Chapter Summaries

After awakening in an unfamiliar house with a strange flame ability, a young man watched from a control room as three men entered the villa and fell victim to its elaborate traps. The intruders ended up trapped underground while the girl they had brought along remained tied in the yard, and Xiao Liu called the house freaky.

• A resolute-looking man woke in an unfamiliar room, discovered he could conjure a cool glass-like flame, and wondered what had happened during his coma.
• Three months after the zombie outbreak, Zhao Laoda and his men chased a sixteen-year-old girl into a villa after she ran away from their gathering place.
• Xiao Yang fell through a concealed pit beneath the villa's entrance, and the middle-aged man fell through a hidden floor trap while searching for another way inside.
• Zhao Laoda tied the girl to a jujube tree and climbed a rope to the second floor, where a ceiling piston smashed him through the floors into another pit.
• From a control room, the young man watched the three intruders get trapped as Xiao Liu remarked that the house was freaky.

Shen Jin rescued Li Moxiao from the Zombies and brought her into his hidden, well-stocked basement, where she recognized him from an embarrassing encounter before the outbreak. While she believed he had sacrificed his food for her, Shen Jin secretly ate steak as three men remained trapped in his pit.

• Shen Jin left his villa in bulky armor, cut Li Moxiao free from a tree, and led her through a hidden entrance into the basement.
• Li Moxiao recognized Shen Jin as the man she had teased at a school parent-teacher conference, and Shen Jin recalled the humiliating incident.
• Shen Jin told Li Moxiao to wash with bottled water, while she mistakenly thought it was a precious spring of life and believed he was treating her kindly.
• Shen Jin gave Li Moxiao half a bowl of rice, then went upstairs and ate steak in secret while she thought he had gone hungry for her sake.
• Zhao Laoda, Old Meng, and Xiao Yang remained trapped in Shen Jin's pit, and Xiao Yang smelled steak and wished for one last piece.

Shen Jin and Li Moxiao listened to an official broadcast detailing the Zombie apocalypse and its dangers, then Shen Jin prepared to continue mining. The chapter revealed how he gained his Minecraft-like system by choosing a pickaxe and fire, and ended with him spotting Li Moxiao's red belt.

• Li Moxiao ate rice with soy sauce while Shen Jin teased her by hiding a packet of pickled mustard greens.
• Shen Jin and Li Moxiao listened to the noon broadcast, which reported that only 20 percent of the population remained and warned about mutated Zombies and survival rules.
• Shen Jin planned to strengthen the basement's defenses, then watched Li Moxiao fall asleep on the sofa.
• Shen Jin recalled choosing a pickaxe beside a ball of fire during a mysterious encounter and gaining the My World Auxiliary System.
• Shen Jin returned to the basement to sit beside Li Moxiao, then recoiled after noticing her red belt.

Shen Jin used his Blockify Ability to expand his underground tunnels and reached the surface near his former workplace to search for supplies. He discovered someone in a nearby house claiming her husband had been eating batteries, and froze when she tossed batteries into the courtyard.

• Shen Jin stored the secret room's mural and wall blocks, then continued extending his underground base through carefully supported tunnels.
• Shen Jin used his mini-map and a terrain map to dig toward his former workplace, making a sloped exit near an apartment courtyard.
• Shen Jin emerged, heard a metallic sound inside a nearby house, and spotted a blurry woman through the curtains.
• Shen Jin heard the woman say her husband's appetite had grown and that he had eaten thirty batteries by mid-month.
• The woman tossed two AAA batteries into the courtyard, leaving Shen Jin stunned.

Shen Jin avoided entering a woman’s apartment, then encountered and trapped zombies while tunneling underground. He killed an Agile Zombie with a stone wall and realized evolved zombies were emerging, but his Newbie Quest remained unfinished.

• Shen Jin saw Liu Yue'er in an apartment but sealed the tunnel and stayed away, wary that the room might be a trap.
• He marked the upward passage with a sign reading “Kind Auntie” and entered another room, where a zombie lunged at him.
• Shen Jin sealed the opening, dug a deep pit beneath it, and dropped a dozen zombies into the pit before inspecting their condition.
• An Agile Zombie leaped out of the pit, but Shen Jin formed a stone wall that shattered its skull on impact.
• Shen Jin identified the creature as an evolved zombie with enhanced speed, saw that his Newbie Quest was still at 0/10, and decided to return to the safety of home.

Shen Jin infiltrated his former workplace, Wanyu Company, and looted its warehouses for supplies after burying a horde of zombies underground. He left without checking the occupied upper floors, but a strange sound from upstairs hinted that someone or something might be there.

• Shen Jin used the Grand Earth Burial Technique to trap zombies underground, then emerged safely inside Wanyu Company.
• He found the key to the gift warehouse, checked for danger, and collected 305 Mid-Autumn gift boxes and office supplies.
• Shen Jin looted the boss's personal warehouse, taking cases of liquor and cartons of cigarettes despite their limited usefulness.
• He decided not to open the door to the crowded office floors or the dormitory above and prepared to head home.
• A strange sound came from upstairs.

Shen Jin encountered a former coworker who had become a Zombie and buried her before escaping back to his hiding place. On the third floor, Shang Qian’s group remained trapped and learned that the Zombies had moved from the second floor to the first, while the security guard slipped into her room.

• At the Wanyu Group dormitory, Qi Tong challenged the men to play chess, and the employees discussed dwindling food, cold weather, and whether the authorities would rescue them.
• Shang Qian ordered the employees to inspect and reinforce the stairway barricades as the group grew more anxious about being trapped.
• Shen Jin saw a female Zombie who had once worked as the company’s receptionist, remembered her kindness, and buried her in an earthen pit.
• Shen Jin returned to his hiding place as the Zombies rushed downstairs, leaving the third-floor residents frightened by the noises below.
• Director Wang told Shang Qian and the others that no rescuers had appeared and that the Zombies had moved from the second floor to the first.
• While everyone watched the window, the security guard quietly entered Shang Qian’s room.

Shen Jin returned to the basement, fed Li Moxiao instant noodles, and reflected on his past before checking on the three people trapped underground. He began testing them with a horror-themed game.

• Shen Jin returned to the basement and found Li Moxiao upset about the water she had wasted while washing her face.
• Shen Jin made two packs of instant noodles for himself and Li Moxiao, and she persuaded him to share his pickled mustard greens.
• After dinner, Shen Jin gave Li Moxiao a romance novel and returned to the Secret Room, where he reflected on his life and why he had helped her.
• Lights and a projector came on in the three underground pits, waking the trapped people as a doll announced, "Hello, I want to play a game."

Shen Jin used a hidden voice and staged footage to test Zhao Laoda, Meng Xiangcun, and Yang Ao, but Yang Ao mistook the apocalypse for an elaborate show. After Yang Ao said he wanted to truly live, Shen Jin asked whether he believed in light, and the group traded jokes about people turning into beams of light.

• Shen Jin asked the three men whether they wanted to understand the meaning of life, and Zhao Laoda, Meng Xiangcun, and Yang Ao each answered in turn.
• Yang Ao insisted that the apocalypse was staged to trick him into surrendering his father's inheritance, prompting Zhao Laoda and Meng Xiangcun to wonder if they were actors too.
• Shen Jin laughed, changed from the Billy Puppet Mask to an Ultraman Mask, and showed Yang Ao footage of zombies feeding on a man.
• Yang Ao tested the footage by directing Shen Jin to move the camera, then admitted that he wanted to truly live once.
• Shen Jin asked whether Yang Ao believed in light, and Yang Ao, Meng Xiangcun, and Zhao Laoda exchanged jokes about people turning into beams of light.
• Shen Jin laughed so hard that the Ultraman Mask fell off.

Shen Jin let Zhao Laoda, Old Meng, and Yang Ao escape his trap, then welcomed Yang Ao into his Gathering Place after he chose to return. Back at the basement, Shen Jin fed Li Moxiao and tried to teach her his apocalyptic rules, but her answer to his moral dilemma frustrated him.

• Shen Jin opened an escape route for Zhao Laoda, Old Meng, and Yang Ao after testing their answers and watching Zhao Laoda choose to leave rather than attack him.
• Yang Ao turned back, explained that he had recognized the danger, and asked Shen Jin to take him in; Shen Jin agreed to let him join the Gathering Place.
• Shen Jin returned to the basement and found Li Moxiao licking a pot; despite her teasing and complaints, he cooked her another bowl of noodles.
• Shen Jin posed Li Moxiao a question about what to do when encountering a pervert assaulting a girl, but she chose to sneak away rather than act heroically.
• Shen Jin scolded Li Moxiao for refusing to follow the answer he had expected.

Shen Jin and Li Moxiao listened to a government broadcast revealing the Heaven and Earth Net Bureau’s research into Superhumans and the Gene Lock. The broadcast urged survivors to wait for rescue rather than attempt to unlock it, while Li Moxiao joked that she had nearly starved to death.

• Shen Jin’s silly question-and-answer session with Li Moxiao ended when she refused to answer any more questions.
• The government broadcast reported that sunlight-fed zombies were evolving green, moss-like tissue and could become more active and mutate further.
• Professor Liu explained that fully infected zombies were no longer human, then Hu Shou introduced the Heaven and Earth Net Bureau’s top-secret research into Superhumans.
• Hu Shou described how a life-or-death crisis could unlock the Gene Lock, but warned that most people who triggered it suffered genetic collapse unless their bodies could withstand the strain.
• Li Moxiao said she might unlock the Gene Lock because she was often near death, then clarified that she had almost starved while waiting for Shen Jin.
• Hu Shou urged citizens not to attempt unlocking the Gene Lock unless necessary and to wait for government rescue.

Shen Jin considered whether Li Moxiao could become his companion while Lu Qiang discovered Shang Qian had cut his food rations and resolved to retaliate. The trapped Wanyu Group employees discussed raiding the second floor for supplies, and Shen Jin woke the next day thinking about finding a wife.

• Shen Jin teased Li Moxiao, who predicted that the authorities would eventually fight their way to them, and he let her sleep while he returned to the Secret Room.
• Lu Qiang found Shang Qian’s food chart and realized she had secretly halved his ration, so he took food for himself and vowed to make her kneel.
• The Wanyu Group employees discussed searching the second floor for snacks and water, then learned that more than three hundred Mid-Autumn Festival gift sets were stored on the first floor.
• Shang Qian asked who would dare fight the Zombies to reach the supplies, and the employees fell silent.
• Shen Jin checked the surveillance footage, considered taking Li Moxiao in, and began thinking about finding a wife, remembering his university crush.

Shen Jin heard Yang Ao's offer to lead him to a laboratory holding two vials of Gene Optimization Serum, but rejected the proposed deal and muted him. He then fed Li Moxiao, only to realize Yang Ao had distracted him from noticing her new outfit.

• Shen Jin watched Yang Ao recover in the trap room and ordered him to finish his water and leave, but Yang Ao begged to join him.
• Yang Ao claimed his father, Yang Tianyao, led Future Human Pharmaceuticals and that a nearby laboratory held two vials of Gene Optimization Serum 1.0.
• Yang Ao offered to split the serum with Shen Jin, but Shen Jin demanded both vials and then ended the conversation by muting him.
• Shen Jin brought out mooncakes and milk powder, and Li Moxiao eagerly ate six mooncakes and drank two bowls of milk.
• Shen Jin noticed Li Moxiao was wearing the outfit he had prepared for her and realized Yang Ao had distracted him.

Shen Jin headed through his tunnel toward a security supplies store while considering ways to make his journeys easier. At Wanyu Group, Zhao Mingkai tried to understand romance and noticed Lu Qiang entering Director Shang's room.

• Li Moxiao asked Shen Jin whether he had hidden steak, and he denied it while she ate.
• Shen Jin chose Seahorse Security Supplies Store as his destination and considered using a foldable electric scooter to travel through his tunnel.
• Shen Jin reached the Wanyu Company Reception Desk and began digging forward.
• Zhao Mingkai watched the residents of the third-floor dormitory area and wrote notes about their relationships.
• Li Jie invited Zhao Mingkai to her room to explain romance, but he demanded an explanation first and she slapped him.
• Zhao Mingkai noticed Lu Qiang entering Director Shang's room.

Shen Jin entered the Haima Security Supplies Store, trapped two Zombies, and found the shelves emptied before trying to break into the locked second floor. A powerful Strength-Enhanced Zombie attacked from behind the damaged alloy door as Balding Director Wang spotted Zombies gathering outside the store.

• Shen Jin used glass to scout beneath the store, trapped two Zombies in a pit, and buried them underground.
• Shen Jin found the security store's shelves empty and went upstairs to search for supplies.
• Shen Jin used his Diamond Pickaxe (Defective) to break a hole in the alloy door, where a Strength-Enhanced Zombie attacked him.
• Balding Director Wang noticed Zombies gathering around Haima Security while patrolling from the Wanyu Group building.
• Lu Qiang entered Shang Qian's room.

Shen Jin trapped a strength-type zombie and discovered valuable military equipment, including satellite phones and binoculars. Through the binoculars, he saw Lu Qiang attacking Shang Qian and headed through the tunnel to rescue her, remembering that she had once supported him at work.

• Shen Jin dug a pit and lured a strength-type zombie into it, then sealed himself inside the building.
• Shen Jin searched the shop owner's collection and took military gear, including two Maritime satellite phones and binoculars.
• Shen Jin used the binoculars to see Lu Qiang choking Shang Qian in the Wanyu Company building.
• Shen Jin spotted Director Wang and the others watching from a nearby balcony, but they misunderstood his attempts to signal them.
• Shen Jin entered the tunnel toward Wanyu Group after recalling that Shang Qian had voted for him and defended him at work.

Shen Jin broke into Shang Qian’s room to stop Lu Qiang from assaulting her and tried to kill him. As Lu Qiang regained control of his body and awakened combat instincts, he grabbed Shen Jin’s wrist, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Shen Jin planned a stealthy approach to Haima Security Shop and climbed to Shang Qian’s third-floor room using Dirt blocks.
• Shen Jin overheard Lu Qiang threatening Shang Qian and waited until the moment seemed right to intervene.
• Shen Jin smashed the window, stunned Lu Qiang with his baton, and covered Shang Qian’s head so she would not see him.
• Shen Jin dragged Lu Qiang away from Shang Qian and attacked him with a Fine Steel Longsword.
• Lu Qiang awakened combat instincts, regained control of his body, and grabbed Shen Jin’s wrist.

Lu Qiang unlocked his Gene Lock and overwhelmed Shen Jin before the flame-wielding Comic Book Man intervened. After Comic Book Man was badly injured, he swallowed a Zombie Crystal Core and surged back into the fight, while Shen Jin prepared to use a hidden trump card.

• Lu Qiang grabbed Shen Jin, tore off his helmet, and discovered the Rampage Hood and Ultraman Mask beneath it.
• Comic Book Man burst into the room and fought Lu Qiang, giving Shen Jin a chance to escape as Zhao Mingkai carried Shang Qian away.
• Lu Qiang gradually gained the upper hand and knocked Comic Book Man down, prompting Shen Jin to step forward with a model in his hand.
• Comic Book Man swallowed a Zombie Crystal Core, regained his strength, and charged Lu Qiang again while cursing him.

Shen Jin watched Lu Qiang die from the backlash of his first Gene Lock awakening, then learned that the Comic Book Man who saved him was Sun Can. When Zombies flooded toward the building, Shen Jin decided to protect his former coworkers without revealing his system and told them to return to their rooms.

• The Comic Book Man defeated Lu Qiang, whose Gene Lock backlash proved fatal as he died wishing that people would respect him in another life.
• Sun Can told Shen Jin to protect him as he passed out, and Director Wang recognized Shen Jin as a former coworker when Shen forgot to use his voice changer.
• Shen Jin carried Sun Can to Director Wang's room, where women from the third floor gathered to admire him.
• Zhao Mingkai warned everyone that Zombies were climbing the stairs through the opening Sun Can had smashed, and the survivors gathered at the stairwell.
• Shen Jin chose not to reveal his system and told everyone to return to their rooms while he handled the approaching Zombies, but they ignored him and fetched yoga mats and blankets.

Shen Jin sealed off the broken stairwell with stone blocks and took refuge with Director Wang, Li Jie, and the still-unconscious Sun Can. Zhao Mingkai mistakenly accused Li Jie of being the chairman’s lover after overhearing her call him “Daddy,” leaving everyone to explain that it meant something else.

• Zhao Mingkai defended Shen Jin, but his joke about Shen Jin eating soft food led the others to mock him and accuse him of getting special treatment from Shang Qian.
• The company employees fled into their dorm rooms, and Shen Jin used the Great Stone Seal Technique to block the zombies from reaching the third floor.
• Shen Jin entered Director Wang’s room, where Li Jie was hiding beside Sun Can, and Zhao Mingkai soon rushed in after complaining that he had been left with a dead person.
• Zhao Mingkai angrily accused Li Jie of relying on her relationship with the chairman for special treatment at work.
• Zhao Mingkai explained that he had heard Li Jie repeatedly calling the chairman “Daddy,” and Shen Jin and Director Wang realized he had misunderstood what she meant.