Chapter Summaries

Zhang Guangmu stopped the Butcher from charging into Carriage No. 2 and deduced why the two men had wanted to rush ahead. Chu Fan explained the train’s mist-coded dangers and rewards, leaving the group aware that Carriage No. 2 still posed a serious threat.

• The white man charged into Carriage No. 2 while Zhang Guangmu kicked the Butcher’s knee and stopped him from following.
• Zhang Guangmu identified the Butcher as a meat vendor and explained that he had understood the men’s plan to obtain a reward and surpass Chu Fan.
• Zhang Guangmu reasoned that the mist’s fading color meant the danger in the next carriage might have decreased, and that carriage risks corresponded to rewards.
• Chu Fan explained that green mist marked safe supply carriages, yellow mist meant danger and rewards, and red mist signaled fatal threats with great rewards.
• Chu Fan revealed that he had survived a red-mist carriage and gained a Blood Qi Seed that gave him strength beyond the Normal Human limit.

After hearing Chu Fan’s account of the deadly carriages, Zhang Guangmu organized a small vanguard to scout Carriage No. 2, an ultra-low-temperature freezer. He volunteered to enter first, and a beautiful young woman in white sportswear agreed to join him.

• Chu Fan told Zhang Guangmu that he had survived a Red Mist carriage’s high-pressure water jets, where he was the only survivor among fifteen passengers.
• Zhang Guangmu argued that a small elite team should scout Carriage No. 2 instead of sending all the passengers inside together.
• Zhang Guangmu proposed that the vanguard would divide the carriage’s spoils according to each member’s contribution.
• Zhang Guangmu volunteered as the first vanguard member and called for others to join him.
• A beautiful young woman in white sportswear volunteered, and Zhang Guangmu promised she would share in any rewards.

Zhang Guangmu formed a Vanguard Team with Li Xiaoxiao and Xiao Qiu, then led them into the freezing Carriage No. 2. His rapid identification of the carriage’s deadly wind vents and clear orders established him as the team’s trusted leader.

• Li Xiaoxiao and Xiao Qiu agreed to join Zhang Guangmu’s Vanguard Team, and both accepted him as its captain.
• Zhang Guangmu assigned the team’s positions and warned them that the passenger who entered Carriage No. 2 might already be dead.
• After Chu Fan warned them that the carriages had no way back, Zhang Guangmu led the team through the yellow mist into Carriage No. 2.
• Zhang Guangmu recognized that freezing wind sources made the carriage lethal, covered his mouth and nose, and sprinted toward one vent.
• Zhang Guangmu ordered Xiao Qiu toward Seat 25 and Li Xiaoxiao toward Seats 17 and 18 to block the other vents.
• Li Xiaoxiao and Xiao Qiu followed his directions and came to regard Zhang Guangmu as more important than Veteran Passenger Chu Fan.

Zhang Guangmu and his teammates shut off the freezing-air vents in Carriage No. 2 and survived the challenge. With the carriage declared safe, Xiao Qiu asked Zhang Guangmu how he had known which way to turn the valve.

• Li Xiaoxiao accidentally shattered part of an ice corpse, then stuffed his coat into the vent near Seats 17 and 18.
• Xiao Qiu found the valve near Seat 25 but hesitated because he did not know which way to turn it.
• Zhang Guangmu reached Seat 44, found a hidden red valve, and turned it clockwise for one full rotation.
• Zhang Guangmu told Li Xiaoxiao and Xiao Qiu to find their valves and turn them clockwise, and both shut off the freezing wind.
• The carriage announced that it was safe and that a reward would be issued in one minute; Xiao Qiu asked Zhang Guangmu how he had known to turn the valve clockwise.

Zhang Guangmu, Li Xiaoxiao, and Xiao Qiu survived Carriage No. 2 by shutting down its freezing-air valves, with Zhang Guangmu using clues from a corpse rather than guessing. After they claimed their rewards, the mist between the carriages cleared and the passengers in Carriage No. 1 saw them.

• Zhang Guangmu explained that he had determined the valve’s direction from the position of the dead man’s hand and arm.
• Li Xiaoxiao noticed a clockwise spiral pattern on the apricot-yellow mist that had indicated how to solve the carriage’s trial.
• Three transparent medicine jars containing pills marked “Leopard” appeared, and Zhang Guangmu took them and gave one to each teammate.
• The apricot-yellow mist between Carriage No. 1 and Carriage No. 2 dispersed, revealing the group to the passengers in the first carriage.

Zhang Guangmu and the others escaped Carriage No. 2’s trial, gathered the remaining passengers, and learned about their medicine rewards. As the passengers introduced themselves, Zhang Guangmu revealed that he had been a Night Watcher before boarding the train.

• Chu Fan welcomed Zhang Guangmu, Li Xiaoxiao, and Xiao Qiu after they conquered Carriage No. 2, while frightened passengers from Carriage No. 1 crowded into the carriage.
• Most passengers moved away from the corpses, but a terrified man and a skeptical woman refused to leave Carriage No. 1 despite Chu Fan’s warning that it would explode when the countdown ended.
• A female voice explained that the three medicine rewards included Leopard Medicine, which doubled speed for a short period after taking effect.
• Chu Fan urged the passengers to introduce themselves and warned them that the train might hold Zombies and monsters that could release electricity.
• Li Xiaoxiao introduced herself as a Xingyi successor with martial arts and combat experience, and Zhang Guangmu said he had been a Night Watcher.

After a bomb killed two passengers who refused to leave Carriage No. 1, Zhang Guangmu kept the survivors focused while concealing that he had no memories beyond a name. The door to Carriage No. 3 opened, revealing that it was not the Supply Carriage and that apricot-yellow mist still lay ahead.

• Zhang Guangmu explained that he had worked as an overnight caretaker in a morgue, and Xiao Qiu introduced himself as a National First-Class Warrior.
• Zhang Guangmu called for the passengers in Carriage No. 1 to come over, but a shrewd young woman dismissed the warnings and the countdown reached zero.
• An explosion killed the timid young man and the young woman in Carriage No. 1, while the passengers in Carriage No. 2 survived the blast.
• Li Xiaoxiao questioned Zhang Guangmu about who he was, and Zhang Guangmu joked that he was a cultivator from the Song Dynasty rather than admitting his memories were blank.
• The partition door to Carriage No. 3 opened, and Chu Fan realized that it was not the Supply Carriage because the mist ahead remained apricot-yellow.

The passengers spent a troubled night in Carriage No. 2 before waking to find the corpse beginning to smell. Meanwhile, Director Yang Lehan decided to intensify her efforts to mislead the Subconscious Actors, and a planted inner voice made the hungry passengers eye Chu Fan and Zhang Guangmu.

• Chu Fan called for the passengers to rest until morning, and Zhang Guangmu agreed with him.
• The passengers passed a sleepless night in the dark carriage; Li Xiaoxiao meditated while Chu Fan and Xiao Qiu slept soundly and Zhang Guangmu slept deeply.
• Yang Lehan and Zhou Mo discussed the coming Path of the Great Emperor and the order to oppose the Subconscious Actors.
• Meng Lingrui and Feng Chuang explained how the directors and special viewers had been separated from the Little White Balls and warned that established rules were changing.
• Yang Lehan ordered the Control Group to turn up the intensity, and a misleading inner voice made the passengers wonder how to get food while eyeing Chu Fan and Zhang Guangmu.

As hunger worsened among the passengers, Chu Fan rationed his remaining food and rum to the Vanguard Team, then ordered the Butcher to scout the next carriage as cannon fodder. The Butcher accepted the dangerous task, saying he would do it to repay Zhang Guangmu for saving his life.

• The passengers grew hungry and began hoping Zhang Guangmu would demand food from Chu Fan.
• Chu Fan divided his two compressed biscuits and rum into four portions, giving three portions to the Vanguard Team and keeping one for himself.
• Zhang Guangmu, Li Xiaoxiao, and Xiao Qiu ate and drank their shares while the other passengers watched hungrily.
• A voice in Chu Fan's mind urged him to send the Butcher ahead as cannon fodder, so Chu Fan ordered him to scout the carriage filled with apricot-yellow mist.
• The Butcher accepted the assignment and said he was repaying Zhang Guangmu for saving his life.

Butcher entered the apricot-yellow mist in Carriage No. 3 to scout ahead, but the mist only faded slightly before stopping, signaling his likely death. Chu Fan challenged the passengers to take responsibility for clearing carriages, and Philmore led Yun Yincheng, Fushimi Chizuru, and Ferdinand Flax into Carriage No. 3; two minutes later, the mist vanished and the carriage held only mangled bodies.

• Butcher charged into the mist in Carriage No. 3, determined to survive and prove himself against Chu Fan.
• The mist faded slightly, then stopped changing, and the passengers fell silent as they concluded Butcher had likely died.
• Chu Fan confronted the passengers for expecting others to scout while they took no risks, warning that they would be helpless without experienced survivors.
• Philmore volunteered to lead the second Vanguard Team and chose Yun Yincheng, Fushimi Chizuru, and Ferdinand Flax to join him.
• Philmore and his team entered Carriage No. 3, and two minutes later the mist dissipated, revealing severed limbs and mangled bodies with no survivors.

After Philmore’s team was wiped out in Carriage No. 3, Zhang Guangmu examined the aftermath and gave the carriage’s three Mysterious Blood Bottle X rewards to Chu Fan for the next Vanguard Team. The passengers entered the emerald-mist Carriage No. 4 hoping for supplies, but found far too little to feed them.

• Zhang Guangmu found the second team’s corpses in Carriage No. 3 and determined that the blue-skinned dwarves had overwhelmed them by numbers and weapons.
• The Little White Balls criticized Philmore for betraying Yun Yincheng and Fushimi Chizuru, while Zhang Guangmu examined their wounds to learn how the carriage had been cleared.
• The carriage announced three Mysterious Blood Bottle X as its reward, and Zhang Guangmu let Chu Fan take them for the next Vanguard Team.
• The passengers entered Carriage No. 4, encouraged by its green mist and the promise of supplies.
• The passengers found only two bags of dried noodles and two bottles of water, far too little for the sixteen survivors.

After the second team was wiped out, the passengers became fearful and restless despite Zhang Guangmu distributing weapons from Carriage No. 3. Li Xiaoxiao displayed his skill with twin blades to deter a potential riot, then proposed that the passengers spar with one another in the safe zone.

• The passengers recognized that the second team's deaths had shown them how dangerous the scenario was and made them look to Zhang Guangmu, Li Xiaoxiao, and Xiao Qiu for protection.
• Zhang Guangmu handed out more than twenty steel weapons taken from the blue-skinned dwarves, and the passengers lined up to take them.
• The Control Group stirred the armed passengers' hunger and ambition, prompting them to consider challenging Chu Fan and competing for leadership.
• Li Xiaoxiao performed a rapid display with twin blades, making the passengers wary of provoking him.
• Li Xiaoxiao suggested that the passengers spar to practice with their weapons, while they waited to see whether Chu Fan or Zhang Guangmu would respond.

After Li Xiaoxiao’s combat lesson made the passengers wary and obedient, Zhang Guangmu organized new vanguard teams to face the Apricot Yellow Carriage. He chose Ito Tomie and Liu Zhong for Vanguard Team Three and prepared to lead it through the trial.

• Zhang Guangmu asked Li Xiaoxiao to teach practical cold-weapon techniques, and Li Xiaoxiao agreed and corrected the passengers during an hour-long lesson.
• Li Xiaoxiao demonstrated his skill by leaving faint cuts around nearly every passenger’s neck, making them too afraid to challenge the group.
• When the door to Carriage No. 5 opened onto apricot-yellow fog, Zhang Guangmu explained the types of carriage trials and volunteered to lead Vanguard Team Three.
• Chu Fan joined the team, and Zhang Guangmu selected Ito Tomie and Liu Zhong while organizing the remaining passengers into additional teams.
• Zhang Guangmu assigned himself, Li Xiaoxiao, Chu Fan, and Xiao Qiu to take turns leading the teams, while the Little White Balls debated whether he was excessively kind.

Zhang Guangmu led the advance team into Carriage No. 5 and killed a rapidly healing White-striped Fierce Tiger, earning a Transcendent Capsule: Smoke. As Zhang Guangmu claimed the capsule, Chu Fan resented his growing authority, while Director Yang Lehan entered the carriage intending to treat him as an enemy.

• Zhang Guangmu and the advance team entered Carriage No. 5 after exhausting their supplies from the previous carriage.
• A White-striped Fierce Tiger attacked, and Zhang Guangmu dodged its pounce and slashed open its abdomen.
• Chu Fan charged the wounded tiger and pinned it briefly, allowing Zhang Guangmu to stab through its lower jaw and brain.
• The mist dispersed and awarded the group a Transcendent Capsule: Smoke, which Zhang Guangmu claimed for himself.
• Chu Fan resented Zhang Guangmu's growing influence and decision to take the reward, while Director Yang Lehan arrived and prepared to treat him as a mortal enemy.

After Chu Fan recovered from his fight with the White-Striped Tiger, Zhang Guangmu led the passengers through several safe carriages and into a carriage filled with boxed meals. Their relief ended when the door to Carriage No. 9 opened onto a Scarlet Grade carriage.

• Chu Fan praised Zhang Guangmu for saving him from the White-Striped Tiger and let him keep the Transcendent Capsule: Smoke.
• Chu Fan used a Mysterious Blood Bottle X to heal his wounds, and Zhang Guangmu organized the group to take the tiger’s corpse and supplies onward.
• The passengers traveled safely through Carriages No. 6 and No. 7, gathering supplies as their confidence grew.
• In Carriage No. 8, Zhang Guangmu warned that the boxed meals would spoil within twenty hours and told everyone to eat as much as they could.
• The passengers ate their fill and mourned as they remembered home, then saw fiery red mist and heard Chu Fan identify Carriage No. 9 as Scarlet Grade.

At the entrance to Scarlet Carriage No. 9, Xiao Qiu proposed sending four low-value passengers in as cannon fodder, but Zhang Guangmu chose to enter alone. He prepared to face the monster inside and claim the clearing reward for himself if he survived.

• The passengers halted at Carriage No. 9, afraid to enter, and Xiao Qiu argued that scouts could weaken the carriage even if they died.
• Xiao Qiu named Chen Junyu, Yang Kunliang, Ozaki Yuri, and Joseph Bryce as the four passengers he voted to send in.
• Zhang Guangmu swallowed a Transcendent Capsule: Smoke and formed smoke into White Cloud Armor.
• Zhang Guangmu announced that he would enter the Scarlet Carriage alone, saying he wanted to seize the chance to become a Transcendent and keep the reward if he survived.

Zhang Guangmu mastered the Transcendent Capsule: Smoke beyond its three-minute limit and prepared to enter Carriage No. 9 alone. Li Xiaoxiao gave him a Leopard Medicine, hoping he would survive and lead the passengers out of the Deathfeeding Train.

• Xiao Qiu discovered that Zhang Guangmu's White Cloud Armor looked impressive but offered almost no defense.
• Zhang Guangmu used Driving 2 and his Sorcery accomplishments to master the smoke ability and make its duration permanent.
• Zhang Guangmu demonstrated that he could shape smoke into people and a long saber, even after the capsule's three-minute limit had passed.
• Zhang Guangmu headed toward the crimson mist to enter Carriage No. 9, while Xiao Qiu and Li Xiaoxiao worried about the risk.
• Li Xiaoxiao threw Zhang Guangmu his Leopard Medicine, and Chu Fan approached but could not bring himself to offer to go with him.

Zhang Guangmu entered Carriage No. 9 alone and faced a pitch-black sonic monster whose invisible Destructive Wave shattered the carriage. He used a scientific manipulation of his smoke armor to weaken the attack and survived, but the monster remained alive and could strike again.

• Chu Fan gave Zhang Guangmu his last two Mysterious Blood Bottle Xs, and Zhang Guangmu entered the crimson mist after taking Leopard Medicine.
• The Little White Balls watched Zhang Guangmu appear in Carriage No. 9, where a pitch-black humanoid monster attacked with an invisible Destructive Wave.
• Zhang Guangmu found that Leopard Medicine's speed boost and his smoke attack could not stop the monster's wide-area shock wave.
• As the wave approached, Zhang Guangmu advanced and used his smoke armor to interfere with it, dispersing the attack while suffering ruptured capillaries.
• Zhang Guangmu survived the Destructive Wave, while the Little White Balls debated how he had countered it and warned that the monster could attack again.

Zhang Guangmu defeated the Pitch Black Sonic Monster in Carriage No. 9 and used his reward, An Anecdotal Record of the Deathly Carriage, to refine its corpse and gain a destructive vibration ability. After demonstrating the power, he learned from Chu Fan that refining the White-Striped Tiger could grant him another ability.

• Zhang Guangmu charged through the Pitch Black Sonic Monster's shockwave attack and stabbed its throat with a cloud blade.
• Zhang Guangmu forced the blade through the monster's head, killing it and clearing Carriage No. 9.
• Zhang Guangmu received An Anecdotal Record of the Deathly Carriage and used it to refine the monster's corpse, gaining Destructive Wave.
• Zhang Guangmu tested his new vibration power and shattered a twisted iron seat from within.
• Chu Fan brought over the White-Striped Tiger's corpse and realized that Zhang Guangmu could refine it to gain another ability.

Zhang Guangmu refined the white-striped tiger and its blades with The Birth of a Thespian Anecdote Record, gaining Rapid Healing and Weapon Manufacturing. As he began forging equipment for the Vanguard Team, he sensed that usable ability points had arrived.

• Zhang Guangmu explained that the white-striped tiger’s blades were rare transcendent materials and used The Birth of a Thespian Anecdote Record to refine the tiger and its weapons.
• Zhang Guangmu gained Rapid Healing and Weapon Manufacturing, then demonstrated creating and improving a saber while explaining the abilities’ material and energy limits.
• Zhang Guangmu showed that his new healing ability could close a cut on his hand without leaving a scar.
• Zhang Guangmu began forging equipment for the Vanguard Team, then felt usable ability points arrive.