Recaps

As the blizzard worsened, Limei Hotel faced a medical emergency, a destroyed entrance, and a water outage, while officials assessed mounting casualties and infrastructure failures nationwide. Gao Liangwei ordered building-safety measures and urged the arrest of a key suspect in the kidnapping of a High Mind Power User.

• Limei Hotel residents found Teacher Feng unconscious with a severe fever, but emergency services could not provide transport, leaving him in a guest room.
• The hotel’s sign collapsed through the glass entrance, and residents struggled over how to block the freezing air without preventing supply deliveries.
• Hotel residents discovered the water pipes had stopped running, and the armed squad captain urged everyone to stay calm.
• An analyst reported six-figure casualties, power and water failures, blocked supply routes, and deadly building collapses across the country.
• Gao Liangwei ordered officials to synchronize information and secure buildings at gathering sites, then directed authorities to arrest the key suspect in the kidnapping case.

Guan Tong and Wang Yan cleared snow together before a wild boar charged into Guan Tong’s camp. He killed it with Shadow’s help and decided to use the Wordless Book’s next page to try creating a shotgun.

• Guan Tong, Wang Yan, and Chen Na cleared the path and discussed Wang Yan’s plan to take her daughter to Yong'an after the Snow Disaster Rule ended.
• Chen Na sensed something moving nearby, and Guan Tong spotted a wild boar charging down Mingdao Mountain toward his camp.
• Wang Yan fled to her truck with Chen Na while Guan Tong turned back to protect his supplies.
• Guan Tong summoned Shadow to restrain the wild boar in the narrow path, then beat it to death with iron pliers.
• Guan Tong realized he needed a weapon and decided to try writing “shotgun” on the Wordless Book’s second page after making coins.

Guan Tong killed a wild boar that threatened the camp and learned that Chen Na’s [Perception Domain] was an ability that automatically drained her Mind Power. After helping her understand it, he considered whether he could use the [Wordless Book] to create a weapon or develop a Shadow Domain.

• Guan Tong killed the wild boar with a Mind Power Artifact and reassured Wang Yan that he was safe.
• Wang Yan and Chen Na told Guan Tong that Chen Na could sense nearby living creatures, and Chen Na explained that she had bought [Perception Domain] to know when her mother returned home.
• Guan Tong taught Chen Na to try controlling [Perception Domain], but her Mind Power was already at 0, so he told her to wait for it to recover.
• Guan Tong and Wang Yan dragged the wild boar away from camp and buried it in the snow, then Guan Tong checked the food the boar had damaged.
• While resting, Guan Tong considered using the [Wordless Book] to create a gun and wondered whether he could expand Shadow into a physical Shadow Domain.

Special forces raided Zhao Jiping’s shelter, but he killed himself before they could arrest him. As the Green Plum Association’s Big Sister managed the fallout, investigators questioned Zhao Jize and learned Zhao Jiping had once joined a powerful, secretive organization.

• Special forces stormed Zhao Jiping’s shelter and killed the armed guards, but Zhao Jiping shot himself and the woman he was holding before they could capture him.
• Big Sister removed Zhao Jiping from the Green Plum Association chat and told its members she would handle the aftermath and arrange a gathering after the rules expired.
• Investigators questioned Zhao Jize about secretly contacting his brother outside the institute’s permitted hours.
• Li Meng pressed Zhao Jize for information about Zhao Jiping’s associates, and Zhao Jize recalled that his brother had joined a powerful, secretive organization more than ten years earlier.

Guan Tong saved enough Ascension Coins to buy specialized marching boots and planned his next experiments with the Wordless Book, including developing Shadow into a domain. Meanwhile, chaos at Limei Hotel escalated after shortages and power restrictions led to an armed squad member killing a rioter.

• Medical workers evacuated several sick people from Limei Hotel, where residents had endured ten days without water and faced unsanitary conditions, illness, and deaths.
• After another power outage triggered a riot, the armed squad captain subdued a young man, who used a Mind Power Artifact baton to strike him; a squad member shot the young man dead, quieting the crowd.
• Guan Tong finished writing on the Wordless Book, raised his Mind Power Cap to 121, and used 100 Ascension Coins to buy Multi-terrain Marching Boots.
• Guan Tong tested the boots in the deep snow and decided they were comfortable and effective.
• Guan Tong planned to write the character for "gun" in the Wordless Book and to develop Shadow by adding "Deformed" before "Solidified Guan Tong."

Guan Tong successfully materialized and named a Mind Power-powered shotgun, Silver Hunter, and discovered that its ammunition vanished if he returned the gun to the [Wordless Book]. He then helped Wang Yan when Chen Na reported that her mother was suffering severe stomach pain.

• Guan Tong used the [Wordless Book] to materialize a shotgun and learned it could generate three kinds of ammunition by consuming Mind Power.
• Guan Tong named the shotgun Silver Hunter and found that storing it in the [Wordless Book] reset its ammunition without refunding the Mind Power.
• Guan Tong decided to keep Silver Hunter outside the book and carry it in his backpack so he could stockpile ammunition.
• Chen Na told Guan Tong that Wang Yan had severe stomach pain, so he brought painkillers from his Medical Kit.
• Guan Tong offered to cook instant noodles for Wang Yan, and she agreed to trade him milk in return.

Guan Tong tested the Silver Hunter’s powerful Type 2 and Type 3 bullets while Wang Yan continued suffering from stomach pain. The fourth Apocalypse Rule ended on July 1, bringing sunlight and relief, but the snow still blocked the road to the hospital and left the state of Yunhua City uncertain.

• Guan Tong comforted Chen Na, who had learned to control her Perception Domain, and advised her to let Wang Yan sleep on the bunk at night.
• Guan Tong tested the Silver Hunter’s Type 2 Slug Round and Type 3 High-Explosive Bullet in the woods, then decided to stockpile bullets while continuing to develop Shadow.
• During the final three days of the rule, Guan Tong generated bullets and added text to Shadow while Wang Yan relied on pain relief tablets and Chen Na massaged her stomach.
• On July 1, the Fire Thief announced that the fourth Apocalypse Rule had ended and that the fifth rule would be announced in thirty days.
• Chen Na urged Wang Yan to go to the hospital, but Wang Yan said they had to wait for the thick snow to melt, and she asked Guan Tong whether July’s heat would help.
• Wang Yan wondered whether many people had died in Yunhua City, and Guan Tong stayed silent, unsure of the city’s condition.

After Fire Thief ended the freezing rules, survivors mourned those who had died, while Guan Tong checked his rewards and opened a Survival Chest. He obtained a one-use Guiding Flashlight and prepared to face the challenges ahead.

• The ice walls and severe cold devastated gathering points across Yunhua City, killing many people before the rules ended.
• At Limei Hotel, Xu Xiaotian saw that about a quarter of the residents had died and messaged Guan Tong to ask if he was alive.
• Guan Tong stood with Wang Yan and Chen Na at their mountain camp and reminded himself that future rules would remain dangerous.
• Guan Tong checked his Personal Terminal and found 150 Ascension Coins and a Mind Power increase from 119 to 123.
• Guan Tong opened his Survival Chest and received a one-use Guiding Flashlight that could guide him toward a named location at the cost of 10 Mind Power.

After tradable items appeared, Guan Tong considered the growing threat from powerful organizations and bought protective clothing from the Ascension Shop. He browsed the crowded market and realized that wealthy Ascenders could use coercion and resale to amass coins and artifacts.

• Guan Tong realized tradable artifacts could let powerful groups exploit unprotected Ascenders, and he considered whether to join an organization before deciding to focus on strengthening himself.
• Guan Tong found that the Ascension Shop had added a protective suit and quick-burning sticks, and he bought the suit for 120 Ascension Coins.
• Guan Tong customized the suit as a long-sleeved shirt and sweatpants, then wore it.
• Guan Tong opened the Market and saw thousands of listings, including a powerful one-use teleportation artifact priced at 999 Ascension Coins.
• Guan Tong reasoned that powerful figures could coerce Ascenders into selling artifacts cheaply and resell them to build up coins and equipment.

On July 2, as the snow began melting, Guan Tong planned how to use the month before Rule Five began. He left the camp with plans to improve Shadow, stockpile ammunition, test a new page in the Wordless Book, and monitor social changes.

• Guan Tong packed the camp supplies before the melting snow could flood them, and he and Chen Na agreed to take Wang Yan to a hospital in Yunhua once they could travel.
• Wang Yan told Guan Tong that her Oil Conversion Pot could turn liquid into fuel by consuming Mind Power, and Guan Tong said the item might prove useful despite free food supplies.
• Guan Tong walked outside in the mild weather and reflected on how difficult the June Snowfall rule had been.
• Guan Tong decided to add “transform” to the Wordless Book’s first page, stockpile Type 1 Bullets for the Silver Hunter, and try opening a third page to write “Mind Power.”
• Guan Tong planned to monitor society’s response to Tradable Items and prepare for possible threats to lone Ascenders.

After the rules ended, Guan Tong learned that Xu Xiaotian had survived and prepared to return to Yunhua City with Wang Yan and Chen Na. Before their departure, Guan Tong successfully transformed Shadow into solid armor, giving himself a new layer of defense.

• Xu Xiaotian helped remove bodies from Limei Hotel, then received Guan Tong's reply confirming that Guan Tong was alive.
• Guan Tong read news about the disaster's aftermath and online concerns about Tradable Items, then continued his plans while waiting for the snow to melt.
• Wang Yan and Chen Na trained their Mind Power and developed their items as the trio ran out of food and prepared to leave Mingdao Mountain for Yunhua City.
• Guan Tong summoned Shadow and discovered that he could shape it without spending Mind Power, then solidified it around himself as Shadow Armor.

At a July 9 meeting, Gao Liangwei and the Apocalypse Rules Countermeasure Research Office discussed Rule Four’s enormous casualties and planned to strengthen Mind Power education and survival-focused reconstruction. They also reviewed rival nations’ cultivation programs and Beixing Nation’s Apocalypse Squad and artifact acquisitions, as Gao Liangwei ordered preparations to concentrate resources and crack down on illegal artifact collecting.

• Researchers reported that Rule Four’s snow and collapsed buildings had made casualty counts difficult, while projections put deaths in Beixing Nation in the millions and worldwide deaths above one hundred million.
• Gao Liangwei blamed complacency and inadequate preparation, then called for renewed public outreach on Mind Power and the rapid reopening of academies.
• Gao Liangwei announced that urban shops and office buildings would be demolished and their land converted into survival-oriented facilities, including academies.
• Officials described the Solloma Empire’s Eden Project and the Tulip Federation’s Wolf Pack Operation as other nations’ efforts to develop powerful rule-clearers.
• Dr. Zhang reported that one hundred candidates with Mind Power Caps of at least 100 had been selected, and Gao Liangwei ordered thirty to be chosen for personalized training.
• Dr. Li reported that more than eighty valuable artifacts had been acquired and that other groups were collecting artifacts illegally; Gao Liangwei vowed to crush those responsible.

Wang Yan, Chen Na, and Guan Tong returned to Yunhua after the blizzards, where they saw the destruction of Sun Family Village and navigated deep floodwater. At the city entrance, Wang Yan and Chen Na left for a hospital with Emergency Management Bureau workers, while Guan Tong set off on foot toward the city center.

• Wang Yan drove Guan Tong and Chen Na toward Yunhua, and the three discussed the coming Apocalypse Rules.
• Wang Yan, Chen Na, and Guan Tong passed the ruins of Sun Family Village and saw homes and villagers submerged in snowmelt; Wang Yan resolved to take Chen Na to the capital.
• Wang Yan drove through deep floodwater toward Yunhua, and Guan Tong called local hospitals before they chose one that had reopened.
• Emergency Management Bureau officers stopped the truck at the development zone and arranged transport for Wang Yan and Chen Na, while Guan Tong stayed behind.
• Guan Tong decided to walk toward the city center rather than wait for a ride.

Guan Tong settled in the surviving property storage room at his ruined residential complex and focused on developing the [Wordless Book]. By July 24, he had finished writing "Mind Power" on its third page, while Xu Xiaotian left for the capital and the authorities began rebuilding cities and protecting Ascenders.

• Guan Tong found that his home and residential complex had been crushed, then chose the surviving property storage room as his temporary shelter.
• Guan Tong entered his damaged home under Shadow Armor and gathered food before returning to the storage room.
• Guan Tong continued writing on the [Wordless Book]'s third page, struggling with its high Mind Power cost and the failure of his attempt to materialize the word.
• Xu Xiaotian told Guan Tong that he was traveling to the capital ahead of the Mind Power Development Academy's August 10 start, but Guan Tong declined to go with him.
• Guan Tong read official statements announcing survival-oriented reconstruction and severe punishment for coercing Ascenders into trades.
• By July 24, Guan Tong had finished writing "Mind Power" on the third page of the [Wordless Book].

Liu Yuqiang was driven to a secret Green Plum Association gathering, while Guan Tong discovered that the Wordless Book could convert Mind Power into a reserve. Guan Tong planned to stockpile power and prepare for the fifth Apocalypse Rule’s release.

• Liu Yuqiang rode in a sealed car with no signal as he was taken to the Green Plum Association gathering.
• Guan Tong poured 100 Mind Power into the Wordless Book’s “Mind Power” page and discovered it had stored 10 Reserve Mind Power.
• Guan Tong tested the reserve by creating a Type 2 Bullet, which consumed the stored 10 points.
• Guan Tong calculated that a week of stockpiling could give him more than 260 usable Mind Power for Shadow or ammunition.
• Guan Tong decided to store Reserve Mind Power steadily and meet the fifth Apocalypse Rule at full condition.

Liu Yuqiang attended the first full gathering of the Green Plum Association, where Big Sister revealed that the group would turn to kidnapping high-Mind Power Ascendants and seizing resources to survive. The meeting ended with two dissenters being shot after they left, while Liu Yuqiang remained caught between his misgivings and the threat surrounding him.

• Liu Yuqiang joined the Green Plum Association members at their gathering and learned that many feared their declining Mind Power Caps.
• Big Sister presented secret mortality data showing that over nine in ten people above fifty had died under the Apocalypse Rules.
• Big Sister revealed that she had directed kidnappings of high-Mind Power Ascendants and announced that the Association would focus on seizing Mind Power-related items.
• Yu Feiwei supported Big Sister, while Liu Yuqiang questioned the risks of the kidnappings and the authorities’ likely response.
• Two members objected and left the meeting, but armed drivers shot them when they reached the parking garage.

Guan Tong prepared for the fifth Apocalypse Rule as the month-long interval ended, then learned that the world would be plunged into darkness and overrun by Living Dead. The rule required every Ascender to eliminate at least ten Living Dead within 24 hours, with Ascension Coins as a reward and Mind Power Cap decay for failure.

• Guan Tong reflected on Yunhua City's demolitions and hoped Wang Yan and Chen Na had reached Yong'an City safely.
• Guan Tong checked his Personal Terminal and Silver Hunter, reviewing his Mind Power and the eighty bullets he had stored.
• Ascenders around the world prepared for the next rule in different ways, while those with zero Mind Power gave up using their Personal Terminals.
• On August 1 at nine, Fire Thief announced Apocalypse Rule Five, Night of the Living Dead, which plunged the world into deep night and sent Living Dead to attack human areas.
• Fire Thief required each Ascender to eliminate at least ten Living Dead in 24 hours, offering Ascension Coins for survival and kills while penalizing failure with Mind Power Cap decay.

During the fifth Apocalypse Rule, Living Dead rose from corpses across Yunhua City and began attacking people. After discovering that a Mother Transformer was creating them and could only be killed with Mind Power, Guan Tong decided to head south to find it, but first planned to test how dangerous the Living Dead were.

• Fire Thief announced the rule, the sky turned black, and shrill screeches stirred corpses into Living Dead.
• Living Dead broke into a temporary corpse storage facility in Yunhua City and killed the staff members.
• Corpses in the villages outside the city rose from melted snowwater and charged toward Yunhua City.
• Guan Tong read Hidden Rules V and learned that a Mother Transformer was creating Living Dead and could only be eliminated with Mind Power.
• Guan Tong chose to head south toward the screech’s source, but decided to assess the Living Dead’s strength before proceeding.

Guan Tong prepared to head south in search of the Mother Transformer and encountered Living Dead on the way. After using a supply vehicle to test how the creatures detected people, he restarted it and followed at a distance as bait.

• Guan Tong equipped himself with a flashlight, weapons, and protective gear before leaving the residential complex with Silver Hunter.
• Guan Tong killed a charging Living Dead near the collapsed gatehouse and realized it was a revived human corpse.
• Guan Tong headed south and found about fifteen Living Dead attacking an unmanned supply vehicle, then killed them with four Type 1 Bullets.
• Guan Tong wondered how the Living Dead had detected him and smeared their blood on his clothes to test whether scent mattered.
• Guan Tong restarted the supply vehicle, set it to travel slowly toward a storage center south of the Support Department, and followed it to draw nearby Living Dead away from himself.

Armed units defended Yunhua City from waves of Living Dead while Guan Tong continued down South Avenue and encountered survivors trapped in a bookstore. He blasted away part of the horde to buy them time, then ignored their pleas to stay and continued toward his own objective.

• Armed units used gunfire and grenades to wipe out an initial wave of Living Dead outside Yunhua City, then burned the corpses on orders from higher command.
• Guan Tong confirmed that Living Dead detected nearby humans before moving objects, and that covering himself with their blood did not hide him.
• Guan Tong found hundreds of Living Dead attacking a bookstore where survivors had barricaded the entrance with furniture.
• A young man used a Quick-burning Stick to drive the Living Dead back briefly, but the horde soon resumed its attack.
• Guan Tong fired a Type 3 Bullet into the rear of the horde, killing dozens and giving the bookstore survivors time to reinforce their defenses.
• Guan Tong refused the survivors' requests to join them and continued down South Avenue.

Guan Tong followed the second scream to Yunhua City's industrial park, suspecting the Mother Transformer was there. He discovered a warehouse packed with Living Dead and feared its gathering point had been overrun, leaving the survivors dead and transformed.

• At the Countermeasure Research Office, Gao Liangwei reviewed the rule's dangers, the tests on protective items, and plans to protect gathering points.
• A researcher reported that a worldwide scream had turned human corpses into Living Dead, so Gao Liangwei ordered armed teams and Apocalypse Squads to investigate.
• Guan Tong heard the second scream, used its direction to narrow down the Mother Transformer's location, and ran toward the industrial park.
• Guan Tong entered the dark park and found a warehouse whose rear door stood ajar.
• Guan Tong sent Shadow to open the door and saw hundreds of Living Dead among scattered belongings, suggesting the gathering point's survivors had been killed and transformed.

Guan Tong used high-explosive bullets to thin out the Living Dead in a warehouse, but a woman who entered through the front shutter took on the remaining horde herself. After she defeated them with her fists and feet, Guan Tong learned she was Shi Jingyi, a master from Guiyun Martial Arts School.

• Guan Tong opened the warehouse’s back door, fired two Type 3 Bullets into the Living Dead, and prepared to use another as they rushed toward him.
• A tall figure smashed through the warehouse’s front rolling shutter and drew the Living Dead away from Guan Tong.
• The figure revealed herself to be a woman and told Guan Tong to step back while she handled the attackers.
• Shi Jingyi defeated dozens of Living Dead with powerful Kung Fu strikes, without using a weapon.
• Guan Tong recognized the Guiyun belt at Shi Jingyi’s waist and asked if she was a master from Guiyun Martial Arts School.
• Shi Jingyi introduced herself, learned Guan Tong’s name, and remarked that it sounded like “clear the level” when read backward.

Guan Tong and Shi Jingyi encountered the Mother Transformer in the warehouse, where its grotesque body and ability to heal with Living Dead corpses made it a formidable threat. Shi Jingyi shielded them from its attack, but the battle was only beginning.

• The commander sent an armed squad to the NK District and agreed to notify the Third Squad when they located the Screecher.
• Shi Jingyi explained that Mind Power could enhance Kung Fu and be used directly to strengthen the body, then mourned an apprentice who had died in the warehouse.
• The Mother Transformer appeared through the warehouse roof, and Guan Tong fired a Type 3 Bullet, but it dodged the shot and attacked Shi Jingyi.
• Shi Jingyi formed a protective energy shield that knocked the Mother Transformer away, while Guan Tong identified its body as a mass of Living Dead corpses.
• Guan Tong hit the Mother Transformer with two Type 2 Slug Rounds, but it healed by stuffing Living Dead corpses into its wounds.

Guan Tong and Shi Jingyi fought the Mother Transformer outside the warehouse, but its scream drew nearby Living Dead toward them. Guan Tong used Shadow to destroy the monster from within and crushed its exposed original body, while the Living Dead began gathering outside.

• Guan Tong and Shi Jingyi lured the Mother Transformer out of the warehouse so it could not heal from the Living Dead corpses inside.
• Guan Tong fired seven Type 3 Bullets at the Mother Transformer, severely damaging it, but its scream attracted more Living Dead.
• The wounded Mother Transformer returned to the warehouse to repair itself, and Shi Jingyi followed Guan Tong inside to hold it off.
• Guan Tong sent the phased Shadow into the Mother Transformer and materialized him inside, bursting apart its stitched-together body.
• Guan Tong exposed the Mother Transformer's palm-sized original body and stomped it to death.

Guan Tong and Shi Jingyi survived a Living Dead horde after killing the Mother Transformer, but a rival squad accused them of stealing its mission. Shi Jingyi identified herself as a specially invited lecturer, securing their release and leaving the rival captain stunned by her status.

• Guan Tong killed the Mother Transformer while Shi Jingyi meditated, then fought off the Living Dead summoned by its shriek.
• Third Squad arrived and cleared the remaining Living Dead, then its captain confronted Guan Tong and accused him of killing the Shrieker before they could complete their mission.
• Guan Tong prepared to defend himself as the captain tried to have soldiers arrest him and Shi Jingyi.
• Shi Jingyi told the soldiers to identify her as Shi Jingyi of Guiyun Martial Arts School, and the commander ordered that she and Guan Tong be allowed to leave with an escort.
• The captain learned that Shi Jingyi was one of the three specially invited Lead Lecturers at the Mind Power Development Academy.