Chapter Summaries

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Cuiping, a resident of Corner Street, is possessed by an Evil Spirit, triggering the arrival of a massive, steel-plate-shaped Forbidden Object.
• The Black Robe Enforcement Team attempts to exorcise the Forbidden Object but fails, provoking a violent resistance and causing a team member's death.
• A Forbidden Object appears on the street, and Bai Zhou, a top student of the Youth Training Corps, encounters it.
• The Black Robe Enforcement Team arrives to deal with the Forbidden Object, but their attempts fail, leading to a catastrophic event where the sky begins to fall.
• A mysterious woman descends from the sky, and a ground operation by people in black windbreakers begins, marking the end of Bai Zhou's peaceful life.

Character Developments

• Bai Zhou: Initially curious and longing to explore the Wilderness, Bai Zhou shows courage and responsibility when facing the Forbidden Object. He demonstrates his duty and calm under pressure, impressing the Black Robe Uncle and securing a recommendation for the Black Robes.
• Li Cuiping: Possessed by an Evil Spirit, Li Cuiping is eventually burned to ashes by the Black Robe Enforcement Team. Despite her tragic fate, she finds happiness in marrying Grandpa Wang after her death.
• The Mysterious Woman: Descending from the sky, she brings an end to Bai Zhou's peaceful life. Her true identity and intentions remain unknown.

Significant Themes

• The struggle between order and chaos, as represented by the Black Robe Enforcement Team and the Forbidden Objects/Evil Spirits.
• The consequences of breaking taboos and the fear of the unknown.
• The impact of the unknown on one's life and the potential for change and upheaval.

Character Interactions

• Bai Zhou and Uncle Xiang: They interact as neighbors and friends, with Uncle Xiang showing concern for Bai Zhou's safety and well-being.
• Bai Zhou and the Black Robe Enforcement Team: Bai Zhou interacts with the Black Robes as a youth seeking to join their ranks and later as a witness to their failed attempts to deal with the Forbidden Object.
• Bai Zhou and the Mysterious Woman: Their first encounter marks the beginning of Bai Zhou's life-changing events, although their interaction is minimal in this chapter.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Zhou, after being abducted, is brought to a public trial site within an alien base.
• He witnesses the execution of the Black Robes, including Li Wang, using a mysterious Black Box.
• The last words of the executed Black Robes manifest as crimson characters, revealing their regrets and secrets.

Character Developments

• Bai Zhou: Experiences culture shock and confusion upon learning the truth about Evening City and the Black Robes. Feels fear, loneliness, and eventually, relief at surviving the disaster.
• Li Wang: Executed for his role in the Black Robes. His last words reveal his regret in taking Bai Zhou's spot.

Significant Themes

• Reality vs. Perception: Bai Zhou's worldview is shattered as he learns the truth about Evening City and the Black Robes.
• Adaptation: Despite the shock of the truth, the people of Evening City seem more concerned with their own survival and adaptation to their new reality.
• Fate and Luck: Bai Zhou realizes how close he was to being executed in Li Wang's place, highlighting the fickleness of fate.

Character Interactions

• Bai Zhou and the Smoker Soldier: Bai Zhou asks the Soldier for a light, showing his growing acceptance of his new situation and a glimmer of his old ambition.
• Bai Zhou and Li Wang: Li Wang's execution serves as a stark reminder to Bai Zhou of how close he was to sharing the same fate.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Zhou fulfills a Last Will by offering three Furong King cigarettes, causing a change in a line of blood writing.
• He enters a hallucinatory state, witnessing a conversation between two Black Robes who speak about the meaning of life and the Reflection Ruins Realm.
• Bai Zhou receives three lollipops from the headless corpse of Fat Black Robe, which can temporarily suppress contamination and stabilize mental state.
• The Major announces that those contaminated by the Reflection Ruins Realm cannot return to society immediately and must undergo testing. He uses a Blood Vessel to test contamination levels.
• Bai Zhou passes the test by feeding the Blood Vessel an Alpaca Lollipop, impressing the Major and the girl in the windbreaker.
• Bai Zhou decides to join the Black Box Maintenance Department and asks about the possibility of returning to Evening City. The Major and Deputy Han reveal that Evening City is destroyed and cannot be located.
• Bai Zhou asks the girl in the windbreaker if she can locate Evening City, but the Major and others seem unaware of her presence, implying she might be a hallucination or a figment of Bai Zhou's imagination.

Character Developments

• Bai Zhou: He fulfills a Last Will, receives gifts from a Lost Soul, and decides to join the Black Box Maintenance Department to uncover more secrets about Evening City and himself. He also discovers that he can see the girl in the windbreaker when no one else can.
• Fat Black Robe: Although he is deceased, his actions and words continue to influence Bai Zhou. He leaves Bai Zhou lollipops that can help suppress contamination and stabilize mental state.
• The Major: He is impressed by Bai Zhou's ability to pass the contamination test and offers him a position in the Black Box Maintenance Department. He reveals that Evening City is destroyed and cannot be located.
• The girl in the windbreaker: She is acknowledged by Bai Zhou as the most capable person to help him unravel the mysteries surrounding him. However, her presence is not acknowledged by others, suggesting she might be a hallucination or a figment of Bai Zhou's imagination.

Significant Themes

• Contamination and Mental State: The Reflection Ruins Realm's contamination affects people's mental states, causing hallucinations and negative desires. The Alpaca Lollipops can temporarily suppress contamination and stabilize mental state.
• Secrets and Mysteries: Evening City is shrouded in many secrets, and Bai Zhou is determined to uncover them, even if it means joining the Black Box Maintenance Department.
• Perception of Reality: The girl in the windbreaker's presence is only acknowledged by Bai Zhou, raising questions about the nature of reality and perception.

Character Interactions

• Bai Zhou and the Headless Corpse (Fat Black Robe): Although deceased, Fat Black Robe interacts with Bai Zhou through hallucinations, leaving him lollipops that can help suppress contamination.
• Bai Zhou and the Major: The Major is impressed by Bai Zhou's ability to pass the contamination test and offers him a position in the Black Box Maintenance Department.
• Bai Zhou and the girl in the windbreaker: Bai Zhou asks the girl in the windbreaker if she can locate Evening City, but her presence is not acknowledged by others, suggesting she might be a hallucination or a figment of Bai Zhou's imagination.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Zhou arrives at the underground base and meets Ya, a mysterious girl who only he can see.
• Ya warns Bai Zhou about a dangerous artifact, the Crown of Thorns, which could cause a disaster if not contained.
• Ya proposes a deal to Bai Zhou: he must help her contain the Crown, and in exchange, she will offer him extraordinary knowledge and power.

Character Developments

• Bai Zhou: He remains skeptical about his new circumstances but is pragmatic and willing to accept Ya's deal to ensure his survival.
• Ya: She is mysterious and powerful, with a non-human appearance and abilities. She is frank about the dangers of her proposal but seems to have a genuine need for Bai Zhou's help.

Significant Themes

• Trust and deception: Bai Zhou must decide whether to trust Ya, despite her unusual appearance and the danger of her proposal.
• Power and knowledge: Ya offers Bai Zhou extraordinary power and knowledge as a reward for his help, suggesting that these are valuable commodities in her world.

Character Interactions

• Bai Zhou and Ya: Their interaction is tense and uncertain, with Ya being frank about the danger of her proposal, and Bai Zhou being pragmatic and willing to accept her deal. Their relationship is one of mutual need, with Ya requiring Bai Zhou's help and Bai Zhou seeking Ya's knowledge and power.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Zhou joins the Special Black Box Control Agency and is given a tour of the Black Rooms, where mysterious objects and creatures are sealed.
• He finds the Johor Laurel Crown, which is the Crown of Thorns Ya mentioned, and secretly contains it using the Black Feather Mark.
• After the tour, Bai Zhou leaves Small Cakes at the Crown of Thorns' Black Room, causing the Last Will to shatter and grant him an "Old Days: Zhuluo Era" Pass.

Character Developments

• Bai Zhou demonstrates his ability to contain mysterious objects using the Black Feather Mark and shows empathy by leaving Small Cakes for the Crown of Thorns.
• Section Chief Liu, a Level P4 Specialist, reveals the power and potential of extraordinary individuals with the aid of equipment.

Significant Themes

• The struggle against mysterious objects and creatures that threaten the stability of society.
• The power and potential of extraordinary individuals.
• Empathy and kindness, as shown by Bai Zhou's act of leaving Small Cakes.

Character Interactions

• Bai Zhou interacts with Section Chief Liu during the tour, showing curiosity and engagement with the material.
• Bai Zhou's interaction with the Crown of Thorns' Last Will leads to the granting of the "Old Days: Zhuluo Era" Pass.

Chapter Summary: “Extraordinary Ones and Enlightenment Potion”

Key Plot Points and Events

• During a tour of the Great Door, Bai Zhou pretends to honor the dead of Evening City by offering food to the underground elders. Section Chief Liu, recognizing Bai Zhou as a survivor of the Blood Worship Cult’s experiments, apologizes for arriving too late. Bai Zhou successfully conceals the Golden Ticket only he can see.
• Bai Zhou memorizes the strange last wills written on the Black Boxes, hoping to fulfill them someday. After leaving the Great Door, he receives a mysterious note from Ya asking for a cucumber, small oranges, and Coffee Beans.
• He buys the requested items, along with two portions of Beef Ramen, and returns to the Dormitory. The base’s orderly daily life—patrolling soldiers, researchers exercising, and functioning infrastructure—shows how Bai Zhou is gradually adapting to life within the Special Management Department.
• Ya appears unexpectedly, praises Bai Zhou for helping seal the Crown of Thorns, and explains that the food is meant to serve as ritual mediums rather than nourishment. She reveals that the Blood Worship Cult may soon attack Branch 36 in retaliation for the destruction of the Evening City Stronghold.
• Because Bai Zhou may need to defend himself, Ya tells him he must awaken his Destiny and become an extraordinary one. She explains the history of extraordinary beings and introduces the Enlightenment Potion, a ritual method created in 1753 that makes awakening Destiny much easier.
• Ya transforms cucumber slices, oranges, and golden flames into a Star Chart resembling Ursa Major, then converts the resulting starlight into Bai Zhou’s Enlightenment Potion by mixing it into his ramen.
• She explains that extraordinary ones gain power by “stealing” knowledge and strength from the Reflection Ruins Realm, a mysterious domain containing the remnants of countless lost civilizations.
• Ya prepares Bai Zhou for the Apocalypse Ritual using candles, rose oil, orange segments, cucumber slices, and a mirror. At midnight, Bai Zhou eats the glowing ramen and recites the Curse “Abrete Sesamo.”
• The ritual causes his consciousness to enter a strange state filled with whispers, music, mist, and stars. His reflection smiles unnervingly before the mirror’s scene changes. Bai Zhou realizes he has been drawn into the Reflection Ruins Realm—or at least the space beyond the mirror—and finds himself standing at the edge of an endless gray fog.

Character Developments

• Bai Zhou becomes increasingly accustomed to the Special Management Department and begins to enjoy privileges he never had before, though he remains aware of his outsider status. His purchase of expensive Coffee Beans symbolizes his gradual movement into a higher social position.
• He demonstrates resourcefulness by remembering the Black Boxes’ last wills and hiding the Golden Ticket, but he is still inexperienced with rituals, supernatural powers, and the larger world beyond Evening City.
• Bai Zhou’s fear and curiosity about extraordinary ones develop into determination. Ya’s warning about the Blood Worship Cult motivates him to pursue power and control over his own fate.
• Ya reveals more of her knowledge and authority. She acts as Bai Zhou’s mentor, preparing him for awakening while also showing a teasing, unpredictable side through her unusual entrances, food preferences, and casual treatment of supernatural phenomena.
• Ya’s philosophical perspective becomes clearer: she considers extraordinary ones neither divine nor inherently noble, but explorers and thieves who appropriate knowledge from lost civilizations.

Significant Themes

• Adaptation and social advancement: Bai Zhou’s changing relationship with the base reflects his transition from a marginalized survivor to a recognized member of a powerful organization.
• Control over destiny: Becoming extraordinary is presented as the means to escape helplessness and influence one’s own future.
• Knowledge as power: Extraordinary abilities come from uncovering and stealing secrets from the past, making history and archaeology sources of supernatural power.
• The hidden history of civilization: Modern human progress is linked to ancient, lost civilizations and the Reflection Ruins Realm, suggesting that humanity’s official history is incomplete.
• Protection versus danger: The Blood Worship Cult’s attack threat contrasts with the protective function of the Special Management Department and the former walls of Evening City.
• Thresholds and mirrors: The mirror ritual symbolizes passage between the ordinary world and the supernatural realm, while also raising questions about identity and the reliability of reflections.

Character Interactions

• Bai Zhou and Section Chief Liu: Bai Zhou deceives Liu with his invented Evening City custom. Liu’s apology reveals sympathy and guilt over the victims of the Blood Worship Cult.
• Bai Zhou and Ya: Their relationship shifts from a mysterious alliance toward a teacher-student dynamic. Ya gives Bai Zhou practical guidance, warns him of impending danger, and creates the Enlightenment Potion for him. Bai Zhou’s nervous questions and Ya’s dry, matter-of-fact responses create a humorous contrast.
• Ya also challenges Bai Zhou’s assumptions about power, explaining that even formidable figures are products of historical forces and that the truly powerful shape entire eras.
• Bai Zhou and the reflection: The smiling mirror image introduces a disturbing, potentially independent aspect of Bai Zhou’s identity and marks his entry into the supernatural realm.

Bai Zhou enters the Crevice World between the Present World and the Reflection Ruins Realm to awaken his Destiny. Ya, a mysterious entity, guides him through the process. Bai Zhou absorbs various knowledge from the mist, improving his skills and understanding. He encounters a Golden Firefly Light, an extraordinary opportunity left behind by the Previous Civilization, which helps him awaken his Destiny to the level of a Genius. Bai Zhou then discovers a Golden Pass and an Alpaca Lollipop emitting golden light. Upon injecting his spirituality into the Golden Pass, it creates a Golden Avenue leading to an inverted Ruins Realm, with a Seven-Colored Fire Seed at the end.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Zhou enters the Crevice World to awaken his Destiny.
• He absorbs various knowledge from the mist, improving his skills.
• Encounters a Golden Firefly Light, which helps him awaken his Destiny.
• Discovers a Golden Pass and an Alpaca Lollipop emitting golden light.
• The Golden Pass creates a Golden Avenue leading to an inverted Ruins Realm with a Seven-Colored Fire Seed at the end.

Character Developments

• Bai Zhou's Destiny awakens, raising him to the level of a Genius.
• He becomes more determined and focused on learning and improving himself.
• Bai Zhou discovers new powers and abilities related to his spirituality.

Significant Themes

• The importance of knowledge and learning.
• The struggle and determination required to improve oneself.
• The mysteries of the human body and the Extraordinary Path.

Character Interactions

• Ya guides Bai Zhou through the process of awakening his Destiny.
• Bai Zhou interacts with the knowledge within the Crevice World, improving his skills and understanding.
• No other characters are present in this chapter.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Zhou discovers a seven-colored Fire Seed on the Golden Path, which exhibits signs of life and evades his grasp.
• He uses spirituality to interact with the Fire Seed, which then devours his spirituality and transforms into a seven-colored Ancient Character.
• The Ancient Character causes Bai Zhou's Destiny to awaken a second time, increasing his talent and causing his Destiny to rise.
• After digesting the Ancient Character, Bai Zhou finds himself in the Reflection Ruins Realm, a place filled with ancient ruins and dangers.
• He discovers a Corpse Pit with ancient corpses and a peculiar red flower made of strings of scarlet last words.

Character Developments

• Bai Zhou demonstrates determination and resourcefulness in trying to obtain the seven-colored Fire Seed.
• His Destiny awakens a second time, indicating significant growth in his talent.
• He shows caution and wariness upon arriving in the Reflection Ruins Realm, understanding the potential dangers of the place.

Significant Themes

• The power of knowledge and its role in shaping Destiny's talent.
• The concept of fate's gifts and their hidden costs.
• The contrast between the familiar and the unknown, as seen in Bai Zhou's return to his hometown, now a reflection of a ruined ancient battlefield.

Character Interactions

• Bai Zhou interacts with the seven-colored Fire Seed, using spirituality to connect with it and eventually absorb it.
• His arrival in the Reflection Ruins Realm suggests potential future interactions with its inhabitants, though none are present in this chapter.
• The ancient corpses and the red flower made of last words hint at possible past interactions or conflicts that led to their current state.

Chapter Summary: “Troy, Troy, Wake Up...”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Zhou explores a desolate battlefield in the Reflection Ruins Realm beneath an inverted Giant City. Dozens of mangled Undead lie in a Corpse Pit, each marked with the words “Let Me Rest!”
• He notices a disturbing mismatch between the enormous number of broken weapons scattered across the wasteland and the small number of visible corpses. This leads him to suspect that the ruins may preserve the remains of an entire civilization destroyed in a massive internal rebellion.
• Bai Zhou theorizes that the ancient civilization once built the floating Giant City, which was overturned during the rebellion. Its remains and dead were later reflected into this ruined world.
• He begins searching the battlefield for a way to activate the Golden Pass and return home, believing that the answer may be hidden among the ruins.
• Bai Zhou scavenges weapons, jars, mechanical devices, and unknown black sludge. Most artifacts are ruined by time, though some retain strange properties, such as a blood-dripping sword, a whimpering bow, sharp arrowheads, and weapons equipped with concealed mechanisms.
• The civilization’s battlefield is revealed to be filled with elaborate and treacherous traps, including poisoned arrows, corrosive sprays, sleeping gas, and a fire-breathing statue. Bai Zhou survives by remaining cautious and using a large, door-like shield for protection.
• He establishes a temporary Stronghold among his collected artifacts and decides not to advance along the dangerous path toward the cliff and Giant City yet.
• While searching a broken wall, Bai Zhou discovers a colorful, half-rotten Wooden Horse hidden inside a clay jar. He imagines it may once have been a beloved child’s toy, preserved by chance before war destroyed the civilization.
• Black Qi begins to gather around the toy. Its mechanism activates by itself, its belly opens, and it starts moving and singing an unsettling children’s rhyme: “Troy, Troy, wake up!”

Character Development

• Bai Zhou demonstrates increasing adaptability and courage in the unfamiliar ruins. Though frightened by the Corpse Pit and the traps, he continues exploring rather than retreating.
• His practical and opportunistic side becomes more pronounced: he recognizes the potential value of unknown artifacts, Black Boxes, and ancient technology, even when the items initially appear to be worthless junk.
• He shows growing archaeological curiosity, attempting to reconstruct the history of the destroyed civilization from its weapons, ruins, and battlefield arrangement.
• Bai Zhou also develops a more cautious survival strategy. After encountering the civilization’s deceptive mechanisms, he assumes that nearly everything could be a trap and refuses to proceed recklessly toward the Giant City.
• His imagination and empathy emerge when he reflects on the Wooden Horse’s possible original owner and the forgotten ordinary people erased by history.

Significant Themes

• The passage of time and loss: Even extraordinary weapons, advanced technology, and entire civilizations decay into rust, ash, and fragments.
• Buried history and archaeology: Bai Zhou acts as both explorer and tomb raider, trying to recover clues about a vanished civilization from its ruins.
• The traces of ordinary lives: The Wooden Horse suggests that behind grand historical destruction were countless unnamed people, families, and personal stories.
• Civilization’s corruption: The ancient society appears technologically advanced but obsessed with deception, traps, and underhanded warfare.
• Curiosity versus danger: Bai Zhou’s desire for knowledge and valuable relics repeatedly places him in danger, forcing him to balance exploration with survival.
• Awakening and forgotten horrors: The chapter ends by suggesting that something dormant within the ruins—or symbolized by “Troy”—is beginning to awaken.

Character Interactions

• Bai Zhou has no direct interaction with living humans in the chapter, but he confronts the hostile remnants of the ancient civilization through its traps, weapons, and undead corpses.
• He mentally recalls Ya’s teachings about the Reflection Ruins Realm and the role of extraordinary individuals as archaeologists and tomb raiders.
• He also remembers a fairy tale from Evening City about a cowherd and a Sleeping Beauty, humorously comparing his own exploration to breaking into a dangerous ancient castle.
• His most significant interaction is with the Wooden Horse. Initially treating it as a decayed artifact, Bai Zhou becomes alarmed when it appears to awaken, animate itself, and address him through the mysterious repeated rhyme: “Troy, Troy, wake up!”

Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Zhou encounters a Wooden Horse in the Wilderness, which he seals with a shield.
• He discovers a Corpse Pit with a unique symbol on the armor and encounters a Swollen Giant Monster.
• After a battle, Bai Zhou activates his Golden Pass and returns to Blue Star.

Character Developments

• Bai Zhou learns to be more cunning and underhanded in combat, acknowledging his shortcomings and learning from the monster's strengths.
• He gains experience in using his spirituality, demonstrating growth in his abilities.

Significant Themes

• The importance of deception and adaptability in combat.
• The concept of "despicable locals" and the need to understand and learn from different civilizations.

Character Interactions

• Bai Zhou interacts with the Swollen Giant Monster, learning from it and eventually defeating it.
• Upon his return, he interacts with Ya, who is concerned about his appearance and the events that transpired.

In this chapter, Bai Zhou returns from the Reflection Ruins Realm, carrying a mysterious contamination that Ya, an Occultist, helps him remove. They discuss Bai Zhou's experience and the nature of the contamination. Ya reveals that Bai Zhou's spirituality has been awakened, but he has also acquired a dangerous, forbidden Ancient Character that is slowly eroding him. Bai Zhou attempts to write the Ancient Character, but it causes a violent reaction, leading Ya to conclude that it is Forbidden Knowledge. Ya shares an ancient story about a man who found a spark in a mist, which bears similarities to Bai Zhou's experience. The chapter ends with Ya expressing her belief in Bai Zhou's uniqueness and specialness, comparing him to Jesus Christ, though she keeps this comparison to herself.

Key Plot Points and Events

1. Bai Zhou returns from the Reflection Ruins Realm, carrying contamination.
2. Ya purifies Bai Zhou using a makeshift SCE (Sanctification, Purification, Enhancement) Ritual.
3. Bai Zhou reveals he has awakened his Destiny and acquired a forbidden Ancient Character.
4. Bai Zhou attempts to write the Ancient Character, causing a violent reaction.
5. Ya reveals that the Ancient Character is Forbidden Knowledge and shares an ancient story about a man who found a spark in a mist.

Character Developments

• Bai Zhou: Returns from the Reflection Ruins Realm, awakens his Destiny, and acquires a forbidden Ancient Character.
• Ya: Helps Bai Zhou purify his contamination, reveals her knowledge of Forbidden Knowledge and ancient stories, and expresses her belief in Bai Zhou's uniqueness.

Significant Themes

1. Forbidden Knowledge: The Ancient Character Bai Zhou acquired is revealed to be Forbidden Knowledge, which the world does not accept and will naturally erase.
2. Destiny and Awakening: Bai Zhou has awakened his Destiny, but the nature and extent of his awakening are still unclear.
3. Contamination and Purification: The contamination Bai Zhou acquired from the Reflection Ruins Realm is a threat to his well-being, and Ya helps him purify it using a makeshift SCE Ritual.

Character Interactions

• Bai Zhou and Ya: Ya helps Bai Zhou purify his contamination and discusses his experience in the Reflection Ruins Realm. They share information about the Ancient Character and its nature as Forbidden Knowledge. Ya expresses her belief in Bai Zhou's uniqueness and compares him to Jesus Christ, though she keeps this comparison to herself.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Zhou and Ya return to the dormitory after Bai Zhou's encounter with the Black Whirlwind. Ya performs a Ritual to seal off the domain, preventing eavesdropping.
• Ya reveals that the half Ancient Character Bai Zhou found has awakened his Destiny, which is still growing. She warns him about the dangers of Forbidden Knowledge and the need to grow stronger.
• Ya decides to start Bai Zhou's special training immediately, beginning with teaching him the blade. She demonstrates the combat secret art [Moon Ember], which involves creating a Flame Moon with a single strike.

Character Developments

• Bai Zhou: He is still in shock from his encounter with the Black Whirlwind and the awakening of his Destiny. He is eager to learn and grow stronger but is also exhausted and reluctant to start training immediately.
• Ya: She is patient and serious in her teachings, showing concern for Bai Zhou's well-being and growth. She is also mysterious and cryptic about her past and the dangers of Forbidden Knowledge.

Significant Themes

• The power of knowledge and writing: Ya emphasizes the importance of respecting and understanding the power of knowledge and writing, as seen in the example of the Kabbalah Cult and the Rune script.
• The dangers of Forbidden Knowledge: Ya warns Bai Zhou about the potential dangers that come with awakening his Destiny using the half Ancient Character, comparing it to the fate of Prometheus.
• The importance of growth and self-improvement: Ya stresses the need for Bai Zhou to grow stronger and learn new skills to protect himself and face the challenges ahead.

Character Interactions

• Bai Zhou and Ya: Their interaction is teacher-student-like, with Ya acting as the mentor and Bai Zhou as the eager but reluctant student. Ya is patient and encouraging, while Bai Zhou is curious and eager to learn but also exhausted and reluctant to start training immediately.
• Bai Zhou and the Black Whirlwind: Although not a direct interaction, Bai Zhou's encounter with the Black Whirlwind serves as a catalyst for his growth and the start of his special training with Ya.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Section Chief Liu brings Bai Zhou a Briefcase and a Stainless Steel Thermos.
• Bai Zhou has been training rigorously with Ya for three days, swinging a blade two thousand times each night and learning to draw mysterious symbols.
• Bai Zhou sees strange creatures, later identified as Commissioners wearing Gas Masks, carrying injured colleagues.
• Section Chief Liu reveals that the Special Management Department and the Blood Worship Cult are searching for the Dead Sea Scrolls, leading to conflicts and injuries.
• Bai Zhou and Section Chief Liu patrol the Black Room, and Bai Zhou notices a new Last Will above a Black Box.

Character Developments

• Bai Zhou is exhausted from his intense training with Ya but maintains his composure.
• Section Chief Liu shows concern for Bai Zhou's well-being and shares information about the Dead Sea Scrolls search.
• Bai Zhou becomes determined to find the Dead Sea Scrolls after learning about its value.

Significant Themes

• The struggle between the Special Management Department (Authorities) and the Blood Worship Cult.
• The pursuit of ancient, powerful knowledge (the Dead Sea Scrolls).
• The consequences of secrecy and hidden agendas.

Character Interactions

• Bai Zhou and Section Chief Liu: They bond over breakfast, with Section Chief Liu sharing information and showing concern for Bai Zhou.
• Bai Zhou and the strange creatures (Commissioners with Gas Masks): Bai Zhou initially mistakes them for "Pig-Nosed Demons" but later learns they are Commissioners.
• Bai Zhou and the new Last Will: Bai Zhou feels an ancient, mysterious aura from the new Last Will and becomes determined to learn more about it.

Chapter Summary: “Mechanical Spear-Gun”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Zhou learns that the mysterious Crown may be connected to a “Blood-Soaked Coronation,” the rise of a “Golden King,” and the destruction of the Divine Era. He compares the idea to Evening City’s legend of the Miller who draws the Sacred Sword and becomes destined for greatness.
• Although the Crown is sealed inside the Third Sector of the Black Room, Bai Zhou begins considering how he might eventually gain access to it. He realizes that becoming the Third Sector’s supervisor would give him authority to investigate it.
• While touring the Black Room with Section Chief Liu, Bai Zhou learns about its three sectors. Each sector is controlled by a Level P3 supervisor, who can mobilize the Black Boxes under their jurisdiction during emergencies.
• Liu explains that he is a Level P4 Specialist in the Inspection Department, allowing him to inspect every sector and monitor supervisors for negligence or theft. The Third Sector is currently without a supervisor because its previous one died during a Black Box riot.
• Liu encourages Bai Zhou by explaining that promotions at Branch 36 are based on ability and achievements rather than seniority. He suggests that Bai Zhou’s resistance to contamination could help him advance rapidly.
• Liu shows Bai Zhou an enchanted Arbiter-300 pistol and describes the privileges of higher-ranked Specialists, including access to Magic Potions, possible awakening of Destiny, and eventually receiving a Mechanical Briefcase.
• Bai Zhou secretly realizes that he is already an extraordinary person who has awakened his Destiny. He also suspects that reaching Level P3 may allow him to claim authority over the Third Sector and investigate the Crown.
• After work, Bai Zhou delays returning to the dormitory because he dreads Ya’s brutal advanced training. When he finally returns, he finds Ya calmly reading on a black ribbon stretched across the room and notices that she has nearly finished his Coffee Beans.
• Ya reveals that she has completed a new weapon using the broken spear Bai Zhou previously brought back. She calls it the Mechanical Spear-Gun, an improvised but highly sophisticated weapon made from springs, chains, rebar, loading mechanisms, and other mechanical components.
• Ya claims the weapon is an Extraordinary Weapon, potentially more effective than ordinary enchanted firearms. She hands it to Bai Zhou and declares that it is now his, offering to let him test its power.

Character Developments

• Bai Zhou becomes increasingly ambitious and strategic. Rather than merely being curious about the Crown, he begins planning how to rise through the organization and gain the authority needed to study it.
• He gains greater confidence in his hidden advantages, recognizing that his awakened Destiny and resistance to contamination may allow him to advance faster than ordinary Specialists.
• Bai Zhou also develops a new appreciation for weapons. After previously failing to understand Liu’s excitement over the Arbiter-300, he begins to feel similar pride and fascination when Ya gives him the Mechanical Spear-Gun.
• Section Chief Liu is established as a supportive mentor figure. He explains the organization’s hierarchy, encourages Bai Zhou’s potential, and tries to inspire him with the prospect of promotion and supernatural advancement.
• Ya demonstrates her inventiveness and practical independence. While Bai Zhou was working, she repaired and heavily modified the broken spear, creating a weapon that reflects both her mechanical skill and her ruthless combat philosophy.
• Ya and Bai Zhou’s relationship remains informal and sibling-like. Bai Zhou calls her “Sis,” buys her Coffee Beans, and accepts her training despite fearing it.

Significant Themes

• Ambition and opportunity: The Special Management Department’s dangerous environment offers Bai Zhou a path to power. Crises are presented as opportunities for advancement.
• Hidden identity and concealed power: Bai Zhou knows he is already extraordinary, but Liu does not. His secret knowledge gives him an advantage while also forcing him to conceal his abilities.
• Human fascination with dangerous tools: Liu’s pride in his pistol and Bai Zhou’s eventual excitement over the Spear-Gun emphasize the attraction of mastering weapons and danger.
• Transformation and destiny: The Crown, the Golden King, awakened Destiny, Magic Potions, and Extraordinary Weapons all suggest that individuals can be transformed into something greater through trials, power, or discovery.
• Improvisation and invention: The Mechanical Spear-Gun embodies Ya’s ability to turn damaged or discarded materials into something powerful and unique.
• Comedy amid horror: Grim subjects such as Black Box riots, death, supernatural weapons, and possible apocalypse are balanced by Liu’s ridiculous stories, Bai Zhou’s procrastination, and Ya’s casual consumption of Coffee Beans.

Character Interactions

• Bai Zhou and Section Chief Liu: Liu explains the Black Room’s structure and encourages Bai Zhou to pursue promotion. Bai Zhou carefully hides his true abilities while pretending to be merely inspired by Liu’s advice.
• Bai Zhou and Ya: Their domestic interaction combines affection, fear, and dependence. Bai Zhou worries about Ya consuming his Coffee Beans and dreads her training, while Ya treats him as both a younger brother and a trainee.
• Ya and the Mechanical Spear-Gun: Ya proudly presents her invention as proof of her craftsmanship and gives it to Bai Zhou as his personal weapon, marking a new stage in his training.
• Bai Zhou and the Crown: Though the Crown does not appear directly, it dominates Bai Zhou’s thoughts. His desire to access it becomes the main motivation behind his plans for promotion and advancement.

Chapter Summary: Destiny Sequence and the Adventurer Path

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ya demonstrates the enhanced Mechanical Spear-Gun she has repaired for Bai Zhou. The weapon can launch hidden rivets, corrosive chemical bottles, and explosive crossbow bolts.
• Bai Zhou adds a military-grade high-intensity flashlight to the spear, planning to blind enemies before attacking them with the hidden mechanisms. His increasingly unconventional modifications amuse and surprise Ya.
• Bai Zhou resumes intensive combat training with the Bench Leg, recognizing that secret arts—not external weapons—are his true foundation.
• Ya explains that Bai Zhou’s rapid improvement comes from both his Destiny talent and the accumulated knowledge within the Knowledge Mist. His previously useless knowledge, including sketching, now helps him learn runes and other techniques.
• After three exhausting days of accelerated study, Bai Zhou is ready to begin advanced training and hopes to learn Moon Ember.
• Ya warns him that learning Moon Ember would place him on the Hunter Path, locking him into that Path’s knowledge and secret arts. Mixing incompatible Paths could cause mental collapse, loss of control, or death.
• Ya explains the structure of Extraordinary advancement:
  • The first major stage develops the six aspects of body, heart, qi, essence, intent, and spirit.
  • Completing all six allows one to qualify for a Title.
  • Moon Ember develops both the body and heart and can lead to becoming a Level 1 Hunter.
• Ya reveals that she herself is a Hunter who commands shadows, demonstrating her power by creating living shadow strands and a shadow rose.
• She introduces the concept of Destiny attributes and Destiny Sequences, explaining that each attribute has a Path most naturally suited to it.
• Bai Zhou’s Destiny is [Chen], represented by a chaotic black sun. The ideal Path for Chen is not Hunter but the long-lost Adventurer Path, once known as the Dragon Slayer Path.
• The Adventurer Path disappeared centuries ago. Its known historical bearers included Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Emperor, and the ancient Beowulf family, whose lineage was supposedly connected to dragon slaying before the family was destroyed.
• Bai Zhou realizes that the symbol of the Adventurer Path—a shield with crossed weapons—is identical to the symbol on Sacred Oath Slash and appears throughout the ancient battlefield beneath the Inverted Giant City.

Character Developments

• Bai Zhou becomes increasingly pragmatic and embraces unconventional, even “dishonorable,” combat methods. His use of blinding lights, hidden projectiles, corrosive chemicals, and explosive mechanisms reflects his determination to survive rather than fight honorably.
• His confidence grows as he experiences the effects of his unusually high Destiny talent. He begins to understand that his rebirth has fundamentally transformed his abilities.
• Bai Zhou’s knowledge from the Knowledge Mist proves unexpectedly valuable, allowing him to learn faster and develop skills such as drawing and rune reproduction.
• He remains eager to learn Moon Ember and rely on Ya’s expertise, but the revelation about the Adventurer Path forces him to reconsider his immediate plans.
• Ya is shown as both a stern mentor and a powerful Hunter. She patiently explains mystical theory but also admits that the Hunter Path, though currently the best path she can offer, may not be ideal for Bai Zhou.
• Ya’s revelations establish her as knowledgeable about Destiny, Paths, and historical inheritances, while her shadow abilities demonstrate the difference between an ordinary Extraordinary being and a true Destined One.

Significant Themes

• Pragmatism versus conventional morality: Bai Zhou abandons ideas of honorable combat, believing that survival requires using every available advantage.
• Knowledge as power: Information accumulated in the Knowledge Mist becomes practical strength, illustrating how seemingly useless learning can become essential under the right circumstances.
• Destiny and choice: Individuals may choose different Extraordinary Paths, but only the Path corresponding to their Destiny allows limitless potential.
• Inheritance and lost history: The Adventurer Path has vanished from the modern world, yet its remnants survive in ancient symbols, weapons, and possibly Sacred Oath Slash.
• The danger of power and knowledge: Other Destiny attributes, such as Moth and Ring, show that extraordinary gifts often carry severe psychological or fateful consequences.
• Rebirth and transformation: Bai Zhou’s talent and accelerated learning emphasize how completely he has changed from his former life.

Character Interactions

• Ya showcases the repaired Spear-Gun to Bai Zhou and cautions him to conserve its limited chemical ammunition. Bai Zhou responds enthusiastically and immediately thinks of additional modifications.
• Bai Zhou’s playful pride in being a former “Three Good Student” contrasts with his current willingness to use devious weapons, creating humor between him and Ya.
• During training, Ya acts as an exacting teacher, explaining Bai Zhou’s rapid progress and preparing him for advanced techniques.
• Bai Zhou eagerly asks about Moon Ember, while Ya interrupts his expectations with a serious warning about choosing an Extraordinary Path.
• Ya uses demonstrations—living shadows, symbolic drawings, and historical examples—to explain Destiny attributes and the concept of Destined Ones.
• Their discussion ends with Bai Zhou recognizing the Adventurer symbol on Sacred Oath Slash and the ancient battlefield, suggesting that his lost Destiny Sequence may be directly connected to the mysteries he has already encountered.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Zhou reveals he possesses a set of Knowledge Inheritance for the Adventurer sequence, including the Sacred Oath Slash.
• Ya agrees to help Bai Zhou improve his secret technique, creating Moon Ember Sacred Oath Slash.
• Bai Zhou learns the new technique and makes significant progress in a short time.
• Ya plans to boost Bai Zhou's career luck and guide him from the shadows for upcoming opportunities.
• Bai Zhou learns he will be going to Tinghai City for the department's annual team-building holiday.

Character Developments

• Bai Zhou shows determination and resolve in choosing the Adventurer Path, despite its difficulties.
• Ya demonstrates her expertise and willingness to help Bai Zhou, revealing her own struggles and past.
• Bai Zhou experiences a newfound desire to explore Blue Star and understand his true home.

Significant Themes

• Destiny and the path one chooses to follow.
• The spirit of adventure and exploration.
• The contrast between Evening City and Blue Star, and Bai Zhou's curiosity about his home planet.

Character Interactions

• Bai Zhou and Ya's relationship deepens as she agrees to help him, showing understanding and support for his choices.
• Bai Zhou's interaction with Section Chief Liu reveals an upcoming opportunity for him to leave Evening City and explore Blue Star.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Zhou and Section Chief Liu leave the underground base, traveling through a long, dark tunnel filled with traps.
• They ride a modified mine cart with a makeshift jet engine, racing through the tunnel.
• They emerge in a storage room under a shop in the heart of Tinghai City, called "Oddities General Store."
• Bai Zhou sees the bustling city for the first time, including a grand skyscraper with an electronic sign welcoming him to Tinghai.
• Section Chief Liu surprises Bai Zhou by driving up in a luxurious Maserati MC20, dressed in a flashy white suit.

Character Developments

• Bai Zhou experiences a mix of fear, excitement, and wonder as he leaves the base and enters the city for the first time.
• Section Chief Liu reveals a more carefree and stylish side, driving a luxurious car and changing into an elegant suit.

Significant Themes

• The contrast between the underground base and the bustling city above.
• The theme of transformation and change, as seen in Section Chief Liu's sudden change in appearance and demeanor.

Character Interactions

• Bai Zhou and Section Chief Liu interact as they leave the base and enter the city, with Section Chief Liu acting as a guide and mentor to Bai Zhou.
• Bai Zhou is initially shocked and disbelieving that the serious and frugal Section Chief Liu could be the same person as the flashy, stylish man driving the Maserati.

Key Plot Points and Events

+ Bai Zhou goes on a trip with Section Chief Liu, who reveals the Special Management Department's annual leave and the Reflection Ruins Realm's dormancy during the Twenty-Four Solar Terms.
+ They encounter a Public Security Officer Captain, Wang, who knows about the Special Management Department's work and shows respect for Bai Zhou.
+ Bai Zhou learns about a Blood Worship Cult member in Hengtan Elementary School and must confront and defeat them to save his colleagues.

Character Developments

+ Bai Zhou gains confidence in his abilities and is ready to face the Blood Worship Cult member.
+ Section Chief Liu shows his care for his daughter and his dedication to his work.
+ Captain Wang demonstrates his respect for the Special Management Department and its members.

Significant Themes

+ The Special Management Department's secrecy and public perception.
+ The power dynamics between the Special Management Department and other official organizations.
+ Bai Zhou's growth and acceptance of his new role.

Character Interactions

+ Bai Zhou and Section Chief Liu bond over their shared experiences and the upcoming mission.
+ Bai Zhou and Captain Wang interact, with Captain Wang showing respect for Bai Zhou's work.
+ Bai Zhou and Ya have a conversation where Ya reveals the Blood Worship Cult member's presence and encourages Bai Zhou to confront them.

Chapter Summary: “So You’re the Mastermind, Right?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Quan’s traumatic memories of prolonged bullying overwhelm him in the abandoned teaching building. A mysterious man in red leather shoes once offered him a choice between remaining a coward and becoming a hero, transforming him into a supernatural entity.
• Lin Quan is now an urban Ghost Story known as the Schoolbag Man. His enormous, filthy schoolbag is filled with the humiliating memories inflicted by his bullies. Believing approaching people intend to torment him again, he prepares to kill them.
• At the abandoned building, Section Chief Liu, Captain Wang, and Special Management Department Commissioners investigate reports of supernatural activity. Section Chief Liu senses that the building is awakening in response to the living people entering it.
• Meanwhile, Liu Huahua wakes in the school infirmary and confides in her homeroom teacher, Teacher Yuan. She explains that classmates have bullied her for being neglected by her frequently absent parents, leading her to fake illness to escape school.
• Teacher Yuan discovers that the girls Huahua describes do not exist in the class. The Doctor then enters and claims that the bullies exist even if they cannot be seen. He reveals that he has been manipulating Huahua through prolonged psychological guidance and illusions.
• The Doctor refers to Huahua as his “Art Piece” and explains that he also created or influenced Lin Quan’s transformation. He blames teachers and the Special Management Department for failing to notice the children’s suffering, while simultaneously treating their trauma as material for his experiments.
• The Doctor attempts to take the hypnotized Huahua away. When Teacher Yuan resists, he brutally strikes her and prepares to kill her.
• Bai Zhou unexpectedly enters the infirmary, first through the door and then dramatically through a window after realizing Teacher Yuan is in danger. He attacks the Doctor using an iron bench leg, lime thrown into his eyes, and a fiery blade technique.
• The Doctor is incapacitated, while Bai Zhou stands protectively in front of Teacher Yuan. Bai Zhou then awkwardly asks whether the Doctor is the mastermind behind everything—or the “evil Blood Worship Cultist.”

Character Developments

• Lin Quan / Schoolbag Man: His identity has been consumed by the supernatural form created from his bullying and despair. His schoolbag symbolizes the emotional burden of abuse, with his painful memories physically trapped inside it. He shifts from victim to dangerous avenger.
• Liu Huahua: Her bullying, loneliness, and longing for parental attention have made her vulnerable to the Doctor’s manipulation. She trusts the Doctor because he appeared to listen to her when others did not, but she has been turned into an experimental “Art Piece.”
• Teacher Yuan: Initially frightened and confused, she quickly accepts responsibility for failing to notice Huahua’s abuse. She tries to protect her student despite being completely outmatched, demonstrating genuine concern and moral courage.
• The Doctor: He is revealed as the chapter’s principal villain and manipulator. He presents himself as a sympathetic listener but has deliberately cultivated children’s trauma for supernatural purposes. His anger at teachers and authorities is rooted in personal resentment, but his actions are cruel and exploitative.
• Bai Zhou: He emerges as an impulsive but effective rescuer. His entrance is comedic and awkward, yet his combat instincts and willingness to improvise allow him to challenge the Doctor. His unconventional tactics—especially the lime attack—contrast with the Doctor’s serious, theatrical villainy.
• Section Chief Liu: He is portrayed as cautious and capable, investigating the supernatural threat while waiting for official authorization. His connection to Huahua adds tension, as he is unknowingly near the dangerous events affecting his daughter.

Significant Themes

• The lasting damage of bullying: Both Lin Quan and Liu Huahua suffer because adults and peers fail to recognize or address their abuse. Their trauma develops into supernatural danger.
• Victimhood and transformation: The chapter explores how helpless children can be reshaped into monsters, weapons, or “art” by forces that exploit their suffering.
• Responsibility versus exploitation: The Doctor criticizes adults for failing children, but his supposed concern is hypocritical because he deliberately worsens their pain for his own purposes.
• The invisibility of suffering: Huahua’s bullies cannot be seen by Teacher Yuan, reflecting how abuse may remain invisible to authority figures even when it dominates a victim’s life.
• Memory as a burden: The Schoolbag Man’s body literally contains memories of humiliation, turning an ordinary school object into a symbol of accumulated emotional pain.
• Horror mixed with absurdity: The chapter combines disturbing psychological horror with comedic interruptions, particularly Bai Zhou’s chaotic rescue and his uncertainty about the Doctor’s identity.

Character Interactions

• Lin Quan and his bullies: Though shown through memories, their interactions establish the cruelty and casual humiliation that shaped him into the Schoolbag Man.
• Section Chief Liu and Captain Wang: They cooperate professionally while investigating the abandoned building, with Captain Wang showing deference to Liu’s authority.
• Huahua and Teacher Yuan: Huahua reluctantly opens up to her teacher, while Teacher Yuan responds with concern and guilt rather than punishment.
• Huahua and the Doctor: The Doctor has gained Huahua’s trust by acting as a comforting counselor, then uses that trust to control and abduct her.
• Teacher Yuan and the Doctor: Their confrontation exposes the Doctor’s contempt for ordinary teachers and his willingness to attack anyone who interferes with his plans.
• Bai Zhou and the Doctor: Their battle is both dangerous and comedic. Bai Zhou’s improvised methods interrupt the Doctor’s techniques and prevent him from harming Teacher Yuan, ending with the Doctor defeated and Bai Zhou humorously misidentifying him.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bai Zhou infiltrates the infirmary to confront the Doctor, a Blood Worship Cultist.
• A fierce, albeit brief, battle ensues, ending with Bai Zhou killing the Doctor using a combination of strategy, preparation, and underhanded tactics.
• Bai Zhou discovers a letter from the Doctor's uncle, revealing a planned invasion of the Special Management Department's Branch 36 in three days.
• Section Chief Liu and his team arrive, finding the aftermath of the battle and Bai Zhou reading the letter.

Character Developments

• Bai Zhou demonstrates significant growth as an Extraordinary, showcasing strategic thinking, combat skills, and the use of rituals and gadgets.
• Bai Zhou experiences his first kill, feeling little remorse but a sense of accomplishment and near-indifference.
• Bai Zhou is on the verge of advancing to Level 1 Adventurer.
• Section Chief Liu is revealed to be the only true Extraordinary among his team.

Significant Themes

• The harsh reality of Extraordinary battles, requiring quick thinking, strategy, and sometimes underhanded tactics.
• The indifference and detachment Bai Zhou feels after his first kill, hinting at the potential emotional toll of Extraordinary life.
• The looming threat of the Blood Worship Cult's invasion, emphasizing the urgency and importance of Bai Zhou's role.

Character Interactions

• Bai Zhou and the Doctor engage in a tense, life-or-death struggle, revealing the brutal nature of their conflict.
• Bai Zhou and Raven work together to clean up the scene before Section Chief Liu's arrival.
• Section Chief Liu and his team arrive to find the aftermath of the battle, leading to shock and confusion.