Chapter Summaries

After the Baptism, Yi Chen met Madam Olena, Jin’s powerful cat-like master in the Cancer Palace, and learned she was testing him as a potential ally. Madam Olena offered him a tumor sac to establish a relationship with the Cancer Palace, but Jin arrived and found her pinning Yi Chen to the bed.

• Yi Chen woke in a hot spring, where tiny organisms cleaned away the remnants of the Baptism, and his attempt to probe a British Shorthair cat triggered a violent backlash.
• The cat revealed herself as Madam Olena, explained that Jin was undergoing training, and led Yi Chen to a guest room after he dressed in his summoned clothes.
• Madam Olena warned Yi Chen to adjust his condition before visiting the Abyssal Skin Factory and promised to show him around after Jin finished her test.
• Madam Olena decided Yi Chen had passed her personal test because he controlled many illnesses and bore the Mark of Transaction, then offered him a tumor sac to connect him with the Cancer Palace.
• Jin entered the open guest room and saw Madam Olena pinning Yi Chen down with the tumor sac in her mouth.

Yi Chen considered whether to accept the Cancer Crystal while Jin eagerly urged him to join the Cancer Palace and explained its conflict with the Dead Ones. Madam Olena then took Yi Chen and Jin out to earn money through a body-related venture.

• Yi Chen declined to swallow the Cancer Crystal until he had harmonized the attributes in his body, and Madam Olena left him with Jin.
• Jin excitedly asked Yi Chen about his closeness to Madam Olena and learned that they shared the Mark of Transaction from Duke Garryson.
• Jin explained that the Cancer Palace and the Dead Ones had clashed, making Yi Chen reconsider accepting the Cancer Crystal, especially since he wanted to reach the Original Tomb.
• Yi Chen concealed the Cancer Crystal in his clothing and asked Jin about Madam Olena's plans for their outing.
• Madam Olena returned and took Yi Chen and Jin to earn money, saying she trusted them with a body-related scheme.

Yi Chen and his companions disguised their Gentleman's Attire and followed Madam Olena through the Cancer Palace’s commercial streets. Madam Olena explained the danger of the Old World’s Firewood and suggested that humans might resemble the Sick Ones because the World's Foot was carrying out a Complete World Infection.

• Yi Chen used Scorched Eye Affliction to conceal the leather aura of his Gentleman's Attire, but Madam Olena recognized the evil sun’s influence and warned him never to display it in the Cancer Palace.
• Madam Olena explained that the pierced evil sun’s fragments had become Firewood, which scorched the surface into the Ash Desert, and forbade Yi Chen from showing any related abilities.
• Madam Olena led Yi Chen and Little Grape through the Cancer Palace’s streets, where she punished Cancer Cells who exposed themselves to William.
• Yi Chen asked why Sick Ones and Cancer Palace customs resembled humans, and Madam Olena said humans might resemble them because the World's Foot was pursuing a Complete World Infection.
• Madam Olena told Yi Chen they were nearly at their destination as he caught the scent of blood.

Madam Olena brought Yi Chen and Jin to the Hunger and Fight arena and entered them in a two-person Hunger Arena, where Cancerers could absorb defeated opponents to grow stronger. After seeing the formidable slaves brought by their rival Gayles, Yi Chen remained confident they could win.

• Madam Olena led Yi Chen and Jin past the smaller matches to the crowded arena at the deepest level and ordered them to compete as her slaves.
• Madam Olena explained that participants in the Hunger Arena could absorb defeated opponents’ nutrients to grow stronger, though Yi Chen said he could defeat them without absorbing anyone.
• Jin signed the registration form in blood, while Yi Chen read the terms before signing up for the two-person match.
• Gayles arrived with two huge slave Cancerers and agreed to match Madam Olena’s wager.
• Madam Olena asked Yi Chen about their chances against Gayles’s slaves, and Yi Chen said they should be able to win.

Yi Chen and Jin learned how back tumors shaped the Cancer Palace’s ranks and the perilous path to becoming a Tumor Knight. They reached the Abdomen-Drawing Room, where former Hunger Arena contestants had been left ravenous and immobilized, and Yi Chen spotted a disturbing device.

• Madam Olena left Yi Chen and Jin to complete the pre-match procedures, privately urging Yi Chen to seek victory and consider abandoning some human traits if hunger hindered him.
• Jin explained that back tumors absorbed toxins and negative emotions, and that crystallized tumors could become valuable relics like the one Madam Olena had given Yi Chen.
• Jin described how Open Source cancerous individuals could remove their tumors or retain them and risk malignancy in pursuit of becoming Tumor Knights, and he recounted the exile of Ate, the circus clown.
• Jin revealed that he had a back tumor and had been allowed to remain free because of its unusual nature, his human identity, and his connection to The Swelling Chronicle.
• Yi Chen and Jin entered the Abdomen-Drawing Room, where ravenous former contestants were embedded in the walls and floor, and Yi Chen noticed a device in the center of the room.

Yi Chen and Jin underwent abdominal extraction to qualify for the Hunger Arena, then prepared for their upcoming match. Yi Chen adapted to near-total energy depletion by entering a starlight-filled meditative state, and the pair headed toward the arena hoping to attract the Tumor Knights’ attention.

• An employee explained that contestants had to reduce their energy below ten percent through the Abdomen Suction Device or be disqualified from the Hunger Arena.
• Jin and Yi Chen entered the devices, and the living tubes drained their energy until Yi Chen forced them away at the ten-percent threshold.
• Yi Chen controlled his hunger and used meditation and starlight particles to adapt, while Jin admitted his Red Lotus trait helped him endure the extraction.
• The employee escorted them to a private changing room to prepare for the match, which was due to begin in half an hour.
• Jin bound his upper body and altered his flesh garment into a fitted black combat suit, explaining that they hoped to win and attract the Tumor Knights’ attention.
• Yi Chen and Jin left the changing room and went to the arena.

Madam Olena learned that two Acolyte Knights from the Tumor Knights had entered the Hunger Arena, but William and Jin chose to face them rather than withdraw. The contestants gathered for the match, and Marcelino singled out William as his intended opponent.

• Madam Olena discovered that the Tumor Knights had sent two Acolyte Knight contestants and hurried to warn William and Jin.
• William and Jin chose to continue competing, and Olena confirmed they could use their abilities, including death, as long as they entertained the audience.
• Sixty-four contestants entered the arena, including the Acolyte Knights Marcelino and Figley.
• Marcelino and Figley sensed William's unusual aura, and Marcelino declared that he would take William as his opponent.

Yi Chen and Jin disrupted the arena’s chaotic battle against the Acolyte Knights by using controlled explosions to hurl hungry fighters out of the arena. As Marcelino noticed the dwindling crowd, he spotted the masked woman and the young man retrieving a buried suitcase.

• Figley and Marcelino entered the arena as Acolyte Knights, and the host announced the rules before a participant killed and ate him.
• Marcelino caught and devoured a powerful thrown axe, then killed one attacker and watched another get torn apart by the hungry crowd.
• Yi Chen stopped Jin from joining the melee and buried a suitcase as they planned to clear the arena with explosions.
• Yi Chen dodged two attackers, used Borrow Strength to throw them toward Jin, and Jin blasted them out of the arena.
• Yi Chen and Jin continued launching participants out of the arena with explosions, scattering the crowd and its food.
• Marcelino noticed the arena had been cleared and saw a woman in a Seven-Colored Mask waving beside Yi Chen as he dug up the suitcase.

The Tumor Knights watched as Yi Chen and Jin cleared most of the arena and faced the two Tumor Knights recruits. Yi Chen’s gunshot stopped Marcelino’s charge and damaged his chainsaw, while the fallen bullet opened a tiny eye.

• The Tumor Knights learned that Jin was Madam Olena’s disciple and that she and Yi Chen were outsiders whose Plague Values remained at the Third Tier.
• Yi Chen explained that he and Jin had cleared the hungry contestants to make the fight a fair two-on-two match, while Jin revealed her Tumor Tendrils and a full stomach.
• Marcelino and Figley agreed that Marcelino would fight Yi Chen and Figley would fight Jin.
• Marcelino charged Yi Chen, who fired an unfamiliar weapon and forced him back, denting and cracking his chainsaw blade.
• A tiny eye opened on the fallen metal bullet and watched Marcelino.

Yi Chen tested Bartosh against Marcelino, whose armor and back tumor deflected nearly every bullet. After Marcelino unleashed his Living Saw Shredder form and Yi Chen’s ankle gave out, a black radiance and Death Aura appeared to interrupt the attack.

• Yi Chen used Star Instant to get behind Marcelino and fired Pain Bullets, but Marcelino’s back tumor and Tumor Armor deflected them.
• Marcelino stabbed his chainsaw into his abdomen and activated Limit Release, transforming into the Living Saw Shredder.
• Marcelino charged Yi Chen, while Yi Chen dodged with Star Instant and fired another magazine that Marcelino’s shredding defenses stopped.
• Yi Chen’s ankle snapped during another attempted shift, leaving him kneeling as Marcelino closed in with his chainsaws.
• A metallic lock opened, releasing black radiance and Death Aura across the arena.

Yi Chen and Marcelino fought fiercely in the arena as Yi Chen wielded a deathly spine axe and Marcelino’s strength continued to rise. The chapter ended with a piercing scream interrupting their battle.

• The Sovereign sensed a death slash in the arena and remarked that the outsider had already been marked by Little Sister.
• Jin exploited Figley’s distraction, bound him with lotus vines, blasted her lower body, and turned his severed arm into a scythe.
• Yi Chen’s death slash badly damaged Marcelino, who regenerated his armor and replaced his severed palm with a dog’s head and chainsaw.
• Marcelino recognized the spine axe as likely belonging to a knight from the Original Tomb and became more eager to fight.
• Yi Chen and Marcelino clashed at high speed as Marcelino adapted to Yi Chen’s movements and grew stronger.
• A piercing scream rang through the venue and drowned out the spectators’ cheers.

Yi Chen nearly defeated Marcelino in the Hunger Arena but deliberately avoided killing him, and Jin carried him from the arena after he collapsed. Marcelino later gave Yi Chen a business card offering help and challenged him to fight again after becoming a full-fledged knight.

• Yi Chen endured Marcelino’s chainsaw wounds and used a Pain Bullet to incapacitate him, but collapsed before delivering a finishing blow.
• Jin abandoned her own fight and rescued Yi Chen, while Marcelino recovered and let them leave; Marcelino and Figley were declared the winners.
• In the changing room, Yi Chen explained to Jin that he had deliberately allowed the match to end without a decisive victory to avoid attracting dangerous attention to them.
• Marcelino met Yi Chen in the contestants’ passageway, asked why he had spared him, and gave him a business card offering one free favor in the Cancer Palace.
• Marcelino challenged Yi Chen to fight again after he became a full-fledged knight, and Yi Chen accepted the card before leaving with Jin.

Yi Chen and Jin collected their gladiatorial prize and met three Tumor Knights who offered Yi Chen a place in their order. After he declined, Madam Olena praised him and offered to take them to the Primeval Forest while helping him find the Duke.

• Yi Chen and Jin received Greed Rings holding twelve thousand Ancient Coins each and bound them with their blood.
• The Greed Rings licked each other and transferred money when their tongues touched, while Yi Chen pulled Jin away from the host’s offer to feed on him.
• Three Tumor Knights questioned Yi Chen about his axe and Thorned Iron Chain, then invited him to join their order, but he said he planned to leave soon and visit the Duke and tannery.
• The Tumor Knights warned Yi Chen that something bad was happening at the tannery and that they had banned contact with it for several months.
• Madam Olena praised Yi Chen, offered to take him and Jin to the Primeval Forest, and explained how they could locate the Duke.

Yi Chen visited the Primeval Forest with Jin and Madam Olena, but the tree sap awakened the Black Umbilical Cord and triggered a lunar meditation that strengthened his understanding of illusions. When he returned, he found Olena in human form asleep with Jin after spending the night together.

• Madam Olena brought Yi Chen and Jin to the Primeval Forest to relax and recover after their battle.
• Yi Chen drank tree sap, but the Black Umbilical Cord absorbed it and began feeding on the sap in a bathtub.
• The hallucinogenic effects activated Yi Chen's lunarization, transporting his consciousness and the bathtub to the Moon Surface for meditation.
• Yi Chen practiced resisting illusions while the Black Umbilical Cord consumed the sap, and his understanding of illusions improved.
• Yi Chen returned to find Olena in human form and asleep while embracing Jin.

After the previous night’s strange effects, Madam Olena questioned Yi Chen about his Moon Mark and learned about his organization’s strength and its conflict with the Fear Circus. Yi Chen left the forest planning to visit the Duke, while wondering whether humans survived outside his organization.

• Madam Olena returned to her feline form and made Yi Chen promise to keep the previous night secret, then asked why the tree sap had affected her and Jin.
• Yi Chen showed Madam Olena his Moon Mark and explained its connection to Moon Scar and Lorien; she theorized that the New Moon had formed from the world’s preserved lunar concept.
• Madam Olena questioned Yi Chen about his human organization, and he described Teacher Zed and the organization’s encounters with the Fear Circus.
• Madam Olena warned Yi Chen that the Fear Circus was dangerous and advised him to ask the Duke before seeking contact with it.
• Yi Chen asked whether the Cancer Palace had encountered humans beyond those from the Skin Factory’s dependent zone, and Madam Olena said it had not.

Yi Chen left Cancer Palace for the City of Lights, Ignasi, hoping to find Kindling and attend the Duke's Merchant Guild gathering. His journey ended with the Underground Sun coming into view as he approached the city.

• Yi Chen left Jin at Madam Olena's residence and learned that the Duke's Merchant Guild would gather in Ignasi, where a lampmaker was rumored to use Kindling.
• Madam Olena watched Yi Chen depart and suspected the Supreme Lord had no interest in accepting him, so she decided to focus on Jin.
• Yi Chen crossed Pus Lake and used his Black Roundworm card to request transport to Ignasi, then gained free passage by revealing the Mark of Transaction.
• Yi Chen traveled through the underground and saw the immense Underground Sun that illuminated dark regions and helped the Sick Ones survive.

Yi Chen reached Ignacy, the City of Lights, and passed its identity check using the Mark of Transaction. As he explored the city’s unusual lighting and saw its central Underground Sun, he realized that its faint glow seemed to be watching everyone.

• Yi Chen ran through the intense light surrounding Ignacy, while his Gentleman's Attire and eyes absorbed some of it.
• He examined the city’s enormous candle-lined walls and declined an invitation from a woman in a red Sedan Chair.
• Yi Chen showed the Mark of Transaction at the gates and was permitted to enter Ignacy.
• Inside the city, Yi Chen observed its kerosene wall lamps, flying Skull Lamps, and dim central sphere resembling the Underground Sun.
• Little Grape noticed countless eyes hidden behind the central sphere’s faint light, and Yi Chen felt uneasy about being watched.

Yi Chen visited a Candle Puppet shop in the City of Lamps and learned how its grotesque living puppets served as lamps for exploring Extreme Dark Zones. After seeing the cheapest model ignite, he decided to buy it.

• Yi Chen learned that lamps supplied light and helped explorers enter the dangerous Extreme Dark Zones, where Old World relics could be found.
• Yi Chen entered Candle Puppet's Cabin, where a puppet at the door welcomed him with a broken jaw.
• The shop's disfigured Boss explained that Candle Puppets were living lamps and claimed his wares were superior to ordinary lamps.
• The Boss ignited an old Candle Puppet, whose skull opened to reveal a burning candle that illuminated the shop.
• Yi Chen interrupted the Boss's explanation and said he would buy the puppet.

Yi Chen bought an old Candle Puppet from Boss after recognizing the craftsmanship and intact brain inside it, which he believed his Mad Brain could help develop. He then entered Duke Garryson’s Merchant Guild as a valued customer and learned that Yue Hen had obtained what he sought and risen to a higher position.

• Yi Chen bought the battered Candle Puppet from Boss, tested its modes, and left the shop while others mocked his purchase.
• Yi Chen recalled that the puppet’s old-fashioned mechanisms were carefully handmade and realized its exposed brain could learn with help from his Mad Brain.
• Yi Chen found Central Street crowded with visitors to Duke Garryson’s Merchant Guild, but a Golden Mask employee recognized his aura and escorted him inside as a valued customer.
• Yi Chen entered the auction building and met Duke Garryson, who praised his progress and compared him with Yue Hen.
• Yi Chen asked about Yue Hen, and Duke Garryson said Yue Hen had bought the item he dreamed of and was now standing at a higher position.

Yi Chen consulted Duke about the symbiotic spine, the Skin Factory, and Evil Sun Kindling, while Duke examined his weapon and offered advice about the Original Tomb. Duke paid Yi Chen a firearm patent fee and invited him to the auction, leaving Yi Chen to continue planning his journey to the Skin Factory.

• Yi Chen showed Duke the firearm and spine, and Duke recommended obtaining a Deadperson's Wedge Stone from Within the Original Tomb to modify the spine.
• Duke warned Yi Chen that joining the Original Tomb's Knight Order would bring powerful benefits but harm his relationship with the Cancer Palace and other factions.
• Duke examined Yi Chen's firearm, where Little Grape fused with it, and declined to reveal what he had learned about the Skin Factory's future.
• Duke warned Yi Chen that pursuing Evil Sun Kindling in Ignasi would make him an enemy of the City of Lamps and urged him to wait until he reached Moon Scar's level.
• Duke paid Yi Chen 20,000 as a firearm patent fee and invited him to the auction, then asked him to tell the puppet-maker to manage lamps for the merchant guild.