Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng receives equipment and support before leaving Metropolis to procure supplies for the Restaurant.
• In the Sewer, Sha-chan insists that Liu Zheng wear the powerful Dragon Robe Shroud, despite his initial reluctance. The Fisherman also gives him a severed finger that can transform into any kind of fishing gear.
• Liu Zheng leaves the Sewer and visits Yakuza Sento, where Guokou Tangzi and the Seasoning Quartet give him a pot of Ultimate Flavor Group’s Secret Nourishing Soup. He drinks it immediately and gains a massive restoration of stamina.
• Before departing, Liu Zheng instructs the Seasoning Quartet to remain inconspicuous and prevent Guokou Tangzi from causing trouble.
• At the Red Witch Board-Game Hall, Liu Zheng offers coffee and desserts to the Witch Statue in exchange for postponing their board-game match. The Witch accepts, but places another mysterious eye-shaped mark on Liu Zheng.
• At the Board-Game Hall, Nightingale, Sea Woman, and Vampire Girl have prepared for his departure. Nightingale gives him the Flag of Reversal, an item that causes reality to develop opposite to the flag’s stated intention.
• Liu Zheng gives everyone safety instructions, directing them to flee to the Sewer, Rose Street, or Nile Doctor’s clinic if danger arises.
• He then leaves for Nile Doctor’s clinic, continuing preparations for his journey beyond the city borders.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates increased responsibility toward his allies, distributing safety advice and arranging multiple fallback locations before leaving. He also continues to accumulate useful items and supernatural marks despite his annoyance at being “stamped” by powerful beings.
• Sha-chan shows her strong loyalty and affection toward Liu Zheng by forcing him to accept and wear the Dragon Robe Shroud.
• The Fisherman contributes one of his own body parts as a practical survival tool, revealing both his unusual abilities and his willingness to help.
• Nightingale is shown to be competent and nurturing. She enjoys tutoring and has successfully repaired the wax child’s intelligence core, improving both his performance and that of another student.
• Vampire Girl remains childish, clingy, and impulsive, repeatedly claiming Liu Zheng as her future husband and openly displaying affection.
• Sea Woman appears increasingly comfortable with Liu Zheng and does not demand the return of her mother’s relic, suggesting growing trust.
• Guokou Tangzi continues to act like a capable but temperamental leader, while the Seasoning Quartet remain devoted to Liu Zheng and their “Big Sis.”

Significant Themes

• Found family and mutual support: Liu Zheng’s allies provide him with food, equipment, warnings, and emotional attachment before his dangerous departure.
• Responsibility amid danger: Although Liu Zheng jokes constantly, he takes extensive precautions to protect those left behind.
• Affection expressed through absurdity: Marriage claims, forced gifts, childish jealousy, and supernatural marks create a comedic but genuine sense of intimacy among the characters.
• Survival and resourcefulness: Every character contributes according to their abilities, whether through powerful artifacts, transformed fishing gear, nourishing food, or strategic escape plans.
• Power and unpredictability: Liu Zheng must navigate the whims of Metropolis’s powerful figures, including the Witch Statue, whose marks may become useful—or troublesome—later.

Character Interactions

• Sha-chan forcibly equips Liu Zheng with the Dragon Robe Shroud, while the Fisherman gives him a versatile emergency tool.
• Liu Zheng shares a humorous exchange with the Fisherman about transforming the gifted finger into a fishing boat.
• The Seasoning Quartet warmly send Liu Zheng off with nourishing soup, and he responds by warning them to avoid provoking Guokou Tangzi.
• Liu Zheng attempts to negotiate with the Witch Statue, offering gifts and postponing their game, but she marks him anyway.
• Vampire Girl repeatedly calls Liu Zheng her fiancé and kisses him, while he treats her like an unruly child and warns others to supervise her.
• Nightingale gives Liu Zheng a valuable artifact and reports her success as a tutor, reinforcing her role as his most reliable and “legitimate wife”-like companion.
• Liu Zheng gives Nightingale, Sea Woman, and Vampire Girl practical survival instructions before leaving, emphasizing his protective role within the group.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng visits the Nile Doctor before leaving to purchase supplies abroad. He tells the Sphinx he will be gone for several days and leaves it food, drinks, desserts, and dried fish.
• At the clinic, he checks on Cheng Xiaomei, who says her work is going well. Liu gives her a large amount of money to support her and her children, despite her initial refusal.
• The Nile Doctor reveals that he has devised a new offensive technique for Liu Zheng based on his regenerative abilities and Black Goat’s Young bloodline.
• Liu is placed inside a stone coffin containing a fragment of Ra’s divine power, described as one of Ra’s “eyes.” The intense solar force burns away his body, but he regenerates.
• The Nile Doctor explains that he has implanted a strand of Ra’s radiance inside Liu. When Liu activates Rage Incarnate, it will trigger Sunfire, a highly destructive flame that covers his body. However, it can damage him and must be removed by the Nile Doctor after use.
• Cheng Xiaomei gives Liu a handmade red-string protective charm containing a card marked “Safe and Sound.” Liu sincerely treasures the gift.
• The Nile Doctor misinterprets Cheng Xiaomei’s shy reaction to Liu as romantic interest and jokingly becomes protective, forcing Liu to leave before Sesha awakens.
• Liu then meets Wang Manni near West River Center and receives a reward from the deputy director for recommending a tutor. The reward is a control-type item, the Internet Big-Tech Jargon Encyclopedia, which confuses targets with incomprehensible technical language.
• After deciding not to pursue further rewards from the newsstand owner, Liu returns to the Delivery Department with his new items and abilities.
• Cow-Horse warns him not to challenge enemies he cannot defeat. Liu rejects the idea, explaining that nearly every enemy he has faced was stronger than him and that risking his life is necessary for survival.
• Liu jokes about becoming Cow-Horse’s daughter’s godfather, provoking her into kicking him out of the lounge.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: Gains a powerful new ability, Sunfire, made possible by his exceptional regeneration. He continues to rely on boldness, humor, and calculated risk-taking, while also showing genuine appreciation for Cheng Xiaomei’s kindness.
• The Nile Doctor: Demonstrates considerable trust in Liu by revealing the clinic’s secret divine artifact. He acts both as a dangerous experimenter and a reluctant mentor, preparing Liu for future battles.
• Cheng Xiaomei: Becomes more secure in her work and receives financial support for her children. Her handmade charm reveals her growing gratitude and affection toward Liu.
• Wang Manni: Continues acting as Liu’s cooperative intermediary and appears increasingly loyal, though her submissive behavior causes Liu to remain emotionally detached.
• Cow-Horse: Shows concern for Liu despite her rough attitude. Her warning suggests genuine care, although she hides it behind insults and physical humor.

Significant Themes

• Power through sacrifice: Liu’s new attack requires him to endure severe physical destruction, emphasizing that greater strength comes at a personal cost.
• Trust and mutual aid: The Nile Doctor risks his own hand to help Liu, Cheng Xiaomei offers a personal protective charm, and Wang Manni helps secure useful equipment.
• Regeneration and survival: Liu’s abnormal healing ability allows him to use dangerous powers and survive situations that would kill others.
• Humor amid danger: The chapter repeatedly contrasts horrific supernatural events with absurd banter and misunderstandings.
• Risk versus caution: Cow-Horse advocates retreat from impossible battles, while Liu believes constant risk-taking is the only reason he has survived.
• Transactional relationships: Liu gathers rewards and favors from his contacts, but the chapter also shows that sincere gifts and loyalty cannot always be reduced to bargains.

Character Interactions

• Liu and the Nile Doctor exchange sarcastic insults, with Liu remaining uncomfortable around the doctor’s eccentric behavior. Despite this, their relationship is based on growing trust.
• Liu’s financial support for Cheng Xiaomei reflects his protective concern for her children, while her charm provides an unusually sincere emotional response.
• The Nile Doctor acts suspiciously toward Liu after observing Cheng Xiaomei’s reaction, humorously treating him as a threat to the women around him.
• Liu and Wang Manni maintain a pragmatic partnership: she helps him obtain rewards, while he promises continued support as long as she remains useful and avoids betraying him.
• Liu and Cow-Horse share a combative but affectionate boss-subordinate relationship. Her final warning and angry dismissal reveal concern beneath her irritation.

Chapter Summary: “When You Gaze into the Abyss”

Key Plot Points and Events

• White-Feather Chicken leads Liu Zheng and Calico Cat from the Bloodstained Restaurant to a passage where two City Hall officials are waiting with an official vehicle.
• The officials, identified only by the numbers 8848 and 4399, process their departure with a brief signature and escort them away for the cross-border procurement mission.
• Liu Zheng and Calico Cat show some reluctance to leave the Restaurant, which has become a familiar—if dangerous—place. Liu Zheng reassures himself that he will eventually return.
• During the journey, Liu Zheng learns that the two officials belong to the Pet-Rejection Faction, a human faction opposed to humans being kept as pets or used as food ingredients.
• The officials explain that their goal is to improve humanity’s racial status. A race whose members are still treated as pets or resources cannot be elevated to a higher position.
• To prevent Liu Zheng and Calico Cat from seeing or interfering with the journey, 4399 plays soothing violin music that puts them into a deep, unusually refreshing sleep.
• Upon awakening, they find themselves in the Borderlands, standing before an enormous, seemingly bottomless abyss.
• Across the abyss appears a black, humanoid figure whose liquefying hand stretches across an impossible distance, transforming the abyss into a vast black ocean.
• Liu Zheng’s system activates Sanity Decline Immunity, protecting him from the terrifying vision. The officials reassure him that the entity cannot cross the boundary.
• The chapter ends with 4399 pointing out a solitary white door in the distant grassland—the next destination of their mission.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to demonstrate caution, adaptability, and social intelligence. He probes the officials for information but stops when he senses the political danger of the discussion.
• He also remains skilled at concealing his thoughts, even casually denying the accuracy of unfavorable records about him.
• His attachment to the Restaurant becomes clearer. Though he recognizes its dangers, its familiarity provides him with a sense of security.
• Calico Cat appears emotionally attached to the Restaurant, visibly reluctant to leave and adopting a distinctive traveler’s outfit.
• 8848 and 4399 initially appear like impersonal government employees, but they reveal themselves to be sympathetic toward Liu Zheng’s actions and somewhat impressed by his judgment.
• Liu Zheng’s immunity to sanity loss confirms that he possesses unusual resistance to the Borderlands’ psychological dangers.

Significant Themes

• Security versus the unknown: Even a dangerous home can feel safer than an unfamiliar world, emphasizing the importance of familiarity and belonging.
• Human dignity and social hierarchy: The Pet-Rejection Faction’s ideology raises questions about whether humans can gain equality or higher status while some are still treated as animals or commodities.
• Political complexity: The officials’ beliefs suggest that opposing human exploitation may also be connected to broader struggles over power and racial status within Metropolis.
• The limits of perception: The abyss and black entity demonstrate that the Borderlands contain phenomena beyond ordinary understanding, and that simply witnessing them can threaten one’s sanity.
• Controlled information and trust: Liu Zheng must navigate official secrecy carefully, while the officials reveal only as much as they choose.

Character Interactions

• White-Feather Chicken acts as the mission’s guide but remains terse and businesslike.
• Liu Zheng exchanges cautious but revealing dialogue with 8848 and 4399, testing their motives while avoiding politically risky questions.
• The officials respond positively to Liu Zheng’s restraint and acknowledge his intelligence and decisiveness.
• 8848 physically steadies Liu Zheng after the vision of the abyss, showing that despite their bureaucratic demeanor, the officials are prepared to protect him.
• The chapter closes with the group united before the mysterious white door, marking the true beginning of their journey into the Borderlands.

Chapter Summary: “Leaving the Country”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng, the Calico Cat, and their escorts, 4399 and 8848, arrive at Metropolis’s white border gate to leave the country.
• At the border checkpoint, a faceless Key Person verifies their documents and scans them for prohibited items. Liu Zheng and the cat pass inspection without issue, likely aided by the system inventory’s concealment.
• Each traveler receives a memory chip that will suppress most memories of Metropolis once they cross the Borderlands. The chips also offer mental protection but will destroy the user’s mind if that protection is breached. Liu Zheng and the Calico Cat accept the chips without hesitation.
• 4399 gives Liu Zheng a special diary and explains City Hall’s mission requirements. As representatives of the Bloodstained Restaurant, they must record everything valuable or noteworthy they encounter abroad and may bring back interesting objects.
• The diary records observations while shielding cognition, but it cannot be removed from the instance.
• When the border gate opens into a Mist Vortex, an eyeless tentacle attacks a Key Person from within. 4399 electrocutes it, the Key Person reduces it to ash, and 8848 shoots a strange mercury-like bullet into the vortex, silencing the hostile presence.
• 8848 uses the incident to recruit Liu Zheng into the Border Management Bureau, but Liu Zheng firmly refuses, preferring the Bloodstained Restaurant and considering the City Hall faction untrustworthy.
• 8848 nevertheless gives him contact information. Liu Zheng memorizes it as a potentially useful connection.
• The Calico Cat becomes frightened and clings to Liu Zheng. He reassures her, places her on his shoulder, and enters the mist with her.

Character Development

• Liu Zheng remains calm and decisive, accepting both the security scan and memory chip without fear. He recognizes that City Hall expects him to prove his usefulness through detailed mission results and resolves to perform his role as a folklorist and collector seriously.
• He also shows political awareness and caution. Although he values maintaining connections, he rejects 8848’s recruitment attempt because he distrusts City Hall’s motives and believes the Bloodstained Restaurant—and possibly the Writers Association—offers better protection.
• The Calico Cat becomes noticeably quieter and more dependent after leaving the Restaurant. Her fear of the border crossing reveals a vulnerable side, while her willingness to follow Liu Zheng demonstrates her trust in him.
• 4399 acts as an efficient official and protector, handling the documents, explaining the mission, and swiftly stopping the attack with overwhelming force.
• 8848 appears friendly and persuasive but remains enigmatic. His casual recruitment attempt and mention of confidential incidents suggest deeper ambitions and connections within City Hall.
• The Key Person is introduced as an eerie, faceless official with a key embedded in their face. Despite appearing passive during the attack, they possess immense power and eliminate the tentacle effortlessly.

Significant Themes

• Memory and identity: The memory chips force travelers to sacrifice much of their knowledge of Metropolis in exchange for safe passage and mental protection.
• Institutional control and hidden agendas: City Hall monitors travelers, imposes mission requirements, controls information, and uses memory suppression, emphasizing its authoritarian and secretive nature.
• Pragmatism and survival: Liu Zheng balances obedience with skepticism, accepting the mission while refusing to become tied to a faction he does not trust.
• Protection and dependence: The Calico Cat’s fear and Liu Zheng’s reassurance strengthen their bond, showing that his role has shifted from companion to protector.
• The unknown beyond the border: The hostile creature in the Mist Vortex establishes that leaving Metropolis is dangerous and that powerful entities may lurk beyond its boundaries.

Character Interactions

• 4399 and 8848 guide Liu Zheng and the Calico Cat through the border procedures, with 8848 providing most of the explanations.
• Liu Zheng cooperates with the Key Person during inspection and accepts the memory chip without protest.
• 4399 uses the diary and mission instructions to establish City Hall’s expectations, while Liu Zheng silently realizes that his future safety depends on producing valuable results.
• 8848 attempts to recruit Liu Zheng, but Liu Zheng declines politely yet firmly. Their exchange remains cordial, leaving open the possibility of future contact.
• The Calico Cat confides her fear to Liu Zheng, and he comforts her before they cross into the Mist Vortex together.

Chapter Summary: “A Stranger from Metropolis”

Key Plot Points and Events

• During an unusually long Pale Night, Anke’s family hides beneath their table and bed while terrifying roars and screams echo outside. They fear the return of the nightmare that devastated Yate forty years earlier.
• Anke, armed with a woodcutter’s axe, tries to protect his wife Marianne and their daughters. He instructs Marianne to flee to the Church of the Lord of Pain if danger enters, warning her not to trust the Bloodhealing Church.
• Heavy footsteps approach their home, dragging something along the ground. Anke prepares to fight, revealing that he is not inherently cowardly and once killed a Pale Beast during the catastrophe forty years ago.
• Instead of immediately attacking, the visitor knocks and asks whether the building is a tavern. He claims to work for the Bloodstained Restaurant and has come to purchase Anke’s signature liquor, Pepper Uncle.
• The stranger says he is from a place called Metropolis, which Anke has never heard of. His unusual accent and mysterious mission make Anke suspicious, though the man’s friendly manner gradually eases some of his fear.
• When Anke asks whether the stranger encountered pale-skinned beasts on the way, the visitor responds by revealing a pale head smashing through the wooden door, confirming that a monster is directly outside.

Character Developments

• Anke shifts from frightened family man to determined protector. Although terrified, he remains ready to sacrifice himself for Marianne and his children. His past experience surviving the previous disaster gives him courage.
• Marianne initially appears despairing because of the trauma of losing her relatives forty years earlier. She eventually becomes calm and accepting of death, but still cooperates with Anke’s plan to save the children.
• The Stranger from Metropolis is introduced as cheerful, casual, and apparently focused on business even during a deadly crisis. His humor and strange explanation conceal an uncertain identity and possibly greater knowledge of the situation.
• The family’s youngest daughter represents innocence and vulnerability, while Anke and Marianne’s concern for their children emphasizes their devotion and desperation.

Significant Themes

• Fear and courage: Anke is frightened but acts despite his fear, showing that bravery means protecting others in the face of terror.
• Trauma and recurring catastrophe: The Pale Night revives memories of the disaster forty years earlier, suggesting that the past has returned in a new form.
• Family loyalty and sacrifice: Anke and Marianne are willing to risk their lives for their children and remain together even when death seems unavoidable.
• Suspicion versus trust: The stranger’s polite behavior conflicts with the dangerous circumstances, forcing Anke to question whether he is a harmless traveler or part of the threat.
• Religious uncertainty: Anke’s distrust of the Bloodhealing Church and preference for the Church of the Lord of Pain hint at political or spiritual divisions within Yate.

Character Interactions

• Anke comforts his youngest daughter and reassures her that he will protect her.
• He and Marianne discuss escape, death, and the fate of their children, revealing both their shared fear and deep affection.
• Anke questions the stranger through the door about his identity, origins, employer, and journey.
• The stranger’s request for Pepper Uncle creates an oddly ordinary exchange amid the supernatural crisis, but it abruptly turns terrifying when a Pale Beast breaks through the door.

Chapter Summary: “Boss, I’m Coming In”

Key Plot Points and Events

• A Pale Beast’s severed, deformed head crashes through the door of Anke’s Tavern, terrifying Anke and his family. Anke recognizes it as Malza, a neighbor and former temporary waiter.
• The mysterious attacker outside admits he killed the Pale Beasts and used Malza’s body to force Anke’s attention. He requests ten barrels of “Pepper Uncle,” threatening—implicitly or otherwise—to enter if refused.
• Anke calculates that he has enough stock to meet the demand and realizes he cannot resist the stranger by force. He sends his wife, Marianne, and their daughters upstairs to hide their valuables and stay safe.
• Anke opens the door and allows the stranger inside in exchange for the alcohol. The man is unusually tall, physically powerful, barefoot, and accompanied by a neatly dressed calico cat.
• The stranger introduces himself as Liu Zheng and identifies the cat, Salmon, as his partner. Both are employees of the Bloodstained Restaurant.
• When Liu Zheng tries to remove Malza’s head from the damaged doorway, Anke courageously asks him to preserve Malza’s dignity. Liu Zheng respects the request, removes the head without further harm, and blocks the hole with a barrel.
• Anke serves Liu Zheng and Salmon beer while cautiously attempting to maintain normal tavern hospitality.
• From Liu Zheng’s perspective, it becomes clear that he is not entirely human in appearance, possessing four tentacles. He also reflects on the effects of passing through the “door,” the memory chips, and the apparent intervention of a larger system.
• Salmon’s memory chip has altered his recollections so that he believes Liu Zheng is his colleague on a business trip. Liu Zheng has gained the cat’s trust by feeding him homemade dried fish.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng noticing someone—or something—staring longingly at him.

Character Developments

• Anke: Begins terrified and defensive but quickly becomes practical and diplomatic. Despite his fear, he shows moral courage by protecting Malza’s dignity and refusing to let Liu Zheng casually mutilate the corpse further. He also remains committed to his role as a tavern owner, treating even dangerous outsiders as guests.
• Liu Zheng: Is revealed to be powerful, confident, and capable of killing Pale Beasts with ease, yet he behaves politely and calmly. He is observant and strategic, recognizing that Anke’s calmness is unusual. His concern for Salmon shows a gentler, protective side.
• Salmon: The calico cat has had his memories partially rewritten by a memory chip, but he trusts Liu Zheng completely. His comfort with Liu Zheng and response to the dried fish strengthen their partnership.
• Marianne and the children: They obey Anke’s warning and hide upstairs, emphasizing the family’s vulnerability in the face of supernatural danger.
• Malza: Though already dead, his identity as a familiar neighbor makes the Pale Beast attack personal and heightens the emotional stakes.

Significant Themes

• Hospitality amid danger: Anke uses the rituals of tavern service to manage a potentially violent encounter, suggesting that civility and social roles can provide protection in a chaotic world.
• Humanity and dignity: Anke’s request that Malza be treated respectfully contrasts with Liu Zheng’s utilitarian attitude toward the corpse and shows that dignity persists even after death.
• Power and vulnerability: Liu Zheng’s overwhelming physical strength places Anke at his mercy, while Anke relies on judgment, negotiation, and restraint rather than force.
• Memory and identity: The memory chips and the “door” raise questions about how memories shape relationships and whether altered memories undermine a person’s true identity.
• The unfamiliar becoming normal: Liu Zheng’s tentacles, Salmon’s status as a colleague, and the Pale Beasts are treated as strange but increasingly integrated into everyday interactions.
• Trust and dependence: Liu Zheng earns Salmon’s trust through care and food, while Anke must decide whether to trust Liu Zheng enough to let him into his home.

Important Character Interactions

• Anke and Liu Zheng: Their exchange is tense but formally polite. Anke negotiates for his family’s safety, while Liu Zheng pressures him through his immense strength but ultimately respects Anke’s requests.
• Liu Zheng and Salmon: Their relationship is affectionate and familiar. Liu Zheng reassures, feeds, and pets Salmon, while Salmon depends on him in an unfamiliar environment.
• Anke and Malza: Anke’s recognition of Malza and concern for his dignity reveal their prior friendship and make the attack more tragic.
• Anke and his family: Anke protects Marianne and their daughters by sending them upstairs, demonstrating his responsibility as husband and father.
• Liu Zheng and the tavern’s unseen observer: The chapter closes by hinting at another character drawn to Liu Zheng, setting up the next interaction.

Chapter Summary: “The Outside Was the True Inferno”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng visits Anke’s tavern in Yate during the ongoing Pale Night, accompanied by the Calico Cat, Salmon.
• He casually interacts with Anke’s daughter, Nina, though she remains wary of him and retreats into the darkness.
• Anke serves Liu Zheng and Salmon “Pepper Uncle,” an unusually pungent beer topped with peppery powder. Liu Zheng enjoys it despite sneezing from its intensity.
• Liu Zheng questions Anke about Yate, its transformed beasts, and the dangers beyond the city. Anke reveals that he has lived in Yate for nearly fifty years and has never left.
• Liu Zheng warns Anke not to venture outside, claiming that the world beyond Yate is even more dangerous than the city during Pale Night—“a true inferno.”
• Liu Zheng presents Anke with a bizarre purchase order containing Yate specialties such as Iron-Rod Bread, Smoked Stink-Rat Jerky, and Ten-Mile Fragrance Flower Juice. Anke is disgusted and insulted that Pepper Uncle is associated with such products.
• Anke confirms that he knows where most of the requested goods can be purchased, but refuses to draw a map because Yate’s streets are complicated and dangerous at night.
• He advises Liu Zheng to wait in the tavern until Pale Night ends, but Liu Zheng explains that he must complete his assignment quickly or face being killed and roasted by his restaurant’s chef.
• Anke warns that the city gates have likely been sealed by the church, making escape impossible. When he asks how Liu Zheng entered, Liu Zheng casually reveals that he climbed over the city wall.
• Anke realizes that Liu Zheng is far more powerful and extraordinary than an ordinary outsider.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains calm, pragmatic, and almost absurdly fearless. He treats monstrous creatures, dangerous cities, and threats from his employer as routine work-related inconveniences.
• He demonstrates both social adaptability and manipulation by speaking casually with Anke, petting Salmon, and presenting himself as an ordinary purchaser.
• Anke gradually becomes less suspicious of Liu Zheng after seeing his relaxed attitude toward the beasts and his apparently mundane purchasing mission. However, he becomes increasingly shocked by Liu Zheng’s strength, especially after learning that he climbed over the city wall.
• Anke’s concern for Liu Zheng grows into sympathy when he hears about the dangers of Liu Zheng’s restaurant and employer.
• Nina is established as cautious around outsiders, while Salmon remains an affectionate but opinionated companion who objects to strangers petting her.
• The mysterious Human Face on Liu Zheng’s back appears weakened or restricted after leaving the Metropolis, briefly surfacing only to glare at him.

Significant Themes

• Relative danger and distorted normality: Yate is already a horrific place filled with human-derived beasts, yet Liu Zheng insists that the outside world is worse. This reverses Anke’s understanding of safety.
• Fear versus familiarity: Liu Zheng views monsters as manageable because he is accustomed to extreme danger, while Anke sees Yate’s horrors as an unavoidable part of life.
• Outsider misunderstanding: Anke interprets Liu Zheng’s strange shopping list as evidence of bizarre local tastes, while Liu Zheng treats the grotesque products as ordinary mission objectives.
• Absurdity amid horror: Threats of being sliced up and roasted, disgusting food products, and monstrous transformations are discussed with the casual tone of workplace conversation.
• Hidden power: Liu Zheng deliberately presents himself as a simple employee, but his actions—especially crossing the city wall—reveal that he is an exceptional and potentially dangerous figure.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng attempts to build rapport with Nina and Salmon, though Nina avoids him and Salmon complains about being petted.
• His relaxed conversation and willingness to drink Pepper Uncle help Anke lower his guard.
• Their discussion of beasts and the outside world shifts from casual questioning to a serious exchange about danger and survival.
• The purchase order becomes a humorous point of tension: Anke is proud of his beer but feels it is unfairly grouped with Yate’s most revolting specialties.
• By the end of the chapter, Anke’s attitude changes from cautious hospitality to awe and concern, as he realizes that Liu Zheng entered Yate by scaling its walls and may be capable of far more than he admits.

Chapter Summary: “If You Were Caught Peeking”

Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng reaches the top of the city wall, using the Boning Knife and Serrated Cleaver as improvised climbing aids after Calico Cat easily scales it.
• He finds Anke’s Tavern and asks Anke to guide him to local shops so he can complete the Restaurant’s shopping task.
• Anke agrees, but only if Liu Zheng escorts his wife and daughters to the Church of Pain’s cathedral, where they will be safer during the Pale Night.
• Anke introduces his family: his wife Marianne, eldest daughter Nia, and youngest daughter Nina. Liu Zheng behaves politely and reassures them with his calm, courteous manner.
• While Marianne and Nia prepare food, Liu Zheng insists on completing Pepper Uncle’s wine purchase first.
• Anke worries about leaving his family and tavern unguarded, but Liu Zheng claims Calico Cat—whom he calls “Salmon”—can protect the house.
• Calico Cat proves her strength by slicing apart the corner of a table with a single paw strike, convincing Anke that the strange outsider and his feline companion are powerful rather than insane.
• Liu Zheng stops Nina from touching Calico Cat, explaining that she dislikes strangers. He nevertheless compliments Nina’s presence, saying her innocence helps him maintain his sanity in the horrifying environment.
• In the underground wine cellar, Liu Zheng selects ten barrels of Pepper Uncle’s wine. Anke offers all the wine for free if Liu Zheng protects his family, but Liu Zheng instead pays with a piece of gold and asks Anke to exchange the remainder for local currency.
• Liu Zheng orders Anke to leave the cellar because his “special transportation techniques” are a trade secret. Anke resists the temptation to peek, reflecting on how responsibility as a husband and father has changed him.
• Before Liu Zheng can emerge, a tremendous impact sounds from above, terrifying Anke and suggesting that a dangerous threat has attacked the tavern.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to appear calm, polite, pragmatic, and generous despite the bizarre dangers around him. He treats Anke’s family with respect and shows surprising warmth toward Nina.
• Calico Cat/Salmon is established as far more dangerous and capable than her harmless appearance suggests. Her strength reassures Liu Zheng but frightens Anke.
• Anke shifts from suspicion and fear to trust and admiration. He realizes Liu Zheng is not a typical cruel or unstable outsider and begins imagining him becoming a friend or even settling in Yate.
• Anke’s devotion to his family becomes clear. His choice not to spy on Liu Zheng reflects his maturity and his determination to avoid endangering his wife and children.
• Nina is portrayed as curious and affectionate, immediately drawn to Calico Cat despite the danger.
• Marianne initially hesitates but ultimately trusts Anke’s judgment and cooperates with his plan.

Significant Themes

• Trust amid danger: Anke must decide whether to trust an unfamiliar outsider during the Pale Night, while Liu Zheng relies on Anke as a guide.
• Family and responsibility: Anke’s role as a father restrains his former impulsiveness and shapes every decision he makes.
• Appearance versus reality: The seemingly ordinary cat is extraordinarily powerful, while Liu Zheng’s strange behavior masks kindness and competence.
• Hospitality and civilization: Anke insists that manners and generosity distinguish people from beasts, even during a supernatural crisis.
• Absurdity and normalcy: Ordinary activities—buying wine, paying for goods, preparing dinner—continue in the midst of extreme horror, creating a deliberately surreal contrast.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Anke develop a tentative business partnership based on mutual benefit and growing respect.
• Liu Zheng’s courteous introduction and reassurance ease Marianne’s and the girls’ concerns.
• Anke is alarmed by Liu Zheng’s confidence in Calico Cat, but her display of power forces him to accept that she is a legitimate protector.
• Liu Zheng gently handles Nina’s curiosity rather than scolding her, strengthening Anke’s positive impression of him.
• Their cooperative mood is abruptly threatened by the unexplained impact above the cellar, ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Anke rushes from the cellar after hearing the commotion and finds the front hall damaged but free of blood.
• His daughter Nina explains that a large beast attacked by smashing through the door, but the Calico Cat—whom Anke respectfully calls “Lady Cat”—defeated it with a single slap.
• The cat’s paws are stained with dark yellow blood. Anke explains that this color indicates the beast had undergone advanced Beastification and completely lost its humanity.
• The Calico Cat asks to have her paws cleaned. Nina happily wipes them, and the cat allows her to groom and brush her afterward.
• Liu Zheng returns after finishing the task of storing ten barrels of “Pepper Uncle” in portable cold storage. He praises the cat’s performance and treats the defeated beast as an insignificant threat.
• Concerned that the broken door may attract more monsters, Anke suggests leaving immediately. Liu Zheng refuses to travel before eating, insisting that eating while walking is bad for the stomach.
• When Anke proposes repairing the door, Liu Zheng simply sits in front of the hole and declares that his body is sturdier than wooden boards.
• During the meal, Liu Zheng notices that the beast’s blood has abnormally dyed the wash water yellow, leading him to question whether humans became beasts through mutated blood or whether the transformation altered their blood afterward.
• Just as the meal begins, Liu Zheng suddenly moves aside and uses a tentacle to drag another furry beast’s head through the hole in the door.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains confident, pragmatic, and eccentric. He trusts the Calico Cat’s strength, prioritizes eating comfortably, and casually uses his own body as a barricade because of his Flesh Rebirth ability.
• The Calico Cat is shown to be highly intelligent, communicative, powerful, and self-assured. She understands human speech, gives instructions through gestures and meows, and enjoys Nina’s attention.
• Anke becomes deeply respectful and somewhat intimidated by both Liu Zheng and the cat. His protective concern for his family is clear, but he carefully avoids challenging Liu Zheng because he needs his protection.
• Nina is frightened by the attack but quickly becomes excited and affectionate toward the Calico Cat, eagerly cleaning and brushing her.
• Anke’s wife, Marianne, remains mostly in the background, helping prepare and move the meal.

Significant Themes

• Humanity versus Beastification: The yellow blood suggests that the beasts may once have been human, raising questions about the nature and cause of the transformation.
• Strength and protection: The Calico Cat and Liu Zheng protect the family in very different ways—she through rapid violence and he through overwhelming confidence and physical durability.
• Domestic warmth amid danger: The scene combines family cooking, children playing, and communal eating with a destroyed door and lurking monsters, highlighting the fragile normalcy of life in a dangerous world.
• Trust and dependence: Anke relies on Liu Zheng and the cat despite not fully understanding their abilities, while Liu Zheng’s confidence allows him to behave casually even in a crisis.
• Comedy through contrast: Liu Zheng’s solemn claims about eating properly and using his body as a door shield contrast humorously with the seriousness of the monster attack.

Character Interactions

• Nina excitedly recounts the attack to Anke, while Anke corrects her respectful title for the cat.
• Anke carefully interprets the Calico Cat’s gestures and eagerly fulfills her request to have her paws washed.
• Nina and the cat develop a playful, affectionate bond as Nina cleans the cat’s paws and brushes her fur.
• Liu Zheng praises the cat, reinforcing her proud demeanor.
• Anke tries to persuade Liu Zheng to leave or repair the door, but Liu Zheng dismisses both concerns with his unusual confidence.
• Anke and Marianne accommodate Liu Zheng by moving the dining table to him, creating a shared family meal despite the damaged house.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng interrupting the meal to seize another beast, showing that danger remains immediately outside.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng subdues a Beastified creature that attacks the family’s home. He threatens to eat it if it returns, then throws it outside and allows it to flee.
• Anke is deeply unsettled—not by Liu Zheng’s physical strength, which is within the range of powerful figures he has known, but by Liu Zheng’s complete lack of fear, pity, or disgust toward creatures that were once human.
• After finishing dinner, Liu Zheng agrees to wait while Anke’s family gathers supplies for the journey to the Church of Pain. They load a handcart with enough food, water, alcohol, and necessities to survive for up to two weeks.
• The family leaves the house during the Pale Night, pushing the heavily loaded cart through Yate’s ominous, Gothic streets while beasts howl in the distance.
• Liu Zheng notices the red lamps hanging outside homes. Anke explains that they signal a household whose occupants remain sane and have not undergone Beastification; the lamps automatically extinguish when someone transforms.
• Anke describes Yate’s two major churches. The Church of Pain was the original dominant faith but declined because of its extreme doctrine. The Bloodhealing Church later rose to power by treating illness through blood transfusions.
• Liu Zheng realizes that nearly every adult in Yate has received the Bloodhealing Church’s treatment. Connecting this fact with the observation that all the beasts they have encountered appear to be adults, he begins to suspect that blood transfusions may be responsible for Beastification.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates overwhelming confidence and emotional detachment when confronting the Beastified creature. His casual treatment of the beasts reinforces how alien his worldview is to Yate’s residents.
• He also displays growing curiosity about Yate’s customs, institutions, and possible connection between blood treatment and Beastification.
• Anke becomes increasingly impressed and frightened by Liu Zheng. He recognizes that Liu Zheng may be far more capable than he initially assumed and begins to view the outside world with both fear and fascination.
• Anke takes greater practical precautions by bringing extensive supplies, showing his protective instincts and concern for his family’s survival.
• Marianne remains sympathetic and polite toward Liu Zheng, misunderstanding the nature of his workplace meals and offering a religiously framed condemnation of his employers.
• Nia and Nina follow their parents’ example, helping prepare for the dangerous journey.

Significant Themes

• Otherness and cultural distance: Liu Zheng’s casual attitude toward former humans reveals the vast difference between his experience and the inhabitants’ fear-based relationship with Beastification.
• Fear versus curiosity: Anke’s fear of the outside world is joined by curiosity after witnessing Liu Zheng’s confidence and learning about his unfamiliar background.
• Institutional power and hidden danger: The Bloodhealing Church rules Yate through a seemingly beneficial medical practice, but its universal treatment may conceal a horrifying connection to Beastification.
• Civilization amid horror: Yate’s beautiful Victorian-Gothic architecture and organized safety signals contrast with the lurking beasts and the city’s disturbing medical system.
• Uncertainty and investigation: The chapter shifts from immediate survival to uncovering the possible origin of Beastification.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng intimidates and defeats the attacking beast, then calmly resumes eating with Anke’s family.
• Anke and Marianne treat Liu Zheng respectfully, calling him “boss” and thanking him for his patience while they prepare.
• Liu Zheng questions Anke about the red lamps, the city’s churches, and blood transfusions, turning their journey into an informal investigation.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng directly confronting Anke with his theory that the Bloodhealing Church’s blood therapy may be causing Yate’s people to transform into beasts.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng and Anke’s family continue transporting supplies through Yate during the Pale Night. The cart’s noise attracts attention, and increasingly quiet beast sounds are replaced by approaching footsteps.
• Anke senses that the beasts may have located them. His reaction suggests a strange connection to them: although he fears them mentally, his blood seems to long for them.
• Liu Zheng avoids pressing Anke about the Bloodhealing Church and Blood Therapy, recognizing that the tavern owner remains wary and that investigating those subjects too openly could expose their suspicions.
• To ease the tension—and at the girls’ request—Liu Zheng loudly sings a ridiculous song. His terrible performance embarrasses Anke and draws the attention of people watching from nearby houses.
• Without warning, Liu Zheng detects danger and uses his tentacles to shove Anke’s family out of the way. A mutilated corpse falls from a building and crashes into the street.
• Anke identifies the corpse as Lukal, a former tavern patron who appears to have been attacked and partially eaten by beasts.
• Shaken but determined, Anke draws the well-maintained axe that helped him survive Old Yate forty years earlier. He confronts a huge beast crouched on a rooftop and challenges it to show how it differs from the creatures he faced in the past.

2. Character Developments

• Anke: His guarded attitude toward Liu Zheng remains, especially concerning the Bloodhealing Church and Blood Therapy. However, his unusual sensitivity to the beasts reveals that something about his blood or past may connect him to them. After witnessing Lukal’s death, he overcomes his fear and resumes the role of protector, relying on the axe that symbolizes his earlier survival.
• Liu Zheng: He demonstrates restraint and tactical awareness by avoiding suspicious questions, while also revealing a playful, socially awkward side through his awful singing. More importantly, his extraordinary speed and strength allow him to save Anke’s family from the falling corpse.
• Anke’s family: Marianne remains protective of Nina and Nia, covering the younger girls’ eyes after Lukal’s death. The daughters respond differently to Liu Zheng’s singing, showing their contrasting personalities and helping briefly lighten the oppressive atmosphere.
• The beasts: Their presence becomes increasingly immediate and threatening. Their methods appear brutal and predatory, as shown by Lukal’s mutilated body.

3. Significant Themes

• Fear versus forbidden knowledge: Anke suspects the truth behind Blood Therapy but refuses to investigate too deeply because his family depends on the Bloodhealing Church and cannot leave Yate.
• The connection between humans and monsters: Anke’s blood both fears and yearns for the beasts, raising the possibility that the boundary between humanity and monstrosity is not clear.
• Trauma and survival: Anke’s axe links the present danger to the catastrophe forty years earlier, showing that old wounds and survival instincts remain with him.
• Absurdity amid horror: Liu Zheng’s ridiculous singing contrasts sharply with the Pale Night’s terror, providing comic relief while emphasizing how abnormal and unstable the situation has become.
• Protection and trust: Though Anke remains suspicious of Liu Zheng, Liu Zheng’s actions prove that he is willing and able to protect the family when danger strikes.

4. Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng carefully questions Anke but backs off when he senses resistance, preserving their fragile cooperation.
• Anke internally criticizes Liu Zheng’s absurd behavior but outwardly praises his singing to maintain goodwill.
• Liu Zheng engages Nina and Nia by tailoring a song to their preferences, while Anke corrects Nina’s mistaken use of “Mr. Cat” and Marianne shields the children from the corpse.
• Liu Zheng physically protects the entire family from Lukal’s falling body, strengthening his practical role as their guardian.
• The chapter ends with Anke confronting the rooftop beast, setting up a direct clash between the survivor of the old disaster and the monsters threatening Yate now.

Chapter Summary: “Even Beasts Had a Certain Allure”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Anke and Liu Zheng encounter a severely mutated Dogman on a rooftop. Its face and upper body have become completely canine, while its legs remain partly human, making its appearance especially disturbing.
• Liu Zheng casually examines the beast as though it were livestock, commenting on the quality of its ribs and chest fat. This horrifies Anke, who reminds him that the creature was once human.
• The two discuss how people should respond to Beastified humans. Liu Zheng argues that fear only provokes them and pity creates harmful guilt. He believes they should be treated simply as beasts: ignored if peaceful and hunted if they attack.
• Two less-mutated, humanoid beasts appear carrying machetes. Liu Zheng orders Calico Cat, whom he calls “Salmon,” to protect Anke, and gives Anke his Boning Knife.
• Anke explains that fire is effective against the beasts, but Liu Zheng rejects the idea of using torches because burning them would make them unusable—revealing his unsettlingly practical, culinary view of combat.
• The two beasts can still speak and warn Liu Zheng to leave, prompting him to ask whether they can be saved. Anke explains that beasts with “fried egg” or blood-red pupils are beyond recovery. Seeing their pupils, Liu Zheng accepts that they cannot be saved.
• The beasts call Liu Zheng a “hunter,” and Anke explains that Church hunters commonly wield meat-cleavers. Liu Zheng realizes this suggests the city’s hunters are much stronger than ordinary fighters.
• Liu Zheng offers the attackers one final chance to retreat. They respond with a roar, so he attacks, leaping into the air and bringing his enormous cleaver down toward the Dogman’s head. The chapter ends at the moment of impact.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates his detached, pragmatic, and highly unconventional morality. He refuses to romanticize or pity the Beastified, instead judging them by whether they pose a threat. His repeated food-related observations also emphasize his alien and unsettling mindset.
• Anke remains emotionally affected by the beasts because they were once people from his community. Although he dislikes Liu Zheng’s attitude, he gradually finds it psychologically relieving and begins adopting a more practical perspective.
• Calico Cat/“Salmon” is portrayed as cheerful and confident, volunteering to protect Anke despite communicating only through meows to the humans.
• The Beastified attackers retain enough speech and memory to issue warnings, but their abnormal eyes indicate that their transformation is irreversible.

Significant Themes

• Humanity versus monstrosity: The chapter questions whether people who have physically and mentally transformed into beasts should still be treated as human.
• Pity, fear, and survival: Liu Zheng argues that both fear and excessive pity are dangerous responses, advocating a functional hunter-and-prey relationship instead.
• Guilt and responsibility: He insists that the blame for the beasts’ condition belongs to those who caused the transformation—not to the survivors forced to kill them.
• Dehumanization and moral distance: Liu Zheng’s appetite-based observations make the beasts easier for him to kill, while also showing how disturbing it is to reduce former humans to raw materials.
• Irreversible corruption: The beasts’ pupils serve as a visual marker of whether salvation remains possible, reinforcing the chapter’s focus on the boundary between transformation and recovery.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng challenges Anke’s emotional response to the Dogman, forcing him to reconsider how he views the Beastified.
• Anke provides practical knowledge about the beasts, fire, Church hunters, and the signs of irreversible mutation.
• Liu Zheng’s offer of mercy contrasts with the beasts’ hostility, establishing that he will spare those who retreat but will respond decisively to aggression.
• His strange behavior—especially treating the beasts as potential food—creates both comic tension and unease in his exchanges with Anke.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng battles a Dogman and two Beastified residents during the second Pale Night in Yate City.
• He cuts off the Dogman’s hind leg with his Serrated Cleaver, then survives a coordinated attack from the two residents.
• Anke unexpectedly helps by throwing a Boning Knife with remarkable accuracy, killing one Beastified resident.
• Liu Zheng defeats the remaining Dogman with a powerful kick and eventually decapitates it. Despite its rapid regeneration, the creature cannot survive the cleaver’s True Damage.
• Rather than simply disposing of the corpse, Liu Zheng harvests the Dogman’s head, legs, and unusually durable fur as ingredients listed on his procurement sheet.
• The surviving Beastified resident flees, demonstrating that the creatures retain intelligence, fear, and tactical awareness.
• Liu Zheng and Anke decide to burn the bodies, as recommended by the Church’s hunters. They obtain kerosene from an elderly resident after Anke offers dried meat and vouches for Liu Zheng.
• Anke explains the history of Wild Nights, the Church’s response, and the deep resentment Yate’s residents feel toward Church hunters.
• When Anke lights the corpses, he experiences a horrifying vision of the entire city consumed by flames. Liu Zheng then deliberately reignites the fire with sparks from his cleaver, ending the chapter with the bodies burning amid thick smoke.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to display overwhelming physical strength, confidence, and composure. He treats the deadly battle almost casually, viewing the Dogman less as an enemy than as a source of unusual ingredients.
• His practical and ruthless nature is balanced by a degree of responsibility: he insists on cleaning up the corpses and prevents Anke from handling potentially dangerous remains.
• Liu Zheng also shows curiosity about Yate’s supernatural ecology, questioning whether the Beastified creatures are truly monsters when they can think, speak, fear, and cooperate.
• Anke proves far more capable than he initially appears. His decades of private practice with throwing weapons allow him to kill one of the attackers and protect Liu Zheng.
• His fear of another Pale Night and his concern for his wife and daughters reveal the trauma he has carried for forty years. He is also pragmatic enough to act as a mediator between Liu Zheng and the hostile residents.
• Anke’s reaction to the fire suggests unresolved psychological scars, possibly connected to the first Pale Night or to memories of mass destruction.
• The Beastified residents are shown to retain human intelligence and emotion, complicating the distinction between human and monster.
• The elderly resident embodies the distrust and bitterness many locals feel toward outsiders and the Church, though she remains practical and willing to trade for protection.

Significant Themes

• The blurred boundary between humans and monsters: The Beastified residents can use weapons, plan attacks, feel fear, and flee, while the supposedly civilized Church hunters may act brutally.
• Mutual resentment between protectors and the protected: The Church hunters are necessary to defend Yate, but residents hate them because they kill transformed relatives and often behave violently.
• Trauma and recurring disaster: Pale Nights and Wild Nights have shaped Yate’s culture, forcing residents to stockpile weapons, food, and fuel while living under constant threat.
• Pragmatism over morality: Liu Zheng regards the monsters as both dangerous enemies and valuable ingredients, while Anke focuses on survival and protecting his family.
• Fire as destruction and purification: Burning the corpses is a practical measure, but Anke’s vision transforms the act into a symbol of the city’s repeated cycles of violence and devastation.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng praises Anke after witnessing his accurate knife throw, strengthening their partnership and changing his view of the tavern owner.
• Anke repeatedly warns and assists Liu Zheng, showing that he is becoming an active ally rather than merely a guide.
• Liu Zheng questions Anke about the Beastified residents and the Church, prompting Anke to explain Yate’s history and social tensions.
• The elderly woman initially rejects Liu Zheng as a dangerous outsider, but Anke’s introduction of himself, his family, and Liu Zheng as a “kind and benevolent gentleman” helps establish enough trust for a trade.
• Liu Zheng’s blunt knocking and threats about attracting more beasts contrast with Anke’s cautious diplomacy, though both approaches ultimately secure the kerosene needed to burn the corpses.

Chapter Summary: “How Did You Know I Was an Outsider, Liu Zheng?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Anke’s group continues traveling through the dangerous Pale Night toward the Church of Pain’s cathedral. Anke is physically weakened, and his wife Marianne supports him while he pushes the handcart carrying their family.
• They pass the home of Fula, a young girl whose parents—Father John and her mother—have disappeared. Fula is alone and frightened.
• Anke comforts Fula by claiming that her father, an experienced Church hunter, will return safely, though he privately doubts this because hunters are especially vulnerable during the Pale Night.
• Fula asks Anke to search for her parents, but he refuses because he must protect his own family. He advises her to remain inside, conserve her food and water, and verify the identity and condition of anyone who knocks.
• Fula then asks Liu Zheng, whom she identifies as an “outsider,” to help her. Liu’s conspicuous clothing—white chef’s hat, yellow vest, and bare feet—makes his foreign status obvious to everyone.
• Liu initially refuses and bluntly says he may help only after completing his current work, and only if Fula is still alive. His harsh response alarms Anke, who believes children should be treated more gently.
• Liu explains that people without parents are forced to become adults immediately, revealing that he is an orphan. He views his difficult upbringing positively because it taught him resilience and how to judge people.
• Fula offers Liu a ruby pendant as payment. He initially refuses, but Anke recognizes it as a rare and valuable Blood Gem, a quest item sought by City Hall in unlimited quantities.
• Liu accepts Fula’s commission: he will search for her parents and deliver her message, but he makes no promise that he can bring them back alive.
• Fula insists he take the pendant immediately because her parents may need it to believe his identity. Liu accepts it and examines its properties.
• The Blood Gem is identified as a single-use item that can restore “Blood Quality” or be embedded into a weapon to provide an additional effect. It can also be removed from the instance.
• Anke privately approaches Liu, apparently to share important information about Father John or the Blood Gem.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: His bluntness initially makes him appear cold, but his willingness to accept Fula’s request suggests a practical form of compassion. His orphaned past explains his emotional toughness, independence, and unusual lack of sentimentality. He also demonstrates increasing awareness of the value of Blood Gems and their connection to his broader objectives.
• Anke: He remains protective and morally concerned despite his own weakness. He tries to comfort Fula, feels guilty for refusing her request, and worries that Liu’s directness is cruel. His decision to approach Liu privately suggests he may now trust Liu with sensitive information.
• Fula: Despite being frightened and alone, Fula shows initiative and resourcefulness by seeking help and offering a valuable Blood Gem as payment. Her ability to recognize Liu as an outsider and negotiate with him reveals unexpected maturity.
• Marianne and the family: Their dependence on Anke reinforces the burden he carries and explains why he cannot risk helping Fula personally.
• Father John: Though absent, he becomes more significant when the Blood Gem suggests he may be a genuinely powerful hunter rather than merely an “outstanding” figure described out of politeness.

Significant Themes

• Survival versus compassion: Anke wants to help Fula but must prioritize the safety of his own family. The chapter presents survival as a force that limits even well-intentioned people.
• Forced maturity: Liu’s statement that orphans become adults immediately highlights how loss and danger strip children of innocence.
• Blunt truth versus comforting lies: Anke offers Fula reassurance he does not fully believe, while Liu refuses to promise safety. Their contrasting approaches raise questions about whether honesty or emotional comfort is more helpful in a crisis.
• Value beyond money: The Blood Gem is valuable not merely as currency but as a rare quest item with unknown powers, showing how survival-world objects can possess multiple forms of significance.
• Outsider identity: Liu’s appearance and behavior mark him as different from the Yate people, but his outsider status also enables him to act independently of their customs and social expectations.

Character Interactions

• Fula’s conversation with Anke establishes trust and exposes the danger surrounding her missing parents.
• Anke’s attempts to protect Fula contrast with his inability to personally rescue her, creating guilt and helplessness.
• Fula’s direct appeal to Liu leads to an awkward exchange about his outsider status and reveals Liu’s orphaned background.
• Anke challenges Liu’s harsh manner, while Liu defends his worldview through his comments about orphanhood.
• Fula and Liu form a practical agreement based on the Blood Gem, and Anke’s private conversation with Liu sets up a likely revelation about Father John or the mission ahead.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng questions Anke about Fula’s request to find her missing father, Father John.
• Anke warns him against accepting the task, explaining that Father John was a powerful hunter who may have undergone Beastification. A beast created from such a hunter would be far more dangerous than ordinary beasts.
• Liu Zheng reasons that Father John might possess a Blood Gem, potentially making the dangerous mission worthwhile.
• He gives Fula a harsh but honest choice: remain alone and risk losing both parents, or join the group to search for them. If Father John has become a beast, Liu Zheng promises to let Fula see him one last time—and possibly kill him herself.
• Fula asks Anke for guidance. Nina invites her to join the family, and Anke and Marianne offer to adopt her if her parents are dead or missing.
• Fula leaves her home carrying food and belongings, then joins the group.
• Liu Zheng insists that his help is not kindness but an exchange, possibly for Father John’s Blood Gem. His cold words anger Nina and prompt both sisters to defend Fula.
• Liu Zheng explains that people must become strong and rely on themselves because the world offers nothing freely.
• The chapter ends abruptly when Anke spots a hunter aiming a flintlock gun at them from across the street.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng reveals a pragmatic, transactional worldview. Although he appears cruel toward Fula, his words are also intended as a lesson about survival and independence. His willingness to help remains tied to practical compensation.
• Anke shows caution and responsibility. He recognizes the danger of Father John’s possible transformation and demonstrates compassion by offering Fula a home.
• Fula proves mature and courageous despite her fear and grief. She accepts the uncertainty surrounding her parents and chooses to leave with the group.
• Nina and Nia display strong empathy and sisterly loyalty by immediately accepting Fula and standing up to Liu Zheng.
• Marianne sees Fula’s arrival as both an act of compassion and an opportunity to provide the children with better manners and guidance.
• Calico Cat continues to behave like an intelligent, proud creature, enjoying Nina’s admiration while refusing to be treated as an ordinary pet.

Significant Themes

• Survival and self-reliance: Liu Zheng emphasizes that vulnerable people cannot depend on kindness and must secure their survival through strength, bargaining, or persistence.
• The danger of hunters: Hunters are presented as more frightening than ordinary beasts because their possible transformation would combine immense power with monstrous instincts.
• Moral ambiguity: Liu Zheng’s harshness appears cruel, but it may be a form of honesty intended to prepare Fula for reality. His actions blur the line between selfishness and protection.
• Family and chosen bonds: Fula loses the security of her original family but is offered a place in Anke’s household. Nina and Nia quickly treat her as a sister.
• The cost of protection: Helping Fula may require confronting a powerful beast—or Father John himself—and every act of aid appears connected to danger or exchange.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Anke debate whether Fula’s request should be accepted, with Anke warning of the dangers and Liu Zheng focusing on the possible reward.
• Liu Zheng addresses Fula directly and forces her to confront the possibility that her father is dead or transformed.
• Nina and Nia warmly welcome Fula, while Calico Cat entertains her with a wave.
• Anke offers Fula adoption, reinforcing his protective and compassionate nature.
• Liu Zheng’s cold remarks provoke Nina and Nia to defend Fula, creating tension within the group.
• The group’s fragile moment of acceptance ends when Anke identifies a hostile hunter preparing to attack.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Fula waits anxiously at a street corner for her father, fearing the condition in which he might appear.
• The hunter Liu Zheng arrives, dressed in heavily equipped clothing and a distinctive notched tricorn hat. Fula is relieved that he appears unharmed.
• Anke explains that a beast destroyed the entrance to his tavern and that he and his family need refuge at the Church of Pain’s cathedral.
• Liu Zheng questions the group, especially after learning that the beast was killed by Liu Zheng, an outsider who is not a hunter.
• Suspicious of Liu Zheng’s unnatural appearance and lack of blood scent, Liu Zheng insists on taking him to the hunters’ workshop for containment.
• Anke objects, arguing that Liu Zheng must escort them safely to the cathedral. He angrily condemns the hunters for their indifference, blaming their attitude for the destruction of Old Yate and the deaths of its residents.
• The hunter detects bloodlust in Anke and prepares to “hunt” him. He unfolds a large Meat Saw and fires a mercury-loaded bullet at Anke.
• Liu Zheng intercepts the bullet with his Serrated Cleaver, suffering only a minor wound to his tentacle. His Self-Devouring Spirit causes the weapon to consume some of his flesh, but his body rapidly regenerates.
• Concluding that the hunter understands only violence, Liu Zheng declares he will “communicate” in the Metropolis way and launches himself at the hunter at a speed greater than the bullet.

2. Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains calm, sardonic, and observant, treating the confrontation as an opportunity to test how perceptive and dangerous the Metropolis hunters are. He demonstrates extraordinary speed, strength, regeneration, and confidence.
• Anke shifts from diplomatic negotiation to open hostility when the hunter refuses to help them. His anger reveals his resentment toward the hunters and his strong protective instinct toward his family and companions.
• The hunter is established as suspicious, uncompromising, and deeply conditioned to view outsiders and blood-tainted people as threats. Although he cannot identify what is wrong with Liu Zheng, his instincts correctly tell him that Liu Zheng is dangerous.
• Fula appears vulnerable and emotionally conflicted, worrying about her father while also showing relief when Liu Zheng arrives safely.

3. Significant Themes

• Communication through violence: The chapter’s title is literal; when reason fails, Liu Zheng responds in the violent language dominant in the Metropolis.
• Distrust and dehumanization: Hunters treat potentially dangerous people as beasts to be contained or killed, while Anke accuses them of becoming no different from the monsters they hunt.
• Moral ambiguity: The hunters may protect the city from beasts, but their methods are brutal and their indifference toward civilians raises questions about who the true “monsters” are.
• Hidden abnormality: Liu Zheng’s unnatural nature is sensed but not understood, emphasizing the danger beneath his composed exterior.
• Survival in a hostile society: Refuge, religious institutions, hunters, and outsiders all operate according to competing rules, forcing characters to navigate danger through suspicion and strength.

4. Character Interactions

• Fula’s anxious waiting and Liu Zheng’s arrival establish a personal connection between them.
• Anke acts as the group’s spokesman, attempting to negotiate with Liu Zheng before defending the group against the hunter.
• The hunter’s questioning of Liu Zheng becomes an implicit confrontation between his instincts and Liu Zheng’s concealment.
• Anke and the hunter clash ideologically: Anke demands protection and accountability, while the hunter insists that hunters are not protectors.
• The conflict escalates into combat when the hunter shoots Anke, and Liu Zheng intervenes, placing himself between them and initiating a direct battle.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Hunter attacks Liu Zheng, charging at him with overwhelming force and attempting to crush him with his Meat Saw.
• Liu Zheng easily counters the attack with one of his tentacles, striking the Hunter hard enough to injure and knock him down.
• The Hunter secretly injects himself with a syringe of plasma, restoring his clarity and strength. He explains that he cannot allow someone as powerful as Liu Zheng to roam freely, fearing Liu Zheng might eventually Beastify and kill many Hunters.
• Liu Zheng argues that Beastification Disease may be caused by Blood Therapy rather than airborne infection. He points out that most Beastified people appear to be adults and questions the Church’s control over blood-based treatments.
• The Hunter fiercely defends Blood Therapy as a holy gift, insisting that even Church clergy receive it. Liu Zheng realizes this means the entire population—including the Church—may be vulnerable to Beastification.
• Liu Zheng recalls that a previous outbreak led the Church to burn Old Yate and predicts that New Yate could suffer the same fate if the crisis worsens. He decides to accelerate his plans before the city collapses.
• Rather than kill the Hunter, Liu Zheng has Salmon ambush and knock him unconscious. The group loads him onto their cart.
• Liu Zheng orders Salmon to strip the Hunter and hide his clothes, anticipating that they may be useful later. The women and children turn away from the embarrassing scene.
• Liu Zheng takes the Hunter’s Meat Saw and flintlock pistol. Both weapons are revealed to be common equipment that deals extra damage to victims of Beastification Disease and can be removed from the dungeon.
• Liu Zheng and Anke’s family continue onward, while the young girl Fula watches Liu Zheng with admiration.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates superior combat ability, tactical restraint, and pragmatic cruelty. He chooses to capture rather than kill the Hunter, both to avoid immediate danger and to exploit the Hunter’s equipment and clothing.
• He becomes increasingly convinced that Blood Therapy is the true source of Beastification and recognizes the seriousness of the Church’s role in the crisis.
• The Hunter shifts from an unstable, blood-driven fighter into a composed and principled defender of the Church’s beliefs. Even after being defeated, he remains convinced that Blood Therapy is righteous and that Liu Zheng poses a major threat.
• His dependence on injected plasma illustrates how thoroughly Hunters are tied to the very practice that may cause Beastification.
• Anke shows mixed feelings toward the defeated Hunter. He resents the Hunters for their past actions but also acknowledges that they have protected Yate from monsters.
• Salmon, the calico cat, is portrayed as an efficient and obedient accomplice. Her playful enthusiasm contrasts with the brutality of her actions.
• Fula begins to idolize Liu Zheng, suggesting that his power and confidence are influencing the children around him.

Significant Themes

• The hidden cost of salvation: Blood Therapy is presented as a treatment that alleviates suffering but may ultimately cause Beastification, exposing the danger of unquestioned faith in institutions.
• Institutional hypocrisy and universal corruption: Since even Church officials receive Blood Therapy, no social class is safe from the disease. The entire city is implicated in the same destructive system.
• Power and control: The Church’s authority depends on Blood Therapy, while the Hunters enforce the system and suppress threats to it.
• Cycles of catastrophe: The possible destruction of New Yate mirrors the burning of Old Yate, suggesting that the Church responds to failure through mass destruction rather than reform.
• Pragmatism versus morality: Liu Zheng’s decision to spare, imprison, disarm, and humiliate the Hunter reflects his practical survival strategy, while Anke’s discomfort highlights the moral cost of such behavior.
• Children witnessing violence: The chapter repeatedly contrasts grim brutality with the presence of children, creating dark humor and emphasizing the inappropriate, unsettling nature of the group’s actions.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and the Hunter clash physically and ideologically: the Hunter fights to protect the city’s established order, while Liu Zheng challenges the beliefs supporting it.
• Liu Zheng questions the Hunter about Blood Therapy, forcing him to confront—but ultimately reject—the possibility that the Church’s practices cause Beastification.
• Anke warns Liu Zheng about the Hunter’s plasma injection and later objects to capturing and stripping him, revealing his more cautious and compassionate perspective.
• Liu Zheng directs Salmon during the ambush and subsequent looting, treating her as a trusted combat and support partner.
• The women and children react with embarrassment when Salmon strips the unconscious Hunter, while Anke observes the scene with conflicted emotions.
• Fula’s admiring gaze toward Liu Zheng suggests that his influence over Anke’s family is growing.

Chapter Summary: “Keep Stabbing Me, Don’t Stop”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng, Anke, Marianne, their three daughters, Fula, and an unconscious hunter travel across Yate City to the abandoned Church of Pain.
• They seek shelter because Anke’s home is no longer safe. The group transports supplies in a handcart, with the unconscious hunter lying beneath a pile of potatoes and the giant calico cat crouched on him.
• Anke explains that the Church of Pain requires every visitor to undergo a ritual called Pain Baptism. This month’s ritual involves adults being stabbed at least five times with needles or thumbtacks, while children must endure at least one stab.
• The group contacts Sister Feli, an elderly church member, who recognizes Anke from a previous donation and agrees to let his family enter.
• The church’s guards initially question the presence of the unconscious hunter. After confirming that he has not undergone Beastification, they allow him inside under the church’s doctrine that anyone willing to embrace pain may receive protection.
• A masked church member wearing a robe lined with inward-pointing thumbtacks administers the baptism.
• Anke goes first and receives five stabs in the arm. He initially suppresses his pain to appear strong before his family, but eventually cries out after Sister Feli encourages him to do so.
• His family reacts with distress, while Sister Feli appears pleased by his screams, revealing the disturbing nature of the church’s beliefs.
• Liu Zheng then steps forward before the rest of the family and jokingly asks whether enduring additional stabbings will grant him extra benefits, setting up the chapter’s closing confrontation.

Character Developments

• Anke demonstrates his responsibility and protectiveness as a husband and father by seeking shelter for his family and enduring the Pain Baptism first.
• His attempt to hide his pain shows his concern for maintaining authority and dignity in front of his wife and daughters, though he ultimately gives in to the ritual.
• Marianne and the daughters are portrayed as vulnerable and frightened by the church’s practices, particularly when Anke is stabbed.
• Liu Zheng remains relaxed and irreverent despite the church’s intimidating atmosphere. His casual behavior, strange singing, tentacle gesture, and sarcastic comments contrast sharply with everyone else’s fear.
• Liu also shows a willingness to intervene, placing himself ahead of Anke’s family for the baptism and treating the church’s brutal ritual as an opportunity for amusement or experimentation.
• Sister Feli appears hospitable toward Anke but remains deeply committed to the Church of Pain’s disturbing doctrine. Her satisfaction at Anke’s cries exposes her fanaticism.
• The masked church member is silent and ritualistic. His unusual attention toward Liu suggests that he recognizes something strange or significant about him.

Significant Themes

• Religious extremism and self-destruction: The Church of Pain’s rituals harm its own followers, supporting the claim that its doctrine naturally leads to ruin.
• Pain as religious devotion: Physical suffering is treated as proof of faith, and cries of pain are regarded as sacred expressions of the church’s Gospel.
• Protection through submission: Refuge is available, but only to those willing to obey the church’s painful rules.
• Family responsibility and sacrifice: Anke willingly subjects himself to the ritual first to protect and reassure his family.
• Dark humor amid horror: Liu’s jokes and casual attitude undermine the church’s solemnity, creating a contrast between grotesque violence and absurd comedy.
• The decline of old institutions: The nearly abandoned church represents the collapse of the once-powerful Church of Pain, which has been eclipsed by the Bloodhealing Church.

Character Interactions

• Anke explains the church’s customs to Liu, revealing his cautious preparation and knowledge of Yate’s dangers.
• Anke negotiates with Sister Feli, relying on his prior donations and reputation to secure shelter for his family.
• Sister Feli and the masked church member debate whether the unconscious hunter should be admitted, ultimately accepting him because he has not undergone Beastification.
• The church officials treat Anke’s suffering as a religious performance, while Marianne, the children, and Fula respond with genuine fear and sympathy.
• Liu’s final question challenges the church’s ritual directly, using mockery to test whether greater suffering produces greater spiritual or practical rewards.

Chapter Summary

Plot points and events

Liu Zheng and the group seek refuge in the Church of Pain, whose massive metal doors provide protection from the monsters outside. The church’s followers perform an initial needle baptism on everyone, including the unconscious hunter and Calico Cat. The three girls cry in terror, while Liu Zheng remains composed even when the helmeted gatekeeper drives an unusually long nail into his shoulder. He deliberately suppresses his pain, believing that deceiving a possibly real god requires convincing acting.
Inside, Liu Zheng examines the church’s disturbing murals, which depict torture, self-inflicted suffering, fear, and grief. He is introduced to the statue of the Twisted Saint, the prophet and founder of the Church of Pain. When he notices a cup filled with golden liquid—the Twisted Holy Grail—he realizes it may contain the “Golden Ointment” requested by City Hall. He bargains for it as his reward for completing the Great Baptism. After a tense exchange, the old woman agrees, apparently prompted by a revelation from the Church’s god, and Liu Zheng prepares to begin the ritual.

Character developments

• Liu Zheng remains irreverent, opportunistic, and remarkably tolerant of pain. He treats the baptism as a transaction and cleverly identifies the likely connection between the Holy Grail and his mission. Despite his joking attitude, he recognizes the danger of confronting a genuine deity and consciously manages his behavior to appear worthy.
• Anke demonstrates knowledge of the Church of Pain and warns Liu Zheng that the Great Baptism is usually fatal, since only the dead are called saints.
• The three girls are shown to be sheltered and vulnerable, reacting intensely to the needle baptism. Fula’s distress is especially strong when Liu Zheng is nailed.
• The old woman is devout, fanatical, and increasingly suspicious of Liu Zheng, yet she is also eager to welcome new candidates and please her god. Her willingness to injure herself reinforces her devotion.
• The helmeted gatekeeper appears powerful, disciplined, and connected to the church’s supernatural authority. His silent scrutiny of Liu Zheng suggests mutual curiosity, while his reluctance after the divine revelation hints that he may not fully agree with the church’s decision.

Significant themes

• Pain as faith and proof: Physical suffering is treated as a religious virtue and a means of gaining divine favor.
• Performance and deception: Liu Zheng views religious devotion as a role that must be acted convincingly, raising the question of whether faith can be manufactured through behavior.
• Life, death, and sainthood: The church’s promise of sainthood is revealed to mean death, transforming a seemingly holy reward into a threat.
• Pragmatism amid horror: Liu Zheng remains focused on his mission and desired reward despite the church’s grotesque rituals and imagery.
• The nature of belief: The church’s apparent supernatural revelations suggest that its god may truly exist, making Liu Zheng’s manipulation both dangerous and potentially effective.

Character interactions

Liu Zheng dismisses Anke’s warning about the Great Baptism, viewing the deadly ritual as an exciting opportunity. He challenges the old woman with irreverent questions about pain, the Twisted Saint, and the Holy Grail, repeatedly testing her patience. The old woman counters his skepticism with religious certainty, while the helmeted man silently evaluates him and performs the baptism. The girls’ emotional reactions contrast with Liu Zheng’s calm facade, and the old woman’s self-inflicted bleeding demonstrates the extreme devotion expected within the church.

Chapter Summary: Liu Zheng: Turn It Up, I’m About to Fall Asleep

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Church of Pain prepares to perform the Great Baptism on Liu Zheng before the Twisted Saint statue. No one has attempted it for years because the ritual is so deadly that it could eliminate the Church’s remaining believers.
• The Great Baptism combines all twelve monthly baptisms simultaneously, each involving a different form of torture. Previous Saints who survived eventually died from lasting effects, though their corpses were believed to manifest miracles.
• The old woman leads a prayer to the Lord of Pain and has nails driven into her shoulders and chest as part of her own devotion. Despite her weakened condition, she orders the ritual to begin.
• Liu Zheng is subjected first to the Suffocation Baptism. A sealed leather bag is tightened over his head while his chest is struck to expel the air from his lungs. After five minutes, he is nearly dead and visibly cyanotic, surviving only because of Flesh Rebirth.
• The second trial involves a huge bell producing sound above 140 decibels. The noise causes bleeding, neurological damage, and repeated rupturing and regeneration of Liu Zheng’s brain and blood vessels.
• When the bell is removed, Liu Zheng pretends to be mentally impaired, responding incoherently. He then reveals that he was joking and confidently demands that the torture be intensified: “Turn it up. I’m about to fall asleep.”
• Delighted by his apparent resilience, the old woman orders the helmeted man to continue the Great Baptism.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates extraordinary physical endurance through Flesh Rebirth. Although he experiences genuine suffocation and severe neurological trauma, he remains defiant and playful rather than frightened.
• His sarcastic response after the bell torture shows his confidence, irreverence, and ability to psychologically unsettle the Church. He turns what should be a sacred demonstration of pain into a performance he appears to control.
• The old woman becomes increasingly excited and hopeful. She sees Liu Zheng’s survival as a possible miracle and begins imagining him becoming the Church’s next Pope.
• Her fanaticism is emphasized by her willingness to injure herself for the Twisted Saint, though she restrains herself from dying before the ritual ends.
• The helmeted man is portrayed as a skilled and efficient torturer, carefully applying extreme techniques without immediately killing Liu Zheng.
• Anke reacts with horror, unable to watch the torture or endure the bell’s sound, contrasting with Liu Zheng’s apparent indifference.
• Marianne and the three children are protected from the ritual by being sent away, while the Calico Cat remains completely unconcerned.

Significant Themes

• Fanaticism and religious devotion: The Church interprets extreme suffering as worship and believes pain can attract miracles from the Lord of Pain.
• Pain as faith and proof: The Great Baptism functions both as a religious ceremony and a test of whether someone is worthy to lead the Church.
• Physical resilience versus human limits: Liu Zheng’s enhanced regeneration allows him to survive ordeals that should be fatal, highlighting the contrast between ordinary human vulnerability and his abnormal body.
• The absurdity of suffering: Liu Zheng’s mockery of the ritual undermines the Church’s solemnity. His claim that the bell is less painful than his boss’s singing introduces dark humor into an otherwise brutal scene.
• Decay of the Church: The Church’s dwindling membership, self-destructive rituals, and dependence on an outsider reveal its decline and desperation for a new miracle.
• Appearance versus reality: Liu Zheng pretends to have lost his mind, then reveals he remained conscious and composed, suggesting he may be manipulating the Church’s expectations.

Character Interactions

• The old woman directs the helmeted man and interprets Liu Zheng’s suffering as a sign of divine favor.
• The helmeted man physically administers the baptisms while the old woman observes and evaluates Liu Zheng’s survival.
• Anke witnesses the torture and reacts with disgust and distress, unlike Liu Zheng, whose confidence grows as the ritual continues.
• Liu Zheng’s deliberately nonsensical replies briefly convince the old woman that his brain has been damaged, before his sarcastic challenge surprises and delights her.
• The chapter ends with the old woman enthusiastically commanding the next stage, while Liu Zheng’s apparent invulnerability strengthens her belief that he may become the Church’s future Pope.