Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wu Ming visits his childhood friend and academic rival, Ruan Qingzhu, at her home and tells her he plans to take a temporary leave from school. He urges her to do the same.
• Ruan is shocked and angry because they are both in their final year of high school, only months away from the college entrance examination. Wu Ming shows her news reports about the deadly RR virus outbreak in the United States.
• The virus has already caused severe casualties, and Wu Ming believes official figures are being understated. Based on his knowledge of the future, he knows the RR virus will eventually spread worldwide, kill billions, and trigger humanity’s transition into the era of martial evolution.
• Wu Ming persuades Ruan to discuss the matter with her parents and advises her family to begin taking precautions. He then returns home, reflecting on how unfortunate it is that he reincarnated into the world of Swallowed Star just as the catastrophe begins.
• Wu Ming reveals that he possesses a “golden finger”: an equipment-bar system that grants talents based on the nature of equipped objects.
• His current equipment is a specially forged steel pen, which provides enhanced throwing ability, learning talent, and memory. These bonuses helped him become the school’s second-best student, just behind Ruan Qingzhu.
• He has also used consumable items such as vitamin supplements to gain permanent improvements, including increased immunity.
• Wu Ming realizes that his years of academic preparation may soon become less important, since the coming world will prioritize physical strength and martial cultivation. However, he sees the RR virus as both a disaster and an opportunity: surviving it could dramatically improve his physique and allow him to begin cultivating genetic energy.
• Just as he begins planning how to survive the outbreak, his mother, Shen Xinglan, calls and angrily accuses him of using her name to spread alarming information.

Character Development

• Wu Ming: Revealed as a reincarnated individual who knows the future course of the RR virus and the Swallowed Star setting. He is calm, strategic, and willing to abandon conventional education to prepare for the coming catastrophe. Although frustrated that his carefully developed academic abilities may become obsolete, he remains ambitious and determined to cultivate martial strength.
• Ruan Qingzhu: Initially reacts with disbelief and anger to Wu Ming’s proposal, but the evidence of the virus outbreak makes her take him seriously. Her concern for her family and willingness to consider his warning show her maturity and trust in him.
• Shen Xinglan: Appears briefly through a phone call as an angry but involved mother, suggesting that Wu Ming’s warnings have already caused trouble or attracted attention.
• Relationship between Wu Ming and Ruan Qingzhu: Their long-standing childhood friendship is emphasized. They are both elite students and academic competitors, but Wu Ming is deeply concerned about her safety and wants her to prepare for the coming disaster.

Significant Themes

• Foreknowledge and preparation: Wu Ming’s knowledge of future events gives him an advantage, but he must act quickly before the catastrophe becomes unavoidable.
• Disaster as both threat and opportunity: The RR virus represents mass death, yet surviving it may trigger human evolution and open the path to martial cultivation.
• The instability of human achievement: Wu Ming’s years of study and his status as a top student may soon lose importance in a world where physical strength determines survival.
• Trust and persuasion: Wu Ming must convince others to act on information they cannot independently verify, beginning with Ruan Qingzhu and his family.
• Adaptation to a changing world: The chapter marks the transition from an ordinary modern society into the dangerous, supernatural world of Swallowed Star.

Important Character Interactions

• Wu Ming and Ruan Qingzhu argue over his decision to leave school, with Ruan criticizing the timing and consequences while Wu Ming calmly presents evidence.
• Wu Ming encourages Ruan to warn her parents and protect her family, demonstrating their close bond.
• Wu Ming internally evaluates his rivalry with Ruan, acknowledging that his equipment-enhanced abilities have only brought him close to her academic level.
• The chapter ends with Shen Xinglan confronting Wu Ming by phone, creating immediate tension over his attempts to spread warnings about the epidemic.

Chapter Summary: “Methods of Fighting the Virus”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wu Ming receives a call from his mother, Shen Xinglan, after deliberately telling his childhood friend Ruan Qingzhu alarming information about the RR Virus, knowing it would reach her parents and eventually the epidemic authorities.
• Shen Xinglan confirms that the situation is serious but warns him not to spread rumors. She allows him to take leave from school and remain at home.
• Wu Ming argues that the officially reported ten-percent mortality rate is false, estimating that the true death toll may be far higher. In reality, the RR Virus’s early mortality rate has reached approximately forty percent.
• During the call, an Inspection Office official, Zhao Minghui, joins the conversation and authorizes Shen Xinglan to discuss classified medical data with Wu Ming.
• Shen describes the symptoms of RR Virus victims: dark-red blotches, widespread tissue ulceration, and multiple-organ failure.
• Wu Ming identifies similarities between these symptoms and acute radiation sickness. He theorizes that the virus causes genomic collapse rather than simply triggering an excessive immune response.
• Shen realizes that this explanation could be correct and decides to report the theory to the Epidemic Prevention Department for urgent investigation.
• Wu Ming then asks whether strengthening immunity would help. Shen explains that it could make the condition worse if the virus fuses with human cells, causing the immune system to attack the body’s own genetically damaged cells.
• As a basic preventative measure, Shen recommends improving cellular activity and genetic stability. She suggests vitamin B4, though she admits its effects are weak because the body absorbs very little of it.
• After the call ends, Wu Ming immediately goes to a pharmacy and buys the vitamin, choosing to act on the information rather than simply return home.

Character Developments

• Wu Ming demonstrates foresight, strategic thinking, and knowledge that exceeds what he should reasonably possess. He carefully manipulates events to obtain official confirmation and useful medical information without revealing the true source of his knowledge.
• He also shows caution by questioning whether immune enhancement could be dangerous, ultimately avoiding a potentially fatal mistake.
• Shen Xinglan shifts from an irritated, protective mother to a serious medical authority. Although initially skeptical, she is willing to reconsider her assumptions when Wu Ming’s theory fits the evidence.
• Her sense of duty becomes clear as she immediately prepares to report the possibility of genomic collapse, hoping to reduce the epidemic’s devastation.
• Zhao Minghui represents the government’s growing concern and willingness to investigate unconventional ideas during the crisis.

Significant Themes

• Truth versus official information: Public reports minimize the virus’s mortality rate, while hidden data reveal that the disaster is much worse.
• Scientific thinking and adaptation: Wu Ming challenges established medical assumptions by comparing the virus’s symptoms with radiation sickness.
• The danger of incorrect responses: A conventional strategy—strengthening the immune system—could actually accelerate death if the virus attacks or merges with human cells.
• Preparation and survival: The chapter emphasizes acting early, gathering accurate information, and using whatever limited resources are available.
• Family responsibility and public duty: Shen Xinglan protects her son while also recognizing her obligation to help authorities understand and contain the outbreak.

Character Interactions

• Wu Ming and Shen Xinglan interact as both family members and sources of critical information. Her harsh maternal manner contrasts with his calm, calculated questioning.
• Shen initially tries to stop Wu Ming from speculating, fearing panic and government consequences, but Zhao Minghui’s intervention allows the discussion to continue.
• Wu Ming’s theory forces Shen to reconsider the epidemic’s fundamental mechanism and potentially redirect the entire medical response.
• Their conversation ends with Shen rushing to report the discovery while Wu Ming independently begins preparing for survival by purchasing vitamin B4.

Chapter Summary: “Cell Activity, 300%!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wu Ming returns to his home after obtaining more than twenty bottles of Vitamin B4, which he believes may help him survive the approaching RR Virus.
• Using his Equipment Bar, he discovers that each bottle grants 20% increased cell activity for six hours. He repeatedly replaces the consumable, eventually stacking fifteen bottles for a total 300% increase, or four times normal cell activity.
• Wu Ming reflects on how he deduced that the RR Virus causes genetic changes. Survivors in the original novel gained extraordinary physical abilities, suggesting that the virus transformed their genes rather than functioning like an ordinary disease.
• His mother, Shen Xinglan, reports that the World Epidemic Prevention Department has confirmed his theory: infected victims died from Gene Collapse, while their cells underwent intense autophagy, consuming the body’s stored energy.
• Researchers discover that survivors were generally physically strong or had substantial fat reserves, indicating that sufficient energy helps the body withstand the virus.
• Shen Xinglan urges Wu Ming to stockpile high-energy foods such as chocolate, nuts, and glucose. Wu Ming reveals that he has already bought such supplies because his enhanced metabolism has made him constantly hungry.
• He contacts Ruan Qingzhu as requested and then decides to investigate the effects of the glucose stored in his mother’s room.

Character Developments

• Wu Ming becomes increasingly prepared and confident in his ability to survive the epidemic. His use of the Equipment Bar demonstrates his careful planning, willingness to endure hardship, and practical understanding of its limits.
• He also shows humility and restraint: although he has helped guide epidemic research, he does not consider himself a savior and accepts that he can only do what is within his power.
• Wu Ming’s enhanced cell activity greatly increases his appetite and energy requirements, revealing an important physical cost of his abilities.
• Shen Xinglan is portrayed as an exhausted but capable expert working under enormous pressure. Her research and communication provide Wu Ming with crucial information about the virus.
• Wu Ming maintains concern for others by contacting Ruan Qingzhu’s family, even while prioritizing his own survival.

Significant Themes

• Preparation and survival: Knowledge, planning, and resource management are essential as the epidemic approaches.
• Energy as the foundation of evolution: The chapter establishes that the virus’s genetic transformation requires enormous energy, making food reserves as important as medicine.
• Limits of human control: Wu Ming can influence events but cannot solve the entire crisis himself; he must balance altruism with self-preservation.
• Science and deduction: Wu Ming’s speculative reasoning, combined with the Epidemic Prevention Department’s research, gradually reveals the true nature of the RR Virus.
• Transformation and adaptation: Increased cell activity hints at the broader biological evolution that the virus may eventually produce in survivors.

Character Interactions

• Wu Ming and Shen Xinglan discuss the Epidemic Prevention Department’s discoveries. She confirms his theories and advises him to consume high-energy foods.
• Their conversation shows mutual trust: Wu Ming benefits from her scientific expertise, while she relies on his insight into the virus.
• Shen Xinglan asks Wu Ming to warn Ruan Qingzhu’s family, prompting him to contact her after their call.
• Wu Ming’s interaction with the Equipment Bar functions almost like a strategic partnership, allowing him to convert ordinary medicine into a powerful survival advantage.

Plot and key events

• Over three days, Wu Ming equips glucose, trains, and follows news about the RR Virus.
• He discovers glucose can be equipped to grant 10 Body Energy, which becomes permanent after two hours. Body Energy is a reserve—not Genetic Energy—and can sustain his basic needs for about a day per 10 points. At its 100-point limit, it could cover roughly ten days without food or drink.
• Wu Ming begins training at his residential gym. His punch strength rises from 53 kg to 64 kg even before he starts working out, suggesting his unusually high Cell Activity is improving his physical strength.
• After a day of intense exercise, his punch reaches 75 kg. He concludes that elevated Cell Activity unlocks greater physical potential, while glucose reserves help him keep training without stopping to eat.
• He retrieves an old suit of steel armor from home. Its talents increase skin toughness and bone strength, and improve his physical-training aptitude, letting him withstand and benefit more from his punishing workouts.
• After three days of training, his punch strength reaches 91 kg. Though his gains are slowing, Wu Ming is pleased and predicts he may reach 200 kg within a month.
• As he checks the news, he sees a breaking headline:

Magic City has reported its first RR Virus infection.

Character development

• Wu Ming becomes more confident in his ability to prepare for the outbreak. He tests his new abilities, reasons from the results, and rapidly adapts his training.
• His ambition grows as he realizes Cell Activity can improve strength as well as healing. He responds by pushing himself to train with extraordinary intensity.

Character interactions

• A helpful older gym-goer teaches Wu Ming how to use the equipment and later warns him that he is overtraining. Wu Ming thanks him but continues, convinced his recovery and energy reserves make the regimen manageable.
• Wu Ming’s thoughts also recall his mother’s advice that resisting the virus depends on Cell Activity, energy reserves, and physical fitness; he believes he has now addressed all three.

Significant themes

• Preparation through adaptation: Wu Ming turns new information and abilities into practical steps toward surviving the outbreak.
• The body’s interconnectedness: Increased Cell Activity affects more than healing, raising his physical potential as well.
• Power and risk: Rapid progress comes through extreme effort, though Wu Ming believes his unusual recovery and equipment reduce the danger.
• Growing threat: The first local infection shifts the outbreak from a distant concern to an immediate reality.

Chapter Summary: “Taking the Initiative”

Key Plot Points and Events

• On January 10, 2015, Wu Ming learns that the RR Virus has already reached Huaxia, far earlier than expected.
• He deduces that the virus crossed the Pacific through seawater and marine life rather than by air travel. Magic City, as a coastal city, is likely the first infected area.
• His original plan—to spend a month strengthening his body before encountering the virus—is disrupted.
• Wu Ming considers either waiting for the virus to spread naturally to Sichuan or traveling to Magic City to deliberately expose himself. He chooses the riskier, proactive approach.
• He recalls that the future “Grand Nirvana Period” and monster attacks will begin in September 2015, leaving him only nine months to prepare for humanity’s larger catastrophe.
• He books the earliest flight to Magic City, packs high-energy food and a special steel pen, and equips the Knight Armor’s talent to potentially improve his genetic transformation.
• After arriving at Hongqiao Airport without encountering a lockdown, he checks into a hotel and wanders through the city to expose himself to the virus.
• Several hours later, he senses faint cellular agitation, indicating that he has likely been infected.
• However, the virus’s concentration is too low to overcome his unusually stable genes and fourfold Cell Activity and Energy reserves.
• Wu Ming concludes that he must either wait for the virus to strengthen inside him or deliberately ingest a larger dose, setting up his next decision.

Character Development

• Wu Ming shifts from cautious preparation to decisive action. Although his physical training is incomplete, he refuses to delay his development.
• His knowledge of the original story gives him confidence but also creates urgency: he understands that the RR Virus is only the beginning of a much larger disaster.
• He demonstrates strong analytical ability by correctly identifying the virus’s ocean-based transmission route.
• His enhanced body becomes both an advantage and an obstacle: it makes him more likely to survive, but also more resistant to the virus’s genetic modification.
• Wu Ming increasingly embraces calculated risk, prioritizing rapid growth over safety.

Significant Themes

• Preparation versus initiative: Waiting would be safer, but taking action may allow Wu Ming to become stronger sooner.
• Adaptation and survival: The chapter presents genetic transformation as necessary preparation for an approaching global catastrophe.
• Unintended consequences of strength: Wu Ming’s robust body protects him from the virus but prevents the transformation he actively seeks.
• Knowledge and foresight: His awareness of future events gives him an advantage, though incomplete information forces him to make uncertain choices.
• Humanity against nature: The virus’s spread through oceans and animals foreshadows the coming conflict between humans and mutated creatures.

Character Interactions

• Wu Ming has no direct in-person interactions in the chapter.
• His mother’s earlier comments about differing incubation times influence his reasoning.
• He interacts indirectly with the wider public by observing the unaware crowds in Magic City, contrasting his knowledge of the danger with their normal behavior.
• His relationship with the Knight Armor is also significant: he deliberately equips its talent, hoping it will improve his future genetic transformation.

Chapter Summary: “Fusion and Transformation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wu Ming realizes the virus concentration in his body may be too low to trigger a transformation, but deliberately absorbing too much could overwhelm his preparations and cause a fatal mutation.
• He rejects going to the coast because the ocean and surrounding air likely contain dangerously high concentrations of the virus.
• Studying a map, he identifies Suzhou Creek, a tributary connected indirectly to the sea. Because the virus has been diluted through multiple waterways, he believes the creek offers a safer, controllable source.
• Wu Ming scouts the creek during the day, confirms that the viral concentration near the water is higher than in the surrounding air, and finds that the area is quiet and poorly monitored.
• At three in the morning, he returns, enters the freezing water, and allows the virus to enter his body through greater skin contact.
• His cells immediately begin a violent transformation. He leaves the river and returns to his hotel before the process intensifies.
• The transformation causes extreme heat, pain, and overwhelming hunger. Wu Ming consumes all the food in his backpack and uses his stored energy reserves to sustain the cellular changes.
• After several minutes, the transformation stabilizes without genetic collapse. His physical abilities improve dramatically.
• For the first time, the equipment panel displays his statistics: 689 kg of theoretical strength, a speed of 18 m/s, cell activity of 3,250, and a neural response time of 0.013 seconds.

Character Development

• Wu Ming demonstrates caution and strategic thinking by comparing the risks of the coast, river, and creek rather than acting impulsively.
• He balances his desire for rapid power growth with the need to survive, recognizing that a small time advantage is not worth risking his life.
• During the transformation, he displays strong endurance and determination, tolerating severe pain and consuming enormous amounts of energy to prevent the process from failing.
• His confidence increases after the successful transformation, as he recognizes that his body has become vastly stronger and more efficient.

Significant Themes

• Risk versus reward: Wu Ming must pursue greater strength without exceeding the limits of his body.
• Adaptation and evolution: The virus acts as a force that modifies and optimizes his genes.
• Preparation and control: Careful planning allows Wu Ming to exploit the virus while minimizing danger.
• Human enhancement: The final statistics emphasize his transformation from an ordinary person into a superhuman being.
• Survival through resource management: Food, stored energy, timing, location, and secrecy are all essential to his success.

Character Interactions

• There are no direct conversations with other characters in this chapter.
• Wu Ming’s primary “interactions” are with the virus, his changing body, the equipment panel, and the environment.
• His internal reasoning functions as the main dialogue, showing him debating the danger of the coast, evaluating the waterways, and monitoring his transformation.
• He deliberately avoids public attention, choosing a secluded section of Suzhou Creek and returning to the hotel without being noticed.

Chapter Summary: “New Talent”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wu Ming discovers that the Equipment Bar can display detailed physical statistics, but the function quickly disappears after consuming all 23 points of his stored energy.
• The data reveals his extraordinary condition: a maximum strength of 689 kilograms, cellular activity at 32.5 times normal, and a neural response time of 0.013 seconds.
• He realizes his memory and mental abilities have improved dramatically, allowing him to recall details from his past life and the novel Swallowed Star, including the locations of several future ruins.
• Wu Ming deduces that genetic optimization has increased not only his physical strength but also his brain capacity. He also confirms that equipment talents are dynamic: their percentage bonuses weaken as his own base attributes improve.
• The Steel Armor’s talents have declined significantly after Wu Ming’s transformation, but its actual benefits remain greater because they are applied to his much stronger body.
• Wu Ming examines the special steel pen given to him by his childhood friend Ruan Qingzhu. The pen’s material, produced by her family’s Xingzhu Group, proves more durable and retains stronger talents than the armor.
• The pen reveals a new fourth talent: Virus Controller (RR). It allows the pen to fuse with the RR Virus and increase Wu Ming’s physical strength, up to an initial limit of 800 kilograms.
• Realizing the virus can now serve as a resource rather than merely a threat, Wu Ming returns to Suzhou Creek and submerges the pen in the contaminated water.
• The talent’s limit rises from 800 to 850 kilograms, confirming that increased exposure to the virus strengthens its effect.

Character Development

• Wu Ming becomes more analytical and confident as he investigates the Equipment Bar’s hidden rules.
• His enhanced memory gives him access to previously vague memories, especially knowledge from Swallowed Star, greatly improving his ability to plan for future opportunities.
• He develops a better understanding of how his equipment functions and recognizes that stronger personal attributes can reduce percentage-based talent effects while increasing their practical value.
• His excitement and ambition grow after discovering that the RR Virus can help him overcome his current physical bottleneck and approach the 900-kilogram Quasi-Martial Artist standard.
• Wu Ming also shows a practical willingness to experiment immediately, testing the pen’s new ability by returning to the contaminated river.

Significant Themes

• Growth and adaptation: Wu Ming’s abilities and equipment evolve alongside his increasing life level.
• Hidden potential: The Equipment Bar contains functions and talents that only emerge when Wu Ming becomes strong enough to access them.
• Science as opportunity: The RR Virus, previously dangerous, becomes a controllable resource through the steel pen.
• Relative strength: Equipment bonuses are not fixed; their value depends on the user’s own development and the quality of the material.
• Preparation for the future: Wu Ming’s recovered memories and knowledge of Swallowed Star give him an advantage in planning for coming opportunities and dangers.

Important Character Interactions

• Wu Ming reflects on his long-standing friendship with Ruan Qingzhu, who personally arranged for the special steel pen to be made as a birthday gift.
• The chapter also provides background on their families: Ruan Qingzhu’s parents founded Xingzhu Group, while her father and Wu Ming’s father had served together in the military.
• Despite the Ruan family’s rising wealth and status, Ruan Qingzhu has remained close to Wu Ming, reinforcing the trust and loyalty between them.

Chapter Summary: “Another Reminder”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wu Ming tests the limits of his new “Virus Controller” talent by exposing his equipment to RR Viruses in Suzhou Creek. The river’s virus concentration is insufficient to raise the talent’s limit further, so he considers seeking denser sources such as the Huangpu River or the ocean.
• After equipping the talent, Wu Ming perceives the air as filled with microorganisms and realizes he can actively draw RR Viruses into his body. He absorbs viruses from the air and then from the river, discovering that water greatly accelerates the process of genetic optimization.
• His body begins undergoing a potential second genetic transformation, but he stops after realizing that the process consumes energy. His existing reserves are nearly depleted, and continuing would threaten his ability to sustain himself.
• Wu Ming returns to the inn, rests, buys glucose solution, and relocates to a hotel closer to the coast. He delays visiting the ocean because the coastline is under lockdown and he already has enough viruses stored to continue improving later.
• He becomes concerned that authorities have not publicly announced effective survival measures—such as maintaining cell activity, eating properly, and improving physical fitness—even though the virus’s genetic nature has been confirmed.
• His mother, Shen Xinglan, calls after discovering that he is missing from home. Wu Ming tells her he is in Magic City and assures her that he has already survived infection and developed resistance.
• Shen Xinglan reveals that Magic City has been under travel restrictions since the previous day because additional infections were discovered, particularly among coastal residents. Wu Ming realizes he arrived just before the lockdown.
• Wu Ming warns his mother that RR is not limited to waterborne transmission. It can remain airborne for several hours and, most dangerously, can infect people through direct skin contact—even through minimal exposure.

Character Developments

• Wu Ming becomes more knowledgeable about the capabilities and limitations of “Virus Controller.” He learns that the talent allows him to gather viruses, store them in his body, and use them for gradual genetic optimization.
• He also demonstrates greater caution and strategic thinking by stopping his transformation when he recognizes the danger of energy depletion.
• Wu Ming continues acting independently and decisively, traveling to Magic City before restrictions are imposed and planning to exploit high-virus environments near the coast.
• His concern expands beyond personal advancement. He is increasingly focused on the public danger posed by RR and frustrated by the authorities’ lack of preventive guidance.
• Shen Xinglan shifts from anxiety about her son’s unexplained disappearance to serious concern over his new information about RR’s transmission methods. Her trust in his observations allows him to explain the virus’s hidden dangers.

Significant Themes

• Adaptation and evolution: Wu Ming’s talent turns viral exposure into a means of genetic improvement, though advancement requires both viruses and sufficient energy.
• The cost of power: His potential second transformation cannot proceed safely without replenishing his energy, emphasizing that extraordinary abilities have physical limits.
• Hidden danger and misinformation: Authorities understand that RR is genetically related but have not yet communicated the practical measures needed for survival.
• Individual knowledge versus institutional response: Wu Ming’s personal experience allows him to uncover transmission methods that official organizations have missed.
• Escalating catastrophe: The lockdown, growing infections, and airborne and skin-based transmission suggest that conventional containment measures may soon fail.

Character Interactions

• Wu Ming interacts primarily with Shen Xinglan during the phone call. She questions his whereabouts and warns him about Magic City’s restrictions, while he reassures her about his immunity.
• Their conversation becomes a warning exchange: Wu Ming informs her that RR spreads through the air, survives for hours, and penetrates the body through skin contact.
• Shen Xinglan’s shock at this information underscores how devastating and difficult to prevent the outbreak may be.

Chapter Summary: “A Conversation with Zhao Minghui”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wu Ming and Shen Xinglan discuss the impossibility of containing RR. Because the substance spreads rapidly and cannot be stopped by conventional measures, Wu Ming argues that humanity may have to rely on herd immunity.
• Shen reveals that epidemic-prevention agencies worldwide had been attempting to develop a vaccine, but their efforts failed. RR multiplies too quickly for antibodies or vaccines to be effective.
• More than a billion people are already infected, and the World Epidemic Prevention Department has abandoned vaccine research. Huaxia continues pursuing containment to slow transmission, but Wu Ming believes this strategy is ultimately futile.
• Wu Ming suspects that RR is not an ordinary virus but a genetic-enhancement agent, possibly derived from an extraterrestrial civilization or an advanced genetic experiment.
• Using his Virus Controller ability, Wu Ming removes his suppression of RR and observes the substance altering his genes. He confirms that the changes are consistently beneficial rather than random or destructive.
• He contacts his mother to share his findings, but the call is intercepted by Zhao Minghui of the Supervision Office. Shen confirms Zhao’s identity and explains that the government has been monitoring their conversations.
• Zhao states that the authorities trust Wu Ming’s theories and want to hear his conclusions directly.
• Wu Ming explains that RR merges into human cells and optimizes their genes, granting survivors dramatic improvements in strength, speed, reflexes, and overall physical ability.
• Zhao confirms that officials have observed similar changes in survivors, including enormous increases in physical strength.
• Wu Ming theorizes that RR may have originated from an American genetic experiment. Zhao confirms that RR is connected to an American research project and that the outbreak resulted from a laboratory leak.

Character Developments

• Wu Ming becomes increasingly confident in his understanding of RR. He shifts from merely reacting to the epidemic to analyzing its deeper biological purpose and considering ways to exploit its effects.
• His special ability as a Virus Controller allows him to observe RR directly, reinforcing his belief that he possesses a unique advantage over ordinary survivors.
• Wu Ming also demonstrates greater willingness to engage with government authorities, though he carefully conceals the true source of his knowledge and attributes his abilities to an awakened “special talent.”
• Shen Xinglan acts as a trusted intermediary between Wu Ming and the state. She supports his theories, verifies Zhao’s identity, and encourages him to share his discoveries.
• Zhao Minghui is introduced as a cautious but authoritative government representative. His initial skepticism gives way to serious consideration once Wu Ming’s observations align with official evidence.
• The government’s attitude toward Wu Ming changes: he is no longer treated merely as an informant or survivor but as a valuable source of insight into RR.

Significant Themes

• Humanity versus an overwhelming catastrophe: Conventional containment and vaccination fail because RR spreads and develops too quickly, forcing society to consider drastic alternatives such as herd immunity.
• Evolution and transformation: RR may not be designed simply to kill but to force genetic advancement. Survival becomes the dividing line between catastrophic death and superhuman improvement.
• Limits of human science: Present-day technology is unable to understand or control RR, suggesting that its origins may involve advanced or secret scientific knowledge.
• Conspiracy and secrecy: The outbreak’s connection to an American laboratory points toward government secrets, experimental research, and the possibility that the public has been denied the truth.
• Adaptation and opportunity: Wu Ming views the epidemic not only as a disaster but also as a potential mechanism for human evolution, reflecting his pragmatic and analytical mindset.

Character Interactions

• Wu Ming and Shen Xinglan debate whether containment or herd immunity is the more rational response to RR.
• Wu Ming later contacts Shen to explain his discovery, but Zhao Minghui temporarily takes over the call.
• Shen reassures Wu Ming that Zhao is legitimate and gives him permission to speak openly.
• Zhao questions Wu Ming about the basis of his theory, while Wu Ming offers a carefully limited explanation involving an awakened ability.
• Their conversation develops into a partial exchange of classified information: Wu Ming reveals RR’s genetic effects, and Zhao confirms its connection to an American laboratory leak.

Chapter Summary: “Four Methods”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wu Ming explains his hypothesis about treating RR Virus transformations through the principles of Gene Evolution rather than conventional medicine.
• He identifies four methods for improving survival:
  1. Increasing

Cell Activity

2. Providing sufficient energy and nutrition
3. Improving physical fitness
4. Strengthening the will to survive

• Wu Ming argues that intense survival instincts can influence gene activity, using soldiers’ heightened abilities in life-threatening situations as evidence. Zhao Minghui, a former soldier, recognizes the phenomenon and becomes partly convinced.
• Wu Ming explains that the first three methods are more reliable, while willpower is unpredictable and works best in combination with them.
• Zhao Minghui acknowledges the value of Wu Ming’s information but admits that applying Cell Activity training and physical conditioning to the entire population would be difficult.
• As a reward, the Supervision Office offers Wu Ming money and possible admission to a top university without an entrance examination. Wu Ming declines the university opportunity.
• Instead, Wu Ming asks the government to locate ancient cultivation texts, specifically searching for a method called “Five Hearts Toward Heaven.”
• After the call, Wu Ming’s mother, Shen Xinglan, reassures him rather than questioning or reprimanding him for going to Magic City.
• Shen Xinglan sends Wu Ming 100,000 yuan to support his living expenses. Touched by her care, Wu Ming thanks her by text and decides he can remain in Magic City longer to absorb more virus and continue improving.

Character Developments

• Wu Ming demonstrates increasing confidence in his understanding of RR Virus and Gene Evolution. He combines scientific reasoning with knowledge from the original work to propose willpower as a biological factor.
• He also reveals a growing interest in cultivation and the possibility that ancient legends may contain real evolutionary or biological techniques.
• Zhao Minghui shifts from skepticism to cautious acceptance. His military experience allows him to understand Wu Ming’s argument about survival instincts and physical potential.
• Shen Xinglan is shown as quietly supportive and caring. Though worried about her son, she respects his choices and helps him materially rather than pressuring him.
• Wu Ming’s emotional response to his mother’s financial support reveals his affection and gratitude beneath his otherwise practical and analytical personality.

Significant Themes

• Human survival and evolution: The chapter presents survival instinct as a possible force that can stimulate genetic evolution.
• Science and the unknown: Gene Evolution is treated scientifically, while cultivation and ancient legends are reconsidered as potential sources of lost knowledge.
• Limits of large-scale solutions: Even with government support, methods such as improving fitness and cell activity cannot easily be implemented nationwide.
• Family support: Shen Xinglan’s silent concern and financial assistance emphasize the importance of familial care during a crisis.
• Individual responsibility versus fate: People may improve their chances through preparation, nutrition, fitness, and willpower, but not everyone can access these advantages equally.

Important Character Interactions

• Wu Ming and Zhao Minghui: Their discussion is the chapter’s central interaction. Wu Ming presents his four methods, while Zhao challenges his reasoning and evaluates its practical value. Their conversation establishes mutual respect and cooperation.
• Wu Ming and Shen Xinglan: Although she says little, Shen’s decision not to reprimand him and her later financial gift show her trust and concern. Wu Ming responds with sincere gratitude.
• Wu Ming and the Supervision Office: The organization recognizes his contribution and offers both institutional support and a special reward, strengthening his connection to the authorities.

Chapter Summary: “Full Spread”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wu Ming spends three days isolating himself to “refine” the RR Virus within his body. The virus burns out as it fuels his genetic evolution, increasing his strength from 689 kg to 728 kg.
• He learns the operating rules of his attribute panel:
  • A physical scan costs 20 energy.
  • Keeping the data displayed consumes 1 energy per second.
  • His body can currently store only 100 energy points, obtained through glucose.
• Wu Ming reads two major news reports:
  • The government releases an official RR Virus protection guide based largely on his advice to Zhao Minghui: genetic stability, energy replenishment, physical fitness, and survival willpower.
  • Magic City fully reopens, though citizens are warned to avoid coastal areas because the virus originated from the sea.
• Because his Virus Controller ability lets him absorb RR Virus safely, Wu Ming sees the reopened coastline as an opportunity rather than a danger.
• Over the next five days, he repeatedly explores the coast, discovering that underwater currents create pockets of extremely high virus concentration. He finds three such areas and greatly accelerates his growth.
• His Virus Controller talent’s upper limit rises to 1,000 kg, while his actual strength reaches 826 kg, bringing him within 74 kg of the 900-kg threshold required to become a Quasi-Martial Artist.
• Wu Ming worries that Zhao Minghui has not yet provided cultivation manuals. He considers attempting to sense cosmic energy on his own, based on information from the original novel, but still prefers to study proper manuals first.
• Zhao Minghui finally calls from Kyoto. He says he has obtained several ancient texts mentioning “Five Hearts Toward Heaven” and offers to mail them to Wu Ming.
• Before they finalize the mailing address, Zhao Minghui reveals that RR Virus infections have now spread to major cities throughout the country—including Wu Ming’s hometown, Shushi.

Character Development

• Wu Ming grows significantly stronger and becomes more knowledgeable about the virus, his talent, and the limits of his attribute panel.
• His confidence increases as he realizes that dangerous virus hotspots can be exploited for rapid evolution.
• He becomes increasingly focused on reaching Quasi-Martial Artist status and beginning cosmic-energy cultivation.
• His reaction to the news about Shushi shows a sharper emotional concern beneath his otherwise calm and analytical behavior.
• Zhao Minghui continues supporting Wu Ming indirectly despite being overwhelmed by the crisis, arranging access to rare cultivation materials and maintaining contact.

Significant Themes

• Danger as opportunity: The same coastal virus zones that threaten ordinary people provide Wu Ming with essential evolutionary fuel.
• Scientific understanding and adaptation: Wu Ming studies virus concentrations, currents, energy limits, and bodily changes to maximize his abilities.
• Preparation for a new stage: His impending Quasi-Martial Artist breakthrough marks a transition from virus-based evolution toward cosmic-energy cultivation.
• Widening crisis: The reopening of Magic City contrasts with the virus’s continued national spread, showing that normal life is returning only superficially.
• Personal stakes amid catastrophe: The outbreak reaching Shushi transforms the epidemic from a broad societal danger into a direct threat to Wu Ming’s hometown.

Character Interactions

• Wu Ming’s earlier interaction with Zhao Minghui has influenced national policy, as shown by the government’s official protection guide.
• His phone conversation with Zhao Minghui establishes continued cooperation: Zhao provides ancient cultivation texts, while Wu Ming remains a valuable source of knowledge about the virus.
• Their exchange ends with Zhao’s warning that RR has reached Shushi, creating a new source of tension and likely motivating Wu Ming’s next actions.

Chapter Summary: “Return Journey”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wu Ming learns from Zhao Minghui that the RR Virus has spread extraordinarily quickly through Shushi, likely traveling upstream along the Jinjiang River, which connects to the Yangtze River system.
• The epidemic’s initial mortality rate exceeded 40%, but Wu Ming’s epidemic-prevention handbook helped reduce it to below 10%.
• Huaxia develops a special medicine that stabilizes genes and increases cellular activity. Combined with nutrient treatment, it can raise survival rates above 95%, though production is limited and supplies are reserved mainly for the military and researchers.
• Shen Xinglan, Wu Ming’s mother, is credited with overcoming a major technical obstacle in developing the medicine. She is promoted to director of the newly established Southwest Epidemic Prevention Office and receives several dozen doses.
• Wu Ming realizes that Ruan Qingzhu’s family lives near the Jinjiang River, likely the main contamination source in Shushi. When Qingzhu and her father fail to answer their phones, he fears they have already been infected.
• Wu Ming warns Qingzhu’s mother, Miao Yueling, about the danger. Miao and Ruan Zaixing obtain three doses of the medicine from Shen Xinglan, use two themselves, and rush home with the remaining dose for Qingzhu.
• Wu Ming immediately books the earliest flight to Shushi. During the journey, he anxiously follows the situation by phone and uses virus refinement to distract himself.
• Upon landing, he learns that Qingzhu has received the medicine but remains unconscious, with her breathing steadily weakening.

Character Developments

• Wu Ming: Becomes increasingly responsible and emotionally invested in protecting others. His earlier efforts have clearly saved many lives, but his concern for Qingzhu reveals his personal vulnerability and growing urgency.
• Shen Xinglan: Gains recognition as a leading epidemic researcher and is promoted to direct the Southwest Epidemic Prevention Office. Her scientific achievement gives her access to lifesaving medicine that benefits her family and associates.
• Miao Yueling and Ruan Zaixing: Initially face the danger without immunity, but accept the risk of returning home after securing the special medicine. Their actions demonstrate their willingness to protect Qingzhu.
• Ruan Qingzhu: Becomes the immediate focus of the crisis. Her unresponsive condition and deteriorating breathing create uncertainty over whether the medicine will save her.

Significant Themes

• Responsibility and sacrifice: Wu Ming repeatedly acts to protect others, while Miao Yueling and Ruan Zaixing risk exposure to save Qingzhu.
• Scientific progress amid catastrophe: Research, epidemic planning, and medical innovation significantly reduce the virus’s death toll, emphasizing the value of preparation and cooperation.
• Personal stakes within a large-scale disaster: The epidemic is a national crisis, but Wu Ming’s fear becomes intensely personal when someone close to him is endangered.
• Urgency and uncertainty: The virus’s rapid spread and Qingzhu’s worsening condition maintain suspense despite the development of an effective treatment.

Character Interactions

• Wu Ming and Zhao Minghui: Zhao informs Wu Ming of the virus’s spread, the new medicine, Shen Xinglan’s promotion, and Wu Ming’s potential access to additional doses.
• Wu Ming and Miao Yueling: Wu Ming warns her about the Jinjiang contamination and advises her not to return without protection. He reassures her that he can help obtain more medicine if necessary.
• Wu Ming and Shen Xinglan: Though they do not speak directly in the chapter, Shen’s achievements and medicine supply become crucial to Wu Ming’s efforts to save the Ruan family.
• Wu Ming and Ruan Qingzhu’s family: Their phone conversations establish the family emergency and show Wu Ming’s growing emotional attachment to Qingzhu.
• Miao Yueling and Ruan Zaixing: They cooperate to secure the medicine, protect themselves, and reach Qingzhu as quickly as possible.

Chapter Summary: “Near Death”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Due to a virus outbreak contaminating the Jinjiang water source, a taxi driver refuses to take Wu Ming all the way to the villa district near the river. Wu Ming pays him and runs several kilometers to reach Ruan Qingzhu’s home.
• Wu Ming discovers that his mother, Shen Xinglan, has arrived to help. She explains that Qingzhu is critically ill with an advanced RR Virus infection.
• Hospitals are overcrowded, especially because many wealthy residents near the Jinjiang have been infected. Qingzhu cannot safely be moved, and the special medicine is no longer effective enough to cure her.
• Shen Xinglan explains that Qingzhu’s genes are close to collapsing. An enhancer is temporarily sustaining her, but she may die before the day ends.
• Wu Ming sees Qingzhu unconscious and severely weakened. Remembering the lively girl she once was, he is emotionally shaken.
• He reveals that infection awakened a special ability allowing him to sense and partially control the RR Virus. He offers to attempt a treatment.
• Shen Xinglan supports his claim, explaining that Wu Ming is a nationally recognized RR Virus expert whose epidemic-prevention methods were adopted by the country.
• Although initially doubtful, Ruan Zaixing and Miao Yueling agree to let him try because Qingzhu has almost no remaining chance otherwise.
• Ruan Zaixing begs Wu Ming to save his daughter and offers anything in return. Wu Ming refuses to treat the matter as a transaction, emphasizing his childhood bond with Qingzhu.
• Shen Xinglan warns that even the country’s best experts would have less than a ten percent chance of success, and Wu Ming cannot guarantee victory. Ruan Zaixing accepts the risk and promises not to blame him if the attempt fails.

Character Developments

• Wu Ming: Shows determination, emotional attachment, and courage. His frantic journey to Qingzhu demonstrates how important she is to him. He also reveals the full nature of his virus-related ability and accepts responsibility for attempting an extremely dangerous rescue.
• Ruan Qingzhu: Is portrayed as being on the verge of death, transformed from a vibrant young woman into a frail, unconscious patient. Her condition raises the emotional stakes of the chapter.
• Shen Xinglan: Acts as both a medical authority and a source of support for Wu Ming. She recognizes the possible value of his ability but remains realistic about the low odds of success.
• Ruan Zaixing: His former suspicion of Wu Ming disappears under the pressure of his daughter’s condition. His willingness to beg and accept any outcome reveals his desperation and deep love for Qingzhu.
• Miao Yueling: Grieves beside Qingzhu and initially questions whether Wu Ming’s ability can be scientifically trusted, but gradually regains hope after Shen Xinglan validates him.

Significant Themes

• Desperation and hope: Qingzhu’s condition appears nearly hopeless, yet Wu Ming’s unusual ability provides one final possibility.
• Family and loyalty: Wu Ming acts out of lifelong affection rather than reward, while Ruan Zaixing’s desperation reflects a parent’s willingness to sacrifice everything for a child.
• Science versus the extraordinary: The chapter combines medical explanations and genetic collapse with Wu Ming’s supernatural virus-controlling power.
• Risk and responsibility: Wu Ming must attempt an uncertain treatment with potentially fatal consequences, while the family must decide whether to place Qingzhu’s life in his hands.
• The human cost of the epidemic: Overcrowded hospitals, widespread infection, and limited medicine show how the outbreak has overwhelmed society.

Important Character Interactions

• Wu Ming and Shen Xinglan: She explains Qingzhu’s condition and encourages him to use his special ability, while also warning him about the risks.
• Wu Ming and Ruan Zaixing: Ruan Zaixing moves from suspicion to trust, begging Wu Ming to save Qingzhu. Wu Ming reassures him that their shared childhood makes any payment unnecessary.
• Wu Ming and Miao Yueling: Her grief and skepticism contrast with Wu Ming’s resolve; Shen Xinglan’s testimony helps convince her to support his attempt.
• Wu Ming and Qingzhu: Though Qingzhu remains unconscious, Wu Ming’s memories of their childhood and his determination to save her establish the depth of their emotional bond.

Chapter Summary: “Quasi-Martial Artist”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wu Ming agrees to examine and treat Ruan Qingzhu, whose condition has become extremely critical because of the exceptionally high concentration of RR Virus in her body.
• Shen Xinglan deliberately leads Ruan Zaixing and Miao Yueling outside so they cannot observe Wu Ming’s unusual treatment method, helping protect his secret.
• Using his Virus Controller ability, Wu Ming slowly draws the virus from Ruan Qingzhu’s body into his own. He must proceed carefully because some of her cells have already fused with the virus and begun genetic transformation; removing everything at once could trigger total Gene Collapse.
• The treatment temporarily stabilizes Ruan Qingzhu. Her breathing improves and color returns to her face, but Wu Ming realizes that her body remains severely damaged and could deteriorate again if he stops too soon.
• Absorbing the virus dramatically accelerates Wu Ming’s genetic transformation and strength growth. However, the process consumes his energy reserves at an alarming rate.
• When his energy nearly runs out, Wu Ming uses glucose solution through his equipment system to replenish himself. After exhausting his own supply, he calls for help.
• Shen Xinglan quickly obtains large quantities of glucose from the Ruan family and brings it to him without questioning his methods. Wu Ming continues treating Qingzhu while repeatedly consuming the solution.
• After roughly four hours, the virus activity finally settles, Wu Ming’s energy is restored, and the treatment reaches a temporary conclusion.
• His updated status shows him at 912 kilograms of strength, officially reaching the Quasi-Martial Artist level, with improved speed and cell activity. He still lacks a cultivation manual and must wait for Zhao Minghui to provide one.

Character Development

• Wu Ming: Demonstrates increased control, caution, and responsibility while treating Qingzhu. He prioritizes her survival despite the physical danger and immense energy cost to himself. His absorption of the virus greatly strengthens him, moving him closer to the next stage of evolution.
• Ruan Qingzhu: Remains unconscious and extremely fragile, but her immediate symptoms improve as Wu Ming reduces the virus concentration in her body. Her survival remains uncertain because of the extensive damage already caused.
• Shen Xinglan: Shows strong trust in Wu Ming and actively protects his secret by removing the others from the room. She also responds efficiently when he needs supplies, reinforcing her role as a supportive and dependable mother.
• Ruan Zaixing and Miao Yueling: Although curious about the treatment, they respect Shen Xinglan’s decision and leave without interfering.
• The Ruan family: Their wealth becomes crucial in supplying the enormous amount of glucose necessary to sustain Wu Ming during the treatment.

Significant Themes

• Sacrifice and responsibility: Wu Ming risks exhausting himself and damaging his own body to save Qingzhu.
• Secrecy and trust: The characters cooperate to conceal Wu Ming’s abilities, showing the importance of protecting extraordinary powers in a dangerous world.
• Human dependence on resources: Even supernatural abilities require practical support, with glucose serving as the essential fuel for Wu Ming’s treatment.
• Evolution through danger: The virus is both a deadly threat to Qingzhu and a source of rapid power growth for Wu Ming, highlighting its dual nature.
• Temporary survival versus true recovery: Qingzhu’s condition improves, but the chapter emphasizes that stabilization is not the same as a cure.

Character Interactions

• Shen Xinglan tactfully separates the family from Wu Ming so he can work privately.
• Wu Ming communicates urgently with Shen Xinglan when he needs glucose, and she immediately trusts his judgment and acts.
• The Ruan family supports the treatment indirectly by using their wealth to obtain medical supplies.
• Despite Wu Ming’s dramatic increase in strength, his attention remains focused on Qingzhu’s condition rather than on celebrating his own advancement.

Chapter Summary: “Awakening”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wu Ming spends several hours stabilizing and analyzing the RR Virus inside Ruan Qingzhu.
• Although the virus level in her body returns to normal, her genes have been partially transformed and are too damaged and energy-deficient to complete the process safely.
• Ordinary food or nutrient solutions cannot help because her fragile genetic balance might be disrupted by digestion or external energy.
• Wu Ming realizes that the “Body Energy +10” stored by his Equipment Bar might be transferable.
• Directly sending the energy into Ruan Qingzhu fails because the energy cannot leave his body without a medium.
• He devises a solution: use the RR Virus as a carrier. He wraps his stored energy inside virus particles and transfers them into Ruan Qingzhu through their physical contact.
• The virus particles merge with her cells, delivering energy and restoring their weakened condition.
• Wu Ming continues this process for hours, repeatedly cycling viruses between their bodies. Afternoon turns into night as he exhausts himself.
• Ruan Qingzhu’s body gradually completes its genetic metamorphosis. Around 90 percent of her transformation is finished, but her brain requires an enormous amount of additional energy.
• More than 300 units of energy are transferred: approximately 120 units repair and transform her body, while most of the remainder is absorbed by her brain.
• Wu Ming speculates that her unusually high brain-energy consumption may indicate great potential for awakening Spiritual Force, though no obvious signs appear.
• When her brain finishes transforming, her body instinctively rejects further energy, confirming that the process is complete.
• Wu Ming withdraws, believing he has successfully saved her. Ruan Qingzhu awakens and softly calls him, “A-Ming.”

Character Developments

• Wu Ming: Demonstrates intelligence, adaptability, patience, and deep concern for Ruan Qingzhu. He invents a novel method of transferring energy through the virus and pushes himself for hours despite physical exhaustion. His thoughts also reveal envy of potential Spirit Readers and awareness of his own limitations.
• Ruan Qingzhu: Survives the dangerous viral transformation and completes the metamorphosis of her body and brain. Her exceptional brain-energy consumption suggests strong latent potential, possibly including Spiritual Force. She awakens at the end of the chapter.
• Relationship: Wu Ming’s actions reinforce his protective bond with Ruan Qingzhu, who appears to be his childhood sweetheart. Her first instinct upon waking is to call for him, emphasizing their emotional closeness.

Significant Themes

• Ingenuity in crisis: Wu Ming solves an apparently impossible medical problem by combining his Equipment Bar ability with the properties of the RR Virus.
• Sacrifice and devotion: He expends enormous time and energy to save Ruan Qingzhu, refusing to abandon her despite the danger and difficulty.
• Genetic evolution: The chapter focuses on the painful and energy-intensive process of viral genetic metamorphosis.
• Unrealized potential: Ruan Qingzhu’s brain transformation hints at a future awakening of Spiritual Force, foreshadowing greater abilities.
• Limits of power: Wu Ming can manipulate energy and viruses but cannot directly force Spiritual Force to awaken, showing that some abilities must develop naturally.

Important Character Interactions

• Wu Ming maintains constant physical contact with Ruan Qingzhu to transfer virus-borne energy into her body.
• He carefully monitors her condition and adjusts his method as her cells and genes respond.
• Their interaction is largely silent and medical during the transformation, but it carries strong emotional significance because Wu Ming is saving someone deeply important to him.
• The chapter ends with Ruan Qingzhu awakening and recognizing Wu Ming, creating an intimate emotional resolution.

Chapter Summary: “Engagement”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Ruan Qingzhu awakens after successfully undergoing genetic transformation. Her health and appearance have fully recovered, and her physical strength has increased significantly.
• Upon seeing Wu Ming, she immediately asks him to hug her and pulls him into an embrace with unexpected force.
• She reveals that although she had appeared unconscious during the crisis, she was mentally aware of everything happening around her—including her parents’ distress, Shen Xinglan’s treatment, and Wu Ming’s efforts to save and care for her.
• Moved by her words, Wu Ming returns her embrace and welcomes her back.
• Ruan Qingzhu’s parents unexpectedly enter and catch the pair embracing. She becomes deeply embarrassed and hides under the blanket, while Wu Ming awkwardly tries to explain that he was merely checking for lingering aftereffects.
• Miao Yueling jokingly—and enthusiastically—suggests that Wu Ming and Ruan Qingzhu should become a couple. Shen Xinglan supports the idea and proposes settling their relationship immediately.
• Despite Ruan Zaixing’s conflicted feelings, he acknowledges that Wu Ming is worthy of his daughter and gives his reluctant approval.
• Wu Ming and Ruan Qingzhu both agree to the engagement. Because of the ongoing pandemic, they decide to keep the arrangements simple and postpone a formal ceremony until later.

2. Character Developments

• Ruan Qingzhu: Her successful transformation restores her health and gives her greater physical strength. More importantly, she openly expresses her affection for Wu Ming, abandoning the restraint she had previously maintained. Her emotional dependence and romantic feelings become unmistakable.
• Wu Ming: He realizes that his feelings for Ruan Qingzhu have developed beyond those of an older-brother figure. Though initially embarrassed and uncertain, he accepts her affection and promises to cherish her.
• Ruan Zaixing: His protective resentment toward Wu Ming remains, but gratitude for saving Qingzhu and recognition of Wu Ming’s character lead him to accept the relationship.
• Miao Yueling and Shen Xinglan: Both openly support the young couple and treat their engagement as a natural and welcome outcome.

3. Significant Themes

• Love emerging from long familiarity: Wu Ming and Ruan Qingzhu’s relationship evolves from childhood companionship and sibling-like closeness into romantic affection.
• Emotional honesty and reconciliation: Qingzhu’s confession allows both characters to acknowledge feelings that had previously been restrained or misunderstood.
• Life after crisis: Qingzhu’s recovery and the engagement symbolize hope, renewal, and the return of happiness after a life-threatening ordeal.
• Family approval and social bonds: The relationship becomes a shared family decision, showing how gratitude, trust, and longstanding familiarity overcome initial hesitation.
• Affection versus restraint: Wu Ming’s earlier efforts to maintain distance were intended to protect Qingzhu’s reputation, but the chapter suggests that excessive restraint can create misunderstandings.

4. Character Interactions

• Wu Ming and Ruan Qingzhu: Share their first openly intimate embrace as adults, discuss what she experienced during her treatment, and mutually acknowledge their importance to one another.
• Wu Ming and Ruan Zaixing: Their interaction remains awkward because Zaixing is both grateful to Wu Ming and reluctant to see him become close to his daughter.
• Ruan Qingzhu and Miao Yueling: Qingzhu reacts shyly and protests when her mother discusses marriage, while Miao Yueling teasingly but sincerely encourages the match.
• Shen Xinglan and the Ruan family: Shen Xinglan openly endorses the relationship and helps turn the romantic moment into a formal engagement discussion.
• Wu Ming and Ruan Qingzhu’s families: Both families ultimately approve the engagement, establishing the couple’s relationship publicly.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After negotiations between the two families conclude, Shen Xinglan notices Wu Ming’s severe exhaustion from using his special ability for more than ten hours.
• She takes him home rather than allowing him to stay overnight at the Ruan residence. They return by taxi, whose driver has developed antibodies to the virus and charges an unusually high fare.
• Once home, Wu Ming immediately falls into a deep, dreamless sleep. He wakes the following afternoon and discovers that the manuals he ordered have been delivered and signed for by his mother.
• After eating the meal Shen Xinglan left in the refrigerator, Wu Ming retrieves a large box containing 130 books related to cultivation, including Daoist texts, medical works, Internal Martial Arts manuals, yoga materials, and qigong books.
• He is disappointed by a commercial-looking qigong manual titled Five Hearts Toward Heaven Cultivation Method, finding it superficial and largely unrelated to genuine cultivation.
• A Daoist inner-elixir text provides a useful insight: successful cultivation requires naturally regulated breathing, a calm mind, relaxed attention, and inward observation.
• Wu Ming spends the entire night and following morning reading all the texts. Using the useful principles he finds and combining them with information from the original work, he constructs a complete method for sensing Cosmic Energy.
• He names his newly assembled technique the Five Hearts Facing the Sky Cultivation Method.

Character Developments

• Wu Ming demonstrates tremendous endurance and dedication. Despite physical and mental fatigue, he remains focused on developing a viable cultivation method.
• His ability to use stored energy allows him to work through the night without food, highlighting both the usefulness and unusual nature of his power.
• He shifts from relying on existing manuals to becoming an active creator and synthesizer of knowledge, extracting the most valuable principles from numerous traditions.
• Shen Xinglan continues to act as a caring and practical mother, arranging Wu Ming’s return home, preparing food, accepting his delivery, and leaving him a note with instructions.

Significant Themes

• Knowledge through synthesis: No single text contains the complete truth; Wu Ming must compare and combine scattered ideas from Daoism, qigong, martial arts, yoga, and other disciplines.
• Authenticity versus deception: The misleading qigong book contrasts with the genuinely useful Daoist passages, emphasizing the difficulty of distinguishing true knowledge from superficial claims.
• Mental stillness and natural breathing: The chapter presents calmness, relaxation, inward focus, and unforced breathing as essential foundations for sensing Cosmic Energy.
• Dedication and experimentation: Wu Ming’s willingness to read continuously and test ideas reflects the persistence required to advance in an unfamiliar cultivation system.
• Family care amid crisis: Shen Xinglan’s concern for Wu Ming provides a quiet emotional counterpoint to his intense pursuit of cultivation.

Character Interactions

• Shen Xinglan and Miao Yueling politely discuss whether Wu Ming and his mother should remain at the Ruan residence; Shen Xinglan declines because Wu Ming sleeps poorly away from home.
• Shen Xinglan supports Wu Ming indirectly by bringing him home safely, leaving him food, and accepting his heavy package.
• Wu Ming’s main interaction is with the cultivation texts themselves. He critically evaluates them, rejects unreliable material, and identifies the principles that align with his existing understanding.

Chapter Summary: “The Restless RR Virus”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wu Ming completes his first cultivation manual after working on it for twenty hours. He writes it in exceptionally clear and detailed language because he intends to eventually submit it to the country.
• Before releasing it, he plans to test the manual on himself. He believes sensing Cosmic Energy requires at least the physical fitness of a Quasi-Martial Artist.
• Exhausted but aware that mental fatigue can help quiet the mind, Wu Ming carefully prepares for cultivation:
  • Takes a hot shower.
  • Changes into comfortable clothes.
  • Switches his equipped talent from Virus Controller to Steel Armor to improve his energy-sensing ability.
  • Performs yoga-like relaxation exercises.
  • Assumes the Five Hearts Toward Heaven posture in a dimly lit room.
• After an hour of meditation, he still cannot consciously sense Cosmic Energy. Instead of becoming anxious, he continues to relax and eventually enters the profound state of “Void Silence,” in which the mind is completely still.
• While Wu Ming is in this state, Cosmic Energy begins entering his body instinctively through his palms, soles, and crown.
• The RR Viruses remaining in his body suddenly awaken. Because Wu Ming has removed the Virus Controller talent and is no longer consciously supervising them, they begin rapidly transforming his genes.
• The viruses, altered by their previous contact with Ruan Qingzhu’s genes, are far more active than Wu Ming realizes. They consume his stored energy while strengthening his body.
• His energy reserves rapidly fall from 100 to zero, though his physical fitness reaches the limit of the virus’s ability to transform his body—approximately one thousand kilograms of strength, equivalent to a First-Level Apprentice in physical ability.
• Unable to alter his already-stabilized body, the viruses invade his brain and begin transforming his cerebral region, potentially affecting the mysterious domain connected to Spirit Reader abilities.
• The brain transformation consumes enormous amounts of energy. After exhausting his reserves and draining the energy from his cells, Wu Ming’s body becomes desperately hungry.
• Still trapped in Void Silence and unaware of the danger, his body instinctively begins absorbing Cosmic Energy from the surrounding environment to sustain the transformation.

Character Development

• Wu Ming demonstrates patience, discipline, and scientific caution by creating a detailed manual and intending to verify it personally before sharing it.
• His preparation shows a growing understanding of cultivation: he combines physical relaxation, mental exhaustion, controlled breathing, posture, and talent management to maximize his chances of success.
• His confidence and composure are emphasized when he remains calm after failing to sense Cosmic Energy for an hour.
• However, his reliance on Void Silence creates a dangerous vulnerability: although his body continues reacting to the RR Virus, his consciousness is too detached to recognize or control the crisis.
• The RR Virus is revealed to be evolving beyond Wu Ming’s previous control, especially because of its mutation through Ruan Qingzhu’s genes.

Significant Themes

• Science and cultivation: Wu Ming approaches cultivation methodically, treating it as something to be documented, tested, and optimized.
• The danger of unintended consequences: His careful preparations inadvertently remove the Virus Controller talent, allowing the RR Virus to awaken unchecked.
• Body versus consciousness: Wu Ming’s mind reaches perfect tranquility while his body undergoes a violent, autonomous transformation.
• Evolution and adaptation: The virus pushes past the limits of physical genetic transformation and turns toward the brain, suggesting a new stage of evolution.
• The cost of power: Strengthening Wu Ming’s body requires the consumption of immense energy, leaving him vulnerable to starvation and possible bodily collapse.

Character Interactions

• There are no direct present-time interactions between Wu Ming and other characters in the chapter.
• Ruan Qingzhu’s indirect influence is crucial: the viruses previously used during her treatment absorbed aspects of her genes, making them unusually active and capable of transforming Wu Ming’s brain.
• Wu Ming’s relationship with the RR Virus shifts from controlled use to dangerous independence, creating an internal conflict between his intentions and the virus’s instinctive behavior.

Chapter Summary: “Sea of Consciousness Opened! Both Advance!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• While Wu Ming remains in the Void Silence state, his body instinctively begins absorbing Cosmic Energy. His cells actively draw in energy from both inside and outside his body, greatly accelerating his cultivation.
• The influx of Cosmic Energy stimulates dormant genes in his brain. His neurons reorganize and multiply, gradually opening an untouched region deep within his brain.
• As his brain demands more energy, absorption intensifies from a trickle into a flood. The disturbance eventually breaks through the Void Silence realm and awakens Wu Ming.
• Realizing that his Spiritual Force is about to awaken, Wu Ming consciously increases the energy intake. Cosmic Energy pours through his palms, soles, and Baihui acupoint, transforming both his body and brain.
• His brain genes complete their transformation, and a vast space—the Sea of Consciousness—opens. Mist-like Spiritual Force forms within it, allowing Wu Ming to become a Spirit Reader.
• Wu Ming discovers that Spiritual Force can provide inner vision, allowing him to inspect his own body. This will greatly aid his future Genetic Warrior cultivation, though microscopic observation is mentally exhausting.
• After realizing that the Void Silence method is dangerous because it suppresses bodily awareness, Wu Ming revises the Five Hearts Facing the Sky Cultivation Method into a safer version for eventual public use.
• He scans his new attributes and confirms that both his Genetic Energy and Spiritual Force have reached the Intermediate Warrior level, while his cell activity has reached the Beginner Warlord level.
• The Attribute Panel gains a new Brain Region Width statistic, but the Equipment Bar remains unchanged: Wu Ming still has Steel Armor equipped, with the talents Bronze Skin, Iron Bones and Body Cultivation.

Character Development

• Wu Ming successfully awakens as a Spirit Reader, achieving a breakthrough he had previously believed was limited to naturally gifted individuals such as Ruan Qingzhu.
• Despite his excitement, he remains analytical and calm. He recognizes that his Spiritual Force talent is likely poor because no unused Spiritual Force remains in his Sea of Consciousness, but he refuses to view this as a serious limitation.
• His ability to combine Spiritual Force with Genetic Warrior cultivation becomes a major advantage, especially because inner vision will let him monitor his body and improve his training efficiency.
• Wu Ming also demonstrates growing responsibility by modifying the cultivation method to prevent others from suffering the dangerous loss of bodily awareness caused by Void Silence.

Significant Themes

• Evolution through crisis: Wu Ming’s dangerous breakthrough forces his body and brain to evolve beyond their previous limits.
• Potential versus opportunity: Even with supposedly poor Spiritual Force talent, Wu Ming believes future opportunities and the Equipment Bar can compensate for his limitations.
• Science and cultivation: The chapter presents cultivation through genes, cells, brain regions, and measurable attributes, blending mystical advancement with biological transformation.
• Self-knowledge and control: Inner vision symbolizes Wu Ming’s increasing mastery over his body, while the dangers of Void Silence emphasize the risks of pursuing power without awareness.
• Individual strength and social responsibility: Wu Ming does not immediately release the revised cultivation method, choosing to wait until the public is strong enough to use it safely.

Character Interactions

• There are no direct conversations with other characters in the chapter.
• Wu Ming reflects on Ruan Qingzhu, whom he had envied for being a Spirit Reader, and realizes that he has now awakened the same ability.
• His primary “interaction” is with his own body, brain, Spiritual Force, and the Attribute Panel, as he tests and evaluates the results of his breakthrough.

Chapter Summary: “Set Test”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Wu Ming’s body evolves again, the Steel Armor’s bonus weakens, since his physical body is becoming more durable than ordinary metal. He realizes the armor may eventually provide little or no benefit.
• Wu Ming discovers that advancing to the Apprentice level unlocks a second Equipment Bar, earlier than he expected.
• He also discovers that compatible equipment can create set effects, granting additional talents and abilities.
• Equipping a fountain pen alongside the armor activates the Assassin set, which improves Genetic Energy, movement, and concealment.
• Wu Ming tests other combinations, such as glucose with armor, and determines that set effects require equipment to be conceptually related, not merely any two items.
• Wanting to improve his newly awakened Spiritual Force, he experiments with a fruit knife as a possible substitute for a Psychic Weapon. Initially, it only grants a Hidden Weapon bonus.
• Wu Ming removes the knife’s handle and then breaks off the remaining metal shaft. The resulting blade is recognized as a Spiritual Force-related weapon, granting a small Spiritual Force talent bonus.
• Combining the sharp blade with Steel Armor activates a much stronger set: Dual Spirit-Martial Cultivation, which improves both Genetic Energy and Spiritual Force talents.
• Inspired by the result, Wu Ming designs three future pieces of equipment:
  • A heavy battle saber for martial combat.
  • A set of lightweight flying swords for Spiritual Force combat.
  • A heavily reinforced armor intended to maximize talent bonuses rather than battlefield practicality.
• Knowing a beast tide will erupt in eight months, Wu Ming begins preparing specialized equipment and combat abilities. He contacts Ruan Qingzhu to ask about superior materials, and she immediately invites him to visit.

Character Development

• Wu Ming becomes more analytical and inventive as he studies the Equipment system. Rather than accepting the obvious limitations of his current gear, he experiments until he discovers how equipment classifications affect talents.
• His understanding of himself expands from simply being a martial artist to pursuing dual cultivation as both a Martial Artist and Spirit Reader.
• He demonstrates practical foresight by planning equipment well in advance of the coming beast tide.
• His resourcefulness is highlighted when he repurposes an ordinary fruit knife and transforms it into an item capable of activating a powerful equipment set.

Significant Themes

• Adaptation and innovation: Wu Ming continuously tests assumptions and modifies ordinary objects to suit his evolving abilities.
• The relationship between classification and power: An item’s talents depend not only on its appearance but on its functional nature and intended use.
• Dual cultivation: The chapter establishes Wu Ming’s goal of developing both Genetic Energy and Spiritual Force, making him more versatile and potentially powerful.
• Preparation for crisis: The approaching beast tide motivates Wu Ming to improve his weapons, armor, and combat skills before danger arrives.
• Growth surpassing old tools: As Wu Ming’s body becomes stronger, outdated equipment loses value, emphasizing the need for constant improvement.

Character Interactions

• Wu Ming has no major face-to-face interactions in the chapter, but his thoughts reveal his awareness of Luo Feng’s use of throwing knives as inspiration for Spirit Reader weapons.
• He plans to consult Ruan Qingzhu about stronger materials, suggesting trust in her and access to her family’s resources.
• Their brief message exchange shows Qingzhu’s immediate willingness to help: when Wu Ming asks whether she will be home, she simply replies, “Come!”