Chapter Summaries

Xiao Bing told Shen Jin how a Desire zombie drained a Superhuman squad by exploiting their deepest desires and how Commander Hu destroyed it. Shen Jin accepted the warning and the crystal cores, then learned that the Tier 2 Superhuman had seen Ling'er in his vision.

• Xiao Bing recounted how a Tier 2-led squad encountered their ideal partners, succumbed to the Desire zombie’s visions, and returned aged and drained.
• The Tier 2 Superhuman explained that Commander Hu cut off the zombie’s giant eye and described how it beguiled men and parasitized women.
• Shen Jin learned that the men survived but lost their abilities, while the women were cremated and buried, and he resolved to inspect his base for danger.
• The Tier 2 Superhuman warned Shen Jin to seek Heavenly Net help if he found a similar zombie, and Shen Jin accepted five Tier 2 Crystal Cores.
• Shen Jin asked what the Tier 2 Superhuman had seen, and the man recalled Ling'er in a light green gauze robe beneath the setting sun.

Shen Jin decomposed a Space Energy Crystal Core into Ender Pearls and crafted Traveler’s Wings, then began planning better tools for the superhuman teams. He recognized a fatal flaw in equipping everyone with Electric Drills but had not yet explained it.

• Shen Jin discovered that the Tier 2 Energy Crystal Core (Space) could be decomposed into 64 Ender Pearls.
• Shen Jin crafted Traveler’s Wings and tested their ability to move him through the air, learning that each use consumed durability.
• Shen Jin decided the wings could suit some captains in combat, while he would keep using his Jetpack for travel.
• Shen Jin planned to equip the superhuman teams with Electric Drills and Rechargeable Batteries for gathering materials.
• Shen Jin recalled a fatal flaw he had noticed while watching the teams work, but the chapter ended before he revealed it.

Shen Jin designed Tinkers' Construct gathering tools with Magnetic, Dense, and Ecological traits, then produced equipment for all 165 Superhumans. He realized ordinary survivors could handle the repetitive casting work and decided to recruit them, as they were also being asked to move into designated residential compounds.

• Shen Jin chose iron, bronze, and wood components to make a pickaxe that automatically collected blocks and could repair itself.
• Shen Jin built a large Smeltery and cast gathering tools for 165 Superhumans before dusk.
• Shen Jin realized he could delegate the casting work instead of doing it himself.
• Shen Jin decided to recruit ordinary survivors for the casting jobs as Superhuman squads returned from fighting zombies.
• Shang Qian notified ordinary survivors that they had three days to move into designated residential compounds, where water and electricity were available.

Shen Jin used Lu Daizhen’s secret Mind Reading ability to screen more than five hundred reserve Superhumans for loyalty and honesty. Hao Mengzhu passed the interview after her answers exposed a surprising response to Shang Qian’s final question.

• Old Wang arranged for ten young men to help Shen Jin cast metal parts using the Tinkers' Construct Smeltery.
• Shen Jin gathered Yang Ao, Shang Qian, and Lu Daizhen to secretly test the reserve Superhumans with Mind Reading.
• Hao Mengzhu told the interviewers she wanted to protect herself and other women and defend the equality she had found at Home No. 1.
• Shen Jin asked Hao Mengzhu to remain loyal to him, and Lu Daizhen gave no sign that she was lying.
• Shang Qian asked whether Hao Mengzhu would sleep with the lead interviewer to earn the chance to awaken, and Hao Mengzhu refused because of her upbringing.
• Shen Jin announced that Hao Mengzhu had passed the interview.

Shen Jin equipped 300 newly awakened Superhumans and assembled 465 fighters to collect Q City’s reserve grain and frozen pork. After assigning materials to gather and giving Traveler’s Wings to the team leaders, he led the force toward the development zone.

• After 300 recruits passed their interviews, Shen Jin bought awakening potions for them and arranged overnight casting to make their equipment.
• The next day, Shen Jin equipped 300 recruits and discovered that his supply of leather was running low.
• Shen Jin gathered 465 Superhumans, organized them into six teams, and explained that they would collect grain and frozen pork from reserve warehouses identified by A Bin.
• Shen Jin gave the team leaders lists of materials to collect and issued them Traveler’s Wings for emergencies.
• At Shen Jin’s command, the armed force set out for the development zone while 20 Superhumans stayed behind to guard the east and west city gates.

Shen Jin led 445 armored Superhumans across Q City to train the newcomers, test their equipment, and search for unusual zombies on the route to a warehouse holding grain. They killed an L1 Zombie with coordinated attacks, and Hu Shou urged China's Second Elder to promote the Energy Amplification Potion so more zombies could be eliminated.

• Shen Jin chose to travel on foot through Q City's urban area, explaining that the journey would train the newcomers and test their Tinkers' Construct equipment while they searched for special zombies.
• An L1 Zombie dropped onto the road, but Miao Shubai pinned it with an Air Force Field while Meng San cut off half its left hand with his steel longsword.
• Tong Zhen and other ranged Superhumans attacked the trapped L1 Zombie, though Tong Zhen warned that their attacks were wasting energy without killing it.
• Pang Guang pierced the L1 Zombie's skull with a pair of joined Steel Arrows, killing it in an explosion.
• Hu Shou told China's Second Elder that they needed to promote the Energy Amplification Potion and accept sacrifices to eliminate more zombies.

Hu Shou secured approval to promote the Energy Amplification Potion despite concerns about its side effects, setting China on a plan to strengthen its official Superhumans and clear out the zombies. After the meeting, he named the campaign Operation 'Jin' Offensive in recognition of Shen Jin’s contribution.

• Hu Shou defended the potion’s side effects as a necessary cost of clearing out the zombies and pledged to protect China's next generation by becoming a Tier 4 Superhuman.
• The leader approved the plan, reduced the proposed potion allocation from 80% to 70%, and ordered officials to identify combat talent while giving Hu Shou room to develop.
• The meeting ended with Hu Shou tasked with implementing the potion plan and accelerating the advancement of China's official Superhumans.
• Hu Shou told Old Zhao that the potion’s side effects might be remedied later and named the campaign Operation 'Jin' Offensive after Shen Jin’s [Compressor].
• Old Zhao recalled Shen Jin as the citizen who had previously donated the [Extractor].

Shen Jin reviewed his supplies and the rewards available from Tier 1 cores as his force advanced into the city. When Y-Type Zombies attacked, the superhumans killed them, and one lost its teeth biting a recruit’s steel armor before an arrow finished it off.

• Meng San killed a Tier 1 Evolved Zombie and gave Shen Jin its Tier 1 Energy Crystal Core, earning a World Coin.
• Shen Jin considered using a Special Ability Enhancement Potion to reward Li Zhe when they returned.
• Yang Ao commanded the force as thirty elemental superhumans took to the air and the formation spread out through the city.
• Yang Ao spotted a Y-Type Zombie nest in a dark factory, and the zombies charged the approaching force.
• The airborne superhumans blasted one fleeing Y-Type Zombie, while the rest attacked the main force.
• A Y-Type Zombie bit a recruit’s steel neck armor and lost its teeth before a refined steel arrow struck its head.

Bing Huo announced a May Day update blitz tied to a Qidian voting challenge and recapped April’s writing output and outstanding bonus chapters. Bing Huo planned to write 240,000 characters in May and spend the month on a long fourth volume.

• Bing Huo said they had signed up for the Class D challenge, requiring seven days of extra updates and 1,000 monthly votes to earn a reward.
• Bing Huo asked readers to cast their guaranteed monthly votes and support a reader-community coin thread.
• Bing Huo admitted April’s updates reached only 200,000 characters and set a target of 240,000 characters for May.
• Bing Huo said they still owed 20 bonus chapters and hoped to pay them off the following month.
• Bing Huo said the fourth volume would be long, with plenty happening, and that May would likely be spent writing it.
• Bing Huo said that day’s updates would arrive during the daytime while they worked on fixing their sleep schedule.

Shen Jin’s team encountered a Tier 2 Enderman Zombie on their journey and prepared for battle after Mi Xiaoli weakened it with curses. The Enderman Zombie vanished just as the team’s attacks were about to land.

• Meng San and the other captains led their teams through the area, stripping workshops, buildings, green belts, and zombie corpses for resources.
• Shen Jin halted the team when he sensed danger, and a giant Enderman Zombie appeared in the empty street.
• Shen Jin warned everyone about its spatial movement and distributed Special Ability Food so the captains could power up for battle.
• Shen Jin gave Pang Guang a Big Banana, while Mi Xiaoli secretly afflicted the Enderman Zombie with three curses.
• Shen Jin ordered the attack, and the team launched elemental strikes, restraints, and close-range assaults at the Enderman Zombie.
• The Enderman Zombie disappeared moments before the attacks struck, leaving Pang Guang without a target.

Shen Jin and his team exploited the Enderman Zombie’s pauses after teleporting, while Mi Xiaoli’s curses and a string of disastrous accidents gradually wore it down. The Enderman Zombie finally died after a nearby L1 Zombie knocked it back into the team, but the battle’s noise drew a vast zombie horde around them.

• The Enderman Zombie reappeared above the fighters, knocked Little Fire and Little Wind into a building, and was briefly stalled by their armor’s [Steady] effect and Mi Xiaoli’s Backlash Curse.
• The Enderman Zombie’s bad luck sent it through lingering flames and into an exploding convenience store, revealing that the pauses after its teleports gave the team chances to attack.
• Lu Daizhen warned that the Enderman Zombie was targeting Mi Xiaoli, and Wu Yong, Qi Tong, and Li Zhe helped protect him and wound the zombie with curses and attacks.
• The team continued fighting while Pang Guang’s arrows and the Enderman Zombie’s repeated trips into the burning store caused it further injuries.
• The Enderman Zombie tried to retreat but collided with a burly L1 Zombie’s fist, which sent it back to Shen Jin’s team, where their attacks killed it.
• Shen Jin ordered everyone to form a defensive position after a large horde of zombies surrounded them.

Shen Jin organized more than four hundred Superhumans into a tower-defense formation to hold off a massive zombie horde, but a suspected Y2 Harpy Zombie appeared as the battle continued. Shen Jin ate a Geoduck and prepared to face the new threat.

• Shen Jin ordered the Superhumans to build a walled maze with pits and routes while Yang Ao led elemental fighters in clearing P-Type Zombies from the air.
• Miao Shubai blocked a rain of black insects with an Air Wall, and Yang Ao's fire-based fighters burned them while lightning-based fighters killed the Spitter Zombie.
• Shen Jin assigned heroes and combat roles to the four sides, then used Geoduck food to empower eight strength-based Superhumans into Tier 2 water-ice-based fighters.
• The zombie horde charged into the defenses, where the heroes and tower teams attacked from above; Shen Jin replenished the heroes' energy with Senzu Beans.
• A huge red-furred flying zombie appeared, and Shen Jin identified it as a suspected Y2 Harpy Zombie before eating a Geoduck.

Shen Jin and the captains fought a powerful red-haired Y2 zombie while Yang Ao’s team suffered a fatal-looking injury. Mi Xiaoli’s curse made the Y2 zombie face its deepest fear, and the battle ended with the zombie dead and the wounded lightning ability user still alive.

• Yang Ao led over thirty elemental superhumans into an attack, but the red-haired Y2 zombie scattered their strikes and pierced the lightning ability user through his armor.
• Shen Jin fed the injured man Senzu Beans while Yang Ao and the captains engaged the Y2 zombie; Lu Daizhen sensed its thoughts and warned Meng San when it targeted him.
• Mi Xiaoli unleashed a curse that pursued the Y2 zombie, while Miao Shubai, Wu Yong, Qi Tong, and Tong Zhen restrained and struck it with their abilities.
• The Y2 zombie’s power burst reflected the captains’ attacks, but Mi Xiaoli’s curse took hold and caused it to see what it feared most: Enderman Zombies and a Giant Zombie.
• The Enderman Zombies and Giant Zombie battered the Y2 zombie until Shen Jin pinned its head with an ice spike, and the four hundred superhumans suppressed the remaining horde.
• The survivors discussed how the Y2 zombie had died from fear, then heard the injured lightning ability user cough and complain that they were acting as if he were dead.

After the battle, Shen Jin discovered that pig iron weapons could absorb zombie blood to restore durability and gain energy enhancement. He devised a way to process corpses near the front lines by building smeltery fortresses, then began constructing the first one.

• Shen Jin collected two Tier 2 Energy Crystal Cores, seven Tier 1 cores, and 4,029 ordinary cores from the battle.
• Pang Guang dipped his Steel-Pig Iron Shortbow into the Y2 Zombie's blood, restoring its condition and giving it energy enhancement that strengthened his shots.
• Shen Jin examined the bow and realized pig iron's Tasty trait could make weapons absorb zombie blood to restore durability and replenish energy.
• Shen Jin decided to build sealed smeltery fortresses near the Zombie Slaying Squad's routes so they could process corpses locally and collect blood and bones.
• Shen Jin placed an Iron Storage Chest filled with Seared Stone and began building a Tinkers' Construct Smeltery, telling the others to send the zombie corpses inside.

Shen Jin processed thousands of zombie corpses into bones and blood, then used the blood to craft and test Coagulated Blood Boots. He found the boots could absorb blood to strengthen and repair themselves, and gave pairs to the team leaders, though the remaining supply was limited.

• Shen Jin finished smelting more than four thousand zombies, obtaining 31,400 bones and 3,200 liters of blood.
• Shen Jin discovered that the blood expanded as it flowed from the smeltery, producing coagulated blood blocks that he broke down into crafting materials.
• Shen Jin crafted Coagulated Blood Boots and tested their bouncing effect by jumping from a wall and landing on the road.
• Shen Jin absorbed zombie blood into the boots, increasing their armor and toughness, and concluded that they improved mobility but would eventually be outclassed.
• Shen Jin used the remaining blood to make boots for the team leaders, leaving enough material for at most fifteen more pairs.

Shen Jin’s group continued toward Q City’s grain warehouse after earning World Coins and winning a zombie battle. They reached No. 9 Villas, where Xi Rong and two other powerful residents exploited the survivors, just as an orderly force approached the settlement.

• Shen Jin reviewed his Permanent Missions rewards and decided to save World Coins for Intermediate Industry II before unlocking Intermediate Tinkers' Construct.
• After a two-hour rest, Shen Jin led more than 400 Superhumans toward the grain warehouse, leaving behind a sealed wall and a tank for collecting zombie blood.
• The group reached No. 9 Villas, a wealthy riverside settlement whose old social hierarchy had been overturned by the apocalypse.
• Xi Rong lamented his loss of simple comforts, then joined a fat man and a curvaceous woman in discussing food and Home No. 1.
• Thirty minutes later, an orderly marching force arrived outside No. 9 Villas.

Shen Jin’s group visited No. 9 Villas to assess its nearly 1,000 survivors and offer them a chance to join Home No. 1. When Yang Ao invited the residents to leave with them, nobody answered, and the chapter ended with the settlement’s silence seeming suspicious.

• Yang Ao called out to No. 9 Villas, and Li Zhe dismantled its gate to draw the residents outside.
• Xi Rong greeted the group, while a woman and a fat man challenged them; Xi Rong slapped both and warned them that the visitors were all Superhumans.
• Yang Ao toured the settlement with Xi Rong, then asked him to gather the survivors.
• Yang Ao offered the residents water, electricity, and internet at Home No. 1, but they stayed silent as one father slapped his hopeful daughter and pulled her back.

Yang Ao and the others left the No. 9 Villas after its residents claimed they were safe and self-sufficient, but Lu Daizhen and Shang Qian noticed their lies and unsettling behavior. Shen Jin pieced together the clues and ordered everyone to return to the villas.

• Xi Rong, the fat man, and the woman persuaded Yang Ao that the residents wanted to stay and had enough food, and Yang Ao exchanged Satellite Phone numbers with them before leaving.
• Xi Rong offered the group food, cigarettes, and liquor, but Yang Ao refused and joked that the residents ate fish from the nearby river.
• Lu Daizhen said the residents seemed unnaturally gluttonous and pointed out that the woman had been frightened when the middle-aged man slapped the little girl.
• Shang Qian explained that the City Ring River was still frozen, so the residents could not have caught the fish and shrimp they claimed to eat.
• Shen Jin realized that more than a thousand people had appeared on the satellite map but fewer than nine hundred had come out, and he questioned where the villas' food came from.
• Shen Jin suspected the truth behind the residents' behavior and ordered everyone to return to the No. 9 Villas.

Huihui discovered that Xi Rong and the fat man had been feeding her human flesh and intended to eat her, but Shen Jin’s team rescued her and fought the two men. Xi Rong was trapped inside the villa and weakened, and he asked Shen Jin whether he accepted Yang Ao’s offer to let him go if he won their fight.

• Huihui realized Xi Rong had secretly fed her human flesh and that he and the fat man planned to eat her.
• Shen Jin’s group broke into the villa, and Shang Qian rescued Huihui while Yang Ao and Meng San attacked Xi Rong and the fat man.
• Xi Rong reached Tier 2 and knocked Yang Ao away, but Yang Ao insisted on using him as a training opponent.
• Miao Shubai blocked Xi Rong’s escape, Meng San killed the fat man, and Mi Xiaoli weakened Xi Rong with her Special Ability.
• Yang Ao offered to let Xi Rong go if he won their fight, and Xi Rong asked Shen Jin whether he agreed.

Yang Ao broke through to the second-stage gene lock by defeating Xi Rong, and Shen Jin's forces uncovered the cannibalism practiced by all 910 residents of the No. 9 Villas. The chapter ended with Shen Jin ordering the residents executed after learning that they had imprisoned and eaten survivors.

• Yang Ao fought Xi Rong and, after being nearly killed, unlocked the second-stage gene lock and punched a hole through Xi Rong's chest, killing him.
• Shen Jin's group cremated the corpses and returned to the central area of the No. 9 Villas, where Li Zhe reported that 910 ordinary residents had been involved in keeping 254 survivors as meat people.
• Shen Jin learned that most of the captives were dead or beyond recovery, while 32 had minor injuries, and that the residents had been preparing another batch of victims.
• Shen Jin ordered the man who had been about to attack a little girl cut in half and commanded that the other residents be executed on the spot.