Chapter Summaries

After Gon broke his arm while hunting a force-rebounding beast, Qiduo treated him and Biscuit warned the hunters not to underestimate the Dark Continent’s dangers. The returning Scout Team mapped the perilous Gale Grassland and its valuable Golden Milk, while a mysterious red-eyed creature began following the camp’s trail and noticed the camp from afar.

• Kiy brought Gon to the Infirmary after Gon’s arm fractured when a monster rebounded the force of his Nen attack, and Qiduo set the bone and gave him medicine.
• Kansai apologized for the hunting mishap, and Biscuit lectured Gon, Kiy, and Kansai about staying alert; Kiy recalled a scar left by a small monster that had once caught him off guard.
• Melusina and the Scout Team returned safely, and Pairo presented their map and findings about Gale Grassland’s lethal Wind Blades, tough creatures, and nutrient-rich meat.
• Kevin and the others discussed using animal hides or wool to protect themselves as they explored toward the grassland’s Golden Milk, which Kevin believed could provide exceptional nourishment.
• A red-eyed creature wandered along the hunters’ trail through the Giant Beast Kingdom, noticed the camp, then withdrew into the darkness.

Jin's team encountered and defeated a hostile Magnetic Machine Body on Beast Herd Land, then traded its Sharp Gear to a normal Machine Lifeform. They received a magnetic-control rod instead of the expected Data Chip, and prepared to test whether the exchange had let them approach the Metal Tower.

• Tesiwa and his companion returned to Jin after fighting creatures on the plain, reporting that they had not found any bizarre mechanical bodies.
• Jin's mechanical bird located a hostile Magnetic Machine Body, and the scouting groups gathered to investigate it.
• The pink-haired girl attacked with her Nen Beast, while the burly man used Legendary Thrower to hurl Jin toward the machine behind a protective shield.
• Jin destroyed the Magnetic Machine Body with a punch, dodged a second machine's sudden appearance, and traded its Sharp Gear for a metal rod.
• Jin poured Nen Aura into the rod and discovered that it could control nearby metal fragments.
• Jin's team decided to test whether the trade had placed them on the Machine Lifeforms' whitelist and allowed them to approach the tower.

Kevin introduced the A-Rank Nen quantity battery potion to the Exploration Team, and Men Qi and Morel were the first to use it. After the potion caused a day of emotional outbursts while remodeling their bodies, Qiduo confirmed it had no major side effects, leaving Kevin considering a potion to relieve mental pressure.

• Kevin brought two doses of the Nen quantity battery potion to the dining hall, and the team chose Men Qi and Morel to use them first.
• Men Qi and Morel drank the potions and ate meat while their spines were remodeled and their emotions erupted in different ways.
• Men Qi spent the day harassing the camp, while Morel went off alone to smoke and reflect on his longing for the ocean.
• The next morning, Men Qi apologized with breakfast, and Qiduo questioned her about her memories and the potion's effects.
• Qiduo concluded that the emotional outbursts were temporary and the potion had no major side effects, while Kevin considered making a potion to relieve mental pressure.
• Pairo said he expected the potion would make him insult Biscuit, prompting jokes from Rukira and Ce about his preparations.

Kevin and his group explored Gale Grassland, studying its unusually nutritious grass and the sheep that used their wool to protect their young from Wind Blades. A flying Long-haired Yak attacked them with powerful gusts, but Kevin countered its Wind Blades, and the yak fled under cover of shredded grass.

• Koto examined Gale Grassland’s extensive grass roots and concluded that the forage was exceptionally nutritious, while Kevin judged a blade of it to be at most a supplementary C-class potion material.
• Kevin led the group onto the grassland behind a Nen Aura barrier, which blocked the first Wind Blades they encountered.
• Men Qi’s scouting Nen Beast detected an approaching flock of fluffy sheep, and the group watched the adult sheep shield lambs while Wind Blades killed an elderly sheep with sparse wool.
• Men Qi sensed a more dangerous approach, and Kevin stacked five Nen Aura barriers as dense Wind Blades struck until the outer layer shattered.
• A flying Long-haired Yak attacked with huge Wind Blades, but Kevin blocked them with his Fine Silver Scales and weakened them with a sonic Air Cannon and gale.
• The Long-haired Yak sent another wave of Wind Blades before fleeing as shredded grass obscured its retreat.

Kevin and his companions explored the Gale Grassland, learned that Long-haired Yaks controlled the region and produced the wind blades, then returned toward the Snake Nest. That night, a cloaked mechanical being approached their camp and asked whether the humans had come back.

• Kevin concluded that the Long-haired Yaks were Occupiers rather than Lord Level creatures, while Morel and Koto discussed why the herd attacked intruders and how it shaped the grassland ecology.
• Kevin and Koto found that grass crossed by a Long-haired Yak had become nutrient-rich enough to qualify as C-rank medicine.
• Kevin decided the group had learned enough and led them away from the Gale Grassland to avoid risking an encounter with stronger yaks.
• While Kevin kept watch at a camp in a large tree, a concealed figure followed the group's trail and approached.
• Kevin detected the figure, and Koto's Nen ability revealed a mechanical being with glowing red eyes.
• The mechanical being faced the group and asked, "Humans. Have you come back?"

Jin and the Exploration Team entered the ancient High Tower and discovered it had once monitored the surrounding region and manufactured vessels or bodies for a powerful Sapient Lifeform civilization. After discussing the tower’s damaged records, Jin concluded that the civilization’s core might lie deep within the Dark Continent, and the team decided to seek contact with the surviving Machine Lifeforms.

• Jin led the team across the Black Sand and into the damaged High Tower, where they found a vast, partially functioning mechanical production line.
• Ging persuaded Tuk to connect the Mechanical Bird to a device embedded in the machinery, and Tuk read a record stored as mental wavelengths.
• Tuk reported that a subordinate unit had built the tower to monitor the region and manufacture vessels or bodies, before a disaster cut off its records and triggered an emergency transfer of highest authority.
• Teval and the others debated what the records revealed, while Peach Heart Love suggested communicating with the Machine Lifeforms outside the tower.
• Jin said the civilization was absent from Don Freecss's Ring Coast records and reasoned that its core was likely deep within the Dark Continent.
• Jin told the team to gather more information and find a way to communicate with the surviving Machine Lifeforms.

Kevin spoke through the night with Tuck, a Machine Lifeform who explained his kind’s origins, failing Storage Crystals, and the Bronze Black High Tower’s purpose. The conversation revealed that Tuck was nearing madness without a functioning crystal, while his people sought a way to reconnect with their core.

• Kevin questioned the hostile Machine Lifeform, and it explained that it had encountered humans on the shore, most recently 223 years ago.
• The Machine Lifeform said it sought communication with humans because conversation kept its Calculation Unit active and delayed its decline.
• Tuck explained that his Hub had been disconnected from its core 931 years ago, causing bodies and Storage Crystals to decay and forcing some of his kind to transfer their consciousness.
• Kevin and the others talked with Tuck until sunrise, learning that the Bronze Black High Tower stood 4,000 kilometers inland and had been built to reconnect his people with their core.
• Tuck described three groups of Machine Lifeforms: those waiting in reduced activity, those driven mad after their crystals shattered, and explorers like him who transferred their crystals into new bodies.
• Tuck revealed that he was lodged in a stone because his Storage Crystal could no longer function, and said he might go mad within decades if he could not keep communicating.

Kevin and the others discussed the Machine Lifeform Tuck, then planned how to build a safe Forward Base and strengthen themselves for the Dark Continent. Kevin revealed that Ji Kui Crystals from Machine Lifeforms might help defend against mental and soul-targeting abilities.

• Kevin explained that Tuck was the only known Machine Lifeform in the region who could still act with self-awareness, and warned everyone to remain cautious when communicating with him.
• Kevin set out the expedition’s goals: establish a safe Forward Base, obtain one Hope, and resolve one disaster; the team judged Beyond likely to succeed while Ging’s team would probably keep exploring rather than return.
• Kevin outlined short-term needs for strength, nutrition, and defense, explaining that Long-haired Yak milk could support potions to increase Nen quantity.
• Kevin said the Ant King Heart medicine could help him break through his limits, while other team members needed potions that increased aura consumption without causing it to run out of control.
• Kevin proposed using Ji Kui Crystals, the cores of Machine Lifeforms, to strengthen defenses against harmful abilities that targeted the mind or soul.

Kevin used the Bohong Flower to create a potion that multiplied the amount of Nen its user could unleash, and Morel’s test confirmed its effectiveness. The group left the chapter considering how to cultivate the scarce flower on a large scale.

• Kevin explained how Machine Lifeforms used Storage Crystals to incubate new life and suggested them as a possible potion ingredient, though he had not yet learned whether any were available nearby.
• Kevin outlined why he wanted to develop a spirit-strengthening drug to protect the group from subtle, deadly threats in the Dark Continent.
• Koto presented the Bohong Flower, a scarce plant whose consumption made cells active and increased Nen output and expenditure.
• Kevin used the flower to make the Striker Potion, which increased its user’s Nen output severalfold while slightly reducing fine control.
• Morel tested the potion by creating 450 Purple Smoke Machine Soldiers and confirmed that it doubled his Nen output without major side effects.
• Guni said he needed to figure out how to grow Bohong Flowers on a large scale.

Kevin and the Exploration Team began their third expedition into the Gale Grassland to study its environment and the Long-haired Yaks. After Kevin knocked a yak to the ground, the Wang Gen Grass swallowed it, revealing a danger the Travelogue had not recorded, and the team continued deeper to investigate.

• After the Bohong Flower plantation plan failed, Biscuit decided the team would sow and maintain flowers across separate sunlit regions instead.
• Kevin led Melusina, Rukira, Koala, Men Qi, and Buhaci into the Gale Grassland to explore its interior and study the Long-haired Yaks.
• Men Qi located a Long-haired Yak, and Kevin flew ahead with Rukira to confront it while the others followed.
• Kevin blocked the yak's Wind Blades and punched it out of the air, but the Wang Gen Grass rapidly grew and swallowed it.
• The team discussed why the grass might consume fallen Long-haired Yaks and why the yaks floated above the ground, then continued deeper into the grassland.

Gon and Kiy evaded a powerful Benzu Beast while Rukira discovered the Golden Grassland, where Kevin scouted the metallic-looking Wang Gen Grass and faced a barrage of Wind Blades. The attack failed to pierce Kevin’s Snake Scale, and he began dodging the blades as he advanced.

• Tuck explained that his pheromones kept ordinary beasts away, but Gon and Kiy fled when a roaring creature approached; the Benzu Beast sniffed the area and left.
• Rukira found a vast stretch of golden Wang Gen Grass and reported his discovery to Kevin and the others.
• Kevin’s group discussed how the grassland’s creatures had vanished and why they needed high-nutrition animals and milk.
• Kevin reached the Golden Grassland, found that its grass was top-tier C-rank Material, and was attacked by countless Wind Blades.
• Kevin’s barriers and Snake Scale withstood the Wind Blades, and he began moving forward while dodging half of them.

Kevin investigated the Golden Grassland’s Long-haired Yaks and discovered that the grassland protected them through a positional-triggered mechanism, while the supposed milk might be a nutrient-rich secretion that nourished the grass. After three days of observation, the group noticed rain clouds gathering overhead, and Kevin checked that they appeared ordinary despite resembling Thunderstorm Clouds.

• Kevin fought an adult Long-haired Yak, uncovered its true body of woven fur and tentacles, and lost it when the Golden Grass Leaves intervened to protect it.
• Kevin returned to Melusina and the others and explained the battle, leading them to conclude that the grassland protected the Long-haired Yaks and that their supposed milk might nourish the land.
• Kevin proposed that the group camp and observe the Golden Grassland for several days, and everyone agreed.
• Over three days, Kevin found that the Long-haired Yaks intercepted him whenever he ventured too deeply, using the grassland’s defenses to prevent his advance.
• Men Qi noticed rising humidity and water droplets, while Rukira confirmed that heavy rain was coming.
• Kevin inspected the dark clouds and found no obvious signs of danger, though they resembled Thunderstorm Clouds.

During a violent thunderstorm in the Golden Grassland, Kevin ventured toward the Long-haired Yaks and discovered them gathering lightning above a lake of luminous milk. He secretly began siphoning the valuable liquid, but a bolt struck toward him, revealing that he had been discovered.

• Kevin and the others weathered the storm while Men Qi conjured a Lightning Rabbit to absorb electricity, but a Lightning Pillar destroyed it, so she summoned an Earth Land Turtle instead.
• Kevin entered the Golden Grassland wearing Snake Scale and pushed through the electrically charged grass toward the lightning strikes.
• Kevin reached the grassland’s core and found the Long-haired Yaks floating above an inner lake, drawing down lightning with their raised fur and releasing glowing liquid from their horns.
• Kevin used a bucket and a Nen Aura tube to secretly siphon the lake’s liquid, but a bolt of lightning struck toward him.

Kevin escaped the Golden Grassland after stealing nutrient-rich liquid from its Energy Pool, surviving a barrage of lightning with Phoenix’s flames and Melusina’s gift. As the group fled, they discussed how the liquid could help Kevin grow strong enough to return and steal more.

• Kevin stole liquid from the Energy Pool, but the Long-haired Creatures detected him and drew a swarm of lightning attacks toward him.
• Phoenix’s flames carried Kevin away while Melusina’s Pink Box briefly shielded him, and Kevin used Rabbits as lightning decoys to escape the pursuing bolts.
• Melusina caught Kevin at the edge of the Golden Grassland, and he handed the Pocket Flower containing the stolen liquid to Men Qi.
• Men Qi manifested the Griffin, and the group flew away from the storm as Kevin explained how the Long-haired Creatures and the grassland formed an energy cycle.
• Melusina suggested that Kevin could steal more during thunderstorms as his body grew stronger, and the group discussed how the liquid could support his training.

After returning from a two-week exploration, Kevin and the camp members discussed their new findings and dealt with injuries from a snake attack. Kevin revealed nutrient milk whose protein-rich scent made everyone feel full, leaving Men Qi to devise a way to prepare it while the group studied the potent gas.

• Men Qi suggested finding a creature to carry supplies, and Kevin agreed that mounts should become a future objective.
• Kevin saw Beidolaisi’s treetop cultivation room for growing Bohong Flowers and learned that Ce recorded Rukira’s expedition data.
• Gon, Shalnark, and Kurapika brought back injured Kiy and Biscuit after a venomous snake ambushed their hunting party, while Kansai returned safely afterward.
• Kiy woke and celebrated recovering the horns from his first solo giant-beast hunt, and Bianluoke stored the hunting materials in bubbles.
• Kevin opened the wooden bucket, and its nutrient-rich scent filled the tent and made the group feel full; Men Qi said she had a way to prepare it.
• Kevin resealed the nutrient milk in the Pocket Flower, and Bianluoke divided the remaining protein gas into bubbles for the group to study.

Ce recorded the Exploration Team’s work as Kevin and Men Qi studied ways to use Thick White Milk, while Biscuit’s group hunted a Gemstone Crown Dragon. Kevin struggled to find a fusion agent for a medicinal formula, and the gemstone’s dazzling effect revealed that he and Melusina resisted it better than the others.

• Ce entered the team’s recent research and expedition records into his Notebook.
• Biscuit, Gon, and Kiy tried to catch a Gemstone Crown Dragon, but it escaped them until a disguised snake swallowed it; the three then defeated the snake and recovered the gemstone.
• Kevin identified Resentful Eater Snake venom as a needed ingredient for his Thick White Milk formula but could not find a suitable fusion agent, and Little Wang knew of no antidote to the venom.
• Men Qi rejected diluting Thick White Milk in soup and began developing a nutrient-rich seasoning that could cling to other foods.
• Biscuit showed Kevin and Melusina the gemstone, and both resisted its dazzling effect; Melusina suggested it could test a person’s will.

Kevin brought a team to the Bronze Tower with Tuck to search its records for information about the Resentful Eater Snake. Tuck found clues that could narrow their search for something resistant to the snake’s venom, and Kevin began negotiating for Storage Crystals to use in his research.

• Kevin found Tuck, who explained that he needed to return to the Bronze Tower to search its records, then led a six-person team there along a safe route.
• On the way, Tuck identified the Pit Sand Worms as Desert Messengers and said the Giant Bird was called the King of the Sky, which passed overhead every ninety days and nights.
• At the Bronze Tower, Pairo confirmed that Jin and his companions had recently visited, while Berolete, Gon, Kiy, and Pairo explored the still-functioning factory.
• Tuck searched a wall crystal and found that plants or animals resistant to Resentful Eater Snake venom could appear near territories where the snakes had lived for a long time.
• Kevin asked Tuck for used or worn-out Storage Crystals for research, and Tuck agreed to trade them in exchange for valuable materials such as Pure Storage Crystals, mental-will vessels, or replacement parts.

Jin's team found the Abyss, whose strange influence made them want to jump into it, and decided to detour around it on the way to the Unmanned Stone Range. Elsewhere, Beyond's team obtained nine Alchemy Plants at the cost of over a thousand lives, and Beyond planned to split up the return teams to draw away the Undying disease.

• Jin's team crossed into a barren wilderness and spotted the Abyss ahead on Jin's danger-predicting Pocket Watch.
• Jin, Tuk, Tewashi, and the Pink-haired Girl reached the edge of the Abyss and felt an unnatural urge to jump into it.
• Jin recognized the Abyss's influence and led his team away, deciding they would make a wide detour toward the Unmanned Stone Range.
• Beyond's team dug up nine Alchemy Plants, while more than a thousand of the over two thousand people he had brought had died during the expedition.
• Beyond stored the plants in a skull-shaped Nen tool and ordered his team to prepare to leave for the Whale Ship.
• Beyond explained that the Alchemy Plants attracted the Undying disease and planned to split the return journey into separate teams, using some as bait.

Qiduo developed a Cell Recovery Injector from Thick White Milk to support Nen training, while Illumi discovered that Snake Nest soil could counter the Resentful Eater Snake's poison. Kevin used the soil and Snake Berry to create a powerful new potion, whose final effects remained unknown.

• Qiduo explained to Biscuit that her Cell Recovery Injector replenished Life Energy during training and could boost a Nen user's Aura capacity.
• Biscuit told Qiduo that Men Qi and the others were also nearing a finished seasoning product.
• Illumi investigated the Snake Berry Trees, tested their oily black soil with her Nen ability, and found that it worked as an antidote.
• Kevin used the soil and Snake Berry to make a Fusion Agent Antidote, then refined it further into a high-grade potion.
• Kevin's Alchemy Table produced a milky-white potion with a golden thread running through it, and he felt an unusually strong urge to drink it.

Kevin tested his new Full Body Potion, which greatly increased his aura but caused an uncontrolled thirty-minute surge because his body could not contain the power. After learning that the human body had a current-stage aura limit near one million, he planned to use the potion every three days and focus on improving his constitution.

• Kevin injected the potion and gained nearly twenty thousand aura, but the excess power erupted uncontrollably for thirty minutes.
• Kevin turned the overflowing aura into Resentment and fed it to Little Wang, whose appetite helped absorb the surge.
• Qiduo examined Kevin and concluded that his hands had suffered temporary strain, while his body’s current structure limited his aura capacity to around one million.
• Kevin named the potion Full Body and explained that one dose increased his aura by twenty thousand.
• Qiduo advised Kevin to use the potion no more often than once every three days, and Kevin planned to end the Gale Grassland exploration for now and address his constitution.