Recaps

Bai Zhu destroyed Milluki’s collector’s handheld to stop it from responding to an unknown signal, sparking a fight before the group discovered something had directly hijacked the terminal. Gela Jiang promised Milluki a replacement collector’s set, while movement below the ship suggested the giant eyeball’s real body was nearby.

• Bai Zhu cut Milluki’s terminal apart before its countdown could finish, then fought off Milluki’s furious punches over the ruined limited-edition handheld.
• Morel ordered his Purple Smoke Soldiers to block external communications and disable automatic responses after Gela Jiang spotted movement under the water.
• Bai Zhu told Milluki he had heard the knocking sound the previous night, and Morel warned him not to make judgments alone again.
• Milluki examined a surviving chip and discovered that an unknown source had written directly into the terminal and triggered its countdown.
• Gela Jiang offered Milluki his complete Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai collector’s set, and Milluki stopped blaming Bai Zhu.

Morel led the damaged warship toward Ring Island while the crew discovered that the Black Gold Fragment bore hidden patterns and learned that an earlier expedition carrying similar fragments had died. As an unexplained presence followed them to the island, a sonar echo approached the continental shelf and something knocked beneath the hull.

• Milluki found Black Gold patterns on the fragment, and Morel revealed that the first Voyage Bureau divers to recover similar pieces in 1879 had all died within two nights.
• Gela Jiang spotted ripples following the warship, and Morel warned that the presence might remember the crew and reach them without using equipment.
• Morel ordered the crew to sail quietly toward Ring Island while Milluki salvaged the remaining Mechanical Fish and Gela Jiang prepared an escape route.
• The crew reached Ring Island and deployed seven usable Mechanical Fish and three Sonar Anchors in the shallow waters.
• As the ripple stopped near dusk, Milluki detected an echo approaching the continental shelf, and a soft knock sounded beneath the hull.

A gigantic black-gold Giant Whale emerged beneath the warship, drawing swarms of parasitic sea creatures and forcing the crew to flee toward Ring Island. As the fish tide closed in, Bai Zhu prepared to hold it off by cutting through the whale’s minions.

• Morel concluded that the earlier encounter had let the Giant Whale detect the crew, and the whale surfaced beside the warship.
• The Giant Whale’s impacts shoved the warship aside and disconnected Milluki’s mechanical fish and Bait Bugs.
• Gela Jiang redirected the currents to keep the ship from being overwhelmed, while Morel ordered the crew to head for Ring Island and release the Nenless Bait Bugs.
• Morel’s Smoke Soldiers and the crew fought off parasitic fish, sharks, and dolphins as Gela Jiang accelerated the warship toward the continental shelf.
• Bai Zhu suspected the Giant Whale was commanding the creatures and stepped onto the stern railing, preparing to attack the pursuing fish tide.

Bai Zhu gained temporary power from the system and prepared to unleash Ryujin Jakka against the Unicorn Giant Whale and the parasitic fish tide. After the whale sent out a signal that the system identified as an illegal echo, its temporary shield blocked the sound, and Bai Zhu raised his blade to strike.

• Bai Zhu received a temporary mission, 300,000 Reiatsu, and the ability to use Zanka no Tachi after the system displayed an angry new interface.
• A parasitic whale skeleton sprayed a web of corrosive mucus at the warship, and Morel's Purple Smoke Soldiers could not stop it.
• Bai Zhu summoned a speaker, started Wandenreich's Declaration of War, and charged his blade as the Unicorn Giant Whale began to sink.
• Bai Zhu's heat boiled the sea and burned the front ranks of parasitic fish to ash while the warship's deck began to melt.
• The Unicorn Giant Whale aimed its horn at the warship and sent out a thudding signal that disoriented Milluki, disrupted Gela Jiang's control, and dispersed Morel's smoke soldiers.
• The system detected an illegal echo and activated temporary shielding, after which Bai Zhu raised his blade and challenged the whale.

Bai Zhu unleashed Zanka no Tachi against the Unicorn Giant Whale, destroying the parasites and breaking the whale’s horn before his borrowed power ran out. The whale sank into a whirlpool, Bai Zhu returned to the warship with the horn fragment, and the surviving parasites retreated toward Old Trench.

• Bai Zhu activated Bankai and used Rising Sun Blade to carve a trench through the sea, turning the pursuing parasites to ash while the Unicorn Giant Whale remained unharmed.
• The Unicorn Giant Whale fired a blue beam at Bai Zhu, but Bai Zhu burned through it and pursued the whale as it tried to dive away.
• Bai Zhu used Tenchi Kaijin to pierce the whale’s water barrier and shatter its horn, then stored the Black-Gold fragment in his inventory.
• Bai Zhu’s borrowed strength ran out, and he used his remaining power to return to the warship, where Morel and Gela Jiang acknowledged his strength.
• Gela Jiang spotted the surviving parasites retreating toward Old Trench, and Bai Zhu received an achievement reward of one targeted Advanced Kidō draw.

After the Giant Whale sank, Bai Zhu argued with Morel and Milluki over payment for the Black Gold, and the damaged warship set course for Ring Island. As the ship reached the island, an unexplained force pulled it forward into a fog that swallowed all sound.

• Bai Zhu refused to give Morel and Milluki Black Gold for free, and they argued over the damage he had caused during the fight.
• Morel pointed out that the warship's damaged stern might make it sink, so he ordered everyone to head for Ring Island.
• Bai Zhu said the Giant Whale had seemed to leave rather than be driven off, but Morel told him to reach the island first.
• The warship jolted near Ring Island, and Morel realized the movement was not caused by the currents.
• Fog surged over the bow, sound vanished, and the warship plunged into the mist.

Bai Zhu woke alone on the Silent Land after being separated from his companions and spent three days searching the beach for signs of them. With no one responding to his signals, he left a message for them and headed into the forest to reach higher ground and unlock the map.

• Bai Zhu woke on an unfamiliar beach, found his Reiatsu and stamina restored, and realized Morel, Milluki, and Gela Jiang were missing.
• Bai Zhu blamed Pariston for the trap, fired Sōkatsui signals into the sky, and discovered the system had named the area Silent Land and assigned him a mission to find his lost companions.
• Bai Zhu marked the beach with messages for his companions and waited there, but received no response as he survived on seafood.
• Bai Zhu tested more signals, confirmed that sound and light seemed to fade strangely, and found no wreckage or footprints along the coast.
• After waiting three days without finding anyone, Bai Zhu left messages telling his companions to wait and entered the forest to reach a high point and unlock the regional map.

Bai Zhu explored the Silent Land, collected unknown plants, and climbed a giant tree to survey the region. He discovered the supposed island was an immense landmass and spotted a mysterious Lighthouse-like structure whose light began sweeping across the forest.

• Bai Zhu found drag marks leading into the jungle, but they vanished, and the marks he carved into trees slowly healed.
• Bai Zhu avoided a giant Beetle and an underground tentacle, then collected three unknown vegetation samples and earned an achievement reward.
• Bai Zhu climbed the giant tree, passing strange creatures hidden in its hollows, and unlocked a limited regional view from the canopy.
• Bai Zhu saw forests, mountains, and a vast rift stretching across the land, with only a tiny patch of sea visible behind him.
• Bai Zhu spotted a map marker labeled Watcher's House and a distant Lighthouse-like tower, then saw its light sweep through the mist.

Bai Zhu used his advanced Kidō draw to obtain a chantless restraint technique, then crossed the strange forest toward the Lighthouse while searching for his teammates. On the fifth day, he spotted Milluki fleeing a pack of black-gold-armored creatures in a modified car and rushed to catch up.

• Bai Zhu drew Special Bakudō #96, Capital Fire Rack Annihilation, which could briefly restrain a target after he planted Reiatsu on it.
• Bai Zhu left the giant tree and traveled toward the Lighthouse, finding the journey unnaturally long and the forest increasingly marked by black-gold patterns.
• Bai Zhu survived dangerous grass that tried to trap his ankle and earned an exploration achievement for identifying dangerous vegetation.
• On the fifth day, Bai Zhu heard an engine and saw a black modified car pursued by a pack of creatures through the forest.
• Bai Zhu recognized Milluki in the car, abandoned his cautious pace, and raced after him as Milluki hurled a canister at the pursuing creatures.

Milluki drove his badly damaged car through the forest while monsters attacked from every direction. As a monster leaped toward him, Bai Zhu arrived and landed on the car.

• Milluki fled a pursuing horde of eyeless monsters, using Exploding Beetles and mechanical bugs to hold them back.
• The monsters damaged Milluki's car, and he used grappling claws and miniature bombs to escape attacks from above and ahead.
• Milluki's right rear wheel was damaged as he drove through a tentacle barricade, while the monster horde closed in behind him.
• Bai Zhu raced through the treetops, killed a leaping monster with a streak of flame, and landed on Milluki's car.
• Milluki recognized Bai Zhu and cried out in relief, while Bai Zhu teased him about playing his music in the forest.

Bai Zhu rescued Milluki from a monster horde drawn by his noise and explosions, then used his new abilities to hold the creatures back. After Milluki explained how he had attracted them, Bai Zhu told him to put the car away and keep quiet.

• Milluki drove his damaged car while a horde of monsters chased him, and Bai Zhu leaped out to confront them.
• Bai Zhu pinned several monsters with fire chains and stone, then used Blazing Hell to stop the rest from advancing.
• Bai Zhu tore off the jammed car door, climbed inside, and asked Milluki how he had attracted the monsters.
• Milluki explained that his Scout Beetles disappeared, and he set off explosions while driving toward the lighthouse.
• Bai Zhu realized the engine, explosions, and music had drawn the horde, and told Milluki to put the car away and keep quiet.

Bai Zhu carried the injured Milluki through the monster-filled forest and found shelter in a giant tree hollow with a fat owl. Milluki showed him clues that Morel and others might have passed nearby, then a creature climbing toward them called out in Morel’s voice.

• Milluki packed away the noisy Nightclub Battle Tank, and Bai Zhu carried him through the forest while fending off monsters with White Lightning.
• Bai Zhu explained that giant trees offered relative safety and marked their route with Reiatsu because the forest seemed to loop back on itself.
• Bai Zhu and Milluki climbed into a tree hollow, where they encountered a large owl and shared food with it.
• Milluki showed Bai Zhu footprints, a sign warning them not to turn off the lights, and records of a voice that had imitated Bai Zhu.
• A creature climbed toward the hollow and called out in Morel’s voice, leaving Milluki pale with fear.

Bai Zhu and Milluki discovered that the ground folded space and distorted signals, so they traveled through the giant trees toward the Lighthouse. They reached the Birth Plateau and found the Lighthouse door open, with a knock sounding from inside.

• A voice imitating Morel tried to lure Bai Zhu and Milluki from a tree hollow, but the resident fat owl protected them and drove it away.
• Milluki’s scout-bug data revealed that the ground folded their paths and distorted signals, so Bai Zhu proposed traveling through the canopy.
• Bai Zhu carried Milluki between giant trees, and Milluki confirmed that the Lighthouse was growing closer.
• Bai Zhu and Milluki avoided a creature that mimicked a pipe and a branch, then continued toward the Lighthouse while resisting more false voices.
• After two more days in the canopy, Bai Zhu and Milluki reached the Lighthouse on the Birth Plateau and heard a knock from inside its open door.

Bai Zhu and Milluki explored the ruined Lighthouse, where they found evidence of a deadly song from the sea and rescued its keeper, Vick. As Vick described the survivors’ descent into madness, Milluki discovered a clue suggesting the Lighthouse’s records—and Vick’s sense of time—were badly out of step.

• Bai Zhu and Milluki entered the Lighthouse and found wreckage, human remains, and bodies in drastically different states of decay.
• They saw blood-written warnings on the second floor and realized the damaged lamp mechanism was still operating despite being unlikely to work without maintenance.
• A corpse attacked them on the stairs, but Bai Zhu struck it down after its broken singing caused the system panel to flicker.
• On the top floor, Bai Zhu restrained the Lighthouse keeper, Vick, and Milluki gave him food and water.
• Vick told them that singing from the sea had driven people to violence and drawn them toward a sealed basement, while a horned creature merely listened to a deeper song.
• Milluki checked Vick’s old-fashioned ID tag and asked what year it was.

Bai Zhu and Milluki discovered that Vick was a lighthouse keeper from 1879, preserved in an anomaly maintained by the lamp, and decided to find Morel before exploring the basement. In the ruins, they encountered a figure resembling Morel, but its behavior and monstrous pipe revealed that it was likely a dangerous impostor.

• Bai Zhu and Milluki matched Vick’s log and identity tag to the 1879 disappearance of the first Door-Knocking Ship, while Vick insisted he had never opened the basement door.
• When Bai Zhu grabbed Vick, Black Gold patterns appeared on his hand and a system warning identified illegal anchoring; Milluki’s scans showed Vick’s physiological age fluctuated wildly.
• Bai Zhu and Milluki left Vick food and warned him to keep the lamp lit and the door closed, then concluded that the lamp’s rotation reset nearby anomalies and preserved a small piece of 1879.
• Bai Zhu and Milluki chose not to enter the basement and planned to find Morel before investigating further.
• A Purple Smoke figure resembling Morel appeared among the ruins and warned them to stay away from the light; Bai Zhu attacked it with White Lightning, revealing teeth inside its pipe.

Bai Zhu and Milluki reached Morel in the ruins after testing that he was real, then learned that the Lighthouse's beam created increasingly convincing copies of people it illuminated. Morel revealed that Gela Jiang had been dragged into the waterway beneath the Lighthouse, and Bai Zhu chose to deal with Morel's contamination before going after him or the light.

• Bai Zhu destroyed a fake Morel, then verified the real Morel's identity with questions before entering the Smoke Wall with Milluki.
• Morel warned Bai Zhu and Milluki not to approach because he was contaminated, and Milluki's scan showed the parasite had affected Morel's Nen despite limited spread through his body.
• Morel explained that the Lighthouse beam had caused increasingly realistic copies of him to appear, so he and the others needed to investigate what the light maintained before deciding whether to shut it off.
• Morel revealed that Gela Jiang had been swept into the underground waterway beneath the Lighthouse and was likely alive, but Morel's copies had kept him from reaching the Lighthouse.
• Bai Zhu refused to head for the Lighthouse immediately and insisted that they first deal with the black-and-Ging patterns contaminating Morel's pipe.

Bai Zhu healed Morel’s Black Gold contamination, and the group compared what they had learned about the Lighthouse’s copies and the region’s distorted terrain. They prepared to investigate the river where Gela Jiang had been swept away.

• Morel explained that he had taken a Black Gold pipe from an impostor, and Milluki found that it could carry Morel’s Nen while contaminating his ability.
• Bai Zhu used Kaidō to remove the Black Gold lines from Morel’s wounds, restoring the stability of Morel’s Purple Smoke Soldiers.
• Morel told Bai Zhu and Milluki that he had reached the Lighthouse three days earlier and traveled through waterways with Gela Jiang, which seemed less affected by the land’s folding.
• Morel summarized the group’s findings: the land folded, sound attracted monsters, and the Lighthouse gradually copied people and some of their abilities while leaving contaminated equipment.
• Milluki’s insects signaled that the monsters outside had left, and Morel suggested checking the river where Gela Jiang had been swept away.

Bai Zhu, Morel, and Milluki traced the river that had swept Gela Jiang away using one of Milluki’s Mechanical Fish. The fish revealed a vast underground lake beneath the Lighthouse, where Morel’s original pipe and a rising hand appeared before the signal died; Morel concluded they had found the real island.

• Bai Zhu and Milluki went with the injured Morel to inspect the deceptively small river where Gela Jiang had disappeared.
• Morel recalled that the river’s water had surged upward from its bed and sucked Gela Jiang beneath the surface.
• Milluki reluctantly released one of his modified Mechanical Fish into the river to trace its route.
• The fish traveled through an impossibly deepening waterway and was swept over an underground waterfall into a vast cavern with an underground lake and ruined buildings.
• The fish’s final image showed Morel’s original pipe by the shore and a hand rising from the water before the signal cut out.
• Morel said the cavern might be the real island.

Morel, Bai Zhu, and Milluki entered the island’s underground waterways aboard a Purple Smoke Submarine and discovered a vast cavern beneath the Lighthouse. Milluki’s restored scans revealed Gela Jiang fighting near a huge, previously hidden creature, and Bai Zhu prepared to attack.

• Morel used his smoke ability to build a submarine, and Bai Zhu and Milluki agreed to enter the Lighthouse basement through the waterway.
• The submarine passed eyeless fish and a featureless figure that mimicked Gela Jiang’s voice before Morel knocked it away.
• Morel transformed the submarine into a smoke glider, carrying the group over a waterfall into a huge cavern filled with waterfalls, an underground lake, and ancient ruins.
• Milluki restored the Mechanical Fish signal and found a fast-moving humanoid heat source that matched Gela Jiang.
• Bai Zhu received an achievement reward confirming Gela Jiang was nearby, while Milluki’s scan revealed a massive creature beside him.
• Bai Zhu drew Ryujin Jakka and announced he would cut down the creature.

Bai Zhu, Morel, and Milluki found Gela Jiang trapped by a giant salamander in the underground lake. Bai Zhu destroyed the monster with Kidō, and the group prepared to escape before more creatures arrived.

• Bai Zhu charged toward Gela Jiang, found Morel's real pipe, and threw it to him while Morel set up Smoke Ropes to help him advance.
• Bai Zhu struck the giant salamander with Ryujin Jakka and Blazing Hell, but it dispersed the attacks into the lake and knocked him into rubble.
• Milluki explained that the salamander absorbed energy and warned Bai Zhu not to attack it from the front.
• Bai Zhu used the Reiatsu left inside the salamander to cast Ittō Kasō, destroying it as Gela Jiang and Morel contained the blast.
• Gela Jiang told the others he had been pursued for two days, and the group decided to leave before other creatures returned.

Gela Jiang led Bai Zhu, Milluki, and Morel away from the underground lake and into a concealed tree hollow, where he explained that sounds and strong emotions attracted dangerous creatures. He revealed that he had seen a gigantic human hand rising from the lake, suggesting a much larger humanoid presence beneath it.

• Gela Jiang guided the group along a quiet route away from the lake, where Bai Zhu spotted an upside-down Stone Gate covered in unfamiliar symbols and a human-shaped figure gliding through the water.
• Gela Jiang led everyone up an enormous root and sealed a tree hollow with water film and Purple Smoke so they could speak safely.
• Bai Zhu treated Gela Jiang's wounds and Milluki's sprained ankle, driving Black Gold residue from Gela Jiang's injuries with Kaidō and Reiatsu.
• Gela Jiang explained that loud sounds attracted creatures and that anger, fear, and despair made them more dangerous; Morel suggested some creatures copied voices to lure people and amplify their emotions.
• Gela Jiang recounted seeing a huge, unmistakably human hand emerge from the lake, leading the group to suspect that a larger humanoid species lived beneath it.

Bai Zhu suspected that his system’s rewards had been steering him toward the Dark Continent’s mysteries, then learned the underwater door connected to vast passages and received a new achievement task. The system identified the hand beneath the lake as belonging to an old captain and required Bai Zhu to shake hands with him.

• Bai Zhu reflected on how his past draws had repeatedly provided exactly what he needed and wondered whether the system was guiding him toward danger.
• Gela Jiang told Morel that a door lay underwater near the lake’s center, guarded by humanlike creatures and larger beings.
• Milluki woke and revealed sonar data showing a deep shaft beneath the lake, with waterways leading toward the Old Trench and an unknown body of water.
• Milluki’s scans showed an enormous inverted Stone Gate at the junction of the waterways, while Gela Jiang said the currents seemed to be deliberately directed.
• Bai Zhu’s system activated the Door achievement series and instructed him to enter the lake’s center while listening to the Mermaid Song and shake hands with the old captain.
• Bai Zhu told Gela Jiang that the hand he had seen beneath the lake belonged to the old captain.

Bai Zhu and the others deduced that the giant hand belonged to the Old Captain, while the One-Horned Whale had reshaped the underground environment over time. As they prepared to retreat, the whale surfaced in the lake, and Bai Zhu recognized it as Baldhead.

• Bai Zhu explained that warped space could account for the enormous hand and suggested it was waiting for someone to take it, possibly to open the door.
• Bai Zhu and Milluki reasoned that the One-Horned Whale had entered the tunnels as a smaller creature and gradually altered the passages, Black Gold, and local ecosystem.
• Milluki proposed withdrawing to report their findings, and Morel agreed they needed accurate information before leaving.
• Gela Jiang outlined a route away from the lake, but a series of booms and a towering water column interrupted their departure.
• The One-Horned Whale cried out from the lake, and Bai Zhu recognized it as Baldhead.

Bai Zhu and the others watched the injured Unicorn Giant Whale begin a ritual in the underground lake, using the Merfolk’s song and nearby monsters to regenerate its horn. As the whale’s ritual gathered strength, Morel sent a Purple Smoke decoy disguised as a Merfolk toward the lead singer.

• The Unicorn Giant Whale surfaced with its horn broken, and more than a hundred Merfolk gathered around it.
• The Merfolk sang in time with the whale’s cries, activating Black Gold patterns and strengthening spatial feedback near an underwater door.
• Morel identified the lake activity as a ritual to help the whale repair itself, while Milluki confirmed that a new horn was growing.
• A swarm of monsters arrived at the lakeshore, and the Merfolk drained creatures that entered the water to replenish the whale.
• Bai Zhu spotted the Merfolk who started each round of the song, but Morel stopped him from attacking and sent a Purple Smoke decoy disguised as a Merfolk.

Bai Zhu and the others watched Morel’s attempt to stop the White Whale’s ritual fail as the creature rebuilt its horn and the Mermaid Song began controlling Milluki. The Silver-Roost Ancient Tree shielded them from the song and contamination, but the White Whale noticed their shelter and the tree answered the Merfolk singer.

• Morel sent a Purple Smoke merfolk to attack the lead singer, but the singer tore it apart and the White Whale began restoring its horn by drawing in Black Gold motes.
• The Mermaid Song intensified across Ring Island, and Milluki fell under its influence, repeating the Giant Salamander’s words and trying to leave the tree hollow.
• Silver-white patterns lit up inside the tree, stabilizing the group’s defenses, freeing Milluki from the song, and blocking the Black Gold motes and Mermaid Song.
• Bai Zhu realized that the tree’s protection came from the territory of the rent-collecting owl and declared it his real dad, while the system identified the shelter as the Silver-Roost Ancient Tree.
• The White Whale turned its eye toward the tree, the lead Merfolk singer called out, and a deeper voice from within the tree answered.