Chapter Summaries

After escaping Freedom City, Su Mo traveled toward the basin with a caravan and tallied the enormous spoils he had gathered from the battle and his theft. The System Panel revealed the basin’s worsening conditions from the snow disaster alongside a major reward of Survival Points, leaving Su Mo to prepare for the territory’s needs.

• Su Mo left Freedom City by private carriage, while residents discussed the battle’s destruction and the Guard Team’s disputed claim that the Inner City gates had opened.
• During a stop at a refugee camp, Su Mo observed the Modified Humans celebrating the supplies they had looted and hoped Tena, Hao Qiang, and the Kindling Exchange would make progress before his return.
• Su Mo reviewed his gains, including a purple mark, stolen technology, more than 150 stored marks, and over five hundred first-order templates.
• The System Panel showed that the basin’s potential had fallen after the Snow Disaster and that residents were bored, unhealthy, and in need of work, meat, and warmth.
• The System awarded Su Mo 21,000 white Survival Points, 40 blue Survival Points, and 1.8 Territory Points, bringing his remaining totals to 23,300, 100, and 11.4 respectively.

Su Mo used Blue Survival Points to replace his injury status with the permanent Modified Inventor trait, then continued traveling undercover as Lord Haer. After learning about Dwarf territories and trade from bear-man Avar, he left the caravan near the depression and headed toward it.

• Su Mo discovered that Blue Survival Points could refresh his status, and he replaced Deficiency of Qi and Blood with Modified Inventor.
• Su Mo rested in the wagon and woke as the caravan’s lizards stopped to eat and rest.
• Bear-man Avar told Su Mo about the Dwarfs’ scattered tribes, their forging trade, and the difficulty of dealing with their masters.
• Su Mo left the caravan near the depression, while its members praised Lord Haer’s supposed connection to Su God without realizing they had just traveled with Su Mo.

Su Mo traveled through the snow to retrieve Wang Yuanshuai, a human who had sold information about a settlement to the Demon Soul Race. After learning that Wang Yuanshuai had acted out of revenge for his murdered family, Su Mo brought him back to the depression, where Wang recognized him as Su Mo.

• Su Mo stopped during his journey to warm himself with salted-meat soup, then met the Divine Frog Caravan and paid to take Wang Yuanshuai with him.
• Wang Yuanshuai demanded soup and attacked Su Mo, but Su Mo easily threw him into the snow and questioned why he had sold settlement information.
• Wang Yuanshuai revealed that he wanted the Demon Soul Race dead because they had killed and eaten his wife and children, and Su Mo gave him hot water before they continued their journey.
• As the storm ended, Su Mo and Wang Yuanshuai traveled toward the depression, where Oreo and a group of residents came out to meet them.
• Wang Yuanshuai recognized the dwarf Haer beside him as Su Mo.

Su Mo returned to Hope Village and promised Su Chan he would not risk going out alone again before winter ended, after she reminded him how much his family and the villagers depended on him. He told her about the nearby settlement of thirty thousand people, then focused on preparing for the coming heavy snowfall and promised to obtain coal from their neighbors.

• Wang Yuanshuai realized Haer was Su Mo and collapsed in fear after remembering how he had spoken to and struck him.
• Su Chan and the villagers confronted Su Mo over his dangerous absence, and he promised not to go out alone again before winter ended.
• Su Chan explained how Su Mo's absence burdened everyone in Hope Village, and Su Mo admitted he could not save everyone or take responsibility for the whole world.
• Su Mo told Su Chan about Freedom City, Wang Yuanshuai, and the nearby settlement of thirty thousand people, while saying their immediate priority was preparing for the heavy snowfall.
• Su Mo returned to Hope Village, where the villagers eagerly welcomed him and he learned they were nearly out of coal.
• Su Mo promised to take people to collect coal from their neighbors the next morning.

Su Mo returned to a newly renovated shelter and reviewed the basin’s growing barter economy, where villagers traded everyday necessities for valuable technology and equipment. Lü Kuan and Ai Jianfeng returned from the Hot Stone Mine with evidence that it could store and release energy with almost no loss, leaving Su Mo with the prospect of a revolutionary power source.

• Su Mo admired the renovated shelter and read Su Chan’s records of trade, finding that food and daily necessities were in demand while villagers exchanged them for lamps, computers, and laboratory instruments.
• Su Chan told Su Mo that Lü Kuan and Ai Jianfeng had gone to the Hot Stone Mine, where a mining base had been established.
• Su Mo examined Lü Kuan’s diagrams showing how the Hot Stone Mine changed as it absorbed and released heat, along with the researchers’ hypotheses about its uses.
• Lü Kuan and Ai Jianfeng returned from overnight experiments and presented results showing that the Hot Stone Mine could release stored energy with losses below 0.001%.
• Ai Jianfeng explained that the mine could store energy directly and said that ten tons could restore the territory’s electricity supply, while larger quantities might support advanced technologies.

Su Mo discussed the territory’s energy shortage and plans to expand its population, then learned from Wang Yuanshuai about the desperate conditions in the Origin Territory. The chapter ended with Wang Yuanshuai contrasting the hope in Su Mo’s territory with the misery elsewhere as Su Mo prepared to consider the refugees’ plight.

• Su Mo said he could improve the Hot Stone Mine’s output and planned to expand the territory’s population after winter.
• Su Mo and Ai Jianfeng discussed the need for jobs and reliable food as the territory grew, then joined the villagers for a meal.
• Su Mo welcomed Wang Yuanshuai and asked how the Origin Territory fed its people.
• Wang Yuanshuai described the Origin Territory’s widespread scavenging and robbery, dwindling raids on foreign groups, and threat of starvation.
• Wang Yuanshuai explained that other human settlements charged supplies for entry and that most people could not afford to leave the New Continent.

Su Mo confronted Wang Yuanshuai about his suspicious past, and Wang Yuanshuai admitted he was the former lord of Origin Territory. He revealed the territory's strength and shared a map of the Ten Thousand Mile Mountains, leaving Su Mo considering a return to discover what had happened there.

• Wang Yuanshuai's account of Origin Territory's suffering silenced the group, and Lü Kuan reminded everyone that worse disasters lay ahead.
• Su Mo reassured the others that he had a plan to bring Origin Territory's people to safety, then walked around the depression with Wang Yuanshuai.
• Su Mo listed sixteen reasons Wang Yuanshuai's story did not add up, prompting Wang Yuanshuai to reveal that he was Origin Territory's former lord.
• Wang Yuanshuai described Origin Territory's population and resources, explained how conflict and an alliance had led him into the Ten Thousand Mile Mountains, and showed Su Mo a map of its ruins.
• Wang Yuanshuai revealed that a dangerous ruin linked to Yan Country had triggered chaos at Origin Territory, where his wife and children had been taken hostage.
• Su Mo asked Wang Yuanshuai whether he would return to investigate, and Wang Yuanshuai eagerly agreed to go at once.

Su Mo used a show of strength to secure Wang Yuanshuai’s cooperation, then rushed to inspect the upgraded Hot Stone Mine. The upgrade greatly increased the ore’s energy absorption, and Su Mo learned that it could store and release energy but was fragile and changed with use.

• Su Mo demonstrated his power by shaking the mountain, convincing Wang Yuanshuai to cooperate with Origin Camp.
• Chen Shen took Wang Yuanshuai toward the village and promised to recommend him as a deputy if he completed Su Mo’s mission.
• Su Mo hurried to the Hot Stone Mine, where Lü Kuan and Ai Jianfeng reported that the ore absorbed energy about two-thirds faster.
• Su Mo examined the upgraded ore and used his green light to reveal its detailed properties and special abilities.

Su Mo discovered that the upgraded Hot Stone Mine had become a powerful energy-producing mineral, and he named it the KF Energy Stone while assigning Lü Kuan and Ai Jianfeng to develop it. After inspecting the lake, resource sites, and rice fields, he considered how abundant power and food could propel the depression’s expansion and warned that he would remove anyone who obstructed it.

• Su Mo examined the upgraded ore’s appraisal and realized it could store substantial energy and absorb solar power at a far higher rate than before.
• Su Mo explained the new data to Lü Kuan and Ai Jianfeng, who discussed the stone’s potential uses and argued over what to name it.
• Su Mo named the mineral KF Energy Stone, ordered the first five tons mined, and told the researchers to prepare village power and reserve some stone for his experiments.
• Su Mo visited the Freshwater Lake, found its water and ecosystem improved, and caught several carp that had grown larger.
• Su Mo inspected the resource sites and rapidly growing rice, then resolved to expand the depression and eliminate the remnants of Yan Country if they opposed him.

Su Mo visited Connie’s hidden underground base and found that all the infected foreign races had transformed into zombies, with one growing stronger than expected. Worried that the zombie threat could overwhelm the New Continent, he decided Wasteland Village needed to research an antidote before the zombies arrived.

• Su Mo cooked a pot of fish, stored it, and drove north from Wasteland Village through the snow to a concealed entrance in a hill.
• Li Li let Su Mo into the underground base and reported that Connie’s affiliated force had grown from twenty-six members to eighty-four and built fifteen wooden houses.
• Su Mo met the foreign races guarding the base and inspected the twelve infected prisoners, who had all transformed into heads kept alive by nutrient tubes.
• Li Li explained that the newest zombie had mutated two days earlier and nearly broken free, appearing stronger than the others.
• Su Mo realized the zombies might retain or increase their strength instead of weakening as predicted, and resolved to research an antidote before they reached the New Continent.

Su Mo secured the zombie alien heads and reconsidered an alliance with the treefolk as protection against the coming zombie crisis. Back at the shelter, he identified an advanced Adventurer Terminal, repaired it, and prepared to test its unusual modules.

• Su Mo warned Li Li and the other guards never to approach the zombie alien heads without protective equipment, then rewarded them with spicy fish.
• On the drive back, Su Mo decided the approaching zombie crisis made an alliance with the treefolk more valuable, though he worried they would discover that Zhu Chuan's strength had been exaggerated.
• Su Mo returned to the shelter and sorted the goods he had brought back from Freedom City, finding useful technology and twelve items from other alien races.
• Su Mo identified one of four identical phones as an N35-Adventurer Terminal with wilderness survival modules, a locked password, and a damaged solar charger.
• Su Mo chose the terminal's Verification Repair upgrade, restoring its hardware and unlocking it, then went upstairs to let it charge in the sun.

Su Mo tested the N35 Adventurer Terminal and discovered that its Wild Camping Module could generate underground shelters and increasingly comfortable buildings. Realizing the terminal’s technology could transform the Wasteland, he decided to search ruins for more modules.

• Su Chan returned from her work herding animals and found Su Mo relaxing outside the shelter with Oreo.
• Su Chan examined Su Mo’s N35 Terminal, and Su Mo explained that it was more powerful than a smartphone.
• Su Mo reset the terminal, set it up, and followed its guide to an open area to test the Wild Camping Module.
• Su Mo selected maximum stealth and watched the terminal transform into a hidden underground shelter.
• Su Mo tested higher Comfort Levels, which produced larger interiors, a bungalow, and finally a two-story villa.
• Su Mo considered buying more terminals but decided that exploring ruins was the way to find more Black Technology.

Su Mo considered the limits on technological progress and planned to expand the Lowland’s research capacity after learning about the Adventurer Terminal’s advanced modules. After receiving Zhu Ling’s invitation, he decided to lead the Lowland’s first official diplomatic mission to the Ancient Treants, with only five days remaining before the heavy snow.

• Su Mo concluded that technological barriers, creativity, and environment shaped civilization’s development, and resolved to upgrade the Underground Shelter and build a laboratory.
• Su Mo examined the Adventurer Terminal’s vehicle, emergency, and holographic projection modules, recognizing that copying or researching them required more Survival Points, researchers, and facilities.
• Zhu Ling replied to Su Mo’s request, welcomed a Lowland delegation to the Ancient Treants’ territory, and urged them to visit soon.
• Su Mo confirmed the mission’s details with Zhu Ling and decided to lead the delegation himself, aware that the meeting could bring cooperation or conflict.
• Su Mo exercised with Oreo, then told Chen Shen and the other managers to prepare the delegation for a visit to the Treants.

Su Mo traveled with Sun Di and a delegation to the treant territory, where they negotiated with Elder Zhu Chuan and learned about the treants’ Land Flowers and human settlements. They entered Thousand Tree Royal City and were brought to meet the treant ruler, Zhu Ling.

• Su Mo and Sun Di met Zhu Chuan at the depression’s border, and Sun Di presented him with a Fairy Fruit while explaining that the scavengers had joined Heavenly Court.
• Zhu Chuan accepted the fruit, gained strength, and escorted the delegation through fertile treant lands, where Sun Di asked about the Land Flowers and Zhu Chuan offered to give them seeds.
• The delegation reached the treant territory and saw villages of humans living under treant protection.
• Zhu Chuan handed the guests over to Elder Zhu Xia at the city gate and promised Sun Di he would honor their agreement.
• Zhu Xia guided the delegation through Thousand Tree Royal City and brought them to the royal palace, where Zhu Ling invited them inside.

Su Mo appraised Zhu Ling and used his knowledge of the Treants’ weaknesses and resources to take control of negotiations over an alliance and trade. Zhu Ling agreed to a joint attack as proof of allegiance and, after Su Mo revealed he could strengthen Golden Silk Green, offered to show the Ancient Treant Race’s true foundations.

• Su Mo appraised Zhu Ling and discovered his vulnerabilities, including fire, extreme cold, and damage to his trunk.
• Zhu Ling offered Fairy Fruit in exchange for Rice Leaf and promised Sun Di a generous personal rebate, but Su Mo rejected the inducement.
• Su Mo demanded Dark Green Rice Leaf and recited the grades of Treant leaves, startling Zhu Ling with his knowledge.
• Su Mo proposed that the Treants and Heavenly Court attack a shared enemy together before beginning formal trade, and Zhu Ling agreed.
• Su Mo revealed that Heavenly Court could strengthen Zhu Ling’s companion plant, Golden Silk Green, and Zhu Ling agreed to show the group the Ancient Treant Race’s true foundations.

Su Mo negotiated with Zhu Ling and toured the Treant Race’s defenses, plantation, and useful plants, learning how urgently they needed help developing companion plants. After a feast, Su Mo began discussing cooperation with Zhu Ling, while his ambitions toward the Treants grew.

• Su Mo persuaded Zhu Ling to host the Lowland Village group and show them the Treant Race’s treasures.
• Zhu Ling explained the Alarm, Anesthetic, and Healing Vines and offered to sell them to Heaven’s Court.
• Zhu Ling led the group through the Treant plantation, where Su Mo noted the Land Flower, Great Emperor Flower, and Ten Thousand Flavor Spores.
• Zhu Ling hosted the group for a meal, then invited Su Mo to discuss cooperation over drinks.
• Su Mo said cooperation depended on Zhu Ling’s sincerity and began to see the Treant Race as more than a potential ally.

Su Mo negotiated treant assistance for an attack on Black Stone Camp and secured a research agreement for four Grade D plants. After recognizing Zhu Ling’s botanical-garden trap, Su Mo launched Plan C and escaped alone using a holographic decoy, leaving his companions to distract Zhu Xia while he pursued an undisclosed mission.

• Su Mo asked Zhu Ling for thirty to fifty treants to assist an exercise against Black Stone Camp, and Zhu Ling agreed on the condition that the treants would not be used as shields or cannon fodder.
• Su Mo proposed sharing research on four Grade D plants, and Zhu Ling agreed to provide their seeds and finished products free of charge, with further plant research possible if the work succeeded.
• Su Mo realized Zhu Ling was testing whether Heavenly Court would steal from the botanical garden, so he ordered Sun Di and the others to execute Plan C and stall their hosts.
• Su Mo used a toilet excuse to separate from Zhu Xia, activated a holographic decoy, and escaped over a wall while his companions kept Zhu Xia occupied.

Su Mo disguised himself as a fifth-rank Thorn Treant and secretly bought Dream Creation plants and cultivation supplies in Thousand Tree Royal City before rejoining Zhu Chuan’s group. He left the city with them, carrying the seeds needed for the depression’s plans.

• Su Mo used his Thorn Treant disguise to intimidate his way through Thousand Tree Royal City and enter Dream Creation Plant Store.
• Su Mo ordered 170 plants, reduced the order to 39 because he lacked enough Rice Leaves, and received the seeds in a free Storage Flower after paying 12,600 Crimson Rice Leaves.
• Su Mo spent his remaining Rice Leaves at other shops on portable cultivation tools and fertilizers, then returned to Zhu Xia’s room within twenty minutes.
• Su Mo persuaded Zhu Xia that the group should leave before winter, and Zhu Xia led them back to the city gate.
• Su Mo and the others departed Thousand Tree Royal City with Zhu Chuan, while Su Mo privately anticipated a major change in the territory when he returned.

Sun Di and Zhu Chuan’s group completed a deceptive meeting that made the treants wary of hidden enemies, while Su Mo’s party returned to the depression with plants from Thousand Tree Royal City. Su Mo then planned the operation to seize Black Stone Camp, assigning roles for an infiltration designed to secure coal before winter.

• Sun Di warned Zhu Chuan that ruthless survivors posed a hidden threat, and Zhu Chuan hurried back to the treant camp after delivering the plants.
• The disguised Lishi vanished when Sun Di entered the territory, revealing Su Mo and his militia celebrating the successful ruse.
• On the way home, Su Mo told his trusted subordinates about Thousand Tree Royal City, the treants’ plants, and the possibility of using plant dependence against them.
• Su Mo reviewed the dwarves’ coal transport schedules and defenses, then rejected a frontal assault because Black Stone Camp had about five hundred defenders.
• Su Mo ordered Chen Shen to select sixty loyal villagers and assigned Li Hu to lead an infiltration, while the others supported the operation without revealing their plans to the treants.

Su Mo reviewed the territory’s condition and prepared his forces to carry out a planned operation against the dwarves, using messages about their coal shortage to improve the plan’s chances. He led the assembled villagers toward the front line, where the operation would begin with infiltrators replacing a dwarf coal convoy and treants staging a diversion.

• Su Mo read the daily report, noted the villagers’ enthusiasm for war, and decided to wait for Wang Yuanshuai before making wider plans for expansion.
• Su Mo heard the Dwarf King order every Black Stone Camp to increase coal mining and realized the order would help force the dwarves to keep transporting coal.
• Su Mo checked his Survival Points, confirmed the preparations with Chen Shen, and told Su Chan to stay inside the shelter while Oreo and Moore accompanied him.
• Chen Shen divided the thousand villagers into intelligence, combat, transport, and logistics groups led by Chen Shen, Pei Shao, Qi Qin, and Wu Feiguang.
• Su Mo headed to the front line and reviewed his three-step plan: replace a dwarf coal convoy with Li Hu’s unit, use the treants to stage an attack, and redirect the coal shipments toward the lowland.