Chapter Summaries

Lin An gained the base’s highest authority after its Artificial Intelligence recognized him as an Experimental Subject, and he learned the history of the Secret Realm. He told Bear Dunce that the mission was effectively complete because the crisis could be resolved by destroying or restarting the world.

• Lin An explored the base with Bear Dunce and found a sealed Alloy Gate leading underground, but no records or storage devices.
• After failing to contact every base authority holder, the Artificial Intelligence granted Lin An the base’s highest authority and warned him that an outsider had infiltrated the base.
• Lin An absorbed the Artificial Intelligence’s vast archive of information and learned the Secret Realm’s history, while the base’s defenses retracted and its systems welcomed him back.
• Bear Dunce pressed Lin An for answers, and Lin An said the First Ascetic had already taken care of everything and that their mission was complete.
• Lin An explained that the Secret Realm’s crises could ultimately be resolved by destroying or restarting the world, which would also make the Ascetic Cultivators and Blood Corpses disappear.

Lin An explained that the Secret Realm was an artificial cultivation chamber used by an advanced civilization to observe Wild Ancients, and that a time loop and zombie outbreak followed the civilization’s evacuation. In an underground factory, he discovered that the Blood Corpses’ airships were sightseeing craft and concluded that increased airship production had caused their attacks on Great Xia to intensify.

• Lin An told Zhang Tie that an advanced technological civilization had used the Secret Realm to observe Wild Ancients and spread the Zombie Virus after its own world faced an apocalypse.
• Lin An explained that the civilization evacuated the Secret Realm and set its time to loop when the Wild Ancients became extinct.
• Lin An opened the underground complex with his Experimental Subject authorization and found a factory producing airships labeled for tourists.
• Lin An realized the Blood Corpses were being treated as tourists and transported into Great Xia on sightseeing routes.
• Lin An guessed that newly built airship production lines had increased the number of Blood Corpses transported, worsening the attacks on Great Xia.

Lin An explained how the Secret Realm became trapped in a recurring apocalypse and how the First Ascetic tried to stop it. He revealed that Sandworm Bo Ye Duo caused the system error that prevented the loop from being shut down.

• Lin An said an advanced civilization sealed the passage to the Secret Realm, left behind basic technology, and set its world to reboot after its humans died.
• Lin An deduced that the First Ascetic had fled his doomed Mother World, built a family in the Secret Realm, and later fought the apocalypse there.
• Lin An explained that the First Ascetic used his child as a vessel to create a Blood Corpse and delay the disaster, inheriting administrator status through his identity as a Main World human.
• Zhang Tie asked why the First Ascetic had not shut down the loop, and Lin An said a system error had made shutdown impossible.
• Lin An identified Sandworm Bo Ye Duo as the culprit, explaining that it had drilled between worlds, brought the Main World's disaster into the Secret Realm, and lost most of its power after passing through temporal turbulence.

Lin An told Bear Dunce to trigger errors at the control hub to shut down the trapped Secret Realm, while he gathered technology and Spiritual Energy Nodes. Lin An then went alone to the Time Cycle System control center, where he found a slot matching the Causality Sequence and realized Chu An had been there.

• Lin An explained that the Sandworm had connected the Secret Realm to other worlds and that shutting it down might restart or crash it, but was necessary to prevent the disaster from spreading to Earth.
• Bear Dunce wanted to take the production lines, but Lin An stored several industrial robots and said the base could use the preserved Technology Tree data and knowledge-implantation methods.
• Lin An instructed Bear Dunce to remove the Spiritual Energy Nodes and complete the mission at the control hub, then went elsewhere himself.
• Bear Dunce headed to the control hub to claim the Secret Realm rewards, while Lin An entered the Time Cycle System control center.
• Lin An found that his Causality Sequence fit the console's Causality Hourglass recess and realized Chu An had been there.

Lin An realized Chu An had likely taken the Causality Sequence and manipulated events in the Secret Realm, then confronted his second consciousness about its altered memories and motives. As the world shut down and prepared to restart, Lin An received an SSS-grade completion evaluation and Bear Dunce returned with a haul of items.

• Lin An connected the missing Causality Sequence to the Secret Realm’s broken time loop and suspected Chu An had orchestrated the events that led him there.
• Second Lin An said Chu An had altered his memories, denied wanting to take over Lin An’s body, and warned that they were one and the same.
• Lin An received mission completions, attribute increases, and rewards as the Sesha and Möbius mysteries raised his evaluation to SSS grade.
• The system reported a loop error and began shutting down the world for a forced restart.
• Bear Dunce returned with the Light Sphere and offered Lin An a Tier 4 Spiritual Energy Core, Sand of Time, and damaged Control Hub Panel.

Lin An and Zhang Tie endured painful attribute-limit modifications as the System processed their rewards, and Lin An used a Spiritual Energy Node to complete his talent. The talent advanced to Unbroken, and the chapter ended with the System granting Lin An the special title Fool for exceeding the Willpower Limit Value.

• Bear Dunce brought Lin An the Sand of Time and the dismantled control console as the restarting world faded away.
• The System began Strength Attribute Limit missions for Zhang Tie and Bear Dunce, and both experienced intense pain during their modifications.
• Lin An examined the Sand of Time, then absorbed the Tier 4 Spiritual Energy Node to complete his talent.
• The System corrected Lin An's incomplete Celestial Human Form into Unbroken and raised his base Strength, Agility, and Willpower to 40.
• The System fused Lin An's Deathmatch reward with his Willpower and awarded him the title Fool and a special skill for exceeding the Limit Value.

Lin An examined his newly advanced Unbroken talent and tested its powerful domain and teleportation skill. He then opened the Doomsday Ring to claim his rewards, noticing the new Fool title and its unknown exclusive skill.

• Lin An read Unbroken’s increased resistances and three traits, which greatly strengthened his defenses and granted a 300-meter domain with instant teleportation.
• Lin An activated Advent and flashed between targets so quickly that Zhang Tie mistook his movements for clones.
• Lin An celebrated his gains from the Secret Realm World and prepared to claim his exploration and reputation rewards through the Doomsday Ring.
• Lin An noticed the Fool title in his Personal Panel, which promised an exclusive skill marked as unknown.

Lin An fused the skills granted by the Fool Title with Divine Thorn and the Eye of Judgment, creating the powerful Judgment skill. As he tested it and waited for the Secret Realm to restart, he began drawing his SSS-Rank completion reward.

• Lin An activated the Fool Title, gained Foolery, and fused it with Divine Thorn and the Eye of Judgment to create Judgment.
• Lin An tested Judgment and found that its lightning bolt dealt fast, powerful damage with several special effects.
• Zhang Tie complained that his abilities and skills were unimpressive, and Lin An reassured him that his strength could keep growing by taking hits.
• Lin An reminded Zhang Tie to exchange his Reputation for practical equipment, then learned that he had three draws for the SSS-Rank reward, with a random Epic Equipment piece guaranteed if he rejected all three results.
• Lin An examined the prize wheel, spotted the Death God Mask, and pressed the draw button.

Lin An drew the Heavenly Base Weapon and then won a Legendary set component, the Death God Mask. He ended the chapter stunned and thrilled to have obtained the mask.

• Lin An gave Zhang Tie the Catapult Giant Foot, and Zhang Tie eagerly tested its powerful jumping skill.
• Lin An drew the Epic Rank Heavenly Base Weapon and considered it a useful trump card against enemies who could counter conventional technology.
• Lin An made his final lottery draw and received the Legendary Rank Death God Mask, a green set component.
• Lin An stared at the mask and blurted out a curse in disbelief at his luck.

Lin An inspected and equipped the Legendary Rank Death God Mask, discovering its powerful attributes, effects, and skills as Zhang Tie reacted with shock and fear. As the Secret Realm neared reenactment, Lin An considered their strength and searched the reputation exchange for something that might help the dormant Black Dragon.

• Lin An examined the Death God Mask and learned that it boosted his attributes and granted powerful fear, recovery, attack, and death-related abilities.
• Lin An shared the mask’s details with Zhang Tie, who was stunned by its strength and intimidated when Lin An put it on.
• Lin An tested the mask, found that its attribute bonuses stacked with his equipment, and realized his Willpower had risen above sixty.
• Lin An told Zhang Tie that they were close to invincible among humanity but warned that Mutants, special events, and the Cataclysm still posed threats.
• Lin An sensed the Secret Realm’s impending reenactment and searched the reputation exchange for items that could restore the sleeping Black Dragon.

Lin An searched the Reputation Shop and spent nearly all his reputation on Dragon Source and Xi Feng Grass to help the Black Dragon recover. Meanwhile, an Eastern European warrior completed a Tundra Hunt Mutant Task and sought reputation to buy a Dragon Remnant Crystal.

• Lin An examined the globally shared Reputation Shop and inferred that fewer than twenty Players had reached 100 reputation, while about six thousand had 50–100.
• Lin An found the 799-reputation Dragon Source and other special items, then woke the Black Dragon so it could choose what it needed.
• The Black Dragon chose items numbered one and three, said it wanted to eat and grow, and collapsed again.
• Lin An exchanged 2,799 reputation for Dragon Source and Xi Feng Grass, then offered them to the Black Dragon, whose color began to return.
• An Eastern European warrior reported completing the Tundra Hunt Mutant Task and asked his companions to lend him 50 reputation so he could buy a Dragon Remnant Crystal.

Lawrence exchanged reputation for a Dragon Remnant Crystal after discovering that someone had already claimed the 799-point Dragon Source. Meanwhile, Lin An’s Black Dragon devoured an Epic Rank item and grew into its Youth Form, then recognized Lin An as its dad and charged into him for food.

• Lawrence completed his reputation missions and accepted reputation points from Awakened in the Nordic Alliance who hoped he would reach Tier 3.
• Lawrence discovered that the Dragon Source exchange was blacked out, exchanged for a Dragon Remnant Crystal, and wondered who had gathered more than 700 reputation points.
• Lin An’s contracted S-rank Abyssal Black Dragon devoured the Epic Rank item and transformed into a towering Youth Form.
• Lin An tentatively called to the Black Dragon, which answered, called him Dad, and said it was hungry.
• The Black Dragon charged into Lin An and knocked him to the ground.

Lin An dealt with the Black Dragon’s immense weight and stubbornness, then chose to leave the reconstructing Secret Realm rather than accept a new series quest. He and Zhang Tie returned to the real world with an SSS completion rating and the top world ranking.

• Lin An learned that the Black Dragon had reached the Third Order but was still young, and it shrank into a heavy, sleeping form on his wrist.
• The Black Dragon turned itself into a Stone Statue to avoid being saddled, so Lin An threatened to ride Zhang Tie or Bear Dunce instead.
• Lin An saw a temporal breach in the reconstructing Secret Realm and heard what seemed to be a world crying for help.
• Lin An ignored the new series quest and chose to return early to prepare for the Corpse Tide Riot and the Cataclysm.
• Lin An and Zhang Tie returned to the real world with 100 percent Secret Realm completion, an SSS rating, and first place in the world ranking.

Lin An and Zhang Tie returned from the Secret Realm to the South Korea-Busan War Zone instead of Dragon An Base, and Lin An realized they had reappeared at the real-world location corresponding to their Secret Realm return point. Unable to cross the ocean safely, Lin An contacted Dragon An Base, where news of his return halted a major military operation and sent its leaders rushing to him.

• Lin An and Zhang Tie arrived in a cluttered room in the South Korea-Busan War Zone, and the Apocalypse System reset Lin An’s displayed identity data while leaving his Savior System Panel unchanged.
• Lin An explained that they had returned to the wrong real-world location because Secret Realm coordinates matched those of the real world, and he regretted leaving before retracing their route to the Desolate Village.
• Lin An ruled out traveling overland because the route required crossing dangerous ocean waters, and the Black Dragon could fly for only about one hundred kilometers.
• Lin An sent Dragon An Base a private message asking for help, using the Safe Zone privilege that allowed one message a day across War Zones.
• An JingTian and Wen Ya received news that Lin An had returned, canceled the operation, and rushed toward the Core Conference Room as base leaders and Awakeners followed.

After learning that Lin An was stranded in the Busan War Zone, An JingTian ordered Dragon An Base to mobilize its forces and bring him home. The chapter ends with the base preparing even nuclear deterrence while Lin An remained unaware of the operation.

• Gao Tian rushed into a conference and confirmed that Lin An had returned and sent private messages to An JingTian and Wen Ya.
• An JingTian revealed that Lin An was in Busan with Zhang and ordered a team to fly there and teleport him back.
• Gao Tian and Wen Ya warned that Busan officials might target Lin An because Chu An had repeatedly cheated neighboring war zones.
• Wen Ya called for an urgent rescue operation, and An JingTian ordered Dragon An Base's Aerospace Force and Second Order Awakened to mobilize.
• An JingTian ordered two nuclear warheads loaded onto the fighter jets for deterrence, rejecting objections and declaring Lin An's safety more important than anything else.

An JingTian halted Dragon An Base’s other operations and led a force to Busan to retrieve Lin An. In Busan, Lin An examined the System’s reset and realized he could activate the Global Trial once he returned.

• An JingTian rejected plans to contact the capital and ordered Dragon An Base to suspend its combat operations until Lin An returned.
• An JingTian assembled An Xia, Mo Ling, Huang HaiTao, twenty-four Second-Order Awakeners, and accompanying soldiers for the retrieval operation, while Gao Tian stayed behind to guard the base.
• An JingTian said Chu An had been researching something in the Core Fortress and had shown little interest in Lin An’s return.
• Fifteen fighter jets, a transport plane, and a fuel-supply plane carrying small Tactical Nuclear Bombs flew from the Air Force Base toward Busan.
• Lin An used Mental Strength and road signs to identify his location as an abandoned factory in Busan’s Saha District.
• Lin An inspected the System’s reset, received a basic mission to kill a Zombie, and concluded that he could activate the Global Trial after returning.

Lin An and Xiong Hanzi discussed the danger posed by the Great Korean War Zone and planned to search the area for supplies while staying alert to powerful weapons and Mutants. When an Awakened approached, Lin An disguised himself and Xiong Hanzi before going to meet a foreign squad led by a hungry young woman.

• Lin An explained that Chu An had repeatedly tricked the Great Korean War Zone into surrendering supplies, leaving its people furious and its Safe Zone devastated.
• Lin An said they would wait no more than forty-eight hours to return, then proposed searching the area for supplies and warned Xiong Hanzi about weapons of mass destruction and dangerous Mutants.
• Lin An sensed an approaching Awakened and used Mental Strength and Milai's Scalpel to disguise himself and Xiong Hanzi.
• Lin An and Xiong Hanzi approached a nine-person squad outside an abandoned industrial park, led by a young woman who smelled their hotpot.

Lin An offered food to Han Youzhen’s hungry Survivor group in exchange for information about Busan. After they ate, he asked about the city’s largest gathering point, any military Safe Point, and unusual things beyond the Inner City.

• Han Youzhen led eight other Survivors to a factory storage room and cautiously called out to whoever was inside.
• Lin An opened the door with Bear Dunce beside him, and the group nervously introduced themselves.
• Lin An gave the Survivors compressed biscuits and offered them the leftover hot pot in return for answers.
• The hungry Survivors ate the food while Han Youzhen remained wary and questioned Lin An’s intentions.
• Lin An asked Han Youzhen about Busan’s largest gathering point, military Safe Points, and anything unusual beyond the Inner City.

Lin An questioned Han Youzhen about Busan’s Safe Points and the Faceless Women that had forced her group to flee the Inner City. Li Enzhu offered to share what she knew if Lin An joined them on the way to the Double Star Safe Point.

• Han Youzhen explained that her group planned to reach the Double Star Group’s Safe Point because it had more food, while other Survivors angrily recounted how Cheongwadae had deceived them.
• Han Youzhen said Faceless Women had appeared in the Inner City three months earlier, allowing Mutants and Zombies to hunt Survivors and driving her group from Busan University.
• Lin An asked about the Faceless Women’s origins, intrigued by the possibility that a special item had caused the Supernatural Event.
• Li Enzhu approached Lin An and offered to tell him what she knew if he traveled with her group, while Han Youzhen warned her against getting too close.
• Zhang Tie joked through Team Voice Chat that Li Enzhu seemed eager to eat Lin An.

Lin An decided to postpone searching for the Faceless Woman and head to Twin Star Base to gather supplies, then detour to a US Military Base for fighter jets and other weapons. As Han Youzhen proposed a safer route, Li Enzhu tried to win Lin An’s attention, while the other men resented his presence and interest in the women.

• Lin An told the team he would leave the Faceless Woman for later and go loot Twin Star Base before detouring to a US Military Base.
• Lin An planned to bring Dragon Security personnel to carry supplies and prepare for potentially occupying the Great Korean War Zone.
• Han Youzhen suggested crossing the district via rooftops and heading west toward the wasteland to avoid the Zombie-packed expressway.
• Li Enzhu offered Lin An her healing ability and tried to link arms with him, but he stepped aside and ignored her.
• Lin An jumped down from the warehouse, while the men behind him privately accused him of posing and pursuing the women.