.
• Viola collected a shriveled head from the Serpent Emblem Conglomerate, and it opened its eyes when she called it Bishop.

Wu Heng learned that Viola had been ordered to kill him, then patrolled Treasure Island and visited Philippa at the Nautilus Tavern. The chapter ended with Philippa asking what she should do now that most of the pirates were dead.

• Viola reported to the head that she had failed to stop Imilo, and learned that the black-haired, black-eyed Necromancer had killed Occam.
• The head ordered Viola to remain on Treasure Island and kill Wu Heng before his new appointment took effect, despite her injuries.
• Wu Heng met the elderly mage known as Dean, declined an invitation to join the Magic Research Society for now, and agreed to consider it after reaching level 15.
• Shiraque told Wu Heng to lead a patrol on Lighthouse Street, and he later discussed whether killing Occam would earn merit.
• Wu Heng patrolled Lighthouse Street without incident, then went to the Nautilus Tavern and met Philippa, who asked what she should do now that the pirates were gone.

Wu Heng gave Granda Spirit Vision, reviewed the pirate flags recovered after the battle, and learned that the pirates’ destruction had triggered retaliatory violence across the coastal regions. He collected three level 15 corpses and assigned the new Alchemist and Machinist skeletons to research and workshop duties.

• Wu Heng and Philippa discussed their possible future on Treasure Island before Philippa initiated an intimate encounter with him, which Millicent overheard.
• Wu Heng used the magic array to give Granda Spirit Vision, and Granda and Xiaoxiao went outside to test it after he warned them to avoid the Association.
• Andeviel reported the pirate flags recovered from the battle, and Wu Heng told her to verify their merit records while keeping a low profile.
• At the Serpent Emblem Conglomerate, Lady Li gave Wu Heng three level 15 corpses and explained that the pirates’ destruction had sparked retaliation against their associates across the coastal regions.
• Wu Heng commissioned more corpses, returned to Treasure Island, and raised two Alchemist skeletons and one Machinist skeleton; he tasked the Alchemists with researching a potion to strengthen living creatures.
• Wu Heng named the new skeletons and assigned Machinist One a workshop, then brought out three stacks of blueprints.

Wu Heng returned to Xinfu City and learned that the Provincial Rescue Team had once again delayed handing over the Artillery Shell Production Line Blueprint. He abandoned the exchange and planned to seek weapons and blueprints through the Central Broadcast Station or World Channel instead.

• Wu Heng asked a skeleton to study the Type 56 Rifle, Hand Grenade, and Ammunition Structure blueprints for a possible Production Line.
• Wu Heng traveled by train from the station, where Qi Hancai stayed behind to arrange an Exchange Point in the next city.
• Li Yahong confronted Vice Commander Liu about the Provincial Rescue Team’s repeated delays in providing the Artillery Shell Production Line Blueprint.
• Wu Heng told Vice Commander Liu that they no longer wanted the blueprints and changed the food exchange rate to one hundred grams of gold for ten kilograms of food.
• Wu Heng sent Vice Commander Liu and his companions away, then told Li Yahong to seek cutting-edge weapons and blueprints through the Central Broadcast Station or World Channel.

Wu Heng and Li Yahong planned to establish contact with foreign bases, expand their control of the surrounding region, and recruit more survivors. After returning to Treasure Island, Wu Heng saw a new wanted notice for the level 18 Divine Punishment Cult Protector Viola.

• Wu Heng and Li Yahong discussed recruiting foreign-language speakers for the radio station and finding ways to reach distant trading partners.
• Wu Heng asked Li Yahong to clear nearby residential areas and surrounding settlements, and to seek survivors willing to join the base.
• Wu Heng and Li Yahong traveled to the Old Factory Area, where Wu Heng released Xiaoxiao to visit Zhao Yanqiu.
• Wu Heng returned to Treasure Island the next morning and found Association members gathered around a new Wanted List for Viola, a level 18 Witch and Divine Punishment Cult Protector.

Wu Heng learned that the Divine Punishment Cult Protector was wanted and read letters from Slyther and Wen Mansha describing the political turmoil and their longing for him. While enemies plotted to kill him from outside Treasure Island, Wu Heng tested a method of sending letters by picturing their recipients, and both letters vanished.

• Wu Heng warned his team not to confront the wanted level 18 Divine Punishment Cult Protector and to notify the deacon if they encountered her.
• Wu Heng read Slyther's letter about pirate dangers, unrest in the Yeke Kingdom, and her wish to see him, then read Wen Mansha's account of Luntam City's growth and her longing for him.
• A mercenary reported to a bald man and a hooded woman that Association reinforcements had arrived on Treasure Island and that Wu Heng had defeated the pirates; the pair killed him and decided to find a way to kill Wu Heng from outside the island.
• Wu Heng wrote letters to Slyther and Wen Mansha, then made each disappear by picturing its recipient, astonishing Andeviel.

Wu Heng learned that a level 18 professional had scouted his residence and discovered that the Divine Punishment Cult Protector planned to target the women around him. He reported the threat to Imilo and Dean Janvito, then offered to act as bait to lure the enemy away from the city.

• Wu Heng kept the Blank Envelopes secret, patrolled with Team Eleven, and heard Cavina say that pirates had become harder to find on the island.
• At home, Wu Heng inspected the Skeleton Machinist’s firearm blueprints and considered how the association might assign him.
• After an unknown level 18 professional used Reconnaissance Magic to scout Wu Heng’s residence, Granda followed the intruder and reported that they had gone toward Lighthouse Street.
• The Divine Punishment Cult Protector discussed capturing or killing the women around Wu Heng if they could not find an opportunity to attack him directly.
• Wu Heng told Imilo and Dean Janvito about the scout, and they discussed arranging a fight away from the island’s residents.
• Wu Heng volunteered to act as bait and lure the level 18 professional out.

Wu Heng agreed to lure out the level 18 professional stalking him, while the Deacon and Dean Janvito prepared to support him. The trap was set at sea, and the chapter ended as the enemy leaped aboard Wu Heng’s ship.

• Wu Heng agreed to draw out the attacker at sea, and Dean Janvito gave him a Teleportation Scroll while Imilo promised to arrange support.
• Wu Heng prepared his weapons and skeletons, then left Andeviel and Minnie at the association before heading out for the operation.
• At the Nautilus Tavern, a brown-haired woman recognized Philippa and restrained her with Mist Snakes while she and a Bald Man discussed killing Wu Heng at sea.
• Xiaoxiao spotted an approaching ship, and she later confirmed that a level 18 professional was aboard.
• The level 18 professional launched himself from the approaching ship and landed on Wu Heng’s deck, calling him a little Vice Deacon.

Wu Heng and the association’s team fought Divine Punishment Cult Protector Cassius and the Cult Witch at sea, killing Cassius while the Witch escaped. The survivors returned to harbor with Cassius’s corpse, while the wounded Witch reached a reef and blamed the dead Cassius for falling into a trap.

• Cassius identified himself as a Divine Punishment Cult Protector and offered Wu Heng a place in the cult, but Wu Heng refused.
• Imilo, the old mage, and two association deacons arrived, and the old mage warned that the Divine Punishment Cult Witch was nearby.
• The Witch attacked the old mage while Imilo fought Cassius, and Wu Heng’s clones joined both battles with spells and gunfire.
• Wu Heng’s attacks weakened Cassius, allowing Imilo to run him through and kill him, while Granda and Xiaoxiao pursued and devoured Cassius’s escaping ghost.
• Imilo and the others drove the Witch into retreat, then returned with Wu Heng and Cassius’s corpse to the association.
• The wounded Witch reached a reef, swallowed potions, and cursed Cassius for being tricked.

After Cassius’s death, a surviving woman escaped Treasure Island, while Wen Mansha and Slyther received mysterious letters from Wu Heng whose writing vanished. Wu Heng returned to the Association with Andeviel and Minnie, but Philippa then recognized her attacker on a Wanted List.

• The woman blamed Cassius for underestimating Wu Heng, then spotted a cargo ship and used a Gray Mist shark to reach it.
• Wen Mansha found Wu Heng’s affectionate warning letter beside her pillow, but its writing disappeared before she could read it again.
• Yuri showed Slyther a letter she said had been addressed to her aunt, but its vanished writing led Slyther to accuse her of imagining it and spank her.
• Wu Heng brought Cassius’s corpse and an Organ Jar to the morgue, then returned to his office and reassured Andeviel and Minnie that the danger had passed.
• Philippa burst into the office with a Wanted List and identified a woman on it as the person who had tried to kill her, alongside a bald man who had targeted Wu Heng.

Wu Heng learned that the Divine Punishment Cult had targeted him and traced the escaped woman to a ship bound for Netarei City. In the Zombie World, Li Yahong told him that overseas survivors had offered to lead them to a bullet factory in Myanmar in exchange for food.

• Philippa told Wu Heng that a woman and a Bald Man had attacked her at the Nautilus Tavern while trying to find him, and Wu Heng reassured Philippa and Millicent before collecting a copper button the woman had left behind.
• Wu Heng asked the Skeleton Prophet to examine the button, and it showed him that the Divine Punishment Cult had ordered the woman and Bald Man to kill him and that the woman had fled aboard a cargo ship.
• Philippa checked the ship's destination and reported that it was headed to Netarei City in the Yeke Kingdom.
• After entering the Zombie World, Wu Heng learned from Zhao Yanqiu that Li Yahong had contacted survivors overseas and went to the mall to meet her.
• Li Yahong told Wu Heng that a survivor in Myanmar had offered to lead them to a factory producing rifle and machine-gun ammunition in exchange for food.

Wu Heng received the association’s appointment as Treasure Island’s island lord and Flag Bearer, while Shiraque became the island’s Deacon and Imilo prepared to return to headquarters. After Shanala left with the Star Flower fleet, Wu Heng moved into the Island Master’s Manor with Andeviel and Minnie.

• Wu Heng dismissed the Myanmar factory offer as too risky, asked Li Yahong to find the location of the provincial arms factory, and discussed expanding Exchange Points.
• Shanala told Wu Heng she would return to the Wood Elves, then left Treasure Island aboard the Star Flower fleet with a radio and power bank from him.
• Imilo announced that Wu Heng would become Treasure Island’s island lord and the association’s Flag Bearer, while Shiraque would become the island’s Deacon.
• Wu Heng and Shiraque learned that Imilo would return to headquarters, and Wu Heng comforted Shiraque about their impending separation.
• Wu Heng told Andeviel the appointment had come through, then took Andeviel and Minnie to live at the Island Master’s Manor.

Wu Heng took control of Treasure Island and began planning its government, defenses, and development while the association announced his new position. The chapter ended with Philippa celebrating that she was now part of the island’s regular forces.

• Wu Heng inspected Stone Fortress with Minnie and Andeviel, chose a floor, and arranged for repairs and their move the following day.
• Wu Heng told Town Hall staff that he would manage Treasure Island’s government and put Andeviel in charge of the office.
• Wu Heng considered building a fleet, expanding construction, obtaining a powerful expert’s corpse, and establishing new businesses and facilities.
• The next morning, Wu Heng saw that the association had announced his appointment as island lord and local Flag Bearer, with Shiraque promoted to local deacon.
• The old mage congratulated Wu Heng and invited him to talk in the meeting room before visiting Imilo.
• Philippa burst into the Nautilus Tavern and announced to Millicent that she was now part of Treasure Island’s regular forces.

After becoming Treasure Island’s island master, Wu Heng discussed the island’s development and patrols, expanded its skeleton defenses, and received merchants eager to secure his support. He moved his forces and Minnie into the manor, leaving the island under heavy protection.

• Millicent worried that Wu Heng’s rise to island master would change his relationship with her and Philippa, while Philippa went to the association for news.
• Wu Heng asked the old mage about learning his teleportation and sky-light skills, and the old mage offered to discuss suitable skills after Wu Heng reached level 15 and joined the Research Society.
• Wu Heng counted the skeletons gained from the campaign, including Occam, Torga, and twelve level 15 or 16 skeletons, then assigned forces to defend the island and patrol with association squads.
• Merchant representatives congratulated Wu Heng and offered support, including gifts and warships, while Wu Heng promised to protect trade routes and improve business conditions.
• Wu Heng and Minnie moved to the manor with skeletons and four Armored Vehicles, and Wu Heng stationed armed skeletons along its walls.

Wu Heng settled the new manor, organized construction preparations with Li Yahong and Qi Hancai, and returned his old rental and collected corpses from the Serpent Emblem Conglomerate. As he left, he found a notice offering the rare Water Siren Conch in Netarei City.

• Wu Heng assigned rooms in the manor, placed the bomb-making Skeleton outside, and helped Minnie organize the skeletons and supplies.
• Wu Heng met Li Yahong and Qi Hancai in the Zombie World and asked them to gather engineering vehicles, find construction experts to train skeletons, and investigate restarting brickworks and cement plants.
• Wu Heng celebrated moving into the manor with Minnie and Andeviel, then set out the next morning to return his rented house and settle his commissions.
• Rostand offered Wu Heng a share of local profits, but Wu Heng refused and collected three corpses before paying the remaining balance.
• Wu Heng noticed a notice board listing the Water Siren Conch, which could summon a water-element Sea Shark, for exchange at Netarei City.

Wu Heng traded a potion for a Water Siren Conch, negotiated with a wealthy young woman to brew two more potions, and assigned Philippa three ships to refit as warships. The next morning, Shiraque asked him to investigate a merchant fleet manager found dead without his head.

• Wu Heng traveled to Netarei City and exchanged a potion for a Water Siren Conch, then agreed to provide a young woman with two potions within five days in return for a promise of compensation.
• Wu Heng returned to Treasure Island and gave Philippa three ship deeds, tasking her with inspecting and refitting the ships as warships.
• Wu Heng studied Treasure Island's development plan the next morning, and Shiraque arrived to ask for his help investigating a murdered fleet manager whose head was missing.

Wu Heng helped Shiraque use the Skeleton Prophet to identify and arrest a killer, then agreed to keep the Prophet's assistance secret and coordinate Association patrols with the island guards. In Zombie World, he inspected the collected construction vehicles before learning that Qi Hancai's scouting train had gone missing.

• Wu Heng had Shiraque bring the remaining Burning Incense to the Skeleton Prophet, which identified the killer and revealed his location at a tavern.
• Shiraque arrested the assassin, who had killed the Merchant Association Representative after the victim's mistress's husband hired him; the husband was arrested as well.
• Wu Heng refused to lend the Skeleton Prophet to the Association openly and proposed that Shiraque bring suspected killers' belongings to his manor in secret.
• Wu Heng and Shiraque agreed that Association members would begin patrolling the island with possible support from his skeletons.
• Wu Heng traveled to Zombie World, where Li Yahong showed him rows of collected construction vehicles and reported that Qi Hancai's scouting train had gone missing.

Wu Heng investigated the disappearance of Qi Hancai’s train scouts and led a rescue at Dajin Station, where survivors had ambushed them. After his Skeleton Attendants killed the captors and freed the hostages, Wu Heng learned from Brother Hu’s corpse that the group had blocked the railway to seize food and had found their Compound Bows at a nearby factory.

• Qi Hancai told Wu Heng that a train sent to scout the railway had reached Dajin Station, encountered barricades and survivors, and then gone silent.
• Wu Heng boarded the train with Qi Hancai and stopped near the station while Xiaoxiao scouted ahead and found the captives and their armed captors.
• Wu Heng and the Skeleton Attendants entered the station, killed the guards, freed the hostages, and attacked the armed survivors.
• Brother Hu tried to charge Wu Heng, but Wu Heng struck him with lightning and finished him with a thrown machete.
• Wu Heng used Talk with Dead on Brother Hu and learned that the survivors had blocked the tracks to rob a food shipment and had found their Compound Bows at a nearby factory.