Chapter Summaries

Luo Yan joined an investigation team from Penglai City and guided them into the Forbidden Land to investigate the Bug Humans and search for survivors. As the team advanced, its members hinted that the bugs were growing restless and that they had been hiding the truth.

• Wei Fenghua introduced Luo Yan to Zhu Yue and her four investigators from Penglai City, who asked him to guide them into the Forbidden Land.
• Luo Yan agreed, returned to Bi'an, and joined Zhu Yue's temporary squad channel as the team prepared to set out.
• The investigators deployed their mechs and ground personnel, while Tong Yixin privately mocked Luo Yan's powerful mech and the team discussed keeping their secrets from him.
• Zhu Yue warned that the bugs were becoming more restless and that the team might not be able to keep the truth hidden.
• After leaving their SUVs, the soldiers deployed Mechanical Search and Rescue Dogs, and Zhu Yue assigned Tong Yixin to scout while the team formed up around Luo Yan.
• The investigation team followed the route Luo Yan had explored the day before and advanced deeper into the danger zone.

Tong Yixin reached East Wind Stadium and demanded to see Ghost Lantern, while Luo Yan's squad discovered a nest of Human-faced Centipedes at the audio-visual store. After the insects emerged in overwhelming numbers, Luo Yan and the squad were surrounded.

• Tong Yixin stopped Yin Du outside East Wind Stadium and said their cooperation would end unless Ghost Lantern met with her.
• Zhan Qing, a missing first-year student, staggered out of the stadium with fleshy feelers piercing his neck and invited Tong Yixin inside.
• Luo Yan's squad searched the dark audio-visual store with Mechanical Search and Rescue Dogs, and a giant Human-faced Centipede destroyed one of them.
• Luo Yan detected an Insect Tide, and Miss Zhu Yue ordered the soldiers to fire flares, forcing the Human-faced Centipedes back into the darkness.
• Luo Yan fired his Storm rifle at the insects, but more Human-faced Centipedes poured from beneath the fungi and began crawling up Bi'an's legs.

Luo Yan and the Mechas wiped out a swarm of Human-faced Centipedes, though the ground forces were slaughtered. Miss Zhu Yue’s private call with Tong Yixin revealed that Ghost Lantern wanted Bi'an and its pilot in exchange for Heavenly Insect Pills.

• Luo Yan used Bi'an’s golden glow and Storm rifle to repel and kill the Human-faced Centipedes while they devoured the ground forces.
• After the battle, Luo Yan questioned why Zhu Yue’s team had brought soldiers into the danger zone and suspected the rescue mission was a cover for another objective.
• Zhu Yue asked Luo Yan if he was all right, and he said he had nearly exhausted his physical ammunition.
• Tong Yixin privately told Zhu Yue that Ghost Lantern offered several Heavenly Insect Pills if they brought it a Mecha and its pilot.
• Tong Yixin explained that Ghost Lantern wanted Bi'an and Luo Yan because it believed they would help with its research.

Miss Zhu Yue and her team plotted to capture Luo Yan and obtain the Heavenly Insect Pill, while weighing the risks posed by his abilities and Divine Guard-class mech. After committing to the plan, they continued deeper into the danger zone to find the Bug Humans.

• The team discussed their failed scheme to make Luo Yan appear dead and take Bi'an, then Miss Zhu Yue argued that the Heavenly Insect Pill could transform their futures and make the losses worthwhile.
• After Miss Zhu Yue pressed the team about their motives and circumstances, they agreed to continue the operation; she then asked Luo Yan to resume the search after Tong Yixin found the Bug Humans.
• Tong Yixin reported that Ghost Lantern accepted the target alive or dead but preferred an intact corpse with its brain preserved, and Miss Zhu Yue ordered the team to proceed carefully.
• Miss Zhu Yue briefed the team on Luo Yan's cultivation, secret arts, Ultimate Skills, possible Innate Resonator status, and Bi'an's capabilities and depleted ammunition.

Luo Yan traveled through the Forbidden Land with Miss Zhu Yue’s team and discovered their plan to ambush him with help from Ghost Lantern. After learning they intended to trade him as material for the Heavenly Insect Pill, he headed back to his mecha while hiding his suspicions.

• Luo Yan noticed the glowing fungi went dark when mecha approached and resumed shining after they passed.
• Miss Zhu Yue coordinated with Tong Yixin and discussed borrowing the Yin Du from Ghost Lantern to obtain materials.
• Luo Xingchao suggested luring Luo Yan from his mecha, but Miss Zhu Yue and Bai Zhixin decided to prepare a more careful ambush.
• At the campfire, Luo Yan refused Miss Zhu Yue’s rations and used his Unbounded Blazing Eyes to read the team’s thoughts.
• Luo Yan learned Miss Zhu Yue planned to use the Yin Du and her team to damage his mecha, then trade materials to Ghost Lantern for the Heavenly Insect Pill.

Luo Yan attacked Miss Zhu Yue’s Advanced Mecha after learning that she and the others had colluded with the insects, then wounded Yin Du when it emerged from underground. He escaped Bai Zhixin’s counterattack by turning Bi'an invisible and remained hidden at the scene while the investigation team split up to hunt for him.

• Luo Yan decided to strike first and destroyed Miss Zhu Yue’s Advanced Mecha with Dragon Soars.
• Yin Du burst out of the ground, and Luo Yan wounded it with Bi'an’s Yi River Wind and Smoke before it fled underground.
• Bai Zhixin fired missiles and guns at Bi'an, but Luo Yan concealed the mecha with Invisibility and Nether Gate Opening.
• Tong Yixin arrived, and Miss Zhu Yue ordered her to take her to East Wind Stadium while assigning Luo Xingchao, Pang Kai, and Bai Zhixin to track down Luo Yan.
• Luo Yan reappeared beside Miss Zhu Yue’s wrecked mecha and confirmed that his escape had gone smoothly.

Luo Yan infiltrated the Dongfang Stadium to investigate Ghost Lantern, the intelligent Brain Bug behind the Bug Humans and the Heavenly Insect Pill. Deep underground, Ghost Lantern confronted him through a lifelike image of Di Zheng and introduced itself by the name it had chosen.

• Luo Yan used Unbounded Blazing Eyes to identify Ghost Lantern inside the stadium and saw that it had gathered Bug Humans there.
• Luo Yan left Bi'an hidden and entered the stadium through a small passage leading underground.
• Luo Yan explored the underground parking garage and found a spreading biological substrate resembling human blood.
• Luo Yan discovered rows of cultivation containers holding immature Bug Humans, including a Longhorn Beetle subspecies.
• Ghost Lantern appeared in a pure-white space as Di Zheng, told Luo Yan it meant no harm, and revealed that it had named itself.

Luo Yan learned that Ghost Lantern had bred Bug Humans in an attempt to create intelligent beings and planned to transfer its consciousness into his mecha. Ghost Lantern’s mental illusion shattered, revealing its giant insect body and its attempt to seize Luo Yan.

• Ghost Lantern explained that it had tried to make its kind intelligent by breeding Bug Humans, but they eventually reverted to instinctive behavior.
• Ghost Lantern said it wanted Luo Yan’s intact brain and planned to transfer its consciousness permanently into his mecha.
• Ghost Lantern revealed that it had arranged for collaborators to bring Luo Yan and his mecha to the sacred land, then began connecting tendrils to him.
• Luo Yan’s Dragon Scales blocked the tendrils as the illusion broke and he returned to the parking lot.
• Luo Yan saw Ghost Lantern’s giant, snail-like body, with an Abyssal Vein shell and a glowing lantern-like organ.

Luo Yan escaped Ghost Lantern’s mental world with Bi'an’s help and fought the Brain Bug in East Wind Stadium’s underground parking lot. After freeing the human vessels, he smashed through Ghost Lantern’s Abyssal Vein shell, leaving the Brain Bug facing death.

• The Dragon Dragon Blood Essence resisted Ghost Lantern’s tendrils and mental attack, causing its mental world to collapse around Luo Yan.
• Bi'an tore through the parking lot, cut Luo Yan free, and shielded him from falling rubble as the structure collapsed.
• Luo Yan returned to Bi'an’s cockpit and used the Solar Halo to reveal Ghost Lantern’s cocoons and biological growths.
• Ghost Lantern summoned guardians and controlled Zhan Qing, Zhao Siya, and other people, but Luo Yan severed most of their tendrils despite Ghost Lantern’s threats.
• Luo Yan charged Ghost Lantern and used Crescent Moon Breaking Clouds to break its Abyssal Vein shell as the Brain Bug cried out in fear.

Luo Yan killed Ghost Lantern, found a Primordial Stone Fragment, and destroyed the Heavenly Insect Pills before leaving East Wind Stadium. Miss Zhu Yue arrived with Tong Yixin and discovered Ghost Lantern’s corpse, while Yin Du attacked her White Tiger mecha.

• Luo Yan saw a Primordial Stone Fragment fall from Ghost Lantern’s shattered shell and watched Ghost Lantern die as its controlled consciousness vessels collapsed.
• Hundreds of Heavenly Insect Pills spilled from Ghost Lantern’s corpse, and Luo Yan’s Dragon Dragon Blood Essence absorbed them, turning them to ash.
• Luo Yan recovered the Primordial Stone Fragment and left East Wind Stadium, intending to kill Miss Zhu Yue and the surviving members of her investigation team.
• Miss Zhu Yue and Tong Yixin entered East Wind Stadium and found the ruined hall, dying Bug Human cocoons, and Ghost Lantern’s corpse.
• Miss Zhu Yue suspected Luo Yan had killed Ghost Lantern and ordered Old Bai to kill him, but Yin Du attacked the White Tiger mecha and tore armor from its foreleg.

Luo Yan spotted the investigation team’s trap, which used Pang Kai as bait while Bai Zhixin prepared a sniper ambush and Luo Xingchao guarded him. Luo Yan caught Bai Zhixin off guard by switching secret techniques and making Bi'an blaze with light.

• Pang Kai proposed that the team lure Luo Yan out, while Bai Zhixin and Luo Xingchao agreed that he was likely to fight back rather than flee.
• Luo Yan reasoned that the team might expose its position to bait him, then headed toward explosions and a beast battle in the northeast.
• Luo Yan found Pang Kai fighting a Mid-tier Giant Beast and spotted Bai Zhixin’s disguised heavy mecha lying in ambush with a powerful sniper rifle.
• Luo Yan discovered Luo Xingchao guarding Bai Zhixin and inferred how the team’s trap was designed to catch Bi'an.
• Luo Yan switched from Nether Gate Opening to Opening the Essence Gate and illuminated Bi'an with blazing light, startling Bai Zhixin before he could fire.

Luo Yan killed Bai Zhixin and Pang Kai with the Bi'an’s ultimate attacks and chased after Luo Xingchao, revealing that the mech had thrusters. At dawn, Miss Zhu Yue, stranded after losing her mech and companions, spotted a Black Warrior-like mech and ran toward it.

• Luo Yan used Stars Shift and A Strip of Rainbow to split Bai Zhixin’s heavy mech in two, killing him in the explosion.
• Luo Yan summoned his Primordial Spirit Projection and killed Pang Kai by sending a river of blood through the Black Warrior mech.
• The giant beast fled, and Luo Yan turned his attention to Luo Xingchao, who escaped in his four-armed mech.
• Luo Yan’s Bi'an used thrusters to fly low after Luo Xingchao, who cursed at the mech’s hidden capability.
• At dawn, Miss Zhu Yue lamented her losses and spotted a Black Warrior-like mech walking behind a fungus-covered building, then ran toward it.

Luo Yan killed Miss Zhu Yue after confirming that Tong Yixin had also died, wiping out the investigation team and escaping the dangerous area in Bi'an. In Jinge City, Lin Wei showed Jia Miao an ancient inscription that read, “Heaven and Earth Were Not Benevolent; All Things Were Straw Dogs.”

• Luo Yan used the Black Warrior mecha to lure Miss Zhu Yue and captured her when she approached.
• Miss Zhu Yue realized Luo Yan was piloting the mecha and threatened him, then offered to cooperate and become his woman.
• Luo Yan read Miss Zhu Yue's thoughts, learned Tong Yixin had died at East Wind Stadium, and crushed Miss Zhu Yue before throwing her corpse into the Forbidden Land.
• Luo Yan drove Bi'an away from the dangerous area after wiping out the investigation team.
• Lin Wei brought Jia Miao a tablet displaying ancient symbols and the line “Heaven and Earth Were Not Benevolent; All Things Were Straw Dogs.”

Lin Wei asked Jia Miao to verify her deciphering of an ancient Guixu message, which resembled a line from the Dao De Jing. Meanwhile, Luo Yan chose to expose Penglai’s collusion with giant beasts, but after the students returned to Hong Yue Base, he and Bai? found a refugee settlement damaged by fire.

• Lin Wei showed Jia Miao her deciphering of the Guixu characters, and Jia Miao said the message’s meaning resembled ideas from the Dao De Jing.
• Jia Miao learned that Lin Wei’s classmate Luo Yan had encountered the characters in Magic Mushroom City in the Forbidden Land.
• Wei Fenghua offered Luo Yan two plans for handling the deaths of Penglai’s team, and Luo Yan chose to send the footage to Di Zheng and accuse Penglai of colluding with giant beasts.
• A week later, Wei Fenghua had sent the evidence to Guangling City, but Penglai City had not responded.
• The first-year students returned to Hong Yue Base, and Luo Yan and Bai? went to the refugee settlement with gifts to visit Cai Tong.
• Luo Yan and Bai? found a row of houses burned down, while base medical personnel treated injured refugees in tents.

After learning that Tao Yu and other refugees had been taken by trafficker Zhu Hai, Luo Yan went to Moon Bear Camp to search for them. At the Wasp Bar, he identified Zhu Hai’s trusted subordinate, Red Falcon, but Red Falcon noticed him and made a threatening gesture.

• Luo Yan told Bai? that Tao Yu and Cai Tong were missing after the shelter fire, and Lu Mao arrived with Cai Tong, claiming one of his associates had rescued the child.
• Luo Yan offered Lu Mao help obtaining an Undercity resident identity in exchange for information, and Lu Mao revealed that Zhu Hai had taken Tao Yu and the other missing people to Moon Bear Camp.
• Lu Mao directed Luo Yan to ask about Zhu Hai’s dealings at the Wasp Bar, and that night one of Lu Mao’s men brought Luo Yan to the camp.
• At the Wasp Bar, Lu Mao’s subordinate pointed out Red Falcon, Zhu Hai’s trusted subordinate, and Red Falcon responded to Luo Yan’s stare with a throat-slitting gesture.

Luo Yan forced Red Falcon to reveal Zhu Hai’s location, then killed him and silenced the Wasp Bar with his overwhelming strength. At Zhu Hai’s warehouse, Tao Yu remained captive as Zhu Hai prepared to sell her to Mister Zheng.

• Luo Yan confronted Red Falcon at the Wasp Bar, killed two men, and severed Red Falcon’s fingers until he revealed the warehouse district’s location.
• Luo Yan killed Red Falcon and several people who challenged him, intimidating everyone else in the bar before leaving.
• Zhu Hai kept Tao Yu tied up in a warehouse and threatened to withhold her child, Cai Tong, if she did not behave.
• Zhu Hai’s warehouse held captured refugees in cramped iron cages, many wounded and near death.
• Mister Zheng arrived to inspect Zhu Hai’s goods, and Zhu Hai showed him Tao Yu and described her as a valuable captive.

Luo Yan slaughtered Zhu Hai, Mister Zheng, and their men to rescue Tao Yu and the other surface drifters. The Moon Bears let him leave with the rescued people, and he drove them away in a truck.

• Luo Yan entered Zhu Hai's warehouse and killed the armed men, Zhu Hai, and Mister Zheng.
• Luo Yan told Zhu Hai he had come to rescue a mother whose child needed her, then freed Tao Yu and the other captives.
• Luo Yan went outside and faced the Moon Bears, who had surrounded the warehouse.
• Luo Yan threatened to destroy Moon Bear Camp if they harmed the captives, and the old leader ordered his people to let them go.
• Luo Yan obtained a truck, helped Tao Yu and the other surface drifters aboard, and drove away.

Di Zheng learned that the Penglai Corps had taken Luo Yan and sent Liang Jian to keep watch while seeking third-party arbitration. At Hong Yue Base, Luo Yan defeated seven members of the corps, leaving only Zhang Shu standing as the fight continued.

• Liang Jian told Di Zheng that Luo Yan had gone with the Penglai Corps after they demanded him at the training camp.
• Di Zheng ordered Liang Jian to take two teams and their mechs to Penglai, and he contacted the Strategic Affairs Department to request third-party arbitration.
• Liu Zheng explained that the corps had taken Luo Yan because its leaders felt Guangling City had bypassed them, and he worried that Luo Yan's strength would bring further trouble.
• Luo Yan defeated Tang Yan, Huo Long, Liu Chunzhai, Zuo Cai, and three other fighters, leaving only Zhang Shu standing.

Luo Yan fought Zhang Shu after agreeing that victory would end the Penglai Corps’ pursuit over the incident. Luo Yan defeated and badly injured Zhang Shu but spared him, and Liu Zheng stopped the fight before it could continue.

• Zhang Shu challenged Luo Yan and promised the Penglai Corps would not pursue him over the fight if he got past him.
• Luo Yan and Zhang Shu exchanged attacks across the grassland, each wounding the other as Luo Yan’s Blood Executioner began to wear Zhang Shu down.
• Zhang Shu accelerated and cut Luo Yan’s leg, but Dragon Scales kept the wound from reaching his muscles or bones.
• Luo Yan used Dragon-Elephant to suppress Zhang Shu and Eyes Cut Off Flying Geese to injure his mental will, leaving him open to attack.
• Luo Yan struck Zhang Shu with the flat of Dragon-Elephant instead of killing him, but Zhang Shu’s sabers cut Luo Yan before Liu Zheng pressed down on the sword and stopped the fight.

After Luo Yan injured Zhang Shu, Liu Zheng arranged treatment and brought him to Penglai Underground City, where he was kept on Judicial Island. When Zhu Qinggui confronted him over his daughter’s death, Luo Yan refused to comment, and Liu Zheng faced questions about bringing him back without authorization.

• Liu Zheng stopped the Penglai Corps soldiers from attacking Luo Yan and ordered Chen Lu to take him for treatment.
• Liu Zheng told Luo Yan that Zhang Shu had survived and offered an Ultimate Skill and cultivation potions as compensation.
• Liu Zheng brought Luo Yan to a private villa on Judicial Island and told him not to leave the room.
• Zhu Qinggui accused Luo Yan of murdering his daughter and threatened to make him pay.
• Liu Zheng asked Luo Yan to explain what happened in the Forbidden Land, but Luo Yan replied, “No comment.”
• After Liu Zheng left, someone challenged him over bringing Luo Yan back without authorization and asked how he would explain it to Guangling.