Chapter Summaries

A Calamity named Ah Hua infiltrated the City Defense group and attacked Team Five as the Mist Tide swept in. As Qin Wu drove the team through the fog, Jiang Mian prepared to fight while Numbers Four and Eight identified Ah Hua and moved to their trap site.

• Qin Wu realized a Calamity had infiltrated the group, but chose to protect Team Five rather than risk a rescue of the scattered teams.
• Ah Hua lunged at Team Five's vehicle, and Qin Wu accelerated away while reinforcing it with his ability.
• The Mist Tide engulfed the road, disoriented the team, and reduced visibility as Jiang Mian concealed that her bracelet protected her from the mental assault.
• Jiang Mian assembled her cannon and watched for three high-quality targets while Numbers Four and Eight observed the convoy through a Radiance crystal telescope.
• Ah Hua pursued Team Five, drawn by Jiang Mian's scent, and Number Eight identified it as a high-ranking Nightmare Path Calamity.
• Number Eight slipped into the shadows and told Number Four to prepare at their trap site.

Qin Wu’s team fought through the Mist until a spreading darkness trapped their vehicle and forced them to scatter. Number Eight entered the darkened area to reach the target, while Number Four stayed outside to watch for Qin Wu.

• Qin Wu used Iron Cavalry and Charge to drive through the Sprinters, then rammed Ah Hua after it tried to speed itself up with Chasing Wind.
• Ah Hua’s Chasing Wind mysteriously failed, and the impact left it badly hurt despite Steel Bones protecting its exterior.
• Jiang Mian recognized Ah Hua as a rare Mimic and considered whether its core might be useful to her.
• A strange darkness slowed the vehicle, and Gu An warned the others to get out before a black beam swallowed it.
• Number Eight watched Team Five enter his trap, ordered Number Four to watch Qin Wu, and sank into the shadows to pursue the target.

Jiang Mian and Li Huan were trapped in the Chaos Curtain after an ambush, and Jiang Mian used her presence to lure the Mimic toward them. The Mimic charged after her scent, only to face a sudden blade of dark light.

• Jiang Mian found her cannon ruined by Sluggish Shadow, and Li Huan gave her a dagger while explaining the ambush’s Aberrant Remnants.
• Li Huan assessed the thick Chaos Curtain and warned Jiang Mian to stay quiet as they searched for a way to survive.
• Jiang Mian sensed Qin Wu and the others fighting Calamities near the transport vehicles, then released her presence toward the Mimic.
• Ah Hua recovered enough to activate Chasing Wind, smelled Jiang Mian’s scent, and rushed toward it.
• A dark blade of light emerged from the mist and struck toward Ah Hua’s head.

Number Eight attacked Ah Hua while trying to carry out the mission to make Jiang Mian drink the Suppressor, but the two began fighting instead. As Li Huan faced a horde of Sound Followers, Jiang Mian disappeared, leaving her location unknown.

• Number Eight withdrew into the Mist and targeted Jiang Mian, but Ah Hua's pursuit of her forced him to engage the Mimic.
• Jiang Mian stayed back, expecting the two enemies to wear each other down while she waited for a chance to act.
• A group of Sound Followers attacked Li Huan and Jiang Mian, and Li Huan fought to hold them off as Jiang Mian prepared a Wind Field.
• After Li Huan broke free from several tongues, the Wind Field burst into blades and destroyed the nearby Sound Followers, but Jiang Mian had vanished.

Jiang Mian watched the battle between Number Eight and the Mimic before moving toward them, while Number Eight struggled to hold off the Calamity. As the Mimic tried to flee, Jiang Mian revealed herself by reaching through its back and taking its Calamity Core.

• Jiang Mian surveyed the Chaos Curtain, noted Team Five and the transport team's positions, and headed toward Number Eight's battlefield.
• Number Eight, badly worn down, recognized that the Mimic wielded [Steel Bones], [Chasing Wind], and [Prairie Fire].
• Ah Hua sensed an unfamiliar white mist and wondered whether Number Six had arrived, while Number Eight called out to her.
• Jiang Mian let Number Eight believe she had become Third-tier, then watched Ah Hua try to escape and pursue her.
• Number Eight warned that the Mimic had used most of its abilities, but Jiang Mian said that its remaining skill charges did not matter to her.
• Jiang Mian's black hand pierced the Mimic's back and seized its Calamity Core.

Jiang Mian killed the Mimic and then confronted Number Eight, whose Suppressor appeared to trigger a Calamity Transformation before her flames consumed him. She left Shadow Cutter behind and turned toward Number Four, who had arrived through the mist.

• Jiang Mian tore the Mimic's core from its chest, burned its remains, and kept the core for study or recycling.
• Number Eight realized Number Six had been a fake and suspected Jiang Mian had manipulated the mission and concealed her abilities.
• Jiang Mian trapped Number Eight with wind pressure and refused his plea to make peace.
• Number Eight began a Calamity Transformation, and Jiang Mian engulfed him in flames until he vanished with the blood-red Suppressor.
• Jiang Mian left Shadow Cutter where Number Eight had fallen, melted its scabbard, and looked toward Number Four in the mist.

Jiang Mian killed Number Four after he mistook a featureless creature for Number Six, then returned to the others as the mist began to fade. Li Huan, Su Wanning, and Qin Wu were still searching for her when a violent gust burst from the mist.

• Number Four followed a false image of Number Six through the fog and attacked it, but his flesh blade became stuck.
• Jiang Mian watched as Number Four escaped by severing his own arm, then approached and ignited him with an Orange-golden flame.
• Number Four burned to death, briefly feeling that the flames had freed his mind from an invisible shackle.
• Jiang Mian collected Number Four's compass and telescope, judged them poor loot, and checked Li Huan's location.
• Li Huan blamed himself for losing track of Jiang Mian while Su Wanning treated his injuries, and Qin Wu insisted they find her alive.
• As the mist faded, a violent gust of air burst out in front of Li Huan, Su Wanning, and Qin Wu.

Jiang Mian’s teammates found her after her Elemental Burst created a Wind Field, and the group regrouped with the other squad around the Radiance Monument. Qin Wu remained suspicious about the attack, but he concluded that Jiang Mian had likely only faced Calamities, while she concealed what had really happened.

• Qin Wu led Su Wanning, Li Huan, and the others into the Wind Field to find Jiang Mian before it dissipated.
• The team found Jiang Mian exhausted but alive at the Eye of the Storm, and the Wind Field and remaining Chaos Curtain faded as they approached.
• Su Wanning checked Jiang Mian for injuries, and Qin Wu told her they would discuss what happened after they returned.
• Qin Wu’s team rejoined the injured Xiong Yu Squad beside the opened cargo container holding a glowing Radiance Monument.
• Captain Xun told Qin Wu that his squad had seen no attackers, and the two captains discussed the suspicious assault.
• Qin Wu suspected Jiang Mian had triggered another Elemental Burst after encountering Calamities, while Jiang Mian privately realized she had gotten away with it.

After Team Five returned from the mission, Jiang Mian was summoned by Inspector Xiao Song, who urged her to join the Training Program. She agreed and received a ticket, while Xiao Song watched her leave with quiet interest.

• Medical personnel treated Team Five after they returned to the city, and Jiang Mian prepared to leave once her minor injuries were tidied up.
• A command center clerk brought Jiang Mian to meet Inspector Xiao Song, whose concealed presence made her wary.
• Xiao Song asked whether Jiang Mian would accept the Training Program invitation and encouraged her by praising her talent and describing its benefits.
• Jiang Mian agreed to join the Training Program, and Xiao Song gave her a transparent golden ticket.
• After Jiang Mian left, Xiao Song let a wisp of Flowing Wind curl around his fingers and remarked that she was interesting.

Xiao Song searched Base City No. 144 for the missing [Eternal Day] and grew suspicious of Jiang Mian and her bracelet. Ye Chenyang worried that a Mist Tide might endanger Jiang Mian, who returned home and began considering how the Suppressor affected her.

• Xiao Song reflected on his mission to find [Eternal Day] and noticed that Jiang Mian's aura and bracelet seemed unusual.
• Ye Chenyang finished refining a sword-shaped mark that could advance him to Fourth-tier, then received an emergency Mist Tide alert and worried Jiang Mian might be outside the city.
• Jiang Mian returned home relieved that Xiao Song had not exposed her hidden Calamity aura.
• Jiang Mian wondered whether absorbing the Suppressor indirectly had eased her mental strain and decided to observe its effects after dealing with the lump of flesh in her dream.
• Jiang Mian's phone vibrated with a new message from 'Chili Fried Pork'.

Jiang Mian examined the Mimic’s core and discovered it could power her clones, then tested her theory about the tentacle monster in her dream. After burning it, she found that its Corruption-afflicted Chaos power nourished her psychic power while reducing Corruption.

• Jiang Mian replied to Ye Chenyang’s check-in and struggled with the unfamiliar warmth his concern stirred in her.
• Jiang Mian probed the Mimic’s core, repelled its psychic attack, and realized the core could serve as a power source for her clones.
• Jiang Mian inserted the core into a Water Clone and decided to investigate whether the Mutual Aid Society could provide a renewable source of power.
• Jiang Mian returned to the desert dream and found the tentacle monster had grown larger and developed sharper tentacles and two blurry faces.
• Jiang Mian burned the monster until it stopped attacking and discovered that its Corruption-afflicted Chaos power restored her psychic power while reducing Corruption.

Number Two questioned Jiang Mian after she returned alone from the failed mission, and her account and sudden advance to Third-tier made him suspicious. He brought her to Number One’s office, where Jiang Mian’s vision filled with crimson as she looked inside.

• Number Two worried that the mission team had gone silent and considered asking Number One what had happened.
• Jiang Mian arrived alone and told Number Two that Number Four and Number Eight were gone after a Third-tier Mimic attacked the transport convoy.
• Number Two demanded to know how Jiang Mian had escaped, and she revealed her Third-tier aura without explaining further.
• Number Two decided to take Jiang Mian to Number One because he suspected something was wrong with her.
• Number Two led Jiang Mian to the director’s office, and her vision was swallowed by crimson when she looked inside.

Jiang Mian confronted Number One through her clone and discovered that he had taken on a monstrous form capable of retaining abilities from other Aberrants. After Number One attacked and absorbed Number Two, Jiang Mian recognized the creature’s goal as fusion and evolution, then countered its wind attack with her own power.

• Jiang Mian saw that Number One had transformed into a flower-headed monster, while Number Two reported that Number Four and Number Eight had died on the mission.
• Number One realized Jiang Mian had not drunk the Suppressor and attacked her as Number Two suddenly used wind blades against her clone.
• Jiang Mian retreated from the office and woke in her real body, deciding she would have to defeat Number One through technique while limiting collateral damage.
• Number One stayed behind to drain Number Two through tendrils extending from his head, and the red petals on his body brightened after feeding.
• Jiang Mian inferred that Number One could acquire Aberrant abilities through parasitizing, devouring, or fusion, and identified fusion and evolution as the creature’s purpose.
• Number One tried to drive Jiang Mian toward him with wind, but she overpowered it and sent scorching gusts closing in around him.

Jiang Mian killed Number One after it tried to flee, then found Number One’s diary describing a dangerous Suppressor and the voice that demanded more “lambs.” The notebook left her with questions about the Mutual Aid Society’s experiments.

• Jiang Mian trapped Number One with heat and flames, exposing the human faces fused into its flower-like body.
• Number One exploded its burning body and tried to escape, but Jiang Mian tracked it with fire and destroyed its remaining flesh.
• Jiang Mian sensed that killing Number One and Number Two had given her the high-quality targets needed for advancement, leaving thirty ordinary units to collect.
• Jiang Mian returned her clone to the director’s office and found Number One’s diary repeating warnings about the Suppressor.
• The diary described a supposedly low-cost Suppressor, a dream of a red wasteland, and a voice calling for more “lambs.”

Jiang Mian learned from Number One’s notebook that the Suppressor depended on a rare Mist Plant cultivated in the core cities, then went to the underground pharmacy to investigate the Society’s supply. Meanwhile, Xu Miao retrieved a hidden Aberrant node but was intercepted and killed by Ye Chenyang, leaving Jiang Mian facing the blood-red Suppressor.

• Jiang Mian read Number One’s notes about the Suppressor, its Biphasic Epiphyllum ingredient, and the Artificial Sun required to cultivate it.
• Xu Miao regained control of herself, retrieved a hidden Aberrant node, and prepared to leave as a powerful presence approached.
• Ye Chenyang confronted Xu Miao in an alley, immobilized her, and killed her with a serrated wheel of light.
• Jiang Mian reached the underground pharmacy, knocked down its two Aberrant guards, and blasted open the doors.
• Jiang Mian found the blood-red Suppressor prominently displayed inside the pharmacy.

Jiang Mian took the hospital’s Suppressors and discovered that the Aberrants there were undergoing Calamity Transformation, while Ye Chenyang identified the threat as [Formless] of [Chaos]. A burst of Jiang Mian’s orange-gold fire drew Ye Chenyang toward the hospital, but Xiao Song stopped him for a chat.

• Jiang Mian burned through twenty-one Suppressors, then left the storage room after deciding her mission was complete.
• Jiang Mian found blood in the stairwell and sensed that Calamity Transformation had spread through the hospital as Xiao Song’s wind sealed off the lower floors.
• Jiang Mian suspected Xiao Song had found her clone but continued deeper into the corridor, willing to risk being caught to learn more.
• Ye Chenyang identified the red liquid as Calamity Sequence 4, [Formless] of [Chaos], and wondered why it had appeared earlier than he remembered.
• Ye Chenyang saw orange-gold fire erupt from the hospital and recognized it as [Doom]’s flame.
• Xiao Song appeared behind Ye Chenyang, put a hand on his shoulder, and asked him to have a chat.

Ye Chenyang met Xiao Song, who had arrived to investigate the Calamities at the mental hospital, and the two went inside together. They found Jiang Mian’s clone, which detonated its core before Xiao Song could identify the source of its power, leaving him suspicious about what he had witnessed.

• Ye Chenyang recognized Xiao Song as a newly Seventh-tier [Eye of the Storm] and concealed his own abilities while they spoke.
• Ye Chenyang warned Xiao Song that the hospital situation seemed unusual, and Xiao Song said he had sealed the building to contain the Calamities.
• Jiang Mian guarded the emergency stairwell, used her remaining core power to fight Second-tier Calamities, and then recalled and compressed the elements in the core.
• Xiao Song and Ye Chenyang entered the lobby and saw Jiang Mian’s clone, whose height made Ye Chenyang suspect it was not the real Jiang Mian.
• The clone’s core exploded in a golden flash, and Xiao Song shielded the area with wind pressure as the blast erased the clone and consumed some of his controlled wind.
• Xiao Song concluded that the explosion’s power could not have come from an ordinary Third-tier Awakened.

Jiang Mian returned to the blood-red wasteland in her sleep and found the mass of flesh had evolved into a giant tree that could feel fear and flee. She burned it down until it transformed into Xu Miao’s pleading form, but refused to spare it.

• Jiang Mian woke in the blood-red wasteland and saw that the flesh mass had become a giant tree with three faces on its trunk.
• The giant tree sensed Jiang Mian’s danger and pulled its roots free to flee, revealing that it could feel fear.
• Jiang Mian summoned a Fire Dragon and trapped the tree in a wall of flames, carefully weakening it without killing it.
• As the tree shrank and its faces melted away, its charred surface peeled back to reveal a woman resembling Xu Miao who begged Jiang Mian to stop.
• Jiang Mian recognized the plea as a disguise and told the creature she would not let it go.

After absorbing much of the Spiritual Erosion, Jiang Mian gained clearer perception and partial control over the consciousness space, then rested and noticed an unread message. Ye Chenyang feared she had been influenced by Formless and waited anxiously for her reply.

• Jiang Mian extinguished the flames and realized she could control the space where the Spiritual Erosion was trapped.
• Jiang Mian considered swallowing another Apex being, rejected the reckless idea, and decided to keep her Calamity connection hidden while preparing for the Training Program.
• Jiang Mian noticed that the Spiritual Erosion regenerated using power from the space and left, satisfied with her harvest.
• The next morning, Jiang Mian woke feeling unusually energetic and saw an unread message on her phone.
• Ye Chenyang suspected the Chaos Core had made Jiang Mian a lamb of Formless, worried she had forgotten recent events, and waited near her home until her message arrived.

Jiang Mian met Ye Chenyang after he came to check on her following the Mist Tide, and he used her bracelet as an excuse to avoid explaining his worry. Ye Chenyang began upgrading the bracelet while Xiao Song watched them from the sky.

• Jiang Mian sensed Ye Chenyang waiting near her home and chose bright, casual clothes before going to meet him.
• Ye Chenyang saw that Jiang Mian appeared healthy and felt reassured, though he still worried about the danger posed by Apex beings.
• When Jiang Mian asked why he had come, Ye Chenyang avoided telling her he was checking for traces of an Apex Calamity and asked whether her bracelet had helped during the Mist Tide.
• Jiang Mian admitted that the bracelet had helped, and Ye Chenyang took it to recharge and upgrade it.
• Xiao Song watched them from above as Ye Chenyang glanced toward the clouded sky.