Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng returns safely from the procurement mission outside the Borderlands, bringing back unusual ingredients—including a large number of eyeballs—and the Cleaver and portable cold-storage unit.
• Napoleon, relieved but irritated that Liu Zheng survived, retrieves the equipment and tries to maintain the supposed distance between the Delivery Department and the Kitchen. Liu Zheng nevertheless openly pets Calico Cat and jokes with the staff.
• White-Feather Chicken examines the goods, clearly suspects Liu Zheng is hiding something, but cannot expose him. As payment, Liu Zheng receives the Cleaver, several bizarre dishes, a bucket of beer, and two bottles of premium liquor—one presumably intended for French Plane Tree.
• Liu Zheng leaves the Kitchen before White-Feather Chicken can make good on his threat to throw him into the stove.
• At Nile Doctor’s clinic, the doctor has been overwhelmed with patients and has Xiaomei massage him while Sesha plays nearby. Nile Doctor worries about Liu Zheng’s mission but refuses to reveal his inherited secrets concerning the outside world.
• Cow-Horse visits the clinic wearing artificial white wings, prompting jokes from Nile Doctor about infiltrating the Pegasus Clan. The two discuss the danger posed by City Hall now that Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse may be connected to the newly announced opportunity.
• Cow-Horse accepts that City Hall might restrict it to the Restaurant, but considers the Restaurant a safe and valuable source of protection.
• Cow-Horse tells Xiaomei that Liu Zheng paid a great price to save her. Xiaomei offers her life and even her sons’ lives in repayment, but Cow-Horse instead suggests she pursue a romantic or sexual relationship with Liu Zheng.
• Cow-Horse reveals that it has created a betting pool on which of Liu Zheng’s many admirers will get close to him first. Xiaomei has the highest odds, and Cow-Horse promises her a large share of the winnings if she succeeds.
• Xiaomei agrees but asks how to proceed, leading Cow-Horse and Xiaomei to seek Nile Doctor’s help.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains confident, shameless, and quick-witted. He conceals whatever happened during the procurement mission, calmly deflects suspicion, and exploits his relationship with the Kitchen staff to obtain extra rewards.
• Napoleon reveals genuine concern for Liu Zheng’s survival, though he masks it with sarcasm and hostility. His relief at Liu Zheng’s return is mixed with frustration over the trouble Liu Zheng brings.
• White-Feather Chicken acts gruff and suspicious but ultimately honors the reward arrangement. Despite complaining, he provides Liu Zheng with valuable equipment, food, and alcohol.
• Cow-Horse shows its usual opportunistic and scheming nature, but also demonstrates loyalty toward Liu Zheng and awareness of the political danger from City Hall. It turns Xiaomei’s desire to repay Liu Zheng into a profitable scheme.
• Nile Doctor remains protective of his secrets and Sesha, while his banter with Cow-Horse reveals a long-standing friendship or rivalry. He is also amused and somewhat alarmed by the possibility of Liu Zheng becoming involved with Sesha or Xiaomei.
• Xiaomei develops from a grateful, obedient clinic worker into someone willing to actively pursue Liu Zheng in order to repay him and secure financial independence. Her innocence and confusion contrast sharply with Cow-Horse’s blunt manipulation.
• Sesha remains mostly passive and mentally impaired, though her presence underlies the discussion of a possible future relationship with Liu Zheng.

Significant Themes

• Survival and abnormality: Liu Zheng’s safe return is treated as suspicious because his reckless behavior should logically have gotten him killed. His ability to survive reinforces the idea that he is fundamentally abnormal.
• Loyalty and obligation: Xiaomei’s willingness to sacrifice herself reflects the severe debt she feels toward Liu Zheng after he saved her. The chapter questions whether gratitude can be transformed into genuine choice or is instead exploited by others.
• Manipulation and opportunism: Cow-Horse turns relationships, romance, and Liu Zheng’s popularity into a gambling enterprise, treating personal interactions as financial opportunities.
• Institutional danger and protection: City Hall represents a looming political threat, while the Bloodstained Restaurant serves as a protective “big tree” shielding Cow-Horse and Liu Zheng from outside consequences.
• Humor amid danger: Morbid subjects—death, political retaliation, exploitation, and sacrifice—are consistently undercut by teasing, crude jokes, and absurd situations.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Napoleon exchange sarcastic insults, with Napoleon trying unsuccessfully to unsettle Liu Zheng.
• Liu Zheng annoys White-Feather Chicken by demanding additional compensation, then responds to threats with playful obedience.
• Cow-Horse and Nile Doctor trade insults about wings, marriage, Sesha, and their mutual history, while still discussing serious concerns about City Hall.
• Cow-Horse pressures Xiaomei into considering intimacy with Liu Zheng, framing it as both repayment and a way to make money.
• Nile Doctor becomes an unwilling participant in Cow-Horse’s scheme, as both Cow-Horse and Xiaomei turn to him for assistance in arranging Xiaomei’s attempt to win Liu Zheng’s attention.

Chapter Summary: “Si Xue: Where’s My Golden Fluid?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng returns to the Bloodstained Restaurant after completing his procurement mission. He reports to Cow-Horse that City Hall has agreed to resolve the problems involving Peacock and Mr. Li.
• City Hall also awards Liu Zheng a family employee badge from the Border Management Bureau after hearing about his destruction of the pet store and recognizing his high mission rating. Cow-Horse warns him that City Hall is politically dangerous, but Liu Zheng remains committed to the Restaurant because he values its comfortable, cooperative work environment over career advancement.
• Cow-Horse attempts to make Liu Zheng eat, but Si Xue summons him before he can begin. To reach her office, Liu Zheng must row a boat across a lake using only his tentacles, after which Si Xue lifts him to the mountain with a fishing hook.
• Si Xue questions Liu Zheng about his mission earnings and the Golden Fluid he used. Liu Zheng complains about losing resources and receiving little compensation, then jokingly suggests deducting the value of the Golden Fluid from his salary.
• Si Xue reveals that the Golden Fluid is extraordinarily valuable and punishes Liu Zheng for his shameless response by burning him with fire rain and sealing his mouth with golden wax. She also tests his loyalty by challenging his criticisms of the Restaurant.
• Although Si Xue is irritated by Liu Zheng’s insolence, she recognizes that his loyalty and sense of gratitude are genuine. She gives him one day to handle personal matters before ordering him to return to work, then sends him flying back to the elevator.
• Cow-Horse mocks Liu Zheng’s sealed mouth and becomes suspicious when it learns that Si Xue granted him a full day off. It begins wondering whether Liu Zheng and Si Xue have a secret relationship and considers starting a betting pool.
• Liu Zheng leaves the Restaurant and visits the clinic, as the Nile Doctor previously instructed him to do after his return. He encounters the Sphinx, which complains that he has not used its ability and demands more dried fish.
• Inside the clinic, Liu Zheng reunites with the Nile Doctor and Xiaomei. He jokes about the Nile Doctor’s apparent prejudice and asks about Si Xue’s earlier visit. Xiaomei becomes embarrassed when reminded of Liu Zheng’s protective talisman and retreats to make tea.
• The chapter ends with the Nile Doctor suddenly realizing that Ra’s Radiance—the powerful artifact entrusted to Liu Zheng—is missing.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to display his characteristic shamelessness, quick wit, and talent for manipulating conversations. Despite his jokes and apparent laziness, he demonstrates strong loyalty to the Bloodstained Restaurant and to Si Xue, clearly distinguishing between those who genuinely help him and those who do not.
• Cow-Horse acts as both Liu Zheng’s irritated supervisor and an oddly protective companion. Its resentment over Liu Zheng’s growing connections and special treatment is mixed with concern, while its speculation about Liu Zheng and Si Xue adds a comedic, opportunistic side to its character.
• Si Xue appears severe, powerful, and easily angered, but her punishments also reveal familiarity and concern toward Liu Zheng. She evaluates his loyalty and humanity rather than simply punishing his disrespect, and she grants him time off despite claiming to be dissatisfied with him.
• The Nile Doctor remains suspicious and antagonistic toward Liu Zheng, though he relies on him for difficult tasks. His shock over Ra’s Radiance establishes the chapter’s major unresolved problem.
• Xiaomei shows growing affection or emotional attachment toward Liu Zheng, becoming visibly flustered when speaking to him.
• The Sphinx maintains a gruff but transactional relationship with Liu Zheng, demanding dried fish while still expecting him to make use of its power.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty versus ambition: Liu Zheng rejects the pursuit of status at City Hall in favor of the Restaurant’s familiar environment and the people who have treated him well.
• The value of genuine support: Liu Zheng’s declaration that Si Xue gave him his life shows that he values personal loyalty more than money, position, or institutional rewards.
• Shamelessness as both strength and weakness: His bold humor helps him survive tense interactions, but it also repeatedly provokes punishment from Si Xue and Cow-Horse.
• Power and hierarchy: Liu Zheng is constantly reminded of the difference between himself and powerful figures such as Si Xue, yet his wit allows him to speak to them with unusual confidence.
• Comedic workplace relationships: The Restaurant functions like an eccentric workplace, combining threats, teasing, favoritism, and genuine camaraderie.
• Mystery and consequence: The disappearance of Ra’s Radiance creates a new conflict and suggests that Liu Zheng’s recent mission may have involved more than he has admitted.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse: Their relationship mixes discipline, insults, food, concern, and mutual familiarity. Cow-Horse is frustrated by Liu Zheng’s lack of ambition but appears genuinely fond of him.
• Liu Zheng and Si Xue: Their exchange is openly antagonistic but also intimate and trusting. Liu Zheng tests boundaries through jokes, while Si Xue punishes him yet continues to protect and employ him.
• Liu Zheng and the Sphinx: Their interaction is based on favors and threats, with the Sphinx demanding dried fish in exchange for its power.
• Liu Zheng and the Nile Doctor: They trade sarcasm and insults, but Liu Zheng’s return is important because he is needed for the planned surgery involving the Sewer.
• Liu Zheng and Xiaomei: Xiaomei’s embarrassment and eagerness suggest that Liu Zheng has made a strong personal impression on her.
• Nile Doctor and Si Xue: Si Xue had apparently visited the clinic earlier, possibly for treatment, though the Nile Doctor refuses to disclose the reason because of patient confidentiality.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng admits he has used up part of Ra’s recyclable divine material, causing Nile Doctor to lament that Ra’s already-incomplete radiance has been further diminished.
• To compensate and avoid unnecessary costs, Liu Zheng agrees to accompany Nile Doctor into the Sewer so the doctor can perform a hemorrhoid-removal operation.
• Nile Doctor prepares himself in golden armor with jeweled curved blades, joking that the same weapons are equally effective for cutting heads and hemorrhoids.
• Liu Zheng contacts Fisherman before entering the Sewer. He informs him of the planned operation and asks for a massive supply of fish—initially one ton—to support the Restaurant.
• Fisherman angrily refuses the unreasonable request, eventually agreeing to provide only thirty fish. Liu Zheng accepts and arranges to meet him at the Rose Street manhole cover.
• Before leaving, Nile Doctor entrusts his clinic to Sphinx, while Liu Zheng jokingly asks Sphinx to look after Xiaomei as well. Sphinx dismisses him coldly.
• At Rose Street, Liu Zheng encounters French Plane Tree, who complains about the heat and demands that the liquor Liu Zheng brought be chilled.
• Nile Doctor recognizes that French Plane Tree’s life level is near evolution and receives a divine message from Ra concerning it.
• Ra suggests that French Plane Tree consider evolving into the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra, a powerful Egyptian divine beast capable of killing Cow-Horse with a single punch.
• Liu Zheng relays the proposal. French Plane Tree, initially uninterested, becomes curious when told the evolution might be quicker and easier than becoming a Phoenix.
• Nile Doctor and French Plane Tree are introduced. They immediately bond by ridiculing Liu Zheng, much to his irritation.
• The chapter ends with Nile Doctor explaining that French Plane Tree’s potential to evolve into a Phoenix may be connected to its ability to become the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains reckless, shameless, and opportunistic, casually using others’ possessions, demanding unreasonable favors, and provoking nearly everyone around him. However, he also shows loyalty by returning to Metropolis to help his friends and by trying to organize support for Nile Doctor.
• Nile Doctor demonstrates both medical expertise and combat ability. He is preparing to operate in the Sewer but is also shown to possess deep knowledge of evolutionary creatures, having once worked as a veterinarian. His connection to Ra becomes more important when Ra communicates directly with him.
• Fisherman is portrayed as irritable and highly protective of his resources. Despite rejecting Liu Zheng’s outrageous demand for a ton of fish, he agrees to provide thirty, showing that he is willing to help within limits.
• French Plane Tree continues developing a spoiled, arrogant personality. It has become accustomed to fine liquor and confidently boasts about its future strength, especially its potential Phoenix evolution.
• Sphinx remains cold and indifferent toward Liu Zheng, though it accepts Nile Doctor’s request to watch over the clinic.
• Cow-Horse, though absent, is repeatedly referenced as a powerful or mischievous figure, especially through stories of his treatment of Sphinx and his habit of selling fake liquor.

Significant Themes

• Friendship expressed through insults and favors: Liu Zheng’s relationships are defined by constant teasing, bargaining, and mock hostility, yet the characters still cooperate when help is needed.
• Evolution and potential: French Plane Tree stands at a crucial stage in its development, facing a choice between known and unfamiliar evolutionary paths. Its possible transformation into a divine dragon introduces a major future direction.
• Power versus practicality: The Winged Divine Dragon is immensely powerful, but French Plane Tree is more concerned with the difficulty and convenience of the evolutionary process than with prestige alone.
• Irreverence toward authority and divinity: Liu Zheng treats Ra, divine punishment, sacred weapons, and powerful beings casually, contrasting with Nile Doctor’s reverence and formal relationship with the god.
• Resource scarcity and negotiation: The dispute over fish and the loss of divine material emphasize the importance of supplies and the need to bargain, even among powerful supernatural beings.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Nile Doctor exchange constant sarcastic remarks, especially about the doctor’s blades and Liu Zheng’s disrespectful behavior.
• Liu Zheng teases Fisherman as his “father-in-law,” asks for an absurd amount of fish, and narrowly avoids provoking him into ending the call.
• Liu Zheng mocks Sphinx’s poor “employee etiquette,” while Nile Doctor explains that Sphinx only dislikes Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse.
• Liu Zheng and French Plane Tree bicker over liquor, temperature, evolution, and threats of violence, reflecting their familiar but antagonistic friendship.
• Nile Doctor and French Plane Tree quickly form an alliance by laughing at Liu Zheng’s rudeness.
• Nile Doctor acts as the bridge between Ra’s divine will and French Plane Tree’s evolutionary future, while Liu Zheng serves as the irreverent messenger.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng asks the Nile Doctor about dragons from his world. The Nile Doctor explains that Ra’s Winged Dragon differs from traditional Western or Eastern dragons, resembling a heavily armored, mechanical bird.
• The Nile Doctor describes the Winged Dragon’s alternate form, Ra’s Undying Bird: when mortally wounded, its armor becomes flames, and it cannot truly die as long as the flames remain lit. He reveals that the previous Winged Dragon died protecting Ra during a divine war against several evil gods.
• The French Plane Tree learns that Dai Lego, if evolved into a Phoenix, could potentially be transformed into Ra’s Winged Dragon through a ritual. However, becoming the Winged Dragon would make it Ra’s subordinate and incarnation.
• The Nile Doctor offers the French Plane Tree several benefits: assistance from the remaining Descendants of Ra and a safer path to evolution. The Winged Dragon’s egg is nearly invulnerable, though the creature cannot attack while inside it. He also explains that the Tree could evolve into a Phoenix first and later switch paths, provided it has not completed Five Virtues Cultivation.
• After leaving the French Plane Tree, the Nile Doctor explains why he retains memories from before entering Metropolis: Ra receives the life experiences of deceased priests and can pass some of that knowledge on, though City Hall limits what can be shared.
• Liu Zheng and the Nile Doctor return through the sewers, where Fisherman is waiting with a missing portion of his hand. Fisherman introduces himself and mocks Liu Zheng’s behavior, joking that the Nile Doctor should repair Liu Zheng’s brain.
• The group prepares to leave in Fisherman’s summoned seaplane. Before boarding, Fisherman stuffs a foul, adhesive-coated dead fish into Liu Zheng’s mouth as punishment for his provocations.
• During the journey, Liu Zheng argues that acting obnoxiously makes games more enjoyable and improves his chances of success. He also hints that his interest in Sesha may be connected to obtaining a rare item rather than genuine romance.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains irreverent, shameless, and deliberately provocative. He challenges everyone with sarcastic questions and insults, but he also respects the French Plane Tree’s right to make its own decisions and refuses to pressure it into accepting Ra’s offer.
• The Nile Doctor reveals more of his loyalty to Ra and his emotional attachment to the lost Winged Dragon. He acts as a mediator between Liu Zheng and the French Plane Tree, while also showing that his patience has limits when Liu Zheng targets Ra or his daughter.
• The French Plane Tree becomes more seriously involved in deciding its evolutionary future. It is attracted to freedom and wary of becoming Ra’s servant, so it remains skeptical of the offer despite the advantages.
• Fisherman is shown as both physically capable and comically vindictive. His missing hand highlights the dangers and costs of cross-world travel, while his banter with Liu Zheng establishes their antagonistic but familiar relationship.
• Ra is developed indirectly as a severely weakened god recovering from the previous divine war. His influence remains powerful, but he will likely need thousands of years before becoming active again.
• Liu Zheng’s connection to City Hall is emphasized through his brooch and his association with a City Hall employee, reinforcing his surprising ability to gain powerful affiliations.

Significant Themes

• Freedom versus security: The French Plane Tree must choose between remaining independent under City Hall or accepting Ra’s protection and evolving into a powerful but subordinate Winged Dragon.
• Power and servitude: The Nile Doctor argues that survival often requires choosing a master, while the Tree rejects the idea that protection is worth surrendering autonomy.
• Identity and transformation: Phoenix and Winged Dragon evolution are presented not merely as physical upgrades but as choices that determine loyalty, status, and personal freedom.
• Institutional control: City Hall’s authority reaches even into divine matters, restricting what gods may tell their followers and monitoring believers.
• Humor as social warfare: Liu Zheng uses insults and outrageous behavior to control conversations, diffuse tension, and provoke emotional reactions. The chapter repeatedly turns serious topics—divine wars, evolution, and loyalty—into comedic exchanges.
• Family and loyalty: The Nile Doctor’s concern for Ra and his daughter, as well as Fisherman’s protectiveness toward his own daughter, contrasts with Liu Zheng’s teasing manipulation of both men.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and the Nile Doctor argue over dragon designs, with Liu Zheng mocking the Winged Dragon’s armor and the Nile Doctor criticizing Liu Zheng’s drawing skills.
• The Nile Doctor and the French Plane Tree debate whether becoming Ra’s Winged Dragon is equivalent to becoming someone else’s dog. Their exchange exposes their opposing views on dependence and freedom.
• Liu Zheng undercuts the Nile Doctor’s recruitment pitch by pointing out that Ra has few surviving descendants and that one is a traitor.
• Liu Zheng and the Nile Doctor discuss whether the French Plane Tree will accept the offer. Liu Zheng believes it will refuse because it values freedom, while the Nile Doctor predicts it will eventually accept when completing Five Virtues Cultivation proves impossible.
• Fisherman and Liu Zheng continue their hostile, affectionate banter, with Fisherman threatening him and Liu Zheng joking about dating Sesha and Sea Woman.
• Fisherman and the Nile Doctor quickly unite against Liu Zheng’s provocations, especially when he threatens to involve their daughters. The two “old fathers” cooperate to silence and punish him, culminating in Fisherman’s fish gag.

Chapter Summary: “Metropolis Grand Stage, Don’t Come If You’re Not Sick”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng waits with the Fisherman in the Sewer while the Fisherman completes a difficult operation on the Sewer itself.
• To pass the time, Liu Zheng asks for entertainment, joking about fishing, food, and the Sewer’s contents. Sha-chan soon joins them and reveals that he has somehow managed to grow potatoes in the Sewer, though he refuses to show them to Liu Zheng.
• Liu Zheng returns Sha-chan’s Dragon Robe Shroud, but Sha-chan generously lets him keep it temporarily. The two, along with the Fisherman, play cards—called “Death Delivery” in Metropolis—while waiting for the operation to finish.
• The Nile Doctor finally reacts to the surgery and vomits violently. Once he recovers, the Fisherman announces that the Sewer is collapsing because it endured the operation without anesthetic.
• A blood-red fog and violent wind begin spreading through the Sewer. Liu Zheng, the Nile Doctor, the Fisherman, and Sha-chan flee. The Nile Doctor uses mechanical wings and eagle-like talons to carry Liu Zheng out.
• After they escape, a pillar of highly corrosive blood erupts from the manhole, dissolving a nearby tree. The French Plane Tree reveals that it avoided serious damage by retracting its roots.
• The Nile Doctor returns to protect his clinic, while Liu Zheng decides to visit Wang Manni. He first goes to Bad-Luck Coffee, hoping to trade the body of the headless deer associated with the coffee shop.
• Bad-Luck Coffee summons its higher authority through a grotesque ritual involving blood and shared clerks. Liu Zheng proposes selling the deer’s body, initially demanding one hundred million.
• The coffee shop offers only one million, but Liu Zheng refuses and calls Wang Manni to determine the corpse’s true market value. During the call, he deliberately hints that he has returned from beyond the Borderlands and that Peacock and Mr. Li will soon no longer pose problems, clearly using his connections and reputation to increase the bargaining pressure.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains reckless, shameless, and opportunistic, but he also demonstrates growing confidence and business sense. He uses humor and exaggerated arrogance to intimidate Bad-Luck Coffee and manipulates his association with powerful figures to strengthen his negotiating position.
• The Fisherman acts as Liu Zheng’s stern but protective companion. He refuses to let Liu Zheng fish again after a previous near-death incident and takes charge when the Sewer becomes dangerous.
• Sha-chan continues to appear bizarre and secretive. His refusal to reveal his potato-growing method suggests that even his harmless activities conceal unusual secrets. He also shows generosity by lending Liu Zheng the Dragon Robe Shroud.
• The Nile Doctor proves to be highly skilled and resilient. Despite being disgusted by the operation, he acknowledges that the surgery succeeded and takes responsibility for returning to protect his clinic.
• Wang Manni treats Liu Zheng with increasing respect because of her investment in him and her expectation of future rewards. His return from beyond the Borderlands appears to strengthen her confidence in his influence.
• Bad-Luck Coffee is revealed to be controlled by a strange collective intelligence or authority that speaks through multiple clerks. It is threatening and manipulative but becomes visibly interested when Liu Zheng mentions the deer’s body.

Significant Themes

• Absurdity and grotesque humor: Surgery on a Sewer, corrosive blood explosions, Mummy vomit, and a card game based on frightening children all reinforce Metropolis’s grotesque comic tone.
• Power through reputation and information: Liu Zheng’s ability to imply that he has returned from the Borderlands and dealt with major enemies makes others take him more seriously, even when he lacks immediate proof.
• Unusual forms of friendship and loyalty: The Fisherman protects Liu Zheng, Sha-chan lends him valuable equipment, and the Nile Doctor risks himself to complete the surgery and safeguard his clinic.
• Danger hidden beneath comedy: The group’s joking and gambling abruptly give way to a life-threatening escape, showing that even casual moments in Metropolis can become deadly.
• Commerce and exploitation: Liu Zheng views the deer corpse as a valuable commodity and attempts to profit from Bad-Luck Coffee’s dependence on it, while the coffee shop tries to undervalue the item.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and the Fisherman exchange constant sarcasm, with Liu Zheng seeking entertainment and the Fisherman firmly rejecting his reckless ideas.
• Liu Zheng and Sha-chan bond through card games, though Liu Zheng remains suspicious of Sha-chan’s secret potato cultivation.
• Liu Zheng and the Nile Doctor bicker over the surgery and the Doctor’s vomiting, but their cooperation during the escape demonstrates mutual reliance.
• The French Plane Tree mocks Liu Zheng after the disaster and warns him to flee before the Sanitation Bureau arrives.
• Liu Zheng confronts Bad-Luck Coffee with confidence, bargaining aggressively and refusing its low offer.
• His phone call with Wang Manni becomes part of the negotiation, as he uses her respectful attitude and his alleged achievements to pressure the coffee shop into reconsidering the value of the deer’s body.

Chapter Summary: “One More Wild Time”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng bargains with the employees of Bad-Luck Coffee over an unusual item, using his influence and connections to argue over its price. After consulting Wang Manni, he offers ten million, though he makes clear that he may still keep or sell the item elsewhere.
• The negotiation becomes comically hostile. The employees enforce absurdly strict company rules, refusing to provide even a latte without payment or proper procedure. Liu Zheng mocks their management system, and they trade insults until the deal is provisionally accepted.
• Before leaving, Liu Zheng buys a large quantity of coffee and treats the visit as a successful business trip.
• He then visits West River Center to test whether Peacock’s organization is still targeting him. The building has strengthened its security after the previous incident involving a Deliveryman and a guard who self-destructed, disrupting the building’s defenses.
• The new security guard subtly warns Liu Zheng about the inspection and hints that folded banknotes may be confiscated, allowing Liu Zheng to understand that lethal weapons should be hidden or removed. Liu rewards him with money after passing through.
• Liu Zheng discovers that several familiar employees have been replaced. The former elevator attendant, Jennifer, has resigned and apparently returned to the Old District. He intimidates the replacement attendant with his knife, then rewards her with the coffee he brought.
• At Room 403, Wang Manni and her employees formally welcome Liu Zheng. He gives them the coffee as afternoon refreshments, earning more sincere thanks after Wang Manni prompts them.
• Wang Manni reveals that the deputy director has prepared a special gift: “Secret Pink Mini-Jar Tea.” Its description shows that it is actually pressed insect skin and has an embarrassing erotic effect, especially when consumed in an office. Liu Zheng rejects it because he dislikes pink and recognizes its true nature.
• Liu Zheng praises Wang Manni’s performance as manager and gives her two bottles of ordinary water as a return gift. He theatrically claims the water came from outside the border and was too precious even for the Border Management Bureau to drink.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains bold, sarcastic, and confrontational. He openly challenges authority figures, mocks rigid corporate rules, and uses intimidation, humor, and bribery as needed. Despite his threatening behavior, he also shows a practical sense of loyalty by bringing gifts to Wang Manni and her staff.
• Wang Manni has become more secure in her managerial position. With the deputy director’s support and Liu Zheng’s influence, her authority is strengthening, although she becomes unusually deferential and nervous around Liu Zheng.
• The West River Center security guard is shown to be more perceptive and helpful than he first appears. He covertly assists Liu Zheng while maintaining the appearance of following regulations.
• Jennifer, the former elevator attendant, has resigned and fled to the Old District, suggesting that the previous incident and subsequent investigation affected her deeply.
• The employees of Bad-Luck Coffee demonstrate the oppressive, rule-bound culture of Metropolis companies, obeying absurd regulations even when they lead to humiliating or unreasonable behavior.

Significant Themes

• Corporate oppression and rigid bureaucracy: Company rules control every aspect of life, from serving coffee to determining punishment. Employees obey systems that are clearly unreasonable because disobedience can be fatal.
• Power versus money: Liu Zheng emphasizes that influence does not eliminate the need for wealth, while the negotiation shows how status, bargaining, and resources interact.
• Humor amid horror: Violence, death, self-destruction, and grotesque bodily imagery are treated casually, creating dark comedy. Liu Zheng’s banter makes terrifying situations appear absurd.
• Trust and covert cooperation: Although organizations appear hostile and impersonal, individuals such as the security guard quietly help Liu Zheng, suggesting that personal alliances can exist beneath oppressive systems.
• Status, gifts, and social maneuvering: Coffee, tea, water, and other gifts serve as tools of negotiation, gratitude, and manipulation. Their value often depends more on symbolism and origin than on practical usefulness.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and the Bad-Luck Coffee employees engage in an escalating verbal contest over the deal, with both sides insulting the other while still conducting business.
• Liu Zheng and the West River Center security guard exchange veiled warnings and bribes. The guard’s comments help Liu Zheng prepare for security checks.
• Liu Zheng intimidates the new elevator attendant into explaining Jennifer’s disappearance, then rewards her with coffee, revealing his mixture of cruelty and transactional generosity.
• Wang Manni publicly welcomes Liu Zheng and urges her employees to thank him, reinforcing his influence over the office.
• In private, Wang Manni presents the deputy director’s suggestive “tea,” but Liu Zheng refuses it and instead compliments her management. He then gives her and the deputy director bottles of supposedly rare water, maintaining their unusual alliance through gifts and playful deception.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng visits the West River Center and meets Wang Manni, who works with the Border Management Bureau. The department is feared because, despite nominally belonging to City Hall, it answers directly to the Supreme Speaker.
• Wang Manni offers Liu Zheng access to the deputy director’s office, massage chair, and a luncheon, but Liu Zheng declines. He realizes the deputy director is deliberately avoiding a direct meeting while assessing the risks of associating with him.
• Before leaving, Liu Zheng asks Wang Manni to investigate Jennifer, a former elevator attendant who returned to the Old District. He reminds Wang Manni that he repays loyalty and assistance, reinforcing their mutual relationship.
• Liu Zheng attempts to contact Novelist after returning from beyond the Borderlands. She acts evasively, hangs up quickly, and then stops answering his calls. Liu Zheng suspects she is being punished by the Writers Association as a scapegoat for the previous salon incident.
• Unable to contact Novelist directly, Liu Zheng considers asking Hishikibe or Black Cat for information.
• He then calls Nightingale and learns that she, Sea Woman, and Vampire Girl are at the Red Witch Board-Game Hall. He decides to visit them, bringing food and desserts.
• At the Board-Game Hall, Red Witch forces Liu Zheng to agree to play a board game by drenching him with rain and threatening him with lightning. After he submits, she dries his clothes with a tornado and kicks him into the hall.
• Liu Zheng reunites with Nightingale, Sea Woman, and the shrunken Vampire Girl. Their meeting is filled with teasing, crude jokes, mock fighting, and affectionate bickering.
• Liu Zheng asks them to find a board game that is simple, safe, and short enough to satisfy Red Witch. Sea Woman proposes a Tabletop Roleplaying Campaign involving a key character whose previous player died.
• Although the campaign is considered extremely difficult, Sea Woman implies that Liu Zheng is uniquely suited to take over the character, ending the chapter on a hook.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains cautious and politically perceptive. He understands the deputy director’s calculated avoidance and recognizes that Novelist may be in trouble. Despite his cynicism, he continues helping people who have assisted him.
• He also shows increasing emotional attachment to his companions. Although he jokes and acts irreverent, his concern about Novelist and affection for Nightingale, Sea Woman, and Vampire Girl reveal that they have become a surrogate family.
• Wang Manni appears eager to maintain her connection with Liu Zheng and grateful for his past help. Her reaction after he pats her chest suggests complicated or growing feelings.
• Novelist becomes suspiciously distant, implying that she is facing pressure or punishment from the Writers Association.
• Nightingale, Sea Woman, and Vampire Girl demonstrate a comfortable, familial dynamic. Nightingale acts as a sharp-tongued mediator, Sea Woman is hostile but dependable, and Vampire Girl remains childish, mischievous, and physically weakened after shrinking.
• Red Witch continues to use supernatural coercion to obtain Liu Zheng’s attention and participation, suggesting that her interest in him has intensified since his strong performance in the previous game.
• Sea Woman reveals herself as knowledgeable about the Board-Game Hall’s scenarios and possibly willing to bend or exploit the rules to help Liu Zheng.

Significant Themes

• Political power and hidden authority: The Border Management Bureau’s direct connection to the Supreme Speaker highlights the layered and intimidating power structure of Metropolis.
• Trust, favors, and transactional relationships: Liu Zheng’s relationships are built around reciprocal assistance, but genuine affection is gradually developing beneath the self-interest.
• Friendship in an inhuman society: Liu Zheng reflects that, despite their selfish motives and potential to betray one another, his companions are still friends. This gives him a sense of belonging in an otherwise alienating world.
• Moral conflict and alienation: Liu Zheng fears that remaining in Metropolis will force him either to abandon his values or eventually rebel violently against the city’s brutality.
• Manipulation and scapegoating: Novelist’s suspected punishment shows how powerful organizations protect themselves by sacrificing weaker participants.
• Humor amid danger: The characters’ vulgar jokes and playful fights provide relief from the oppressive threats surrounding them while also emphasizing their growing intimacy.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Wang Manni interact through cautious political maneuvering, flirtatious banter, and an exchange of favors.
• Liu Zheng worries about Novelist and tries repeatedly to contact her, showing concern that contrasts with his usual detached attitude.
• His conversation with Nightingale is casual and familiar, with teasing references to Sea Woman, Vampire Girl, and their shared experiences.
• Liu Zheng and Red Witch engage in a comic battle of wills: she uses supernatural force to make him play, while he tries to evade her.
• Liu Zheng’s reunion with the three women is affectionate but chaotic. Vampire Girl clings to him and provokes Sea Woman, Nightingale mocks her, and Liu Zheng repeatedly tries to control the situation.
• Sea Woman’s proposed roleplaying campaign creates the chapter’s next major conflict and suggests that Liu Zheng will face a dangerous scenario specifically tailored to his abilities.

Chapter Summary: A Scholar with Double A in Strength and Speed

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng, Sea Woman, Nightingale, and the little Vampire share food and trade their usual insults. Liu Zheng jokes with Nightingale about her desire to reclaim her inheritance, while she responds by threatening to celebrate with an “all-Liu Zheng banquet.”
• Sea Woman offers Liu Zheng an especially difficult game module after he challenges her to use her “nastiest tricks.” He immediately retreats when he learns that no player has ever cleared it.
• The group goes upstairs to a sealed stone door marked with a twisted pentagram and an eye-flame symbol. Liu Zheng experiences intense nausea upon seeing it, suggesting that it is connected to familiar bloodlines or supernatural forces.
• Sea Woman explains that the symbol causes discomfort but no direct harm. Their conversation reveals the Board-Game Hall’s cruel attitude toward customers, including its practice of dealing harshly with complaints and supplying “free players” through City Hall.
• Liu Zheng learns that the upcoming scenario is a beginner-rules tabletop roleplaying campaign called “Dread Sea Demon Ship.” Although the rules are simple, the campaign itself is exceptionally difficult.
• Sea Woman warns Liu Zheng that the scenario has generous rewards and encourages him to achieve a perfect ending and become the MVP. Liu Zheng agrees to participate, despite suspecting that the Board-Game Hall will not let him leave otherwise.
• Upon entering the game, Liu Zheng learns that he is replacing Player No. 2, who died unexpectedly. The campaign has been sealed since that player’s death.
• The remaining three players distrust Liu Zheng and demand proof that he is capable of replacing Player No. 2, whose role was apparently essential to the campaign’s survival.
• Sea Woman presents Liu Zheng’s achievements and professional background, but the players reject both as insufficient. She finally forces the issue, declaring that he qualifies as game master-approved. Liu Zheng humorously objects only to learn what “Jungle Chess” means, then quickly backs down.
• Liu Zheng receives his character card and discovers that he has been assigned the bizarre role of Wozki Shude, a 31-year-old Rossian “Trash Cultist” who seeks knowledge in order to save his homeland.
• The character has exceptional physical statistics but extremely poor mental ones: Strength and Agility are both 5, while Intelligence and Charisma are both 1. His Sanity begins at only 1 out of 10.
• His main item is a fragment of an evil god’s Black Book, which contains powerful sorcery but cannot reveal its full potential because Wozki’s intelligence and personality are incompatible with it. Liu Zheng realizes that this mysterious book may be the “key” referred to by the other players.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains sarcastic, reckless, and verbally combative, but he also shows caution when confronted with the possibility of entering an unwinnable scenario. His willingness to participate despite the danger highlights his adaptability and shameless confidence.
• He begins to understand the seriousness of his role after seeing Wozki’s disastrous statistics. The character’s low Sanity makes him potentially dangerous to both himself and the team.
• Sea Woman is further revealed as both the game master and an enforcer for the Board-Game Hall. She is sarcastic, threatening, and outwardly hostile toward Liu Zheng, but she also quietly advocates for his participation and warns him to perform well.
• Nightingale continues to mock Liu Zheng, though she also provides information about his achievements and background when the other players challenge his qualifications.
• The three existing players are established as experienced tabletop gamers. Their fear and hostility toward Liu Zheng stem from their belief that Player No. 2 was indispensable and that a replacement may doom their already unstable campaign.
• Player No. 2’s past actions are indirectly revealed: despite being considered the weakest player, his boldness, character build, and willingness to act recklessly made him the campaign’s crucial “Mr. Key.”

Significant Themes

• Recklessness versus intelligence: The central irony of Wozki’s character is that he is devoted to scholarship and knowledge yet possesses almost no Intelligence. His survival will likely depend on physical ability, intuition, and dangerous improvisation rather than careful reasoning.
• Appearance versus reality: Liu Zheng’s professional accomplishments and eloquence sound impressive, but they do not necessarily translate into usefulness within the campaign. Likewise, Wozki’s title as a scholar hides a character built primarily for strength and speed.
• Forced participation and lack of control: Liu Zheng is pushed into the game because leaving is not an option. His jokes about death and promises emphasize the uncertainty of survival in a system controlled by others.
• Cruel entertainment and exploitation: The Board-Game Hall treats players as expendable resources, manipulates its customers, and may even obtain participants through coercive or unethical means.
• Knowledge and forbidden power: Wozki’s quest for knowledge is connected to an unnamed god and an evil Black Book. The chapter suggests that acquiring knowledge may lead to salvation, madness, corruption, or all three.
• Team trust and suspicion: The existing players view Liu Zheng as an unqualified replacement, establishing a major interpersonal conflict before the campaign even begins.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Nightingale exchange insults about poverty, inheritance, potatoes, and his body, reinforcing their antagonistic but familiar relationship.
• Liu Zheng and Sea Woman constantly challenge one another verbally. He mocks the Board-Game Hall, while she responds with threats and insults, yet she remains responsible for guiding him into the scenario.
• Sea Woman and the other players clash over Liu Zheng’s qualification. She insists on her authority as game master, while the players demand proof that he can replace Player No. 2.
• Liu Zheng’s joking objection interrupts the tense approval process, briefly shifting the atmosphere from suspicion to comedy.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng questioning whether the Black Book is the crucial element that made Player No. 2 so important, setting up the campaign’s central mystery.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• The players finalize their character sheets and learn the scenario: four adventurers accepted the same quest, but their ship was sunk by the pirate Flamingo. They are now prisoners awaiting sale to slave traders.
• Liu Zheng discovers that players can personally pay costs for their characters, including Sanity. He also learns that the deceased Player 2’s real-world circumstances cannot be discussed.
• The game begins in a foul-smelling, cramped ship’s hold. All four characters are bound, along with an unknown ragged child who is later thrown into the cell by a pirate.
• Player 3 secretly alters everyone’s ropes with a knife so they appear intact but can be broken easily when needed. The party decides to wait and observe rather than immediately escape.
• The players introduce their roles:
  • Player 3: Rogue, focused on agility, support, and secondary damage.
  • Player 4: Alchemist, focused on intelligence, healing, and negotiation.
  • Player 1: Warrior, focused on strength, defense, and damage.
  • Liu Zheng: occupying Player 2’s powerful but reckless character.
• The group discusses roleplaying and Potential Points, which reward acting in character and can be used for advantages such as rerolling dice. Liu Zheng has only one Potential Point because the original Player 2 used the rest recklessly.
• When a pirate enters the hold, the other players prepare to attack, but Liu Zheng instead distracts him by telling an elaborate version of Pirates of the Caribbean, presenting Jack Sparrow as a legendary pirate.
• Liu Zheng deliberately stops the story at its most exciting point, persuading the pirate to return later. He then claims to admire the sea and proposes becoming a pirate rather than being sold as a slave.
• The pirate is amused and agrees to recommend him to the captain, though he doubts Liu Zheng will be accepted. Liu Zheng negotiates a share of future earnings and adopts an ingratiating attitude.
• The chapter ends with the pirate asking about Liu Zheng’s companions. Liu Zheng coldly replies that he is not actually familiar with them, revealing his willingness to distance himself from the party to advance his own plan.

2. Character Developments

• Liu Zheng quickly adapts to the game’s setting and demonstrates strong improvisational, manipulative, and negotiation skills. Rather than relying on force, he uses storytelling, flattery, and calculated deception to gain a possible route out of captivity.
• He also shows a pragmatic and self-interested side. His final claim that he is barely acquainted with the other players suggests he may prioritize survival and personal advancement over party loyalty.
• Player 3 is established as experienced and practical. He knows the game’s systems, carefully prepares an escape option, and remains resentful toward the reckless former Player 2.
• Player 4 serves as the group’s rational negotiator and healer. She is still irritated by Player 2’s impulsive theft of the Book of Blackness, which contributed to his death.
• Player 1 is introduced as the party’s physically powerful frontline fighter, though he has little direct dialogue in the chapter.
• The pirate is characterized as crude, suspicious, greedy, and easily entertained. Despite his brutality, he responds positively to flattery and stories.
• The imprisoned child establishes the pirates’ cruelty and provides a reminder of the danger facing all captives.

3. Significant Themes

• Adaptability and survival: Liu Zheng survives by thinking flexibly and exploiting the pirate’s boredom rather than fighting.
• Roleplaying versus personal identity: The players must balance their own judgment with the personalities of their assigned characters, since consistent roleplaying can earn Potential Points.
• Game mechanics as real stakes: Sanity, Potential Points, character statistics, and dice rerolls have practical consequences, blurring the line between game strategy and life-or-death survival.
• Trust and party loyalty: The party’s resentment toward Player 2 and Liu Zheng’s willingness to deny familiarity with his companions emphasize how fragile cooperation is.
• Deception and performance: Liu Zheng’s invented love of piracy and his retelling of a modern film show how knowledge, confidence, and acting can become weapons.
• Power and exploitation: The prisoners face enslavement, while the pirates treat people as commodities, highlighting the harsh social hierarchy of the fantasy world.

4. Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Player 3 establish a cautious working relationship: Player 3 helps prepare the ropes, while Liu Zheng questions him about the game’s rules and the former Player 2.
• Liu Zheng and Player 4 discuss the consequences of Player 2 taking the Book of Blackness, revealing the party’s lingering frustration with his recklessness.
• The party cooperates in silence when the pirate arrives, initially preparing for violence before Liu Zheng takes control of the encounter.
• Liu Zheng captivates both the pirate and the other players with his pirate story, temporarily transforming a threatening interrogation into an entertaining performance.
• During negotiations, Liu Zheng flatters the pirate, proposes a future partnership, and accepts exploitative terms in exchange for a chance at freedom.
• His closing statement that the other three are strangers creates tension and foreshadows possible conflict between his individual survival strategy and the party’s collective interests.

Chapter Summary: “I Spoke Too Loudly Just Now”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After the pirate leaves, Player 3 praises Liu Zheng’s quick thinking. Liu’s manipulation prevented the group’s rope tampering from being discovered and may have opened a path for them to join the pirates.
• The players agree to delay escaping and investigate the possibility of infiltrating the pirate crew, since this may lead to a better ending and greater rewards.
• Liu Zheng interrogates the newly captured child, who identifies himself as MacArthur—though the pirate later calls him Mike. The child claims to be the wealthy son of a merchant family from the Free Federation and says his family will pay his ransom.
• Liu deliberately terrorizes the child with absurd threats about having his ears cut off, exposing how frightened and morally flexible the boy is. MacArthur eventually reveals that his family deals in furs, alcohol, minerals, meat, and possibly slaves.
• Liu proposes an alliance: MacArthur will persuade his family to ransom the four players, while the players will help ensure MacArthur survives and is released. Both sides swear oaths to their respective gods and agree not to betray or retaliate against one another.
• A pirate returns to take MacArthur upstairs to write a ransom letter. Liu attempts to question him and subtly promote his own “pirate route,” but the pirate dismisses the players as worthless paupers.
• Once the pirate and child leave, the players debate three possible strategies:
  • Join the pirates, which seems most appropriate for the sea-based module.
  • Pursue the ransom route, which may involve less combat and could unlock a hidden ending.
  • Escape directly.
• Player 1 notes that the scenario is likely part of a series, information Liu did not know. Liu decides to continue playing rather than dwell on the revelation.
• Liu raises doubts about MacArthur’s identity and behavior. The child seemed too composed and articulate for someone genuinely frightened and recently captured.
• Player 3 confirms that MacArthur’s dark, rough skin may indicate he is not the wealthy merchant’s son he claims to be. The group decides to question him more carefully when he returns.
• The chapter ends with Liu asking how strong the pirates are in combat, signaling that the group is preparing to assess whether direct resistance is feasible.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: Demonstrates exceptional improvisation, psychological manipulation, and negotiation skills. He intimidates MacArthur for amusement but also turns the encounter into a practical alliance. He remains suspicious, strategically flexible, and focused on exploiting every possible route to survival.
• Player 3: Establishes himself as a smooth negotiator and perceptive investigator. He notices physical details about MacArthur and quickly understands Liu’s suspicion.
• Players 1 and 4: Act as strategic counterbalances, debating the advantages of the ransom and pirate routes. Player 1 thinks ahead to future modules, while Player 4 emphasizes the current scenario’s likely structure.
• MacArthur/Mike: Initially acts arrogant and privileged, claiming to be the son of a wealthy merchant. Under Liu’s threats, he becomes frightened and submissive, but he also reveals a surprisingly ruthless streak by threatening Liu. His inconsistent behavior raises suspicion that he may be lying or hiding his real identity.
• The pirate captain: Treats Liu’s storytelling as tempting but secondary to his duties. He is relatively calm and businesslike, yet dismissive of the players’ value.

Significant Themes

• Manipulation and performance: Nearly everyone is presenting a role—Liu as a dangerous sadist, MacArthur as a privileged captive, and the players as either helpless prisoners or potential allies of the pirates.
• Trust and betrayal: The alliance is sealed through religious oaths, but the group remains aware that promises may not be honored. Liu specifically questions whether the pirates would release MacArthur after receiving payment.
• Survival through cooperation: Formerly unrelated prisoners agree to work together because cooperation increases their chances of escaping or being ransomed.
• Class and exploitation: MacArthur’s merchant family may profit from slavery, undermining his claim to moral superiority. The chapter highlights the hypocrisy of wealthy traders who treat people as commodities.
• Logic versus appearances: The players analyze MacArthur’s speech, physical appearance, and emotional reactions to determine whether his story is genuine.
• Uncertainty and branching choices: The group must decide whether to pursue the pirate route, ransom route, or direct escape, emphasizing the game’s multiple possible endings.

Character Interactions

• Liu and MacArthur engage in a prolonged battle of intimidation and stubbornness. Liu uses mockery and exaggerated threats to force the child to reveal information, while MacArthur alternates between defiance, fear, and attempted bargaining.
• Liu and the pirate maintain a superficially friendly relationship, with Liu flattering him and offering more stories in hopes of gaining access to the pirate faction.
• The four players cooperate closely, sharing observations and debating strategy rather than acting independently.
• The group’s agreement with MacArthur is based on mutual need rather than trust, with religious vows serving as a temporary safeguard.
• After MacArthur leaves, the players collectively reassess his credibility and agree to interrogate him further, showing that their alliance depends on continued scrutiny.

Chapter Summary: “Liu Zheng’s Utter Madness”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng and the other players discuss their situation aboard the pirate ship. They learn that their original ship was sunk by cannon fire, and that two players drowned before the pirates rescued them.
• The players assess their combat abilities using the module’s simplified game rules. They believe they could defeat the pirates if they avoid reckless tactics, but the ship’s estimated thirty pirates make a direct assault dangerous.
• They devise an escape plan: break free, reach a small boat, have Player No. 1 pilot it, and destroy the pirate ship’s ammunition magazine so the pirates cannot pursue them effectively.
• Because they need the magazine’s location, the others expect Liu Zheng to interrogate the pirates. Liu Zheng refuses to work harder without compensation and reveals that he has not signed a contract and may be able to escape the Board-Game Hall independently.
• The players agree to trade module items in exchange for Liu Zheng’s help, though the exchange cannot happen until their current plans are completed.
• A pirate returns with Mike and tells Liu Zheng that the captain will accept him only if he proves himself by killing the other three players.
• Liu Zheng refuses to kill his companions, claiming that true pirates are loyal to their comrades. Instead, he offers to torture Mike slowly, presenting this as proof of his viciousness.
• The pirate is impressed but rejects the suggestion because Mike is valuable as a ransom hostage. Liu Zheng then claims that he and the other players have already promised to help Mike escape in exchange for being ransomed with him.
• Liu Zheng cleverly presents both possibilities as valid: he will join the pirates if accepted, but he and the others have also prepared an alternative escape arrangement. He persuades the other players to call him “Boss,” convincing the pirate that they are capable, obedient subordinates.
• The pirate intimidates Mike into silence, promising to help him return to shore if he behaves. Liu Zheng adopts the alias “Wozki Shude,” while the pirate introduces himself as Jackma.
• Jackma cuts Liu Zheng’s ropes but immediately restrains him with a powerful golden magic belt that transforms into a binding rope. This reveals that the pirate possesses a significant magical item and explains why he is confident enough to approach Liu Zheng.
• Jackma drags Liu Zheng onto the upper deck, where numerous pirates are gathered. The chapter ends as the androgynous, pink-clad captain finally turns to examine Liu Zheng.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: Demonstrates strategic thinking, negotiation skills, shameless improvisation, and psychological manipulation. He refuses to be exploited by the other players, demanding compensation before accepting extra risk. He also manages to appear both loyal and vicious, manipulating pirate values to gain credibility while secretly preserving multiple escape plans.
• Players No. 1, No. 3, and No. 4: Initially rely on Liu Zheng’s abilities but learn to negotiate with him rather than simply expect his cooperation. They accept him as their temporary leader and agree to call him “Boss,” showing their willingness to follow whoever offers the best chance of survival.
• Mike: Becomes increasingly frightened as Liu Zheng threatens to torture him and Jackma explains that the pirates may abandon him after receiving the ransom. His desperation makes him obedient and willing to imitate the players’ behavior.
• Jackma: Appears suspicious but is easily impressed by Liu Zheng’s boldness and intelligence. He sees the potential political value of recruiting Liu Zheng and the others, hoping capable subordinates could help him rise within the pirate hierarchy.
• The Captain: Remains mysterious. His flamboyant pink clothing, androgynous appearance, and authority over the pirates establish him as an unusual and potentially dangerous figure.

Significant Themes

• Manipulation and survival: Liu Zheng survives not through force alone but by constantly adjusting his story to suit whoever is listening.
• Trust and self-interest: The players cooperate, but only after Liu Zheng makes clear that he will not sacrifice himself for free. Their alliance is practical rather than deeply loyal.
• Performance and identity: Liu Zheng invents an alias and performs the role of a ruthless pirate recruit, showing how identity in the module can be constructed through convincing behavior.
• Morality versus appearances: Liu Zheng claims he cannot kill his companions, yet casually threatens extreme torture against Mike. His moral stance is deliberately ambiguous and largely shaped by what will benefit him.
• Game logic versus realism: The characters repeatedly rely on the module’s simplified rules, such as broad skills and turn-based combat, while still applying real-world reasoning about ships, weapons, and escape routes.
• Power and hierarchy: The pirates’ world is governed by displays of cruelty, loyalty, usefulness, and ambition. Jackma evaluates Liu Zheng not just as a captive but as a possible future subordinate or rival.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng challenges Players No. 3 and No. 4 over their expectations, forcing them to acknowledge his value and agree to reward him.
• The four players temporarily unite under Liu Zheng’s direction, calling him “Boss” to strengthen his deception.
• Liu Zheng verbally spars with Jackma, repeatedly reframing his actions to appear intelligent, loyal, and dangerous.
• Liu Zheng and Jackma manipulate Mike from opposite sides: Liu Zheng uses the threat of torture, while Jackma uses the promise of survival and the fear of abandonment.
• Jackma treats Liu Zheng as both a prisoner and a possible recruit, but the magical restraint ensures that Liu Zheng remains under control.
• The arrival before the pink-clad captain sets up a new confrontation and suggests that Liu Zheng’s performance will soon be tested by a more powerful authority.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng is brought before Captain Flamingo and asks to join his pirate crew.
• Flamingo tests him, demanding that he finish the story he previously began and warning that his survival depends on how entertaining it is.
• When a pirate refuses to hand Liu Zheng his drink, Liu kicks the man’s leg using the Xingyi Boxing move “Yellow Dog Urinates.” He takes the drink and intimidates the pirate into backing down from a duel.
• Liu tells the crew the story of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, vividly acting out the characters and events. The pirates become absorbed, especially when he describes Davy Jones, the Flying Dutchman, and the Kraken.
• The story makes Flamingo uneasy because the pirates have heard real rumors of sea monsters in the surrounding waters.
• The ship becomes trapped in unusually calm and ominous waters. There is no wind, and both Flamingo and First Mate Saul sense something supernatural.
• Flamingo decides to perform a sheep-based divination ritual. He orders Liu returned below deck and states that, if the ship survives the waters, Liu and the other prisoners may join the crew.
• Jackma ties Liu up again, but more loosely than before. Liu immediately flatters Jackma and pretends that his loyalty is directed toward him rather than Flamingo.
• Below deck, Liu reunites with the other players. They conclude that the strange waters and the captain’s divination indicate that an important crisis will occur during the next two days.
• Player No. 4 attempts to use a Scholar skill check to learn about the waters, but the check is declared difficult because he has no relevant nautical knowledge. The chapter ends as he begins the check.

2. Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates physical strength, combat ability, confidence, and quick thinking. He turns a humiliating test into an opportunity to establish dominance over the pirates.
• He also proves to be an excellent storyteller and performer, using his knowledge of films to entertain the crew and increase his value to Flamingo.
• Liu adopts a deliberately submissive and flattering persona around Jackma, showing his talent for manipulation and social survival. His claim that their mutual praise is “just an act” suggests he is carefully hiding his true intentions.
• Captain Flamingo remains composed and intimidating. He recognizes Liu as capable but not yet exceptional, while still taking his stories and warnings seriously.
• Flamingo’s unease grows when Liu’s tale of the Kraken coincides with strange supernatural conditions at sea. He shifts from merely testing Liu to considering whether Liu may possess the sea’s favor.
• Jackma is revealed as physically strong enough to serve as a useful crewman but insecure and easily influenced by flattery. He dreams of becoming first mate and eventually owning his own pirate ship.
• First Mate Saul displays practical nautical experience and notices that the waters are abnormal before the full danger is revealed.
• The other players begin to reassess Liu. Rather than viewing him as a burden, they now recognize him as a powerful and valuable ally.

3. Significant Themes

• Performance and deception: Liu survives by acting different roles—prisoner, storyteller, fighter, and obsequious subordinate. The title reflects his manipulation of both Flamingo and Jackma.
• Power and intimidation: Liu establishes authority through a single decisive attack, while Flamingo maintains control over the entire crew through his voice and presence.
• Storytelling as influence: Liu’s fictional tale affects the pirates emotionally and psychologically, even causing Flamingo to reconsider the supernatural dangers around him.
• Fate and supernatural danger: The windless waters, disturbed magic, rumors of monsters, and planned divination suggest that the group is approaching a major supernatural threat.
• Adaptation and survival: Both Liu and the players gather information, exploit relationships, and prepare for danger instead of passively waiting in captivity.
• Appearance versus reality: Flamingo’s flamboyant appearance, Liu’s false loyalty, and the pirates’ rough behavior contrast with their actual abilities, motives, and fears.

4. Character Interactions

• Flamingo mocks and disciplines his crew, showing that even minor disputes stop immediately when he speaks.
• Liu challenges Flamingo respectfully but assertively, asking for a drink and then defeating the pirate guarding it.
• Flamingo allows Liu to kill the pirate if he can, but Liu wins psychologically without needing to fight.
• Liu’s performance of Dead Man’s Chest creates shared excitement among the pirates, while Flamingo alone remains focused on whether the story contains a warning.
• Jackma and Liu develop a comic but manipulative rapport: Liu flatters Jackma’s appearance and ambitions, while Jackma begins treating him as a potential follower.
• Liu privately jokes about betraying Jackma, revealing to the players—and the reader—that his friendliness is strategic.
• The players discuss the likely danger ahead, with Players No. 1 and No. 3 taking leadership roles and Player No. 4 being pushed to investigate the waters through a skill check.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The group faces a difficult Scholar check requiring a roll of 80 or higher to learn about the Unfixed Haunted Sea, a mysterious region of the Pan-Triangle Sea.
• Player 4 initially rolls a disastrous 02, resulting in a critical failure. Player 3 spends one of his three Potential Points to let Player 4 reroll.
• The second roll, 82, succeeds and reveals crucial information:
  • The Unfixed Haunted Sea appears unpredictably.
  • Its weather differs sharply from surrounding waters.
  • An ancient war transformed the region.
  • The Sea God’s authority is weakened there.
  • The seabed contains the remains of the war’s dead, which have become monsters and evil entities.
  • A gigantic tentacled sea monster may be powerful enough to destroy even the Holy Empire’s fleet.
• The players conclude that directly fighting the monster is probably impossible. They consider joining the pirates, using them as bait, and escaping in a smaller boat.
• They pressure Liu Zheng, whose character has only 1 Charisma, to persuade the pirates to accept them. Liu agrees reluctantly after joking about being paid.
• Exhausted, Liu falls asleep and experiences a surreal inner vision involving an old scholar, the Blood Moon, and terrifying beings such as Burning Dickens, Amilora, and Muro Spider.
• Mike wakes Liu when the ship begins shaking violently. The other players remain unconscious, apparently affected by an abnormal condition.
• Liu attempts to wake Player 4 through a Fighting check. He jokes about sacrificing Sea Woman’s or Cow-Horse’s sex life to the “god of dice,” but rolls 09, failing the check.
• Because of the failed check, Liu automatically headbutts Player 4, seriously injuring him. Player 4 is forced to make a damage check while possessing only 5 HP, creating the possibility that Liu may accidentally kill him.

Character Developments

• Player 4 remains the group’s essential support character because of his healing and medical abilities, but his terrible luck nearly causes his death. His dependence on Player 3’s Potential Point emphasizes his vulnerability.
• Player 3 demonstrates loyalty and responsibility by sacrificing one of his own Potential Points to save Player 4.
• Liu Zheng continues to act irreverently and recklessly, using humor even in life-threatening situations. Despite his low-Charisma character sheet, he is expected to rely on real-world persuasion skills. His exhaustion also becomes clear, and he briefly allows himself to rest.
• Liu’s low Intelligence unexpectedly protects him from the abnormal sleep effect that incapacitates the others, making his apparent weakness useful.
• Mike is shown to possess unusual resistance to abnormal conditions because of his family’s specialized training. He remains alert while everyone else sleeps.
• The players’ dependence on Liu and Player 4 becomes more pronounced: Liu must act physically, while Player 4 is needed to provide medical support.

Significant Themes

• Luck and sacrifice: Dice rolls control life-and-death outcomes, while the characters jokingly offer personal sacrifices to influence fate. The humor contrasts with the genuinely severe consequences of failure.
• Team dependence: The group survives by compensating for one another’s weaknesses, with Player 3 saving Player 4 and Liu relying on Player 4’s medical abilities.
• The danger of the unknown: The Unfixed Haunted Sea is presented as an unnatural region beyond ordinary divine or physical laws, filled with ancient horrors.
• Weakness becoming strength: Liu’s low Intelligence and poor character statistics occasionally benefit him, allowing him to resist effects that incapacitate stronger or more capable characters.
• Humor amid terror: Sarcasm, insults, and absurd bargaining with the dice serve as coping mechanisms while the group confronts deadly threats.

Character Interactions

• Player 3 and Player 1 criticize Player 4’s terrible roll but ultimately acknowledge that he is too important to lose.
• Player 3 uses a Potential Point on Player 4, demonstrating practical concern beneath his complaints.
• The players tease and pressure Liu into approaching the pirates, flattering his real-life charisma despite his character’s low Charisma.
• Liu mocks the players’ promise of payment and their status as “contract slaves,” while they privately resent his arrogance.
• Mike reprimands Liu for sleeping through the danger but explains why he himself remained conscious.
• Liu consults Sea Woman repeatedly about checks, skills, and consequences, while she responds with increasingly obvious annoyance at his irreverent jokes.
• His failed attempt to wake Player 4 turns their cooperative plan into an immediate medical crisis, ending the chapter on the suspenseful damage roll that may determine Player 4’s survival.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng successfully earns a Potential Point by damaging Player 4, but the attack leaves Player 4 with only 1 Health and in a dying state.
• Liu Zheng fails to awaken Player 3 safely on his first attempt, knocking him into a severe injury state. Player 3 survives and awakens after a successful Will check.
• Player 3 uses an Inferior Potion to heal Player 4, restoring 1 Health and pulling him out of the dying state, despite the risk of poisoning him.
• Player 4 successfully awakens Player 1 with a medical skill check, using a small knife to stimulate him.
• The group is reunited, though Players 3 and 4 remain badly injured and need further healing.
• A giant tentacle suddenly breaks through the ship’s hull, triggering a key plot event and shifting the scenario into Semi-Real-Time Mode. The players receive limited discussion time and fixed action rounds.
• Player 4 makes a difficult Scholar check and learns that the Ernier Sea Monster is a juvenile King Octopus mutated by the Unfixed Haunted Sea. It possesses tremendous strength but relies heavily on sound to locate prey, making its sensitive hearing both a strength and a weakness.
• The group devises a plan to create a loud distraction by smashing a bottle near an iron hook, hoping to lure the monster’s tentacle into becoming caught on it.
• They decide to rescue Mike because he may be important to the scenario’s later plot, although they are prepared to abandon or kill him if he refuses to cooperate.
• Liu Zheng proposes using Mike as bait for the sea monster, revealing a ruthless but strategically practical approach.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates growing competence as a game master and tactician. Although his luck is terrible, he adapts quickly, protects the group’s survival chances, and earns the players’ trust by making effective plans.
• Player 3 is revealed to possess a medical-related skill and becomes an important support character. He also shows strong tactical awareness and immediately understands Liu Zheng’s plan involving the iron hook.
• Player 4 proves to be a capable but unlucky medical and knowledge specialist. He successfully heals Player 4 and awakens Player 1, but repeatedly comes close to failing his checks. His dramatic prayers to the “Dice Lady” highlight both his anxiety and comedic personality.
• Player 1 is cold, violent, and pragmatic, readily suggesting that Mike be killed if he resists. His behavior reflects the ruthless mentality of the Metropolis players.
• Player 4’s survival changes the group dynamic: although he initially appears helpless, he contributes critical medical and scholarly abilities.
• The players begin functioning more like a cooperative veteran team despite their injuries and mutual frustration.

Significant Themes

• Luck versus competence: The group repeatedly succeeds or fails by narrow margins, emphasizing how heavily their survival depends on dice rolls rather than skill alone.
• Cooperation under pressure: Formerly suspicious and antagonistic players must share information and coordinate tactics to survive the monster encounter.
• Pragmatism and moral flexibility: The group treats healing, rescue, bait, and even killing as tactical choices rather than moral absolutes.
• Game mechanics shaping reality: Health states, skill checks, Potential Points, action rounds, and scenario rules directly determine the characters’ options and behavior.
• Violence as both danger and strategy: Liu Zheng’s attacks accidentally advance the scenario, while the players consider using Mike as bait and the monster’s own attack against it.
• Trust and betrayal: The players discuss the identity and treachery of the previous Player 2, while remaining uncertain whether Mike is a spy or an innocent whose survival is necessary for the plot.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and the other players mock one another over their terrible luck, especially after Player 3 and Player 4’s narrow successes.
• Player 3 criticizes Player 4’s pride after he barely succeeds at waking Player 1, while Player 4 insists that passing is all that matters.
• The group discusses the previous Player 2, revealing that he betrayed them and was so distinctive that they intended to track him down outside the game.
• Player 1 challenges Liu Zheng’s refusal to kill Mike, implying that Liu Zheng may be emotionally attached to him. Liu Zheng dismisses this and explains that Mike is more valuable as bait.
• The group collectively evaluates Liu Zheng’s strategy of using sound to trap the monster’s tentacle and agrees that it is feasible.
• The chapter ends with the players preparing to execute their dangerous plan: lure the sea monster with noise, trap its tentacle on the iron hook, and potentially use Mike to distract it.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The players finish planning their escape from the tentacle-infested ship. Liu Zheng is chosen to rescue MacArthur because of his high Strength, Agility, and full HP.
• During his action round, Liu Zheng successfully:
  1. Takes a medicine bottle from Player 3.
  2. Throws it at an iron hook, drawing a tentacle into the hook and pinning it.
  3. Slips beneath the trapped tentacle.
  4. Reaches MacArthur and persuades him to escape.
• MacArthur initially panics, but Liu Zheng convinces him that joining the group is safer than being captured by the sea monster. Liu Zheng carries him toward the exit while the other players follow.
• A disastrous Luck roll triggers an unexpected event: three additional tentacles burst through the hull, blocking the group’s escape.
• The players decide to fight, focusing on the middle tentacle. They win the initiative and act first.
• Liu Zheng considers using MacArthur as an improvised weapon, frightening him, but MacArthur reveals that he has a valuable dagger hidden in his clothes.
• Liu Zheng uses the dagger to stab the designated tentacle, dealing heavy damage and reducing it to 6 HP.
• Player 3 applies poison to his knife and attacks, but rolls minimum damage. The tentacle counterattacks, and Player 3 fails his Dodge check, leaving him on the brink of death.
• A special Luck check prevents the counterattack from killing Player 3 outright. He survives with 1 HP but enters a dying state after being knocked down.
• Player 1 attacks the wounded tentacle directly, ripping it apart and dealing a fatal blow. The tentacle begins bleeding and is removed from combat.
• Just as the group seems to have secured a victory, Sea Woman announces that Player 3 must still make a difficult check to avoid being attacked by the remaining tentacles.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates strong physical ability, quick thinking, and a willingness to take risks. His unusual prayers to the “Dice God” appear to improve his luck, reinforcing his growing belief in mystical fortune.
• He also shows a pragmatic and ruthless side when he jokingly considers swinging MacArthur as a weapon, though he ultimately uses MacArthur’s dagger instead.
• Player 3 shifts from confidence and mockery to desperation. After suffering terrible damage luck and facing certain death, he finally humbles himself and prays to the Dice Lady for help.
• Player 1 proves to be physically powerful and resourceful, defeating the damaged tentacle without a weapon.
• Player 4 acts mainly as an observer and commentator, teasing Player 3 and celebrating successful rolls.
• MacArthur begins as terrified and helpless but contributes by revealing the hidden dagger, which becomes crucial to the group’s survival.
• Sea Woman, the game master, remains formally impartial but appears sympathetic to the players, subtly bending or interpreting rules to prevent Player 3’s immediate death.

Significant Themes

• Luck versus skill: The chapter repeatedly contrasts character attributes and abilities with unpredictable dice results. Strong skills help, but success and survival ultimately depend on luck.
• Faith in the Dice Lady: The players increasingly treat the dice as a supernatural force. Liu Zheng’s humorous sacrifices and Player 3’s desperate prayer suggest that belief may influence their fortunes.
• Crisis-driven cooperation: Despite fear, arguments, and differing personalities, the players coordinate attacks and rescue efforts when escape becomes impossible.
• Pragmatism and moral flexibility: Survival encourages extreme solutions, including Liu Zheng’s suggestion of using MacArthur as a weapon.
• Unpredictable danger: Every apparent success is followed by a new threat, emphasizing the instability and brutality of the game’s rules.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Player 3 cooperate during the rescue plan, with Liu Zheng carrying out the dangerous maneuver while Player 3 provides the medicine bottle.
• Liu Zheng rapidly persuades MacArthur to join the group, exploiting his fear of the sea monster.
• The players debate how to handle the newly appeared tentacles and agree to focus their attacks on one target.
• Liu Zheng jokingly threatens to use MacArthur as a weapon, prompting MacArthur to reveal his concealed dagger.
• Player 3 and Player 4 mock each other over luck, with Player 3 defending his poor roll as an inevitable reversal of fortune.
• The entire group rallies around Player 1’s attack, cheering when he successfully tears the tentacle apart.
• The chapter ends with the group’s relief cut short as Player 3 remains vulnerable to attacks from the other tentacles.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• During the tabletop campaign, the Sea Woman announces a critical success on the Sea Monster’s counterattack, causing all four tentacles to attack simultaneously.
• Liu Zheng uses the Tindalos Hound’s Chew Toy to intimidate the other players and reveals that he can potentially escape the campaign using his Deliveryman abilities.
• The three players realize that Liu Zheng may be their only chance of survival. They propose using the Fragment of the Black Book, an extremely powerful item, to defeat the Juvenile Sea Monster.
• Liu Zheng agrees to help only if the players:
  1. Contact Hishikibe or the Fool of the Writers Association.
  2. Investigate the whereabouts of Jennifer, the former elevator operator at West River Center.
• Player No. 3 offers to pay the cost of using the Black Book, but Liu Zheng ultimately agrees to sacrifice all of his Sanity Value himself.
• The Black Book’s ritual begins, extracting a tiny figure resembling Liu Zheng and Wozki Shude. However, Liu Zheng’s Legendary Disguise exempts him from the Sanity loss.
• The Black Book requires an Extreme Difficulty Luck check. Liu Zheng and the other players repeatedly fail their rolls, exhausting their Potential Points.
• Player No. 3 makes a desperate vow to build a shrine to Dice Lady. His final roll is 0 and 0, producing a critical success.
• The Black Book transforms Liu Zheng into a gigantic skeletal and flesh-covered creature. His body grows through the deck until he breaks through it and emerges onto the ship.
• On the deck, chaos reigns among the pirates as the tentacles attack. Flamingo remains composed and prepares to confront Liu Zheng.
• The Black Book releases two ink dots that generate a devastating black wind, reducing every pirate it touches to bones—except Flamingo.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates his usual pragmatism and intimidation, refusing to help the players without compensation. However, he also shows confidence and extraordinary willingness to risk himself by offering all his Sanity Value.
• His Legendary Disguise proves even more valuable, protecting him from the expected mental collapse and making the sacrifice effectively survivable.
• The three players shift from distrustful opportunists to reluctant allies. Their desperation forces them to cooperate, contribute Potential Points, and pray together for a successful roll.
• Player No. 3 becomes the most committed to saving the group, eventually making the costly promise to construct a shrine to Dice Lady.
• Player No. 4 is revealed to have media connections and knowledge of Liu Zheng’s reputation, while Player No. 1 has contacts in the Old District that may help locate Jennifer.
• Flamingo is established as unusually calm and powerful amid the chaos, remaining unharmed by the Black Book’s attack.

Significant Themes

• Self-interest and transactional alliances: Cooperation is possible, but only when everyone’s survival or personal goals are involved.
• Luck versus preparation: The players repeatedly fail despite using resources and strategy, while their eventual salvation depends on an absurdly unlikely critical success.
• Sacrifice and hidden advantages: Liu Zheng appears to risk insanity and death, but his concealed Legendary Disguise changes the true cost of the sacrifice.
• Bureaucracy and corruption in the Metropolis: Even worshipping a deity or building a shrine involves dangerous administrative procedures and possible intervention by authorities.
• Chaos and survival: The campaign’s rules create an environment where supernatural violence, contractual obligations, and arbitrary dice rolls determine life and death.
• Transformation and monstrosity: The Black Book’s power manifests through grotesque bodily mutation, blurring the line between weapon, human, and monster.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng threatens the three players with the Chew Toy but negotiates with them once they offer useful information and services.
• Player No. 4 recognizes Liu Zheng by reputation and uses his media connections to promise contact with the Writers Association.
• Player No. 1 offers to investigate Jennifer through his Old District connections.
• Player No. 3 negotiates the deal and ultimately becomes responsible for paying the Black Book’s activation cost.
• The players cooperate during the series of Luck checks, encouraging and blaming one another as each attempt fails.
• Player No. 3’s desperate prayer to Dice Lady provides the critical success that activates the Black Book.
• Liu Zheng’s emergence brings him into direct conflict with Flamingo, who reacts cautiously but remains the sole pirate unaffected by the Black Book’s lethal black wind.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng, empowered by the Black Book and an evil-god blessing, confronts a juvenile sea monster attacking a pirate ship in the Unfixed Haunted Sea. A fleeing swordsman escapes while Liu Zheng remains to fight.
• The sea monster’s emerald eyes and grotesque body are covered in ancient, curse-filled patterns that drive ordinary people and scholars insane. Liu Zheng, now vastly more powerful, is unaffected.
• He attacks with supernatural ink that erases the monster’s markings, weakening it and forcing it to retreat underwater.
• Avoiding an underwater battle, Liu Zheng coats a cannonball in ink, allowing it to pierce the monster’s defenses. He then uses his skeletal arms and ink-like chains to drag the creature out of the sea.
• After winning a Strength contest against the monster, Liu Zheng pulls it onto the ship and brutally devours it. Its purple blood begins merging with him and calls him back into the sea, but he expels the blood into the pirate ship instead.
• The ship repairs itself and develops tentacles and other sea-monster traits. Liu Zheng discovers that he has somehow become fused with it, creating an unforeseen branch in the tabletop campaign.
• Sea Woman ends the module because the plot has deviated beyond what the system can calculate. Liu Zheng is removed from the scenario without a clear victory or reward, though he assumes he probably cleared it.
• Outside the game, Liu Zheng jokes with Sea Woman, uses the restroom, and leaves the tabletop gaming club.
• Witch intercepts him and gives him an Animated Gold Belt, a magical item that can bind enemies and block projectiles. After Liu Zheng thanks her and makes an inappropriate offer to help reattach her severed head, she kicks him away.
• Witch then examines the tiny boat and skeletal form created from Liu Zheng’s altered pirate ship. When it attacks her, she swallows it with an ancient arm emerging from her mouth, restores her head, and returns to statue form.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates rapidly increasing power and confidence. He can manipulate ink, erase supernatural markings, transform into a skeletal multi-armed form, and overpower a sea monster.
• His creativity and recklessness remain central to his behavior. Rather than fight conventionally, he weaponizes a cannonball and uses the game’s mechanics to exploit the monster’s weaknesses.
• He shows unexpected self-control when he rejects the sea’s attempt to assimilate him, instead redirecting the monster’s blood into the ship.
• His actions accidentally create a new entity or branch of the scenario, reinforcing that his strength and improvisation make him difficult for the game system to predict.
• Despite his dangerous abilities, Liu Zheng remains comic and irreverent, treating supernatural events casually and focusing on practical concerns such as deadlines, food delivery, bathing, and finding a restroom.
• Sea Woman acts as narrator, game administrator, and Liu Zheng’s exasperated companion. She is forced to acknowledge that his actions have broken the intended scenario.
• Witch remains mysterious and powerful. She rewards Liu Zheng with useful equipment but also disciplines him physically when he becomes disrespectful. Her effortless destruction of the boat confirms her overwhelming strength.

Significant Themes

• Power versus control: Liu Zheng gains godlike abilities, but the real challenge is controlling their consequences. His refusal to merge with the sea shows that retaining his identity matters more than gaining further power.
• Unintended consequences: His victory does not restore the expected outcome; instead, it produces a new plot branch and transforms the pirate ship into something supernatural.
• System limitations and improvisation: The tabletop campaign’s rules cannot account for Liu Zheng’s abnormal choices, luck, and strength, forcing the system to suspend the scenario.
• Absurdity amid horror: Ancient curses, madness, grotesque transformations, and devouring monsters are contrasted with Liu Zheng’s mundane concerns and comedic dialogue.
• Transactional supernatural relationships: Rewards, obligations, and power exchanges shape interactions. Liu Zheng fulfills his promise to the other players, receives equipment from Witch, and treats dangerous encounters almost like routine work.
• Transformation and assimilation: The sea monster, Liu Zheng, and the pirate ship all undergo physical and supernatural changes, blurring the boundaries between person, monster, vehicle, and game character.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng battles the sea monster directly, exploiting its dependence on its cursed markings and forcing it out of the water, where it becomes vulnerable.
• He interacts with Sea Woman throughout the scenario, ignoring her narration during combat but relying on her dice rulings and later bantering with her after the module ends.
• Sea Woman and Liu Zheng exchange sarcastic remarks about whether he cleared the campaign, his habit of causing trouble, and his need to use the bathroom.
• Witch silently confronts Liu Zheng, gives him the Animated Gold Belt, and reacts violently when he jokes about her detached head.
• The final confrontation between Witch and the miniature boat demonstrates their power imbalance: Liu Zheng’s creation attacks her, but Witch casually swallows it and resumes her statue-like form.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng visits Jinzi’s sento and is warmly welcomed. Jinzi gives him expensive handmade leather slippers and a finely made silk bathrobe, clearly having prepared carefully for his visit.
• Liu Zheng realizes Jinzi wants to discuss something important. She arranges for him to bathe, receive a massage, and eat a meal while they talk. Before he enters the bath, she urges him to worship the gods sincerely, hinting that something fortunate will happen.
• While relaxing in the men’s soup pool, Liu Zheng encounters a floating shrine. The deity inside has changed from the previous fat god to an elegant goddess later identified as Kukuri-hime.
• Liu Zheng first offers all the cash in his system space, but Kukuri-hime appears interested in his Golden Belt instead. He gives it to her, and she sends the shrine to another divine realm.
• Through the shrine, Liu Zheng encounters a radiant woman bathing in a golden river. She attacks him with devastating light, but the shrine’s barrier protects him. The woman is revealed to be Amaterasu Omikami.
• Amaterasu explains that Kukuri-hime brought Liu Zheng to her because he carries remnants of Ember, the residue left behind by the Egyptian sun god Ra’s radiance. She extracts this Ember from him, removing the lingering burns caused by Ra’s power.
• As a reward, Liu Zheng asks for something that could help him deal with his enemy, Peacock. Amaterasu admits she cannot directly suppress Peacock while Peacock remains in her own territory, but she grants Liu Zheng a divine mark.
• The mark allows Liu Zheng to invoke Amaterasu’s name. Gods under her authority will protect or assist him, while enemies of Amaterasu may react violently to the mark. Liu Zheng is uncertain whether trading the Golden Belt for the mark was worthwhile.
• After leaving the bath, Liu Zheng is surprised to discover that Jinzi herself is offering him a massage, despite previously saying that someone else would perform the service.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains relaxed, witty, and provocative, teasing Jinzi while carefully reading her intentions. Despite his humor, he is cautious around divine beings and keeps his cleaver ready in case Amaterasu’s ritual becomes dangerous.
• He demonstrates increasing strategic awareness by asking Amaterasu for a means to eliminate Peacock permanently rather than merely defend himself from future attacks.
• Liu Zheng also shows a willingness to sacrifice possessions—or even a body part if necessary—in exchange for survival or greater power.
• Jinzi becomes more openly devoted to Liu Zheng. She buys him special gifts, flatters him, encourages him to pray sincerely, and appears to be pursuing a larger plan involving the gods.
• Her eagerness and reverence suggest that she believes Liu Zheng has an extraordinary background or destiny, especially because of his connection to Cow-Horse and the divine realm.
• Kukuri-hime acts indirectly, giving Liu Zheng access to Amaterasu and accepting his Golden Belt as an offering.
• Amaterasu Omikami is initially hostile when she sees Liu Zheng, but changes to approval after understanding the situation. She is authoritative yet willing to reward him once he proves respectful and useful.

Significant Themes

• Divine exchange and obligation: Liu Zheng’s interaction with the gods follows a transactional pattern. Offerings, sacrifices, and rewards determine relationships between mortals and deities.
• Power through divine affiliation: Rather than receiving a direct weapon against Peacock, Liu Zheng gains protection and status through Amaterasu’s mark, showing that political and religious alliances may be as valuable as raw strength.
• Caution beneath humor: Liu Zheng’s teasing personality masks constant vigilance. He jokes even in dangerous situations but prepares to sever his own tentacle if the divine ritual goes wrong.
• Uncertainty of value: Liu Zheng repeatedly questions whether his bargains are profitable, especially after trading the Golden Belt for an intangible divine mark.
• Faith and sincerity: Jinzi’s insistence that Liu Zheng worship sincerely suggests that belief, devotion, and ritual may have real supernatural consequences in this world.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Jinzi exchange flirtatious, teasing dialogue, with Jinzi displaying both romantic interest and intense admiration.
• Jinzi’s gifts and service contrast with Liu Zheng’s casual attitude, creating a dynamic in which she is eager to please while he remains amused and observant.
• Liu Zheng and Kukuri-hime communicate through offerings: he first presents money, then realizes she wants the Golden Belt and willingly gives it away.
• His encounter with Amaterasu shifts from danger to negotiation. After surviving her attack, Liu Zheng respectfully explains himself, and Amaterasu rewards him after removing the Ember.
• The chapter ends by reestablishing the playful tension between Liu Zheng and Jinzi when she unexpectedly offers to massage him herself.

Chapter Summary: “Very White, Very Big, and Very Hard”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng encounters a woman at the Metropolis bathhouse and initially mistakes him for Jinzi. The newcomer reveals that he is actually Mirror, Jinzi’s father.
• Mirror’s extremely feminine appearance causes Liu Zheng considerable confusion. Mirror explains that his apparent breasts are actually highly developed pectoral muscles, a result of his fitness routine.
• Liu Zheng requests a female technician instead. He is introduced to Jingzi, who looks almost identical to Jinzi and Mirror and claims to be Jinzi’s maternal grandmother. The similarities between the members of this race lead Liu Zheng to mock Metropolis’s naming and appearance conventions.
• Jingzi leads Liu Zheng to a private massage room. She explains that the bathhouse’s owner is currently imprisoned—not for illegal business, but for urinating on a tree with unusually alkaline urine that damaged its roots.
• Liu Zheng chooses “chicken oil” as his massage oil after learning that the establishment offers bizarre oils made from corpses, heads, intestines, and other creatures.
• During a supernatural meditation, Liu Zheng imagines eating sixty-six whole chickens. Jingzi clarifies that the food was an illusion designed to stimulate his appetite and influence the dishes he will later receive.
• Jingzi performs an extraordinary massage using techniques taught personally by the bathhouse owner. The technique sends warmth through Liu Zheng’s muscles and is clearly supernatural. The practitioners are bound by contracts that make them forget the techniques if they leave the establishment.
• While being massaged, Liu Zheng asks Jingzi about Amaterasu Omikami, describing her as a sun-related goddess in luxurious feathered robes.
• Jingzi recognizes Amaterasu and is shocked that Liu Zheng encountered her through the bathhouse shrine. She explains that such encounters are extremely dangerous: Amaterasu might either favor someone or destroy them with her Great Sunfire.
• Liu Zheng reveals that he made an offering to Kukuri-hime, a kind, plump goddess holding a round fan, before seeing Amaterasu bathing through the shrine.
• Jingzi explains that Kukuri-hime is Amaterasu’s aunt and adoptive mother, which likely explains why Amaterasu spared Liu Zheng.
• The massage ends abruptly, accompanied by a system notification.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains observant, sarcastic, and irreverent. He reacts comically to the bathhouse’s unusual residents and services but also demonstrates caution when he senses possible danger.
• His encounter with Amaterasu is given greater context: his survival was likely due not to his own strength, but to Kukuri-hime’s influence and protection.
• Liu Zheng’s grudge against Peacock and White-Feather Chicken resurfaces through his choice of chicken oil and his fantasies about cooking them.
• Mirror is introduced as a calm, emotionally distant, highly androgynous male member of Jinzi’s race.
• Jingzi is presented as professional, knowledgeable, and envious of Liu Zheng’s extraordinary luck. She provides important information about the shrine, Amaterasu, Kukuri-hime, and the bathhouse’s supernatural massage techniques.

Significant Themes

• Absurdity and cultural dissonance: Liu Zheng repeatedly struggles with Metropolis’s strange beauty standards, family structures, naming conventions, and business practices.
• Appearance versus identity: Mirror’s feminine appearance contrasts with his male identity, while Jinzi, Mirror, and Jingzi look nearly identical despite their different genders and familial roles.
• Luck and divine protection: Liu Zheng’s survival after encountering Amaterasu is revealed to depend on his relationship with Kukuri-hime, suggesting that seemingly random encounters may have hidden divine significance.
• Supernatural commerce and entertainment: The bathhouse combines ordinary services with magical illusions, supernatural massage, strange oils, and access to divine encounters.
• Humor amid danger: The chapter balances potentially lethal divine encounters with comic situations involving fake breasts, chicken soup illusions, bizarre imprisonment laws, and Liu Zheng’s deadpan reactions.
• The unknown nature of divine communication: Liu Zheng wonders whether Amaterasu’s Kagura is equivalent to the Gospel and whether hearing both could cause rival divine beings to compete or fight.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Mirror: Their conversation creates the chapter’s main comedic misunderstanding, as Liu Zheng repeatedly mistakes Mirror’s gender and relationship to Jinzi.
• Liu Zheng and Jingzi: Jingzi serves as his massage technician and becomes an important source of information. Their interaction shifts from playful service-related banter to serious discussion of Amaterasu and Kukuri-hime.
• Liu Zheng and Amaterasu: Though Amaterasu does not appear directly in the chapter, Liu Zheng’s previous encounter with her is revisited and shown to have been extraordinarily dangerous.
• Liu Zheng and Kukuri-hime: Kukuri-hime’s earlier assistance is revealed to have protected Liu Zheng indirectly by influencing Amaterasu’s response.
• The bathhouse owner and the authorities: The owner’s arrest illustrates the bizarre but internally consistent laws of Metropolis, where supernatural environmental damage is treated more seriously than operating a questionable bathhouse.

Chapter Summary:

Legendary Deliveryman Set Complete

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng receives the “Energetic” status, granting Strength +2 and Constitution +2 for two hours.
• Jinzi has arranged and paid for his meal at a Japanese-style restaurant. She attempts to tease and seduce him, but Liu Zheng remains uninterested and focuses on eating.
• Jinzi explains that her niece, Jingzi, works on Bathhouse Street and has been imprisoned after violating workplace rules by helping a pig she loved escape.
• Jingzi’s lover was later killed and turned into the fried pork cutlet Liu Zheng has just eaten, revealing the brutality and grotesque customs of Bathhouse Street.
• Jingzi’s family has already paid 300,000 to delay her punishment, but her employer refuses to release her and continues demanding regular payments.
• Jinzi reveals that Jingzi may awaken the Bathhouse Clan’s ancestral bloodline, making her exceptionally valuable and the clan’s best hope in a century.
• Liu Zheng agrees to explore peaceful solutions:
  • Ask his limited contacts about Bathhouse Street.
  • Seek help through City Hall departments such as the Employment Office, Public Security Division, or Office Administration.
• If official mediation fails, Jinzi wants Liu Zheng to rescue Jingzi by force. She argues that he is more suitable than assassins or mercenaries because:
  • His involvement can be denied.
  • He is not reliant on bathhouse-related abilities.
  • He has a legitimate reason to enter the area as a deliveryman.
• Jinzi offers Liu Zheng a powerful reward: Legendary Deliveryman’s Dirty Underwear.
• The underwear grants:

All attributes +3 for one hour after excretion.

• Temporary recognition as another piece of the Legendary Deliveryman Set, partially activating its set bonuses for thirty minutes.
• The item is single-use and self-destructs afterward.
• Realizing the item could complete or significantly activate the legendary equipment set and greatly improve his survival chances, Liu Zheng accepts the mission.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains pragmatic, suspicious, and focused on profit and survival. He refuses Jinzi’s flirtation but is willing to consider the mission once presented with a valuable reward.
• His reputation as a powerful and well-connected Legendary Deliveryman continues to grow, even though he insists that his connections are limited.
• Liu Zheng shows increasing awareness of his altered identity and strength, reflecting that he was once a terminally ill human but is now “not even entirely human anymore.”
• Jinzi is revealed to be manipulative, flirtatious, resourceful, and fiercely protective of her clan. Beneath her teasing behavior, she is willing to spend enormous sums and consider violence to save Jingzi.
• Jingzi is established as compassionate but reckless. Her love for a pig led her to violate Bathhouse Street’s rules, endangering herself and potentially threatening her clan’s future.
• Liu Zheng’s relationship with Jinzi develops into a transactional alliance based on mutual benefit and shared interests.

Significant Themes

• Exploitation and powerlessness: Employees remain vulnerable regardless of their experience or value, while employers possess near-total control.
• Family loyalty versus social cruelty: Jingzi’s clan is willing to sacrifice financially and risk its reputation to save her, contrasting with Metropolis’s generally cold and exploitative culture.
• The commodification of life: Jingzi’s lover is literally turned into food, while Jingzi herself is treated as a valuable commodity because of her potential bloodline.
• Pragmatism and transactional relationships: Nearly every favor requires payment, influence, or leverage. Liu Zheng evaluates the rescue entirely through cost, risk, and reward.
• Identity and transformation: Liu Zheng’s reflection on his past emphasizes how drastically he has changed since entering Metropolis.
• Humor amid horror: The chapter repeatedly mixes grotesque violence and oppressive systems with absurd jokes, flirtation, and ridiculous equipment descriptions.

Character Interactions

• Jinzi openly flirts with Liu Zheng, trying to get him to sit on her lap and provoking him with suggestive behavior. Liu Zheng responds with deadpan humor and irritation rather than attraction.
• Jinzi explains Jingzi’s predicament while appealing to Liu Zheng’s reputation and connections.
• Liu Zheng challenges Jinzi’s logic, questioning why the clan failed to protect such an important descendant and why they cannot handle the employer themselves.
• Their discussion becomes a negotiation: Liu Zheng offers to investigate City Hall and other contacts, while Jinzi promises reimbursement and hints at stronger compensation.
• Jinzi ultimately presents the legendary underwear as leverage. Liu Zheng, horrified by its appearance but impressed by its power, immediately accepts the rescue mission and asks for the details.