Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “A Grand Gathering”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yun and Old Li enter a large user gathering held in an elegant Western-style hall filled with hundreds of guests, food, drinks, and lively conversation.
• Li Yun quickly recognizes that the event is primarily a social occasion rather than a formal meeting. He and Old Li ignore the networking atmosphere and head straight to the buffet.
• The pair enthusiastically piles their trays with expensive dishes, revealing their shared lack of interest in maintaining refined social appearances.
• Li Yun encounters two university students he knows: Fang Yishu and Ning Yu. Ning Yu has recently become a “user,” and Li Yun congratulates her.
• Before Ning Yu can finish asking him something, Boss Yuan interrupts. He warmly approaches Li Yun, offers to treat him to dinner, and assures him that he wants friendship regardless of whether Li Yun has any valuable “slots” to sell.
• Yuan’s eagerness is partly motivated by an inexplicable sense of nostalgia: Li Yun reminds him of his father when he was young.

2. Character Developments

• Li Yun: Remains calm, detached, and observant amid the noisy crowd. He is more interested in food than socializing, but he displays subtle abilities, such as sensing what others are looking at and handling an overloaded tray with perfect steadiness. His polite but distant attitude shows that he avoids unnecessary relationships and attention.
• Old Li/Li Jiye: Appears blunt, carefree, and food-focused. He is unimpressed by the gathering’s elite atmosphere and freely eats from the buffet. He also teases Li Yun about his interactions with the young women.
• Fang Yishu: Comes across as composed, socially perceptive, and playful. She takes care of Ning Yu by wiping food from her mouth and lightly jokes with Li Yun.
• Ning Yu: Has become a user since Li Yun last saw her. Her shy, food-loving “hamster-like” behavior contrasts with her apparent desire to ask Li Yun something important or personal.
• Boss Yuan/Yuan Zhengxin: Shows strong enthusiasm and friendliness toward Li Yun. Although he presents his invitation as casual friendship, his interest is influenced by nostalgia and a personal emotional connection.

3. Significant Themes

• Social performance versus genuine behavior: The guests imitate upper-class elegance, while Li Yun and Old Li openly prioritize eating and comfort over appearances.
• Human connections beyond practical benefit: Yuan insists that friendship should remain even if business fails, suggesting that personal bonds can matter more than transactions.
• Hidden abilities beneath ordinary appearances: Li Yun looks like an underdressed young man in an old trench coat, yet his enhanced perception and physical control reveal that he is far from ordinary.
• Food as a source of connection: Li Yun, Old Li, Fang Yishu, and Ning Yu are brought together through their shared enthusiasm for the buffet, creating a lighthearted contrast to the gathering’s formal atmosphere.
• Nostalgia and inexplicable affinity: Yuan’s attachment to Li Yun is not fully rational; it stems from an emotional resemblance to his father and hints that relationships may be shaped by instinct and memory.

4. Character Interactions

• Li Yun and Old Li establish their shared irreverent attitude by immediately abandoning the social scene for the buffet.
• Li Yun politely interacts with Fang Yishu and Ning Yu, recognizing Ning Yu’s advancement while casually demonstrating his heightened awareness.
• Fang Yishu teases Li Yun about noticing her interest in a cream puff, while Ning Yu seems ready to question or request something from him.
• Old Li humorously comments on Li Yun’s exchange with the women, adding to the informal atmosphere.
• Boss Yuan interrupts the conversation and enthusiastically tries to draw Li Yun into a friendship and future dinner invitation, creating a potentially important social connection.

Chapter Summary: “Guests and ‘Foreign Guests’”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yun reluctantly accepts Boss Yuan’s invitation to share a meal in the future, though he has no intention of developing a deeper relationship with him.
• Boss Yuan takes advantage of the opportunity to introduce Li Yun and his companions to Boss Zeng, handing out business cards and offering his assistance in exchange for future patronage.
• The group begins an informal conversation about users, especially the mysterious and powerful Third Tier users. Li Yun and Old Li reveal information that surprises Bosses Yuan and Zeng.
• Boss Yuan points out a prominent group of foreigners at the gathering, led socially by a young man known as Young Master Xu.
• The group discusses Xu’s powerful family background, his efforts to build influence, and his recruitment of foreign users—especially an older foreign man believed to be a Second Tier user.
• It is revealed that wealthy and politically connected groups are competing internationally to recruit users, offering benefits such as money, residency, and special travel privileges.
• Li Yun studies the foreign bodyguard and concludes that the man is armed, subtly questioning whether his firearm is legally permitted.

Character Developments

• Li Yun remains observant, reserved, and skeptical. He politely navigates Boss Yuan’s enthusiasm while carefully analyzing the people around him.
• Boss Yuan demonstrates social flexibility and shrewdness. Although he has a nouveau riche appearance, he is willing to humble himself, build connections, and exploit opportunities.
• Boss Zeng appears curious and socially attentive, probing for information about the foreign group and Young Master Xu.
• Old Li and Li Jiye participate in discussions about user classifications and the changing balance of power, revealing gaps in ordinary public knowledge.
• Ning Yu remains visibly angry and refuses to leave, while Miss Fang behaves more tactfully and quietly observes the conversation.
• Young Master Xu is presented as an ambitious, well-connected heir gathering influential people and users around himself.
• The foreign Second Tier user is portrayed as vigilant, experienced, and potentially dangerous, particularly because he appears to be carrying a concealed weapon.

Significant Themes

• Power beyond wealth: Traditional social status and money are becoming less important than a person’s abilities as a user.
• The struggle for powerful users: Governments, families, and businesses compete to recruit supernatural individuals, treating them as strategic resources.
• Social appearances and hierarchy: The gathering exposes the contrast between genuine influence and superficial attempts to appear refined or powerful.
• Hidden danger beneath diplomacy: Beneath the polite networking and business conversation are concealed weapons, political ambitions, and competing agendas.
• International tension: The presence of foreign users and the ease with which they are recruited and transported suggest a growing global struggle over supernatural power.

Character Interactions

• Boss Yuan persistently courts Li Yun and his companions, offering favors and business connections.
• Li Yun, Old Li, Boss Yuan, and Boss Zeng engage in an information-sharing conversation, with Li Yun and Old Li possessing knowledge that makes the others take them more seriously.
• Ning Yu’s anger prevents Miss Fang from leaving, forcing both women to remain as largely silent observers.
• Boss Yuan and Boss Zeng discuss Young Master Xu with a mixture of caution, mockery, and recognition of his influence.
• Li Yun silently evaluates Young Master Xu’s circle before focusing on the foreign guard, ending the chapter with a pointed remark about the man’s concealed firearm and legal status.

Chapter Summary: “Speech and... an Accidental Meeting of Eyes”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yun detects that the slightly aged white man accompanying the “Young Master Xu” may be carrying a concealed firearm. His observation makes the surrounding guests more cautious, especially Boss Zeng, who abandons his attempt to befriend Xu’s group.
• The formal portion of the gathering begins. A senior official delivers a carefully timed ten-minute speech about social stability, government policies, and the growing importance of Main God Users.
• The official announces that the government is encouraging users to participate more actively in the newly emerged large-scale Newcomer Trial world. Authorities will provide increased support, remove some previous restrictions, and assist users with practical concerns such as industry and family settlement.
• Guests are invited to download a new government application linked to the Special Investigation Bureau’s database. It offers information about user quotas, trial-related matters, customer service, and feedback channels.
• After the speech, most guests return to eating and socializing. Yuan and Boss Zeng leave to network with more influential people, while Li Yun declines Yuan’s invitation to accompany him.
• Ning Yu finally succeeds in adding Li Yun as a contact, helped by Fang Yishu’s teasing. Old Li enthusiastically enjoys the high-end buffet, while the others eat more calmly.
• The chapter ends with a silent exchange of glances between Li Yun’s group and the white man. Though outwardly polite, the encounter clearly unsettles the foreigner, who discreetly wipes away sweat and admits that the gathering contains “hidden dragons and crouching tigers.”

Character Developments

• Li Yun: Demonstrates exceptional observational ability and a refined danger sense by noticing the foreigner’s concealed weapon. He remains reserved, socially detached, and more interested in analyzing the situation than networking. His calm gaze also appears to intimidate or at least deeply unsettle the white man.
• Old Li: Shows strong social awareness by taking over Boss Zeng’s conversation when Li Yun becomes unresponsive. He also displays a humorous, carefree side through his enthusiastic eating.
• Boss Zeng: Quickly shifts from seeking a connection with Xu’s group to adopting a cautious attitude after recognizing the potential threat posed by the armed foreigners.
• Ning Yu: Remains curious and lively, though she is briefly distracted from her usual wandering attention. She achieves her goal of obtaining Li Yun’s contact information.
• Fang Yishu and Li Jiye: Both notice the danger during the eye contact with the foreign group. Fang maintains a composed smile, while Li Jiye’s expression conceals a more serious appraisal of the situation.
• The middle-aged white man: Initially appears dignified and controlled, but his reaction reveals that he recognizes Li Yun’s group as dangerous or unusually perceptive. His nervousness suggests he may be far more experienced than an ordinary guest.

Significant Themes

• Government adaptation to a new supernatural reality: Authorities are shifting from cautious regulation of Main God Users toward active cooperation and support.
• Hidden power beneath ordinary appearances: The gathering seems like a casual social event, but many attendees possess extraordinary abilities, dangerous equipment, or influential connections.
• Observation and psychological pressure: Small details—such as the outline of a weapon, a glance, or a controlled expression—reveal more than direct conversation.
• Official language and concealed meaning: The speech is polite and moderate on the surface, but experienced listeners understand it as a major policy announcement encouraging deeper involvement in another world.
• Mutual assessment and uncertainty: Neither Li Yun’s group nor the foreign visitors openly confronts the other, yet their brief eye contact establishes a silent tension and possible future conflict.

Character Interactions

• Boss Zeng attempts to engage Li Yun but is smoothly blocked by Old Li when Li Yun gives only minimal responses.
• The official addresses the assembled users, implicitly recruiting them for greater participation in the Newcomer Trial world.
• Yuan invites Li Yun to join him in expanding his network, but Li Yun politely refuses.
• Fang Yishu teases Ning Yu about wanting Li Yun’s contact information, enabling Ning Yu to finally add him.
• Li Yun, Fang Yishu, and Li Jiye exchange a brief but meaningful look with the white man. Their calmness contrasts with his concealed anxiety, establishing that the foreigners may have underestimated the gathering’s participants.

Chapter Summary: “Guests, Land of Death”

Key Plot Points and Events

• At a formal gathering, Li Yun analyzes the behavior of Young Master Xu’s foreign bodyguard. He identifies the man’s military-style calluses, steady posture, careful positioning, controlled lip movements, and awareness of sightlines as evidence that he was formerly a professional bodyguard, spy, or soldier.
• Li Yun casually explains his expertise by claiming he learned it from “mission worlds,” an excuse commonly accepted among users.
• Li Yun, Old Li, Fang Yishu, and Ning Yu discuss avoiding the dangerous bodyguard. Old Li continues eating enthusiastically, but Li Yun stops him before they attract more unwanted “guests.”
• The group leaves shortly before a blonde foreign woman arrives looking for them. Although she maintains a polite smile, her tightened grip on her champagne glass reveals her disappointment. She had been among the foreigners accompanying Young Master Xu and was likely seeking contact with Li Yun’s group.
• The narrative shifts to Basim, an Arab user participating in the Newcomer Trial world known as the Corrupted Heroes’ Graveyard.
• Basim has buried his true body in a graveyard and entered the world, where he discovers that its death-saturated environment strongly complements his Shadow Fiend bloodline. The land’s abundance of corpses and souls offers him a rare opportunity to increase his strength.
• Traveling more than ten kilometers away from the newcomers’ safe zone, Basim encounters increasingly powerful undead creatures, including skeletal soldiers, banshees, flying bird-headed beings, slimes, giant worms, and an incomplete undead knight.
• The undead knight’s overwhelming aura of death nearly terrifies Basim. Realizing he is far too weak to confront it, he retreats to a safer location roughly twelve or thirteen kilometers from the safe zone.
• Despite the danger, Basim gains access to unusually powerful souls, far superior to those he has encountered before.

Character Developments

• Li Yun is shown to possess sharp observational and analytical abilities, especially regarding security and combat professionals. He remains calm and conceals the true extent of his experience behind a casual explanation.
• Old Li/Li Jiye is portrayed as bold, unconcerned with etiquette, and extremely fond of food. His appetite provides comic relief, though Li Yun recognizes that lingering too long could invite trouble.
• Fang Yishu and Ning Yu become more aware that Li Yun’s knowledge and abilities are unusual, even if he dismisses them as minor skills.
• The blonde foreign woman reveals herself as interested in finding Li Yun’s group. Her outward composure contrasts with her frustration at missing them.
• Basim demonstrates confidence and ambition but also caution. His affinity with death makes the trial world highly advantageous, yet his encounter with the undead knight teaches him to recognize the limits of his current power and retreat rather than act recklessly.

Significant Themes

• Danger beneath appearances: Li Yun detects the hidden military background of a seemingly ordinary bodyguard, while Basim discovers that the seemingly open landscape conceals increasingly lethal undead threats.
• Observation and preparation: Careful positioning, awareness of surroundings, and restraint are presented as essential survival skills.
• The value of caution: Basim’s survival depends on recognizing the undead knight’s superiority and withdrawing. The chapter emphasizes that understanding one’s limits is more valuable than reckless courage.
• Death as both threat and power: The graveyard’s death energy is lethal to most beings but strengthens Basim’s Shadow Fiend abilities, making the same environment both dangerous and beneficial.
• Isolation and strength: The narration reflects on loneliness and the idea that solitude can forge strength, which is embodied by Basim’s solitary exploration of the trial world.
• Hidden agendas: The blonde woman’s attempt to locate the group suggests that the social gathering contains concealed rivalries, interests, and possible future conflicts.

Character Interactions

• Li Yun explains his deductions about Xu’s bodyguard while Old Li and the two women listen with growing suspicion and curiosity.
• Li Yun advises the group to avoid the bodyguard, and then physically stops Old Li from continuing to eat and attracting further attention.
• The blonde woman asks the waiter about the group after they leave, creating a brief but significant indirect encounter that hints at future pursuit.
• Basim has no direct interaction with other characters in this section, but his encounters with the undead creatures—especially the death knight—function as confrontations that establish the world’s danger and his current place within it.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Basim reflects on the requirements of his Shadow Fiend bloodline. To advance toward the legendary Lord of the Soul Abyss, he must possess a powerful soul, personally hunt strong spirits, and accumulate countless souls rather than mindlessly consume weak ones.
• Constantly devouring fragments of spirituality has begun to damage his mind, creating chaotic “voices” and pushing him toward madness. However, this mental instability also helps him endure pain and act beyond normal human limits.
• After a lengthy pursuit, Basim defeats a powerful vengeful spirit disguised within a corpse. He identifies it through its unusually strong Fear Aura, destroys its physical vessel, weakens it through baiting and repeated use of Bloodletting, and finally lands a decisive attack.
• Rather than immediately consuming the spirit, Basim stabilizes himself first, recognizing that souls filled with hatred and pain are both strengthening and dangerous.
• He then devours the banshee-like spirit. Its intense resentment and despair nearly overwhelm his consciousness, forcing him to confront traumatic memories from his past as a soldier.
• To resist being consumed by the spirit’s will, Basim unleashes the many soul fragments he has collected, using their combined chaos to suppress and subdue the banshee.
• After successfully taming the spirit, Basim survives the ordeal mentally exhausted but strangely calmer, suggesting that enduring and overcoming the “mental illness” caused by soul consumption has temporarily improved his psychological state.

Character Development

• Basim becomes increasingly experienced and calculating as a soul hunter. He relies on observation, strategy, provocation, attrition, and precise timing rather than brute force.
• His relationship with the Shadow Fiend bloodline deepens: he understands that true power comes not merely from absorbing souls but from defeating and commanding them.
• Basim’s past as a battlefield soldier resurfaces during the soul struggle, revealing how deeply his memories of overwhelming military defeat and helplessness remain embedded in him.
• Despite his growing madness, Basim retains strong self-awareness and discipline. He recognizes the dangers of consuming powerful spirits and deliberately controls his impulses.
• His successful domination of the banshee marks a major step toward becoming a true master of souls, though it also shows how much he is becoming something less than fully human.

Significant Themes

• Power through personal conquest: Genuine strength comes from hunting and subjugating powerful souls, not merely consuming weak ones.
• Madness and identity: The accumulated voices and spiritual impurities threaten Basim’s sense of self, yet his instability also becomes a source of resilience and power.
• Predator and prey: Basim views the encounter as a hunt, but consuming the spirit temporarily reverses the dynamic as its hatred attacks his mind.
• Trauma and survival: Basim’s memories of war and overwhelming defeat mirror his struggle with the banshee, showing how past suffering shapes his ability to endure present danger.
• Humanity versus monstrosity: Each victory strengthens Basim while drawing him closer to the inhuman “demon king” described by the bloodline’s inheritance.

Character Interactions

• Basim and the vengeful spirit: Their relationship is purely adversarial. Basim outsmarts and weakens the spirit, while the banshee retaliates through its final shriek and mental assault.
• Basim and the souls he controls: The collected soul fragments function as both burdens and weapons. Though they contribute to his mental instability, he commands them as a chaotic force to suppress the banshee.
• Basim and the Shadow Fiend inheritance: The inheritance acts as both a source of guidance and a reflection of his own darker nature, establishing the path toward becoming the Lord of the Soul Abyss.

Chapter Summary: “Discoveries and ‘Hidden Danger’”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ce detects that the mysterious foreign user’s aura has risen again, indicating continued growth in strength.
• The observers record each change manually because electronic equipment is unavailable in the mission world.
• Li Ce’s Force Sight allows him to monitor the distant user from more than ten kilometers away, despite the world’s restrictions.
• The foreign user appears to be fighting repeatedly, becoming weaker after each battle but quickly recovering and growing stronger. The observers suspect he possesses a high-level ability that allows him to increase his power through combat.
• Concern spreads among the group. They learn that Third Tier teams equipped with powerful items will enter the area the following day, but their leaders warn them not to provoke the unknown user without first understanding his intentions.
• Attempts to observe or contact the user have failed. Aerial observation items are destroyed by an unidentified bird-like creature, while sending people into the area would likely result in death.
• The observers realize that even Third Tier teams may struggle against the foreign user, especially if his original blind-box item was high-grade.
• The user being monitored is revealed to be a Shadow Fiend Bloodline user. Through constant slaughter and a process of shedding and renewing himself, he reaches and stabilizes at Fourth Tier.
• Li Yun and the Main God observe the situation from behind the scenes. They note that the foreign user has successfully drawn the attention of multiple countries and has become a “depth charge,” forcing everyone to react cautiously.
• Seventeen Fourth Tier items and two Fifth Tier items are being prepared for deployment within two days, potentially upsetting the current balance.
• Most countries are focusing their resources on the Hero Cemetery rather than the more chaotic Tokyo District, despite Tokyo possibly offering greater rewards.
• Li Yun hints that Tokyo contains a hidden “Easter egg” that few, if anyone, will discover.
• The chapter ends by suggesting that the true danger of the so-called cemetery has not yet appeared. The people have only encountered a plain so far, implying that something more significant is hidden beneath or beyond it.

Character Developments

• Li Ce: Demonstrates the exceptional range and concealment of his Force Sight. His growing concern shows that he recognizes the foreign user as an unprecedented threat and is willing to dedicate all his attention to monitoring him.
• The observers and decision-makers: Shift from cautious curiosity to serious alarm. They remain rational rather than rushing into combat, recognizing that an unknown Fourth Tier opponent could make a reckless attack extremely costly.
• The Shadow Fiend Bloodline user: Undergoes a major transformation through repeated battles. His ability to recover, purge weakness, and renew himself allows him to stabilize at Fourth Tier, confirming him as a dangerous and rapidly evolving figure.
• Li Yun: Continues to manipulate events indirectly. He views the foreign user’s emergence as a deliberate strategic distraction and remains amused by the other factions’ uncertainty and conservative choices.
• The Main God: Provides intelligence on the reactions of the various factions, explaining why they hesitate to attack and how the balance between the tiers affects their decisions.

Significant Themes

• The danger of uncontrolled growth: The foreign user’s ability to become stronger through battle turns every encounter into a potential escalation.
• Caution versus opportunity: The factions must choose between acting quickly to secure rewards and avoiding a disastrous confrontation with a superior opponent.
• Information and surveillance: Much of the conflict is based on observation, speculation, and incomplete intelligence rather than direct combat.
• Power-tier inequality: The gap between the first three tiers and the Fourth Tier is portrayed as a qualitative divide, making numerical superiority less reliable.
• Human fear and indecision: Even when valuable opportunities are available, people often choose safety when the risks become unclear.
• Hidden dangers and concealed rewards: The title’s “hidden danger” is foreshadowed through the unexplored nature of the cemetery and Li Yun’s suggestion that the visible environment is only the surface of a much greater threat.

Character Interactions

• Li Ce reports the foreign user’s rising aura to the female recorder, who documents it in the special notebook.
• The observers debate whether to contact, recruit, or attack the foreign user. Wan Guan argues that contact is nearly impossible, while the elderly leader urges patience and restraint.
• The group collectively analyzes the foreign user’s battle patterns and concludes that he may possess a combat-based growth ability.
• Li Yun and the Main God discuss the reactions of the international factions, including their deployment plans and reluctance to initiate a major conflict.
• Li Yun reflects on the factions’ decision to prioritize the Hero Cemetery and hints to the Main God that the Tokyo District contains an overlooked secret.

Summary: “Landing and the Crowd”

Key Plot Points and Events

• A massive pillar of white light descends and creates a temporary protected domain, isolating the newly arrived participants from the surrounding area.
• Experienced users outside the barrier immediately organize a rescue and intelligence-gathering operation. Teams are assigned to locate newcomers, identify “communications officers,” and search the routes between outposts.
• The arrival process is revealed to be a complete reconstruction of living beings from faint traces of consciousness. Most newcomers remain unconscious at first, while stronger users recover more quickly.
• Li Yun deliberately waits before pretending to awaken, using the delay to observe the situation and assess the abilities of those around him.
• Li Jiye awakens alongside him, while Fang Yishu attempts to wake Ning Yu by pinching and kneading her face. Old Li stops her, explaining that ordinary methods cannot quickly rouse someone from the Main God’s arrival blackout.
• Within the protected zone, dozens of users awaken early. Most are at the peak of the First Tier or in the Second Tier, while only a handful have reached the extremely rare Third Tier.
• Li Yun identifies numerous representatives from different countries and organizations, including Chinese military personnel, Western-looking users, a masked middle-aged man, and a strangely familiar religious figure dressed as a Vatican bishop.
• Li Yun recognizes the bishop as a former First-Test User who once deceived newcomers with a fabricated “atonement ticket” scheme. The man appears to have fled abroad and developed a new identity and influence.
• Several powerful newcomers begin cautiously meeting and communicating across national lines. Their equipment suggests that they have been experimenting with how far ordinary clothing and gear can be pushed into the trial worlds.
• Once everyone has arrived, the white barrier disappears. The trial officially begins, even though some participants attempt to pretend they are still unconscious.

Character Developments

• Li Yun demonstrates caution, discipline, and strong observational skills. He deliberately delays waking, evaluates the surrounding users, and quickly estimates their relative strength and affiliations.
• Li Jiye appears physically improved compared with before, suggesting that he has exchanged for or acquired enhancements since the previous gathering.
• Old Li remains somewhat comic and shameless, having recruited two young women to strengthen his group, but he is also capable of managing the situation and understanding the Main God’s mechanisms.
• Fang Yishu displays concern for Ning Yu, though her overly aggressive attempt to wake her creates a humorous moment.
• Ning Yu remains unconscious longer than the strongest users, emphasizing the disparity in ability among the arrivals.
• The former First-Test User turned bishop has undergone a striking transformation. Once a manipulative salesman, he now presents himself as an authoritative religious figure, implying that he successfully escaped, reinvented himself, and possibly gained significant power or status.
• The international newcomers are portrayed as prepared and resourceful, bringing specialized protective clothing and equipment designed to maximize their survival chances.

Significant Themes

• Power hierarchy and inequality: The speed at which users recover exposes the enormous differences between ordinary newcomers, Second-Tier users, and the exceptionally rare Third-Tier users.
• Preparation and adaptation: Participants continually test the limits of what equipment can be brought into trial worlds, showing how survival depends on ingenuity as much as raw strength.
• Globalization of the Main God Game: The arrival of users from multiple countries indicates that the trials have expanded into an international phenomenon, drawing official representatives and powerful factions.
• Appearance versus reality: The bishop’s transformation, the deceptive clothing, and the fake sleeping newcomers all emphasize that outward appearances are unreliable.
• Organization versus chaos: While tens of thousands arrive in confusion, established groups outside the barrier immediately impose structure through rescue teams, communication efforts, and coordinated searches.
• The trial as a social and political arena: The event is not merely a battle for individual survival; it involves national interests, recruitment, information control, and competition among organized forces.

Character Interactions

• Outside the barrier, experienced users issue coordinated orders and prepare to retrieve important newcomers, especially communications personnel.
• Fang Yishu tries to wake Ning Yu, prompting Old Li to intervene and lightly mock her rough treatment.
• Li Yun assists Old Li in standing and observes that Old Li has become stronger.
• International users begin cautious conversations: the bishop approaches the two Chinese-looking military men, while the masked man speaks with the black-and-white pair.
• These interactions suggest temporary cooperation and information exchange, but the characters maintain physical distance, reflecting mutual caution and distrust.
• The chapter concludes with all participants gathered in the trial world and the protective barrier fading, marking the transition from arrival and observation to the actual trial.

Chapter Summary: “Protect Our Healer Unit!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After passing through the light curtain, Li Yun’s group arrives in a bleak, death-tainted region where the environment constantly erodes living beings.
• Numerous factions—including military, government, and national organizations—call out for their own personnel, creating a chaotic reception area.
• The exhausted reception workers explain that users staying in the region suffer continuous minor damage from the negative energy. Food and water are scarce, and prolonged exposure causes weakness or mental harm.
• Li Yun leads the group to an official temporary camp to learn about the local situation rather than trying to operate independently.
• Fang Yishu worries that entering the camp may involve them in factional conflicts, but Li Yun argues that such conflicts are unavoidable because everyone is competing for limited benefits.
• At the camp, newcomers receive information about:
  • Local monsters and their abilities
  • Safer routes and user-controlled outposts
  • Foreign-user threats
  • Radiation zones that reduce interference
  • Suggested missions and survival strategies
• Tourists are given only crude bone weapons, since the Main God restricts how much assistance experienced users can provide.
• The camp’s staff have clearly spent several days developing survival guidelines and organizing support systems.
• Ning Yu attracts immediate attention because her Druid/healer abilities are extremely valuable in an environment where everyone is steadily losing health.
• The camp tries to recruit Ning Yu to remain behind as a healer, but ultimately assigns the group a recently arrived official with beginner physical enhancement to act as their guide and temporary support.
• The chapter ends by emphasizing how vital healer units are in the death-infested region.

Character Developments

• Li Yun demonstrates practical leadership and strategic awareness. He understands that avoiding factions will not eliminate competition, so he chooses to exploit the camp’s resources while remaining cautious.
• Ning Yu shifts from being viewed as Miss Fang’s ordinary companion to becoming one of the group’s most strategically important members. Her healing ability makes her highly desirable to the camp.
• Fang Yishu shows increased caution and political awareness. She notices the tension between factions and questions whether joining the camp is safe.
• Old Li continues to use his status and shameless persistence to secure advantages for the group, helping them receive special consideration.
• The camp staff are portrayed as exhausted but dedicated, continuing to organize newcomers despite constant exposure to the harmful environment.
• Li Yun’s team is recognized as fragile because it lacks a strong frontliner, leading the camp to assign them a guide and protector.

Significant Themes

• Factional conflict and unavoidable competition: Nationality and organizational loyalty matter, but the deeper conflict comes from users competing for the same limited resources and rewards.
• Practical cooperation: Even rival groups must cooperate to survive, sharing information, routes, and limited supplies.
• The value of specialized roles: Healers become exceptionally important in an environment of constant attrition, demonstrating that support abilities can be more valuable than direct combat power.
• Institutional effort under crisis: The camp’s guidelines, supply distribution, and reception system show how organized groups adapt to an abnormal disaster.
• Limits imposed by higher powers: The Main God permits only limited assistance, forcing newcomers to rely on primitive tools and their own resourcefulness.
• Survival under continuous pressure: The region’s danger is not limited to monsters; exposure itself causes gradual physical and mental decline.

Character Interactions

• Li Yun reassures Ning Yu and directs the group toward the reception camp.
• Fang Yishu challenges Li Yun’s decision, prompting him to explain why entering the factional system is strategically useful.
• Old Li enjoys the hostile exchange between foreign groups, while Li Yun remains focused on practical concerns.
• Camp workers attempt to persuade Ning Yu to stay behind and serve as a healer, revealing how desperate they are for medical support.
• A camp leader negotiates a compromise by assigning the group an official guide, both helping them survive and maintaining a connection with their team.
• The group’s arrival eases the pressure on the camp, particularly because official personnel and a healer have joined the new wave of entrants.

Chapter Summary: “It Smells...”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The group travels through a dangerous, death-ridden area filled with corpses, skeletons, unstable ground, and foul odors.
• Master Yan Zhengguan guides Li Yun, Old Li, several other users, and a group of newcomers, warning them about soft soil, hidden dangers, temperature changes, and unusual smells.
• Their noise attracts a Rotten Corpse, an undead creature with bloated, decayed flesh and a powerful stench.
• Master Yan engages it in close combat, using a bone club and his enhanced martial abilities. However, ordinary blunt attacks prove largely ineffective against the corpse’s unusually durable body.
• Forced to endure the overwhelming smell and prolonged fight, Master Yan eventually asks the others for help.
• Li Yun uses a “Locust Stone,” propelled with electrically enhanced strength, to pierce the Rotten Corpse’s skull and kill it instantly.
• After more than an hour of cautious travel, the group reaches a recently established First Tier outpost roughly two kilometers away.
• As the group separates, Li Yun advises Master Yan to stop overextending himself as a caretaker for inexperienced newcomers and focus on improving his own strength.

Character Developments

• Master Yan Zhengguan is established as an experienced but overly talkative and conscientious guide. Though he is capable and skilled in close combat, his pride and sense of responsibility lead him to personally protect the newcomers. His request for assistance shows that even his enhanced abilities have limits.
• Li Yun demonstrates calmness, tactical judgment, and considerable combat power. He suppresses his sense of smell to remain unaffected by the Rotten Corpse and waits for an ideal opening before delivering the decisive attack. His advice to Master Yan suggests a practical understanding of survival and personal growth.
• Old Li and the newcomers are shown to be inexperienced and easily overwhelmed, particularly by the Rotten Corpse’s appearance and smell. Their panic creates additional danger by attracting the creature.
• The chapter reinforces the contrast between seasoned users, who understand the environment’s hazards, and newcomers, who are not yet prepared for the trial.

Significant Themes

• Survival through caution and experience: The environment itself is dangerous, and awareness of terrain, odors, temperature, and sound is essential.
• The burden of responsibility: Master Yan’s willingness to guide and protect others is admirable but also prevents him from concentrating fully on his own advancement.
• Adaptation versus instinct: Li Yun’s ability to shut off his sense of smell contrasts with the newcomers’ instinctive disgust and panic.
• Teamwork and reliance: Even a skilled fighter may need assistance, while coordinated support can quickly overcome a threat.
• The grotesque reality of the world: The pervasive decay and undead creatures emphasize how thoroughly death has overtaken the setting.

Character Interactions

• Master Yan repeatedly instructs the newcomers, but also angrily reprimands them for screaming and attracting the Rotten Corpse.
• He fights alone at first, using his monk-style techniques, while the others watch uneasily.
• When his close-range attacks fail to finish the creature, he reluctantly asks the group for help.
• Li Yun responds by killing the Rotten Corpse with a precisely aimed Locust Stone, then lightly argues with Master Yan about relying too much on others’ protection.
• Before parting, Li Yun encourages Master Yan to stop behaving like a “nanny” and pursue opportunities to strengthen himself, highlighting both their growing familiarity and differing approaches to survival.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Yun reflects on why the Main God established the two trial planes: to distribute trial opportunities, relieve conflicts among users, provide resources for struggling participants, intensify competition, and observe how users respond to worlds themed around human disaster and cemeteries.
• Although the missions are supposedly designed to help newcomers, powerful veteran users benefit most by rapidly farming monsters and securing resources. Many experienced users therefore form solo teams rather than sacrifice their own gains to help weaker participants.
• Li Yun advises Old Yan to be more selfish, recognizing that Yan’s assigned role of guiding newcomers offers less profit than direct monster hunting.
• After Old Yan leaves, Li Yun’s group discovers that it lacks a frontline fighter. When recruitment fails, Li Jiye—originally a psychic-enhancement user—is forced into the role of tank and captain.
• Li Jiye struggles while fighting skeletons with a wooden shield and oversized bone club. Li Yun encourages him with exaggerated claims that serving as the frontline may lead to a breakthrough, while essentially sending him into danger so the others can support him with buffs and healing.
• The team advances toward the hills, where stronger undead and valuable “elite monsters” begin appearing several kilometers from the starting point. They practice against weaker skeletons, then move toward areas with better rewards.
• Li Yun refuses to take the team too far into dangerous territory. Because Fang’s psychic scanning range is limited and Third Tier undead may appear beyond the next difficulty boundary, he chooses to remain five or six kilometers from the starting zone, where Second Tier enemies provide acceptable rewards with manageable risk.
• Meanwhile, Li Yun observes a major battle occurring nearby: a shadow-like figure, already stabilized at the Fourth Tier, attacks and massacres a European-American user gathering point. The vast power gap between this attacker and the mostly First- and Second-Tier users makes the slaughter overwhelmingly one-sided.

Character Developments

• Li Yun is shown as calculating, pragmatic, and somewhat manipulative. He understands the larger strategic purpose of the trial planes but prioritizes efficient gains and minimizing risk for his temporary team. He is willing to exploit Li Jiye as a frontline shield while maintaining a humorous, detached attitude.
• Li Jiye is unwillingly transformed from a psychic-enhancement user into the team’s tank. Though inexperienced and resentful, he proves capable of fighting skeletons and gradually accepts his assigned role.
• Old Yan is characterized as talkative but mild and easily pushed around, explaining why he was assigned to assist newcomers. His departure exposes the group’s lack of a proper frontline.
• Fang contributes valuable psychic reconnaissance, though her limited scanning range restricts how far the team can safely advance.
• The mysterious Fourth-Tier shadow figure is established as an overwhelming new threat, demonstrating how dangerous high-level users can be to the weaker population.

Significant Themes

• Self-interest versus cooperation: Although helping newcomers benefits the broader community, individuals risk losing valuable time and resources by doing so. The chapter presents selfishness as a rational survival strategy.
• Unequal advancement: Stronger users possess a decisive advantage, allowing them to obtain more resources and widen the gap between themselves and weaker participants.
• Exploitation and sacrifice: Li Jiye’s forced promotion to frontline tank reflects how teams rely on certain members to absorb danger for everyone else. The title’s “captain as meat shield” tradition is treated humorously but also reveals the unfairness of the role.
• Risk management: Li Yun emphasizes controlled gains over reckless exploration, showing that survival and resource efficiency matter more than chasing maximum rewards.
• Power hierarchy: The shadow attacker’s massacre illustrates the enormous difference between tiers and foreshadows escalating conflict among users.

Character Interactions

• Li Yun trains and criticizes Li Jiye during combat, instructing him on shield use while mocking his unexpected frontline assignment.
• Li Jiye protests that his abilities do not suit tanking, but Li Yun persuades him—partly through humor and partly by reminding him that teammates can provide buffs and healing.
• Li Yun reflects on Old Yan’s weaknesses and advises him indirectly to prioritize his own interests.
• The team debates whether to push deeper into the cemetery. Li Jiye favors greater risks and rewards, while Li Yun insists on staying within a safer difficulty range.
• Li Yun’s detached observation of the shadow figure’s attack contrasts with the immediate danger faced by the European-American users, emphasizing his habit of treating conflicts as strategic information rather than personal emergencies.

Summary: “Slaughter and Provocation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Klud Laval detects a terrifying black figure approaching his forward camp and realizes that his surveillance has been discovered. Although he has advanced to the Second Tier and prepares a defensive spell, he has no time to escape.
• Basim arrives at the camp, surrounded by living shadows and black flames, and destroys the settlement with overwhelming ease. The camp’s equipment, defenses, and more than a hundred users are devastated within minutes.
• Basim discovers that, unlike the monsters he normally hunts, these “users” possess souls he cannot seize or even properly perceive. Attempting to probe the strange barrier around their souls triggers an instinctive sense of immense danger, so he abandons the effort.
• He executes wounded survivors and taunts the hidden members of the camp, demanding that whoever had been spying on him take responsibility.
• A young user attacks Basim with a firearm, but Basim manipulates the attacker’s shadow, redirecting the bullets into his companions. The one bullet that reaches Basim is swallowed harmlessly by his darkness.
• The young man charges Basim while invoking religious language and reveals a marked artifact, the Third-Tier Saraph Exorcism Crest. Basim seizes it despite its burning his hand, kills the youth, and takes his pistol as well.
• Basim searches the bodies for valuables, taking useful items such as water. He then turns his attention to a wounded middle-aged man and asks who controls the camp.

Character Developments

• Klud Laval is shown as capable and relatively composed despite facing certain death. His Second-Tier advancement and preparations demonstrate his ambition and resources, but the massacre emphasizes the limits of his power against Basim.
• Basim acts as a ruthless and confident predator, using fear, mockery, and overwhelming supernatural force to dominate the camp. Although he is unable to harvest souls, he adapts by looting the survivors and exploiting their mistakes.
• Basim also displays caution beneath his brutality. His instincts warn him away from investigating the users’ souls, and he recognizes the danger and value of the Saraph Exorcism Crest.
• The young attacker’s courage is undermined by inexperience and reliance on heroic conventions. His impulsive attack gives Basim an opportunity to acquire the crest and weapon.
• The wounded middle-aged survivor becomes a potential source of information, while Klud’s fate remains unresolved in the excerpt.

Significant Themes

• Overwhelming power and helplessness: The camp’s numbers, weapons, and defenses are meaningless against Basim’s superior abilities.
• Consequences of provocation: The survivors’ attempt to spy on or challenge Basim leads to catastrophic retaliation.
• Experience versus romantic heroism: The young man believes enemies will follow the rules of heroic stories, while Basim emphasizes that apparent openings may be traps.
• Pragmatism amid slaughter: Basim does not kill solely for pleasure; he also searches for useful resources, weapons, information, and valuable artifacts.
• The unknown nature of users: Their souls are shielded by a mysterious “mist,” suggesting that users are governed by powers or protections different from ordinary beings.
• Prejudice and personal hostility: Basim’s violence is intensified by his stated dislike of white people, hinting at past experiences that shape his behavior.

Character Interactions

• Klud and Basim: Klud recognizes Basim’s approach and prepares to resist, but they do not directly converse in the passage. Their confrontation is defined by Basim’s overwhelming advantage.
• Basim and the hidden survivors: Basim taunts them, demanding that the spy responsible for provoking him reveal himself.
• Basim and the young attacker: Their encounter becomes a demonstration of Basim’s superiority. He redirects the attacker’s bullets, captures him, takes his crest, and kills him while mocking his naïve beliefs.
• Basim and the wounded middle-aged man: After looting the camp, Basim questions the injured survivor about who owns or commands it, shifting from destruction to interrogation.

Summary: “Occupational Habits and Digging”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Basim interrogates an enemy operative who has been spying on him. Using intimidation and torture, he forces the man to reveal information about the camp before killing him by cleanly removing his head.
• The captive claims that one of the camp’s administrators foresaw the danger and warned others, yet chose not to flee. This suggests that the person Basim seeks may still be nearby.
• Basim had already devastated the camp: his shadow blades killed more than a dozen users, while a destructive shadow attack destroyed the camp’s makeshift watchtower and its guards. The remaining inhabitants fled rather than resist.
• Using his Shadow Fiend abilities, Basim locates the supposed spy hiding underground. He drags the young man out of a shallow pit concealed by shadow stealth.
• Basim immediately recognizes that the underground space is not a proper basement or defensive trench. From its unstable construction, he deduces that the young man and his group were deliberately digging into the earth to investigate the corpses that periodically awaken beneath it.
• The young man, identifying himself as a member of France’s Laval Family, explains that the group discovered increasingly powerful corpses the deeper they excavated. Shallow corpses could be destroyed easily, but those found several meters below required special methods, and the deepest ones were extremely difficult to damage.
• The passage ends as the group’s reasoning is revealed: since the corpses repeatedly “revived” from the soil, they experimented by digging down to discover what lay beneath.

Character Developments

• Basim is portrayed as ruthless, experienced, and highly observant. Though he jokingly frames his violence as an “occupational habit,” his battlefield background has taught him to value efficient killing, psychological warfare, and vigilance.
• His military experience allows him to identify the underground excavation’s flaws immediately and understand the strategic implications of the camp’s behavior.
• Despite having overwhelming power and no obvious nearby threat, Basim refuses to lower his guard, especially because unpredictable items and abilities may emerge from the world’s blind boxes.
• The Laval Family’s young representative initially tries to preserve an elegant, dignified image, but his dirt-covered appearance and panic reveal his inexperience. Once captured, he quickly regains composure and speaks respectfully and diplomatically to Basim.
• The interrogated operative is shown to lack counter-interrogation training, breaking down quickly under Basim’s methods.

Significant Themes

• Experience versus inexperience: Basim’s battlefield instincts contrast sharply with the young investigator’s amateur methods and fragile composure.
• Psychological warfare and survival: Basim understands that crippling morale can be more effective than simply killing enemies, and the camp’s rapid collapse demonstrates the power of fear.
• Curiosity and human initiative: The camp’s members do not merely accept the recurring corpse phenomenon; they actively investigate it, treating the apparent “respawning” of corpses as a mystery to be solved.
• The danger of treating reality like a game: The characters behave as real people rather than programmed game figures, adapting creatively to the corpse-revival mechanic and taking risks to uncover its rules.
• Hidden danger and uncertainty: Even after destroying the camp, Basim remains wary because the true threat may be concealed, and the world contains unpredictable supernatural forces and items.

Character Interactions

• Basim interrogates and intimidates the first captive, extracting information before granting him the “release” of death.
• He then confronts the hidden Laval Family member, physically pulling him from the earth with shadow claws.
• Their exchange is unequal but comparatively controlled: Basim questions the young man as a suspicious captor, while the young man responds with formal respect and attempts to maintain dignity.
• Basim’s deductions force the young man to explain the camp’s excavation experiments and the increasingly powerful corpses found underground.

Chapter Summary: “Can We Make Peace?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Basim investigates a concealed pit beneath the camp and confirms that it is eight or nine meters deep, likely dug through exhausting forced labor.
• Using his shadow abilities, he excavates several reburied corpses from beneath the black soil. The bodies prove to be at least equivalent to Third Tier monsters.
• Basim burns the corpses with black flames, destroying them easily despite their resistance to ordinary users. This demonstration convinces Klud Laval that Basim is overwhelmingly powerful and cannot safely be confronted.
• Basim concludes that the Black Plains may not be a simple virtual game environment. The enormous number of buried corpses suggests that it could be an ancient battlefield or graveyard.
• He gives Klud five minutes to prove his value and offer sufficient “blood money” for spying on and offending him.
• Klud repeatedly attempts to negotiate, first through apologies and recruitment offers, then through promises of money, status, women, corporate connections, and protection from the Laval Family.
• Basim rejects each offer, interrupts Klud’s speeches, and counts down the time to emphasize his dominance.
• Klud eventually offers access to an anonymous account containing at least five hundred million dollars and identifies the powerful organizations controlling the camp.
• Despite Klud’s increasingly desperate efforts, Basim refuses to negotiate for anything less than immediate, tangible compensation. When the time expires, he launches the black flame at Klud.

Character Developments

• Basim is established as calm, ruthless, observant, and vastly more powerful than the people in the camp. He uses intimidation strategically, controlling the conversation through interruptions and the countdown. His battlefield-like pragmatism allows him to dismiss philosophical questions about reality and focus only on survival and action.
• Klud Laval shifts from confident manipulation to fear and desperation. Initially relying on refined manners, social status, and practiced rhetoric, he becomes increasingly powerless as Basim refuses to follow conventional negotiation rules. His inability to harm or even kill himself reveals the extent of Basim’s psychological pressure and control.
• Basim’s view of Klud changes from treating him as a potentially useful captive to judging him as someone who has failed to offer sufficient value. Nevertheless, Basim acknowledges Klud’s courage when the young man continues negotiating until the final moment.

Significant Themes

• Power and intimidation: True power is shown through action rather than status, numbers, or wealth. Basim’s destruction of the corpses immediately alters the camp’s assessment of him.
• The limits of social privilege: Klud’s noble background, money, corporate influence, and polished etiquette are useless against someone who refuses to recognize those systems of value.
• Survival over philosophy: Basim dismisses abstract questions about whether the world is real or what existence means, arguing that battlefield survival depends on practical decisions rather than speculation.
• Reality and illusion: The buried corpses challenge the assumption that the Black Plains are merely a programmed or virtual environment, hinting at a deeper history and possibly a genuine ancient battlefield.
• Fear and psychological control: Basim’s black flame and oppressive presence affect Klud’s mind so severely that even suicide becomes impossible, demonstrating that mental domination can be as decisive as physical strength.
• Time as a weapon: The five-minute countdown prevents Klud from controlling the conversation and reinforces Basim’s absolute authority.

Character Interactions

• Basim confronts Klud while keeping his back turned, signaling complete confidence and lack of fear.
• Klud tries to use politeness, apologies, recruitment, money, and family influence to establish common ground, but Basim repeatedly interrupts him and reframes the exchange as payment for survival.
• Basim deliberately calls Klud “young man” and “child,” undermining his aristocratic confidence and emphasizing the unequal power dynamic.
• Klud’s increasing panic contrasts with Basim’s controlled impatience. Their negotiation becomes less a discussion than a demonstration of Basim’s dominance.
• The chapter ends with Basim honoring his threat: after Klud fails to satisfy his demands before the deadline, Basim attacks him with the black flame.

Plot and key events

• Li Jiye fights a growing group of undead: first a fast skeleton with a bone blade, then a Walking Corpse and a beastlike undead.
• Li Yun refuses to join the fight, arguing that the others would only hinder Li Jiye. He teases his teammate instead, while Fang Yishu worries that leaving him alone is reckless.
• Under pressure, Li Jiye unexpectedly decapitates the skeleton and discovers that his body can react with extraordinary speed and precision without conscious thought.
• He narrowly avoids the beast creature’s pounce with an instinctive iron-bridge dodge, then evades the slower Walking Corpse. Li Yun tosses him a bone club to use as a weapon.
• Li Jiye’s instincts warn him that the stronger beastlike undead may be beyond his ability to defeat directly—and that escape would normally be the safer choice. But he remains engaged.
• Li Yun and Fang Yishu sense a probing mental scan nearby. Li Yun warns that visitors may soon arrive, adding urgency to the fight.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Jiye moves from panic and frustration to discovering a powerful survival instinct that lets him fight and dodge with surprising skill. He remains vulnerable, however, and recognizes the limits of instinct against stronger opponents.
• Li Yun continues his dry, provocative humor while withholding direct help, but he does support Li Jiye by supplying a weapon. His tone turns serious once he detects the mental scan.
• Fang Yishu shows concern for Li Jiye and questions Li Yun’s hands-off approach. She also recognizes the scan, suggesting experience and awareness of the competition’s dangers.
• Ning Yu briefly asks about Li Yun’s joke, highlighting the mismatch between Li Yun’s deadpan teasing and the immediate danger.

Significant themes

• Instinct and survival: Li Jiye’s body responds faster than conscious thought, turning danger into unexpectedly effective action.
• Limits of skill and strength: Combat instinct can help, but it cannot necessarily overcome a major gap in ability; retreat may be wiser than fighting.
• Trust amid danger: Li Jiye relies on teammates who tease, observe, and provide selective help rather than simply rushing to his aid.
• Escalating threats: The undead battle is interrupted by signs of another presence, suggesting the group faces dangers beyond the creatures in front of them.

Chapter Summary: “Territory”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Jiye is still battling a powerful Second Tier wolf-leopard undead beast, suffering multiple wounds while barely avoiding its attacks.
• Li Yun warns that more enemies are approaching—over a dozen organized survivors from another group.
• Fang Yishu suggests retreating because the approaching team is too large, but Li Yun refuses to abandon Li Jiye, who would likely die if forced to expose his back to the undead beast.
• Li Yun instructs the women to stay behind him or retreat, but Fang Yishu chooses to remain beside him with Ning Yu, demonstrating loyalty and courage.
• Li Jiye continues evading the undead beast. Although he appears exhausted and injured, his movements gradually become faster and more efficient, suggesting hidden strength or growth under pressure.
• The approaching group forms a disciplined semicircle and carries compact crossbows, showing superior organization and preparation compared with Li Yun’s group.
• The commotion attracts the undead. The First Tier humanoid zombie charges the newcomers, while the more intelligent beast undead withdraws and watches from a distance.
• Three members of the opposing team work together to kill the zombie quickly using tactical knives.
• The newcomers’ leader, a tall white man carrying a kukri, confronts Li Yun’s group and claims that the area belongs to his “Gray Wolf team.” He accuses them of trespassing on marked territory.

Character Developments

• Li Yun remains calm, observant, and strategically minded despite being outnumbered. He prioritizes keeping Li Jiye alive and appears willing to fight rather than abandon his group.
• Li Jiye displays remarkable endurance and adaptability. Though badly injured and seemingly near exhaustion, he gradually becomes faster, hinting at concealed abilities, combat growth, or a power activated by danger.
• Fang Yishu proves herself to be a reliable teammate. Instead of retreating to safety, she stays beside Li Yun and Ning Yu, earning his respect.
• Ning Yu is anxious but loyal, instinctively moving closer to her companions and preparing to face the danger with them.
• The beast undead shows more intelligence than the zombie. It recognizes the threat posed by the incoming group and withdraws rather than recklessly attacking.
• The Gray Wolf team is introduced as disciplined, experienced, and well-equipped, clearly more organized than Li Yun’s small group.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty versus survival: Fang Yishu’s decision to remain with the group contrasts with the temptation to flee when facing overwhelming odds.
• Leadership and responsibility: Li Yun refuses to abandon Li Jiye, even though doing so might make escape easier.
• Hidden strength and adaptation: Li Jiye’s improving performance suggests that desperate situations can reveal or develop unexpected abilities.
• Territory and power struggles: The arrival of the Gray Wolf team introduces conflict over ownership, authority, and resources in the dangerous survival environment.
• Organization versus improvisation: The newcomers’ coordinated tactics and mechanical weapons contrast with Li Yun’s group, which relies more on individual abilities and quick judgment.

Character Interactions

• Li Yun rejects Fang Yishu’s suggestion of a full retreat but allows for limited repositioning, emphasizing that Li Jiye cannot safely be abandoned.
• Fang Yishu physically keeps Ning Yu from retreating and chooses to stand with Li Yun, strengthening the group’s unity.
• Li Yun silently reassesses Fang Yishu, recognizing her as a competent and dependable teammate.
• Li Jiye remains locked in combat with the beast undead while the others monitor and evaluate his condition.
• The Gray Wolf leader addresses Li Yun’s group in a superficially friendly but threatening manner, formally establishing a confrontation over the claimed territory.

Plot points and events

• The Grey Wolf Squad confronts Li Yun and his companions, claiming the graveyard as their territory and demanding they leave. The team’s weapons and threatening behavior make clear that they are prepared to attack.
• While Ning Yu treats the badly injured Old Li, Li Yun calmly questions the squad’s supposed territorial rule. Old Li would prefer to retreat, but leaves the decision to Li Yun.
• Li Yun explains that people sometimes have to fight for what they want—and that numbers matter—then chooses to stand his ground, angered by the squad’s threatening tone and leering.
• A squad member attacks. Li Yun catches the captain’s blade with two fingers and stops a crossbow bolt with an invisible force. He then reveals the Tail Feather, a powerful, living-looking weapon that lengthens and deflects a volley of bolts.
• Li Yun urges Old Li to rejoin the fight and returns the captain’s kukri to him. The Grey Wolf captain tries to call off the confrontation, but Li Yun refuses to accept his claim that it was a misunderstanding. The Tail Feather strikes the captain and the first crossbowman, knocking both away.

Character developments

• Li Yun shifts from composed negotiation to decisive violence. He shows confidence in his abilities, protects his group, and refuses to let the aggressors dictate the terms of the encounter.
• Old Li (Li Jiye) is badly wounded and initially favors retreat. After Li Yun prompts him—and gives him back his weapon—he is expected to resume fighting.
• Fang Yishu prepares to protect the group with her psychic power, while Ning Yu focuses on treating Old Li.

Character interactions

• Fang Yishu warns Li Yun and positions herself to shield Ning Yu; Ning Yu tends to Old Li.
• Old Li advises retreat but trusts Li Yun to decide. Li Yun acknowledges Old Li’s role as captain and then pushes him back into the fight.
• The Grey Wolf Squad attempts to intimidate the group, but Li Yun’s calm defiance turns the standoff into a battle. Their predatory attention toward the group, especially the women, helps explain why Li Yun and Old Li refuse to yield.

Significant themes

• Power, numbers, and resolve: Numbers can create an advantage, but Li Yun argues that people must still be willing to fight for what they want.
• Intimidation and moral choice: The squad uses threats and superior numbers to claim authority; Li Yun rejects their right to impose it.
• Trust and teamwork: Li Yun relies on his companions’ abilities and calls on Old Li to fight, while the others support the group in their own ways.
• The phoenix’s endurance: The Tail Feather’s description emphasizes self-repair and rebirth, echoing the chapter’s focus on surviving danger and returning to the fight.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The enhanced mercenary group attacks Li Yun, Old Li, and the two women, expecting to overwhelm them with crossbows and concealed weapons.
• Li Yun immediately demonstrates overwhelming power. His feather-like metal chain kills one shield-bearing attacker by curving around the shield and slicing his throat.
• The enemy’s white captain recognizes Li Yun as a terrifying Third Tier combatant and warns his companions to abandon the fight and flee.
• The mercenaries scatter, using darts, knives, and other hidden weapons to cover their retreat. Old Li narrowly avoids a corrosive attack but is stabbed deeply in the buttocks.
• Li Yun casually pursues the fleeing attackers by throwing stones with lethal accuracy, killing six or seven of them with headshots. The remaining survivors escape.
• Li Yun explains that his current body is not naturally as strong as it appears and that techniques such as enhancing Old Li or controlling the feather chain consume his life force. The others remain skeptical because he shows no visible strain.
• Ning Yu uses her druidic healing ability to stop Old Li’s bleeding, nearly exhausting her mana. Li Yun removes the knife and confirms that the wound is painful but not life-threatening.
• The group loots the fallen mercenaries, taking crossbows and other weapons for the two women’s self-defense, then returns toward camp with Old Li injured and leaning on the others.

Character Developments

• Li Yun: Reveals himself as an extremely dangerous and versatile fighter, capable of close-range combat, weapon control, physical enhancement, and accurate long-range attacks with ordinary stones. He remains calm, analytical, and casually humorous even after massacring most of the enemy group. His claim that his abilities have serious costs hints at hidden limitations or risks.
• Old Li / Captain Li: Shows courage and combat experience but is caught off guard by the enemies’ dirty tactics. His injury humiliates him and exposes the danger of fighting intelligent, tool-using humans rather than mindless undead. Despite the pain, he remains practical and insists that the group recover loot.
• Ning Yu: Uses her limited healing power to save Old Li, demonstrating responsibility and willingness to support the team, though the effort nearly drains her.
• The two young women: Are shocked by Li Yun’s killing ability and forced to overcome their revulsion while looting corpses. Their need for crossbows suggests they are still developing as combatants.
• The enemy captain and mercenaries: Initially act as organized professionals, but quickly recognize that Li Yun is far beyond their level. Their retreat shows pragmatism, while their use of ambushes, poison-like attacks, and hidden weapons emphasizes their ruthlessness.

Significant Themes

• Human enemies are more dangerous than monsters: Unlike undead beasts, humans think tactically, use tools, ambushes, and concealed weapons. Old Li’s injury proves that intelligence can make weaker opponents highly threatening.
• The gap between appearances and true power: Li Yun looks unremarkable and claims to be physically limited, yet effortlessly performs extraordinary feats. His power may come at a hidden personal cost.
• Pragmatism and survival: Both sides abandon idealism when the battle turns unfavorable. The mercenaries flee rather than die for profit, while Li Yun’s group loots the dead to compensate for the danger they faced.
• Humor amid violence: The chapter balances brutal combat with comic details, especially Old Li’s embarrassing wound and the others’ disbelief at Li Yun’s effortless stone throwing.
• The cost of strength: Li Yun’s “life-burning” techniques and Ning Yu’s depleted mana reinforce that extraordinary abilities require sacrificing stamina, vitality, or future security.

Character Interactions

• The enemy captain tries to warn his allies that Li Yun is a Third Tier opponent, but his injuries prevent him from finishing the warning clearly.
• Li Yun teases Old Li for failing to anticipate human ambush tactics and reminds him that melee fighters are especially vulnerable to surprise attacks.
• Old Li, despite his injury, relies on Li Yun for support and urges the women to loot the corpses.
• Ning Yu heals Old Li, while Li Yun removes the knife and evaluates whether it was poisoned.
• The group notices the enemy captain’s warning but deliberately avoids questioning Li Yun about it. Fang Yishu subtly prevents Ning Yu from pressing the matter, respecting Li Yun’s silence.
• The chapter closes humorously with the idea that, despite the deadly battle, “a world where only Captain Li got hurt” has effectively been achieved.

Chapter Summary: “High-End Combat Power”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ce continues monitoring a mysterious, exceptionally powerful User suspected of exceeding the Third Tier. His covert Force Sight allows him to observe the target without revealing himself, but the constant surveillance has left him severely exhausted.
• A colleague gives Li Ce a First Tier Basic Vitality Potion purchased from a newcomer’s stall. The potion restores some of his physical energy and eases his mental strain, allowing him to continue working.
• Li Ce resumes dictating detailed reports on the target’s activities:
  • The target remains in the same general area.
  • The number of survivors nearby continues to fall.
  • He is using black flames to torture and interrogate captives about the location of another person.
  • His victims appear unable to commit suicide or even lose consciousness.
  • His aura has weakened, suggesting that his power may not be restored through killing, contrary to earlier theories.
• The target’s unusual abilities—including shadow-based short-distance movement, exceptional endurance, and the capacity to attack groups of Users alone—have attracted intense attention from multiple nations and organizations.
• Because the target could destabilize the already tense situation, official User groups have changed strategy. Rather than initiating large-scale conflict, they are dispersing, consolidating controlled territory, and watching the powerful individual carefully.
• Li Ce’s role as an undetected observer has therefore become strategically vital.

Character Developments

• Li Ce: His physical and mental condition deteriorates from relentless surveillance, but he remains disciplined and committed to his duty. The potion gives him temporary relief, reinforcing his importance as a field informant.
• Li Ce’s colleagues: They show concern for his condition by obtaining the potion, while also teasing him about its unpleasant taste and rarity. Their note-taking and medical support demonstrate the organization’s reliance on him.
• The mysterious target: He is revealed as increasingly dangerous and ruthless. His actions are aggressive and methodical, involving torture and interrogation, while the weakening aura raises questions about the limits and source of his power.

Significant Themes

• The emergence of true high-end power: The target represents the first undeniable example of a real-world User whose abilities vastly exceed the early tiers, forcing governments to reconsider the meaning of extraordinary combat power.
• Fear of destabilization: Even powerful groups avoid direct confrontation because conflict involving such an individual could trigger a broader collapse of the current balance.
• Observation versus action: Surveillance and information become as important as direct strength. Li Ce’s ability to watch the target unnoticed is treated as a strategic asset.
• The reality of the extraordinary: Unlike fictional beings from mission worlds, Users are real people who can bring supernatural abilities into the physical world. This makes their existence far more frightening to governments and ordinary society.
• Human cost of power: Li Ce’s exhaustion and the target’s brutal treatment of captives both show how extraordinary abilities impose severe physical and moral consequences.

Character Interactions

• Li Ce’s colleague carefully places the potion within reach, explains its limited shelf life, and later jokes about its bad taste and intended use for research.
• Li Ce and his colleagues cooperate closely: he observes and dictates, while another colleague records his reports.
• The target interacts violently with captives, using black flames and torture to obtain information.
• The wider interaction is strategic rather than personal: governments and User groups monitor one another and the target, choosing restraint and territorial consolidation instead of provoking a direct confrontation.

Chapter Summary: “The Grind Force, Third Segment!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Ce spends two days observing a powerful “special user” who systematically attacks several camps while searching for the person who previously spied on him.
• Although the special user’s visible aura weakens after each battle, Li Ce senses that he is becoming increasingly dangerous—like a dull blade being sharpened through repeated combat. He reports this troubling intuition.
• During another encounter, someone detects a faint, mysterious gaze passing through the area. It does not resemble spiritual power, suggesting that increasingly subtle observation abilities are developing among the users.
• Li Jiye, Fang Yishu, and Ning Yu battle two undead corpses while Li Yun observes. The fight is manageable physically, but the corpses’ resilience, disgusting appearance, and unbearable smell severely hinder the group.
• Ning Yu uses nature energy to lessen the poisonous stench, demonstrating early talent in controlling her own energy rather than relying solely on standardized abilities.
• Fang Yishu uses self-hypnosis to suppress her sense of smell, showing creativity and strong spiritual resilience.
• Li Jiye suffers the most because his enhanced senses make the corpses’ odor nearly unbearable, though his combat instincts have improved.
• Li Yun notes that Fang Yishu could potentially defeat the undead outright if she learned to use mental impact more effectively. Her current attacks only slow them, while her crossbow does little damage.
• The group notices that corpses and bones gradually sink into the black earth, which appears to be “alive” or naturally capable of burying the dead. Fresh corpses left behind the previous day have completely disappeared.
• The chapter shifts attention to the strongest users—top Third Tier fighters and the sole true Fourth Tier user—who constantly roam dangerous, uninhabited regions to hunt suitable prey and earn rewards.
• These powerful users are described as “grind kings,” combining luck with relentless effort. However, their strength makes them highly conspicuous to one another whenever they come close, standing out like candles in darkness.

Character Developments

• Li Ce: Becomes increasingly wary of the special user, recognizing that repeated battles are refining rather than weakening him. His willingness to report his intuition shows caution and analytical judgment.
• The special user: Continues a relentless search for the person who spied on him. Each victory appears to sharpen his danger and combat potential, even as his outward aura fades.
• Ning Yu: Develops from an inexperienced and frightened combatant into someone capable of using a crossbow while manipulating nature energy. Her control is weak but demonstrates promising talent.
• Fang Yishu: Shows inventiveness by using self-hypnosis to overcome the corpses’ smell. Li Yun also identifies her potential to become a formidable mental attacker.
• Li Jiye: Gains practical experience fighting undead at close range, but his heightened senses make the battle especially unpleasant.
• Li Yun: Acts as an observer and evaluator rather than intervening. He identifies the team’s weaknesses and potential while studying the larger development of powerful users.
• The Third and Fourth Tier users: Emerge as disciplined, highly active fighters who continually challenge themselves in order to gain strength and rewards.

Significant Themes

• Growth through repeated struggle: Continuous combat does not merely exhaust the special user; it hones him into something more dangerous.
• Adaptability and creativity: Ning Yu and Fang Yishu compensate for weak direct attacks by inventing unconventional methods.
• Psychological barriers in combat: Fear, disgust, and sensory overload can be as restrictive as an enemy’s physical strength.
• The danger of hidden observation: Subtle gazes and concealed perception abilities suggest that users are becoming more sophisticated and difficult to monitor.
• The unnatural ecology of the black land: The earth absorbs corpses and appears connected to the undead’s repeated resurrection, hinting that the environment itself may be a living or active force.
• Effort versus luck: Advancement requires both fortunate circumstances and relentless “grinding.”
• Power attracting power: Strong users can sense one another clearly, making encounters between high-level individuals inevitable and potentially dangerous.

Character Interactions

• Li Ce observes the special user from a distance and submits a warning about his growing threat.
• Li Yun watches Li Jiye, Fang Yishu, and Ning Yu fight, judging their techniques and recognizing both their deficiencies and potential.
• Li Jiye serves as the frontline shield while Fang Yishu provides limited mental interference and Ning Yu supports the group with nature energy and ranged attacks.
• The group’s differing reactions to the undead—Li Jiye’s sensory suffering, Ning Yu’s panic-turned-discipline, and Fang Yishu’s self-hypnosis—highlight their contrasting personalities and developing abilities.
• Li Yun and Old Li interpret the disappearing corpses differently: Old Li suspects outside interference, while Li Yun proposes that the black earth itself is responsible.

Chapter Summary: “Hunt Begins”

Plot Points and Events

• Eugene Hope and Habakkuk Morton flee their camp after being pursued by the powerful Arab fighter Basim, who is tracking them across the sparsely populated wasteland.
• Realizing they cannot win an endurance battle against him, they stop and hide among black shrubs.
• Eugene uses water manipulation to create a refractive water curtain that conceals their bodies, sounds, scents, heat, and even breathing waste.
• Habakkuk enhances the concealment with his purple psionic aura, temporarily blurring their physiological and spiritual traces. Their camouflage is so effective that no corpses rise from the ground around them.
• After more than ten minutes, Basim discovers them by sensing unusual soul fluctuations rather than relying on ordinary sight or sound.
• Basim attacks with a violent burst of wind, rupturing their concealment and throwing both men several meters through the shrubs.
• He recognizes that Eugene and Habakkuk are the two American Third Tier users who escaped the earlier camp and may have been involved in monitoring him while he was mentally compromised.
• Eugene immediately orders them to split up. Both flee toward areas where they might encounter other camps, knowing they have no chance of defeating Basim directly.
• Basim ignores Eugene at first and focuses on Habakkuk, detecting an unexpected trace of danger from him. He merges into the surrounding darkness, causing the shadows among the shrubs and mounds to twist and come alive.

Character Developments

• Eugene Hope: Demonstrates resourcefulness and increased mastery of water manipulation. His studies of physics and chemistry have helped him develop sophisticated techniques, including optical camouflage and attempts to expand his control over fluids. He remains pragmatic, quickly recognizing when retreat is the only viable option.
• Habakkuk Morton: Revealed as the stronger combatant of the pair. His “Primal Psionic Awakening” allowed him to reach the Third Tier rapidly and grants him broad concealment and enhancement abilities. Despite his power, he hesitates briefly between fighting and fleeing before choosing survival.
• Basim: Establishes himself as vastly more powerful and experienced than the two youths. His spiritual perception allows him to overcome their concealment, and his pursuit is driven both by veteran instinct and personal suspicion toward the Americans. He also notices that Habakkuk may pose a genuine threat.

Significant Themes

• Survival over pride: Eugene and Habakkuk abandon their plan to fight because the power difference is overwhelming, emphasizing the importance of tactical retreat.
• Adaptation and self-improvement: Eugene’s scientific study and Habakkuk’s unusual psionic ability show how survivors actively develop their powers to cope with the new world.
• Concealment versus perception: The chapter contrasts advanced camouflage techniques with Basim’s spiritual senses, suggesting that ordinary physical methods are becoming insufficient.
• The danger of being noticed: In a vast but nearly lifeless environment, even a few living people become conspicuous targets.
• Threat beneath apparent weakness: Habakkuk’s power initially seems defensive, but Basim’s instinctive sense of danger hints that the younger man may possess greater destructive potential than expected.

Character Interactions

• Eugene and Habakkuk cooperate closely, combining water manipulation and psionics to hide from Basim.
• Their partnership is tested when the camouflage fails; Eugene takes command and orders them to separate.
• Basim’s reaction to the two Americans is hostile and predatory, especially after learning of their connection to his earlier mental disturbance.
• Basim’s attention shifts toward Habakkuk after sensing that the younger man represents a possible threat, setting up the next stage of the hunt.