Chapter Summaries

At Highland Plaza, Fris recognized Old Man Wei as Lao Yao, the famous guide who had once saved him, and reunited with his old friend. A photograph revealed how dramatically Lao Yao had changed with age, while the reason he had come looking for Wen Huilan remained unknown.

• Long Qi and Zhao Xi noticed Old Man Wei watching Wen Huilan, and Deng Chun explained that the old man was a longtime local guide and storage-yard guard.
• Fris asked Deng Chun about Old Man Wei's name and nickname, then rushed after him when he realized who he was.
• Fris called Old Man Wei “Lao Yao” and reminded him of how he had carried Fris home after a fall in 1981.
• Old Man Wei recognized Fris as Fo Tou, and the two embraced as they reunited.
• Zhao Xi showed Long Qi a photograph of the younger Fris and Lao Yao, whose once-powerful stature contrasted sharply with his present appearance.

Long Qi and Zhao Xi learned that Old Man Wei sought help because a relative’s involvement in a cult-related disaster had left him guilty and desperate. Ronan asked them to have Wei plan a demanding route through unclaimed mountain peaks, leaving Zhao Xi wondering whether Ronan meant to help the old guide or simply test him.

• The Mountain Lord explained to Long Qi that severe aberration infection had caused Old Man Wei’s condition and that Wei might be fifty-four.
• Zhao Xi told Long Qi that Old Man Wei wanted Wen Huilan’s help after his old companions’ actions led to a relative causing a disaster tied to a cult.
• Long Qi and Zhao Xi found Ronan examining Wen Huilan’s patterned scarf while Deng Chun discussed a sample from Coiled Wyrm Peak and the Hundred Peaks Monarch.
• Ronan asked them to have Old Man Wei plan a sixteen-to-twenty-four-hour route through unclaimed peaks, including the Activation Zone, to collect at least ten samples.
• Long Qi questioned Zhao Xi’s belief that Ronan had devised the assignment out of kindness, saying that such an image might be one Ronan disliked.

Long Qi and Zhao Xi learned that Lao Yao still had the expertise to plan Ronan’s investigation of the Hun Dun Order’s altars and the Hundred Peaks Monarch. As Lao Yao went inside for an interview, Long Qi asked Fris whether his situation was more complicated than it seemed.

• Long Qi showed Lao Yao Ronan’s request, and Lao Yao agreed to help, describing how he could locate ritual sites and gather samples.
• Lao Yao explained the Hundred Faces Sacrifice, the Three Peaks Ten Platforms, and how his Awareness Assembly was preparing to merge into the Hun Dun Order.
• Lao Yao described using the Awareness Ring during group meditation to ease his pain, and Zhao Xi and Fris discussed how cults joined the Hun Dun Order to gain access to power.
• Lao Yao prepared two route plans and went inside for an interview after Liu Fengming sent for him.
• While Lao Yao was interviewed, Fris paced around the square, and Long Qi asked whether Lao Yao’s circumstances were more complicated than they appeared.

Long Qi and Fris pieced together how Lao Yao’s ties to the Awareness Assembly and its dead Soul Order liaison, Cao Kai, had drawn him into a politically sensitive investigation. As a storm threatened Eagle Head Yard, Mountain Lord watched the mountains and Wen Huilan went outside, while rain forced a likely change to Ronan’s route.

• Fris told Long Qi that Lao Yao’s brother-in-law Cao Kai had been connected to the nuclear attack on Ban City and had served as the Soul Order’s liaison to the Awareness Assembly.
• Long Qi and Fris discussed how the investigation of the Awareness Assembly’s former vagrant members could affect Lao Yao and the Vagrant Return to City policy.
• Dark clouds and strong winds swept over Eagle Head Yard as workers hurried to protect the storage yard and its docks from possible floods and mudslides.
• Mountain Lord watched the distant mountain range intently while Wen Huilan left the Interview Room and stood alone on the southern slope.
• Long Qi said the storm would probably force Ronan to change his route, and rain began falling over Eagle Head Yard.

As a severe storm exposed the danger of the river and its ruined upstream infrastructure, Lao Yao explained the threat of flash floods and mudslides to Ronan. The river then began to drain as a catastrophic mudslide approached, and Mountain Lord reported that Hundred Peaks Monarch was deeply restless.

• Long Qi filmed Wen Huilan and Mountain Lord in the storm while viewers flooded the Live Stream Room with reactions.
• Ronan and Lao Yao left the Interview Room, and Lao Yao warned that heavy mountain rain could trigger flash floods or mudslides.
• Deng Chun explained that cargo ships were evacuating east to shelter from the disaster, while Long Qi questioned the lack of long-term river work.
• The river level rapidly fell after the upstream channel became blocked near Hundred Zhang Rock, stranding two cargo ships and triggering mudslide alarms.
• The stranded crews fled as the sound of a mountainside collapse and muddy floodwater approached downstream.
• Mountain Lord told Ronan that Hundred Peaks Monarch was restless, and Ronan asked Lao Yao to continue.

As a mudslide carrying Mud Head Ghosts surged toward Eagle Head Yard, Lao Yao changed Ronan’s travel plan to a faster land route. The mudslide overflowed the riverbanks and swallowed the road, leaving the high ground cut off as its defenders fought back the creatures.

• Lao Yao proposed taking the Old Road and outlined fast and detailed return routes, and Ronan agreed to travel by lightweight Off-Road Vehicles without the cargo platform.
• Wen Huilan arranged vehicles with Deng Chun, while Ronan declined to inform Lady Mora about the route change.
• Gunfire erupted upstream as Mud Head Ghosts emerged in the mudslide, and Deng Chun explained that the defenders were drawing them ashore to clear them out.
• The mudslide filled the river bend, rose over the embankments, and swallowed the road connecting Eagle Head Yard to the stockyard.
• Mud Head Ghosts crawled up the slope toward the high ground as Eagle Head Yard’s defenders fired weapons and threw concussion grenades to stop them.

As mudslides surrounded Eagle Head Yard and Mud Head Ghosts advanced, Long Qi and the others debated whether Hundred Peaks Monarch or a Black Flood was responsible. Ronan urged Mountain Lord to stay calm because of their connection to the Monarch, then announced it was time to leave.

• Gao Xin ignored Long Qi's attempts to question him about his relationship with Wen Huilan as trouble broke out downstream.
• Zhao Xi reported that boats were trapped in the river bend, while many people evacuated along the Old Road to Old County Town and left the Mud Head Ghosts less restrained.
• Lao Yao explained why people were fleeing, and Deng Chun raised the possibility that the mudslide signaled a Black Flood or had been caused by Hundred Peaks Monarch.
• Mountain Lord called the river mud full of malice, and Ronan told him that his tension could provoke a response from the Monarch because they were linked.
• Mountain Lord endured Ronan's rebuke as spiritual pressure pinned people and Mud Head Ghosts in place, and Ronan looked at the sky and said it was time to go.

Ronan guided Lao Yao through the muddy route and discussed a mask in the Hun Dun Order that might suit his needs, then offered to treat the symptoms affecting his injured arm. Their conversation was interrupted when a Shadow Blade Water Boa emerged from the mudslide.

• Lao Yao struggled through the mud and questioned whether his aging, injured body could endure the planned route.
• Ronan told Lao Yao that parts of the route would require walking and asked what problem he wanted a Hun Dun Order mask to solve.
• Lao Yao pressed his hand against the itchy joint of his prosthetic arm, and Ronan explained that he had a way to treat its symptoms.
• A car honked urgently, and Lao Yao spotted a huge scaled creature breaking through the collapsing embankment.
• Zhao Xi shouted from the rear vehicle that the creature was a Shadow Blade Water Boa.

Ronan used the Shadow Blade Water Boa and a gift from Hundred Peaks Monarch to create a new tool for Lao Yao, who gained a bizarre resonance with the earth and the boa as it shed its skin around his arm. Lao Yao collapsed after the transformation, and Ronan arranged for Wen Huilan to help him qualify to enter while ordering the others to observe him.

• Lao Yao rushed to protect Ronan from the charging Shadow Blade Water Boa, but the boa froze before attacking.
• Ronan told Lao Yao that the prosthetic was not a suitable tool and explained that he would take a cut in exchange for helping him.
• Ronan placed a piece of material from Hundred Peaks Monarch into the boa's mouth, and Lao Yao thrust his arm and prosthetic into its jaws.
• A strange lightning-like force linked Lao Yao, the boa, and the earth, and the boa tore out of its own skin as it struggled.
• The boa's shed skin wrapped around Lao Yao's damaged arm and prosthetic, forming a patterned membrane that Ronan said would help him qualify to enter.
• Ronan asked Wen Huilan to arrange Lao Yao's entry, then told the group to observe him for the rest of the day as Long Qi carried him back to the vehicles.

As the group traveled toward Old County Town, Long Qi and Liu Fengming examined the strange reinforcement Ronan had made for Lao Yao, who remained unconscious. The livestream controversy over Ronan’s actions exploded, and Long Qi argued that Lao Yao would be protected if he joined the Hun Dun Order.

• Lao Yao slept with a slight fever after Ronan’s tool upgrade, and Liu Fengming’s examination found no sign of infection.
• Long Qi and Liu Fengming inspected Lao Yao’s wrapped arm and compared its coordinated structure to a Machine Core and Hun Dun Order reinforcement.
• Viewers argued over Ronan’s actions as the story spread across social media and drew a warning from He Yueyin that Headquarters would question Long Qi.
• Zhao Xi asked whether Ronan’s tool could cure Lao Yao, and Long Qi explained that it treated symptoms rather than the underlying illness.
• Liu Fengming suggested Lao Yao could benefit by joining the Hun Dun Order, and Long Qi insisted that Ronan’s personal reinforcement would deter anyone from targeting him.

Long Qi openly framed Ronan’s actions as a bid for influence over the Hun Dun Order and Lake City, then continued the livestream as the group traveled toward the Main Peak Area. After reaching a military checkpoint linked to a shootout and an underground factory explosion, he realized his broadcast was drawing unwilling bystanders into Ronan’s public-opinion campaign.

• Long Qi told Liu Fengming that Ronan could gain influence over the Hun Dun Order and Lake City by using Lao Yao’s personal connection, while Mountain Lord chuckled at his boldness.
• The vehicle reached the ruins of Old County Town, where Zhao Xi’s drone found a road packed with vehicles stopped at a Close Defense Force checkpoint.
• Wen Huilan said the military had been deployed after a serious public security incident, and Long Qi learned from a traveler that two gangs had exchanged fire and destroyed an underground factory.
• A man recognized Long Qi’s livestream and said he could not get involved in the matters Long Qi cared about, then hurried away with his companion.
• Long Qi felt guilty for drawing ordinary people into the broadcast and wondered how Ronan would regard his unsolicited role as a promoter.

Lao Yao woke to find his right hand moving with renewed strength, and he and the convoy continued through Old County Town toward the treacherous Earth Ridge route. He explained the region’s ruinous roads and admitted he felt ready to try again, while wondering whether Ronan’s presence had influenced his actions.

• Long Qi returned to the vehicle, where Lao Yao woke and tested his newly responsive right hand, saying he understood why his Blood Vessels had throbbed.
• Zhao Xi led the convoy on a detour through the ruins of Old County Town, where an infantry fighting vehicle fired at an Aberrant Species before guiding them back toward the main road.
• Lao Yao described Earth Ridge’s collapsed tunnel, unstable ground, and worsening roads, and recalled how Old County Town had declined after people withdrew.
• Lao Yao said passing through Old County Town felt better this time because he might still try again.
• Lao Yao told Zhao Xi that Ronan’s presence had made his mind unusually clear before he put his arm into the Shadow Blade Water Boa’s mouth.

The convoy crossed the treacherous Earth Ridge while Lao Yao sensed people buried beneath the slope, and the livestream spread its influence into ordinary life. As night fell, Long Qi glimpsed an immense presence moving through darkness before jolting awake in the vehicle.

• Zhao Xi and Long Qi argued about crossing the mud and hauling the off-road vehicles without a Heavy Load Platform.
• At Earth Ridge, Lao Yao sensed something beneath the slope and guessed that people were buried there; Fris confirmed that Ronan had identified living and dead people underground and designated the site protected.
• Zhao Xi and Liu Fengming carried an off-road vehicle across the slope while Lao Yao tested the route, and the convoy continued onward.
• The livestream viewers discussed how the broadcast affected markets and ordinary livelihoods as the convoy drove through the rainy mountain region.
• Long Qi sensed an enormous, hidden figure moving through a vast web of darkness, then woke after striking his head on the vehicle roof.

Long Qi woke from a disturbing dream as the group discussed the blessings of Hundred Peaks Monarch and Boss Ronan. Mountain Lord explained that Ronan had helped Lao Yao filter out the noise in Hundred Peaks Monarch’s power and taught him advanced techniques, then advised him to ask Ronan about the Soul Order’s meditation methods.

• Long Qi woke in the vehicle after sleeping through a stretch of their journey, and Zhao Xi told him the Live Stream Room had automatically shut down.
• Zhao Xi and Liu Fengming explained that Hundred Peaks Monarch’s blessing changed believers through resonance, while Long Qi connected the idea to the pressure and pull he had felt in his dream.
• Lao Yao described Hundred Peaks Monarch’s blessing as containing conflicting noise that had to be filtered, and said his blessing seemed unusually clear when he was near Boss Ronan.
• Mountain Lord compared Hundred Peaks Monarch to the Amaterasu Divine Tree Great Divine Treasure and explained that Professor Ronan had helped Lao Yao filter the noise and supplied him with advanced techniques.
• Mountain Lord said the Awareness Assembly’s meditation methods likely came from the Soul Order and told Lao Yao to ask Professor Ronan about them.

The convoy discussed the Soul Order and Ronan’s methods before stopping to inspect a major landslide blocking the mountain road. Fris revealed that survivors had been found in a hidden Earth Ridge shelter, and Zhao Xi spotted people ahead of the convoy as the chapter ended.

• Long Qi questioned Mountain Lord about the Soul Order, and Liu Fengming explained Ronan’s methods as tools that others had to learn to use.
• Lao Yao described a detour around the landslide, while Zhao Xi used the drone to scout the road and its hazards.
• Fris told Lao Yao that people had been found in an Earth Ridge Safe House, including a masked survivor who had apparently used two Hun Dun Order ritual masks.
• Fris identified the survivor as Mao Yan, and Lao Yao recognized him as a Lake City figure whose Black Factory in Old County Town had been destroyed.
• Zhao Xi spotted the people who had been running ahead of the convoy.

Ronan’s group encountered a stranded convoy trapped between landslides, and Fris used military authority to inspect its members while preparing to abandon their vehicles. The inspection revealed a connection to Lao Yao’s former apprentice and a Lake City company linked to Mao Yan.

• Zhao Xi and Lao Yao determined that landslides blocked the road ahead and behind the convoy, and the Heavy Load Platform had broken down.
• The stranded group mistook Ronan’s drone for a rescue service and radar-locked it, so Fris ordered them to switch channels and submit their credentials for inspection.
• Ronan approved abandoning the vehicles and crossing the landslide zone on foot before continuing to the Supply Point.
• Fris arranged for security personnel to arm themselves while Zhao Xi and Liu Fengming checked the convoy’s documents and Lao Yao screened its members.
• Zhao Xi identified the convoy members as Spring City factory managers, Lake City partners, security personnel, a driver, and a guide.
• Lao Yao recognized the guide, Jin Youjie, as his former apprentice and said the Lake City company, Lei Peng Trade, seemed connected to Mao Yan.

Ronan’s group crossed the landslide area on foot while Fris examined the convoy’s suspicious business arrangements and questioned Long Qi about how Lake City should respond. They continued toward the convoy with their suspicions unresolved, and Long Qi began considering a livestream.

• Ronan’s group abandoned their vehicles and crossed the muddy slope, while Fris watched Lao Yao maintain his balance despite the unstable ground.
• Fris reviewed the convoy’s personnel and found that their apparently legitimate business team seemed suspicious after the firefight behind them.
• Lao Yao questioned his apprentice Xiao Jin, who said the Spring City group had hired most of its escort, moved slowly to survey the route, and later joined up with Lei Peng Trade’s people.
• Fris wondered whether the Spring City group had been brought to see Hundred Peaks Monarch and asked Long Qi whether he would livestream what happened next.
• Fris and Long Qi fell behind the group and discussed how to connect the clues, with Fris asking how Lake City should respond to the string of coincidences.

Long Qi and Fris pieced together how Gao Wenfu’s faction had tried to steer Ronan by exposing the Hun Dun Order, Lao Yao, and other clues, while competing interests in Lake City disrupted the plan. They suspected the real target was someone connected to Wen Huilan and Lao Yao during the Black Flood of 80 Year, but had not identified that person as they neared the Spring City Merchant.

• Long Qi and Fris concluded that Gao Wenfu’s faction had likely invited Ronan to Lake City and used staged disclosures to divert his attention and sell out an ally.
• Long Qi and Fris traced the planned route from the Forward Base through the Hun Dun Order to Lao Yao, and decided Fris’s unexpected reunion with Lao Yao had disrupted the intended presentation.
• Long Qi identified Deng Yunwei as a possible saboteur whose interests conflicted with Gao Wenfu’s, while Fris questioned why he would undermine the plan without gaining Ronan’s favor.
• Long Qi and Fris inferred that someone who encountered both Wen Huilan and Lao Yao at Eagle Head Yard during the Black Flood of 80 Year might be the intended target.
• Fris and Long Qi speculated that the target would be important to Ronan but expendable to Li Wei, and wondered whether the Black Gang firefight at Old County Town was connected.
• Zhao Xi and Liu Fengming reached the Spring City Merchant and took control of the situation as Fris and Long Qi continued to suspect that Lake City’s unrest was tied to Ronan’s arrival.

Long Qi resumed his live stream as Ronan's group approached a stranded convoy, where Zhao Xi inspected its members and uncovered Qi Shang's ties to the Hun Dun Order. Zhao Xi reported that a Spring City accountant had vanished while traveling to inspect and ship goods, leaving his fate unknown.

• Long Qi restarted his Live Stream Room and told viewers that his group was approaching another convoy stranded by landslides on the Mountain Road.
• Xiao Jin recognized Wen Huilan as the groups arrived, and Zhao Xi ordered him to explain the situation.
• Zhao Xi questioned Yan Lu and the convoy members, learning that Qi Shang had joined the Hun Dun Order and that Mao Yan had been attacked and left unconscious.
• Zhao Xi and Liu Fengming reported that Qi Shang had risen to power at the Spring City factory through business with Mao Yan and had entered the Red Zone.
• Zhao Xi revealed that a factory accountant had disappeared three weeks earlier while traveling to inspect goods and supervise their shipment.

Fris’s group investigated Qi Shang’s ties to Mao Yan and concluded that the missing accountant and recent violence likely involved a Spring City order and Lake City business rivalries. The Close Defense Force took over the case and asked Ronan’s group to transport the suspects, while Xiao Jin sought help dealing with the stranded Heavy Load Platform.

• Zhao Xi reported that an accountant, three people, a Heavy Load Platform, and its cargo had vanished near the road to the Long Tail River Supply Point, leaving the Spring City headquarters exposed to a costly claim.
• Liu Fengming said Mao Yan had helped Qi Shang rise in Lake City despite having little need for him, and revealed rumors that Qi Shang belonged to a minor Spring City order.
• Fris and the others linked the case to an unknown Evil Cult and learned that Qi Shang had died inside the Black Factory while Mao Yan had been left unconscious.
• Fris contacted the Close Defense Force, which took over the investigation and asked Ronan’s group to transport its personnel from the Long Tail River Supply Point after Ronan agreed.
• Xiao Jin asked Lao Yao for help because the stranded Heavy Load Platform could suffer further damage before the rental company and insurer assessed it, and Lao Yao asked him for a reasonable transport suggestion.