Recaps

Fang Cheng bought New Year supplies and exercise equipment while learning of a mysterious illness causing violent behavior in the Eastern Capital. When he returned home, he found another strange postcard waiting on the floor.

• Li Dingjian called Fang Cheng, asked about his grandfather’s surgery, and said he would return in a few days with a surprise.
• Fang Cheng shopped for New Year supplies, bought clothes and gifts, and ordered weight plates for his training.
• A taxi radio reported a mysterious illness affecting hundreds of people, and the driver claimed he had subdued a berserk man in Xiguan.
• Fang Cheng noticed the Zhou family was unusually quiet because Zhou Xiumei and her grandmother were eating alone.
• Fang Cheng found a new postcard covered in strange symbols on his entryway floor.

Fang Cheng used the postcards’ strange characters as a voice password to enter the mental realm and make contact with their sender. In a church strewn with corpses, a bloodstained man praying before a god suddenly sensed Fang Cheng’s presence.

• Fang Cheng recognized the smiley face on the postcards as resembling the killer behind the hotel massacre and decided he was ready to risk contact.
• Fang Cheng entered meditation, used the strange characters as a voice password, and approached a dim point of light in the mental realm.
• A carved gate appeared before Fang Cheng, and his point of light merged with another.
• In a church in the Xiguan Suburbs, a bloodstained man prayed among more than a dozen corpses and demanded that the god answer him.
• The man’s smile froze and his eyes sharpened as he sensed what seemed to be prey.

Fang Cheng met the Smiling Devil in a dark spiritual space and learned that the man had been near the Red Tiger Gang massacre. Fang Cheng abruptly escaped the voice chat room and discovered that injuries from the spiritual space could affect reality.

• Fang Cheng entered the dark room and met a glowing figure who introduced himself as the Smiling Devil.
• The Smiling Devil said he had sent Fang Cheng at least three invitations and asked how Fang Cheng controlled his condition.
• Fang Cheng claimed that meditation and focusing on himself helped him control his condition, and the Smiling Devil called him schizophrenic.
• The Smiling Devil revealed that he had selected the Red Tiger Gang thugs as prey before Fang Cheng killed them.
• Fang Cheng unleashed his light, shattered the darkness, and returned to reality in a church in the Xiguan Suburbs.
• Fang Cheng noticed burn marks on his palm and realized that injuries sustained in the spiritual space could affect reality.

Fang Cheng’s squats reached grandmaster level, earning him 12 free attribute points that dramatically changed his body when he invested them in strength and agility. After recovering and assessing his enlarged physique, he considered how to explain it and received a call from Ma Donghe.

• Fang Cheng completed his weighted morning training and discovered that his Squats skill had reached grandmaster level, rewarding him with 12 free attribute points.
• Fang Cheng allocated six points to strength, causing painful changes that made him grow into an enormous, muscle-bound figure.
• Fang Cheng ate a large amount of food to recover, then spent his remaining six points on agility, which reduced his muscles but left him taller and bulkier than before.
• Fang Cheng considered how to explain his changed appearance and resolved to wait for agility to reach 40 before trying to bring his body into balance.
• Fang Cheng cleaned his home and prepared to order breakfast, but Ma Donghe called him first.

After his sudden growth left him unable to wear his clothes, Fang Cheng replenished his energy and practiced Qi Gong before asking Zhou Xiumei for help. She brought him new clothes and a Peace Talisman, warning that a dead neighbor's ghost might return that night; Fang Cheng then noticed neighbors burning offerings downstairs.

• Fang Cheng realized that leveling up had consumed some of his life energy, ate several meals, and practiced Qi Gong until his body's discomfort eased.
• Fang Cheng discovered that his enlarged body no longer fit his clothes and called Zhou Xiumei for help, postponing his meeting with Ma Donghe about selling the antique.
• Zhou Xiumei brought Fang Cheng clothes and her grandmother's Peace Talisman, then warned him that He Yao had died after apparently going mad and that neighbors feared his ghost would return on the seventh night.
• Fang Cheng accepted Zhou Xiumei's help, tried on the new clothes, and ate his tenth takeout meal of the day.
• Fang Cheng spotted several neighbors burning joss paper and making offerings downstairs after dark.

Fang Cheng drove off a psychic attack during Meditation, then answered Zhou Xiumei’s call about a presence in her home and followed a distress signal to He Yao’s apartment. He found a monster killing and eating people there, and challenged it to come after him.

• Fang Cheng’s Meditation drew a hostile psychic presence that appeared as the faces of people he had killed, but he dispelled it with a shout.
• Zhou Xiumei called Fang Cheng after hearing footsteps in her home, and he searched the house before hearing a distress signal from the floor below.
• Fang Cheng told Zhou Xiumei to stay put, gave her his gun, put on a white mask, and crept downstairs to He Yao’s apartment.
• He Jin hid in a wardrobe with his niece as the returned monster broke into the bedroom and approached them.
• Fang Cheng called out to the monster, saying it could come and get him if it wanted meat.

Fang Cheng fought He Yao, a decaying monster, and pursued him after he fled, intending to end his suffering. Before Fang Cheng could strike the final blow, another presence took control of He Yao and claimed that He Yao belonged to it.

• He Jin hid with his niece as Fang Cheng clashed with the monster and drove it through a window into the street.
• Fang Cheng caught the monster’s tongue and swung its body into the ground until the tongue snapped, forcing it to flee.
• He Yao ran through the North Point Old District, consumed by hunger and the urge to eat human flesh.
• Fang Cheng caught up with He Yao and battered him into a wall, then prepared to finish him off.
• He Yao spoke in an unfamiliar, aged voice, and Fang Cheng realized that the speaker was not He Yao.
• The voice said that He Yao belonged to it.

After confronting the man who controlled He Yao’s body, Fang Cheng visited the Smiling Devil to learn what kind of creature he had faced. The Smiling Devil explained the hidden categories and abilities of monsters, and the chapter ended with him suggesting Fang Cheng was the same kind as himself.

• Fang Cheng rejected the stranger’s offer to become his disciple, and the stranger’s body crumbled into bones as he apparently withdrew his consciousness.
• Fang Cheng returned to Zhou Xiumei’s home and guarded her while reflecting on the mysterious attacker and the Smiling Devil.
• Fang Cheng contacted the Smiling Devil and asked whether he had tried to attack him with his mental abilities; the Smiling Devil denied carrying out the attempt.
• Fang Cheng described the night’s events, and the Smiling Devil identified He Yao’s attacker as a ghoul leader who had unusually abandoned a lesser ghoul.
• The Smiling Devil explained that extraordinary humans outside noble clans were called monsters and classified as ghouls, werewolves, the blood clan, mermaids, or demon beasts.
• The Smiling Devil described ghoul abilities and weaknesses, then suggested Fang Cheng was the same kind as himself and mentioned Fang Cheng’s family history of serial killers.

After a sleepless night, Fang Cheng found comfort in Zhou Xiumei’s quiet affection and went out to train in the rain. He pushed his Handstand Push-Ups to Master Level and gained the special effect Air Walking.

• Fang Cheng considered how awakened bloodlines created both noble scions and monsters, and wondered what Lin Chuqiao and Pan Wendi thought of him.
• Zhou Xiumei covered the sleeping Fang Cheng with a blanket and gently touched his face before hurrying back to the bedroom when she thought he was waking.
• Fang Cheng left the apartment early and trained on the Sleeve Building rooftop despite the cold rain, completing his weighted squats and other exercises.
• Fang Cheng practiced weighted One-Arm Handstand Push-Ups until the Panel raised his Handstand Push-Ups skill to Master Level and rewarded him with Air Walking.
• Fang Cheng excitedly put on his jacket, gathered his training equipment, and ran back to the foot of the building.

After training, Fang Cheng tested his Air Walking enhancement and used it to glide along the ceiling for several seconds, taking his first step toward a martial-arts-style Wall Gecko Travel Skill. He turned to breakfast and accepted Zhou Xiumei’s invitation to eat with her.

• Fang Cheng finished Qi Gong practice, replenished his energy, and examined the Air Walking enhancement he had gained from Handstand Push-Ups reaching Master Level.
• Fang Cheng tested his airtime with a jump and measured 3.07 seconds before experimenting with a tucked somersault and adjustments to his center of gravity.
• Fang Cheng glided along the ceiling toward the entryway and landed by grabbing the wardrobe, concluding he had made progress toward Wall Gecko Travel Skill.
• Fang Cheng reviewed his other skill progress, then started preparing a nutritious breakfast after a small sandwich.
• Zhou Xiumei came to Fang Cheng’s door and invited him to share breakfast, and he accepted.

After the police sealed the apartment building following a series of man-eating attacks, Fang Cheng hid his unusual belongings at Zhou Xiumei’s home and passed an initial police interview. As two Special Search Team members arrived, he overheard them mention the White Masked Man.

• Zhou Yongnian told Fang Cheng and Zhou Xiumei that the building was sealed and that similar attacks had occurred across the city, then warned them to be cautious around the Special Search Team.
• Fang Cheng returned home, decided to stay inside and practice, and hid his unusual equipment and the damaged inner door at Zhou Xiumei’s apartment.
• Police officers questioned Fang Cheng and Zhou Xiumei, accepted their matching accounts, and left without searching Fang Cheng’s home.
• Fang Cheng helped Zhou Xiumei prepare lunch while two strangers arrived with a detective and passed by their apartment.
• Fang Cheng overheard one of the strangers say, “The White Masked Man,” and realized the Special Search Team was discussing him.

While the Sleeve Building remained under police lockdown, Fang Cheng avoided strenuous training and practiced Speed Reading and Tai Chi at home. After using Tai Chi to face an imagined Experimental Subject, he reached Expert Level and gained the special effect "Neutralizing Force."

• Fang Cheng noticed a possible observer watching the Sleeve Building and decided to keep his training discreet during the lockdown.
• Fang Cheng read World History and Criminal Psychology repeatedly, improving his Speed Reading experience and memorizing both books.
• Fang Cheng practiced the 24-Form Ma Family Tai Chi slowly and began to understand its principles of yielding and adapting.
• Fang Cheng activated Focus and used Tai Chi against an imagined Experimental Subject, redirecting its attacks instead of dodging or meeting them head-on.
• Fang Cheng reached Expert Level in Tai Chi and gained the special effect "Neutralizing Force."

Cheng Le Yi and Lin Xu Hao watched the apartment building while investigating the death of He Yao, and Cheng Le Yi spotted Fang Cheng but doubted he was a monster. Fang Cheng realized the Special Search Team was surveilling him, kept up his ordinary-person act, and learned that Tai Chi had granted him a powerful defensive passive skill; the building’s disinfection and medical checks were about to begin.

• Cheng Le Yi and Lin Xu Hao discussed He Yao’s confirmed identity and concluded that his killer was likely a powerful outsider rather than a ghoul eating its own kind.
• Cheng Le Yi spotted Fang Cheng exercising across the street and became captivated by his appearance, while deciding he seemed too disciplined and normal to be the monster they sought.
• Fang Cheng noticed the telescope trained on him and suspected that a woman from the Special Search Team was watching, but took comfort in realizing their surveillance was not focused solely on him.
• Fang Cheng reviewed the Expert Level Tai Chi passive skill Neutralizing Force, which reduced the impact of attacks and made him immune to strikes below two tons if he was fast enough.
• Fang Cheng heard an announcement that the epidemic prevention department had arrived to disinfect the building and provide free medical checkups.

Fang Cheng passed the apartment building’s epidemic checks by controlling his body, though drawing blood took an extraordinary effort. The day’s checks prompted him to form a vague plan, and that night he handed Zhou Xiumei a set of keys without explaining what they were.

• Fang Cheng waited with Zhou Xiumei, Wen Xin, and Wen Hui Yi for health checks while Special Search Team specialists Cheng Le Yi and her colleague watched the residents.
• Fang Cheng controlled his vital signs and passed the checks, then used his pores and true qi to let a needle pierce his tough skin and draw blood.
• Fang Cheng noticed the Ren'an Hospital name on the doctor’s badge and equipment box, then surveyed the neighborhood and gradually formed a plan.
• That night, Fang Cheng watched a kung fu movie and shared milk tea with Zhou Xiumei and Wen Xin before Wen Hui Yi took Wen Xin home.
• Fang Cheng stopped Zhou Xiumei as she was leaving and handed her a set of keys, surprising her.

Fang Cheng sneaked out of his apartment and infiltrated Ren'an Hospital to replace the blood samples that could expose his unusual abilities. He reached the thirteenth floor of the Rehabilitation Center and found a room where staff were examining a suspicious blood sample.

• Fang Cheng arranged for Zhou Xiumei to stay in his room and create the impression that he was home while he slipped out at night.
• Fang Cheng coordinated with Donghe, used nearby chaos to evade the police, and traveled from Jiangbei to Ren'an Hospital in Xiguan.
• Fang Cheng covered two surveillance cameras with mud and leaped over the hospital's security wall without triggering an alarm.
• Fang Cheng studied the guards and building with Eagle Eye Vision, then climbed the Rehabilitation Center's exterior to reach the thirteenth floor.
• Fang Cheng peered through a curtained window and heard someone ask Senior Apprentice Zheng to inspect an abnormal blood sample.

Fang Cheng broke into the Blood Testing Laboratory to replace his and Wen Xin’s blood samples, but discovered Professor Zheng stealing samples and attacking a doctor. He followed Professor Zheng through the guarded hospital, then found that the man had stopped on the fifth floor.

• Fang Cheng waited for the laboratory staff to leave, slipped inside, and replaced his and Wen Xin’s blood samples with substitutes from Ma Donghe.
• Professor Zheng returned, stole the substitutes and other samples, and beat the female doctor when she caught him.
• Fang Cheng reentered the laboratory, confirmed the doctor was still alive, took her access card, and followed Professor Zheng out.
• Fang Cheng evaded cameras and soldiers as he pursued Professor Zheng through the corridors.
• At the elevator lobby, Fang Cheng saw the elevator stop on the fifth floor and took the emergency stairs to investigate.

Professor Zheng supplied blood to a restrained patient, who broke free, named himself Jiang Chen, and unleashed the Rehabilitation Center’s ghouls. As the military struggled to contain the outbreak, Fang Cheng entered the chaos to find Professor Zheng and heard a seemingly bulletproof target laughing nearby.

• Professor Zheng injected the patient with fresh blood, and the patient broke his restraints as his strength returned.
• The patient transformed Professor Zheng into one of the undead and killed two soldiers with bone-spur wings.
• The patient named himself Jiang Chen, triggered the ghouls’ resonance, and ordered Professor Zheng to open every cage.
• The Defense Center raised the alarm and called for reinforcements as the ghouls attacked the Rehabilitation Center.
• Fang Cheng slipped into the chaos to find Professor Zheng and heard someone boast that bullets could not kill him.

Jiang Chen and Professor Zheng led ghouls against soldiers on the fifth floor, while two Special Search Team Specialists fought to reach the Ghoul Leader. Fang Cheng emerged from hiding and struck down Professor Zheng with a charged Qilin Arm punch.

• The ghouls overwhelmed the soldiers until a shield-wielding Specialist and a white-haired Specialist arrived and explained how to kill them.
• The two Specialists identified Jiang Chen as the Ghoul Leader and charged toward him, while Jiang Chen ordered Professor Zheng to free the imprisoned ghouls and attack the soldiers.
• Fang Cheng, hidden among the ghouls using Embryonic Breathing, drew their attacks and neutralized them with his defensive force.
• Professor Zheng noticed Fang Cheng and called for protection as Fang Cheng unleashed his Qilin Arm and punched through the ghouls guarding him.
• Jiang Chen redirected a bone spur toward Fang Cheng, but Fang Cheng smashed through it and burst Professor Zheng's head with a punch.

Fang Cheng killed Professor Zheng and clashed with Jiang Chen, the Ghoul King, inside the hospital. After Jiang Chen slaughtered the surrounding soldiers and ghouls, Fang Cheng covered two Special Search Team specialists as they escaped, then fled with Jiang Chen in pursuit toward the troops surrounding the Rehabilitation Center.

• Fang Cheng smashed Professor Zheng's head with a punch, retrieved the blood collection tubes labeled with his and Wen Xin's names, and drew Jiang Chen's attention.
• Fang Cheng posed as a senior Special Search Team officer and ordered the white-haired man and the Shield-Wielding Man to help attack Jiang Chen.
• Jiang Chen unleashed a barrage of bone spikes that killed most nearby soldiers and ghouls, while Fang Cheng survived by using his Pile Stance and Evergreen Resilience.
• Jiang Chen absorbed blood from the bone fragments and recovered his body as helicopters and armored vehicles approached the hospital.
• Fang Cheng told the two specialists to retreat and blocked Jiang Chen's attacks while they escaped.
• Fang Cheng ran toward the exit with Jiang Chen pursuing him, while military forces surrounded the Rehabilitation Center.

Colonel Deng's forces surrounded Ren'an Hospital after monsters attacked the Rehabilitation Center, while Fang Cheng and two survivors escaped the building. Jiang Chen shrugged off gunfire and artillery, but missile strikes shattered his body and left him motionless in the ruins.

• Colonel Deng received a radio report that monsters had attacked the fifth floor and ordered troops to prepare to draw them outside.
• The white-haired man and the Shield-Wielding Man escaped and warned the soldiers that their commanding officer was still inside.
• Fang Cheng emerged from the building with Jiang Chen pursuing him and ordered the troops to concentrate their fire on the monster.
• Jiang Chen blocked gunfire and artillery with his bone spikes and mocked the soldiers' weapons.
• Colonel Deng ordered missile strikes, which cracked Jiang Chen's bone shield and sent him leaping away.
• Two more missiles struck Jiang Chen and hurled his skeletal body into a building, where it fell apart and stopped moving.

After the military destroyed the Ghoul Leader, Fang Cheng escaped the area, unaware that Special Search Team headquarters identified the white mask he wore with the dangerous figure known as White Owl. Gao Jin then warned that the Ghoul Leader might still be alive, while Cheng Le Yi spotted someone climbing into a ninth-floor window on Old Factory Street.

• Colonel Deng ordered soldiers to confirm the Ghoul Leader’s death and clear the Rehabilitation Center, while Xu Fei and Chen Lei explained that a masked officer had saved them.
• Fang Cheng watched the cleanup from a country park, saw the Female Doctor being evacuated, changed clothes, and left before the helicopters could find him.
• Gao Jin told Xu Fei and Chen Lei that the masked man was a murderous fiend called White Owl and explained the mask’s violent history.
• Gao Jin said the Ghoul Leader might not be dead, despite the soldiers’ confirmation that the target had been killed.
• Cheng Le Yi watched the Sleeve Building from across the street, then saw a figure climb its eastern wall and enter a ninth-floor window.

After returning from the ghoul battle, Fang Cheng tucked the sleeping Zhou Xiumei into bed and reflected on the dangers surrounding them, resolving to grow stronger. In the morning, Zhou Xiumei woke to find him making breakfast, then hurried home with the pillow she had drooled on.

• Fang Cheng returned home late, found Zhou Xiumei asleep while covering for his absence, and carried her to bed before sleeping in his mother's room.
• Fang Cheng reviewed his experience gains and worried that Ren'an Hospital could face more incidents, deciding to urge his mother to quit once his grandfather was discharged.
• Fang Cheng resolved to become strong enough to face the monsters and considered contacting the Smiling Devil, but postponed it because of the Special Search Team's surveillance.
• Zhou Xiumei woke, realized Fang Cheng had returned, and found him preparing breakfast in the kitchen.
• Fang Cheng told Zhou Xiumei she had slept in his bed, prompting her to rush home with the drool-soaked pillow; he then gained cooking experience for breakfast.

After the building lockdown ended, Fang Cheng resumed his intense training and advanced Speed Reading to Master Level, gaining the Memory Palace special effect. He learned that the new ability could greatly improve memory but consumed mental energy, and prepared to recover before testing it.

• Fang Cheng confirmed the watchers and police had left, then resumed his home workout and saw his physical attributes improve, especially agility.
• Fang Cheng cleaned up and planned to visit his grandfather, who had moved from the Intensive Care Unit to a general ward.
• Fang Cheng practiced Speed Reading with a National Dictionary until he overtaxed his mental energy and had to stop.
• Fang Cheng advanced Speed Reading to Lv2 and gained the Memory Palace special effect, which could reconstruct anything he had seen but used substantial mental energy.
• Fang Cheng reviewed the memory palace method, then sat down to meditate and restore his mental condition before trying the ability.

Fang Cheng used Speed Reading to record his home, then entered the Spiritual Space and used Meditation and his Spirituality Fire to build the beginnings of a Memory Palace. He created a vivid replica of his bedroom, but the effort drained his mental reserves, leaving the palace unfinished.

• Fang Cheng scanned his home with Speed Reading, but stopped after only seconds when mental strain caused buzzing ears, throbbing temples, and nausea.
• Fang Cheng used Meditation to enter the Spiritual Space where he communicated with the Smiling Devil and chose it as the site for his Memory Palace.
• Fang Cheng’s Spirituality Fire illuminated the darkness and helped him enter a calm, highly perceptive state.
• Fang Cheng recreated a National Dictionary and used it as a trigger to link his memories and build a detailed scene of his bedroom.
• Fang Cheng created a wooden floor to seal the room against the encroaching black mist, then received experience gains for Speed Reading and Meditation.

Fang Cheng tested the vivid memory palace he had built, then visited his recovering grandfather at the hospital and caught up with his uncle, Li Dingjian. The chapter ended when news about the Ren'an Hospital incident brought two familiar voices to Fang Cheng’s attention.

• Fang Cheng emerged from his realistic memory palace, considered expanding it into a world, and dismissed the idea as too demanding to maintain.
• Fang Cheng visited Li Zhenhua in the hospital, where relatives teased him about matchmaking while Li Biyun helped deflect their questions.
• Li Dingjian rescued Fang Cheng from the relatives’ chatter and took him to the Gourmet Plaza to eat and talk.
• Fang Cheng asked Li Dingjian about his prosperous business, and Li Dingjian described it as risky but legitimate before saying he would stop once he had made his fortune.
• Fang Cheng heard a news report about the Ren'an Hospital incident and recognized two familiar voices among the surrounding chatter.