Chapter Summaries

As rumors spread about an official investigation into Su Ze, people speculated about Representative Sun’s motives and whether he could restrain Su Ze. Xu Pingfeng explained that he believed Su Ze had to remain a hero, while Professor Yan considered the political consequences and received a letter from Tao Yaoyao.

• Tong Yihua overheard Luo Qiushui describe her discovery and learned that another classmate had reached Tier 2 and awakened a Word Spirit Technique.
• Sun Heyu spread claims that the authorities’ trial of Su Ze was meant to warn and restrain him, prompting speculation that Representative Sun had found a way to oppose him.
• Xu Pingfeng told Deputy Officer Meng that Su Ze was a hero who had to remain one because someone with absolute power choosing to become a tyrant would bring everything to an end.
• Yan Jiaojiao learned that Tao Yaoyao had sent Professor Yan a letter, possibly accepting her invitation to Suzhou City.
• Qing Shuang refused to fight Qi Xiaoye after using divination to foresee that she would lose, then went upstairs to find Tao Yaoyao.

Qing Shuang was locked out of the laboratory and learned about the Foundation, while Tao Yaoyao recalled a death memory revealing the path to becoming an Extraordinary Apostle and the danger threatening parallel planets. The chapter ended on the eighty-sixth day of the apocalypse, as Wang Zixin spotted someone outside Su University’s gate in heavy snow.

• Qing Shuang found the laboratory door would not admit her and read documents outlining the Foundation’s duties, information levels, and personnel tiers.
• Qi Xiaoye teased Qing Shuang about being locked out, and Qing Shuang questioned the stories she had heard about Tao Yaoyao’s cold, arrogant nature.
• Tao Yaoyao reflected on a death memory that showed Awakened could become Extraordinary Apostles by touching new Pollution Sources and entering physical dream trials.
• Tao Yaoyao told Su Ze about her findings and calculations concerning the unknown force that could shatter a planet, while Su Ze invited her to a group stargazing and camping outing.
• Tao Yaoyao invited Qi Xiaoye and Qing Shuang to afternoon tea after leaving the laboratory.
• On the eighty-sixth day of the apocalypse, Wang Zixin saw someone near Su University’s gate through the heavy snow and shouted in alarm.

Ren Hao traveled toward Safe Zone 1 while learning about Su Ze’s reputation and the authorities’ demand that he report in. After reaching the zone before the deadline, Ren Hao received the Sin Judgment Word Spirit Technique, which let him see everyone’s sins.

• Ren Hao entered the students’ shelter, ate a compressed biscuit, and overheard them discuss Su Ze and the deadline for him to report to the authorities.
• Ren Hao continued toward Safe Zone 1 and heard Awakened at Safe Zone 35 defend Su Ze, realizing Su Ze was the man who had beaten him before.
• Ren Hao hurried onward and reached the edge of the Contamination Zone near Safe Zone 1 before the deadline.
• A mysterious voice declared Ren Hao had completed his task and granted him the Transcendent Grade Word Spirit Technique Sin Judgment.
• Ren Hao activated Sin Judgment and discovered he could see every sin people had committed.

Su Ze watched the Cthulhu Statue's former site, empowered a hunted man through the God Summoning ritual, and checked on Big Baldy's work in the Safe Zone. The old man used Su Ze's power to turn on his pursuers, while Big Baldy continued judging the Firefly Club's members.

• At the Firefly Tavern, members of the Firefly Club discussed the coming changes and whether to oppose Su Ze, then fell silent when Big Baldy appeared and inspected them with a notebook.
• Su Ze returned to the church where the Cthulhu Statue had been displayed and found no sign of any further influence beyond the mutations he had already contained.
• Su Ze watched an old white man in Britain, wounded and hunted by Awakened, begin a final God Summoning ritual and granted him power.
• The old man saw the Guardian God appear behind him and used the power to counterattack and slaughter his pursuers.
• Su Ze returned to Suzhou City and observed Big Baldy carrying out his assigned task in the Safe Zone.

Qi Xiaoye and Tao Yaoyao left Qing Shuang out of their secrets before joining Chen Keqing, Qin Yushi, and Tang Xinnuo at a remote campsite. Su Ze arrived by using the Museum’s transfer ability, and the group gathered for an overnight camping trip.

• Qing Shuang complained that Tao Yaoyao had denied her access to the laboratory, but Qi Xiaoye argued that Tao Yaoyao had never agreed to let her in.
• Tao Yaoyao gave Qing Shuang a document containing experimental data about a Contained Object, then departed with Qi Xiaoye using a spatial ability and left Qing Shuang feeling excluded.
• Qi Xiaoye and Tao Yaoyao used the Museum’s cross-boundary transfer ability to reach the mountain campsite where Chen Keqing, Qin Yushi, and Tang Xinnuo had set up tents and a campfire.
• Chen Keqing served tea while the group waited for Su Ze, and Tang Xinnuo worried that she seemed out of place among the other women.
• Su Ze used the Museum’s transfer ability to arrive at the campsite, avoiding the time limit on his Advent Talent.

During a campfire gathering, Su Ze joked about a legendary dream realm before Qin Yushi asked why planets shattered after Stars Fall. Qi Xiaoye explained the Roche Limit and outlined how the group might determine a danger boundary, then brought up her earlier theory about Past Life Memory.

• Tang Xinnuo celebrated receiving a Museum work permit, while Qi Xiaoye tried unsuccessfully to persuade Tao Yaoyao to give her the Hidden Assassination word spirit technique.
• Su Ze asked the group about the Illusionary Dream Realm, described an invented legend, and admitted he had made it up.
• Qin Yushi asked why planets cracked apart after Stars Fall, and Qi Xiaoye offered to explain.
• Qi Xiaoye described the Roche Limit and said more planetary explosion data would help establish a safety boundary for the complex stellar system.
• Qi Xiaoye asked whether the others remembered her theory about why Past Life Memory truly existed.

During a starlit barbecue, Qi Xiaoye explained theories about recurring memories and a holographic universe while the group flirted with Su Ze. Noticing Tao Yaoyao's quiet mood, Su Ze invited her to play the Trust Game and caught her when she fell backward.

• Qi Xiaoye used Poincaré Recurrence to support her Past Life Memory hypothesis, though she had no explanation for how particles could restore memories.
• Tang Xinnuo wondered whether the group had gathered together in the same way in the distant past, and Qi Xiaoye explained the Holographic Universe Theory.
• Chen Keqing held Su Ze's hand while Qin Yushi flirted with him under the table as the group listened to Qi Xiaoye's science lesson.
• When the others got up to prepare barbecue, Su Ze took Tao Yaoyao's hand and suggested they play a game.
• Su Ze told Tao Yaoyao to fall backward, then caught and steadied her against his chest.

At Firefly Tavern, Yan Jiaojiao told her friends about Tao Yaoyao and emphasized their closeness. At the campsite, Tao Yaoyao unexpectedly fell asleep and entered a dream that felt like a Nightmare Trial, where she discovered she had become smaller.

• Yan Jiaojiao told her friends that Tao Yaoyao was coming to Suzhou City and described her childhood intelligence and beauty.
• Yan Jiaojiao claimed that she had taught Tao Yaoyao empathy and that Tao Yaoyao still respected and admired her.
• At the campsite, Su Ze suggested that the group chat briefly before getting some sleep, while Qi Xiaoye teased him about wanting to sleep beside Chen Keqing.
• Tao Yaoyao grew unusually drowsy during Su Ze's discussion and fell asleep in her chair.
• Tao Yaoyao entered a dream resembling a Nightmare Trial, sensed danger, and realized that she had gotten smaller.

Tao Yaoyao became trapped in a shifting corridor where she had to read books to grow and recover her strength while a woman with a blade pursued her. Meanwhile, Yan Jiaojiao confronted Professor Yan over how she had treated Tao Yaoyao, then left after Professor Yan ordered her out.

• Tao Yaoyao woke in the corridor in her three-year-old body and fled from a woman carrying a long blade.
• Tao Yaoyao remembered the Word Spirit Technique, Hidden Assassination, but realized she needed to grow before she could use it.
• Tao Yaoyao found books along the corridor and read them as she ran, growing from three years old to four while the woman kept pursuing her.
• Yan Jiaojiao returned home and learned that Professor Yan was preparing her room for Tao Yaoyao, so Yan Jiaojiao would have to leave.
• Yan Jiaojiao accused Professor Yan of coercing Tao Yaoyao into becoming an artificial genius and questioned whether Tao Yaoyao had ever truly accepted her fate.
• Professor Yan ordered Yan Jiaojiao to get out, and Yan Jiaojiao left.

Tao Yaoyao realized the maze was a nightmare built from her memories and that Jing Yue had trapped her inside it. Su Ze caught Tao Yaoyao and confronted Jing Yue, who said fate had guided her to attack.

• Tao Yaoyao recovered her Word Spirit Technique, hid from her pursuer, and recognized her surroundings as Professor Yan's experimental base from her past.
• Jing Yue revealed that she had drawn Tao Yaoyao into the nightmare and broke her concealment with a slash.
• Su Ze caught Tao Yaoyao as she flew backward and shielded her from Jing Yue.
• Su Ze identified Jing Yue by name and asked why she had attacked Tao Yaoyao.
• Jing Yue said fate had guided her, and Su Ze offered to guide her fate instead.

Su Ze entered Tao Yaoyao’s dream and defeated Jing Yue’s ambush, then promised to protect Tao Yaoyao from further attacks. He used his simulations to anticipate the danger and began considering how seizing others’ divinity could advance his Talent, while the Su University team arrived at Suzhou City’s official Safe Zone to support him.

• Su Ze confronted Jing Yue in Tao Yaoyao’s dream, and she withdrew after warning that fate might bring her back.
• Tao Yaoyao woke safely, and Su Ze explained that he had waited for the unavoidable attack before entering the dream to stop it.
• Su Ze told everyone that Jing Yue could attack again, privately reassuring Tao Yaoyao that she would be safe for now.
• Su Ze reviewed his simulations, which suggested Jing Yue might be guided by a True God, and realized that taking others’ divinity could help his Talent advance.
• Tao Yaoyao struggled to express her gratitude as her companions gathered around her.
• The Su University team arrived at Suzhou City’s official Safe Zone with banners supporting Su Ze, and Tao Yaoyao appeared there later.

Tao Yaoyao arrived in Suzhou City and stayed with Professor Yan, where Yan Jiaojiao told her about the growing tension between Su Ze and Representative Sun. Meanwhile, Qin Yushi reflected on her responsibilities and decided that the reckoning was beginning.

• Professor Yan showed Tao Yaoyao her room and offered help with her confidential mission, but Tao Yaoyao kept her answers brief.
• Yan Jiaojiao told Tao Yaoyao that Su Ze had ignored the deadline to report to Representative Sun, leaving the Safe Zone waiting to see what Sun would do.
• Tao Yaoyao said she would probably begin work the next day and privately found hearing others talk about Su Ze enjoyable.
• Qin Yushi told Chen Keqing that Yu Ziwen's schemes had made her feel responsible for the people relying on her.
• Qin Yushi joked about obtaining a powerful Word Spirit Technique and concluded that the reckoning was beginning.

Qin Yushi and Chen Keqing joked about Su Ze, the Foundation’s future, and whether attractive men and women could remain friends while Qi Xiaoye complained about an accident involving a Contained Object. Big Baldy finished surveying the Safe Zones and left Firefly Tavern, waiting for tomorrow’s notice to begin his reckoning.

• Chen Keqing said their Safe Zone should be included in Big Baldy’s reckoning, and Qin Yushi joked about regretting that she had not pursued Su Ze sooner.
• Qin Yushi and Chen Keqing discussed the Foundation’s future role after the planet entered its next stage.
• Qi Xiaoye complained that Su Ze had caused sticky liquid to splash onto her while they handled a Contained Object, and Su Ze objected to her calling his gaze lecherous.
• Qin Yushi joked that pure friendship between attractive men and women existed only in theory, prompting Chen Keqing to ask whether she and Su Ze had betrayed her or Qin Yushi.
• On Day 88, Big Baldy appeared at Firefly Tavern, recorded more sins in his notebook, and left after completing his survey, waiting until the next day to begin the reckoning.

Tang Xinnuo, Qin Yushi, and Li Miaor discussed the elusive bald man and Su Ze’s plan, while Yan Jiaojiao and Tao Yaoyao reacted to changes at home. As Su Ze’s plan moved into a new stage, Chen Keqing and Qi Xiaoye prepared for a trial of guilty people.

• Qin Yushi brought Tang Xinnuo breakfast, and Li Miaor reported that student Awakened were making banners to support Su Ze at Safe Zone 1.
• Li Miaor asked about the bald man appearing around nearby Safe Zones, and Qin Yushi revealed that he was a key piece in Su Ze’s plan.
• Yan Jiaojiao teased Tao Yaoyao over breakfast, and Tao Yaoyao recognized that Su Ze’s plan had advanced to a new stage.
• Chen Keqing stopped training with Qi Xiaoye, who urged her to prepare for the day’s trial of guilty people.
• Su Ze appeared in the combat training room.

Su Ze reclaimed Big Baldy’s Sin Judgment ability, then told Chen Keqing and Qi Xiaoye that punishment for the exposed criminals would depend on his mood. Judgment notices listing powerful people’s crimes spread through nearby Safe Zones, leaving Li Miaor, Professor Yan, and Sun Heyu’s circle shaken; Tao Yaoyao asked Professor Yan if she wanted to live.

• Su Ze reclaimed the Sin Judgment Word Spirit Technique from Big Baldy after he said its effects had overwhelmed him.
• Chen Keqing asked how they would decide which criminals deserved punishment, and Su Ze said the decision depended on his mood.
• Li Miaor received a judgment notice and suspected Big Baldy had been exposing people’s crimes.
• Yan Jiaojiao found Professor Yan’s name and detailed crimes on a notice, while Tao Yaoyao asked Professor Yan whether she wanted to live.
• Sun Heyu’s associates argued over the notices and their accusations until Sun Heyu slammed the table and ordered them to stop.

Sun Heyu learned that Su Ze was suspected of orchestrating the crime announcements, while Sun Xiangkong worried about his next move. Su Ze then began turning people named on the list into Zombies, leaving the Safe Zone and Professor Yan’s household in alarm.

• Sun Heyu went to Sun Xiangkong for answers and learned that Big Baldy’s records linked him to Su Ze, though the two men could not determine whose Word Spirit Technique had exposed the crimes.
• Sun Xiangkong wondered what Su Ze planned to do next, just as cries of alarm sounded outside.
• Li Miaor witnessed a wealthy young man on the list transform into a Zombie, and Qin Yushi declared that Su Ze was making the guilty pay and that no one on the list would escape.
• Yan Jiaojiao reported that people on the list were transforming into Zombies, while Professor Yan watched the monsters wandering through the Safe Zone.
• Yan Jiaojiao worried that Professor Yan might transform too, and Professor Yan teased her about losing her status without her mother’s support as Tao Yaoyao opened the bathroom door.

Tao Yaoyao assured Professor Yan that she and Yan Jiaojiao would survive the deaths of everyone named on the announcement, while the Safe Zone descended into panic and rumors blamed Su Ze. In North City, Qing Shuang received a sealed document and learned she would be taken to Suzhou City to work with the project’s chief person in charge.

• Tao Yaoyao told Professor Yan that everyone on the list would die before noon but that Professor Yan would survive, and Professor Yan thanked her.
• People named on the list panicked, while rumors spread that Su Ze and Big Baldy were behind the deaths.
• As noon arrived, Qing Shuang returned to her former home in North City and learned her grandfather had gone out.
• The cook gave Qing Shuang a sealed document and told her to deliver it to Suzhou City for Academician Tao.
• The cook explained that Tao Yaoyao had arranged for someone to pick Qing Shuang up so she could travel with the project’s chief person in charge.

Qin Yushi reflected on her choices as news spread that Su Ze had caused the deaths of the people named on the announcement. Su Ze then simulated an encounter with the Mythical Grade Contained Object Immortal Lizard, which he contained in the Museum but could not execute.

• Qin Yushi watched Yu Ziwen as a walking corpse and reflected that choosing Su Ze had been a fortunate decision.
• Li Miaor reported that Professor Yan was the only person on the list who had survived.
• News of the deaths spread to Safe Zone 35 and Su University, where people debated Su Ze's power and whether the authorities would respond.
• Su Ze reviewed an earlier simulation in which he executed the Shy Person and learned that Tao Yaoyao remained at risk from Jing Yue.
• Su Ze simulated confronting the Immortal Lizard, fought it repeatedly, and used the Museum to contain it, but realized he could not yet execute it.

Su Ze weighed whether to create the Immortal Lizard and reflected on his need to reach Demigod Grade, while preparing to meet Sun Xiangkong. Qi Xiaoye and Chen Keqing brought Qing Shuang through the Museum to meet the others, Tao Yaoyao set out to visit Representative Yuan, and Sun Xiangkong waited to see whether Su Ze would come.

• Su Ze hesitated over choosing the Immortal Lizard as a Simulator reward because he could not yet defeat it, and he longed for Demigod Grade strength.
• Su Ze noted the invitation from Sun Xiangkong and recognized that the meeting was likely a trap rather than a recruitment attempt.
• Qi Xiaoye and Chen Keqing met Qing Shuang, collected her confidential documents, and took her through the Museum to meet Li Miaor, Qin Yushi, and the others.
• Tao Yaoyao left Professor Yan's residence to inform Representative Yuan about the research that had brought her to Suzhou City.
• Sun Heyu asked Sun Xiangkong whether Su Ze would attend their appointment as Sun Xiangkong studied a list.

Su Ze confronted Sun Xiangkong after thwarting his plan to use a monster against him, while Li Miaor prepared to sync the judgment broadcast across nearby Safe Zones. The story left the broadcast setup underway and Su Ze claiming he intended to execute the Contained Object for more than his own sake.

• Sun Heyu admitted he feared Su Ze, but Sun Xiangkong refused to make peace and considered testing whether the monster could defeat him.
• Sun Xiangkong sent Sun Heyu away after Su Ze missed the invitation time, then found Su Ze in his living room holding the monster's photograph from the confidential file.
• Su Ze revealed that he had understood Sun Xiangkong's plan and had waited for Representative Yuan's side to synchronize before appearing.
• Sun Xiangkong acknowledged Su Ze's analysis and asked whether he could stop the monster, and Su Ze confidently said he could.
• Li Miaor reached the Safe Zone intranet control center with Qin Yushi's guidance and Yuan Gang's help, then connected the storage device to prepare a broadcast across nearby Safe Zones.