Chapter Summaries

Jiang Mian revealed that she had killed Chen Gong’s men and escorted him to his hidden safe, where she found cash, Mutated Bone Weapons, and Suppressors. Chen Gong tried to ambush her, but she stopped him effortlessly and snapped the tip off his poisoned bone blade.

• Chen Gong asked where his men were, and Jiang Mian claimed she had eaten them before laughing that she was joking.
• Chen Gong continued leading Jiang Mian to the basement while she reflected on killing his men and planned to use the Suppressors to investigate the Mutual Aid Society.
• Chen Gong opened a concealed safe made with a fragment of the Wildfire Calamity Core and showed Jiang Mian its contents.
• Chen Gong launched a surprise attack with his poisoned bone blade, but Jiang Mian’s wind pressure stopped him.
• Jiang Mian snapped the tip off Chen Gong’s blade and told him she did not like being pointed at.

Jiang Mian killed Chen Gong, took his weapons and Inhibitors, and headed to a warehouse to kill Li Tian. Li Tian waited there for Chen Gong, unaware that Jiang Mian was coming, until he noticed the rain had stopped.

• Jiang Mian subdued Chen Gong, forced living water down his throat, and destroyed his body with flame.
• Jiang Mian searched Chen Gong’s safe and took cash, three Mutated Bone Weapons, and thirty-six Type Three Inhibitors.
• Jiang Mian decided to kill Li Tian and flew toward the warehouse in North City.
• Li Tian waited outside the warehouse, expecting Chen Gong, and wondered why he had not arrived.
• Li Tian frowned when he noticed the rain had stopped.

Jiang Mian attacked Li Tian with controlled wind and water, then revealed herself as the force behind the assault and displayed three elements. She offered him a choice of three options, leaving his fate undecided.

• Li Tian sensed the unnatural stillness, dodged a water attack, and found the warehouse surrounded by rising water and a Wind Field.
• Li Tian called out to his unseen attacker and offered money or connections to settle the supposed misunderstanding.
• Jiang Mian appeared standing on the water’s surface and told Li Tian that the Black Kill members were sleeping peacefully.
• Jiang Mian showed Li Tian three elements, leading him to realize she was an Apex Sequence Awakened.
• Jiang Mian offered Li Tian three choices, asking whether he preferred the gold, the blue-green, or the black element.

Jiang Mian defeated Li Tian after revealing that his choices were all ways to die, then killed him and cleaned up the warehouse. She left for home after retrieving her hidden spoils.

• Li Tian realized Jiang Mian had outmaneuvered him and asked whether she had deliberately caused Li Hao's death.
• Jiang Mian mocked Li Tian and advised him to choose the same death as Li Hao, provoking him into attacking.
• Jiang Mian used her Wind Field to stop Li Tian, submerge him, and suffocate him before selecting the blue-green orb and trapping him in shrinking wind blades.
• When Li Tian survived the wind blades, Jiang Mian burned him to ashes and scattered the traces of the fight.
• Jiang Mian set the warehouse ablaze, restored the rain, retrieved her spoils from the roof, and headed home.

After killing Li Tian and Black Kill, Jiang Mian returned home, sorted her spoils, and reviewed the Mutant Bone Weapons she had acquired. She tested the Phantom Skin on a water construct and gave it a lifelike appearance, creating a potential double.

• Jiang Mian returned home, destroyed her raincoat and outfit, and organized forty-one Type Three Inhibitors, three Mutant Remains, and her money.
• Jiang Mian decided that the Training Program was probably compulsory and reasoned that her concealment ability and supply of Suppressors made attending less risky.
• Jiang Mian read the official catalog and learned how to use the Phantom Skin, Viper Fang, and Energy Binding Hand.
• Jiang Mian shaped water into a human figure, draped the Phantom Skin over it, and molded the skin into a lifelike person with a seductive appearance.

Jiang Mian finished experimenting with a lifelike water puppet and then learned that her leave had been extended before an escort mission the following morning. She prepared to go out for clothes and food, leaving the mission’s purpose uncertain.

• Jiang Mian inspected her lifelike water puppet, considered how to make it more realistic, and dissolved it back into water before going to bed.
• Qin Wu called Jiang Mian and told her that her leave had been extended by a day and that she must report to the Number Three staging area at the East City wall at seven the next morning.
• Qin Wu explained that several squads would escort important supplies from Base City No. 143, and he warned Jiang Mian to rest and stay alert in the Mist.
• Jiang Mian wondered whether the supplies were connected to the unrest in the city, then decided to stop speculating and go shopping for clothes and food.

Ye Chenyang searched West City for signs of [Doom] and suspected she had grown to Third-tier by feeding on Aberrants burned by her flames. He encountered Jiang Mian on the road and offered her a ride, while both privately wondered whether the meeting was truly accidental.

• Ye Chenyang found West City stripped of Aberrant corpses and traces, including the group near the factory district, and guessed [Doom] had consumed them.
• Ye Chenyang reasoned that [Doom]'s flames might turn her victims into nourishment and concluded she would choose water as her Third-tier ability to conceal her tracks.
• Ye Chenyang spotted Jiang Mian on the road between North City and South City and wondered if she was connected to the previous night's events.
• Jiang Mian suspected Ye Chenyang had followed the trail she left through West City, but kept to her routine when he asked why she was there.
• Ye Chenyang said he was off duty and offered Jiang Mian a ride to South City.

Jiang Mian worried that Ye Chenyang might suspect her, but she also feared he had become attached to her. She tested their relationship by asking if they were friends, dispelling his suspicion while leaving their dynamic awkwardly unresolved.

• Ye Chenyang gave Jiang Mian a ride to South City, and she wondered whether he suspected her or had feelings for her.
• Jiang Mian decided to keep acting carefully and test Ye Chenyang before choosing whether to kill him or run.
• Jiang Mian asked Ye Chenyang if they were friends, and he reassured her that they were and offered to help whenever she needed him.
• Ye Chenyang asked what Jiang Mian had come to buy, and she pointed toward an underwear store.

Ye Chenyang waited for Jiang Mian after her shopping trip, apologized, and realized his feelings for her were growing. As they walked together, Jiang Mian noticed his changing affection and tried to keep their relationship casual, while wondering why he hid his abilities.

• Ye Chenyang decided to stay nearby rather than leave Jiang Mian alone after their awkward exchange.
• Jiang Mian came out of the shop, and Ye Chenyang apologized for making her uncomfortable; she reassured him.
• Ye Chenyang recognized that he had begun to care about Jiang Mian and worried that revealing his feelings might frighten her.
• Jiang Mian sensed a shift in Ye Chenyang's aura and invited him to walk with her to steer their interactions back to normal.
• As they wandered the streets, Jiang Mian wondered why Ye Chenyang had hidden his abilities, and they stopped at a barbecue restaurant at noon.

Ye Chenyang stopped suspecting Jiang Mian of being an Aberrant and gave her a bracelet, while Shen Yuan investigated Li Tian’s disappearance and considered whether he had been killed by the Calamity [Mimic]. Shen Yuan planned to visit Jiang Mian before leading an investigation into West City.

• Ye Chenyang decided Jiang Mian was not an Aberrant and offered her a bracelet he had made as a gift.
• Shen Yuan added Li Tian’s name to the list of unresolved cases after Li Tian’s subordinates could not contact him.
• Shen Yuan reviewed Li Tian’s history and suspected he might have sought help from the Black Gloves to retaliate against Jiang Mian, though he had no proof.
• Shen Yuan considered that Li Tian might have been eaten by [Mimic], the Calamity still at large in West City.
• Shen Yuan decided to visit Jiang Mian to check on her before leading a team into West City.

Jiang Mian tried to figure out why Ye Chenyang had given her a powerful Radiance crystal bracelet before discovering a Fourth-tier visitor waiting at her apartment. Shen Yuan warned her about dangerous Calamities and left without accusing her, leaving her to wonder whether the bracelet had helped.

• Jiang Mian examined the Radiance crystal bracelet Ye Chenyang had given her and wondered whether it was a test or a gesture of concern.
• Jiang Mian sensed a concealed Fourth-tier Awakener in her building but continued upstairs to avoid arousing suspicion.
• Jiang Mian found Shen Ming and Inspector Shen Yuan waiting for her, and recognized Shen Yuan as a Fourth-tier Heavy Water Awakener.
• Shen Yuan warned Jiang Mian that dangerous Third-tier Calamities had appeared and advised her to avoid going out alone or visiting secluded places.
• After Shen Yuan and Shen Ming left, Jiang Mian wondered whether the bracelet had influenced the visit or helped her avoid suspicion.

Shen Yuan and Shen Ming ruled out Jiang Mian being a Mimic and headed to West City to investigate Li Tian. Jiang Mian prepared to investigate the Mutual Aid Society through a water puppet and entered a psychiatric hospital near North City Hospital to meet its members.

• Shen Yuan pointed out that Jiang Mian's high-quality Radiance crystal bracelet made it unlikely she had been replaced by a Mimic.
• Shen Yuan and Shen Ming drove toward West City to investigate Li Tian and the previous night's events.
• Jiang Mian prepared a camera-equipped water puppet and decided to use it to investigate the Mutual Aid Society.
• Jiang Mian used Du Biao's contact method and was brought to a psychiatric hospital near North City Hospital.
• Jiang Mian entered through the hospital's side entrance and approached the nurse at the front desk.

Jiang Mian used a sturdy, disguised clone to enter the Mutual Aid Society and undergo its membership test. After confirming her identity and ability, Number Two offered her a sealed tube of blood-red liquid and made drinking it the final condition for joining.

• Jiang Mian told Xu Miao that Number Eight had sent her, and Xu Miao escorted her to the Society’s underground floor.
• Jiang Mian entered Number Two’s office, where a burly Third Stage Aberrant blocked the door.
• Number Two asked about Jiang Mian’s illness, stage, ability, and rank, and she claimed to be a Second-tier [Mist Concealment] Aberrant.
• Jiang Mian demonstrated her mist ability, and Number Two dispersed the mist before it could fill the room.
• Number Two placed a sealed tube of blood-red liquid on the desk and told Jiang Mian to drink it to join the Society.

Jiang Mian infiltrated the Aberrant organization in Base City No. 144 and learned that its new Suppressor could control those who took it. Number Four explained how the drug affected him, and Jiang Mian spotted something surprising on the activity room’s blackboard.

• Jiang Mian pretended to drink the Suppressor, secretly storing it inside her puppet, and drew the number Six.
• Number Two sent Number Four to show Jiang Mian around the branch.
• Number Four came out of his drug-induced stupor and told Jiang Mian that the new Suppressor gradually influenced thoughts and made Aberrants obey orders.
• Number Four believed Jiang Mian might be less affected because she followed the [Cataclysm] Path, while his [Chaos] Path suffered the worst effects.
• Jiang Mian examined the activity room’s blackboard and reacted with surprise at what was written there.

Jiang Mian learned that the Mutual Aid Society planned to use a new Suppressor on High-tier Sequence Awakeners and was assigned to help Number Four and Number Eight. After the group chose her as the easiest target to turn into a “lamb,” she began considering how to handle the mission and leave the city on her own.

• Number Four told Jiang Mian that the Mutual Aid Society had ordered them to secretly dose the Awakeners in the Training Program with a new Suppressor.
• Number Four explained that the drug might work on Awakeners, then chose Jiang Mian as the easiest target after ruling out Ye Chenyang and Shen Qiuyu.
• Jiang Mian agreed to hear the plan and learned that they would act the next day during a City Defense escort mission outside the city.
• Number Four showed Jiang Mian a map of the underground pipes they planned to use to travel through the Mist, and she suspected someone had leaked the route information.
• Jiang Mian told Number Four she had her own way out of the city and privately considered handling him later.

Jiang Mian discovered that the supposed suppressor was a living, reactive substance, then encountered a tentacled Calamity in a vivid dream and burned it away. She woke at dawn with the experience fresh in her mind and decided to stop eating unfamiliar things.

• Jiang Mian returned home with her clone and examined the red substance stored inside it.
• The substance resisted her water control, reacted to fire, and tried to escape, so Jiang Mian trapped it and burned it up.
• Jiang Mian suspected the substance came from an unusual Calamity, but chose not to investigate further without more information.
• Jiang Mian fell asleep and awoke in a blood-red wasteland, where a tentacled mass murmured about fusing with her.
• Jiang Mian engulfed the mass and the body beneath the pool in flames, silencing it before she woke at six in the morning.

Jiang Mian joined the supply convoy mission and secretly planted a Comms Casket beneath a vehicle. After Lin Xiaoyue warned her that Ah Hua seemed to be watching Shen Qiuyu, Jiang Mian sensed something inhuman about him, while Ah Hua continued to eye Shen Qiuyu hungrily.

• Jiang Mian recalled the contaminating creature from her dream and decided to avoid any medicine of unknown origin.
• At the East City wall staging area, Qin Wu briefed the gathered squads on the supply transport to Base City 145 and assigned the East City squads to bring back supplies.
• Jiang Mian secretly attached the Comms Casket beneath a vehicle using water from the Mist.
• Lin Xiaoyue told Jiang Mian that Ah Hua had been watching Shen Qiuyu, and Jiang Mian sensed that he might not be human.
• Xiong Yu called Ah Hua into the vehicle, and Ah Hua glanced at Shen Qiuyu while thinking about her scent.

Jiang Mian traveled with Su Wanning’s convoy to Base City No. 143 while secretly coordinating with Number Four and Number Eight, who planned to trigger a miniature Mist Tide. At the city, Jiang Mian sensed a strange pressure near a shipment of boxes, and Ye Chenyang’s bracelet protected her from it.

• Ah Hua recalled his plan to feast on Jiang Mian and another High-tier Sequence before returning to the Mist and seeking revenge on the humans who had hunted him.
• Jiang Mian sent the Comms Casket to Number Four and used her water clone to confirm she was nearby, while Number Four and Number Eight prepared to trigger a miniature Mist Tide.
• The convoy reached Base City No. 143, where Jiang Mian felt dizzy and sensed pressure coming from the boxes Qin Wu’s group was loading.
• Jiang Mian touched the bracelet Ye Chenyang had given her, and its power shielded her from the pressure.

Jiang Mian wore Ye Chenyang’s protective bracelet and spotted a disguised Calamity hiding among Xiong Yu’s squad. She planned to use him to provoke a clash with Number Four and Number Eight, but Ah Hua became interested in her after sensing her aura.

• Jiang Mian put on Ye Chenyang’s bracelet, then set aside her thoughts about his attention and focused on leveling up.
• Xiong Yu mistook Ah Hua’s weakness from the cargo’s strange stones for exhaustion and let him rest without questioning him further.
• Jiang Mian recognized Ah Hua as a disguised [Nightmare] Path Calamity and planned to draw his hostility toward herself to set him against Number Four and Number Eight.
• Ah Hua approached Jiang Mian to test whether she suspected him, then sensed her unusually tempting aura and decided he might try to eat her first.

Jiang Mian learned that the Mutual Aid Society had arranged a Mist Tide and pretended to follow Number Eight’s orders while waiting for their attack. As the convoy faced the oncoming Tide, Ah Hua revealed itself as a Third-tier Calamity and turned on Xiong Yu’s team.

• Jiang Mian used her perception to recover the Comms Casket and heard Number Four and Number Eight discuss the Mist Tide plan.
• Number Eight explained that they intended to exploit the Tide and destroy a device protecting the Mist passage, while Jiang Mian stalled instead of acting.
• Qin Wu spotted the passage barrier destabilizing as a powerful Mist Tide surged toward the convoy, and Su Wanning told Jiang Mian to remain in the car.
• Ah Hua reacted eagerly to the approaching Mist, and Xiong Yu attacked after noticing its behavior.
• Ah Hua blocked Xiong Yu’s punch, revealed itself as a Third-tier Calamity with [Steel Bones], and forced Xiong Yu’s team to leave their car as the Mist Tide approached.