Chapter Summaries

At a Miken banquet about the spreading Anomalies, guests pitched scientific, mystical, religious, and political solutions while Colonel Steve argued for following the Eastern Continent People’s policies. Dr. Lola called for global cooperation, but a guest dismissed it as impossible amid the world’s accumulated hatred.

• Dr. Tansyin proposed controlling human emotions with Brain-Plugged implants and secured a billionaire’s interest in funding trials in Eagle Fort.
• A man tried to sell peace talismans for one million dollars each, but no one bought them.
• Colonel Steve told noble ladies that they should watch the Eastern Continent People and considered broad welfare support a practical way to reduce Anomaly-related fear.
• Dr. Lola urged nations to share information and technology and unite against Anomalies, but a guest said such cooperation was impossible for now.

Dr. Lola’s proposed approach to handling Anomalies drew support from Colonel Steve and a lieutenant general, who also planned to recruit the Heaven's Mandate Society. At Bauer’s home, Wenren Sheng witnessed a black cat phantom kill a cat and received a new Anomaly notification, then noticed the cats around it seemed ill.

• Dr. Lola accepted a three-million donation after speaking about kindness and helping others.
• Colonel Steve told a lieutenant general that Dr. Lola’s method and the Heaven's Mandate Society were worth supporting to acquire Anomaly-handling technology.
• Bauer told his family about reports that people who saw a black cat died within seven days, then spotted one approaching the roof.
• Wenren Sheng saw through Big Cat as the black cat phantom passed through a tabby, which collapsed and died.
• Wenren Sheng received the Black Cat Death Omen notification and observed that the cats the phantom had passed seemed abnormal.

Wenren Sheng learned that President Zhao favored joining the Disaster Anomaly Elimination Association, but Tianxing Club’s staff rejected the proposal and deferred a decision. The company then announced layoffs because increasingly dangerous Anomalies made it unsafe for ordinary employees and inexperienced Otherworldly Users to handle cases.

• Wenren Sheng identified the black cat as an Anomaly after seeing hatred appear in the abandoned cats’ eyes, then discussed a proposed global alliance with President Zhao and warned him not to trust outsiders too easily.
• President Zhao explained that he wanted to join the alliance to gain access to global resources and knowledge, and Wenren Sheng learned that the Patrol Division tacitly permitted the effort.
• At a Tianxing Club meeting, President Zhao presented the Disaster Anomaly Elimination Association’s invitation, but Wang Cuiyan called the organization’s goals a scam and Wei Yiqing dismissed the proposal as boring.
• Wenren Sheng stayed neutral as President Zhao shelved the decision to join the association.
• President Zhao announced layoffs of ordinary staff and inexperienced Otherworldly Users because Anomaly cases had become too dangerous for them to handle.

After Tianxing Club laid off its staff and closed its training rooms, Wenren Sheng considered how private organizations could operate as the world moved toward total war against Anomalies. Through Big Cat, he discovered that Bauer had survived the black cat’s deadly effect because the resulting infection chain reached Wenren Sheng, whose Mystery Resistance broke it.

• Wenren Sheng held a farewell gathering for Tianxing Club’s employees and watched the emptied company after the trainees stopped attending classes.
• Wenren Sheng reflected that private organizations lacked the authority and resources needed to fight Anomalies as society shifted toward centralized wartime mobilization.
• Big Cat alerted Wenren Sheng when Bauer collapsed at home after the black cat passed through him, but Bauer soon regained consciousness.
• Bauer asked his wife, Lisa, and daughter, Kailin, whether they had seen the black cat, then called Bulake to question how he had learned that showing it to someone could save a victim.
• Bulake accused Bauer of infecting another person to survive, while Bauer denied doing so and credited God.
• Wenren Sheng realized Bauer had infected him through Big Cat, and that his Mystery Resistance had broken the Infection Chain; Bauer then wondered who else had seen the black cat because of him.

Three gray-robed ritualists debated investigating the failure that severed their infection chain before leaving Minsk City, despite the danger of encountering powerful Otherworldly Users. Meanwhile, Wenren Sheng struggled to investigate the black cat incident and joined the Disaster Anomaly Elimination Association anonymously as Big Cat, leaving himself a potential source of information and resources.

• Gray-robed A, Gray-robed B, and Gray-robed C argued over whether to investigate where the infection chain broke, then agreed to search Frank District before restarting the ritual elsewhere.
• Gray-robed C lost control after the ritual damaged his sanity, but eventually calmed down and joined the others in leaving the basement disguised as respectable men.
• Wenren Sheng hired anonymous detectives to investigate the black cat incident, but they provided unreliable leads and took his money.
• Wenren Sheng decided to use Big Cat to infiltrate the Disaster Anomaly Elimination Association and registered anonymously through its online application.
• The Association assigned Big Cat the rank of Marginal Person, which granted limited access to public information and minor positions in exchange for dues and basic obligations.

Wenren Sheng used the Alliance APP to share information about the Black Cat Death Omen and learned more about the Miken Anomaly crisis. He met Marty, who revealed that her grandfather had survived seeing the black cat and suspected it was spreading to more people, leaving Wenren Sheng to investigate the Anomaly’s purpose.

• Wenren Sheng found an unverified Alliance APP report describing how a second person might see the black cat and prevent the first witness from dying.
• Wenren Sheng uploaded the names of survivors Bauer and Bulake, earning five points, then reviewed the Association’s Anomaly map and help forum.
• Wenren Sheng received a message from the first person to upload information about the Black Cat Death Omen and arranged to meet them.
• Three hours later, Wenren Sheng met blue-haired Marty, who explained that she had come on behalf of her grandfather, the first witness to the black cat.
• Marty said her grandfather survived because a colleague saw the cat afterward and believed it was infecting more people rather than killing them immediately.

Wenren Sheng used Marty’s information and a strand of black cat fur to trace the Black Cat Death Omen to a Gray-robed Man watching Bauer. He followed the man and discovered more followers in the chain, while they planned to find the person behind Big Cat and rely on their god.

• Wenren Sheng questioned Marty, gave her Big Cat’s phone number, and learned where her grandfather had first encountered the black cat.
• Marty posted about meeting a talking cat on the Alliance APP, and Wenren Sheng noticed her post without reacting.
• Wenren Sheng controlled Big Cat to search the abandoned construction site and found a black strand of fur that carried traces of the Anomaly.
• Big Cat tracked Bauer’s location and spotted a Gray-robed Man monitoring Bauer’s company, then followed him after Bauer left work.
• Wenren Sheng realized the Gray-robed Man was connected to the Anomaly and that the Backstage Black Hand was investigating him through the Alliance APP.
• Gray-robed A and Gray-robed B followed Big Cat and said they would find the person controlling it and trust their god to kill him.

Wenren Sheng used Wenren De’s Prophecy Art to discover that three Gray-robed Men had killed a black cat in a dark ritual to summon an evil cat-like existence. Big Cat captured the men after defeating the one empowered by the supposed god, and Wenren Sheng marked them with Puppet Art coordinates in their basement.

• Wenren Sheng sent black cat hair to Wenren De and asked him to retrace its past with Prophecy Art.
• Wenren De’s vision revealed the Gray-robed Men performing a ritual over a slaughtered black cat and ordering it to harm people.
• Wenren Sheng sent Big Cat to confront the three men, and Big Cat dodged their attacks before knocking out the empowered Luo Wei and capturing the other two.
• Big Cat questioned the older Gray-robed Man, who claimed their god was a cat that promised them power for spreading its name.
• Wenren Sheng took the captives to their basement, examined the ritual remains, and placed Puppet Art coordinates on all three men.

Wenren Sheng had Big Cat report the captured cultists to the Alliance, and Leide and Helen arrived with Soldiers to take them into custody. He then watched the Association interrogate Eamon Billington and Bernie Bell, learning that the cultists had pursued the orange cat after Eamon claimed a god had promised them victory.

• Wenren Sheng had Big Cat submit the Black Cat's Omen information to the Alliance and request the detention of the responsible people.
• Leide and Helen arrived by helicopter with Soldiers, took the three Gray-robed Men into custody, and offered Big Cat a chance to advance its Alliance rank.
• Wenren Sheng observed Eamon Billington being interrogated, but Eamon praised his god and threatened the interrogators.
• Leide questioned Bernie Bell, who revealed that the god had told the cultists Eamon could contain a partial Divine Descent.
• Bernie explained that Eamon's promise of divine power had convinced the cultists to pursue the orange cat, only for them to be defeated.

Wenren Sheng learned that the supposed god was a White Rat hiding in a sewer, while the Association’s interrogation exposed the survivors’ motives and ended with their deaths. With Wei Yiqing’s Prophecy Art, Wenren Sheng located the White Rat’s hiding place and left to pursue it.

• Leide forced Old Man Bernie to reveal that the god was a White Rat, resolving Wenren Sheng’s Black Cat incident and earning him Mystery Points.
• Old Man Bernie died before he could reveal the White Rat’s location, and Wenren Sheng shifted his attention to Clarence Perrin’s interrogation.
• Clarence explained that he and the others had encountered the White Rat in a sewer while fleeing an Anomaly, then died as well.
• Wenren Sheng decided to hunt the White Rat and asked Wei Yiqing to use Prophecy Art to find it.
• Wei Yiqing’s prophecy showed Wenren Sheng the White Rat hiding in a sewer marked with English signs, and Wenren Sheng left after promising her dinner.

Wenren Sheng used a private detective to track White Rat to an abandoned residential complex in Miken City, then followed its trail through the sewers. Big Cat cornered White Rat, rejected its offer of power, and attacked it.

• Wenren Sheng paid a private detective in Divine Yuan to locate White Rat, and the detective found its coordinates after hiring Wanderers, two of whom died.
• Big Cat entered the sewer beneath an abandoned residential complex and used the Soul Manipulation Art to detect White Rat’s trail.
• Big Cat followed the trail through the sewers for several hours until it found White Rat in a concrete cave.
• White Rat pleaded for its life and offered Wenren Sheng power in exchange for joining its plan to rule the world.
• Big Cat rejected White Rat’s offer and attacked it.

Wenren Sheng captured and imprisoned the intelligent White Rat Anomaly, which revealed that Otherworldly Users were safeguards meant to preserve humanity from extinction. He learned the Patrol Division already knew this truth and suspected it had made final preparations for humanity's survival.

• Big Cat killed the fleeing White Rat, and Wenren Sheng sealed its green fragment inside the Mutated Hair he named Abyss Prison.
• The Anomaly tried to bargain for its release, and Wenren Sheng refused to let it go despite hearing its offer.
• The black cube revealed that Otherworldly Users were protected zones and potential survivors meant to preserve humanity's population.
• Wenren Sheng kept the Anomaly imprisoned, and it claimed its true body remained in the endless void.
• Wenren Sheng called Old Liu to share the secret, but Old Liu already knew Otherworldly Users were tickets.

Wenren Sheng agreed to make puppets for President Zhao and Wei Yiqing, using the work to advance his Puppet Art and strengthen their ability to face Anomalies. Two weeks later, their animal-shaped puppets had taken form, and Wenren Sheng planned to consider puppets for his family later.

• Wenren Sheng learned from the Alliance Office that another person involved in the Anomaly had been captured and suspected the person was Marty's grandfather.
• President Zhao told Wenren Sheng that private Otherworldly User organizations had to complete an Anomaly-related mission each year to keep their licenses, then asked him to make a puppet.
• President Zhao sent puppet-making materials to Wenren Sheng, who found enough to make two puppets and invited Wei Yiqing to have one as well.
• Wenren Sheng spent two weeks making a defensive turtle puppet for President Zhao and an agile cheetah puppet for Wei Yiqing.
• President Zhao approved his puppet, Wei Yiqing called it so-so, and Wenren Sheng explained to Wu Shanshan that animal puppets were easier to expend than human-shaped ones.

Wenren Sheng sent Big Cat to investigate Happiness Town, a walled settlement where everyone seemed unusually cheerful and polite. Big Cat entered the town, leaving Wenren Sheng suspicious that its wall was meant to keep residents from escaping.

• Wenren Sheng spotted a forum post about Happiness Town and sent Big Cat to investigate it.
• Leide and Helen watched Big Cat leave and discussed its strength, its selective interventions, and Bauer's family as a possible bargaining chip.
• Big Cat traveled north for several hours and reached Happiness Town near dusk.
• Big Cat noticed that Happiness Town was surrounded by a high wall and wondered whether it was meant to keep residents inside.
• Big Cat entered town and saw residents smiling and apologizing excessively after a minor collision.

Wenren Sheng uncovered that Happiness Town’s cheerful residents were controlled by incomplete Puppet Art as part of a social experiment designed to prevent Anomalies. After witnessing the experiment’s flaws and the authorities’ harsh response, he reported the town to the Patrol Division, where Inspector Liu said they were pursuing a similar goal through education and screening.

• Wenren Sheng discovered that Happiness Town’s residents were incomplete puppets whose friendly behavior came from psychological suggestions planted through Puppet Art.
• Wenren Sheng watched Craig Brassington exploit the residents’ trust by borrowing money, then saw Craig and his accomplice spend it all on online shopping.
• Armed men arrived at the apartment, and one shot Craig Brassington as he tried to escape; the men arrested his accomplice on suspicion of fraud.
• Wenren Sheng’s Big Cat searched Happiness Town for three or four days without finding an Anomaly incident, prompting him to consider whether the experiment had helped keep the town peaceful.
• Wenren Sheng reported the experiment to the Patrol Division, and Inspector Liu said they were conducting similar experiments through education and screening instead of mysterious methods.

Wenren Sheng watched Lieutenant General Lola, Colonel Steve, Dr. Lola, and Dr. Tansyin inspect a town made orderly through external control. Dr. Tansyin argued that technology should suppress human emotions to defeat Anomalies, leaving Wenren Sheng to consider the appeal of a peaceful but false life.

• Wenren Sheng notified the Patrol Division, controlled Big Cat, and spotted the inspection convoy arriving in town.
• Lieutenant General Lola praised the town's sense of security, while Dr. Lola criticized its concealed hypocrisy and doubted that external forces could heal society.
• Colonel Steve reported that brain-chip experiments had not reduced Anomaly occurrences and had made some people violent.
• Dr. Tansyin argued that machines could control human emotions and consciousness, and that technological intervention was humanity's only path to victory over Anomalies.
• Dr. Lola condemned Tansyin's reliance on external forces, and Tansyin shouted back that inner redemption and moral rules had failed.
• Wenren Sheng considered that Tansyin's extreme plan might offer people peace, even if they had to live a false life.

Wenren Sheng attended a confidential briefing where researchers revealed that Otherworldly Users could perform a ritual with their alien species to escape anomalies temporarily. He understood why alien species were called tickets, but wondered whether they could also be made into protective ships for others.

• Wenren Sheng delivered President Zhao's Big Turtle puppet and Wei Yiqing's Cheetah Puppet, and watched Wei Yiqing establish a spiritual connection with hers.
• Wenren Sheng noticed Wei Yiqing had grown much stronger and reflected that Otherworldly Users were gaining power as the mysterious world descended faster.
• Inspector Liu invited Wenren Sheng to a confidential video conference where researchers reported that Otherworldly Users were less likely than ordinary people to die in anomaly incidents.
• The researchers announced a ritual that let users invoke their alien species for temporary protection from anomalies, at the cost of a major depletion of Alien Power.
• Wenren Sheng realized the ritual explained why Inspector Liu called alien species tickets and wondered whether they could also become ships that sheltered other people.

Wenren Sheng received the advanced Otherworldly Resonance Method, which could create lasting links that shared both protection and danger, and considered using it to protect his family. After training through Big Cat, he gained new skill levels and reflected on the endless life ahead of him.

• Director An ended the briefing and sent the approved Otherworldly Resonance Method to Wenren Sheng.
• Wenren Sheng learned that lasting resonance required compatibility and could spread through a network, allowing weaker Otherworldly Users to receive a stronger user's protection while sharing their Anomalies.
• Wei Yiqing warned Wenren Sheng that his family ties could become a weakness, but Wenren Sheng insisted he would not abandon his loved ones.
• Wenren Sheng studied the method until nightfall, then connected his mind to Big Cat and woke in daylight.
• Wenren Sheng gained Intermediate Level Puppet Manipulation Art and Beginner Level Stealth Art, increasing his Mystery Points and their limit.

Wenren Sheng used the Big Cat’s Master Level Stealth Art and watched Bauer’s family accept an invitation to the Eden Project, unaware that it was shrouded in Anomaly mist. At the valley’s registration site, he discovered that Miken officials were cooperating with the Anomalies as Keda was welcomed into the project.

• Wenren Sheng tested the Big Cat’s Stealth Art and found it could move through the yard undetected, though it could not pass through walls.
• Keda showed Bauer an official document for the Eden Project, and Wenren Sheng saw Anomaly mist around the phone while Seeker of Desires identified a Walking Lamb.
• Bauer’s family decided to move to the Eden Project, and the next day Keda drove them there in a secondhand RV while Bauer returned to work.
• Wenren Sheng saw that black mist covered the Garden of Eden valley and recognized the people receiving applicants as genuine Miken officials.
• A staff member welcomed Keda and promised his family safety, employment, and basic food and housing subsidies.

Wenren Sheng searched the valley for the Anomaly behind its peaceful appearance and realized that powerful beings were treating Earth as a resource to cultivate or exploit. After a week, Big Cat found black fog surrounding a dying old man, and Wenren Sheng used Mysterious Healing Art to revive him.

• Wenren Sheng concluded that mysterious-world players were either carefully cultivating Earth or hunting it before leaving, and resolved to keep growing stronger rather than become livestock.
• Wenren Sheng controlled Big Cat to search the valley for an Anomaly over the course of a week, while the valley remained peaceful.
• Big Cat spotted dense black fog around an old man dying in the valley hospital as his family gathered and a lawyer prepared to read his will.
• Wenren Sheng saw the fog entwine a green speck emerging from the old man's chest and activated Mysterious Healing Art through Big Cat.
• The old man opened his eyes and called for a doctor, saying he could still be saved.