Chapter Summaries

Zhang Yang led an armed convoy to gather vehicles and supplies, then diverted toward Fatty’s father’s factory after learning it might be a point of eruption. He warned the team about three possible types of Demonized Zombies as they prepared for battle.

• Zhang Yang assigned the Third Armed Squad to defend the fortress and organized a thirty-three-person convoy to raid supplies and search for Fatty’s father.
• Li Dong drove the convoy rapidly through the city, drawing attention from Cauliflower-Head drivers and patrol officers.
• Fatty’s father called and warned that strange sounds near the factory might make the monsters go berserk, so Zhang Yang threw away Fatty’s phone and told Qin Mingyue to discard hers.
• Zhang Yang suspected the factory was a point of eruption and ordered the convoy to prepare for battle.
• Zhang Yang briefed McField on three possible Demonized Zombies types: an agile jumper, a powerful berserker, and an invisible ambusher.

Zhang Yang lured a Swiftblade Demonkin out of the factory zone and helped his mercenaries kill it with coordinated gunfire. He traded its spoils for Demon-Slaying Bullets and a military knife, then charged into battle as more demonized zombies emerged.

• Zhang Yang provoked the factory zone with Demon Language, drawing out a Swiftblade Demonkin while his convoy prepared for battle.
• McField and Sun Cheng coordinated their mercenary squads, whose snipers and rapid shooters killed the Swiftblade Demonkin.
• Zhang Yang received a demon soul, Primal Demon Blood, a Golden Fragment of Hope, 50,000 energy points, and a demon heart from the kill.
• As more demonized zombies charged from all directions, Zhang Yang used the Golden Scales to trade the demon soul, blood, and heart for Demon-Slaying Bullets and a military knife.
• Zhang Yang gave the bullets to the snipers and charged into the fight with the military knife.

Zhang Yang spent three Golden Fragments of Hope to unleash his Mountain River Sword Intent and destroy the Demonized Zombies overwhelming the factory district, though the taboo-breaking technique cost him ten years of lifespan. After the survivors entered the warehouse to find Fatty’s father, a huge claw burst from the underground shelter.

• Zhang Yang used three Golden Fragments of Hope to awaken his sword intent and charged into the Demonized Zombie horde with the Demon-Slaying Military Knife.
• Zhang Yang infused the knife with his Mountain River Sword Intent, destroying every Demonized Zombie within several hundred meters as the blade shattered and he suffered damage.
• Zhang Yang ignored a warning that breaking the taboo had reduced his lifespan by ten years, then fought on until the remaining Demonized Zombies were wiped out.
• Zhang Yang ordered Fatty to lead the group to his father, and Fatty guided them to a warehouse above an underground air-raid shelter.
• Zhang Yang led the group into the shelter after learning the district had a major steel plant, but the entrance collapsed and a gigantic claw thrust up from underground.

Zhang Yang recognized an Iron Demon and directed his forces to fight it while guarding against another Swiftblade Demonkin. After Li Meng was upgraded to a Mercenary Captain, his accurate fire helped destroy the Iron Demon, and Zhang Yang received its loot.

• Zhang Yang ordered the convoy and noncombat personnel to retreat while Du Chao and Tian Bo used Demon-Slaying Bullets to attack the Iron Demon.
• Du Chao and Tian Bo struggled to keep their shots on target as they retreated from the advancing Iron Demon.
• A Swiftblade Demonkin ambushed the retreating mercenaries, but Li Meng killed it with Demon-Slaying Bullets.
• Zhang Yang upgraded Li Meng to Mercenary Captain and gave him more Demon-Slaying Bullets to help fight the Iron Demon.
• Li Meng concentrated his shots on one point until cracks spread across the Iron Demon and it broke apart.
• Zhang Yang received a damaged Demon Soul, Primal Demon Blood, a Golden Fragment of Hope, energy, an Iron Demon Heart, and special metal materials.

Zhang Yang killed the Iron Demon, strengthened his mercenary force, and rescued 309 survivors, completing several missions. He recruited the fat man’s father as an administrative hero and tasked him with managing the factory’s resources, while the group prepared to withdraw to the Apocalyptic Fortress.

• Zhang Yang confirmed the factory district had no other bosses, ordered his squads to search for survivors and supplies, and upgraded Du Chao into a Captain-level sniper.
• Zhang Yang kept the Iron Demon Heart for its ore-purification ability, recruited thirty technical workers and ten mechanical engineering soldiers, and assigned Li Dong to lead the vehicle convoy.
• The fat man found his father and 308 other survivors in the air-raid shelter, and Zhang Yang recruited all 309 into his faction.
• Zhang Yang reorganized forty mercenaries into sniper, fire-support, and assault teams to defend the factory and convoy.
• The fat man’s father appeared as an advanced talent, and Zhang Yang recruited him as an administrative management hero and asked him to manage the factory’s resources.

Zhang Yang led a convoy of survivors and valuable supplies away from the factory district, but a patrol helicopter crashed into the trucks as the Cauliflower-Heads began transforming into demonized zombies. He charged ahead on his motorcycle, killing a Great Strength Demon and a group of zombies as the convoy entered battle.

• Zhang Yang loaded fifty semitrailer trucks with supplies and machinery, organized escort vehicles, and led more than three hundred survivors out of the factory district.
• Zhang Yang rode at the front of the convoy on a motorcycle while the convoy moved in formation toward safety.
• A patrol helicopter lost control and crashed into two semitrailer trucks, killing everyone aboard; Zhang Yang ordered the convoy to keep moving and enter combat status.
• More than a hundred Cauliflower-Head patrolmen transformed into demonized zombies and charged the convoy as others across the area began changing too.
• Zhang Yang hurled a steel spear from his motorcycle and killed a Great Strength Demon, then drew his knife and decapitated more than a dozen demonized zombies.

Zhang Yang led his convoy through the zombie-filled city while the apocalypse invasion escalated and the Apocalyptic Village Building Order warned of an approaching million-strong siege. After breaking through a blocked highway, he spent Fragments of Hope to replenish the convoy’s ammunition.

• The second phase of the apocalypse invasion began, with warnings that stronger Demon Zombies would appear in increasing numbers and a million-zombie tide would attack within 72 hours of the first Transcendence Demonkin appearing.
• Zhang Yang assigned his squads to protect the convoy as it entered the city, where Demonized Zombies and Elite Demon Zombies attacked amid wrecked vehicles.
• Zhang Yang fought through the horde while Du Chao, Tian Bo, and the other snipers killed Elite Demon Zombies, but a gas station explosion blocked the highway.
• Zhang Yang ordered Li Dong and Lu Long to clear a route with loaders, and the convoy resumed its advance after they opened an exit.
• Exhausted, Zhang Yang exchanged the Elite Demon Zombies’ rewards for 2,300 Demon-Slaying Bullets and used three Golden Fragments of Hope to obtain 10,000 ordinary bullets.

Zhang Yang’s convoy was ambushed by elite demonized zombies, but his fighters overcame them and returned to Apocalyptic Fortress. They cleared the horde around the fortress and found that several survivors had escaped, though Zhang Yang focused on unloading the supplies.

• Zhang Yang listened to the convoy’s progress and recognized Li Dong and Lu Long’s skill as they drove through the streets.
• As the convoy approached a blocked intersection, Great Strength Demons ambushed it and knocked Li Dong and Lu Long unconscious.
• Li Meng’s fire-suppression team held off the attackers while Du Chao and the other snipers took firing positions and killed elite demons.
• McField, Sun Cheng, and the other fighters joined the fight, defeating fourteen elite demon zombies without casualties.
• The convoy reached Apocalyptic Fortress, where the fighters attacked from inside and outside and wiped out the horde around it.
• Several survivors escaped and followed the convoy, but Zhang Yang left them unaccepted by the Apocalyptic Village Building Order and turned to the returning supplies.

Zhang Yang upgraded nine soldiers, then directed his workers to build an Apocalyptic Base Vehicle and recruited ten more mercenaries. At midnight, he unlocked a Sword Cultivator Heavenly Meridian and received the second day’s quests, including a new mission to kill 10,000 Demonized Zombies and 100 Elite Zombies.

• Zhang Yang upgraded McField, Sun Cheng, Tian Bo, Liu Yuan, Li Dong, Lu Long, Qiao Mai, Zhao Dagang, and Jiang Yun to captain level, bringing his total to eleven captain-level soldiers.
• Zhang Yang reviewed his fortress’s progress and discovered that the base-vehicle side quest had advanced to 10 percent.
• Li Dong and Lu Long led engineers in converting a semitrailer into a heavily armored Level 1 Apocalyptic Base Vehicle, and Zhang Yang supplied the workers and materials they needed.
• Zhang Yang completed the vehicle quest before midnight and recruited ten armed mercenaries.
• After midnight, Zhang Yang chose to unlock a Sword Cultivator Heavenly Meridian and selected the Heart Meridian Sword Core.
• The second day’s quest log appeared with missions to recruit construction workers, upgrade the base, rescue survivors, stockpile supplies, and kill Demonized Zombies and Elite Zombies.

Zhang Yang organized the fortress’s urgent work and used the Weapon Modification Workshop to upgrade the Captain-level Mercenaries’ weapons. He left the chapter with the upgrades underway and his rare materials dwindling.

• Zhang Yang wrote down plans to recruit workers and mercenaries, expand the fortress, modify vehicles, and search for supplies.
• Zhang Yang visited the completed Weapon Modification Workshop, reviewed its available production and research tasks, and assigned its 20 technical workers to ammunition reloading, weapon upgrades, and research.
• Zhang Yang spent Mortal Iron and Mortal Copper to upgrade Du Chao’s sniper rifle, doubling its base damage and improving its range and accuracy.
• Zhang Yang continued upgrading the weapons of the eleven Captain-level Mercenaries, including pistols for Li Dong and Lu Long.

Zhang Yang suspected a Mind-Bewitching Demon was manipulating survivors and urging the fortress to rescue them, so he kept the convoy focused on gathering supplies. He left the convoy under McField's command and slipped into the woods with Zhao Dagang to pursue his own plan.

• Fatty Boss urged Zhang Yang to rescue more than a thousand survivors in nearby buildings, while Zhang Yang noticed the suspiciously organized rescue pleas and suspected a trap.
• Zhang Yang recognized that a Mind-Bewitching Demon might be influencing Fatty Boss, Qin Mingyue, and the survivors to draw people into danger.
• Zhang Yang reinforced Zhao Dagang's light machine gun and warned him to stay concealed and follow orders.
• Zhang Yang sent a convoy to the industrial district for supplies, leaving Li Meng, Tian Bo, and armed and engineering squads at the fortress.
• When survivors appeared begging for help, Zhang Yang resisted Qin Mingyue's suggestion to rescue them and continued the convoy's mission.
• Zhang Yang appointed McField commander, then jumped from the vehicle with Zhao Dagang and disappeared into the woods.

Zhang Yang positioned Zhao Dagang with an enhanced light machine gun to ambush the Mind-Bewitching Demon, explaining that it could manipulate the senses of both survivors and demon corpses. When a group of survivors charged toward the Apocalyptic Fortress, Zhang Yang recognized the demon’s influence and waited to see what it was plotting.

• Zhang Yang led Zhao Dagang to a building and assigned him firing positions to prepare for the Mind-Bewitching Demon.
• Zhao Dagang doubted that his machine gun could fire accurately at the rate Zhang Yang demanded, but Zhang Yang insisted its enhancements made the attack possible.
• Zhang Yang told Zhao Dagang that the demonic invasion was organized and that many demons beyond those already encountered had yet to appear.
• Dozens of survivors charged out of a hotel toward the Apocalyptic Fortress while demon corpses reacted sluggishly and sometimes let themselves be killed.
• Li Meng led mercenaries to escort the survivors inside, and Zhang Yang identified the Mind-Bewitching Demon as the cause of the unnatural behavior.
• Zhang Yang explained that the demon used sensory illusions rather than disguises and told Zhao Dagang to wait for its larger plan to unfold.

Zhang Yang and Zhao Dagang fought the Mind-Bewitching Demon after it emerged from the gray mist as a resilient slime monster. Zhang Yang used demonic energy to invoke the Shadow Demon Language and kill it with Shadow Spears, but the backlash left him gravely injured.

• Hundreds of survivors entered the Apocalyptic Fortress, while Zhang Yang insisted the Mind-Bewitching Demon could not turn them against its defenders.
• Gray mist put the Demonized Zombies and Zhao Dagang unconscious, and Zhang Yang waited until black smoke and mist gathered to form the demon.
• Zhao Dagang fired two belts of Demon-Slaying Bullets while Zhang Yang attacked the slime monster with his knife, sword intent, and grenades, but it repeatedly reassembled.
• The Mind-Bewitching Demon's demonic energy swallowed Zhang Yang's heart sword and destroyed his Heart Meridian Sword Core, so Zhang Yang let the energy demonize him and spoke the Shadow Demon Language.
• Zhang Yang used the phrase's power to form thirty-two Shadow Spears and kill the Mind-Bewitching Demon, then collapsed with black veins spreading across his body.
• The system announced that Zhang Yang had killed the Primal Demon Blood boss and obtained a supernatural demon soul, Primal Demon Blood, a Golden Fragment of Hope, energy points, demon blood, and a demon heart.

Zhang Yang transformed Zhao Dagang into a rational demon-tainted warrior, then explored the sewer and encountered Qiong Kou, who purged the demonic energy from Zhang Yang’s body and warned him to focus on building his fortress. After waking with his soul upgraded, Zhang Yang concluded that Qiong Kou, Old Wang, and Qin Ge belonged to an organization called the Anomalous Person and resolved not to investigate further.

• Zhao Dagang was contaminated by demonic energy, and Zhang Yang used Demon Language: Shadow to turn him into a Shadow Machine Gunner while preserving his reason.
• Zhang Yang sent Zhao Dagang to hunt demon zombies around the fortress, then entered the sewer to investigate the Mind-Bewitching Demon’s lair.
• Zhang Yang followed the mucus-filled sewer into an old stone passage, where he encountered Qiong Kou.
• Qiong Kou revealed that he and Old Wang had secretly helped Zhang Yang’s convoy, then struck Zhang Yang seventy-two times to expel his demonic energy and urged him to build his fortress.
• Zhang Yang woke near his home base to learn that meeting an Anomalous Person had raised his soul to Grade D, and he decided to focus on his village-building quest.

Zhang Yang expanded the Apocalyptic Fortress and strengthened his forces while preparing to face powerful demons without relying on Qiong Kou and Old Wang. He ended by trading an extraordinary demon soul for anti-poison suits, believing his growing military assets could let him challenge bosses himself.

• Zhang Yang warned Zhao Dagang to avoid Qiong Kou and a possible bald man, and to stay mindful of his principles while gaining experience from demon zombies.
• McField and Sun Cheng returned with supplies, and Zhang Yang began construction of the Level 2 Fortress and assigned research and building tasks.
• Zhang Yang ordered an upgrade to the Level 2 Apocalyptic Base Vehicle, arranged a tank modification, and promoted eighteen mercenaries to captains.
• Zhang Yang spent extra Mortal Iron and Mortal Copper to upgrade his captain-level soldiers' weapons.
• Zhang Yang traded the Mind-Bewitching Demon's extraordinary demon soul for twenty Biohazard Anti-Poison Suits and considered preparing to snatch bosses.

Zhang Yang strengthened Zhao Dagang’s shadow concealment so he could investigate powerful beings beyond transcendence, then deciphered a civilization-code fragment and gained Demon Language: Bewitchment. He recognized that the new language could command demon zombies and potentially influence souled creatures across a vast range.

• Zhang Yang focused on construction and farming while his workers and mercenaries advanced in rank.
• Zhao Dagang reported that a mysterious force was drawing Common Demon Zombies out of the city and that a devastating battle had taken place in the west without being sensed in the east.
• Zhang Yang gave Zhao Dagang two Immortal Stones and used Shadow Demon Language to strengthen his concealment, asking him to investigate powerful beings beyond transcendence.
• Zhang Yang spent three Golden Fragments of Hope to decipher the Mind-Bewitching Demon’s civilization-code blueprint.
• Zhang Yang acquired Demon Language: Bewitchment and realized it could command demon zombies, affect souled creatures over a vast range, and potentially rival Divine Edict.

Zhang Yang led a heavily armed convoy south to hunt the gathering Demon Zombies before they could evolve, despite warnings that the retreating horde might be dangerous. After finding a horde of about one hundred thousand near a mountain town, he used Zhao Dagang’s scouting and the Level 3 Base Vehicle’s firepower to ambush and destroy more than one hundred Elite Demon Zombies, leaving him hopeful that the kills would unlock a fourth trading mode.

• Engineer Captain Li Dong presented Zhang Yang with the modified Level 3 Apocalyptic Base Vehicle, while Fatty's father warned him against risking an expedition.
• After hearing that Qiong Kou and Old Wang had gone north wounded, Zhang Yang decided to head south and hunt Demon Zombies before they evolved.
• Zhang Yang left Li Meng and a guard force to protect the fortress, then led the rest of his troops and vehicles south with Zhao Dagang scouting ahead.
• Zhao Dagang reported that about one hundred thousand Demon Zombies had gathered near a small town, and Zhang Yang chose to attack despite having limited ammunition.
• Zhang Yang's convoy entered a narrow mountain road, where more than one hundred Elite Demon Zombies charged the Level 3 Base Vehicle.
• Zhang Yang sprang the planned ambush, and the convoy's turrets and Captain-level mercenaries wiped out the attacking Elite Demon Zombies in five seconds.

Zhang Yang and his soldiers fought their way through a massive demon zombie tide after he killed a healing Swift Blade Demonkin that nearly breached the Base Vehicle. Li Dong and Lu Long drove the vehicle out of the valley, earning the qualifications to advance to the special military class Mech Pilot.

• Zhang Yang traded demon souls and other materials for thousands of Demon-Slaying Bullets before Du Chao warned him that a third-stage Swift Blade Demonkin was attacking.
• The Swift Blade Demonkin tore open the Base Vehicle’s roof and wounded a machine gunner, but Zhang Yang used Demon Language: Bewitchment to immobilize it and then beheaded it.
• Zhang Yang used a Golden Fragment of Hope to stabilize the wounded machine gunner while the demon zombie tide surrounded the Base Vehicle and trapped the crew in the nightmare.
• Li Dong and Lu Long started both engines and drove the Base Vehicle through the zombie tide as the soldiers fought off attackers and exhausted their ammunition.
• The Base Vehicle broke out of the valley and linked up with the other vehicles, and Li Dong and Lu Long qualified to advance to the special military class Mech Pilot.

After the Demon Zombie Horde retreated, Zhang Yang upgraded nine soldiers into two Mech Pilots and seven Kings of Mercenaries, then spent his reserves enhancing their weapons. He prepared to hunt a being beyond the transcendent level and hoped Zhao Dagang’s greed would make him useful as bait.

• Zhang Yang’s troops returned to base after killing one special-grade Swiftblade Demonkin, 382 elite-grade Demonkin, and 48,791 Common Demon Zombies.
• Zhang Yang used Golden Fragments of Hope to upgrade Li Dong and Lu Long into Mech Pilots and seven other soldiers into Kings of Mercenaries.
• Zhang Yang decided to gamble on the Kings of Mercenaries’ battlefield potential and spent all his Mortal Iron, Mortal Copper, and Mortal Silver enhancing their firearms.
• Ten technical captains helped prepare seven weapon upgrades, and the soldiers received enhanced Armor-piercing Rounds after the work finished on the morning of the eighth day.
• Zhang Yang ordered the Kings of Mercenaries to rest before joining him on a boss hunt, while he planned to use Zhao Dagang’s continued hunt of the horde as bait.

Zhang Yang gambled that a Foundation Establishment Stage Demonic Cultivator was still with the Demon Zombie Horde, then lured him into an ambush and killed him. He returned with powerful rewards and the Mountain River Sword Art, but lost most of his convoy and was left questioning the world’s plotline.

• Zhang Yang led a hundred-person force toward the Demon Zombie Horde after Zhao Dagang was reported killed, then ordered a retreat when the horde surged toward them.
• Zhang Yang’s black fog overwhelmed the convoy, killing or transforming most of the mercenaries and engineers as Li Dong and Lu Long drove toward the County City.
• A human Demonic Cultivator used an Imprisonment Spell to stop Zhang Yang’s vehicles, but Du Chao, McField, and the other hidden marksmen ambushed him with gunfire.
• The Apocalyptic Village Building Order killed the Demonic Cultivator and awarded Zhang Yang resources, equipment, and a choice of replacement rewards.
• Zhang Yang chose a Mortal Grade Sword Art and received the Mountain River Sword Art, then prepared to return to the Apocalyptic Fortress.
• Zhang Yang wondered whether he or Qin Mingyue was the protagonist and whether their world followed a story, then stopped himself with Soul Tremor.