Chapter Summaries

Xu Zhi and Shen Jinwen went to meet four newcomers who had entered the Old Residential District, intending to offer them a place to stay in exchange for weekly cores. They reached the newcomers’ room and began negotiations.

• Xu Zhi used [Eye of Secrets] to identify three Transcendents among the four newcomers and suspected they planned to stay in the Old Residential District.
• Xu Zhi told Shen Jinwen she would let the newcomers stay if they paid one core per person each week, with rent rising as they grew stronger.
• Xu Zhi explained that the district’s safety came from her presence and that the newcomers could leave if they refused her terms.
• Xu Zhi and Shen Jinwen brought Xiao Zhen to the room the newcomers had chosen, and Shen Jinwen announced they had come to discuss the newcomers settling there.

Xu Zhi and Shen Jinwen established lodging rules for a small group of survivors in their safe territory, then Xu Zhi fed two black fruits to Xiao Zhen. The Gyrfalcon gained a level in Endurance and its Instant Death ability improved, leaving Xu Zhi able to draw one of its traits.

• Shen Jinwen offered four survivors a place to stay for one core per week, and Xu Zhi explained the settlement’s fees and safe training grounds.
• The four survivors agreed to stay, and Xu Zhi told them to pay at the neighborhood office each Monday.
• Xu Zhi gave Shen Jinwen two Winter Attribute Cores as an advance on her monthly salary.
• Xu Zhi fed four Moth Attribute Cores to herself, then gave Xiao Zhen the two black fruits it had found.
• Xiao Zhen reached Level 19, increased its Endurance to Lv5, and raised Instant Death to Lv2, allowing Xu Zhi to draw one of its traits.

After gaining Strength and Endurance, Xu Zhi returned to the Federation to propose a deal, confident that the Dead City kept her real body beyond their reach. She began negotiating with the Special Investigations Office, leaving the terms of the deal undecided.

• Narrator urged Xu Zhi to explore diligently, and Xu Zhi drew Strength Lv5 and Endurance Lv5, which improved her physical abilities.
• Xu Zhi sent Xiao Zhen to catch up with the other Familiars and spent cores to create a Spirit Vessel with Chaos Lv2 and Self-Healing Lv1.
• Xu Zhi returned to the office building, where a woman from the Special Investigations Office arrived with several uniformed subordinates and brought her into a van.
• Xu Zhi told the woman she wanted to make a deal and warned that she would seek another trading partner if the meeting went poorly.
• The woman consulted her superiors and agreed to hear Xu Zhi's proposal while the Special Investigations Office monitored their conversation.

Xu Zhi traded information with the Special Investigations Office for cores, answering questions about whether anyone else could leave Cloud City and whether many sane survivors remained. She ended the meeting before answering their question about Zhong Lingfan, leaving the next trade unscheduled.

• Xu Zhi accepted one hundred cores and told the woman that no one else could leave the city.
• Xu Zhi bargained the price of the survivor question down from one thousand to five hundred cores, then said many survivors remained in Cloud City.
• The woman asked whether Zhong Lingfan had completed her latest research report on supernatural beings, and Xu Zhi demanded one thousand cores for the answer.
• Xu Zhi said she would postpone the trade because the Special Investigations Office's probing annoyed her, then dissipated like ashes.

Xu Zhi used her stockpile of Attribute Cores to raise Xiao Zhen to level 20, unlocking the fourth Familiar slot and the Metamorphosis Phase. She ended the chapter preparing to choose her next Familiar.

• Xu Zhi sorted the six hundred cores, noted their attribute distribution, and planned to seek a steadier source of cores near Nanshan Villa District.
• Xu Zhi used the suggestion box to add a function that let her pay cores to bring selected Transcendent abilities into her Spirit Vessel.
• Xu Zhi fed Xiao Zhen more than seventy [Winter] cores, and it entered advancement sleep before reaching level 20.
• Xiao Zhen's level-up raised its [Instant Death] ability and unlocked [Evolution], while Xu Zhi also gained a fourth Familiar slot and learned that Xiao Zhen had entered the Metamorphosis Phase.
• Xu Zhi fed Xiao Zhen the remaining [Winter] cores and prepared to draw her fourth Familiar.

Xu Zhi chose a Level 1 Aberration as her fourth Familiar and discovered its unusual strength, hunger, and need to feed on her blood. After leveling up, its restlessness subsided when it sucked blood from her fingertip, leaving Xu Zhi wary of its behavior.

• Xu Zhi selected the Level 1 Aberration Familiar despite a warning that it had low sanity and might get lost, and it appeared on her desk.
• The Aberration showed off its silent movement and piercing thorns, and Xu Zhi discovered it had 0 Sanity, 100 Body, the Cup attribute, and several traits.
• Xu Zhi fed it a Cup Attribute Core, and it consumed the core and automatically leveled up to Level 2 while its Sanity remained at 0.
• The Aberration grew hungry and its restlessness increased, so Xu Zhi followed Narrator's suggestion and offered it a drop of her blood.
• The Aberration sucked the blood from Xu Zhi's fingertip and its restlessness fell, while Xu Zhi reacted with suspicion.

Xu Zhi fed her Aberration blood and Cup Attribute Cores until it reached level 10, gained a point of Spirit, and was named Little Dummy. She then recorded Spirit Vessel locations around Cloud City and prepared to investigate the unusually frequent city-center rolls.

• Xu Zhi raised the Aberration to level 7 with Cup Attribute Cores and blood, then removed the restlessness that rose from feeding it too many cores.
• Xu Zhi fed the Aberration until it reached level 10, gained intelligence and a point of Spirit, and named it Little Dummy.
• The Narrator warned Xu Zhi that Little Dummy still could not leave her side because it could not resist Temptation, and that Lamp Attribute Cores could improve its resistance.
• Xu Zhi used nearly twenty Spirit Vessel rolls to record locations near Nanshan Villa District, but three rolls sent her to different parts of the crowded city center, where Aberrations killed her.
• Xu Zhi sent Xiao Zhen toward a previously visited location, confirmed Little Dummy would stay beside her main body, and prepared to enter a Spirit Vessel.

Xu Zhi entered a Spirit Vessel and traveled to the Nanshan Villa District to meet the person governing the garden estate and negotiate for information about Zhong Lingfan. She met the administrator, who introduced herself as Professor Zhong, and Xu Zhi recognized her as the woman the Special Investigations Office was seeking.

• Xu Zhi invested sixteen cores in a Spirit Vessel and ten more in [Peering Eye], then deployed it near Xiao Zhen's recorded location.
• Xu Zhi traveled through the Nanshan Villa District and was met by Yan Songlin and Yan Rui.
• Xu Zhi told Yan Songlin her name and asked to meet the person maintaining order in the garden estate.
• Yan Songlin drove Xu Zhi through the fog to the garden estate and led her to its reception hall.
• Zhong Lingfan introduced herself to Xu Zhi as the estate's administrator, also offering the name Professor Zhong.

Xu Zhi met Zhong Lingfan and proposed that she move her group to Xu Zhi’s safer residence in exchange for Zhong Lingfan’s management skills. Zhong Lingfan had not agreed yet, but Xu Zhi said she would return the next day to prove her strength.

• Xu Zhi asked Zhong Lingfan to see her unfinished Transcendent research report and discovered Zhong Lingfan had the Lamp attribute and two abilities.
• Zhong Lingfan asked Xu Zhi to explain her purpose, and Xu Zhi said she had come out of curiosity and wanted Zhong Lingfan’s group to relocate to her residence.
• Xu Zhi proposed that they cooperate, with Zhong Lingfan managing the group and Xu Zhi serving as its deterrent.
• Xu Zhi challenged Zhong Lingfan’s subordinates to stop her from entering the room the next day and promised to guarantee the group’s safety during the move.
• Zhong Lingfan questioned whether she could refuse, and Xu Zhi insisted she would come regardless, leaving Zhong Lingfan protesting that nothing had been settled.

Xu Zhi persuaded Zhong Lingfan to consider moving her people to Xu Zhi’s territory in exchange for protection and training grounds, then traded for a [Lamp] Attribute Core. After learning about [Lamp], Xu Zhi received a message that advancing her supernatural attribute would open a new door.

• Zhong Lingfan questioned Xu Zhi’s rushed relocation plan, and Xu Zhi explained that she wanted cores in exchange for protecting Zhong Lingfan’s people and clearing dangerous Mutated Animals from their training grounds.
• Zhong Lingfan agreed to consider Xu Zhi’s terms if Xu Zhi could enter a defended room the next day without injury or causing irreversible harm.
• Xu Zhi traded Zhong Lingfan cores of the other seven attributes for one [Lamp] Attribute Core, then returned from the Spirit Vessel.
• Xu Zhi told Shen Jinwen that Zhong Lingfan would continue managing her people after they arrived, but Shen Jinwen declined to help manage the settlement.
• Xu Zhi examined the [Lamp] Attribute Core and learned its description, then received a message that advancing her supernatural attribute would open a new door.

After a dream warned Xu Zhi that advancing her extraordinary level would involve danger, she took her Familiars to the Nanshan Villa District to confront Zhong Lingfan’s people. She left them forced to notify Zhong Lingfan of her arrival, preparing to challenge her on her own terms.

• Xu Zhi dreamed that she was chased through a white forest by an unseen danger and woke after realizing the dream was a premonition about her impending advancement.
• Xu Zhi decided to go to the Nanshan Villa District once her Familiars returned and borrowed a knife from Shen Jinwen.
• Xu Zhi rode Doggie to the villa district while Xiao Zhen scouted from above and Little One hid in the shadows.
• Xu Zhi ordered Little One and the Gyrfalcon to disarm and throw out the people guarding the villas without killing or crippling them.
• Xu Zhi used [Eye of Secrets] to inspect the guards and ordered them to notify Zhong Lingfan.

Xu Zhi overwhelmed Zhong Lingfan’s group at the garden and secured their agreement to leave with her. As they set off for the Old Residential District, Xu Zhi planned to have Zhong Lingfan coordinate the area while she prepared to trade for cores and pursue her own advancement.

• Xu Zhi waited ten minutes after the superhumans reported her arrival, then rode Doggie toward the garden as her Familiars neutralized successive attacks.
• Little One smashed through the garden gate and withstood gunfire and a supernatural attack while Xiao Zhen subdued the shooters and other attackers.
• Xu Zhi reached Zhong Lingfan and confirmed she could control Mutated Animals, then wondered whether the black mist explained Cloud City’s unusually high number of superhumans.
• Zhong Lingfan agreed to leave with Xu Zhi and asked for two hours to organize the group’s belongings and vehicles.
• Xu Zhi led the convoy toward the Old Residential District with Zhong Lingfan, intending to discuss rent and have her coordinate the district.

Xu Zhi established a hands-off system for the Old Residential District and learned more about old and new superhumans from Zhong Lingfan’s research. She then entered the Spirit Vessel to trade with the Special Investigations Office and asked to see the superhumans at its headquarters.

• Xu Zhi appointed Zhong Lingfan as the residential area's administrator, left Shen Jinwen in charge of the neighborhood office, and ordered them to recruit residents while enforcing strict security.
• Xu Zhi reviewed Zhong Lingfan's research, learning that old superhumans' abilities were fixed at awakening while new superhumans appeared to absorb supernatural energy over time.
• Xu Zhi invested cores in [Forge], [Opening], and [Moth], equipped [Eye of Secrets], and entered the Spirit Vessel for a two-hour trade.
• Xu Zhi asked to trade at the Special Investigations Office headquarters, where Lin Zizhen greeted her and explained that the previous representative was away on a mission.
• Lin Zizhen showed Xu Zhi around the headquarters, and Xu Zhi asked to see its superhumans; he agreed, noting that many were away or recovering from injuries.

Xu Zhi toured the facility with Lin Zizhen, assessed the outsiders’ weak extraordinary abilities, and deduced that they wanted access to Cloud City’s Black Fog. She warned Lin Zizhen not to bargain with her, leaving him to reckon with how different the city had become.

• Lin Zizhen showed Xu Zhi the facility’s buildings and offered her Aberration experimental data in exchange for intelligence.
• Xu Zhi used [Eye of Secrets] on Wan Luo’s injured team and judged their extraordinary powers to be weak.
• When the boy challenged her, Xu Zhi admitted she had used an ability, then asked Lin Zizhen to take her to the supervisory department building.
• Wan Luo confronted Xu Zhi, but Lin Zizhen defended her and persuaded him to step aside.
• Xu Zhi told Lin Zizhen that outsiders wanted to enter Cloud City for its Black Fog and warned him to give her what she wanted instead of trying to bargain.

Xu Zhi visited Brocade City's underground facility to inspect three Aberrations and found them far less threatening than the Aberrations in Cloud City. She then negotiated with Lin Zizhen for Attribute Cores, and he agreed to provide eight hundred of the four attributes she specified.

• Lin Zizhen concealed his irritation and agreed to meet Xu Zhi's needs.
• Xu Zhi toured the facility's underground holding area and saw three restrained Aberrations that gave her no sense of danger.
• Xu Zhi concluded that the Aberrations beyond Cloud City differed from those inside it and ended the tour.
• Lin Zizhen explained that the facility could not quickly supply a thousand Attribute Cores of Xu Zhi's specified attributes, so she lowered her demand to eight hundred.
• An older voice instructed Lin Zizhen to accept, and he agreed to Xu Zhi's revised demand.

Xu Zhi negotiated with Lin Zizhen for cores in exchange for information about Cloud City, including why its residents could not escape and the danger of going out at night. She agreed to provide evidence about the nighttime threat in a future exchange, while planning to use Zhong Lingfan's research report as proof.

• Xu Zhi learned that Zhong Lingfan had voluntarily stayed in Cloud City and negotiated compensation for passing along her completed report.
• Xu Zhi told Lin Zizhen that people who entered the Black Fog at Cloud City's boundary became trapped in a ghostly maze and had to return to the city.
• Xu Zhi revealed that nighttime in Cloud City was extremely dangerous, with a threat beyond Aberrations and Mutated Animals.
• Lin Zizhen asked for evidence because the outside group could not verify Xu Zhi's claim, and Xu Zhi agreed to bring evidence for an additional fee.
• Xu Zhi planned to have Zhong Lingfan write a report about Midnight and to remove any information she did not want disclosed.

Xu Zhi negotiated with Lin Zizhen to trade a rare Black Fruit for Attribute Cores, securing an agreement for seventy cores of her specified attributes. After returning from the Spirit Vessel, she planned to use her growing stockpile to strengthen herself and her Familiars while continuing her training and exploration.

• Xu Zhi described the Black Fruit, and Lin Zizhen asked to trade for one, but she refused to exchange it for ordinary cores.
• Lin Zizhen explained the grades of Attribute Cores and offered sixty for a fruit, or one hundred if Xu Zhi relaxed her attribute requirements.
• Xu Zhi demanded seventy cores of her specified attributes, and Lin Zizhen agreed to pay part in advance.
• Lin Zizhen gave Xu Zhi the Basic Cores owed from the current trade and promised another two hundred after receiving the evidence.
• Xu Zhi returned to her original body and planned to advance her supernatural rank, have her Familiars digest the cores, learn swordsmanship from Shen Jinwen, and continue exploring the deep mountains.

Xu Zhi fed her Familiars Attribute Cores, struggled with the Withered Wood’s insistence on calling her Mommy, and learned that Lamp cores caused it pain by conflicting with its Aberration nature. After Xiao Zhen found a Black Fruit and began leveling up, Xu Zhi prepared to practice knife techniques with Shen Jinwen, while the Withered Wood seemed to find comfort in her presence.

• Xu Zhi asked the Game Console about feeding her Familiars cores and gave cores to Little One and Doggie to help them level up.
• The Withered Wood demanded food and called Xu Zhi Mommy, so she told it to call her Big Sis instead.
• Xu Zhi fed the Withered Wood a [Lamp] Attribute Core, and it writhed in pain from the conflict between its attributes.
• The Narrator explained that Lamp cores could suppress Restlessness but that the Withered Wood would have to endure the pain caused by the attribute conflict.
• Xiao Zhen returned with a Black Fruit, and Xu Zhi gave it high-level [Winter] Attribute Cores to help it level up.
• As Xu Zhi prepared to learn knife techniques from Shen Jinwen, the Withered Wood stopped wriggling, and she sensed that her presence comforted it.

Xu Zhi paid Shen Jinwen for swordsmanship lessons, then watched Doggie become the Wolf King and struggled to help Withered Wood level up. After Little One and Xiao Zhen completed their Evolutions, Xu Zhi prepared to raise her own Transcendent level.

• Xu Zhi gave Shen Jinwen ten [Winter] Basic Cores as payment for the Tang Sword and swordsmanship instruction, then learned basic sword stances from her.
• Doggie completed its Evolution, reached Level 20, and awakened the Pack Leader ability as the Wolf King.
• Xu Zhi fed Withered Wood [Cup] Attribute Cores, but its restlessness kept interrupting its progress toward Level 15.
• Little One reached Evolution Level 3 and Xiao Zhen reached Evolution Level 2, while Withered Wood remained below Level 15.
• Xu Zhi told her Familiars to watch over her and wake her if anything went wrong, then prepared high-level [Moth] Attribute Cores to raise her Transcendent level.

After swallowing three high-grade Attribute Cores, Xu Zhi passed a dangerous trial in the Woodland and awakened the extraordinary ability [Moth]. She discovered that her body and energy had changed, and saw that her eyes had turned pale gray.

• Xu Zhi swallowed three high-grade Attribute Cores and lost consciousness, entering the Woodland in a dream.
• Xu Zhi followed a glowing moth through the Woodland, caught it, and woke as the ground vanished beneath her.
• The Narrator told Xu Zhi she had passed an initial trial and found a dangerous special path.
• Xu Zhi sensed her body had become lighter, her extraordinary energy had nearly tripled, and she had gained the ability [Moth].
• Xu Zhi tested [Moth] and learned it could attract and influence creatures, then noticed her eyes had turned pale gray in the mirror.