Chapter Summaries

In an underground bar in Safe Zone 2, Sun Heyu and other influential young people celebrated helping Sun Xiangkong halt the supply operation and weaken Yuan Gang. Their discussion turned to controlling food across the Safe Zones, ending with a proposal to use scarcity to make people submit.

• Sun Heyu said Sun Xiangkong had forced Yuan Gang into a losing position, while the others described how they had called in connections to stop supply teams from heading to Safe Zones 15 through 18.
• Sun Heyu promised his allies they would share the rewards if their side won, and credited Yan Jiaojiao with helping people choose their side by spreading news about his uncle.
• Sun Heyu said his side controlled the force while Yuan Gang controlled the food, making food the remaining point of conflict.
• The group discussed Zhu, who had imprisoned ordinary people for experiments before a wanted criminal destroyed her prison and killed her.
• One man proposed sealing off the other Safe Zones and controlling their food, and another said hunger would let them become wealthy again.

Sun Heyu learned that Su Ze planned to cooperate with Sun Xiangkong and used the news to rally his group around the new Firefly Club. At the officials’ dinner, Su Ze asked for time to consider their terms, but Yuan Gang arrived before he could answer.

• Yan Jiaojiao told the tavern that Su Ze would arrive in Safe Zone 1 to discuss cooperation with Sun Xiangkong.
• Sun Heyu tested the group’s attitude toward Su Ze, then explained that the tavern’s regulars would form the Firefly Club.
• The officials led by Sun Xiangkong met Su Ze for dinner, where Su Ze read their offer and said he needed time to consider it.
• Yuan Gang arrived and greeted Su Ze warmly.

Su Ze declined to join either side of the authorities’ struggle and left the banquet with Qi Xiaoye, while Tao Yaoyao investigated reports of a ghostly maze in North City. Su Ze identified the phenomenon as a Contained Object called Person in the Painting.

• Su Ze refused Yuan Gang’s invitation to sit with him and said he would decide about joining the authorities on his own terms.
• Su Ze left with Qi Xiaoye, declined Yuan Gang’s offer of a ride, and headed toward the Contamination Zone.
• Qi Xiaoye complained about dressing up for an ordinary meal, then admired the neighboring Safe Zone’s night view as Su Ze teased her.
• A researcher brought Tao Yaoyao reports of people trapped in a ghostly maze and a woman seen moving across a sheet of paper.
• Tao Yaoyao judged the incidents to be signs of Contained Object activity, and Su Ze identified the object as Person in the Painting.

Tao Yaoyao received a Death Memory of humans discovering a city on the moon and being killed by an unknown force, then asked Su Ze to look at the stars with her. Su Ze and Qi Xiaoye went to investigate the Person in the Painting, but Qi Xiaoye was pulled into the wall as Su Ze prepared to act.

• Tao Yaoyao recognized the female ghost as the Person in the Painting and received a Death Memory of a Sixth-Tier Awakened discovering a human city on the moon before an unknown force killed him and his companions.
• Tao Yaoyao realized the Death Memories might not show Extraordinary Apostles because their path had not yet appeared, then asked Su Ze to look at the stars with her.
• Qi Xiaoye identified the Person in the Painting as an Awakened Grade Contained Object, and Su Ze located it in a northern city and insisted Qi Xiaoye accompany him.
• Su Ze and Qi Xiaoye arrived at an empty Safe Zone and found the woman drawn on a wall outside a public office building.
• Qi Xiaoye suddenly vanished and appeared on the wall as Su Ze prepared to attack the Person in the Painting.

Su Ze and Qi Xiaoye encountered the Person in the Painting, who explained that she had accidentally drawn Qi Xiaoye into her space and asked for help finding Zhao Yingjun, the man she loved. Su Ze located Zhao Yingjun in a nearby Safe Zone and discovered he was with another woman, while Qi Xiaoye resolved to help the Person in the Painting.

• The Person in the Painting apologized to Qi Xiaoye and said she had not intended to pull her into the painting's space.
• Qi Xiaoye asked the Person in the Painting to bring Su Ze into the space, but the Person in the Painting warned that he was too powerful and would destroy it.
• The Person in the Painting told Qi Xiaoye she had fallen in love with a man who used to visit and talk with her, then disappeared.
• The Person in the Painting asked Qi Xiaoye to find Zhao Yingjun and promised to do anything, even die, if she could confirm he was alive.
• Su Ze used his Connection Talent to locate Zhao Yingjun in a nearby Safe Zone and saw him in bed with another woman.
• Qi Xiaoye felt moved by the Person in the Painting's devotion and decided she had to help her find Zhao Yingjun.

Su Ze contained the Person in the Painting after learning the truth about her lover, while Qi Xiaoye asked him to spare her. Later, Su Ze’s simulation revealed that the Purple-haired Lady called the benefits she would gain from Tao Yaoyao’s death “Divinity,” an essential substance for becoming a god.

• Qi Xiaoye promised the Person in the Painting she would help find her beloved in exchange for accepting their arrangements, and Su Ze learned what she needed.
• Su Ze told Qi Xiaoye he had found the man she loved and planned to bring back his corpse, but Qi Xiaoye asked him to spare her and contain her instead.
• Su Ze reassured Qi Xiaoye that she was not a Contained Object and hinted that she would learn about her origins in two days.
• Su Ze moved the Person in the Painting into a frame and used the museum’s power to contain her.
• Su Ze used the Classic Simulator and learned that the Purple-haired Lady called the benefits of Tao Yaoyao’s death “Divinity,” which she described as essential for becoming a god.
• At dinner, Qi Xiaoye told Qin Yushi that Su Ze had contained the Person in the Painting, and Qin Yushi mentioned Li Miaor’s invitation to visit Safe Zone 1.

Qin Yushi considered Li Miaor’s invitation while Su Ze said he would not interfere in the contest between Sun and Yuan Gang. Su Ze then visited Tao Yaoyao to review her latest Death Memory about the moon and the nature of Parallel Blue Star.

• Qin Yushi asked whether Representative Sun or Representative Yuan would win, and Su Ze said he did not know but suspected Yuan Gang had another backup plan.
• Qi Xiaoye asked Su Ze to reveal a secret about her origins, called him Dad, and learned that she was not his biological daughter.
• Su Ze left to visit Tao Yaoyao, who had prepared documents analyzing Parallel Blue Star and a new Death Memory involving scenes from the moon.
• Su Ze watched Tao Yaoyao’s AI animation and asked her to eat the low-sugar dessert he had brought before going to calibrate the radio telescope.

Su Ze recognized that Tao Yaoyao was trying to prove her worth because she believed only valuable people deserved to survive, and he tried to show her that he valued her beyond her abilities. Meanwhile, Yan Jiaojiao discussed Su Ze and Professor Yan’s plans to bring Tao Yaoyao to SC-1; the chapter ended as Su Ze’s Simulator cooldown completed.

• Su Ze thanked Tao Yaoyao for her reports, realized she was trying to prove her value, and asked why she felt insecure about the Purple-haired Lady.
• Tao Yaoyao said only those with value were qualified to survive, and Su Ze asked her to guess what romantic stargazing meant to him.
• Yan Jiaojiao told Professor Yan about the Firefly Club, Su Ze, and Li Miaor’s expected arrival with the Qin Family’s Young Lady.
• Yan Jiaojiao found Professor Yan’s report proposing that North City send Tao Yaoyao to SC-1, then recalled the artificial infant’s question about being killed for having no value.
• Su Ze made coffee on the rooftop and told Tao Yaoyao that sharing the stars and using the telescope was the romantic scene he had imagined.
• Su Ze noticed that the Simulator’s cooldown had completed.

Su Ze simulated the Heart of Darkness and glimpsed the Black Goat Spawn, then learned that supplies would be collected from Safe Zones 4–6. At Safe Zone SC-35, he dismissed Qi Xiaoye’s theory about the authorities’ plan and promised to reveal some secrets about her background the next day.

• Su Ze simulated the Heart of Darkness, executed it, and briefly sensed the more powerful Black Goat Spawn before choosing the Contained Object’s location information as his reward.
• Su Ze told Tao Yaoyao to report the Person in the Painting truthfully and said he would later transfer it to an official institution.
• Li Miaor visited Tang Xinnuo to discuss their planned trip with Qin Yushi to Safe Zone 1, while news spread that Safe Zones should organize people to collect supplies from Safe Zones 4–6.
• Qi Xiaoye proposed that the supply collection plan was secretly intended to bring Awakened troops together, but Su Ze said her analysis was mostly wrong.
• Qi Xiaoye gave Su Ze a peeled roasted sweet potato, and he promised to tell her some secrets about her background the next day.

Su Ze traveled to an American Contamination Zone and defeated the newly appeared Heart of Darkness before it could threaten a nearby Safe Zone. After storing it in the Museum, he sensed the Black Goat Spawn might one day appear, then found himself back in the darkness beside the River of Light, facing two paths.

• Qi Xiaoye claimed she liked Su Ze with a pure, motherly affection, while privately admitting her attraction to him.
• The Simulator revealed the Heart of Darkness’s location, and Su Ze left alone to deal with it.
• Su Ze found the Heart of Darkness attacking houses in an American Contamination Zone and blocked its assault.
• Su Ze overwhelmed the Heart of Darkness with attacks from his divine phantom until cold flames consumed it.
• Su Ze placed the Heart of Darkness in the Museum and sensed that the Black Goat Spawn might someday appear because of mortals.
• Su Ze was drawn into the familiar darkness and found two paths leading toward the pitch-black shore across the River of Light.

Su Ze upgraded his Old Days Museum and raised God Summoning to the peak of the Mythical Grade, discovering that its power could split the sea. On Day 80, an old man used the ritual to pray for power again, but Su Ze refused to grant it after seeing the supermodel offered as a sacrifice, just as Chen Keqing entered his bedroom.

• Su Ze completed an extraordinary-stage advancement, upgraded the Old Days Museum, and received 500 Talent Shards.
• Su Ze spent 170 Talent Shards after a refund to raise God Summoning to the peak of the Mythical Grade, calculating that each talent required 750 shards to reach the same limit.
• Su Ze tested his upgraded power on an unnamed Pacific island and split the sea down to the seabed with a single strike.
• Su Ze wondered whether he could take divinity from someone who borrowed his power and looked forward to meeting the woman who called herself a demigod.
• On Day 80, an old man used the incantation and ritual to pray to Su Ze again, but Su Ze refused to grant power because he disliked the supermodel offered as a sacrifice.
• Chen Keqing entered Su Ze's bedroom in a bathrobe and pounced toward him.

Su Ze considered how to use the Museum’s upgraded powers while waiting for the Penrose Stairs to appear. After the Simulator revealed its location, he took Qi Xiaoye to investigate and promised to uncover the mystery of her origins.

• Qi Xiaoye pretended to read while asking Chen Keqing whether Su Ze was still with Qin Yushi, and Chen clarified that Qin was preparing to lead a supply-gathering trip.
• Li Miaor guided the Su University Awakened team through SC-4 Safe Zone and spoke with Xiang Xinyun and Xiang Xinyu while they waited for Qin Yushi.
• Qin Yushi arrived ahead of the team and jokingly claimed she had used an Anywhere Door, leaving Li Miaor baffled.
• Su Ze weighed how to distribute the Museum’s new Word Spirit Techniques, recruit staff, and spend his 420 Talent Shards as midnight approached.
• The Simulator revealed where the Penrose Stairs would appear, and Su Ze invited Qi Xiaoye to go investigate and uncover the mystery of her origins.

Su Ze and Qi Xiaoye entered the Penrose Stairs Contained Object and searched for the eerie crying while waiting for the Purple-haired Lady, whom Su Ze believed might help Qi Xiaoye with her amnesia. Meanwhile, Qin Yushi hosted a tea party in Suzhou City, where she revealed Su Ze could heal fatal injuries and cure diseases before someone asked when his ability had awakened.

• Su Ze cleared the monsters around the university with a meteor shower, then led Qi Xiaoye to the red door of the Penrose Stairs.
• Qi Xiaoye recognized the geometric paradox, and Su Ze guided her into the dark stairwell as she held onto his clothes.
• Su Ze used his God Summoning talent to improve his vision and said the Purple-haired Lady, not the school setting, might help Qi Xiaoye recover her memories.
• Qin Yushi hosted a tea party at Li Miaor's residence, where guests asked whether Su Ze could bring the dead back to life.
• Qin Yushi said Su Ze could save people with fatal injuries and cure diseases, then an attendee asked whether his ability had awakened before or after the apocalypse.

At a tea party, Yu Ziwen questioned Qin Yushi about her early use of the Word Spirit Technique, then secretly plotted with the Goddess Detective to frame and kill Xiang Xinyun to provoke Qin Yushi. Meanwhile, Su Ze and Qi Xiaoye descended the Penrose Stairs until Su Ze sensed the Purple-haired Lady approaching.

• Yu Ziwen pressed Qin Yushi about when she had awakened the Word Spirit Technique, and Qin Yushi sharply dismissed her question.
• After the tea party, Yu Ziwen met the Goddess Detective and planned to lure Xiang Xinyun, drug him, frame him for rape, and kill him to provoke Qin Yushi.
• Yu Ziwen said she wanted Qin Yushi to retaliate, while the Goddess Detective worried about the consequences.
• Su Ze and Qi Xiaoye continued down the Penrose Stairs, with Su Ze offering to wait on a circular platform.
• Su Ze stared into the darkness above and said the Purple-haired Lady seemed to have arrived.

Su Ze and Qi Xiaoye met Jing Yue, a woman who claimed to be a demigod and able to observe fate. Jing Yue explained her connection to Tao Yaoyao and warned that sparing her would bring an even more fatal danger.

• Qi Xiaoye and Su Ze heard Jing Yue approach and introduced themselves to her.
• Jing Yue said she had not remembered her original name and asked Su Ze to suggest a better one, but he refused.
• Jing Yue proposed that she and Su Ze each answer one question honestly, and Su Ze asked what she remembered as a demigod.
• Jing Yue explained that she had tried to reach Parallel Blue Star to investigate the variable that changed the future, not initially to kill Tao Yaoyao.
• Jing Yue admitted that Tao Yaoyao carried her divinity and said she had temporarily abandoned her plan to kill her, but warned that Tao Yaoyao's survival would bring a more fatal danger.

Su Ze and Qi Xiaoye questioned the mysterious woman about divinity, demigods, and the Apocalyptic Cataclysm as she descended the stairs toward them. She finally appeared, recognized Qi Xiaoye as a demigod, and won her over with the compliment.

• The woman explained that only true Deities could fully observe the past and future, and that doing so could create uncertainty in predetermined events.
• She described how advancement tiers varied between paths and said demigods were ranked by the strength of their divinity; she also explained that demigods were known as Kin and could destroy a civilization like Blue Star's.
• Su Ze asked about the Apocalyptic Cataclysm, but the woman deferred to Tao Yaoyao for details about what happened when a planet faced a supernatural-stage cataclysm.
• Su Ze asked about the composition of the woman's powers as she reached the bottom of the stairs and appeared before him and Qi Xiaoye.
• The woman greeted Su Ze and identified Qi Xiaoye as a demigod, prompting Qi Xiaoye to decide that she was definitely a good woman.

Qi Xiaoye learned that her amnesia and unusual abilities made it likely she was a fallen demigod, while Su Ze negotiated a deal with the mysterious lady to lend her his power four times. As the Contained Object’s space collapsed, Su Ze protected Qi Xiaoye and destroyed the source of the crying, while the lady noticed that fate had changed.

• The lady explained that Qi Xiaoye might be a fallen demigod because they both had amnesia and unusual powers, leaving Qi Xiaoye convinced the explanation fit her.
• Su Ze asked the lady about Divine Relics, and she admitted that she possessed one or more and that they let her extend her power to his planet.
• The lady asked what the strange space was, and Su Ze described it as an abnormal phenomenon that he sought to contain to protect civilization.
• Su Ze recognized that the lady before him was an illusion or clone, and they agreed that she would borrow his power four times in exchange for the four questions he owed her.
• Su Ze taught the lady his summoning ritual, then invoked the Guardian God's power and destroyed the faceless source of the crying while shielding Qi Xiaoye.
• As the space collapsed and the lady's illusion vanished, she realized Su Ze's power had exceeded what she had seen in fate.

Qi Xiaoye returned to Avalon and teased Chen Keqing about her plans with Su Ze, while Chen Keqing dismissed Qi Xiaoye’s bid for attention. At the SC-5 Safe Zone, Tang Xinnuo learned that Xiang Xinyun had sneaked out for a midnight rendezvous and decided not to report him to Qin Yushi unless he was caught.

• Qi Xiaoye returned to Avalon and reassured Chen Keqing that Su Ze had easily defeated the Mythical Grade Contained Object.
• Qi Xiaoye invited Chen Keqing to stay in her room, teased her about showering with Su Ze, and asked her to choose between Su Ze and her best friend.
• Chen Keqing chose Su Ze without hesitation, leaving Qi Xiaoye stunned.
• Tang Xinnuo visited the Su University team’s dormitory and scolded Xiang Xinyu for concealing that Xiang Xinyun had gone out during curfew.
• Xiang Xinyu explained that Xiang Xinyun had left for a midnight rendezvous with an older woman he called his true love.
• Tang Xinnuo decided not to tell Qin Yushi about Xiang Xinyun’s disappearance and warned Xiang Xinyu to scold him when he returned.

Su Ze used the Old Days Simulator to investigate a Cthulhu Statue that turned worshippers into Deep Ones, then began a Classic Simulation to check information about the Purple-haired Lady. The simulation revealed that the woman was not Jing Yue and that the real Jing Yue attacked her, leaving Su Ze wary of a threat against both her and Tao Yaoyao.

• Qi Xiaoye told Chen Keqing that she believed herself to be a powerful demigod, while Chen Keqing had already learned about the possibility from Su Ze.
• Su Ze simulated investigating a Cthulhu Statue, finding deranged cultists who had become Deep Ones and choosing to destroy the statue.
• Su Ze started a Classic Simulation to verify information he had received from the Purple-haired Lady.
• The simulation showed that the real Jing Yue attacked the Purple-haired Lady, leading Su Ze to suspect the threat targeted both her and Tao Yaoyao.

Su Ze simulated future events, upgraded Father God's Listening to Transcendent Grade, and heard news from Suzhou City's official Safe Zone. The chapter left Qin Yushi learning that one of the Awakened she brought had been executed.

• Su Ze inferred that the Purple-haired Lady had only sensed an approaching crisis and considered whether her information about Jing Yue was reliable.
• Su Ze's simulation revealed that Awakened gained talent skills based on their incantations, while his investigation into Contained Objects produced little useful intelligence and led him to the name Dagon Cult.
• Su Ze spent 220 Talent Shards to upgrade Father God's Listening to Transcendent Grade, gaining the ability to hear real sounds without distance limits.
• Su Ze used his upgraded talent and heard Yu Ziwen tell Qin Yushi that an Awakened who had mastered a Word Spirit Technique had been executed the previous night.