Chapter Summaries

Lu Bai reunited with Tian Wang and Ke Jiangni at the shelter, then returned to his tent in District 7 during a curfew and encountered Gao Pangzi bullying Cui Qing. After staff member Zhou Zongming intervened, Gao Pangzi sat beside Lu Bai and resumed trying to talk to him.

• Lu Bai met Tian Wang and Ke Jiangni, learned they were the only ones left from their group, and offered to help them in District 7.
• A loudspeaker announced a one-hour movement restriction while shelter staff disinfected the tents.
• Lu Bai used his temporary ID to return from District 21 to his tent in District 7 and found Gao Pangzi and two men harassing Cui Qing.
• Gao Pangzi tried to make Lu Bai fetch food, but Lu Bai pointed out that movement was prohibited.
• Zhou Zongming entered with medical workers, stopped Gao Pangzi's harassment, and reassured Cui Qing before leaving.
• Gao Pangzi sat beside Lu Bai and said they should continue their chat.

Lu Bai used his Brocade-shell pistol to stop Gao Pangzi from bullying him, then waited out the night in the shelter while the system's location updates remained delayed. Before dawn, soldiers discovered a neighboring tent soaked in blood, and Lu Bai listened as they investigated the apparent deaths.

• Lu Bai threatened Gao Pangzi with his pistol, making Gao Pangzi and his men back off and leave Cui Qing alone.
• Lu Bai checked the System Panel and noticed the deathmatchers' location updates were coming less frequently, though he remained in first place.
• Lu Bai spent the evening in the tent and went to sleep after the shelter's nighttime passage ban began.
• Lu Bai woke after smelling blood from the neighboring tent but stayed on his bedroll to avoid being mistaken for the culprit.
• A patrolling soldier discovered the blood-soaked neighboring tent, and a company commander asked whether all six people's blood was there.

After six people vanished from a blood-soaked tent, Zhou Zongming questioned the civilians while Lu Bai inspected the scene and stayed alert for a nearby deathmatcher. That night, a shadow appeared in the darkness, holding a burly figure upside down.

• Soldiers woke Lu Bai and the others after discovering a tent drenched in blood, and Zhou Zongming ordered the area sealed and civilians questioned.
• Zhou Zongming learned that six people were missing and no one had heard anything during the killings.
• Lu Bai peered into the bloody tent and joked that he might be the killer, prompting Zhou Zongming to send him back to bed.
• Lu Bai stayed on guard through the day, believing a deathmatcher was nearby, then went to sleep with the others after night fell.
• A silhouette appeared in the dark tent holding a burly figure upside down as if preparing to drain its blood.

Lu Bai exposed Cui Qing as the killer and helped Zhou Zongming’s troops corner him at the shelter. As civilians fled and the gunfight turned chaotic, Lu Bai activated Blood Rage and charged through a tent toward Cui Qing.

• Cui Qing killed Gao Pangzi while Lu Bai confronted him about his suspicious behavior and the bodies in the neighboring tent.
• Lu Bai revealed that he had used a walkie-talkie to alert Zhou Zongming, and Cui Qing fled as soldiers closed in.
• Zhou Zongming ordered his troops to shoot Cui Qing, who dodged through the shelter while the gunfire panicked the civilians.
• Zhou Zongming ordered entrances sealed, civilians evacuated, and reinforcements called as Cui Qing exploited gaps in the encirclement.
• Lu Bai activated Blood Rage and smashed through a tent as he charged toward Cui Qing.

Lu Bai killed Cui Qing with a single punch after Cui Qing attacked him during the chaos in District 7. Zhou Zongming later questioned Lu Bai about the death and asked him to hand over his gun, which Lu Bai revealed was a magazine-less replica.

• Deathmatchers gathered near the shelter and watched the gunfire in District 7 without intervening.
• Cui Qing fled through the shelter, but Lu Bai overtook him and blocked his path.
• Cui Qing attacked Lu Bai with his sharpened nails, and Lu Bai killed him with one punch, earning a point.
• Zhou Zongming questioned Lu Bai about Cui Qing's death, while Lu Bai claimed he had stayed in his tent and denied responsibility.
• Zhou Zongming asked Lu Bai to hand over his gun, and Lu Bai showed him a Shuangying pistol without a magazine.

Lu Bai learned from Agu that the deathmatchers were waiting for a world-changing node, and Agu proposed that they work together. Wu Ya, Tian Wang, and Ke Jiangni arrived to check on Lu Bai, while Agu left him to decide before nightfall.

• Lu Bai studied the published location data and concluded that deathmatchers had left their tents to avoid being found.
• Agu approached Lu Bai, introduced himself, and suggested they work together because Lu Bai lacked full deathmatcher training.
• Lu Bai worked out that the gathered deathmatchers were waiting for a virus cure or vaccine to appear as a valuable node.
• Agu explained that controlling the node for more than twenty-four hours would double a deathmatcher’s points, but would also reveal his location through the System Panel.
• Wu Ya arrived with Tian Wang and Ke Jiangni to check on Lu Bai, and Agu asked Lu Bai to signal him by tonight if he accepted the offer.

Lu Bai was warned about dangerous deathmatch participants and questioned by Zhou Zongming before agreeing to cooperate with Agu. Agu revealed that vaccine trials were imminent and offered Lu Bai the vaccine in exchange for placing in the top ten, leaving them to plan how to retrieve it from the Research Center.

• Lu Bai warned Wu Ya, Tian Wang, and Ke Jiangni to stay away from other people like him and Agu, then went to lunch with them.
• Zhou Zongming questioned Lu Bai, reminded him to keep his head down, and inadvertently confirmed that the nearby building was the Research Center.
• Lu Bai noticed Agu’s chewing gum surveillance ability and met with him to discuss cooperation.
• Agu told Lu Bai that vaccine trials would begin soon and that the shelter’s atmosphere was becoming tense.
• Agu offered Lu Bai the vaccine in exchange for placing in the top ten, and Lu Bai agreed before Agu began discussing how to retrieve it from the Research Center.

Lu Bai infiltrated the Research Center disguised as a cleaner and followed Agu’s directions into a lab, where he revealed that he had suspected Agu was a researcher. After crushing the earpiece, Lu Bai left Agu’s plan behind as Zhou Zongming emerged from hiding in the vaccine lab.

• Lu Bai entered the Research Center in a cleaner’s uniform while Agu guided him past staff and security.
• Lu Bai used a sixteen-digit password to open an isolation door and entered a lab, where a bespectacled researcher confronted him.
• Lu Bai questioned the researcher about the vaccine and learned Professor Jiang was leading the research elsewhere.
• Agu warned Lu Bai that the Rapid Response Force was downstairs, but Lu Bai deduced that Agu worked at the Research Center and had personally surveyed it.
• Lu Bai crushed the earpiece and mocked Agu’s plan.
• Zhou Zongming came out of a storage room in the vaccine lab and cursed Agu for making him hide there.

Lu Bai warned Zhou Zongming that someone planned to steal the vaccine, then went to Professor Jiang’s laboratory, where Zhou was already confronting Analyst Gu. Agu attacked Zhou, but Lu Bai arrived as soldiers surrounded the lab and faced Agu’s gun.

• Lu Bai told Zhou Zongming that someone planned to break into the Research Center and steal the vaccine, but Zhou did not treat the warning as reliable enough to report.
• Lu Bai tied up a lab worker and went looking for Professor Jiang’s laboratory while Zhou went to investigate the Research Center.
• Agu claimed he had come to deliver a virus sample, but Zhou Zongming challenged him and tried to verify the story with Professor Jiang.
• Agu attacked Zhou, knocked away his pistol, and left him struggling to reach it.
• Lu Bai entered, locked the laboratory door, and explained that the soldiers outside had led him there.
• Agu aimed Zhou’s pistol at Lu Bai, who pointed to his forehead and told Agu where to shoot.

Lu Bai cornered Agu in the laboratory, where Agu revealed that the shelter’s supposed vaccine was a poison designed to make people appear near death to zombies. After injecting himself and taking a USB drive, Agu triggered a Deathmatch Arena node, leaving the lab as danger gathered outside.

• Agu distracted Lu Bai with gunshots, locked himself in the isolation room, and refused to surrender as the Rapid Response Force entered the lab.
• Agu explained that the vaccine was actually a carefully dosed poison that could make zombies avoid its user, then injected himself with it.
• The Deathmatch Arena announced Agu as a node and offered double points to the player who obtained him.
• Agu took a USB drive and asked Lu Bai what a node was; Lu Bai identified it as an experiment log.
• Agu warned that the node’s appearance would reveal everyone’s location, and a hysterical scream came from outside the window.

Zombies erupted across the settlement, and Zhou Zongming ordered the Rapid Response Force to contain the outbreak by sealing off affected zones. As the chaos spread, Lu Bai leaped from the fifth floor and raced toward the danger.

• Zombies attacked people in multiple settlement zones while civilians fled in panic.
• A group of men in suits discussed how their plan to draw the military's attention had caused more chaos than expected.
• Zhou Zongming learned that Zombies had appeared in eight zones and ordered the Rapid Response Force to seal passageways and hold the affected areas.
• Zhou Zongming left Lu Bai and Agu in the Research Center, with four men assigned to guard Agu.
• Lu Bai told Agu to try escaping, then jumped from the fifth floor and sprinted off.

Tian Wang, Wu Ya, and Ke Jiangni fled the zombie attack at the shelter and encountered Guo Mi while trying to escape a blocked passage. Guo Mi revealed remarkable agility as she saved Wu Ya, who wondered whether she was like Lu Bai.

• Tian Wang led Wu Ya and Ke Jiangni away from the shelter chaos, and they disagreed about whether to head for District 7 or the military camp.
• The three reached a blocked passage where soldiers held back survivors, while an official’s megaphone drew zombies toward the crowd.
• Wu Ya apologized after Tian Wang tried to push past Guo Mi, then invited Guo Mi to flee with them.
• As zombies charged, Guo Mi pulled Wu Ya away from the crowd and led the group along the corrugated metal wall.
• Guo Mi leaped over a lunging zombie while carrying Wu Ya, and Wu Ya asked whether she was like Lu Bai.

Lu Bai returned to the shelter and headed for District 23 as the Zombie outbreak overwhelmed the base. He found soldiers trapped by the horde and watched Sun Chuan attempt to escape, leaving Sun Chuan gravely injured.

• A mysterious high-school boy appeared in Agu’s isolation room, ignored the guards, and told Agu to follow him if he wanted to avoid elimination.
• Lu Bai retrieved the Eight-Sided Han Sword, checked that Agu had not moved, and set out for District 23 without seeking Wu Ya and the others first.
• Lu Bai saw panicked civilians and Zombies spreading through the shelter, then reached District 23, where soldiers were trapped between hordes.
• Sun Chuan tried to escape by pulling down a riot-shield soldier and drawing the Zombies’ attention to his comrade.
• A Zombie crashed into Sun Chuan and sent him flying, while Lu Bai stood nearby without helping.

Lu Bai escaped the zombie-infested District 23 and returned to District 7, where Wu Ya’s group had arrived looking for him. Guo Mi revealed a dagger at Wu Ya’s throat and used her as leverage against Lu Bai.

• Lu Bai watched Sun Chuan die, then received a point for the death of a Deathmatch Participant.
• As zombies overran the passageway, Lu Bai fled through District 23 toward District 7, expecting Wu Ya and the others to head there.
• Wu Ya, Ke Jiangni, Tian Wang, and Guo Mi passed the checkpoint into District 7 and waited in Lu Bai’s empty tent.
• Lu Bai returned and noticed Guo Mi sitting close to Wu Ya, then traded awkward remarks with her.
• Guo Mi put a dagger to Wu Ya’s throat and told Lu Bai that his concern for Wu Ya was clear.

Guo Mi took Wu Ya hostage to confront Lu Bai over her younger brother’s death, but Lu Bai refused to back down and killed her after she stabbed him with a poisoned dagger. The chapter left Lu Bai standing over Guo Mi’s corpse, reflecting on her choice to come after him.

• Guo Mi held a dagger to Wu Ya’s neck and challenged Lu Bai, saying her next move depended on him.
• Guo Mi revealed that Lu Bai had killed her younger brother, and Lu Bai said he would kill her if she killed Wu Ya.
• Guo Mi threw Wu Ya toward Lu Bai to distract him, then stabbed him from behind with a poisoned dagger.
• Lu Bai caught the dagger in his hand, learned it carried a neurotoxin, and killed Guo Mi with his sword.
• Lu Bai gained one point and looked down at Guo Mi’s corpse, wondering why she had come after him instead of running away.

After Lu Bai killed Guo Mi, Xiao Xueyin arrived and invited him to join a team of deathmatchers who were hunting others like themselves. Lu Bai agreed after a brief clash and an exchange with the team, and Xiao Xueyin revealed an ability that boosted his teammates’ physical attributes.

• Lu Bai killed Guo Mi, then told Wu Ya and Ke Jiangni they could leave the tent because no one had seen what happened.
• Xiao Xueyin entered, pointed out Guo Mi’s corpse, and said he had come looking for her before offering Lu Bai a place in his group.
• Lu Bai attacked Xiao Xueyin, but Xiao Xueyin dodged the sword and absorbed the force of Lu Bai’s knee strike.
• A spiky-haired youth and the Hoodie Man joined Xiao Xueyin, who explained that the team wanted Lu Bai to help kill other deathmatchers.
• Liu Yue approved of Lu Bai after he joked that he had multiple organ failure, and Lu Bai agreed to join the team.
• Xiao Xueyin revealed his ability, which increased the other team members’ physical attributes by twenty percent.

Lu Bai joined Xiao Xueyin’s team of five Deathmatchers, who planned to hunt isolated opponents near the Research Center before going after the Node. After leaving Wu Ya and the others at the shelter, Lu Bai learned from Xiao Xueyin that Deathmatchers might end up in different shelters, raising questions about what they would need shelter from.

• Lu Bai agreed to join Xiao Xueyin’s team, which planned to target lone Deathmatchers near the Research Center rather than rush the Node while 127 opponents remained.
• Wu Ya urged Lu Bai to stay at the shelter, but he told her he was going with the team and asked her and the others to keep themselves safe.
• Xiao Xueyin handed out walkie-talkies, and the team set off toward the Research Center while he waited for Lu Bai to say goodbye.
• Lu Bai caught up with Xiao Xueyin, who warned him against pursuing a relationship with a native and mentioned that the Deathmatchers might end up in different shelters.

Lu Bai and his companions discussed the major deathmatcher teams before using Liu Yue and Zhuo Li’s abilities to get past the guards into District 6. They reached the Research Center, which was under heavy military lockdown, and found its entrance watched by soldiers and snipers.

• Zhuo Li told Lu Bai and the others about four major teams: the twenty-member Survey Corps, the ten-member Ten Blades, six students in gray uniforms, and three suited men who had brought infected into the shelter.
• Lu Bai, Xiao Xueyin, Liu Yue, Zhuo Li, and the others reached the District 7 exit into District 6, where two armed soldiers guarded the passage.
• Liu Yue used her charm to distract the soldiers, and Zhuo Li activated Immortal's Leap, making them panic and flee.
• The group entered District 6 and found the Research Center under wartime alert, with searchlights, a cordon, soldiers inside, and snipers guarding against trespassers.

Liu Yue, Lu Bai, and Xiao Xueyin’s group hunted Deathmatchers around the Research Center while chaos continued at the shelter. After gunfire drew attention elsewhere, an explosion ripped through the Research Center’s rooftop.

• Liu Yue, Zhuo Li, Xiao Xueyin, the Hoodie Man, and Lu Bai hunted Deathmatchers, and Lu Bai killed one to reach 17 points and rank first among 117.
• Lu Bai asked Xiao Xueyin whether he had intended to recruit Guo Mi, and Xiao Xueyin admitted he had wanted Lu Bai from the start.
• As dawn approached, Xiao Xueyin urged the group to keep hunting because the person behind the chaos would not let it end easily.
• A woman’s scream alerted the civilians and brought Zhou Zongming’s soldiers to the scene; Zhuo Li recognized the woman as a Deathmatcher.
• Soldiers and the Survey Corps exchanged gunfire, which Xiao Xueyin suspected was meant to draw attention away from the Research Center.
• An explosion tore through the Research Center’s rooftop, sending smoke and debris into the air.

The Survey Corps launched an attack on the Research Center, drawing deathmatchers toward the Node while Lu Bai and his team waited outside. As the fighting dwindled and rivals gathered around the building, Lu Bai set out to question a Survey Corps soldier.

• An explosion struck the rooftop sniper, and another hit the Administrative Building as a Survey Corps fighter descended with Vertical Maneuvering Equipment.
• More than a dozen deathmatchers rushed across the cordon toward the Research Center while Lu Bai’s team held back.
• Gunfire erupted inside the building, and deathmatchers continued entering as the defenders’ resistance weakened.
• Zhuo Li spotted rival teams and groups of deathmatchers waiting around the Research Center for the Node to emerge.
• Lu Bai drew his Eight-Sided Han Sword and went to find a Survey Corps soldier to question while Xiao Xueyin told him to keep the walkie-talkie channel open.