Chapter Summaries

After the operation’s heavy losses, Lu PingAn returned to Gu City University, where the surviving interns were offered a choice between ending their internships and joining the Special Task Force. Lu PingAn chose to stay, and Director Shui MinXu told him his captain was applying for a medal on his behalf.

• Lu PingAn learned that twelve top-hundred incoming students had died and returned to Gu City University for a meeting about the operation’s aftermath.
• School Leaders held a moment of silence, warned the interns to prioritize their safety, and offered them the option to end their internships without penalty.
• Most interns chose to continue, and those who stayed received Special Task Force employment applications; the twelve fallen students would receive the benefits due to official members.
• Lu PingAn signed the application, then Director Shui MinXu praised his actions and said his captain was applying for a medal for him.

Lu PingAn discussed Ancient City's growing supernatural disorder with his fellow Rebirth members, then registered Rebirth as a merchant guild at Gu Da. He bought tools to rebuild Fang Wen's workshop and planned to rely on his own Tier 5 craftsman for future needs.

• Lu PingAn and the Rebirth members discussed the rising dangers of vigilantes, supernatural crimes, and the sealed truth about the prison incident.
• Lu PingAn registered Rebirth as a merchant guild, naming Lavender of the Primordial Secret-Keeper Faction as its affiliation and listing Lei Shui Yun, Xue En, and Guan Xinxian among its founders.
• Lu PingAn bought a large quantity of tools from Hou Yixi to help Fang Wen rebuild her workshop.
• Lu PingAn revealed that he had sold Andre information that enabled the Steam Sprites to destroy Fang Wen's workshop and clear away her backup plans.
• Lu PingAn planned to use his Tier 5 craftsman at home instead of buying weapons and services again.

Lu PingAn welcomed new personnel to Special Task Force Three as the team rebuilt after its losses, then learned they would soon take over a wild secret realm mission. The chapter left the squad preparing for the assignment amid wider changes to the Bureau of Anomalous Affairs and a looming manpower shortage.

• Lu PingAn considered Xue En and Hua Xueyi’s future plans and concluded they were unlikely to join the Rebirth Society as full members.
• Lu PingAn met new deputy captain Lu Xin, handler Lin Feng, and intern gunner Fang Wenyi, whose skills filled gaps in Special Task Force Three.
• Xia Qin rehired Lei Shui Yun as an auxiliary officer and agreed to consider Lin Feng’s one-handed former teammate for a logistics role, asking Lu PingAn to train her.
• Xia Qin scheduled Team Three and Team Five to relieve the teams guarding a wild secret realm in two days and prepare to hold the site for at least three days.
• The team discussed plans to expand Special Task Force squads and hire outside forces, along with the Bureau of Anomalous Affairs’ leadership change after losing a Rule-level weapon.

Cat Cat struggled with guilt, poverty, and neighbors’ hostility after the recent incident, until Lu PingAn intervened and took her to live with him. Xia Qin later clarified that she had not invited Cat Cat to move in, revealing another of Lu PingAn’s technically truthful deceptions.

• Cat Cat woke up distressed, complained about unpaid rent and electricity, and set out for work wearing her new equipment beneath her uniform.
• Cat Cat blamed herself for keeping her trump card unused when her friends were badly injured and her brother left, though they had comforted her afterward.
• Neighbors taunted Cat Cat over her brother and the bounty on him, and one man tried to grab her.
• Lu PingAn knocked the man down, told Cat Cat that she would live with him and his companions, and began packing her belongings while teasing her.
• Cat Cat thanked Xia Qin for inviting her to move in, but Xia Qin explained that she had only told Lu PingAn to pick Cat Cat up.

After Lu PingAn beat up members of Fifth Squad for bullying Lei Shui Yun, the conflict threatened cooperation between the squads on an upcoming Secret Realm mission. Xia Qin failed to smooth things over and suggested Third Squad might clear the Secret Realm alone, leaving Vice-Captain Lu Xin doubtful despite the team’s confidence.

• Lu PingAn agreed to let Lei Shui Yun stay with Xia Qin and admitted he had beaten up Fifth Squad members who had bullied her.
• Xia Qin explained that Third Squad and Fifth Squad were assigned to cooperate in clearing a wild Secret Realm, and she called Fifth Squad vice-captain Li Zigui to address the conflict.
• Lu PingAn told the team that Fifth Squad had bullied Lei Shui Yun, prompting the members to become angry.
• Xia Qin argued with Fifth Squad over the phone and ended the call without resolving the dispute.
• Xia Qin said Third Squad could clear the wild Secret Realm alone if Fifth Squad could not be relied upon, while Lu Xin doubted the plan and noticed the team seemed confident.

Special Task Force Three arrived at the fire-ravaged Peaceful Avenue Building Seven to relieve the exhausted defenders and confront a shifting Pollution Point inside. As the handover began, Lu Jun stayed to help, then watched in confusion as the new team prepared to enter the building instead of manning the defensive line.

• The briefing explained the building’s deadly fire history, the Pollution Point on the third floor, and the dangers of its changing interior and revived monsters.
• Special Task Force Three arrived to find Team One exhausted and police holding a defensive perimeter against monsters that now included fire-types.
• Lu Jun recognized Lin Feng and Jin Xuan among the newcomers and learned that Fifth Squad was absent.
• Xia Qin declined Lu Jun’s offer to leave two people to help guard the perimeter, and Lu Jun chose to stay with the team during the handover.
• Team Three took over their assigned duties, but Lu Jun saw them gathering at the entrance as if preparing to enter the building.

Lu PingAn and Team Three explored a shifting secret realm whose stone monsters and maze-like passages had grown far more dangerous than recorded. After Cat Cat brought back information from the second floor and the team confirmed the realm was mutating, Xia Qin decided they would rest briefly and then push through by force.

• Lu PingAn and Xia Qin destroyed a self-destructing stone monster and returned to the rendezvous point with the last group.
• Team Three compared their injuries and findings, while Cat Cat revealed she had reached the second floor and encountered Viscous Monsters and a moving floor.
• Lu Jun explained that the secret realm had changed since earlier expeditions and that its possessed organisms could not be permanently cleared.
• The team discussed the realm’s growing danger and the difficulty of advancing through its narrow, shifting passages.
• Xia Qin ordered Team Three to rest for twenty minutes before making a forceful push forward.

Lu PingAn used Gourmet dishes and powerful equipment to boost Xia Qin into a heavily defended physical powerhouse. With Special Task Force Three’s strength temporarily enhanced, Xia Qin smashed through the maze terrain.

• Lu PingAn gave Xia Qin high-tier Gourmet dishes, and their buffs strengthened her body and granted her resistance to fire and other effects.
• Xia Qin took up the Gourmet profession and quickly advanced to the first tier.
• Lu PingAn lent Xia Qin the Heavenly Boots, while Cat Cat gave her a Silver Tier cloak.
• Xia Qin combined the food buffs and equipment with her Sun Marks, reaching peak physical attributes and exceptional defense.
• Xia Qin shattered the maze terrain with her strength, giving Special Task Force Three enough hard power to overcome its cramped passages.

Xia Qin led Special Task Force Three through the first two floors with overwhelming equipment and consumables, while Lu PingAn used a Tier 4 Gourmet to complete his Job Change Ceremony. He became a Glutton, gained the Unsatisfied Petitioner’s blessing, and discovered that his new profession could permanently improve his abilities by digesting new Gourmet.

• Xia Qin smashed the monsters on the first two floors with her weapons and talisman-covered fists, while the well-equipped Special Task Force Three advanced rapidly.
• Lu Jun observed Third Squad’s strength and considered strengthening ties with them as the team reached the third floor.
• Lu PingAn asked Xia Qin for Volcano Flavored Extra Spicy Pizza and ate all six slices to complete his Job Change Ceremony.
• Lu PingAn became a Tier 0 Glutton and gained Gluttony, Spiritual Sense of Smell, and Insatiable Stomach.
• The Unsatisfied Petitioner blessed Lu PingAn’s Insatiable Stomach, upgrading it to Eternal Hungry Stomach after he digested the Tier 4 pizza.
• Lu PingAn gained strong Flame Resistance and permanent improvements to his physique, Flame Resistance, and chili resistance.

After becoming a Gourmet, Lu PingAn gained an insatiable appetite and a powerful sense of smell that could detect the life force and edible cores of magical monsters. As Special Task Force Three cleared the third floor and exposed the Pollution Point, Xia Qin faced a choice between securing a supply line and pressing the attack, and Lu PingAn backed an immediate assault.

• Lu PingAn digested a fourth-rank Gourmet and discovered that his Spiritual Sense of Smell could locate nearby creatures and identify which parts were edible.
• Lu PingAn used his new sense to detect the cores of Rock Monsters and the life force within Mud Monsters, while realizing that Xia Qin also seemed to use smell to find weaknesses.
• Xia Qin and Special Task Force Three cleared most of the third floor, exposing the Pollution Point.
• Lu Jun proposed establishing a temporary camp and fixed-point cleanup procedure, while Lu Xin urged using part of their forces to secure supplies before a renewed assault.
• Xia Qin looked to Lu PingAn for guidance, and he assured her they had enough supplies to stay inside for several days.
• Lu PingAn favored attacking at once, and Xia Qin agreed to hit the other side first.

Xia Qin’s team entered an expanding otherworldized secret realm, where extreme conditions and signs of a possible interdimensional connection raised the threat level. As they assessed the danger, hostile local creatures approached, and the team prepared to fight.

• Xia Qin assigned Cat Cat to stay behind and relay messages while the rest of the team prepared to enter the secret realm.
• Lu Jun entered first, confirmed the passage still worked both ways, and the team followed after checking their anti-pollution wristbands.
• The team emerged beneath a red sky in scorching, thin air, and Fang Wenyi collapsed before recovering with a potion.
• Lu Xin measured Level 4 to 5 pollution and found that the realm had expanded beyond ten kilometers, suggesting an interdimensional connection might be forming.
• Lu PingAn discussed the possible origins and dangers of the realm’s core while the team’s veterans remained on alert.
• Local derivative creatures approached the team, and Xia Qin ordered everyone to kill them.

The Keepers of Secrets attacked the intelligent monsters in the expanding secret realm, but the newcomers struggled against the alien environment and the monsters’ strength. Lu PingAn summoned Scenery to overwhelm the enemy forces, leaving Xia Qin and the others fighting beneath its bloodthirsty vines.

• Xia Qin led the assault while Fang Wenyi, Xue En, and Hua Xueyi fought the monsters, and Hua Xueyi was nearly overwhelmed before Jin Xuan rescued her.
• Jin Xuan worried that the secret realm was too dangerous for the newcomers as Lu PingAn finished preparing his spell.
• Lu PingAn summoned a colossal tree whose vines began attacking everyone, then used Hostility Marks and Affinity Marks to redirect the plants toward the monsters.
• Xia Qin cut free from a vine and resumed fighting as Scenery’s tentacles descended on the local monsters.

Lu PingAn used his magical plant Redemption to slaughter the demonic monsters, then enlarged the tree and its vines to wipe out the rest. After the battle ended and the tree vanished, he urged the group to move on because their time was limited.

• Lu PingAn sent the Blood-Sucking Vines after the demonic monsters, killing many but finding the Rock Monsters and Fire Balls difficult prey.
• The vines tore apart the Six-Limbed Fire Monsters, and Lu PingAn warned the group to stay away from the plants.
• When the vines began reaching toward the Meatmen, Lu PingAn struck the tree and used Life Shock to redirect them toward the remaining enemies.
• Lu PingAn used Threefold Gigantification on Redemption, whose enlarged vines crushed the demonic monsters and drove some to flee.
• Redemption vanished after the monsters were wiped out, and Lu PingAn told the group to move on.

Lu PingAn assessed the limits of his battlefield scenery while traveling with the team, and considered pursuing a second, more specialized creation. Meanwhile, Lu Jun discovered that the Six-Limbed Monsters were awakening their inherited magic and ordered their immediate extermination before they could contact the local world.

• Lu PingAn reflected that his scenery required too much space and time to deploy, risked harming allies, and struggled against powerful individual enemies.
• Big Cat told Lu PingAn that low-tier magical plants were unlikely to combine intelligence with individual strength, prompting him to consider the leather-bound book he carried.
• Lu Jun investigated deeper into the wild otherworld and saw Six-Limbed Monsters use inherited knowledge and black liquid to create stone creatures.
• Lu Jun recognized the monsters as an intelligent species with a developing magical civilization and feared their abilities would rapidly grow.
• Lu Jun ordered the team to prevent any Six-Limbed Monsters from reaching the local world and to eliminate them there.

Lu PingAn's team discovered a walking volcano surrounded by an enormous Ant Clan settlement and judged it too dangerous to attack without reinforcements. After the others retreated, Lu PingAn stayed behind to use a newly acquired Taboo Item and begin shaping it with the remains of a nearby settlement.

• Lu Jun returned badly burned and reported that he had found the source, but the team likely could not defeat it.
• Lu PingAn and the team saw a walking, fire-spewing volcano whose Ant Clan inhabitants raised creatures and returned to it as offerings.
• Lu Jun recommended retreating to report the threat and bring in more support, and the group prepared to leave.
• Lu PingAn chose to remain behind as a scout and sentry, concealing his other plans from the main force.
• Lu PingAn raised a massive Fusang Tree in a remote settlement after turning its ant monsters and stones into materials.
• Lu PingAn activated a silver Taboo Item, having abandoned his potion career plans for the conflicting paths of chef and Gourmet, and began shaping with the prepared materials.

Lu PingAn used the Adversity Survivor's Life Guide to create a new creature and extract Life Illustrated Handbook pages from Red-Patterned Ant Monsters. After obtaining two useful pages, he planned to experiment with equipping them once the creature was born.

• Lu PingAn fed monster remains into the Guide to provide a Core of Wisdom, Essence of Blood, and Foundation of Flesh and Bone, then left the resulting creature to evolve.
• Lu PingAn learned the Guide could create creatures and turn extracted life into Life Illustrated Handbook pages, but its use was restricted to adversity survivors who held a Life-type rule.
• Lu PingAn extracted several pages from Red-Patterned Ant Monsters, including Kakulu's Fighting Experience and Kakulu's Enchanting Experience.
• Lu PingAn considered the risks of drawing more pages, and Big Cat encouraged him to proceed because others would suffer if the ship sank.

Su SuSu searched Ancient City for traces of the fallen Balance Disaster Beast but found nothing, while Lu PingAn watched a red creature hatch and feed on nearby remains. The creature finished growing enough for Lu PingAn and Big Cat to inspect it, though they disagreed about its appearance.

• Su SuSu confirmed that Liu Zibei had died after concealing the Balance Disaster Beast's fall and betraying the Maiden of the Forest's guidance.
• Su SuSu activated the Balance Disaster Beast's statue to scan Ancient City, but found no sign of its successor or related divine power.
• Su SuSu left, concluding that the investigation had reached a dead end and that she might meet Balance's successor someday.
• The red crystal in Lu PingAn's secret domain cracked open, and a newborn creature devoured nearby remains to replenish itself.
• Lu PingAn called the creature ugly, while Big Cat called it beautiful.

Lu PingAn revived an unstable creature, named it Little Flame, and used life pages and feeding to rapidly strengthen it. After Little Flame helped destroy five tribes, Lu PingAn waited for reinforcements, which finally arrived in poor condition.

• Lu PingAn fed the newly reborn creature and discovered that its unstable life would collapse within hours unless it consumed kin or received Life Bank support.
• The creature extended its lifespan by eating same-source flesh, and Lu PingAn named it Little Flame and gave it life pages that granted summoning, fighting, and fire-control abilities.
• Little Flame led an expanding monster army and destroyed tribes, growing into a two-meter-tall Bronze Mid Rank creature with greatly improved attributes.
• Lu PingAn concluded that Little Flame could not eliminate the ever-growing Ant Monster population alone, so he kept raising it while awaiting reinforcements.
• The delayed reinforcements arrived looking battered, and Lu PingAn asked what had happened outside.

Lu PingAn and the reinforcements learned that a Tier 9 Divine Power Crystal had unleashed a corrupting shock across the city, then Fifth Squad tried to provoke him over old grievances. As the squads prepared to clear the secret realm, Lu PingAn revealed he had already wiped out the tribes along multiple routes, leaving Fifth Squad with little choice but to reconsider where they would go.

• The reinforcements reported that a Divine Power Crystal had hit the city with a powerful corruption wave, and Big Cat realized the crystal had been used up while searching for her.
• Wu Kewang confronted Lu PingAn over their past fight, and Lu PingAn mocked him for losing and then complaining afterward.
• Fifth Squad Captain Qian Shuangxia challenged Xia Qin, but Lu Jun stopped the squads from fighting and assigned them routes to clear.
• Wu Kewang renewed his challenge to kill more monsters, and Lu PingAn said he had already cleared the five tribes along Fifth Squad's route.
• Lu PingAn dumped a huge pile of monster remains onto the ground and told Fifth Squad that he had also cleared the route they were about to take.

Lu PingAn tried to cook a fire-resistant dish for Special Task Force Three, but his teammates rejected it after Xia Qin collapsed from tasting it. As the squad prepared to advance, Lu PingAn revealed he had already wiped out forty-seven nearby tribes and offered to lead them to two areas reserved for practice.

• Lu PingAn served his colleagues a freshly grilled dish made from strange creatures, claiming it was nonpoisonous and could increase fire resistance.
• Xia Qin tasted the food, collapsed, and learned Lu PingAn had washed the ingredients with mud; he sent the leftovers to the Courtyard as pet feed.
• Xue En proposed that Special Task Force Three test the waters, and Cat Cat joined the squad for the advance.
• Lu PingAn revealed that he had cleared out all forty-seven nearby tribes and had left two areas as ingredient reserves for the squad to practice on.
• As the other squads advanced, they found deserted villages and ruins covered in bodily fluids and scraps of flesh, and Lu PingAn's revelation came back to mind.