Chapter Summaries

Su Mo discovered that Su Chan’s newly attracted Big Golden Yak was an epic-level creature that ate metal ore, and decided to bring it along to the Southern Fire Domain. Meanwhile, Yao Dingshan learned that Su Mo would personally join the Sirius Fleet, and the fleet prepared for his arrival as it advanced through the river.

• Su Mo subdued Big Golden Yak, learned from its appraisal that it detected and consumed metal ore, and fed it several kinds of ore.
• Su Chan joined Su Mo, and Big Golden Yak agreed to accompany them toward the Southern Fire Domain in exchange for more ore.
• Yao Dingshan learned that the territory would send three support teams and that Su Mo was coming in person, making him fear his captaincy was at risk.
• Yao Dingshan reaffirmed his command of the Sirius Fleet until Su Mo arrived and ordered the crew to prepare carefully for the next stage.
• Wen Jicheng led a combat group to investigate the river, where fishermen and salvagers saw the fleet and were stunned by its imposing appearance.

After fleeing the Mine Island Alliance, Lu Guangyin and Xu Dong spotted a mysterious streak of light, and Xu Dong rowed toward it while Lu Guangyin slept. Su Mo arrived near the Alliance with reinforcements to investigate the sinking of two ships, but his fleet soon reported finding the suspects.

• Lu Guangyin and Xu Dong escaped the Mine Island Alliance with little food and planned to settle nearby before returning to loot it.
• Xu Dong decided to investigate a streak of light despite Lu Guangyin being asleep and rowed toward where it had fallen.
• Su Mo and his personnel arrived near the warships, where Su Mo reassured the fleet and kept Yao Dingshan in command while Feng Long led the charge.
• Yao Dingshan deployed intelligence, water-sweep, and combat units as the fleet moved toward the Da Yang Ship's distress signal.
• The water-sweep unit reported that it had found the suspects who sank the Da Yang Ship and the Mayfly.

Lu Guangyin and Xu Dong were captured by a powerful fleet after Xu Dong rowed into its ambush, and the soldiers confirmed Lu Guangyin’s identity and ordered them detained. Meanwhile, the Mine Island Alliance reeled from the previous night’s fighting, with Sun Guangmin poised to control the five islands outside Tian Tie Island.

• Xu Dong woke Lu Guangyin as their wooden boat was surrounded by warships and Guerrilla Boats.
• Lu Guangyin learned that Xu Dong had rowed toward a light and led them into the fleet’s ambush, then warned him not to reveal what they had done in the Mine Island Alliance.
• A soldier identified Lu Guangyin as the lord of Dream Moon Territory and accused him of stealing supplies and causing trouble in the Mine Island Alliance.
• Soldiers searched Lu Guangyin and Xu Dong, took them aboard a Guerrilla Boat, and ordered them detained aboard the Starlight before transfer to Tian Tie Island.
• Survivors gathered across the Mine Island Alliance after the fighting left five island leaders dead or surrendered and Sun Guangmin in position to take control.
• Danny Koman reassured Yin Sha Island’s factory workers that large-scale chaos was unlikely, while warning that the alliance had suffered heavy losses and might not withstand a stronger enemy.

Danny Koman and Nevin Buford traveled to Tian Tie Island to meet the powerful outsiders and offer gifts and ore-production data. At a gathering of Mine Island Alliance factory directors, Sun Guangmin announced arrests and investigations over alleged collusion with outsiders, but Wu Yuhe challenged him by accusing Sun of colluding too.

• Danny Koman told the Silver Sand Island workers to keep production running, then prepared gifts and factory data to take to Tian Tie Island.
• Old Harry packed scientific magazines for Sun Guangmin and chipped a piece from a strange, patterned ocher ore as a gift for the outsiders.
• Danny Koman met Nevin Buford, and the two traveled together to Tian Tie Island, where they found survivors cleaning up after the battle and factory representatives gathering.
• Hu Shulin escorted the visitors into a restaurant, where Spicy Iron Hammer and Doomsday Madman sat with Sun Guangmin and armed young men.
• Sun Guangmin announced that the managers of Silver Sand Island and Qian Shan Island had died, that Wu Jiahao had been detained on suspicion of colluding with outsiders, and that Hua Qingyun and Enkeba Te remained under investigation.
• Wu Yuhe objected to Sun Guangmin's accusations and claimed that Sun himself should be suspected of colluding with outsiders.

Wu Yuhe revealed that Green River Territory was approaching the Mine Island Alliance, while Sun Guangmin allowed those who wished to leave to do so after the investigation. Spicy Iron Hammer then offered free help improving one area of the alliance, sparking a heated debate over what residents needed most.

• Wu Yuhe accused Sun Guangmin of detaining the alliance leaders and revealed that Hua Qingyun had allegedly colluded with Green River Territory, which was expected to arrive within days.
• Sun Guangmin said he would not stop anyone from leaving and would have Captain Hu escort them, while urging the alliance not to panic.
• Spicy Iron Hammer introduced himself as Shu Yao and explained that Tianyuan wanted to trade for the alliance's ore without using force.
• Shu Yao asked whether residents were satisfied with their living conditions and listed problems with housing, infrastructure, healthcare, and technology.
• Shu Yao offered free funding to improve one area, prompting the residents to argue over industry, healthcare, food production, infrastructure, and education.

Spicy Iron Hammer persuaded the Mine Island Alliance’s factory directors to consider trading with his territory, while Wu Yuhe tried to leave before the Green River Territory attacked. As the directors prepared to depart, a huge fleet of Tie Pi Ships appeared on the River Surface, raising fears that the Green River Territory had arrived.

• Spicy Iron Hammer asked the factory directors whether they would pay a price for the improvements they wanted and assured them that his territory could meet their needs.
• Wu Yuhe urged Zhang Shengan, He Along, and Xiao Song to leave, but they chose to stay and cooperate with Director Shu’s outsiders.
• Wu Yuhe left the restaurant angrily, planning to return to Huo Shi Island and escape through a secret passage while the Mine Island Alliance faced the coming conflict.
• The factory directors discussed trade with the outsiders, then prepared to leave without giving them the gifts they had brought.
• A massive fleet of Tie Pi Ships approached Tian Tie Island, and Danny Koman and Buford wondered whether the Green River Territory had attacked.

Su Mo brought his fleet to Tian Tie Island to establish contact with the Mine Island Alliance, whose leaders mistook the fleet for a force from Dream Moon Territory. As the fleet docked and its flag was raised, Buford and the crowd recognized the man standing beneath it as someone familiar.

• Su Mo surveyed the Mine Island Alliance and ordered his fleet to circle several islands before heading to Tian Tie Island.
• Su Mo sent Feng Long to interrogate Lu Guangyin and collect flaws in the frigates for the shipyard to fix.
• Spicy Iron Hammer admitted to Sun Guangmin that her group had lied about being from Dream Moon Territory and said their lord would soon arrive.
• Yao Dingshan maneuvered the fleet toward the damaged Tian Tie Island dock while Hu Shulin used gunfire to control the crowd.
• Buford and the crowd saw the blue wolf flag rise and froze when they spotted a familiar-looking man beneath it.

Su Mo arrived at the Mine Island Alliance and negotiated its incorporation into Tian Yuan, while promising the islands substantial autonomy and support. Impressed by Sun Guangmin's administration and the region's vast mineral reserves, Su Mo offered him continued leadership and a role in Tian Yuan's expansion into the Southern Fire Domain.

• Su Mo's arrival at Tian Tie Island sent the survivors into a frenzy, and Sun Guangmin and Hu Shulin realized that the fleet belonged to Tian Yuan.
• Sun Guangmin restored order as survivors protested the idea of negotiating their incorporation into Tian Yuan.
• Su Mo inspected the mining islands and discovered mineral reserves vast enough to supply extraordinary levels of construction.
• Su Mo agreed to incorporate the Mine Island Alliance into Tian Yuan's sphere of influence and explained that the islands would retain broad autonomy despite their distance from the central territory.
• Su Mo offered Sun Guangmin the chance to keep managing the Mine Islands and eventually oversee Tian Yuan's development plans in the Southern Fire Domain, leaving Sun Guangmin astonished.

Su Mo considered Sun Guangmin for Mine Island’s management and heard his proposal to keep Mine Island publicly independent while Tianyuan supported it. After negotiations, Sun Guangmin calmed Mine Island’s residents by exposing their own mistakes and warning that joining Tianyuan was not guaranteed, while Su Mo saw the island as a potential alternate identity for expanding Tianyuan’s influence in the south.

• Su Mo explained why Sun Guangmin’s cautious management style and standing with residents made him a suitable candidate to manage Mine Island.
• Sun Guangmin asked to keep Mine Island’s independent identity and proposed using Green River Territory in a staged plan, and Su Mo invited him to explain further.
• After an hour of negotiations, reports that Wu Jiahao and Enkeba Te had opposed joining Tianyuan enraged the survivors gathered at the dock.
• Sun Guangmin clarified that the managers had not formally voted and revealed that Wu Jiahao and Hua Qingyun had attacked Tianyuan’s ships.
• Sun Guangmin reminded the crowd that Mine Island had no automatic right to join Tianyuan, and the residents dispersed before the situation worsened.
• Su Mo concluded that Mine Island could serve as an alternate identity to extend Tianyuan’s influence across the Southern Fire Domain.

Su Mo visited Dream Moon Territory after arranging for the North Star Fleet to take over Mine Island’s mission, and found Xi Ruyue and Chu Chaofei had helped restore order. He revealed that Lu Guangyin had been captured and invited the two to leave Dream Moon Territory for a more important assignment.

• Su Mo ordered Feng Long to have Cui Lu bring the North Star Fleet to Mine Island, then departed for Dream Moon Territory with Su Chan.
• Xi Ruyue overheard Su Chan describing Tianyuan’s plans to provide plentiful food and housing before recognizing Su Mo at the hospital.
• Su Mo introduced Su Chan to Xi Ruyue and praised Xi Ruyue and Chu Chaofei for maintaining order in Dream Moon Territory.
• Su Mo told Xi Ruyue and Chu Chaofei that Lu Guangyin had been captured and was being held in the fleet’s prison.
• Su Chan said she and Su Mo were heading to Hulai City, and Su Mo told Xi Ruyue and Chu Chaofei that he had a more important task for them elsewhere.

Su Mo recruited Xi Ruyue and Chu Chaofei to join Tianyuan, explained the coming conflicts and his plans for humanity, and sent them with Su Chan to investigate Hulai City. He then set out alone through the Southern Fire Domain, still unaware of what disaster the Game Panel would make him choose.

• Su Mo persuaded Xi Ruyue and Chu Chaofei to leave Dream Moon Territory after promising to send people to maintain order.
• Su Mo told Xi Ruyue and Chu Chaofei that Tianyuan was preparing to end the conflicts between humanity and the foreign races, and the Game Panel appeared with the next disaster selection.
• After a long discussion, Xi Ruyue and Chu Chaofei recovered their spirits by the following morning.
• Su Mo sent Su Chan, Feng Long, and more than thirty warriors with Xi Ruyue and Chu Chaofei to investigate Hulai City.
• Su Mo boarded a Guerrilla Boat and headed out alone into the Southern Fire Domain, still avoiding the disaster selection.

Su Mo entered the World Cauldron, where Adam explained that disasters came from the Giant Mountain Star Region’s accumulated destructive power and that technology accelerated its cycles of destruction and rebirth. Adam also showed how the game’s rewards and disasters could strengthen, test, or misdirect a civilization, leaving Su Mo with a clearer understanding of the wasteland’s disaster system.

• Su Mo traveled toward the Mizuno Alliance aboard the Guerrilla Boat and entered the World Cauldron using the Game Panel.
• Su Mo found the Cauldron Inner Space had grown brighter and sensed that he could control it before Adam reappeared.
• Adam explained that the Inner Space reflected the Giant Mountain Star Region’s health and that disasters manifested its annihilating power.
• Adam used a bouncing ball and imagined cycles of Tian Yuan to show how technological growth raised civilization’s potential while making destruction more severe.
• Adam demonstrated that game rewards strengthened a civilization’s foundation, while punishment and reward disasters could respectively test or redirect its progress.

Su Mo learned from Adam that disasters could be ended by absorbing their destructive power or restoring enough vitality, and that the Giant Mountain Star Region had chosen Earth as its last chance. Adam revealed how he had shaped Earth’s opportunities, leaving Su Mo to question why his previous interventions had failed.

• Adam explained that cosmic energy cycled between vitality and destruction, and that disasters could be ended by digesting destruction or accumulating enough vitality.
• Adam said domain lords had to delay the cycle’s extremes and resist outside enemies, while Su Mo’s victories over deities had restored vitality and unlocked new developments.
• Adam admitted he had selected the Routes for Earth’s players, and Su Mo challenged him over the suffering and conflict they had caused.
• Adam argued that technology rewards were unsuitable for the current era and recalled how Yan Country’s pursuit of Mechanical Ascension had frustrated him.
• Adam revealed that he had arranged for Qinggang City, the Academy, the Foundation, and corporations to appear at helpful moments, then said Earth was the Giant Mountain Star Region’s last chance.
• Su Mo asked why Adam’s earlier help had failed, and recognized that Adam’s control of vitality and the World Cauldron’s power to digest destruction had to be used together.

Su Mo questioned Adam’s guidance of past players, prompting Adam to reconsider his mistakes before concluding that Su Mo’s unique abilities set him apart. Adam explained the authority Su Mo still needed to become Realm Lord and advised him on choosing disasters; Su Mo opened the selection panel for the Fifteenth Natural Disaster.

• Su Mo’s criticisms made Adam reflect on how his guidance had constrained earlier players and how repeating the Giant Mountain Star Region’s past methods could not guarantee success.
• Adam decided that the earlier players’ failures came from their inability to explore independently, while Su Mo’s unusual abilities allowed him to find new paths.
• Adam explained that Su Mo needed 51% authority to exercise authority over new birth and become Realm Lord, and that winning the Myriad Paths Competition was the fastest route.
• Adam said Su Mo could win two more competitions to secure the position or take greater risks to obtain enough authority after one win, and he recommended choosing disasters strategically.
• Su Mo walked to the sandbox and summoned the disaster-selection panel, which displayed three options for the Fifteenth Natural Disaster.

Su Mo reviewed three possible disasters and chose Death Tide, judging that Tian Yuan Territory could withstand its physical-only beast attacks and benefit from the Tide Shop. After discussing annihilation, new life, and the cosmos with Adam, Su Mo left the Cauldron Inner Space determined to turn the coming beast tide into an opportunity to win the second Myriad Paths Competition.

• Su Mo assessed Nightless Summer’s prolonged daylight, then compared Death Tide’s physical-only beasts and reward shop with the dangerous Uncontrolled Monsoon.
• Adam cautioned Su Mo against neutralizing a disaster merely for energy, and Su Mo chose Death Tide as the most manageable option for humanity and a boon for Tian Yuan Territory.
• Su Mo reflected on Adam’s questions about death and rebirth, while Adam explained that the Giant Mountain Star Region, the Cosmos Dome, and the game all faced cycles of annihilation and new life.
• Su Mo considered how his system might use new-life energy, then discussed future authority with Adam, who said he would prepare something for the Giant Mountain Star Region’s revival.
• Su Mo exited the Cauldron Inner Space and resolved to seize victory in the second Myriad Paths Competition through the coming beast tide.

Disguised as Ji Wuming, Su Mo reached the Hoshino Alliance and traded hard candies for fish while asking for Luo You. Old Gong returned with a lead, asking whether Su Mo was looking for Crippled Luo.

• Su Mo arrived at Mizuno Territory’s dock with Uncle Gong and met the cautious fishermen Old Zhang and Ji Long.
• Su Mo bought Old Gong’s fish for five candies each and paid Old Zhang forty-six candies for his catch and a large fish.
• Su Mo told the fishermen he was searching for Luo You, a northern man traveling with two teenage children.
• Su Mo offered a bag of hard candies as a reward, prompting Old Gong and Old Zhang to ask around the dock.
• Old Gong returned with a middle-aged man and asked Su Mo whether the person he sought was Crippled Luo.

Su Mo found Luo You, known in the future ruins as a brilliant intelligence gatherer, living as a cripple near Reed Marsh. When he reached Luo You’s home with gifts, he learned Luo You and his son had been surrounded on the river, and armed young men confronted Su Mo and Luo Jiao.

• Su Mo confirmed that the crippled fisherman with two children was Luo You and paid Ma Benchun to guide him to Reed Marsh.
• Su Mo traveled by boat with Ma Benchun, Old Zhang, and Old Gong, learning that Luo You and his son were unusually successful at fishing.
• At Luo You’s darkened home, Luo Jiao begged Ma Benchun to save her father and brother, who had been surrounded by several families over fishing spots.
• Su Mo claimed to be Luo Jiao’s uncle and offered to help her.
• Six armed young men emerged, threatened Luo Jiao and the group, and warned Su Mo to leave.

Su Mo rescued Luo Jiao from attackers, gave her a pistol, and led her toward her father, Luo You, who was surrounded by a crowd on the river. After Luo Jiao fired and Su Mo opened fire with a submachine gun, the crowd fled, and Su Mo called out to Luo You as he appeared to run too.

• Su Mo drove off the young men threatening Luo Jiao and handed her a pistol, promising to teach her to use it.
• Ma Benchun, Old Zhang, and Old Gong joined Su Mo and Luo Jiao as they traveled by sampan toward Luo Jiao's father.
• The group found dozens of boats and around eighty people searching for Luo You, and Song Santang's men recognized Luo Jiao.
• Su Mo told Luo Jiao to fire at Song Santang, and her shot hit a man beside him, prompting the crowd to panic.
• Su Mo fired his submachine gun, wounded Song Santang and others, and forced the boats to flee before calling out to Luo You.

Su Mo reunited Luo You, Luo Xiang, and Luo Jiao by posing as their long-lost cousin and offered to take the family to his territory. After arranging to leave the next day, Su Mo privately revealed that he knew Luo You was studying the foreign race’s language and proposed a paid deal for his help deciphering it.

• Su Mo identified Luo You among the fleeing boats, and Luo Xiang stopped rowing after Luo You reminded him that Luo Jiao was still with Su Mo’s group.
• Luo Jiao, Luo Xiang, and Luo You reunited with Su Mo, Ma Benchun, and the others, and learned that the Song Family’s men had been waiting at their home.
• Su Mo claimed to be Luo You’s cousin and gave handguns to Luo Jiao and Luo Xiang, prompting Luo You to accept the family connection.
• Su Mo told Luo Xiang and Luo Jiao he would take them to his territory, and Luo You agreed that the family would leave the next day.
• After the children went to check the house and practice shooting, Su Mo told Luo You he knew about his study of the foreign race’s language and offered to support him in exchange for help translating it.

Su Mo persuaded Luo You to join his territory, promising to explain how he found him and suggesting his crippled leg might be treatable. Luo You agreed to leave with his children the next day, and the family welcomed Su Mo and his companions with a meal.

• Su Mo told Luo You that they shared an enemy and invited him to join his territory, while Luo You asked how he had learned about his research into the alien language.
• Luo You agreed to leave with Su Mo the next day after Su Mo challenged him to consider what his children wanted and could endure.
• Su Mo gave Luo Jiao and Luo Xiang food and seasonings, then learned from Luo You that he had copied a weakened version of Frog Gathering from the Frogmen Race.
• Luo You explained that he had been injured while interrogating Frogmen about their fish-attracting medicine, and Su Mo examined his leg and said it might recover with treatment.
• Su Mo made treatment depend on Luo You's performance, and Luo You's hope returned as he joined his children, Su Mo, and Old Ma for dinner.