Chapter Summaries

After Philippa’s crew defeated the Storm Pirate Group, Wu Heng inspected Treasure Island’s factories and received new potions. He drank a Potent Intelligence Enhancement Potion and unlocked Hostility Sensing.

• Philippa’s crew rescued a Laimi Merchant Association ship from the Storm Pirate Group, then salvaged the pirate ship’s cargo and corpses.
• Wu Heng visited Treasure Island’s garment, fountain pen, and watch factories and learned the watch factory would be assembled in three days.
• Merchant Association representatives learned that the watch shop’s warranty excluded watches deliberately dismantled or damaged, leaving them facing heavy losses.
• Wu Heng and Granda discussed the newspaper’s release and plans for collected story volumes before an Alchemy Skeleton delivered three potions.
• Wu Heng drank a Potent Intelligence Enhancement Potion, which increased his Intelligence, Perception, and Charm and unlocked the Hostility Sensing trait.

Wu Heng drank the remaining potions, unlocked Hostility Sensing, and reviewed his growing attributes before going to rest. The latest newspaper then captivated the island, while its detective story ended on another cliffhanger and copies were shipped to the Association Headquarters.

• Wu Heng recovered from the Mental Potion and unlocked Hostility Sensing, an ability that detected hostility and malice directed at him.
• Wu Heng drank two Enhancement Potions, increasing his attributes, then checked his status and saw his Constitution had reached 60.
• Wu Heng said good night to Xiaoxiao, Granda, and Beni before returning to his bedroom to rest.
• Newsboys announced the new newspaper issue, and residents crowded around to get copies and hear its stories.
• At the Golden Sail Tavern, Saban read the latest Great Detective Story aloud, ending with the mystery of the Four Signatures and prompting the drinkers to curse the cliffhanger.
• At the harbor, workers loaded sealed newspapers and books onto a ship bound for the Association Headquarters.

Wu Heng left the Zombie World base in Gao Rong’s hands and returned to Busan Port with Zhao Yanqiu, where he learned about a weapon upgrade for the frigate. Meanwhile, a man at the Association Headquarters told a woman in a coffin that Wu Heng had sent her a gift.

• Wu Heng assigned Gao Rong production, research, recruitment, and military-strengthening tasks before departing with Zhao Yanqiu for Binhai City.
• Wu Heng and Zhao Yanqiu arrived at Busan Port, where Qi Hancai reported that the base was growing and the Korean navy men were teaching skeletons about ships.
• Wu Heng asked the two navy men why the frigate’s anti-aircraft missiles could not target Harpies, and they explained that a close-in weapon system could handle flying beasts.
• The navy men marked a nearby Military Port on a map so Wu Heng could investigate replacing the frigate’s shipborne weapons.
• At the Association Headquarters, a middle-aged man told a woman in a coffin that Treasure Island had sent the latest newspaper and that Wu Heng had sent her a gift.

Lilith, Imilo, and others received Wu Heng’s gifts and learned about Treasure Island’s new products and physical-enhancement potion, prompting interest in the island and its upcoming auction. Meanwhile, Wu Heng planned an expedition near Busan Port and prepared to auction the thousands of Corpse Core Potions he had in storage.

• Lilith opened Wu Heng’s gift, examined the novel, fountain pen, and watch, then asked to read the newspaper after hearing about the potion.
• Moya gave Imilo Wu Heng’s gift and newspaper, and Imilo praised Wu Heng’s talent after seeing the products.
• Readers at the Hall of Glory learned about Treasure Island’s exhibition and potion auction, and several decided to travel there; Virgil was sent to investigate the potion and buy fountain pens and watches.
• Moffat told Luan to secretly deliver a letter to the vampire Bardley family patriarch.
• Wu Heng chose a confidential port east of Busan for the next day’s trip, assigned Qi Hancai to give Zhao Yanqiu logistics work, and stored their scavenged supplies.
• Wu Heng delivered Corpse Cores to the Alchemist and found thousands of Corpse Core Potions ready for the auction.

Wu Heng kept Corpse Core Potion secret, raised Skeletons from the pirates Philippa had defeated, and traveled with Qi Hancai to investigate the hidden Military Port. The port’s armed survivors spotted their convoy and prepared to target the Ability User controlling the Skeletons, while Wu Heng halted outside their walls.

• Wu Heng decided not to reveal the side-effect-free Corpse Core Potion to the outside world and went to Port Number Two to inspect Philippa’s captured pirate corpses.
• Wu Heng raised the Level 17 pirate leader as a Skeleton Swordsman, named him Iron Shark, and assigned him to protect Philippa.
• Wu Heng transformed the Harpy and the other bodies into Skeletons, then returned to the manor with Philippa.
• The next morning, Wu Heng and Qi Hancai set out with a convoy and Skeleton escort to inspect the hidden Military Port.
• The military leaders at the port learned that about three thousand Skeletons and five trucks were approaching and ordered their forces to find and kill the Ability User controlling them.
• Wu Heng stopped the convoy and Skeletons outside the fortified port after its guards demanded to know their purpose.

Wu Heng’s forces captured a military port, recruited two technicians through resurrection, and settled into the base before he returned to Treasure Island. There, Shiraque arrived with news about the Cat-Rat Society, leaving Wu Heng waiting to hear what she had learned.

• Wu Heng detected a sniper’s shot, ordered his skeletons and ghosts to attack, and watched them overwhelm the military base while ghosts killed the sniper and disabled a helicopter.
• Wu Heng’s convoy entered the captured base, where his forces secured the port, ships, weapons, and a Wildcat Shipborne Helicopter.
• Wu Heng resurrected three technicians, recruited two who agreed to join, let the third die after he refused, and turned the remaining corpses into skeletons.
• Wu Heng and Qi Hancai decided to keep the military base for now, assigned guards to the injured technicians, and chose rooms in the dormitory.
• Wu Heng returned to Treasure Island and arranged to attend Saban’s private performance the next morning.
• Shiraque told Wu Heng that the Merchant Association was distancing itself from the death of its representative and said she wanted to discuss the Cat-Rat Society.

Wu Heng learned from Shiraque that the Mystic Association had used the Cat-Rat Society and might be pursuing the Kirin Path to influence the Yeke Kingdom’s succession. He and Granda agreed to focus on protecting Treasure Island, then Wu Heng attended a performance at the Gem Flower Opera House with his maids.

• Shiraque told Wu Heng that the Mystic Association had absorbed the Cat-Rat Society and contacted its leaders, including Magnoro.
• Shiraque described the Kirin Path as a plan to incite revolutions and install the Mystic Association’s allies in power, and she and Wu Heng suspected it had affected the Yeke Kingdom’s succession.
• Wu Heng invited Shiraque to Saban’s stage play, and she agreed to bring the teams on rotation; they also discussed the favor she and Shi Yali owed him.
• Wu Heng told Granda and the other Three Wraiths about Shiraque’s information, and Granda said the Mystic Association’s promise of extended life could attract human rulers.
• Wu Heng attended a performance at the Gem Flower Opera House with Minnie and the other maids, where Andeviel arrived with Town Hall staff.

Wu Heng approved the island's first stage play, and its public performance was scheduled for three days later as preparations for a potion auction drew attention to the Opera House. As the auction approached, Shanala warned Wu Heng not to sell potions privately, while powerful professionals gathered at the Association and demanded to know where he was.

• Wu Heng watched Saban and the others perform their stage adaptation, praised their work, and left as the audience cheered.
• The bard announced that the stage play would be performed at the Opera House in three days, and news of the show spread across the island.
• Wu Heng checked the factories and discussed the upcoming sale of five potions at auction with Shanala, who told him to refuse private buyers.
• The next day, advertisements announced the potion auction, drawing attention to the Opera House and its upcoming events.
• Several high-level professionals questioned Shiraque at the Association about Wu Heng's whereabouts, and she grew visibly nervous.

Wu Heng recruited two Korean technicians to train base personnel and led a Zombie-clearing expedition, where Granda reached Level 19. Back at the Island Master's Manor, he learned that the auction venue was ready and Shanala had set the starting price for five potions at five hundred Gold Coin.

• Wu Heng asked the rescued Korean technicians about their specialties, learned the man could install Close-in Weapon Systems and the woman could establish landline communications, and told them to teach trainees after recovering.
• Wu Heng arranged for classrooms and skeletons and base personnel to train, then sent the convoy out to clear Zombies.
• Granda devoured Residual Souls during the battle and reached Level 19 before Wu Heng's forces finished the Zombie Horde and raised more skeletons.
• Wu Heng returned to the Island Master's Manor, where Minnie and the maids sorted through gifts sent by visitors seeking him.
• Shanala told Wu Heng that the auction venue was arranged and that five potions would be offered with a starting price of five hundred Gold Coin.

Wu Heng’s five Constitution Enhancement Potions sold for increasingly high prices at the Gem Flower Opera House auction, with the last bottle fetching 32,860 Gold Coins. After the auction, Mr. Ottmar drank the potion he had bought and collapsed as purple-black veins spread across his body.

• Wu Heng and Shanala set a 500 Gold Coin starting price for each potion, while Andeviel arranged extra security at the Opera House.
• Three masked thieves tried to break into the Opera House overnight, but guards shot them and cleaned up the scene.
• The auction began with only five certified Constitution Enhancement Potions, and Wu Heng watched the bids climb from a private room with Shanala.
• The first four bottles sold for 3,480, 3,260, 3,680, and 6,840 Gold Coins, while Shiraque watched in surprise.
• Bidders drove the final bottle’s price to 32,860 Gold Coins, and guest number 465 won it using valuables and collateral.
• Mr. Ottmar drank the potion in front of witnesses, then collapsed in agony as purple-black veins spread across his exposed skin.

The potion buyers’ alarming side effects faded, and they confirmed that Wu Heng’s potion worked as advertised, spreading the news across Treasure Island. Virgil of the Association’s Grand Text Society visited Wu Heng and asked whether he had made the potion.

• At Mr. Ottmar’s estate, the potion’s side effects subsided, and he declared it was worth every penny.
• Potion buyers at other estates also recovered and confirmed the potion’s effects, prompting merchants and nobles to spread the news.
• Xiaoxiao, Granda, and Beni reported to Wu Heng that the observed buyers had taken the potion successfully and that news of its efficacy was circulating.
• Minnie told Wu Heng that Virgil had arrived, and Wu Heng welcomed the Association Mage into the sitting room.
• Virgil praised Treasure Island’s growth, then asked Wu Heng whether he had made the potion.

Wu Heng negotiated with Virgil over potions and Treasure Island’s goods, then celebrated the auction’s success with Shanala. The chapter ended with a bard spreading the story of the potion’s rejuvenating effect while a nervous technician taught skeletons in Zombie World.

• Wu Heng told Virgil he could not supply more Corpse Core Potions but agreed to notify him before another auction.
• Wu Heng arranged to sell the Grand Text Society five hundred fountain pens and twenty watches, and Virgil agreed to help Treasure Island receive more Profession Scrolls and educational courses.
• Shanala brought back the auction proceeds and advised Wu Heng to wait before holding another auction while he developed new products.
• A bard recounted how the potion had rejuvenated an elderly merchant, and listeners concluded that the doubting wealthy guests had missed a valuable opportunity.
• In Zombie World, Wu Heng watched a bandaged female technician nervously teach more than twenty skeletons.

Wu Heng led a convoy to battle a Zombie Horde and discovered that a Zombie King was directing it. Granda killed the Zombie King before Xiaoxiao could join the fight, and the group prepared to bring its corpse back.

• Wu Heng and Qi Hancai watched technicians teach classes before departing with the convoy to find Zombies.
• Wu Heng deployed the Skeleton Army and Skeleton Hounds to draw a Zombie Horde into an ambush, but the Zombies split up and attacked from the side streets and buildings.
• Xiaoxiao found a Zombie King controlling the horde, and Wu Heng sent Granda and Xiaoxiao to surround it while the Skeleton Army attacked.
• Granda used the Silent Blade Evil Sword to kill the Mutated Zombie and decapitate the Zombie King.
• Xiaoxiao arrived after the battle and told the Blood Race Skeletons to carry the Zombie King's corpse back.

Wu Heng’s forces defeated a Zombie Horde, and he converted its Zombie King into Bone Demon Two to help defend the base. As he considered how to raise his reputation faster, Granda suggested that public challenges like Luan’s could be an efficient route, leaving Wu Heng to seek alternatives to involving himself in a war.

• The Skeleton Army fought off the Zombie Horde while Granda absorbed the battlefield’s Residual Souls, and Wu Heng converted the female Zombie King and another Mutated Zombie into skeletons.
• Wu Heng introduced Bone Demon Two to Qi Hancai and told it to assist her in defending the base.
• At the Island Master's Manor, Wu Heng discussed the Opera House, Treasure Island’s businesses, and his plans to acquire equipment and raise Granda’s level.
• Wu Heng worried that his reputation was growing too slowly, and Granda suggested that he could gain it by backing the Fifth Princess in the Yeke Kingdom’s war.
• Wu Heng rejected that option because it could harm Treasure Island and violate the Association’s rules, then asked Granda for other ideas.

Wu Heng stayed near the zombie-clearing site to help Granda grow stronger, then returned to the Association and joined Shiraque and Shi Yali for dinner. The evening ended with Shi Yali asking whether he had thought about the wager he owed her.

• Wu Heng led the skeletons in killing zombies and stayed at a nearby hotel while Qi Hancai returned to the base with the convoy.
• Granda, Beni, and Xiaoxiao joked with Wu Heng about taking over the Association Headquarters once Granda reached level 20.
• Wu Heng returned through a portal and learned from Minnie that Shiraque had asked him to visit the Association.
• Shiraque invited Wu Heng to her manor, where Shi Yali served him Elf Race dishes and Honey Wine.
• Shiraque asked Wu Heng about his plans for the island, but Shi Yali interrupted and asked whether he had thought about the wager he owed her.

Wu Heng shared an awkward but affectionate wager with Shiraque and Shi Yali, then returned home. The next morning, the Treasure Island Express drew eager readers with a cliffhanger, and Wu Heng called Wen Mansha to hear their baby.

• Shiraque and Shi Yali kissed Wu Heng on the cheeks to fulfill their wager, and he persuaded them to repeat it for five seconds.
• Wu Heng left the sisters after dinner, watched a bard perform, and returned to his residence to rest.
• Treasure Island residents and visiting merchants bought the latest Treasure Island Express, while rival papers failed to match its success.
• Saban recited the latest Great Detective installment at the Golden Sail Tavern, ending with Wu Heng naming Jonathan Small as the murderer before revealing the rest in the next issue.
• Wu Heng called Wen Mansha from the radio room, and she let him hear their baby's coos.

Wu Heng learned that Wen Mansha had given birth to a healthy daughter and reassured Xiaoxiao that he would keep caring for her. After arranging affairs on Treasure Island and overseeing a zombie-clearing expedition, he traveled to a remote region, where he and the wraiths discovered a suspicious gathering at a temple.

• Wu Heng spoke with Wen Mansha over the radio, learned that she had given birth to a daughter, and promised to visit her in Luntam City.
• Granda, Xiaoxiao, and Beni reported that everything was normal, and Wu Heng reassured Xiaoxiao that his new child would not lessen his affection for her.
• Wu Heng led the Skeleton Army through successive zombie hordes, collected their cores and Residual Souls, and returned to the base at dawn.
• Wu Heng questioned two Korean technicians about teaching skeletons and arranging ship equipment and telephone cables, then assigned the island staff tasks to handle while he was away.
• Wu Heng boarded his Train Conductor's Hat train and traveled for several days before emerging in a wilderness with two skeletons.
• Wu Heng used Xiaoxiao's vision to observe a remote temple where travelers gathered and scantily dressed women welcomed them inside.

Wu Heng discovered and slaughtered a gathering of Hags near Luntam City, rescued four infants, and collected two Wonders. After returning to the city, he found that a sorcerer was planning to challenge Wen Mansha, then reunited with her at the Lord's Mansion.

• Wu Heng and the ghosts investigated a building near Luntam City and learned that Hags were disguising themselves, killing men, and buying infants for their inheritance ritual.
• Wu Heng led the Skeleton Attendants into the gathering and killed more than twenty Hags, while Xiaoxiao and Beni helped and the ghosts protected him.
• Wu Heng stopped a Hag from sacrificing an infant, rescued four babies, and ordered the skeletons to care for them before collecting the Hag corpses and two Wonders.
• A sorcerer and a middle-aged man discussed exploiting Wen Mansha's pregnancy to seize power in Luntam City, and the sorcerer decided to visit her the next day.
• Wu Heng returned to Luntam City and found Wen Mansha nursing her child in the Lord's Mansion.

Wu Heng and Wen Mansha cared for their newborn daughter and four rescued infants, while Wu Heng checked on his work in the Zombie World. The next morning, a representative of the Yeke Kingdom arrived at Wen Mansha’s mansion.

• Wu Heng reunited with Wen Mansha, brought her four babies rescued from Hags, and asked her to find their families and investigate baby trafficking.
• Wu Heng and Wen Mansha named their daughter Wu Qin, and Wen Mansha said there was still no news from Deacon Slyther because the Yeke Kingdom had sealed its borders.
• Xiaoxiao, Granda, and Beni visited the sleeping baby, who woke and cried when she saw the ghosts.
• Wu Heng met Qi Hancai in the Zombie World, heard updates on ammunition production and technicians, and ordered the convoy to clear out Zombies.
• Robien, a representative of the Yeke Kingdom, arrived at Wen Mansha’s mansion and greeted her.

Wen Mansha rejected the First Prince’s proposal to bring Luntam City into the Yeke Kingdom, while the warlock left to report what he had learned about her. In the Zombie World, Qi Hancai’s team recruited eleven survivors, and Wu Heng returned to Luntam City to care for the baby with Xiaoxiao.

• Wen Mansha declined the jade ornaments and refused the First Prince’s offer to incorporate Luntam City into the Yeke Kingdom, citing the city’s large beastmen population.
• The warlock warned that nearly ten thousand Yeke Kingdom soldiers had gathered near the border, then left and resolved to report Wen Mansha’s wealth and bearing.
• Qi Hancai and Xin He invited eleven nearby survivors to join the Busan Port Rescue Team, and the survivors agreed.
• Wu Heng’s Skeleton Squad collected Corpse Cores, turned corpses into skeletons, and gathered strollers and cribs from a Mother and Baby Store.
• Wu Heng returned to Luntam City and held the baby while Xiaoxiao rocked her in a crib.