Chapter Summaries

Lu PingAn used his modified, poison-coated battle axe to defeat Hua Xueyi in a sparring match, then refused her demand for a rematch. He offered to help her overcome the weakness of her innate ability as a bargaining chip to persuade her to join his team.

• Lu PingAn teased Hua Xueyi after winning with Regret of Retrospection and his Hydra-parasitized battle axe.
• Lu PingAn reflected that Hua Xueyi's speed and focus made landing a direct attack nearly impossible, so he distracted her and used the self-propelled venomous Hydra to ambush her.
• Hua Xueyi demanded another fight, but Lu PingAn refused, insisting that his victory stood.
• Hua Xueyi rejected the idea of joining Lu PingAn's team, and he offered to help her fight longer and more freely by overcoming her ability's weakness.
• Lu PingAn told Hua Xueyi that her innate ability was more than just metallic hair.

Lu PingAn identified Hua Xueyi’s ability as Keratinocyte Golding Disease and explained its limits. Hua Xueyi and Xiao Lu agreed to join Special Task Force Three and asked whether he could help control the condition, leaving Lu PingAn confident he could profit from the deal.

• Lu PingAn deduced from Hua Xueyi’s gold styling that her ability involved more than just her hair.
• Lu PingAn named Hua Xueyi’s ability Keratinocyte Golding Disease and explained how it could turn her hair, nails, and skin into metal.
• Hua Xueyi confirmed that excessive metallization could make her stiff or cause her ability to run out of control.
• Hua Xueyi and Xiao Lu offered to join Special Task Force Three, and Hua Xueyi asked if Lu PingAn could help her.
• Lu PingAn said he was seventy or eighty percent confident he could help, while Big Cat assessed Hua Xueyi’s need for several body-controlling classes.

Lu PingAn revealed a detailed Beast Tamer Pathway strategy that could help Hua Xueyi control her dangerous metal-cell overgrowth, and a Conscience Contract made her indebted for the information. The chapter left Hua Xueyi facing a bank account showing a debt of 139 Life Points, accruing 15% annual interest.

• Hua Xueyi and her companion arranged a Conscience Contract with Lu PingAn, making Hua Xueyi responsible for determining and repaying the information’s value.
• Lu PingAn explained how Hua Xueyi could use the Beast Tamer Pathway, a Hamdasda symbiote, and the Possession Beast Warrior class to manage her excess metal cells and overcome ability overheating.
• Hua Xueyi became overwhelmed by the valuable details and asked how she could repay Lu PingAn, who told her to pay it off slowly.
• Big Cat sent Lu PingAn a card displaying Hua Xueyi’s account balance as negative 139 Life Points, with 15% annual interest.

Lu PingAn discovered that his Life Bank relied on rule-bound debts and might eventually let him liquidate the estates of debtors who could not repay. He negotiated with Hua Xueyi and Xiao Lu over valuable career information, leaving Hua Xueyi burdened with a 139-Life-Point debt but promising not to enforce it.

• Lu PingAn realized that his Life Bank's 15% interest rate matched his contract's default penalty and concluded that Contractor or Jurist powers could regulate debts for the bank.
• Big Cat explained the Contractor and Jurist paths, and Lu PingAn considered how Bankruptcy Liquidation might let him sell a debtor's estate to recover losses.
• Lu PingAn charged Hua Xueyi and Xiao Lu 139 Life Points for Gardener and Contractor information, though even additional Tier 3 material only reduced the balance to 138.
• Lu PingAn reassured Hua Xueyi that he would not enforce her debt after three years and argued that the information could help her control her ability and advance.
• Lu PingAn showed the two women his card's Deferred Payment and Remote Investment functions, then claimed Hua Xueyi would profit by working for him for 139 days.

Lu PingAn enjoyed a rare stretch of leisure on campus and reconsidered whether he needed to join a club. He abandoned plans to build his own network and left the chapter heading to collect Professor Wen’s experiment materials and notes.

• Lu PingAn finished arranging his immediate affairs, then played basketball with students and exchanged contact details with them.
• While relaxing in the bleachers, Lu PingAn discussed college life and club membership with Big Cat, concluding that his debt and strength made joining the Golden Mutual Aid Society awkward.
• Big Cat proposed that Lu PingAn gather capable allies, but he found the plan troublesome and chose to slack off instead.
• Lu PingAn realized he would need to study and advance through several tiers before becoming a contractor, then dismissed the idea as too much effort.
• Lu PingAn received a call saying Professor Wen’s experiment materials and notes had been brought in, and he eagerly went to collect them.

Miss Lu Lu Lu realized Lu PingAn’s Life Points made him a potential equal and urged the Venus Mutual Aid Society to cooperate with him. Lu PingAn’s cancer still consumed his life, however, and his rising maintenance costs threatened to outpace his ability to pay.

• Miss Lu Lu Lu explained to Hua Xueyi that Lu PingAn’s Life Points could grant life and that his investment had brought her enormous gains.
• Miss Lu Lu Lu revealed that Lu PingAn had been a terminal cancer patient and suspected he used Life Points to sustain his life rather than cure the cancer.
• The two Venus members changed their view of Lu PingAn and began gathering materials and information to build goodwill with him.
• Lu PingAn’s System Panel showed that his life maintenance fee was 6,000 points for the next six-month cycle, and he feared the cost would keep rising as his cancer progressed.
• Lu PingAn drank the remaining Time Poison, then effortlessly broke its aging effect because his Life-type power overrode the weaker curse.
• Lu PingAn discussed the opposing concepts behind the supernatural types, and his Forbidden Knowledge rose toward seven.

Lu PingAn reviewed Professor Wen’s Tier 2 Gardener courses and learned about the available specializations, their costs, and the risks of Parasitic Tree. He remained interested in the combat-oriented Flower Arranger and Bonsai Designer paths after checking their prerequisites and course options.

• Lu PingAn examined the Tier 2 Fruit Farmer course package and realized its thousands of class hours and practical requirements would take too much time.
• Senior Lu described the Parasitic Tree advancement and its severe plant-like side effects, while Big Cat warned Lu PingAn that his contamination made symbiosis impossible.
• Lu PingAn reviewed the Gardener branches, including planting, grafting, and academic paths, and learned that most practitioners chose planting for stable income.
• Senior Lu explained that Flower Arranger required a complete ritual from Blood Rose of Love's True God Church, while Bonsai Designer courses were available at other top schools.
• Lu PingAn confirmed that Flower Arranger and Bonsai Designer remained his main targets and felt interested after reading about their abilities.

Lu PingAn arranged to visit a historical secret realm in Xikou County with a senior Bonsai Master to explore combat-oriented Gardener paths. After Xia Qin approved his leave, he prepared to strengthen his Runner abilities and learned that Lei Huo Ren wanted him to take Cat Cat along.

• Lu PingAn chose to meet a third-year Bonsai Master at a historical secret realm that replayed the 1987 disaster in Xikou County.
• Lu PingAn researched the disaster and planned to travel to the secret realm the next day.
• Xia Qin approved Lu PingAn's leave and updated him on the new recruits he had helped bring into her group.
• Lu PingAn planned to give Lei Huo Ren and others buffs before leaving to strengthen his mobility for the secret realm.
• Lei Huo Ren called Lu PingAn and asked him to take Cat Cat along because she was disrupting his work.

Lu PingAn and Lei Shui Yun traveled to the ruined city of Xikou County to enter its secret realm, picking up cheap information and witnessing the city’s strange mix of desolation and bustling adventurer trade. They reached the crowded area around the realm the day before it opened, where Lei Shui Yun eagerly spotted tempting recruitment offers.

• Lei Huo Ren sent Lei Shui Yun and Xiao Bai with Lu PingAn after Lu PingAn asked to visit the secret realm in Xikou County.
• On the train, Lu PingAn teased Lei Shui Yun about her Beast Tamer profession and discovered that neither of them could swim well.
• After traveling by train, bus, and tricycle, Lu PingAn and Lei Shui Yun bought a fifteen-yuan information brief from locals eager to sell guides, rooms, and advice.
• Lu PingAn used Spirit Sight in the abandoned city but saw no ghosts, only the pillar of light marking the secret realm.
• At the lively camp outside the secret realm, Lu PingAn recognized the last-minute team recruiters as suspicious, while Lei Shui Yun excitedly pointed out their offers.

Lu PingAn learned the repeated Secret Realm’s history and its stages, where a flood disaster could not be prevented but Professionals could rescue civilians and delay the city’s fall. As the Secret Realm’s opening approached, he prepared to choose a battlefield suited to his abilities while Cat Cat recovered from a sleepless night.

• Cat Cat gave in to the cold and danger outside Lu PingAn’s locked room, but the innkeeper’s damage fees stopped her from breaking down the door.
• The next morning, Cat Cat entered Lu PingAn’s room, ate her own food, and took his bed while he went to prepare for the Secret Realm.
• Lu PingAn paid the innkeeper for intelligence and learned how the Secret Realm’s flood, monster attacks, Guardian, and final battle unfolded.
• Lu PingAn noted that the Secret Realm offered no victory condition, though Professionals could rescue civilians, delay the disaster, and pursue their own goals.
• As Cat Cat ate Lu PingAn’s breakfast and snacks in revenge, he decided his planned choice was sound and began the settlement process with Life Bank.

Lu PingAn advanced his Swift Flash Breathing Method to level seven and chose an evolution that made frenzy less costly to use. He unlocked Spider Walk and prepared for the upcoming secret realm expedition as a call arranging his meeting with Senior Brother arrived.

• The final settlement raised Lu PingAn’s Swift Flash Breathing Method to level seven and slightly improved his physique, spirit, and reflexes.
• Big Cat warned Lu PingAn that stacking frenzies could kill him, so he chose Storm in the Making to reduce frenzy’s burden and allow more frequent use.
• Lu PingAn unlocked Spider Walk, which let him move across walls as if they were level ground for a single breath.
• Lu PingAn tested Spider Walk in the shower and considered how it could help him during the secret realm expedition.
• Lu PingAn unlocked a second supernatural ability requiring level-seven Breathing Technique, then received a call arranging his meeting with Senior Brother.

Lu PingAn joined Guan Xinxian and his Disaster Relief Team colleagues for a training visit to a flooded Secret Realm, where he learned about their rescue mission and entry requirements. After entering, he saw Guan’s living Tier 3 Mount Sumeru Fusang Tree transformed into a massive ark.

• Lu PingAn learned that higher-tier Law Decrees could overcome some low-tier curses and costs, though they brought stronger restraints of their own.
• Lu PingAn met Tier 2 Gardener Guan Xinxian and joined him, Yuan Aiqing, and Yi Tianyi for a visit to a flooded Secret Realm.
• Guan’s team explained that they aimed to rescue people and mitigate the disaster, and warned Lu PingAn and Cat Cat about aquatic monsters and hidden cultists.
• The group bought white lilies as entry offerings and placed them on the water before entering the Secret Realm.
• Guan summoned his living Tier 3 Mount Sumeru Fusang Tree, which appeared as a huge boat carrying plants, animals, and rescue equipment.

Lu PingAn and Cat Cat helped the Astronaut Gardener’s Tree Ark rescue flood survivors, while Lu PingAn used intimidation to keep the evacuation moving. Later, a Senior Brother taught him how Bonsai Designers view plants and scenery, leaving Lu PingAn convinced that his own path was clear.

• The Astronaut Gardener’s Tree Ark used auxiliary wheels and autonomous demonic plants to cross rough terrain and rescue survivors, while Lu PingAn and Cat Cat helped bring people aboard.
• Cat Cat struggled to respond to survivors demanding priority, so Lu PingAn threw one dissenter overboard and assigned strong men to keep the others orderly.
• Guan Xinxian warned Lu PingAn that such harsh choices could have deadly consequences during a real rescue, but Lu PingAn said he would be even more ruthless if necessary.
• A Senior Brother explained that Gardeners and Bonsai Designers regarded plants as living protagonists with their own drive to grow, rather than judging cultivation by human standards.
• Lu PingAn learned that Flower Arrangers create human-centered art from dead flowers, while Bonsai Designers cultivate living trees as the focus of natural scenery.
• After considering the differences between the paths, Lu PingAn decided he had no reason to hesitate about his choice.

Lu PingAn learned how Guan Xinxian’s gravity-protecting abilities and self-sustaining Ancient Wood Ark made him an exceptionally capable rescuer despite his lack of combat focus. Guan advised Lu PingAn to choose a magical plant for his first Scene according to what he wanted to accomplish, while urging him not to pass up a suitable Tier 2 seedling.

• Lu PingAn watched Guan Xinxian rescue victims underwater and in damaged buildings, using his gravity-related Protection System abilities and heavy armor to move with practiced ease.
• Lu PingAn asked why the Ark had no weapons, and Vice Captain Yi explained that Guan preferred to focus on rescue work and that the team could receive combat support for war-zone missions.
• Vice Captain Yi described how Guan handled nearly every task aboard the Ark, while Guan explained that his Ancient Wood Ark could sustain itself for years and that weapons would disrupt its balance.
• Guan told Lu PingAn that he had four Tier 2 professions and three Tier 1 professions, and that he had avoided advancing to Tier 3 because his current abilities already served his goals.
• Guan advised Lu PingAn to consider what he wanted his Scene to accomplish when choosing its magical plant, but to take the opportunity if he found a suitable Tier 2 seedling.

Lu PingAn fought through the night aboard the Ark, helping the rescue team evacuate survivors while learning how the ship and its magical plants worked. As the monsters grew stronger and the rescue operation came under heavier pressure, he received the first wave of harvested experience and a clue to a Bonsai Master's professional ability.

• Lu PingAn took over the Ark's front line, driving off boarders and protecting the rescue operation while the team recognized his combat strength.
• After dawn, Lu PingAn studied the Ark's symbiotic magical plants and used his tendrils to kill attackers while the ship continued its rescue runs.
• A group of Fish Monsters ambushed the Ark from nearby buildings, and Lu PingAn tore through them with his tendrils and the ability he called "Tyranny."
• Lu PingAn completed the Ark's seventh round-trip rescue operation and bought seeds for aquatic magical plants from Senior Brother Guan.
• By noon, stronger Tier 2 monsters and large aquatic beasts overwhelmed the Ark's defenses, and Lu PingAn received experience from the First Wave of harvesting and a clue to a Bonsai Master's professional ability.

Lu PingAn received an enormous share of experience from Guan Xinxian and decided to leave the Ark to explore the secret realm alone. He set off by boat, leaving Cat Cat with his Senior Brothers, and considered hunting monsters or seeking out Chief Culprits.

• Lu PingAn absorbed a huge amount of experience from Guan Xinxian's nonstop rescue and repair work, improving his skills and gaining insight into several abilities.
• Lu PingAn decided to leave the Ark and explore the secret realm because he was bored with its cautious rescue-focused plans and had gained enough skills to act alone.
• Guan Xinxian and the other Senior Brothers agreed to Lu PingAn's plan and shared their patrol locations so he could meet them later.
• Lu PingAn borrowed a small boat and departed, then remembered Cat Cat and asked his Senior Brothers to look after her.
• As he headed out, Lu PingAn considered going to the riverbank to fight monsters or finding Chief Culprits to question.

The Shaklai Fishmen turned Xikou Shenglai Fish Processing Plant into a food-production and hatchery complex, processing captured humans and rapidly hatching new fishmen. Lu Mouren infiltrated the cold-storage area, killed a priest, and prepared to sabotage the hatchery and kill more priests.

• The Shaklai Fishmen resumed factory operations, processing captured humans into military rations while technicians assembled a War Behemoth from local machinery.
• The tribe's slaves covered human bodies with black pearls, and a priest used divine arts to hatch and rapidly develop fishmen from the eggs.
• Lu Mouren watched the priest's work from the ceiling, then strangled and killed him with a noose and tentacle.
• Lu Mouren slipped away from the commotion, crushed a giant slave fish, and lowered the refrigeration setting to its coldest level.
• Lu Mouren decided to attack more priests in the unsalvageable city.

Lu PingAn infiltrated the fishmen’s factory district, exploiting their poor awareness of threats above the water to kill technicians and sabotage their supply production. He found his next target just as the fishmen he had been waiting for arrived.

• Lu PingAn concluded that the invaders were an organized society and that the war could not be stopped by destroying hatcheries or killing the First Batch.
• Lu PingAn moved across ceilings and walls, using Feather Walk, Spiderwalk, and the fishmen’s sensory weaknesses to ambush and kill them.
• Lu PingAn planted Hot-Tempered Fruit by a Self-Punching Tree, causing an explosion that wrecked a conveyor belt and its supporting structure.
• Lu PingAn targeted the food production line, destroying it while leaving the captive people there, and reflected on Senior Brother Guan’s question about how he would act in a real rescue.
• Lu PingAn gathered spoils, located a massive piece of machinery, and encountered the fish he had been waiting for.

Lu PingAn infiltrated the fishmen’s factory district and prepared a cursed meal for the infant Evil God, aiming to disgust and harm it when its food-delivery convoy arrived. As he moved on to find more targets, the real world erupted in confusion over the secret realm’s sudden evolution and the altered history.

• Lu PingAn found the War Behemoth being loaded with food for the Evil God’s young spawn and identified the delivery convoy as his target.
• Lu PingAn killed technicians and priests, destroyed production areas, and brewed a cursed soup using fish heads and chemical agents.
• Big Cat confirmed that the soup’s curse could affect the infant deity, and Lu PingAn left it to be delivered as the creature’s meal.
• Lu PingAn headed off to deceive more people while the real world reacted to the secret realm’s evolution and wondered who had changed history.

Lu PingAn learned that the Historical Secret Realm was a curse that connected to and harmed its original owner, then received the wrath of a godchild after provoking it. As the realm underwent a Level Seven pollution incident, Lu PingAn topped both of its rankings and welcomed the chaos.

• Big Cat explained that curses worked through similarity and contact, and Lu PingAn realized the Historical Secret Realm was consuming its original owner's power.
• An enraged godchild cursed Lu PingAn, giving him a hostility mark and otherworldly traits, though Life Bank blocked its transformation curse.
• The secret realm transformed as its waters turned foul, creatures mutated, and Big Cat classified the event as a Level Seven Pollution Incident.
• Lu PingAn's name shot to the top of both the Secret Realm Contribution List and the Historical Distortion Factor List.
• Lu PingAn smiled at the realm's unpredictable changes and declared that the real fun had begun.