Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Plot developments

Black Cat asks to buy one of Liu Zheng’s Five Virtues, specifically Trust, believing it can withstand the character’s burden. Liu Zheng is unable to agree because the virtues belong to the Restaurant and he lacks authority to trade them. During the conversation, Si Xue calls Liu Zheng and warns him not to sell the characters, threatening to burn him and use him as a substance for Phoenix if he disobeys. This confirms that the Five Virtues are rare and valuable even to Si Xue.

Character interactions and developments

Si Xue mocks Liu Zheng’s relationship with the Novelist, calling her someone destined to become a widow and criticizing his choice of lover. Liu Zheng avoids answering the insult and remains respectful toward his boss. The Novelist quietly supports him and pretends not to overhear the phone call out of respect. Black Cat initially shows interest in Trust but becomes relieved when the deal fails, recognizing that it might not be able to bear the character’s pressure. Hishikibe later serves Liu Zheng a special drink, Joy Turns to Sorrow, while maintaining her intimidating, assassin-like demeanor.

The liquor and its effect

The drink is a Quill Club specialty that grants +1 Mental attribute and increased resistance to mental attacks. Its “impurities” are actually tiny characters. After Liu Zheng drinks it, the characters rearrange into a story, causing him to lose consciousness and enter an immersive vision.

Dream narrative

Liu Zheng experiences the life of a happily married white-collar worker whose wife, descended from outsiders, retains customs not fully assimilated into Metropolis. After she becomes pregnant, he devotes himself to protecting her and their unborn child. However, she is brutally murdered while bringing him a forgotten USB drive, and their eight-month-old child is discarded and killed as well. Dissatisfied with the Public Security Bureau’s failure to investigate, Liu Zheng spends thirteen years seeking revenge. A lottery win funds his efforts, and he eventually captures a Werewolf thug connected to the crime. Under torture, the thug admits that it was not the killer but knows who committed the murder: Liu Zheng’s former boss.

Themes

The chapter explores the danger and burden of virtues, especially the difference between merely following rules and truly embodying them. It also emphasizes loyalty, ownership, and authority through the dispute over the Five Virtues. The liquor’s story introduces themes of grief, revenge, institutional failure, social prejudice, and the fragile boundary between happiness and sorrow. Its note—questioning whether one should laugh or cry when emotions are manipulated—foreshadows the unsettling nature of the vision.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng experiences a horrific vision titled “Joy Turns to Sorrow,” in which he takes revenge on his former boss, Dodge, for destroying his family.
• After killing Dodge’s wife and son and mutilating Dodge, Liu Zheng discovers that Dodge’s daughter shares the same fox-ear birthmark as his deceased wife, revealing a hidden blood connection.
• Dodge, secretly still alive, uses a laser device to cripple Liu Zheng and urges his daughter to kill him. The girl, consumed by hatred, beheads Liu Zheng.
• Liu Zheng awakens from the nightmare and learns from Black Cat that “Joy Turns to Sorrow” was actually a case file, not fiction. The people involved were real but unaware that they were being manipulated as part of a story.
• Black Cat explains that the Quill Club produces hundreds of such “cups” annually, affecting countless people. Though the Club claims to provide benefits, Liu Zheng sees its actions as cruel exploitation.
• Black Cat leaves to continue its work, while Liu Zheng speaks with Novelist about her ambition to become a Narrator.
• Liu Zheng suggests that Novelist begin with fanfiction to develop her long-form writing skills. She explains that fanfiction requires giving part of one’s words to the original author, which would prevent her from becoming a Narrator.
• Liu Zheng offers to let her use one of his own stories instead.

2. Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: His reaction to the nightmare reveals his disgust with the Metropolis’s cruelty and his strong moral opposition to manipulating innocent people. Although he refuses to recklessly attack the Quill Club, he remains willing to interfere if an opportunity arises. He also shows increasing concern for Novelist’s growth.
• Novelist: She demonstrates admiration for Black Cat but doubts her own writing ability. Her determination to become a Narrator is revealed to be serious and purposeful rather than a passing ambition. She also possesses a ruthless side, calmly discussing extreme methods to avoid the costs of fanfiction.
• Black Cat: Black Cat presents the Metropolis’s cruelty as ordinary and unavoidable, but its conversation with Liu Zheng suggests growing sympathy for him. Learning about the burdens of the Five Virtues causes Black Cat to lose some of its desire for the word “Trust.”
• Dodge and his daughter: Their story illustrates how victims can become perpetrators. Dodge manipulates his daughter into killing Liu Zheng, while the girl loses her innocence and becomes consumed by inherited hatred.

3. Significant Themes

• Exploitation through storytelling: The Quill Club treats real people’s suffering as entertainment and narrative material, reducing lives to disposable plots.
• The corrupt morality of the Metropolis: Cruelty is rationalized as beneficial because the victims might receive advantages they could not otherwise obtain.
• Revenge and inherited hatred: Liu Zheng’s vengeance creates another victim, while Dodge weaponizes his daughter’s grief and turns her into an instrument of revenge.
• The danger of writing and narrative power: Stories in this world have literal supernatural consequences, and writers can alter or destroy lives through words.
• Trust, authorship, and identity: The discussion of Narrators and ownership of words highlights the importance of creative independence and the risks of relying on another author’s work.

4. Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Black Cat: They debate whether the Quill Club’s interventions can be justified. Liu Zheng responds sarcastically and distrustfully, while Black Cat explains the Metropolis’s twisted logic with detached sympathy.
• Liu Zheng and Novelist: Liu Zheng encourages Novelist’s ambitions and offers practical writing advice. He suggests fanfiction as training, but she explains why it would compromise her path to becoming a Narrator. Their exchange ends with Liu Zheng offering his own work for her to adapt.
• Dodge and Liu Zheng: Their confrontation is driven by mutual blame and revenge, but the revelation of the birthmark transforms the encounter into a tragic revelation of hidden family ties.
• Dodge and his daughter: Dodge manipulates his daughter from beyond apparent death, directing her hatred toward Liu Zheng and using her to complete his revenge.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng asks the Novelist whether she can copy a complete novel from his memory, since manually reproducing millions of words would be impossible.
• The Novelist explains that her method will cause severe pain but will not kill him. She retrieves a black keyboard hidden inside her furisode and removes the “Ctrl” and “C” keys.
• She presses the keys into Liu Zheng’s forehead, causing them to pass through his skull and “copy” the novel from his mind. The process is agonizing, but she successfully extracts the material.
• Liu Zheng chooses Dragon Clan for her to study, explaining that its relatively simple setting and strong focus on characterization and prose make it suitable for her development.
• He gives her advice for writing fanfiction:
  • Preserve the protagonist’s seemingly pathetic devotion to the senior sister, since it is central to the story.
  • Avoid pairing the protagonist with male supporting characters if she wants a broader audience.
  • Delay choosing a definitive female lead.
• Their conversation is interrupted when Black Cat announces that the authors must return to their seats.
• Black Cat draws the competition format: a three-hundred-character twist contest, judged according to plot twists, structure, prose, and overall quality.
• The Novelist quickly completes her entry in ten minutes. Liu Zheng initially writes nothing, claiming that his idea is too large for the character limit, but then finishes just before the deadline.
• Black Cat reviews more than a thousand submissions and selects two entries with equal scores:
  • Hishikibe’s piece, praised for beautiful prose and intricate logical traps.
  • Liu Zheng’s piece, praised for its originality, forceful wording, and dark humor.
• Hishikibe’s entry receives strong applause, while Liu Zheng’s identity as a Bloodstained Restaurant delivery worker causes unease among the authors.
• Black Cat begins displaying Liu Zheng’s story, which opens as a dark revenge narrative involving a scarred youth, murdered parents, the Seasand Gang, and the powerful Ye Liangchen.

2. Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates ingenuity by using the Novelist’s supernatural “copy-and-paste” ability to transfer an entire novel from his memory. Despite enduring intense pain, he remains focused on helping her improve.
• He also reveals a practical understanding of storytelling and audience expectations through his detailed advice about Dragon Clan and fanfiction.
• Liu Zheng’s confidence grows during the contest. His hesitation is not caused by writer’s block but by having an ambitious idea that he must compress into the strict limit.
• The Novelist shows trust and obedience toward Liu Zheng by enduring an awkward extraction process and willingly subjecting him to the painful copying method.
• She remains emotionally attached to him, becoming resentful when she suspects he may be “stringing her along,” suggesting romantic or personal insecurity beneath her normally obedient behavior.
• Her talent as a short-story writer is emphasized: she finishes rapidly and confidently, while also taking Liu Zheng’s advice seriously.
• Hishikibe shifts from earlier grievance to smug confidence after her work is praised, revealing competitiveness and pride.
• Black Cat acts as an impartial but theatrical host and judge, carefully comparing the two finalists while emphasizing fairness.

3. Significant Themes

• Pain as the price of creation: The transfer of Liu Zheng’s novel requires extreme physical suffering, linking artistic production and knowledge transmission with sacrifice.
• Writing technique versus originality: Hishikibe represents polished prose and intricate construction, while Liu Zheng represents bold concepts, compressed storytelling, and dark humor.
• Adaptation and artistic mentorship: Liu Zheng teaches the Novelist how to adapt an existing work without losing its core identity or alienating its intended audience.
• Romantic ambiguity and emotional dependence: The Novelist’s complaint about being strung along introduces tension between professional guidance and possible romantic expectations.
• Competition and status: The contest exposes rivalries among authors and reminds them of the wider power hierarchy, especially the fear inspired by the Bloodstained Restaurant.
• Genre conventions: The chapter playfully examines familiar tropes such as tragic revenge, devoted protagonists, senior-sister romances, and cultivation-world power struggles.

4. Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and the Novelist share a comic yet intimate exchange during the memory-copying process. Their physical proximity creates embarrassment, while her later accusation suggests deeper emotional tension.
• Liu Zheng adopts the role of mentor, giving the Novelist concrete guidance on characterization, romantic pairings, and pacing.
• The Novelist responds respectfully but also challenges him emotionally, asking whether he is manipulating or delaying her affection.
• Black Cat’s announcements repeatedly interrupt their private interaction and force them back into the formal competition.
• Hishikibe’s smug reaction toward the Novelist establishes rivalry between the two female writers.
• The authors as a group react with admiration to Hishikibe’s prose and anxiety when Liu Zheng’s connection to the Bloodstained Restaurant is revealed.
• The chapter ends as the audience begins reading Liu Zheng’s dark, revenge-driven entry, setting up the revelation of its twists and humor.

Chapter Summary: It Still Takes You Humans

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng presents his bizarre contest entry, depicting a youth mutilating himself before a grave to repay his parents before dramatically severing ties and fleeing.
• The newly transformed authors are confused by the performance, but the audience eventually applauds enthusiastically, mixing admiration with laughter. Someone remarks, “It still takes you humans,” reinforcing the residents’ strange misunderstanding of human culture.
• The Black Cat, acting as judge, announces that Liu Zheng—representing the Bloodstained Restaurant under the title “Mr. Deliveryman”—has won the competition. It explains that the Writers Association needs new talent and wants to encourage newcomers.
• Hishikibe is furious that Liu Zheng has defeated her, especially because she sees him as the Novelist’s lover. However, she suppresses her anger because openly challenging the Black Cat and the Association’s rules could damage her status.
• Liu Zheng escorts the Novelist to receive the prize, insisting that he will not leave her side because he is her “male companion.” The Novelist then taunts Hishikibe with a throat-slitting gesture, intensifying their rivalry.
• As the pair crosses the arena, the authors’ attitudes toward Liu Zheng shift. Those who had dismissed him begin to respect or show interest in him, while several authors flirt with him.
• The Novelist reacts possessively, using her invisible blade-arm to cut off the flirtatious gazes. She cannot intimidate the most powerful Gold Feather authors, however, because her current status is not yet high enough.
• The Black Cat offers Liu Zheng a place in a future publication and suggests that, if he reaches Green Feather rank or higher, it can help transfer his employment from the Bloodstained Restaurant to the Writers Association. The condition is that ownership of the Trust character attached to Liu Zheng must eventually be transferred to the Black Cat.
• Liu Zheng remains largely uninterested, believing the Bloodstained Restaurant has greater status and influence. The Black Cat privately assumes he will change his mind once he understands the Association’s advantages.
• Liu Zheng receives the contest prizes: one red pill and one blue pill. The Black Cat warns him not to take both together, explaining that such medicines have helped authors produce breakthrough works but may be dangerous if used recklessly.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng gains recognition as a talented and unconventional writer. His calmness under public scrutiny shows how much he has grown accustomed to danger and hostile attention. He also strengthens his relationship with the Novelist by openly presenting himself as her partner.
• The Novelist becomes more openly possessive and provocative. She protects Liu Zheng from unwanted attention and deliberately antagonizes Hishikibe, while also becoming more determined to improve her writing and rise in status.
• Hishikibe reveals intense jealousy and resentment. Her hatred is directed not only at Liu Zheng’s victory but also at his relationship with the Novelist. Despite her fury, she demonstrates political awareness by restraining herself publicly.
• The Black Cat emerges as a calculating but encouraging authority figure. It supports Liu Zheng’s talent while also attempting to secure future control over the Trust character and recruit him into the Writers Association.

Significant Themes

• Cultural misunderstanding: Liu Zheng’s deliberately strange human story is interpreted as literature by the nonhuman audience, highlighting the gulf between human logic and the customs of the otherworldly residents.
• Art and social status: Literary achievement determines an author’s rank, influence, and freedom within the Writers Association.
• Jealousy and rivalry: Hishikibe’s hostility and the Novelist’s possessiveness turn Liu Zheng’s victory into a personal conflict.
• Institutional power and independence: The chapter contrasts the Bloodstained Restaurant’s institutional strength with the Writers Association’s promise of personal recognition and creative freedom.
• Dangerous shortcuts to success: The mysterious red and blue pills symbolize the risks of using powerful aids to achieve artistic breakthroughs.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng’s strange performance confuses and entertains the assembled authors.
• The Black Cat publicly praises Liu Zheng and offers him a possible future career in the Writers Association.
• Liu Zheng firmly supports the Novelist by refusing to attend the award ceremony without her.
• The Novelist openly threatens Hishikibe and drives away lesser authors who show interest in Liu Zheng.
• The Black Cat and Liu Zheng negotiate indirectly over Liu Zheng’s future affiliation and ownership of the Trust character.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng examines two pills: the Spirit Sight Pill, which can be taken out of the copy, and the True Sight Pill, which cannot. Their differing descriptions and cryptic remarks suggest an important hidden distinction, though Liu Zheng cannot yet determine what it means.
• The black cat ends the opening match and transforms the venue into a grand disco stage, complete with colorful lights, music, and dancing authors.
• The authors—both high- and low-ranking—dance to release the pressure and negative emotions accumulated from their work and responsibilities.
• Liu Zheng dances with Novelist while eating restorative food from passing trays. He enjoys the relaxed atmosphere and takes advantage of the opportunity to replenish his stamina, especially because his Flesh Rebirth ability consumes large amounts of energy.
• Novelist uses saliva to activate Liu Zheng’s vision, allowing him to see that the dancing authors are releasing black, character-like particles representing their accumulated negative thoughts.
• She explains that the ball is intended to help authors discharge stress, although most of the negativity eventually returns unless the later stage of the event provides further relief.
• Before Novelist can explain the final process, the black cat interrupts and announces the next segment: a dance-off.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains observant and suspicious, immediately noticing the inconsistency between the two pills and recognizing that it may hold major significance.
• His physical needs and survival instincts are emphasized as he eats extensively to restore energy for Flesh Rebirth. At the same time, he is able to relax and enjoy himself in an unusually safe, peaceful setting.
• Liu Zheng’s appearance has been altered by Big Brother Goose from frightening purple-black to healthy bronze, allowing him to interact more easily with others.
• Novelist shows warmth and familiarity toward Liu Zheng, teasing him about his appetite while also explaining the hidden purpose of the ball. Her own visible burden of negative thoughts suggests that she carries considerable emotional pressure.
• The black cat continues acting as an extravagant host and entertainer, shifting from formal announcer to flamboyant dancer and game-show presenter.

Significant Themes

• Hidden truth and perception: The two sight-related pills foreshadow questions about different kinds of vision, recognition, and reality.
• Emotional repression and release: The authors’ dancing physically expels the negative thoughts created by their work, showing how creativity and responsibility can generate psychological strain.
• Appearance versus reality: The seemingly carefree ball conceals a supernatural process involving the authors’ inner negativity. Liu Zheng’s altered appearance also demonstrates how outward form can disguise one’s true nature.
• Community and coping: The Writers Association uses collective entertainment as a method of managing stress, even if the relief is incomplete.
• Temporary safety and comfort: Liu Zheng enjoys food, music, and companionship without the usual dangers of the Metropolis, creating a rare pause in his constant struggle for survival.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Novelist dance together, with him taking the lead in a playful, gentlemanly manner.
• Novelist jokes about Liu Zheng’s eating habits, while he explains that he is replenishing stamina rather than simply indulging.
• Novelist reveals the hidden supernatural aspect of the ball by giving Liu Zheng enhanced sight.
• Their conversation establishes trust and intimacy, but her explanation is cut short when the black cat announces the dance-off.

Chapter Summary

• Liu Zheng is invited to participate in the Writers Association’s dance battle during the ball. Although initially uninterested in the prizes, he volunteers to go first after Novelist assures him that the only real danger is embarrassment.
• His opponent is unexpectedly Hishikibe, who immediately attempts to undermine Novelist by offering Liu Zheng anything he wants if he will abandon her. Liu Zheng rejects her without hesitation.
• Hishikibe assumes he is rejecting her out of loyalty or romantic devotion, and becomes even more interested because she believes such unwavering fidelity would humiliate Novelist further.
• Liu Zheng clarifies that his reason is much simpler: he finds Hishikibe “too ugly.” He borrows Black Cat’s microphone and publicly delivers the insult with exaggerated theatricality, provoking the entire arena into uproarious laughter.
• Humiliated and enraged, Hishikibe’s injured eye violently mutates, producing Ghost Hands and additional eyes as she prepares to kill Liu Zheng.
• Black Cat intervenes, invoking the Writers Association’s rules. He declares that Liu Zheng is no longer an outsider because he won the previous competition and warns Hishikibe that she must accept the consequences of provoking someone.
• Black Cat further condemns influential figures who have begun bringing their arrogance and lawlessness into the Association. He asserts his authority and threatens to turn Hishikibe into a book cover and deliver her to the Fujiwara Family if she violates the rules again.
• The assembled authors unanimously remain silent, effectively supporting Black Cat’s position and suggesting that many agree the Association needs to be cleansed of corrupt or disruptive influences.
• Liu Zheng realizes that his confrontation has served Black Cat’s political purpose: he was used as a “borrowed knife” to challenge Hishikibe and reinforce the Association’s authority.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Liu Zheng displays confidence, caution, and a mischievous willingness to exploit social situations. His insult to Hishikibe demonstrates his bluntness and ability to turn humiliation into entertainment.
• Hishikibe is shown as proud, possessive, manipulative, and highly vindictive. Her interest in Liu Zheng is driven less by genuine affection than by a desire to hurt Novelist.
• Black Cat shifts from a playful host into a forceful political authority. He protects the Association’s order and reveals ambitions to manage it more directly, possibly aspiring to become a vice president.
• Novelist encourages Liu Zheng to participate and indirectly sets up the confrontation with Hishikibe.
• The authors collectively act as amused spectators, enjoying the conflict and supporting Black Cat’s crackdown.

Significant Themes

• Humiliation as power: Liu Zheng defeats Hishikibe socially rather than physically, exposing how public ridicule can provoke and weaken an arrogant opponent.
• Rules versus privilege: Black Cat insists that status and outside influence do not exempt anyone from the Writers Association’s rules.
• Political maneuvering: Liu Zheng’s insult becomes a tool for Black Cat to assert authority and rally the Association against disruptive factions.
• Pride and retaliation: Hishikibe’s violent reaction shows how wounded pride can transform verbal conflict into deadly confrontation.
• The outsider becoming an insider: Liu Zheng’s victory grants him recognition within the Association, changing his position from outsider to protected participant.

Chapter Summary: “My Temper Is Pretty Bad Right Now”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hishikibe and Liu Zheng’s dispute is resolved through a formal dance battle, in accordance with the Association’s rules.
• Black Cat announces the theme: “passion and spontaneity.”
• Hishikibe begins by dramatically tearing away her traditional five-colored junihitoe, revealing a silver outfit and a strikingly beautiful face beneath her ceremonial makeup.
• She performs an elegant, skating-inspired dance, gliding across the stage barefoot with professional-level skill.
• Her anger gradually manifests as black words and ominous mist spilling from her movements, creating an increasingly threatening atmosphere.
• Liu Zheng remains calm and asks Black Cat about the rules. After learning that the stage itself will judge the competitors, he removes his restaurant uniform and prepares to dance.
• His discarded uniform is caught by Novelist, whose protective display of killing intent frightens away the audience. The sight inspires several authors, who immediately begin writing new stories.
• Black Cat is pleased by the renewed inspiration in the audience and becomes increasingly interested in Liu Zheng, even suggesting that victory might strengthen their relationship.
• Liu Zheng focuses entirely on Hishikibe’s performance. Recognizing that matching her figure-skating style would cause him to be overwhelmed, he devises a different approach.
• He begins with a provocative yet commanding pose, combining the attitude of a flirtatious rogue with the authority of a king, immediately captivating the audience.

Character Developments

• Hishikibe: Her anger becomes increasingly evident through the dark mist generated by her dance. She reveals a glamorous appearance hidden beneath her traditional attire and makeup, but her pride is wounded when Liu Zheng reacts with indifference. Her performance reflects both her artistic talent and her dangerous temper.
• Liu Zheng: He remains composed despite Hishikibe’s hostility. His familiarity with dance and figure skating allows him to accurately assess her technique, and instead of competing on her terms, he chooses a spontaneous, unconventional style.
• Black Cat: Acts as mediator and judge while also pursuing political ambitions within the Association. The audience’s renewed inspiration strengthens Black Cat’s confidence in securing the vice-presidential position.
• Novelist: Displays fierce possessiveness toward Liu Zheng’s uniform, using her invisible blades to prevent anyone else from taking it. Her reaction also indirectly inspires the other authors.
• The audience: Initially distracted by Hishikibe’s appearance, the authors become inspired by Liu Zheng’s presence and Novelist’s reaction, returning to their creative work.

Significant Themes

• Appearance versus reality: Hishikibe’s intimidating traditional appearance conceals both her beauty and her volatile emotions.
• Art as emotional expression: Hishikibe channels her anger into increasingly sinister movements, while Liu Zheng prepares to express himself through improvisation.
• Passion and spontaneity: The battle rewards not merely technical skill but emotional intensity, originality, and the ability to surprise.
• Inspiration and creativity: Liu Zheng and Novelist unintentionally stimulate the authors’ imaginations, showing how powerful personal interactions and spectacle can be.
• Pride and rivalry: Hishikibe’s wounded pride fuels her aggression, while Liu Zheng’s indifference intensifies the tension between them.

Character Interactions

• Hishikibe accuses Liu Zheng of provoking the conflict, but accepts the dance battle after Black Cat invokes Association rules.
• Hishikibe attempts to impress and intimidate Liu Zheng with her transformation and dance, but his lack of reaction frustrates her.
• Liu Zheng consults Black Cat about the battle’s rules before calmly entering the competition.
• Novelist claims Liu Zheng’s discarded uniform and threatens the audience, revealing her attachment to him.
• Black Cat observes Liu Zheng with growing interest and hints at a possible closer relationship if he wins.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng responding to Hishikibe’s graceful style through a bold, teasing, and authoritative opening pose.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng begins his dance battle against Hishikibe, moving with surprising power and precision despite his tentacles and hooves.
• Black Cat realizes Liu Zheng has not yet been granted permission to release his inner power and uses its quill to unlock him.
• Liu Zheng’s suppressed negative emotions pour out as black words and then transform into a dense blood-red mist. The mist contains the screams of all the suffering he has witnessed, endured, and caused—including his own.
• His agony forms a terrifying chorus that disrupts the arena’s music and lights, turning the cheerful ballroom into a horror-like scene.
• Liu Zheng enters a liberated, almost weightless state, dancing instinctively as his body and soul move in perfect unity. His dance invokes the Gospel, prompting astonishment from Black Cat and the Platinum Authors.
• The Platinum Authors launch a coordinated assault, transforming the arena’s black mist into written articles that swarm over Liu Zheng.
• The attack initially appears to restore order, but Liu Zheng’s blood mist proves exceptionally resilient. It burns through nearly half of the Association’s black mist while barely weakening.
• The authors become alarmed because the dance battle’s normal process may fail. They cannot simply use greater force without risking even more dangerous consequences.
• Black Cat prepares to intervene personally, intending to resolve the threat before Liu Zheng’s Gospel fully descends.
• Novelist leaps onto the stage and blocks Black Cat, declaring that she will not allow anyone to harm Liu Zheng.
• Black Cat warns that the battle cannot be stopped conventionally and that, if the Gospel fully manifests, City Hall—and possibly the Bloodstained Restaurant—will come to claim Liu Zheng.
• Novelist acknowledges the danger but openly asserts her possessiveness, declaring Liu Zheng to be the man she has claimed and threatening the entire Writers Association with her blade arms.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: Releases the negative emotions he has long suppressed, revealing the enormous amount of suffering contained within him. Rather than being weakened by this release, he becomes freer, stronger, and more powerful, gaining access to the Gospel through dance.
• Black Cat: Shifts from amused observer and facilitator to a concerned authority figure forced to take responsibility for the dangerous accident. Its political ambitions within the Writers Association are also indirectly threatened.
• The Platinum Authors: Initially confident in their ability to control the dance battle, they become uneasy and recognize that Liu Zheng’s power exceeds normal expectations. Their silent pressure on Black Cat reveals their willingness to withdraw support if the crisis is mishandled.
• Novelist: Demonstrates fierce loyalty and possessiveness toward Liu Zheng. She openly defies the entire Association, prioritizing his safety over political consequences and revealing the extent of her influence and determination.
• Hishikibe: Becomes effectively irrelevant to the battle and is frightened into helplessness by Liu Zheng’s transformation.

Significant Themes

• Suppressed suffering and emotional release: Liu Zheng’s power comes from pain that has been buried rather than resolved. Once released, his suffering becomes both terrifying and liberating.
• Art as transformation: The dance turns inner trauma into movement, sound, and supernatural power. The battle also reflects the Writers Association’s belief that creative struggle can temper an author’s mind.
• Control versus freedom: The Association relies on rules and established procedures to contain negative emotions, while Liu Zheng’s uncontrolled release challenges those systems.
• Possessiveness and protection: Novelist’s declaration frames her devotion as both romantic and threatening. She protects Liu Zheng by claiming authority over who may approach him.
• Institutional power and exploitation: Black Cat’s warning about City Hall and the Bloodstained Restaurant reveals that powerful organizations view supernatural beings like Liu Zheng as resources, employees, or ingredients rather than individuals.

Character Interactions

• Black Cat and Liu Zheng: Black Cat unintentionally unlocks Liu Zheng’s full power by granting permission for his inner words and emotions to emerge.
• Liu Zheng and the Platinum Authors: Their collective attack represents the institutional response to a threat they cannot easily understand or contain.
• Black Cat and the Platinum Authors: The authors expect Black Cat to solve the crisis, linking its responsibility for recruiting Liu Zheng to its political aspirations.
• Black Cat and Novelist: Black Cat attempts to reason with Novelist by explaining the rules and larger dangers, but Novelist rejects compromise and confronts it directly.
• Novelist and Liu Zheng: Although Liu Zheng is largely absorbed in his trance-like dance, Novelist’s actions reveal a strong, possessive attachment and a willingness to challenge powerful organizations for him.

Chapter Summary: “Amon, You Bastard!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Black Cat and Novelist discuss Novelist’s decision to pursue the Emotion Stream, a dangerous but potentially faster route toward becoming a Narrator. Black Cat warns that the path is narrow and perilous, but Novelist argues that the safer, broader path has not produced a Narrator in over two centuries.
• Black Cat allows her powerful alternate personality, Amon, to take control of her body. Amon senses an aura resembling the Mother Goddess and decides he needs more than the initially allotted five minutes—though he negotiates for only half an hour of freedom.
• Amon confronts Novelist and confidently challenges her to surrender. Novelist refuses, resolved to fight for Liu Zheng and to write a story centered on opposing the entire world for someone she loves.
• Novelist summons the Futsu-no-Mitama Sword, an artifact from one of her earlier tragic stories. She manifests a giant shrine-maiden avatar and prepares a single devastating strike.
• Amon recognizes the sword’s origin and explains that using such a powerful ability from an abandoned short-story domain will likely allow Novelist only one attack, with potentially fatal backlash.
• Novelist insists that the meaning of her action is hers alone to determine. Her resolve and emotional commitment strengthen her power.
• As Amon prepares to invade her mind and steal one of her thoughts, a terrifying red aura erupts from the surrounding black mist. The energy is powerful enough to shake the foundation of Amon’s existence.
• Unable to identify or withstand the unfamiliar force, Amon removes his monocle and relinquishes control. Black Cat immediately regains herself and angrily shouts, “Amon, you bastard!”

Character Developments

• Novelist/Izanami fully commits to the Emotion Stream, accepting its risks because it aligns with her deepest feelings. Her determination to fight for Liu Zheng transforms her writing and powers into an expression of love, defiance, and sacrifice.
• Black Cat demonstrates concern for Novelist but also reveals the danger of her own alternate personality. Her willingness to let Amon emerge shows how seriously she views the threat.
• Amon appears arrogant and manipulative, relying on his mind-stealing abilities and overwhelming reputation. However, the mysterious red power unsettles him and forces him to retreat, exposing limits to his confidence and abilities.
• Novelist’s past is developed through the tragic story behind the Futsu-no-Mitama Sword, revealing that her early success was built on emotionally intense stories of forbidden love and mutual sacrifice.

Significant Themes

• Ambition versus safety: Novelist rejects the safer, conventional path in favor of the Emotion Stream because it offers a chance to reach the highest level of authorship.
• Love as power: Her desire to fight for Liu Zheng becomes the emotional source of her greatest strength.
• Sacrifice and tragic devotion: The Futsu-no-Mitama Sword originates from a story in which lovers defy gods, accept blame, and die for one another, mirroring Novelist’s present willingness to risk her life.
• The danger of creation: Authors draw power from their works, but using old or abandoned creations carries severe consequences and may destroy the creator.
• Limits of power and knowledge: Amon, despite his formidable abilities, is frightened by a force he cannot understand, suggesting the existence of powers beyond the established systems.

Character Interactions

• Black Cat and Novelist debate the merits and dangers of the Emotion Stream, with Black Cat acting as both skeptic and concerned observer.
• Amon confronts Novelist directly, attempting to intimidate her and later preparing to manipulate her mind.
• Novelist responds to Amon’s threats with defiance rather than fear, framing the confrontation as a contest of whose “word” or will is stronger.
• The chapter ends with Black Cat reclaiming control and condemning Amon after he abandons the confrontation in response to the mysterious red force.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Amon retreats into the Black Cat’s soul, leaving the Black Cat to face Liu Zheng alone.
• Liu Zheng, empowered by the glowing Golden Star Tank Medal, shifts into an extremely aggressive Cossack-style dance. His movements unleash explosive red attacks that shatter the Gospel and obliterate the surrounding black and blood mist.
• The blast overwhelms the assembled writers: lower-ranked writers faint, while even Gold Feather writers are badly affected. Liu Zheng remains unharmed and enthusiastically grabs the Black Cat to continue dancing.
• The Novelist’s summoned phantom disappears, and she watches helplessly as Liu Zheng treats the Black Cat as his dance partner.
• Once the music ends, Liu Zheng regains his senses but remains unaware of the chaos he caused. Believing he has won, he asks whether there will be another round.
• The Black Cat ends the dance battle, observing that the arena has been completely cleansed of black mist. Despite the disastrous process, the event’s objective has been achieved.
• The Black Cat considers recruiting Liu Zheng into the Writers Association, recognizing that his immense negative emotions may indicate extraordinary perception and potential.
• Liu Zheng refuses, declaring his unwavering loyalty to the Bloodstained Restaurant and his boss.
• Liu Zheng and the Novelist leave the stage together. Afterward, the Black Cat reveals that Hishikibe had been pretending to be incapacitated and had coordinated with the Black Cat beforehand.
• The Black Cat punishes Hishikibe and the Novelist with fines and confinement in the Association’s “little black room.” Hishikibe accepts but jokingly asks to serve the Novelist’s punishment for her.

Character Development

• Liu Zheng: Demonstrates overwhelming power, resilience, and bizarre enthusiasm while under the dance’s influence. Even after causing widespread destruction, he remains innocent and oblivious to the consequences. His loyalty to his boss and workplace is absolute, though he briefly considers the Black Cat’s recruitment offer.
• The Black Cat: Shows strategic restraint and political awareness. Rather than expose Liu Zheng’s actions or punish him, the Black Cat protects the Association’s dignity and focuses on the successful outcome. It also recognizes Liu Zheng’s potential as a writer.
• The Novelist: Regains her composure after the battle and reveals a more playful, possessive, and opportunistic side, willingly leaving with Liu Zheng and participating in Hishikibe’s scheme.
• Hishikibe: Reveals herself as a skilled actress and prankster who had been faking her defeat. Her cheerful acceptance of punishment suggests confidence and familiarity with the Black Cat.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty versus opportunity: Liu Zheng rejects a potentially advantageous position in the Writers Association because of his devotion to his boss and the Restaurant.
• Power hidden beneath absurdity: The comedic dance battle masks Liu Zheng’s terrifying destructive strength.
• Perception and negative emotion: The Black Cat explains that powerful negative emotions may reflect strong perception, suggesting that hardship and emotional intensity can contribute to a writer’s future greatness.
• Order imposed on chaos: Although the event becomes a catastrophe, the Black Cat chooses to judge it by its successful result rather than its disastrous execution.
• Performance and deception: Hishikibe’s feigned collapse and the participants’ theatrical behavior emphasize acting, manipulation, and the blurred line between genuine and performed emotion.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng forcibly turns the Black Cat into his dance partner, while the Black Cat is too overwhelmed to resist.
• The Novelist reacts with jealousy and confusion when Liu Zheng chooses the Black Cat over her.
• The Black Cat attempts to recruit Liu Zheng, but Liu Zheng passionately reaffirms his loyalty to his boss.
• Liu Zheng and the Novelist leave together, with the Novelist taking his hand—or tentacle—before departing.
• Afterward, the Black Cat confronts Hishikibe about her deception and assigns punishments to both her and the Novelist. Hishikibe responds with humorous indifference and offers to take the Novelist’s confinement in her place.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Black Cat initially refuses to let the Novelist avoid solitary confinement, concerned that setting such a precedent would undermine future discipline. However, after the Platinum Authors agree that Hishikibe’s actions ultimately helped release their accumulated negative emotions, Black Cat permits the punishment to be postponed for one month.
• Hishikibe apologizes sincerely to the Platinum Authors and attempts to hug or kiss Black Cat, but the cat avoids her and complains about being treated like a pet.
• Liu Zheng and the Novelist leave the Quill Club together. Liu Zheng reveals that he saw through the Novelist and Hishikibe’s deception, particularly because Hishikibe’s performance toward the Novelist was less convincing.
• As compensation for being tricked, Liu Zheng asks the Novelist to help revoke the wanted order against Sha-chan, also known as the Fire Mage or Man Who Feels Up Bears. Sha-chan is wanted for accidentally killing a deputy director of the City Hall Sanitation Bureau and a Jorden Family councilor.
• The Novelist explains that directly overturning the warrant would be difficult, but says it may be possible if Liu Zheng secures the Sanitation Bureau’s forgiveness and weakens the Jorden Family’s opposition. The Novelist agrees to help communicate with the Public Security Bureau if Liu Zheng succeeds.
• Liu Zheng asks the Novelist to copy the “Trust” character from the Five Virtues onto him using the magical keyboard. The Novelist explains that the keyboard can copy only a limited form of one character at a time, but confirms that the previously copied “Dragon Clan” character will not be overwritten.
• The Novelist copies “Trust” onto Liu Zheng, causing much less pain than the earlier procedure. They give him the keyboard’s “Ctrl” and “V” keys so that he can paste the character onto a suitable medium.
• Instead of returning directly to the Restaurant, Liu Zheng brings the Novelist to Rose Street to visit French Plane Tree. French Plane Tree immediately becomes suspicious and hostile toward the Novelist, threatening to attack them.
• Liu Zheng manipulates French Plane Tree’s curiosity by revealing the “Ctrl” and “V” keys. Although the tree initially rejects the offer, it becomes desperate to obtain the copied “Trust” character after realizing it may greatly aid its evolution into a Phoenix.
• French Plane Tree insists on receiving the character through a trade, fearing that a free gift will create a worse obligation later. Liu Zheng places the item on his tab, and the tree reluctantly accepts.
• The chapter ends with French Plane Tree eagerly opening its mouth and asking Liu Zheng to place the item over its growth rings.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates strong observational skills, immediately seeing through the Novelist’s act. He also continues to use clever bargaining and manipulation to obtain help for his acquaintances.
• The Novelist becomes more openly attached to Liu Zheng, offering compensation, protection, and assistance with the wanted-order problem. Their jealousy toward French Plane Tree is apparent, as is their desire to become Liu Zheng’s most trusted companion.
• French Plane Tree shows intense curiosity and greed regarding anything that can accelerate its evolution into a Phoenix. Despite its childish and quarrelsome personality, it is cautious about debt and contractual obligations.
• Black Cat maintains its strict, principled attitude but ultimately shows flexibility by allowing the Novelist’s punishment to be delayed. Its exchanges with Hishikibe highlight its pride and dislike of physical affection.
• Hishikibe proves capable of sincere apology and persuasion, successfully gaining leniency for the Novelist while continuing to behave playfully and flirtatiously toward Black Cat.

Significant Themes

• Trust and obligation: The “Trust” character is central to the chapter, while French Plane Tree’s refusal to accept a free gift reflects the dangers of hidden debts and unequal bargains.
• Manipulation and perception: Liu Zheng’s ability to read expressions and exploit curiosity allows him to navigate both social and supernatural situations.
• Friendship and possessiveness: The Novelist and French Plane Tree both compete for importance in Liu Zheng’s life, with the Novelist viewing the tree as a dangerous rival.
• Power and institutional influence: Revoking Sha-chan’s warrant requires dealing with the Sanitation Bureau, the Jorden Family, and the Public Security Bureau, illustrating the political and bureaucratic forces governing Metropolis.
• Evolution and transformation: French Plane Tree’s desire to become a Phoenix motivates its willingness to pay a significant price for the copied Five Virtues character.

Character Interactions

• Hishikibe and Black Cat bicker over punishment, affection, and Black Cat’s refusal to be treated like a pet.
• Liu Zheng and the Novelist negotiate compensation, with the conversation shifting from flirtation to practical assistance for Sha-chan.
• The Novelist performs the copying procedure on Liu Zheng, creating an intimate but awkward moment.
• The Novelist and French Plane Tree silently assess one another as potential rivals, with the Novelist viewing the tree as dangerous and French Plane Tree distrusting the newcomer.
• Liu Zheng mediates between them, using humor and the promise of the “Trust” character to prevent conflict.
• French Plane Tree and Liu Zheng conclude another informal transaction, with the character placed “on the tab” for a future exchange.

Chapter Summary: Si Xue, Take Off Your Clothes

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng finishes copying the character “Trust” from the Five Virtue Script onto the French Plane Tree’s growth rings, satisfying the tree even though the process grants it little immediate strength.
• The French Plane Tree warns Liu Zheng to stay away from the Novelist, claiming that she will eventually eat him. Liu Zheng dismisses the warning, and the tree launches him toward the Novelist.
• Liu Zheng and the Novelist return to the Bloodstained Restaurant. The two continue their antagonistic relationship, exchanging insults and threatening gestures while Liu Zheng remains largely oblivious.
• Back at the restaurant, Cow-Horse teases Liu Zheng about returning early from the high-society ball. A phone call then summons Liu Zheng to Si Xue’s office.
• Si Xue questions whether Liu Zheng intended to keep the Five Virtue Script. Liu Zheng insists that he planned to return it and emphasizes his loyalty to the restaurant, despite having developed relationships with powerful outsiders.
• Si Xue removes the four virtue characters—“Virtue,” “Benevolence,” “Righteousness,” and “Trust”—from Liu Zheng’s body. The process causes him severe soul-deep pain.
• She transfers the characters onto the imprisoned Rainbow Phoenix, where they cover some of its wounds and prevent feathers from growing in those areas.
• The Phoenix attacks Liu Zheng with a beam of light, but Si Xue captures the attack as a fiery teardrop and mocks the creature. She then brutally punishes the Phoenix when it resists.
• Si Xue informs Liu Zheng that he must deliver takeout to Imperial View Estate the following day, where the customer will be Peacock. Liu Zheng reacts with immediate shock.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains pragmatic, emotionally restrained, and focused on survival. He accepts threats and danger as routine, but continues using humor and exaggerated loyalty to navigate Si Xue’s authority.
• His connection to the Five Virtue Script is removed, leaving him physically and spiritually weakened but freeing him from the burden of carrying the characters.
• The French Plane Tree becomes increasingly confident after obtaining “Trust,” showing ambition and a desire to evolve into a Phoenix. It also displays a grudging concern for Liu Zheng, though its warning is mixed with arrogance.
• The Novelist shows signs of possessiveness or curiosity toward Liu Zheng. She claims she is ready to defend him, yet hesitates when he is thrown at her, apparently because she finds him amusing or endearing.
• Si Xue reveals her distrust and possessiveness toward Liu Zheng. She recognizes his growing network of powerful connections as a potential threat to her control, while also admitting—indirectly—that she values his usefulness and entertainment.
• The Rainbow Phoenix is portrayed as powerful but imprisoned, rebellious, and subjected to Si Xue’s cruel control.

Significant Themes

• Trust and manipulation: The transfer of “Trust” to the tree and Si Xue’s suspicion of Liu Zheng highlight how trust is treated as a tool or resource rather than a purely emotional bond.
• Power and control: Si Xue’s removal of the virtues and domination of the Phoenix demonstrate the extreme hierarchy within the Restaurant.
• Loyalty versus independence: Liu Zheng claims loyalty to Si Xue while simultaneously cultivating outside alliances, creating tension between institutional allegiance and personal survival.
• Survival through adaptability: Liu Zheng repeatedly survives by cooperating, joking, and carefully managing stronger beings rather than confronting them directly.
• Cruelty beneath humor: The chapter uses banter and comedic misunderstandings to contrast with the brutal treatment of the Rainbow Phoenix and the pain Liu Zheng experiences.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and the French Plane Tree: They exchange warnings and insults, with the tree acting like an arrogant elder despite being young.
• Liu Zheng and the Novelist: Their relationship combines hostility, mutual interest, and playful antagonism. The Novelist appears protective but also potentially dangerous.
• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse: Their workplace banter emphasizes the restaurant’s absurd bureaucracy, including Cow-Horse’s insistence that eating Liu Zheng’s meal is a “compliance test.”
• Liu Zheng and Si Xue: Si Xue interrogates his loyalty, removes the virtue characters from him, and assigns him a dangerous new delivery. Their relationship is defined by coercion, dependence, and Si Xue’s possessive interest in keeping him employed.
• Si Xue and the Rainbow Phoenix: Si Xue maintains absolute dominance over the imprisoned creature, punishing its resistance and treating its suffering as routine.

Chapter Summary: “Si Xue, I Want to Make a Deal with You”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Si Xue informs Liu Zheng that he must personally deliver another order to Peacock, despite the extreme danger. The Restaurant’s rules prevent her from canceling the order indefinitely.
• Liu Zheng suggests sending Cow-Horse instead, but Si Xue explains that avoiding the delivery will only cause Peacock to keep placing orders and become increasingly angry.
• Si Xue reveals that the situation is more complicated than a personal dispute: City Hall and the Bloodstained Restaurant both want stability, and they may allow Peacock to use the delivery dispute as a pretext to eliminate Liu Zheng indirectly.
• Accepting that his death may be unavoidable, Liu Zheng proposes a deal with Si Xue. He argues that he can cause Peacock to lose considerable face by using his accumulated treasures, connections, and favors.
• Liu Zheng presents several items, including the Chew Toy, the Golden Star Tank Medal, various possessions, and Sea Woman’s mother’s coffin relic. Si Xue dismisses most of them as useless, though she finds the coffin somewhat intriguing.
• Liu Zheng explains that the items and relationships represent favors owed to him by powerful figures. While those allies may not help him deliver food, they would be willing and capable of helping him cause trouble for Peacock.
• In exchange for his plan, Liu Zheng asks Si Xue to:
  1. Let Cow-Horse resign safely while continuing his smuggling work for the Restaurant.
  2. Heal Ghost Hand’s injuries.
  3. Delay Peacock’s order for one more delivery cycle.
• Si Xue agrees to all three requests, though she limits the delay to one additional order.
• Liu Zheng then asks whether she will protect him if he humiliates Peacock and survives. Si Xue promises to protect him even if the vice speaker personally comes to demand him.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng shows remarkable composure and audacity in the face of certain death. Rather than begging for mercy, he turns his impending suicide mission into a negotiation.
• His confidence comes from a history of surviving impossible situations, building relationships, and turning disadvantages into victories. He demonstrates strategic thinking by using not only his possessions but also the favors he has accumulated.
• Liu’s concern for Cow-Horse and Ghost Hand reveals his loyalty and willingness to use his final bargaining opportunity to protect allies.
• Si Xue initially treats Liu’s situation cynically and emphasizes how powerless he is compared with Peacock and the larger forces involved. However, his confidence and unconventional plan capture her interest.
• Si Xue’s willingness to agree to his terms shows that she respects his ability to create chaos and is curious to see whether he can accomplish the seemingly impossible.

Significant Themes

• Defiance in the face of death: Liu Zheng refuses to accept helplessness, instead using his unavoidable danger as leverage.
• Power and negotiation: The chapter explores unequal power relationships, but Liu demonstrates that information, connections, and audacity can partially compensate for raw strength.
• Loyalty and repayment: Liu uses his final chance to secure Cow-Horse’s future and Ghost Hand’s recovery, emphasizing the importance of favors and mutual obligations.
• Chaos versus stability: Peacock, City Hall, and the Restaurant all seek control and stability, while Liu threatens to disrupt that balance through unpredictable alliances and schemes.
• Confidence and calculated risk: Liu’s “plan for victory before planning for defeat” attitude highlights his willingness to gamble while still preparing contingencies.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Si Xue: Their conversation shifts from suspicion and sarcasm to a serious negotiation. Si Xue begins by treating Liu as a disposable employee, but his bargaining strategy makes her take him seriously.
• Liu Zheng and Peacock: Although Peacock never appears directly, her repeated orders drive the conflict. Liu intends not merely to survive her delivery but to humiliate her publicly.
• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse: Liu attempts to secure Cow-Horse’s safety and continued livelihood, though he initially considers having him take the dangerous delivery instead.
• Liu Zheng and Ghost Hand: Liu’s request that Si Xue heal Ghost Hand indicates a sense of responsibility toward him, even though Ghost Hand’s injuries resulted from punishment.
• Si Xue and the larger authorities: Si Xue acknowledges that City Hall and the Restaurant are indirectly involved, suggesting that Liu’s fate is shaped by institutional politics as much as by Peacock’s personal hostility.

Chapter Summary: “Britannia: I Want You to Be My Toy”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng learns that Supreme Speaker Si Xue is willing to hand him over if necessary, but recognizes that her promise not to use him as a scapegoat is unusually generous in Metropolis.
• He discusses his increasingly dangerous situation with his boss, Cow-Horse. Liu Zheng reveals that he has been summoned because Peacock intends to keep ordering deliveries until Liu personally delivers food to her.
• Liu Zheng arranges a plan for Cow-Horse to safely take over Kitchen’s smuggling operations if Liu dies or disappears. Napoleon agrees to place the first delivery order the next day, giving Liu time to make a second delivery to Peacock’s Imperial View Estate.
• Cow-Horse gives Liu the Memorial Medal and orders him to discard the food immediately after leaving the Delivery Passage, but Liu explains that Peacock will continue ordering until she sees him arrive in person.
• Liu contacts Britannia to negotiate another cosplay outfit. In exchange, he promises to introduce Britannia to a powerful, wealthy older woman. Britannia agrees to provide the outfit in advance but threatens to make Liu his “toy” if the promised arrangement fails.
• Liu dismisses the threat because Britannia cannot harm him if he returns under the boss’s protection, and cannot punish him if he dies at Imperial View Estate.
• Liu then calls Fisherman for advice. He explains that he destroyed part of Peacock’s office building and killed its management, making Peacock a determined enemy.
• Fisherman says he cannot help unless Peacock can be lured into Sewer, and offers Liu refuge as his assistant if necessary. Liu refuses because he does not want to live in Sewer and asks instead for a powerful or unpleasant weapon.
• Fisherman agrees to provide such an item, warning that using it will make Liu and Peacock permanent enemies. Liu replies that they are already enemies and that he cannot die twice.
• The chapter ends with Liu preparing to contact another ally for assistance before his dangerous delivery.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains reckless, humorous, and strategically resourceful despite expecting the Imperial View Estate mission to be potentially fatal. Rather than surrendering to fear, he prepares contingency plans, negotiates favors, and secures protection and equipment.
• Cow-Horse shows reluctant loyalty toward Liu. Although he complains and insults Liu, he helps make calls, gives Liu the Memorial Medal, and accepts responsibility for continuing the smuggling operation.
• Napoleon agrees to delay the first delivery for as long as possible, indirectly supporting Liu’s plan to confront Peacock.
• Britannia is portrayed as more confident and physically imposing than before. He readily bargains with Liu and threatens to enslave him as a toy, though Liu’s circumstances make the threat largely ineffective.
• Fisherman acts as a pragmatic mentor or father-in-law figure. He criticizes Liu’s habit of causing trouble but still offers shelter, advice, and a dangerous weapon.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty amid danger: Cow-Horse, Napoleon, Britannia, and Fisherman all assist Liu in different ways, demonstrating a rough but genuine network of loyalty.
• Preparation for death: Liu behaves as though he may not return, arranging Cow-Horse’s future and seeking weapons and allies before the mission.
• Bargaining and manipulation: Liu survives by trading information, favors, and promises, especially in his negotiations with Britannia.
• Defiance and dark humor: Liu treats lethal threats casually, using jokes and insults to maintain control over frightening circumstances.
• Power and protection: Liu’s survival depends on alliances and the boss’s protection, highlighting the dangerous hierarchy of Metropolis.

Character Interactions

• Liu and Cow-Horse exchange insults while discussing Peacock’s orders and Cow-Horse’s future smuggling responsibilities; their banter masks mutual concern.
• Liu and Napoleon coordinate delivery timing and the transfer of Kitchen’s business.
• Liu bargains with Britannia by offering him a potential romantic or sexual encounter with a formidable older woman in exchange for a cosplay outfit.
• Liu asks Fisherman for practical help against Peacock. Fisherman warns him about the consequences of escalation but still agrees to supply a powerful weapon.
• Through these conversations, Liu turns his impending confrontation with Peacock into a coordinated operation involving multiple allies.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng prepares for a likely fatal mission: delivering takeout to Peacock, a terrifyingly powerful figure who may kill him.
• He asks Novelist to protect the French Plane Tree while it evolves into a Phoenix. Novelist agrees, despite being unable to use her family’s influence against Peacock.
• Liu informs Nightingale and Sea Woman that he may not return. He plans to leave the French Plane Tree and the Ultimate Flavor Group as resources to help them deal with the Jorden Family.
• He tells Nightingale not to let Sea Woman eat people anymore and warns that he may need to keep Sea Woman’s mother’s relic.
• Liu contacts Vampire Girl, giving her instructions for obtaining Vlad III Limited Edition liquor and warning her about the dangers involved. She jokingly—but emotionally—asks him to marry her and insists that he visit the board game hall before leaving.
• Liu informs Nile Doctor that he may die and provides Sewer Fisherman’s contact information. He asks whether Ra’s Grace could revive him, but learns it would only resurrect him at the location of death, making it useless against Peacock. Nile Doctor promises to look for another way to help and agrees to care for Cheng Xiaomei.
• Liu gives Guokou Tangzi Nightingale’s contact information so the Jorden Family matter can continue without him. He also accepts an invitation to celebrate Ultimate Flavor Group’s reopening at Sento.
• He warns Wang Manni never to return to or send anyone to Eleventh Floor, threatening to destroy them if she breaks her promise.
• Cow-Horse points out that Liu has made arrangements for nearly everyone except himself. Liu admits he has no family and considers his recent calls his final messages to friends.
• Cow-Horse offers to help Liu hide, but Liu refuses to prolong the danger or risk facing an even angrier Peacock later.
• Instead, Cow-Horse contacts Oink and arranges for the Black Market’s hidden door to open early. Liu follows him toward the Black Market, suggesting they are seeking another means of survival or assistance before the delivery.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains calm and practical despite expecting death. He prioritizes securing the futures of his allies and organizations rather than focusing on his own survival.
• Novelist demonstrates strong loyalty and affection toward Liu by immediately agreeing to protect the evolving Phoenix, even though she cannot mobilize her family’s power.
• Nightingale recognizes her helplessness before Peacock’s authority, revealing the enormous gap between ordinary powerful families and true top-tier forces.
• Vampire Girl hides genuine concern behind flirtation and jokes about marriage and dying for love, showing how deeply attached she is to Liu.
• Nile Doctor regrets being unable to reward Liu with Ra’s Grace and begins searching for an alternative solution.
• Wang Manni is conflicted about Liu’s possible death: she fears losing his protection but is also relieved to be free of his destabilizing influence.
• Cow-Horse shows sincere loyalty and concern. Though he jokes about Liu’s lack of a family and his possible death, he actively seeks help for him.
• Liu’s attitude toward death is notably detached. He refuses a burial arrangement and trusts that he can still escape by settling the instance if necessary.

Significant Themes

• Self-sacrifice and responsibility: Liu prepares for death by arranging protection and resources for his allies.
• Found family and emotional bonds: Though Liu claims to have no family, his calls reveal a wide network of people who care about him.
• Powerlessness before overwhelming authority: Even influential families and dangerous individuals admit they cannot oppose Peacock directly.
• Acceptance of mortality: Liu treats death as a realistic possibility without surrendering completely, continuing to search for opportunities to survive.
• Loyalty beneath humor: Flirtation, teasing, and sarcasm often conceal genuine fear and affection.
• Legacy and continuity: Liu ensures that his allies, businesses, and plans can continue even if he is gone.

Character Interactions

• Liu and Novelist share a respectful, trusting exchange centered on protecting the future Phoenix.
• Liu and Nightingale discuss the practical consequences of his possible death and the survival of their group.
• His conversation with Vampire Girl combines romantic teasing, emotional attachment, and concrete survival instructions.
• Nile Doctor provides a grim assessment of Ra’s Grace while promising to investigate another solution.
• Liu and Wang Manni have a tense exchange in which he gives her strict orders and threatens retaliation.
• Cow-Horse serves as both comic relief and Liu’s most immediate supporter, challenging Liu’s indifference toward his own fate and leading him toward the Black Market.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Cow-Horse, Liu Zheng, and Oink enter the Black Market through a monstrous human mouth summoned by Oink. The passage injures Cow-Horse but leaves Liu Zheng unharmed.
• In Oink’s Slaughterhouse, Cow-Horse explains that Peacock is deliberately forcing Liu Zheng to deliver takeout so she can kill him in retaliation for his destruction of one of her office buildings.
• Oink offers to deliver the takeout in Liu Zheng’s place, but Cow-Horse rejects the idea because Peacock would recognize Oink and continue targeting Liu Zheng.
• Cow-Horse instead asks Oink to help Liu Zheng obtain a quota to leave Metropolis. Oink initially refuses, lacking the necessary connections, but Cow-Horse reveals that an official can arrange it for one thousand portions of “Flesh.”
• Cow-Horse has also obtained a prohibited memory-preserving chip. Without it, Liu Zheng would forget his experiences outside Metropolis and eventually return according to the city’s predetermined programming.
• Oink agrees to help and creates a human body from one thousand portions of Flesh. Because the body is too heavy for Cow-Horse to carry, Oink accompanies them.
• When they leave the Slaughterhouse, the Black Market’s inhabitants emerge, attracted by the valuable Flesh. Oink intimidates them into retreating, though one light remains on, hinting at a continuing threat.

Character Developments

• Cow-Horse: Reveals deep loyalty and responsibility toward Liu Zheng. Though he claims to be tired and unable to save his own family, he is willing to sacrifice an enormous amount of wealth and effort to protect his “underling.” His past guilt over Black Claw’s death helps explain his determination.
• Liu Zheng: Becomes increasingly aware of the strange rules and loopholes governing Metropolis. He also develops a playful, shameless rapport with both Cow-Horse and Oink, joking that Cow-Horse is like a father figure.
• Oink: Demonstrates strength, caution, and a grudging sense of honor. Though skeptical of Cow-Horse’s motives, Oink agrees to repay an old favor and personally escorts the valuable Flesh through the dangerous Black Market.
• Cow-Horse and Oink: Their relationship combines mutual respect, old debts, teasing, and unresolved resentment. Oink’s sarcastic reference to Black Claw suggests Cow-Horse’s sense of responsibility contrasts with Oink’s more cynical view of survival.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty and responsibility: Cow-Horse’s commitment to Liu Zheng shows that bonds between companions can become stronger than self-preservation.
• The cost of escape: Freedom from Metropolis requires immense wealth, illegal technology, and dangerous planning.
• Memory and identity: The prohibited chip represents the ability to preserve one’s identity against the city’s control and programmed fate.
• Rules and loopholes: Metropolis appears rigidly controlled, yet its systems contain exploitable gaps, such as disguising Flesh or using official quotas.
• Family as both strength and weakness: Cow-Horse’s wife and child prevent him from escaping alone, illustrating how emotional bonds provide purpose while limiting freedom.
• Predation and scarcity: The Black Market’s inhabitants immediately covet the Flesh, emphasizing the brutal competition and hunger underlying the city’s society.

Character Interactions

• Cow-Horse explains Liu Zheng’s danger to Oink and asks for help rather than direct intervention.
• Oink challenges Cow-Horse’s motives, questioning whether saving Liu Zheng is worth one thousand portions of Flesh.
• Cow-Horse responds that being a boss means protecting one’s subordinates, revealing his personal code.
• Oink and Liu Zheng exchange sarcastic remarks, with Oink comparing Liu Zheng to Cow-Horse’s illegitimate son and Liu Zheng embracing the comparison.
• Oink’s final intimidation of the Black Market’s residents establishes them as a formidable protector, while the single remaining light suggests that not everyone has been deterred.

Chapter Summary: “Si Xue: Where Do You Want a Massage?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Oink, Cow-Horse, and Liu Zheng enter the Black Market to arrange Liu Zheng’s escape from Metropolis.
• Oink confronts Demon, accusing the Casino owner of exploiting people and turning those ruined by gambling into “Flesh.” Demon defensively insists that his business is fair and consensual.
• The group visits Wish-Granting House, owned by Everything Shop, a crystal skull capable of granting almost any request—but only to those deemed to possess sufficient “fate.”
• Everything Shop examines Liu Zheng and observes that his fate is obscured by powerful forces trying to control him. Liu responds pragmatically, believing those forces will eventually conflict with one another.
• Liu asks whether Everything Shop can kill Peacock, but the price—ten million portions of Flesh—is impossibly high.
• Cow-Horse instead requests an overseas exit quota for Liu. The price is one thousand portions of Flesh, which Oink pays using a finely crafted humanoid figure made by Heaven Butcher.
• Everything Shop agrees to arrange Liu’s exit before the following morning. After the group leaves, it tries to read Liu’s tarot cards but is burned by protective flames, suggesting Liu’s future is deliberately concealed or protected.
• Back in the lounge, Liu returns the Memorial Medal to Cow-Horse and confirms that the mysterious chip is stored safely in his Legendary Delivery Box. Cow-Horse warns him not to remove it before leaving the border and to discard it if he must return.
• Si Xue summons Liu and reveals that City Hall has arranged an overseas procurement opportunity under his name. He will leave the next day, accompanied by someone from the Kitchen, arranged by Napoleon.
• Si Xue asks Liu to massage her, then orders him to lick Golden Fluid from her foot, ending the chapter on an intimate and provocative note.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains calm and resourceful despite being hunted by Peacock. He accepts that he cannot escape the powerful entities manipulating his fate and instead plans to exploit their competing interests.
• Cow-Horse demonstrates loyalty and practical concern by paying for Liu’s exit quota and offering advice about the chip and the dangers of the outside world. Its fatigue and vulnerability contrast with its authority within the Black Market.
• Oink acts as Cow-Horse’s disciplinarian and financial backer, scolding it for past recklessness while supporting Liu’s escape.
• Everything Shop is shown to be powerful, transactional, and predatory. It is intrigued by Liu’s unusual fate and seems to anticipate that he will eventually return to make a wish.
• Si Xue reveals a more playful, dominant, and personally interested side in her interaction with Liu. At the same time, she quietly facilitates his escape by using the overseas procurement trip as official cover.

Significant Themes

• Power and manipulation: Liu is caught between Peacock, City Hall, the Kitchen, and other powerful beings, all of whom seek to influence or control him.
• Fate versus agency: Everything Shop claims Liu’s future is obscured by outside forces, but Liu refuses to see himself as helpless, believing those forces will undermine one another.
• Transactional relationships: Nearly everything in the Black Market—including escape, wishes, protection, and even bodies—is purchased through Flesh or other forms of value.
• Freedom and danger: Leaving Metropolis may offer Liu temporary safety, but Cow-Horse emphasizes that the outside world could be equally dangerous.
• Humor amid menace: The chapter mixes grotesque supernatural imagery and serious danger with comedic exchanges, Cow-Horse’s submissiveness, and Liu’s deadpan responses.
• Control hidden within kindness: Si Xue’s arrangement provides Liu with a chance to escape, but her commanding behavior suggests that protection and domination remain closely connected.

Character Interactions

• Oink and Demon: Their hostile exchange exposes Demon’s questionable business practices and establishes Oink’s willingness to challenge him.
• Oink, Cow-Horse, and Liu: Oink treats Cow-Horse like a reckless subordinate, while Liu observes their dynamic with amusement. Their cooperation ultimately secures Liu’s escape.
• Liu and Everything Shop: Their conversation highlights Liu’s unusual attitude toward danger and fate. Everything Shop becomes fascinated by him after he casually rejects the idea of escaping manipulation.
• Cow-Horse and Everything Shop: Cow-Horse uses its long-standing connection with Everything Shop to obtain the exit quota, trading an expertly made Flesh figure for Liu’s passage.
• Cow-Horse and Liu: Cow-Horse gives Liu practical instructions and warnings, acting as a protective mentor before returning to sleep.
• Si Xue and Liu: Their massage scene combines workplace authority, teasing intimacy, and implicit power. Si Xue both arranges Liu’s departure and reinforces her dominance over him through provocative commands.

Summary of “Si Xue’s Reward”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng accepts a reward from Si Xue by licking her foot and swallowing a drop of Golden Fluid, despite its extreme heat. His tongue, throat, and stomach are badly burned, but his body rapidly heals.
• Si Xue explains that the Golden Fluid can detect Liu Zheng’s intentions. If he deliberately remains beyond the border, it will burn him to death, but he may use its power in emergencies.
• Liu Zheng asks to use his reward to provide the employees accompanying him with a long-lasting delivery of supplies. He chooses the Legendary Disguise, valuing its boosted attributes, sanity protection, and true-damage attacks.
• Si Xue approves the request, partly because Liu Zheng has helped relieve her frustrations and because she does not want valuable employees to lose morale or die unnecessarily.
• After leaving Si Xue, Liu Zheng is intercepted by White-Feather Chicken and taken to the Kitchen.
• White-Feather Chicken reveals that Liu Zheng will be accompanied beyond the border by Calico Cat, also known as Salmon. Calico Cat initially refuses because it prefers its comfortable life in the Kitchen, but agrees after Liu Zheng asks for help.
• White-Feather Chicken gives Liu Zheng a procurement list that will reveal itself once they cross the border. They must complete at least half of it to avoid punishment.
• He also provides storage equipment for carrying ingredients: a smaller chef’s hat hidden inside his own. The chapter ends as Liu Zheng examines the item.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates both extreme endurance and strategic caution. Although he is willing to endure severe pain and take risks, he prepares carefully for the unknown dangers beyond the border.
• Si Xue shows a protective and pragmatic side. While she remains blunt and authoritative, she rewards Liu Zheng and supports his preparations because she recognizes his usefulness and wants to preserve employee morale.
• White-Feather Chicken appears strict and intimidating but proves considerate toward his subordinates, allowing sleeping employees to rest and ensuring Liu Zheng has proper support and equipment.
• Calico Cat/Salmon is portrayed as lazy, food-loving, and attached to its cardboard box, yet it is friendly toward Liu Zheng and willing to help him despite its reluctance.

Significant Themes

• Risk balanced by preparation: Liu Zheng’s decision to acquire the Legendary Disguise reflects the need to prepare carefully before entering an unknown and dangerous environment.
• Loyalty and mutual benefit: Si Xue protects Liu Zheng because he is useful and has earned goodwill, while Liu Zheng relies on familiar employees rather than facing the border alone.
• Leadership and responsibility: White-Feather Chicken’s treatment of the Kitchen staff reveals that effective leadership involves maintaining employees’ strength and morale.
• Workplace relationships and rewards: The Restaurant operates through a mixture of dangerous assignments, employee benefits, punishments, and personal loyalty.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Si Xue exchange teasing but respectful dialogue, with Liu Zheng calling her “Boss” and Si Xue ultimately approving his request.
• Liu Zheng and White-Feather Chicken engage in playful banter about the head chef’s apparent coldness and leadership qualities.
• Liu Zheng has an affectionate relationship with Calico Cat, petting and flattering it while recruiting it for the mission.
• White-Feather Chicken persuades Calico Cat to accompany Liu Zheng by emphasizing their friendship and the danger of traveling alone.

Chapter Summary: “A Place Even Less Peaceful Than Metropolis”

Key Plot Points and Events

• White-Feather Chicken gives Liu Zheng a Portable Small Cold Storage hat and threatens him not to lose it. It can refrigerate about twenty cubic meters of ingredients but cannot store living things.
• Liu Zheng receives the massive Self-Devouring Spirit butcher’s cleaver. The weapon increases its damage by consuming the wielder’s own flesh and blood, making it especially suited to Liu Zheng’s body and abilities.
• He purchases Rust-Iron Bee Venom Wine, a hallucinogenic and severely intoxicating drink, intending it for French Plane Tree rather than himself.
• Ghost Hand delivers a new order—a glass of water for Salmon, with an unusually generous seven-day time limit—and gives Liu Zheng a damaged legendary watch that can increase his speed tenfold for three seconds.
• Big White Goose delivers a cosplay outfit from Minister Britannia and gives Liu Zheng Ottawa’s Custom Perfume, which can erase his presence for ten minutes. It warns him that the outside world is extremely dangerous.
• Because Liu Zheng is preparing to leave for a dangerous location, he contacts Fisherman and his other allies to revise their plans. Several activities, including protecting French Plane Tree’s egg-laying, sending Nightingale and Sea Woman to the Garbage Processing Plant, and having Vampire Girl buy wine, are postponed for seven days.
• Before departing, Liu Zheng persuades Cow-Horse to provide alcohol for a farewell drink. He drinks an entire bottle, becomes extremely drowsy, and sleeps until the next morning—his seventh day in the instance.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to establish himself as a resourceful and increasingly well-connected figure. He obtains powerful equipment, gathers supplies, and coordinates several allies while preparing for a dangerous journey.
• His unusual physiology makes the Self-Devouring Spirit an ideal weapon, reinforcing his willingness to exploit his own flesh and abilities for greater strength.
• Liu Zheng shows growing confidence and shamelessness in his relationships, bargaining for wine, teasing Cow-Horse, and treating the strange inhabitants of Bloodstained Restaurant as comrades despite their dangerous nature.
• White-Feather Chicken remains harsh and intimidating but continues to invest in Liu Zheng by supplying useful equipment, alcohol, and commissions.
• Ghost Hand, still visibly injured from its previous encounter, demonstrates unexpected generosity by giving Liu Zheng a valuable emergency item.
• Big White Goose receives praise for its disguise work and responds with restrained pride, while also showing genuine concern by warning Liu Zheng about the dangers ahead.
• Cow-Horse complains about Liu Zheng’s demands but still provides alcohol, revealing an underlying willingness to support him.

Significant Themes

• Mutual benefit and hidden obligations: Nearly every gift or favor is an investment. Liu Zheng recognizes that the restaurant’s boss will eventually demand far more in return for what he provides.
• Trust amid danger: Liu Zheng relies on beings who may threaten, exploit, or even desire to consume him, yet cooperation remains possible through shared interests.
• Preparation and adaptability: The chapter focuses on gathering specialized tools, revising plans, and preparing for a dangerous new environment.
• Nonhuman community: Liu Zheng has become deeply entangled with strange creatures and supernatural figures. Though many relationships are transactional, he finds genuine amusement and attachment in them.
• Power through self-sacrifice: The Self-Devouring Spirit reflects the story’s recurring idea that strength can come at the cost of one’s own body.
• The contrast between danger and companionship: Even in a place filled with monsters, violence, and exploitation, Liu Zheng experiences humor, friendship, and a sense of belonging.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and White-Feather Chicken: Their exchange mixes threats, business, and reluctant cooperation. White-Feather Chicken equips Liu Zheng while reminding him that he still owes him a commission.
• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse: They trade insults and jokes, but Cow-Horse ultimately supports Liu Zheng by giving him farewell wine.
• Liu Zheng and Ghost Hand: Ghost Hand silently delivers an order and gifts him the speed-enhancing watch, showing a quiet but meaningful bond.
• Liu Zheng and Big White Goose: Liu Zheng praises the goose’s disguise work, and Big White Goose responds with modest pride before warning him to be cautious.
• Liu Zheng and his wider network: He contacts Fisherman and the others to reorganize their plans, demonstrating his growing responsibility and influence over a broader group.

Chapter Summary: “Marriage to the French Plane Tree”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The next morning, Liu Zheng decides to leave the country to procure supplies and lie low after destroying part of Peacock’s office building. The driver gives him a single-use Fake Walther PPK, a powerful weapon especially effective against leaders with Germanic blood.
• Liu Zheng visits the French Plane Tree before leaving. They complain about being awakened and refuse to let him depart without addressing their evolution.
• Liu Zheng explains the danger posed by Peacock and says he has arranged for Novelist to protect the French Plane Tree. He suggests that they evolve into a Tree Demon if they remain worried, though they distrust humans and doubt he will return.
• Rather than signing another Growth Ring Pact, the French Plane Tree accepts Liu Zheng’s promise based on the “Trust” character in their growth rings. Liu Zheng gives them Rust Bee-Venom Liquor, which delights them.
• In return, the French Plane Tree gives Liu Zheng a Lazy Person’s Sticky Note, a powerful control item that forces a target to remember its written message and possibly act on it.
• Liu Zheng then returns to the Sewer, where Fisherman and Sha-chan are waiting. He tells Sha-chan that his wanted-poster problem will be delayed because of the trip, but assures him that arrangements have been made to continue helping him even if Liu Zheng cannot return.
• Sha-chan gives Liu Zheng his Dragon Robe Shroud, a high-quality defensive garment that restores sanity while eating, strengthens defense based on low social status, and prevents most instant-death effects once per instance.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains pragmatic and resourceful, prioritizing survival and mission completion while preparing contingencies in case he cannot return. His confidence in his own credibility is reinforced by the “Trust” character in his growth rings.
• The French Plane Tree displays their usual arrogance, suspicion, and love of luxury, but also shows genuine concern about Liu Zheng abandoning them. Their eagerness for the liquor reveals a more playful and indulgent side.
• Sha-chan demonstrates loyalty and gratitude. Though unable to accompany Liu Zheng, he tries to help by giving up his treasured robe, showing that their relationship has become genuinely supportive.
• The driver acts as a practical ally, providing Liu Zheng with a specialized weapon despite making a somewhat disrespectful remark.

Significant Themes

• Trust and obligation: Liu Zheng’s promise and the “Trust” character carry real weight, while the French Plane Tree hesitates to enter another binding pact because contracts impose obligations on both sides.
• Mutual support: Even characters with limited resources contribute what they can, whether through protection, useful items, or logistical arrangements.
• Survival through preparation: Liu Zheng gathers weapons, recruits protection, arranges backup plans, and acquires defensive equipment before entering a dangerous situation.
• Pride versus dependence: The French Plane Tree constantly belittles humans but still relies on Liu Zheng for evolution and protection. Liu Zheng, meanwhile, depends on allies despite presenting himself as capable and self-sufficient.
• Resourcefulness and unusual power systems: Items obtained through relationships—such as the sticky note and dragon robe—may be as important as direct combat abilities.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and the driver: The driver warns him about the danger of returning to Peacock’s territory and equips him with the Fake Walther PPK.
• Liu Zheng and the French Plane Tree: Their exchange mixes hostility, teasing, negotiation, and underlying trust. Liu Zheng promises to return, while the Tree challenges his reliability and rewards him with a valuable item.
• Liu Zheng and Sha-chan: Liu Zheng apologizes for delaying Sha-chan’s problem, but Sha-chan reassures him and offers his dragon robe as a parting gift. Their conversation emphasizes loyalty and emotional solidarity.