Chapter Summaries

Jiang Mian and Qin Wu’s team arrived at Outpost 14, where Xiong Yu and his teammates were struggling against a huge horde of Sprinters. Jiang Mian’s cannon shot proved effective, and the reinforcements began their counterattack as she took position with her sniper rifle.

• Xiong Yu and his team ran low on ammunition as the frenzied Sprinters overwhelmed Outpost 14’s defenses.
• Jiang Mian fired an Incendiary Bullet through the Mist, burning more than a dozen Sprinters and giving Xiong Yu’s team hope that reinforcements had arrived.
• Gu An confirmed that Jiang Mian had hit her target, and Qin Wu ordered Li Huan and Gu An to engage the horde while Su Wanning took Jiang Mian to a safe position.
• Li Huan charged into the Sprinters with his halberd as Gu An followed to help clear them.
• Jiang Mian raised her sniper rifle, aimed at the densest part of the horde, and squeezed the trigger.

Team Five helped Xiong Yu Squad repel the Sprinters attacking the outpost, while Jiang Mian sensed a Nightmare Path Calamity was directing them. Later, Li Tian arrived with a convoy and recognized Jiang Mian, realizing the bounty job he had arranged might have failed.

• Li Huan and Qin Wu led Team Five through the Sprinters and joined Xiong Yu Squad at the outpost as the attackers retreated.
• Jiang Mian sensed a faint presence like the Skin Painter’s and suspected a Calamity on the Nightmare Path was behind the attack.
• Xiong Yu told Qin Wu that a Heart Eater had directed the Sprinters and killed the Radiance member of his squad.
• Qin Wu introduced Jiang Mian as the new trainee with Sequence 48, Eye of the Storm, and Su Wanning treated the wounded while the others handled cleanup and repairs.
• Jiang Mian saw a convoy arrive from beyond the Mist and recognized its workers as people from the Construction Bureau.
• Li Tian recognized Jiang Mian and wondered whether the bounty he had placed had failed.

Li Tian suspected Jiang Mian was connected to Li Hao’s death, but Li Huan warned him that the authorities were protecting her. As Team Five returned to base, Jiang Mian listened to their exchange and asked Qin Wu why Su Wanning was driving despite his [Knight] ability.

• Li Tian sensed that something was unusual about Jiang Mian and suspected she might have killed the assassin he had hired.
• Jiang Mian recognized Li Tian as Li Hao’s father and decided she could handle him while she built up her strength.
• Li Huan warned Li Tian that Jiang Mian was a talented High-tier Sequence trainee whom the authorities would protect.
• Li Tian left without revealing his intentions, while privately weighing the risks of targeting Jiang Mian.
• Jiang Mian heard Li Huan defend her and decided to leave matters as they were unless he turned against her.
• On the ride back, Jiang Mian asked Qin Wu why Su Wanning was driving when his ability was [Knight].

Jiang Mian stayed overnight in the Dormitory Area and met her new roommate, Lin Xiaoyue, while realizing her thoughts and sense of self had begun to change. The chapter ended as her other roommate arrived.

• Qin Wu explained that his [Knight] ability enhanced vehicles so much that he could not safely get out once he began driving.
• Su Wanning invited Jiang Mian to stay in the dormitory, and Jiang Mian asked her to show the way because she did not remember the corridors.
• While walking through the Dormitory Area, Jiang Mian noticed that she had begun comparing herself to the female Awakened and worried that her thinking was changing.
• Su Wanning brought Jiang Mian to her room, where Lin Xiaoyue enthusiastically introduced herself as a roommate and shared her Sequence details.
• A tall, cool-looking girl entered and told Lin Xiaoyue not to scare Jiang Mian.

Jiang Mian settled into her dorm with Lin Xiaoyue, Shen Qiuyu, and Su Wanning, feeling unsettled after Lin Xiaoyue openly praised her figure. The next morning, Shen Qiuyu offered her mint candies, and Lin Xiaoyue reassured her that she would get used to living with them.

• Shen Qiuyu introduced herself as a Sequence 33 [Elemental] Path Awakened with [Heavenly Fire], and Jiang Mian learned she was close friends with Lin Xiaoyue.
• Lin Xiaoyue praised Jiang Mian's figure, making Jiang Mian blush and feel unexpectedly pleased.
• Jiang Mian lay awake for much of the night, troubled by her reaction and her unfamiliarity with other women her age.
• The next morning, Shen Qiuyu left mint candies by Jiang Mian's bed, and Lin Xiaoyue checked whether she had upset her.
• Lin Xiaoyue began praising Su Wanning as warm and reliable, then corrected herself when Su Wanning appeared in the doorway.

Jiang Mian discovered that unrest in West City had disrupted the Suppressor market and left the city unusually quiet. After learning of a Joint Sweep Operation and the dangers in West City, she tried to bargain with Du Biao for cheaper Suppressors.

• Jiang Mian returned home early to stock up on Suppressors as their effects weakened and her advancement accelerated their metabolism.
• Jiang Mian noticed North City's streets were unusually empty and learned from her dealer that Suppressors had dropped to twelve thousand a dose.
• Du Biao worried that the Joint Sweep Operation had driven his Aberrant customers into hiding or toward West City, making his stock difficult and dangerous to sell.
• Jiang Mian contacted Ye Chenyang and learned that unrest in West City had frightened ordinary residents and prompted a crackdown on Aberrants.
• Jiang Mian saw Du Biao's plea to sell his stock quickly and offered eight thousand per dose.

Jiang Mian negotiated to buy five inhibitors from Du Biao and worried that the authorities’ crackdown would leave her without medicine. She met Ye Chenyang to learn about the city’s situation, but despite recognizing him as a possible friend, she remained prepared to kill him if he threatened her or discovered her identity.

• Jiang Mian bargained with Du Biao and agreed to buy five inhibitors for nine thousand each at a meeting the following night.
• Jiang Mian worried that government operations would disrupt the underground inhibitor market and considered tracing the medicine back to its source.
• Jiang Mian met Ye Chenyang at a drink shop, gave him sweetened coffee, and asked whether something major was happening in the city.
• Ye Chenyang said the higher-ups had their own considerations and urged Jiang Mian to take care of herself.
• Jiang Mian wondered whether Ye Chenyang was her friend, but resolved to kill him and use him as Fuel if he threatened her or exposed her identity.

Jiang Mian asked Ye Chenyang whether Aberrants should be eliminated, and he explained their costly struggle to suppress their condition and the authorities’ perspective. She left with a deeper understanding of the purge’s motives, while Ye Chenyang watched her disappear into the rain.

• Jiang Mian asked Ye Chenyang whether normal people believed all Aberrants should be eliminated.
• Ye Chenyang explained that a Type One Inhibitor cost five hundred thousand and that Aberrants faced worsening erosion as they advanced, with some potentially becoming Calamities at Sixth Order.
• Ye Chenyang said most Aberrants could not reach Sixth Order and described them as people suffering from an incurable disease while authorities acted for the majority.
• Jiang Mian considered whether the authorities had planned the purge to control the growing number of wild Aberrants.
• Jiang Mian declined Ye Chenyang’s offer to take her home, put on her yellow raincoat, and left in the heavy rain.

Ye Chenyang rode with Cheng Qiao to discuss a police operation targeting Suppressor dealer Du Biao, while Cheng Qiao teased him about his attentiveness toward Jiang Mian. That night, Jiang Mian went to Happiness Residential Area for a deal and heard suspicious noises from a nearby alley.

• Cheng Qiao teased Ye Chenyang about meeting Jiang Mian and asked whether he was interested in her; Ye Chenyang said she was different.
• Cheng Qiao told Ye Chenyang that Du Biao, a second-tier Hunter who dealt in Suppressors, was expected to make a major deal that night in Happiness Residential Area.
• Jiang Mian received the meeting location through an encrypted channel, deleted the visit record, and put on her black raincoat.
• Jiang Mian detoured through East City before reaching Happiness Residential Area, where she opened her senses and heard strange thuds and a man and woman gasping in an alley.

Jiang Mian entered the Happiness Residential Area to trade with Du Biao, killing a berserk Aberrant who attacked a woman on the way. After exchanging money for five Type Three Inhibitors, she warned Du Biao that someone had targeted him.

• Jiang Mian entered the alley under a Gale barrier and saw a berserk Aberrant attack a woman.
• Jiang Mian incinerated the Aberrant with a small orange-gold flame and continued toward the bar.
• Jiang Mian met Du Biao in a storeroom and exchanged a pouch of money for five Type Three Inhibitors.
• Jiang Mian stopped Du Biao as he prepared to leave and told him someone had targeted him.

Jiang Mian discovered that the South District Public Security Bureau had surrounded the bar where she met Du Biao. She bargained for his Suppressor sources and prepared to lead him out.

• Jiang Mian sensed about ten Awakened surrounding the bar and warned Du Biao that they were trapped.
• Jiang Mian identified the group as the South District Public Security Bureau and learned that its captain, Cheng Qiao, was a Second-tier Mind Net Awakened.
• Jiang Mian offered to get Du Biao out in exchange for information about his sources, and he agreed.
• Du Biao told Jiang Mian about a West City pharmaceutical company and the underground Aberrant coalition called the Mutual Aid Society, then gave her contact details and a verification password.
• Jiang Mian told Du Biao to stay within three steps of her and led him toward the door as his body suddenly felt light.

Cheng Qiao coordinated a Security Officer team through the Mind Net to capture Du Biao and an unknown Aberrant, but Jiang Mian’s unusual speed and abilities complicated the ambush. The chapter ended with Ye Chenyang identifying her as a likely High-tier Sequence after she blocked a Stun Gun with flame.

• Cheng Qiao tracked Du Biao and Jiang Mian through his subordinates’ shared perceptions and ordered his teams to seal the exits and close in.
• Jiang Mian carried Du Biao through the alley at abnormal speed while he tried to guess her abilities.
• Jiang Mian sensed Ye Chenyang and two Security Officers guarding the alley’s exit and considered escaping by gliding or fighting.
• A First Order Security Officer fired a Stun Gun at Jiang Mian, and she used orange-gold flame to intercept the current, filling the alley with steam.
• Ye Chenyang struggled to sense Jiang Mian and concluded that she was strong and most likely a High-tier Sequence.

Jiang Mian and Du Biao confronted Ye Chenyang and the Security Officers, while Ye Chenyang recognized Jiang Mian as a mysterious ultimate Calamity and chose not to provoke her. Jiang Mian launched Du Biao into the air and sent a controlled fire dragon at the officers, where Xiao Ye stepped forward to shield the two First Order recruits and was suddenly covered in golden light.

• Xiao Ye judged that Jiang Mian was a dangerous High-tier, Second Order Aberrant and moved to protect Ye Chenyang.
• Ye Chenyang recognized Jiang Mian as the Calamity [Doom] and decided to conceal what he knew rather than risk turning her against humanity.
• Jiang Mian decided to break through the encirclement while holding off the Security Officers.
• Jiang Mian used a Wind Field to launch Du Biao into the air, then formed an orange-golden fire dragon and sent it toward the officers.
• Xiao Ye chose to face the fire dragon to protect the two First Order recruits, but faint golden light spread over him as he stepped forward.

Jiang Mian escaped with Du Biao while Ye Chenyang hid his abilities and helped protect Xiao Ye. The team realized the fugitives had gone west, and Ye Chenyang remained uneasy about Jiang Mian’s familiar aura.

• Jiang Mian slipped past Ye Chenyang and the others as Ye Chenyang secretly sensed her familiar, chaotic aura.
• Jiang Mian used her Wind Field to catch Du Biao and carry him through the air, despite the strain it caused her.
• Xiao Ye discovered he was unharmed and questioned Ye Chenyang, who claimed he had reached Second Order and used Flowing Colors.
• Ye Chenyang reflected that he had used Holy Radiance to protect Xiao Ye and planned to cover his unusual abilities with further lies.
• Ye Chenyang told the others that Jiang Mian and Du Biao had gone west.

Jiang Mian rescued Du Biao, learned that a supervised refuge for Aberrants existed and that West City was divided among rival groups, then left him with a warning. The chapter left her preparing to hunt Aberrants in West City while Du Biao was expected to disappear from Base City No. 144.

• Cheng Qiao arrived after Jiang Mian escaped with Du Biao, and Ye Chenyang was praised for blocking her attack on Xiao Ye.
• Jiang Mian asked Du Biao about the address she had previously investigated, and he described a gray-area refuge where Aberrants could enter under supervision.
• Du Biao explained that the Blood Gang and Black Kill controlled parts of West City, while smaller groups fought without intervention from the Containment Bureau.
• Jiang Mian suspected the authorities were letting Aberrants weaken each other by restricting Suppressors and considered scavenging among the survivors.
• Jiang Mian warned Du Biao to understand what to do when he returned, then disappeared into the rain, expecting him to vanish from Base City No. 144.

Jiang Mian watched West City’s Aberrants fight and saw a dying Bone Manipulator transform into a Head Spider that killed A Qiang and took over his body. The Head Spider then asked where it could find a new body.

• Jiang Mian surveyed West City’s chaotic streets and decided to gather Suppressors and advance to Third-tier before confronting Black Kill.
• Jiang Mian watched A Qiang, a Second-tier [Riots] Aberrant, beat a Bone Manipulator while the two argued about their past relationship.
• A Qiang strangled the Bone Manipulator, but the dying Aberrant’s head detached and transformed into a Head Spider with eight White Bone Appendages.
• The Head Spider pinned A Qiang, ate his head, and burrowed into his headless corpse.
• The corpse stood up with the Head Spider’s head and murmured, “Where... is my new body...?”

Jiang Mian burned through a Bone Manipulator and harvested the surrounding corpses, bringing her Calamity Core close to Third-tier while keeping her identity hidden. She headed west toward Black Kill’s base as Chen Gong faced pressure from an unknown employer to deal with her.

• Jiang Mian approached the Bone Manipulator, and it abandoned its borrowed body and fled after her Fierce Flame ignited it.
• Jiang Mian’s fire consumed the Bone Manipulator and nearby corpses, filling her Calamity Core to three-fifths.
• Jiang Mian concealed her presence and headed west toward Black Kill’s base, determined not to reveal her identity before leaving the Suppressor.
• Chen Gong told his disguised employer that Liu Mu had gone to Jiang Mian’s home and never returned.
• Chen Gong’s employer berated him for failing to deal with Jiang Mian, and Chen Gong agreed to try again because the employer could help him leave Base City No. 144.

Chen Gong agreed to follow Li Tian’s risky plan after learning the Containment Bureau was moving and his chance to leave the city was uncertain. A mysterious water-covered figure appeared in his office and attacked him, leaving him trapped beneath a massive water blade.

• Li Tian told Chen Gong to put the commission to kill Jiang Mian on hold because the Containment Bureau had begun moving and Jiang Mian had become a City Defense trainee.
• Li Tian offered Chen Gong a chance to leave the city if he came to an address alone and dealt with his men, and Chen Gong agreed.
• Chen Gong realized Li Tian intended to use him as disposable cannon fodder and smashed his desk in anger.
• A drenched, hooded figure appeared beside Chen Gong and threatened to eat him.
• Chen Gong attacked the figure with his Poison Blade, but it dissolved into water that formed a huge wind-wrapped blade as pressure pinned him in place.

Jiang Mian chose Tide as her Initial Skill after her abilities upgraded, then tested her new power by shaping rainwater into a controllable human form. She considered ways to make the water body more useful and disguised, while reflecting on the value others might place on her core.

• Jiang Mian cleared Aberrant corpses from the street, filling her core and upgrading Fierce Flame to Scorched Embers and Gale to Whirlwind.
• Jiang Mian reviewed the three Initial Skill options and chose Tide because it enhanced her strength and let her shape water into a controllable body.
• Jiang Mian endured a mild pain in her core as Tide took effect, then felt stronger.
• Jiang Mian gathered the rain and shaped it into a tall, voluptuous water woman that could follow simple commands.
• Jiang Mian considered adding compressed Wind Fields to the water body and using Skin Painter remains to disguise it.
• Jiang Mian realized her Apex Sequence core could be valuable enough to serve as material for Five-star Mutant Remains.

Jiang Mian confronted Chen Gong at Black Kill’s base, subdued him, and agreed to inspect his hidden valuables. When Chen Gong led her downstairs, he found the hall empty and charred, with his men missing.

• Jiang Mian tested her new ability, then headed to Black Kill’s base to settle her score with them.
• Jiang Mian revealed herself to Chen Gong and restrained him with a blade of wind and water.
• Chen Gong begged for mercy and offered his cash, Mutated Bone Weapons, and Calamity materials in exchange for his life.
• Jiang Mian agreed to see Chen Gong’s valuables, while he secretly planned to ambush her.
• Chen Gong led Jiang Mian downstairs and discovered that his men had vanished, leaving only charred patches in the empty hall.