Chapter Summaries

Linsey read an Explorer’s journal describing the plague’s spread and the Explorer’s efforts to save the Insectoid Tribe before traveling south to find its cause. He learned the plague was unknown to Sand Dune and that Yeyedar’s people had been confined to the canyon, then proposed taking samples to his camp’s medical research station to seek a cure.

• Linsey recognized the journal as an Explorer’s Source Material Skill and read its entries about the plague, the Insectoid Tribe, and the Explorer’s attempt to preserve them in the canyon.
• Linsey learned that Sand Dune had never heard of the plague and that Yeyedar was only seven years old by human reckoning, with his people averaging about eight years of life.
• Yeyedar introduced himself and explained that the Insectoid Tribe followed ancestral teachings to keep the plague from spreading beyond the canyon.
• Linsey proposed taking herb and soil samples to his camp’s medical research station and suggested that a cure could let the Insectoid Tribe live longer and cooperate with outsiders.

Linsey returned safely to Banyan Forest Camp and built a university so Hilude could teach there. As construction finished, he and Hilude discussed the explorer, the insect tribe, and a possible connection to the Green Swamp faction.

• Linsey returned to camp with the other two, easing the guards’ fears, and Hammer reported that the camp was functioning normally with five new refugees.
• Linsey spent two hundred gold coins to place a university on the reserved plot and ordered Hammer to gather the construction team.
• Linsey took Hilude back to the cottage, where she replenished Bone Meal while he expanded the territory’s electricity generation and storage.
• Linsey asked Hilude about the explorer, and they considered whether the Green Swamp faction might be connected to the plague and the events in the south.
• Hammer announced that the university was complete after three hours of construction.

Linsey found that researching Basic Medical at the newly completed university required more gold than he had, but Hilude gave him enough coins to begin the research. The research started with four hours remaining, leaving Linsey closer to improving medical care and investigating diseases.

• Linsey entered the completed university and reviewed its research options, choosing Basic Medical for its medical improvements and disease research.
• Linsey discovered he had only 72 gold coins, short of the 100 needed to begin the research.
• Hilude arrived in her wheelchair, realized Linsey needed money, and gave him a pile of gold coins.
• Linsey collected the coins despite Hilude's intimate offer to share everything with him and her acknowledgment of her past crimes.
• Linsey spent the coins to start Basic Medical, which showed four hours of research remaining.

Hilude lectured the territory’s Villagers about the limits and dangers of being Awakened while the settlement’s work continued. Linsey assessed his new seeds and decided to cultivate bromegrass in hopes that mutation could make it a useful crop.

• Hilude explained that Awakened had to develop their crafts into abilities and remained vulnerable, while the gap between high- and low-rank Awakened could be severe.
• Workers expanded the Banyan Forest and Farmland, soldiers trained, and Tie Yu worked with two assistants to research the epidemic, promising Linsey he would complete the task.
• Linsey reviewed seeds from the mutated Botanical Garden task and prioritized beets, bamboo, and jute for sugar, practical materials, and clothing.
• Linsey considered whether bromegrass could become a worthwhile food crop through increased yields or mutation, then opened a plot in the Garden Enclosure to cultivate it.

Linsey oversaw the growing territory as Tie Yu completed research on the plague and identified it as Corruption Poison, a weapon of the Abyss School. Though Tie Yu feared they lacked what was needed to cure the infected, Linsey said he could provide the materials and begin treatment.

• Linsey learned the territory had grown to more than six hundred residents and that Sand Dune and the hunters were expected back in about two days.
• Vivian told Linsey that residents wanted homes closer to the town center, and Linsey discovered he could place building frames in trees but worried about their safety.
• Tie Yu reported that plague research was complete, and he showed Linsey samples separating the poison from treated soil and plants.
• Linsey read that the plague was Corruption Poison developed by the Abyss School and recognized the names Abyss School and Slaughter Power from his past.
• Tie Yu said they lacked the materials or Source Material needed to cure the infected, but Linsey promised to provide what they needed and start treatment.

Linsey arranged for Tie Yu to research a dangerous mushroom as a possible cure for the Insectoid Tribe’s Corruption Poison, then investigated the epidemic’s history and its possible ties to the Abyss School. Sand Dune returned early with a struggling wild boar in his sack.

• Linsey gave Tie Yu Night-Shining Ramie Mushrooms and warned him to handle their potent toxins carefully while researching a treatment for Corruption Poison.
• Linsey asked Hammer to prepare skilled envoys for contact with the Insectoid Tribe and to search the territory for information about an ancient epidemic.
• Hammer recalled that a highly infectious illness had once spread through the Moon Weeping Mountain Range World before suddenly disappearing, while the world’s Life Force depletion caused its destruction.
• Linsey connected the epidemic to the Abyss School and the explorer who had gone south to find its source, but could not determine whether the explorer had stopped it or perished.
• Sand Dune returned ahead of schedule and showed Linsey a small, pitch-black wild boar that had been struggling inside his sack.

Linsey expanded the Banyan Forest’s food production and considered plans for a safer, multi-level town. After Sand Dune returned from another fruitless search for resources, Linsey sent him south to investigate the epidemic and the people taken from Yarrow Camp.

• Linsey returned with five wild boars, built three Livestock Fences, and learned that the boars were breeding well under the Strategy Game module.
• Hammer reported that the selected envoys had struggled with their communication lessons, but promised they would rely on their own abilities to contact the Insectoid Tribe.
• Linsey planned a two-level town with safer walkways and defenses, and considered how to prevent fires from endangering the Banyan Forest.
• Sand Dune reported that the hunters had found no ore or other valuable sites, and Linsey reassured him that the search would take time.
• Linsey sent Sand Dune south toward the Green Swamp to investigate the epidemic and find out what had happened to the people taken from Yarrow Camp.

Linsey learned that the Night-Shining Ramie Mushroom could remove Corruption Poison but was dangerously toxic, and he suspected the Insectoid Tribe could withstand a stronger dose than humans. He obtained a sample of the diluted medicine for a trial and began planning to lead the first treatment visit and train a diplomatic envoy for future contact.

• Linsey ordered Sand Dune to rest before gathering information about the plague and the victims from Yarrow Camp.
• A child gave Linsey a small figure folded from twigs, and Linsey accepted the gift.
• Linsey heard Hilude shouting at struggling students at the university and continued to the Medical Station.
• Tie Yu told Linsey that the diluted Night-Shining Ramie Mushroom medicine could remove Corruption Poison but required careful treatment and monitoring for humans.
• Linsey reasoned that the Insectoid Tribe might tolerate the medicine better, asked Tie Yu for a portion, and planned to lead a trial visit himself.
• Linsey took Tie Yu and his assistants to eat and considered training a diplomatic leader for future visits to the Insectoid Tribe.

Linsey brought Tie Yu and Vivian to the Insectoid Tribe’s canyon so Tie Yu could test his plague treatment on the tribe’s elderly leader. The leader recovered after three days and offered the tribe’s help if Linsey could purify the entire canyon.

• Linsey traveled south with Tie Yu and Vivian, explaining the Insectoids’ strength, short lifespans, and the power of Awakened.
• Three days later, Linsey led Tie Yu and Vivian into the Insectoid Tribe’s misty canyon and offered to test Tie Yu’s treatment.
• The Insectoid leader volunteered as the patient because he had little time left, and Tie Yu began treating him with medicine developed at the Medical Station.
• After three days, the leader expelled pale yellow liquid and appeared cured, surprising Tie Yu and Linsey.
• The leader thanked Linsey and promised the tribe would fulfill his demands if he could purify the entire canyon.

Linsey learned that the Insectoid Tribe’s symbiosis sustained the canyon, and he discovered their nest could become a City Center if he gained leadership and researched Second Base Technology. As he prepared to return to Banyan Forest Town, he spotted several human figures watching from the southern cliffs.

• Linsey discussed treating the canyon and learned from the tribe leader that their symbiosis kept the land thriving and that their deaths would damage it.
• The leader introduced himself as Azure Lamenter and explained his people’s naming custom to Linsey, Vivian, and Tie Yu.
• Linsey asked Lamenter to collect Plant Samples, then toured the Insectoid Tribe’s nest and saw how two elderly insectoids controlled the Mutated Sheath Blade Insects’ reproduction.
• Linsey’s Game Module identified the Zerg Mother Nest as a convertible City Center, requiring him to obtain leadership of the Insectoid Tribe and research Second Base Technology.
• After arranging the next treatment and preparing to leave for Banyan Forest Town, Linsey spotted red markers on the southern cliffs and used binoculars and a Hawk Eye Potion to reveal human figures watching them.

Linsey caught three Awakened who had been spying on the Insectoid Tribe and brought them back to the Banyan Forest as prisoners. After returning, he took Hilude to the prison to help question them by reading their emotions.

• Three men watched the Insectoid Tribe's canyon and suspected its people had found a way to overcome the Corruption Poison.
• Linsey tracked down the three men, defeated them in under half a minute, and carried them back to the canyon.
• Linsey explained to Vivian and Tie Yu that the captives wanted to learn how the Corruption Poison had been removed.
• Three days later, Linsey returned to the Banyan Forest, settled Vivian and Tie Yu, and locked the captives in prison.
• Linsey found Hilude at the university and took her to the prison to assess the captives' reactions while he questioned them.

Linsey interrogated three captured Awakened from Green Swamp and learned about the city’s brutal hierarchy and its destruction of Yarrow Camp. Before ending the questioning, he asked the reconnaissance team about mineral deposits across the Wasteland, and they said they knew of several mines.

• Hilude used her Emotional Source Material to terrify the three prisoners into answering Linsey’s questions.
• The prisoners identified themselves as a reconnaissance team from Green Swamp, ruled by Snake King under an absolute elite system.
• A Perceiver described Green Swamp’s preserved farmland, hunting, and harsh rule, and said Snake King remained inside his Palace.
• The Perceiver revealed that Green Swamp’s forces had razed Yarrow Camp and enslaved its captured Awakened.
• Hilude reminded Linsey that the prisoners knew more about the Wasteland than his hunters, so Linsey asked about mineral deposits.
• The prisoners said they knew the locations of iron, silver, gold, and copper mines.

Linsey learned the locations of several valuable mines and began planning how Banyan Forest could exploit them while he handled other urgent projects. He assigned Hilude to work on the city plans and remain at the university while he prepared to visit the Insectoid Tribe.

• Linsey questioned the Perceiver in the cage and recorded locations of iron, gold, silver, and copper deposits along with the factions controlling nearby mines.
• Linsey prioritized developing the gold mine near the Insectoid Tribe and considered how to obtain the iron ore from a nearby mine controlled by another Human Tribe.
• Hilude suggested that Linsey delegate some of his responsibilities, prompting him to consider sending trained envoys to the iron mine’s camp.
• Linsey asked Hilude to take charge of developing the city construction plans while he traveled to the Insectoid Tribe.
• Hilude asked to accompany Linsey, but he ordered her to stay at the base and continue teaching at the university.

Hilude fell from her wheelchair while lamenting her failed romances, as Linsey and the other teams worked to expand cooperation and access resources across the Wasteland. At the iron mine, Hammer's envoys offered trade and supplies, leaving the mine leader wavering over whether to cooperate with the Banyan Forest.

• Hilude complained about her fate, fell from her wheelchair, and cried out in pain as nearby residents wondered what was wrong with her.
• Linsey took Vivian, Tie Yu, and several residents to the Insectoid Tribe, where he discussed cooperation with Lamenter and carved a road toward the gold mine.
• After a month of travel, Hammer led the Banyan Forest's team to the iron mine and asked its Human Tribe to discuss important matters.
• The mine leader emerged, judged the envoys' strength, and refused to speak with them because he feared his people would leave for the Banyan Forest.
• Hammer asked the mine leader to consider their sincerity, and an envoy presented crops and cooked meat while explaining that the Banyan Forest wanted to trade for iron ore.
• The mine leader saw his subordinates' interest in the food and the sunlight outside, and he began to hesitate.

Linsey dug through a mountain to reach an abandoned gold mine, where he found scattered human remains and evidence that people and wooden supports had inexplicably rotted away. At the bottom of the mine, his Sky Compass detected a nearby Hidden Space, giving him a new lead to investigate.

• Linsey carved a tunnel toward the abandoned gold mine and broke through into its passageways.
• Linsey found rusted iron fittings on the floor and realized the wooden supports they had held in place had vanished.
• Linsey discovered human bones and used the Decryption Game to see phantoms fleeing deeper into the mine before collapsing and dying without visible injuries.
• Linsey found no signs of Corruption Poison or other clues as he followed the remains toward the bottom of the mine.
• The Sky Compass began trembling at the bottom of the shaft and alerted Linsey to a nearby Hidden Space.

Linsey found Corruption Gold in a sealed mine and learned from an explorer’s diary that it had absorbed the plague and purified the tunnels. He took the ore, realizing it might also purify the land in Insectfolk Canyon, and saw that his Real-Time Strategy Module had gained a trade route.

• Linsey used the Sky Compass and Eternal Imprint to reach a hidden space in the mine, where he found Corruption Gold.
• Linsey recovered the explorer’s diary pages and learned that the explorer had concentrated the mine’s Corruption Poison in the gold before sealing the tunnel.
• Linsey mined the Corruption Gold and discovered several dangerous crafting recipes that used it.
• Linsey decided to bring the gold to Insectfolk Canyon and test whether it could purify the infected land.
• Linsey reinforced the mine tunnel as he left, and his Real-Time Strategy Module displayed “Trade Route: 1/1.”

Linsey confirmed that the mine could trade food for iron ore and discussed plans to purify the Insectfolk Canyon’s plants and earth. He showed Lamenter what gold ore looked like, then revealed an eerie Golden Ore that he believed could cleanse the corrupted land and asked to take it to the canyon’s center.

• Linsey confirmed that food delivered to the mine could be exchanged for iron ore and decided food production should be a priority.
• Tie Yu told Linsey that the medicine would soon run out and proposed diluting it to treat the canyon’s plants, but he had no way to purify the earth.
• Linsey assured Tie Yu that he had ideas for purifying the land and told Lamenter he would return with more medicine within two weeks.
• Lamenter offered cured Insectfolk to help with mining, and Linsey asked them to excavate gold ore from the mine.
• Linsey crushed a gold coin to show Lamenter what gold looked like, then revealed a strange Golden Ore and asked Lamenter to take him to the canyon’s center to place it.

Linsey returned to the Banyan Forest with Tie Yu and Vivian, then began setting up a mint and reviewed Hilude’s city expansion designs. Hilude foresaw a muddled fate for the missing explorer whose notes Linsey had found, but could not determine the details.

• Vivian confessed that she felt uneasy about befriending the Insectoid Tribe because of their appearance, and Linsey encouraged her to trust her heart and let time prove the friendship.
• Linsey and his companions returned safely to the Banyan Forest, where the guards welcomed them enthusiastically.
• Hilude showed Linsey her completed blueprints for the city expansion, and he praised her design.
• Linsey used his remaining gold coins to establish a mint and summoned a construction team to complete it.
• Hilude asked about the Insectoid Tribe, and Linsey told her he had found the explorer’s notes again and asked her to read the explorer’s fate.
• Hilude sensed entanglement, misfortune, betrayal, and sacrifice, then concluded the explorer was alive but in a complicated condition with both good and bad aspects.

A white-haired elder and his two young companions traveled across the Wasteland to investigate the Banyan Forest and the force led by Linsey. After seeing a new road, prosperous travelers, and insect-men hauling freight, they reached the forest’s eastern edge.

• The elder told his companions that reports of a stable production structure convinced him to see the Banyan Forest before his time ran out.
• A month into the journey, the group found workers using strange power to lay a gravel road, and the elder recognized the importance of the construction.
• Aigner learned that travelers were heading to the Banyan Forest and that Linsey’s force had grown through road-building, food trade, and alliances.
• The group encountered insect-men hauling carts, and the elder explained that they were intelligent Demi-humans.
• The east wind carried the scent of trees and moisture, and the elder announced that they had arrived at the vast Banyan Forest.

Linsey hosted a naming ceremony for newly arrived Awakened and received another ore shipment from the Insectoid Tribe. Their envoys reported that the Corruption Gold was purifying the canyon, and said Lord Lamenter was ready to pledge complete loyalty to Linsey.

• Aigner admired the Banyan Forest camp, while the old man marveled at its clean, well-built surroundings and the Awakened gathered there.
• Linsey named the new Awakened in a ceremony that lasted two hours.
• Vivian told Linsey that the Insectoid Tribe’s minerals had arrived and that its envoys had an important matter to discuss.
• Linsey considered the resources he still needed for an upgrade, especially Mercury, then went to meet the envoys.
• The Insectoid envoys told Linsey that the Corruption Gold was purifying the canyon and that Lord Lamenter was ready to pledge complete loyalty to him.