Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: The Richness of the Metropolis Vocabulary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Blood Samurai, the elevator spirit also known as One Shot, reveals that Liu Zheng’s earlier comments activated the rules binding him to Night Parade Bathhouse. Because Liu Zheng had implied that he might be pursuing an agenda against the Bathhouse, Blood Samurai was compelled to attack him.
• Liu clarifies that he is not necessarily an enemy of Night Parade. His real objective is connected to the Bathhouse’s owner, whom Blood Samurai strongly dislikes.
• Blood Samurai explains the personalities and weaknesses of the Bathhouse’s other two elevator spirits:
  • The Old Man’s Elevator enjoys amusing stories and board games, especially Go, despite being much better at shogi.
  • The Woman’s Elevator enjoys hearing tragic stories and can drain luck, curse people with misfortune, or even cause sudden death.
• Liu learns that the Woman’s Elevator has a special mechanism: someone strong enough can resist her, tell her happy stories until she breaks down, and absorb some of her accumulated luck. The opportunity can only be triggered once per person and does not work on department heads or higher.
• Intrigued by the possibility of gaining extraordinary luck, Liu considers using the Woman’s Elevator to improve his prospects, win the lottery, help White-Feather Chicken, or obtain other advantages.
• Blood Samurai fulfills his promise to provide Liu with a swordsmanship lesson by using his technique, “Heavenly Dao Sound-Killing Style: Final Form,” to slash Liu repeatedly with blood rain and invisible blade auras.
• The attack severely mutilates Liu’s body but is carefully controlled so that it does not kill or seriously damage his head. Since Liu possesses an immortal body, Blood Samurai expects him to regenerate before receiving the actual lesson.
• Blood Samurai reveals that he was once a cook and still prepares meals at home. Liu jokingly suggests that his sword technique would make him suitable for the Kitchen.
• Before departing, Blood Samurai gives Liu his current Bathhouse codename, One Shot, and tells him to choose a floor.
• Liu arrives in another large, wooden elevator and presses the button for the seventh floor, intending to continue exploring the Bathhouse and its employees.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to display his mixture of ruthlessness, curiosity, opportunism, and irreverent humor. He is willing to endure extreme physical harm to gain information or training and immediately begins considering how to exploit the Woman’s Elevator’s luck-based ability.
• Liu also shows growing interest in building relationships with the Bathhouse’s employees. He recognizes that understanding their personalities may help him survive future elevator rides and establish useful connections.
• Blood Samurai/One Shot is revealed to be bound by magical rules that govern his existence and actions. Despite his intimidating appearance and tragic past, he is practical, talkative, resentful of poor working conditions, and capable of loyalty when a promise is made.
• One Shot’s bitterness toward the Bathhouse owner becomes clearer. His complaints about broken elevator buttons, lack of air conditioning, and oppressive rules make him resemble a disgruntled long-term employee rather than merely a dangerous spirit.
• One Shot’s past as a cook adds another dimension to his character and creates a humorous contrast with his brutal samurai identity.
• Liu’s attempts at comforting One Shot after hearing about his tragic past reveal that Liu’s bluntness often borders on cruelty, though he appears to intend genuine encouragement.

Significant Themes

• Workplace dissatisfaction in a supernatural setting: The chapter humorously treats haunted elevators as employees with complaints, workplace rivalries, and poor management.
• Rules, contracts, and binding obligations: One Shot’s spells function both as the source of his existence and as restrictions on his speech and behavior, showing how supernatural power is governed by rigid systems.
• Exploitation and opportunity: Liu constantly searches for ways to turn dangerous circumstances into advantages, particularly through the Woman’s Elevator’s luck-draining and luck-transferring ability.
• Dark humor and absurdity: The chapter contrasts graphic violence, tragic backstories, and deadly supernatural powers with mundane concerns such as air conditioning, broken buttons, office politics, chess preferences, and awkward coworker relationships.
• The value of intelligence and social adaptation: Rather than relying solely on strength, Liu gathers information about how to interact with each elevator, treating their personalities as practical survival knowledge.
• Identity and transformation: One Shot’s old name has been abandoned, while Liu’s body can be brutally altered and restored, reflecting the unstable and unusual identities of the Metropolis’s inhabitants.

Character Interactions

• Liu and One Shot engage in a tense but increasingly conversational negotiation. Liu probes One Shot’s motives and relationships, while One Shot explains the Bathhouse’s internal dynamics.
• Their discussion shifts from suspicion and possible hostility to a strange form of mutual understanding. Liu recognizes One Shot’s grievances, while One Shot acknowledges Liu’s ruthlessness and unusual temperament.
• Liu uses humor to challenge and threaten One Shot, even joking that he will tell the Woman’s Elevator that One Shot likes her. One Shot considers this an especially vicious form of revenge.
• One Shot’s descriptions of the other elevator spirits establish their workplace rivalry:
  • He has a relatively manageable relationship with the Old Man’s Elevator.
  • He strongly dislikes the Woman’s Elevator because she exploits his emotional wounds and causes him distress.
• Their final interaction ends with One Shot hurriedly sending Liu away after finding his conversation more unpleasant than speaking with the Woman’s Elevator.

Chapter Summary: “I Like Claypot Rice with Soup”

Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng rides One Shot Samurai’s slow, rust-covered elevator through the Night Parade Bathhouse.
• To help the elevator spirit, he coats the filthy buttons with his blood and cleans them using his Legendary Underwear, restoring their shine. His bizarre act both amuses and unsettles One Shot Samurai.
• The elevator stops at the sixth floor, where Liu Zheng encounters a frightened young girl in a pink suikan.
• He deliberately frightens and teases her, causing her to wet herself and break down crying. To calm her, he has One Shot Samurai temporarily stop the elevator and eventually threatens to “eat” her if she keeps crying.
• The girl reveals that she is human and was captured and brought to the bathhouse. Her codename is Wan Zi, while her real name is Little Wan. She is apparently attempting to survive or escape.
• Liu Zheng explains that he entered the bathhouse voluntarily to apply for a job, distinguishing his situation from hers.
• Little Wan believes Liu Zheng will not truly harm her and compares him to Yoko, recognizing that beneath his cruel jokes he is probably a good person.
• Before leaving, Liu Zheng tells Little Wan to survive until nightfall, implying that doing so may allow her to live indefinitely.
• Little Wan offers him a pendant containing a larger fragment of the Killing Stone in exchange for help.
• The system identifies the fragment as a single-use item capable of cutting living creatures, causing negative mutations, or improving a weapon’s lethality against living targets.
• Liu Zheng accepts the obligation to help her if possible, but warns her that she must survive on her own until then. He gives her his real name, “Liu Zheng,” before exiting the elevator.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: Continues to display his combination of shameless humor, cruelty, practicality, and hidden compassion. He enjoys intimidating Little Wan but ultimately comforts her, offers hope, and agrees to help if the reward is worthwhile. His careful inspection of the Killing Stone also shows his growing awareness of valuable dungeon resources.
• One Shot Samurai: Shows gratitude and reluctant admiration for Liu Zheng’s unusual kindness, especially when Liu cleans the elevator. He remains bound by his role as an elevator spirit and cannot directly interfere in passenger affairs, though he assists Liu by stopping the elevator.
• Little Wan/Wan Zi: Initially appears terrified and emotionally overwhelmed, but quickly regains composure once she realizes Liu Zheng does not intend to eat her. Her ability to adapt to his threats suggests that she has developed survival instincts in the bathhouse. She gains hope after Liu promises to help her.
• Yoko: Though absent, she is described by Little Wan as a good person, suggesting she has previously shown kindness to the girl.

Significant Themes

• Cruelty masking compassion: Liu Zheng’s bullying and threats conceal a willingness to protect vulnerable people, while Little Wan learns to distinguish his words from his actual intentions.
• Survival in a hostile world: Both characters understand that survival in Metropolis requires emotional control, suspicion, adaptability, and sometimes bargaining with dangerous individuals.
• Humanity and identity: Liu Zheng claims to be “more or less” human, while Little Wan’s capture and treatment raise questions about what it means to remain human in Metropolis.
• Trust as a transaction: Liu Zheng does not offer unconditional help; Little Wan must provide something valuable, turning trust and protection into an exchange.
• Absurdity amid danger: The grotesque setting and serious threat are undercut by Liu Zheng’s ridiculous behavior, especially his use of blood and legendary underwear to clean the elevator.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and One Shot Samurai develop a humorous but uneasy relationship, with the elevator spirit admiring Liu’s generosity while being disturbed by his methods.
• Liu Zheng torments Little Wan through exaggerated threats, but the interaction gradually becomes a test of trust.
• Little Wan challenges Liu’s self-presentation as a “bad guy” by recognizing that he will not actually harm her.
• Their conversation ends with a tentative alliance: Liu Zheng receives the Killing Stone fragment and promises to help her survive, while Little Wan places cautious faith in him.

Chapter Summary: “Not Such an Inconvenient Thing”

Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng emerges from his first elevator ride at the bathhouse, claiming that the elevator suffered a minor malfunction. Minister Thirteen Yao immediately suspects something unusual because Liu shows none of the fear or exhaustion normally experienced by newcomers.
• Liu has actually received a reward: “Blade Intent Infusion,” which grants him temporary access to techniques from the Heavenly Sound-Killing School. His current ability, “Only My Voice,” creates a blade aura in which only his voice can be heard. Liu considers several possible uses for the technique, including countering One-Shot Samurai or even silencing the Gospel of the Evil God.
• Thirteen Yao questions Liu about another employee he encountered in the elevator. Liu identifies her as Wan Zi, a new human employee from the Service Club. Yao explains that the previous holder of the “Bridge Hag” codename was recently consumed or “used up” by a guest.
• Yao reveals that humans occasionally enter the bathhouse through hidden passages by accident. Most are killed, sent to the Kitchen or breeding farm, or otherwise consumed; only a few manage to become employees. He doubts Wan Zi will survive long.
• Liu asks about Yoko, whom Yao identifies as “One Bamboo.” Yoko is relatively ordinary but protected indirectly because her older sister married a full-time City Hall employee. Yao advises Liu that One Bamboo is approachable, unlike the more dangerous women of the Service Club.
• Liu gives Thirteen Yao money as compensation for delaying him. Yao is pleased but warns Liu that if he crosses a personal boundary, he will kill him, though he jokingly promises to provide a coffin. Liu responds calmly, mentioning his connection to the Cemetery’s caretaker.
• Yao brings Liu to Barrier Room 706 for his first assigned guest. He describes the guest as wealthy, undemanding, and physically powerful, but with a preference for BDSM and for playing the submissive role. Yao warns Liu that he may request a replacement if he cannot satisfy the guest.
• Before entering, Yao adds a strange warning: Liu must not mention monks or monkeys, or the guest will switch from the submissive role to the dominant role.
• Inside, Liu finds a gigantic stone being called Shi Sang sitting in a wooden barrel filled with water. Four Service Club maids are squeezing lemons into the barrel to prepare an acid bath.
• Yao dismisses the maids and has Liu help him squeeze the remaining lemons. Their work becomes an unspoken competition, with both displaying remarkable speed and precision.
• Once the barrel is nearly full, Yao announces the beginning of the acid bath. The stone guest accepts, and the massive barrel suddenly splits into four pieces, ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates unusual composure and adaptability. He survives the elevator without visible distress, conceals the real reason for his good mood, and quickly adjusts to the bathhouse’s bizarre customs.
• His new technique, “Only My Voice,” expands his tactical options and suggests he is gaining useful abilities even when he does not receive the powerful offensive skill he wants.
• Liu also displays social intelligence: he answers Yao’s questions carefully, recognizes the minister’s threats and tests, and responds to intimidation with humor rather than fear.
• Thirteen Yao appears suspicious, manipulative, and lecherous, but also practical and somewhat protective of Liu. He probes Liu’s background, offers him a chance to prove himself, and warns him about the dangers of the assigned guest.
• Yao’s relationship with Liu begins developing into an uneasy mixture of employer, potential ally, rival, and threat.
• Wan Zi is established as a vulnerable but unusually fortunate human newcomer. Her survival and employment are treated as remarkable, though Yao expects her prospects to be poor.
• One Bamboo/Yoko is presented as a relatively trustworthy figure whose family connection to City Hall gives her protection.
• The stone guest, Shi Sang, is introduced as an enormous, mysterious, and potentially dangerous entity whose body is made of rock, moss, vines, and embedded skulls.

Significant Themes

• Survival in a hostile workplace: New employees are disposable, and simply surviving the first week is considered an achievement.
• Power hidden beneath ordinary tasks: Seemingly mundane work—riding elevators, squeezing lemons, serving baths—can function as a test of strength, endurance, or loyalty.
• Social connections as protection: Yoko’s safety depends partly on her sister’s marriage to a City Hall employee, while Liu’s relationships with powerful figures may determine his future.
• Masks and hidden intentions: Liu disguises his true abilities and motives, while Thirteen Yao alternates between joking, threatening, and quietly evaluating him.
• The grotesque and absurd: The chapter combines workplace banter and competitive lemon squeezing with cannibalistic employment practices, human trafficking, acid baths, and a stone monster covered in skulls.
• Tests of cooperation and rivalry: Liu and Yao work together but also compete, reflecting their uncertain relationship and the bathhouse’s constant pressure to prove one’s usefulness.

Character Interactions

• Thirteen Yao interrogates Liu about the elevator and Wan Zi, using teasing remarks to test how much Liu knows.
• Liu and Yao exchange playful but threatening banter, especially over money, death, and funeral arrangements.
• Their conversation about Wan Zi, Yoko, and the Service Club establishes the bathhouse’s hierarchy and the importance of personal connections.
• Yao gives Liu both practical advice and a veiled warning by assigning him to Shi Sang.
• Liu imitates Yao’s formal bow to the guest, showing his ability to read and follow the bathhouse’s etiquette.
• While squeezing lemons, Liu unconsciously turns the task into a competition with Yao, revealing both men’s pride and creating a brief moment of mutual recognition.
• The chapter ends with Liu and Yao jointly serving Shi Sang, just as the guest’s strange acid bath begins and the room’s situation becomes dangerous.

Chapter Summary: Shi Tiantian, the Earthy Beauty

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng helps prepare the enormous Stone Man, Shi Sang, for a massage by coating his body with lemon juice. The Stone Man spins to spread the juice evenly, while Liu manually fills the uncovered cracks.
• Thirteen Yao gives Liu an oversized syringe and forces him to taste the highly concentrated lemon juice. Its extreme sourness causes Liu to salivate uncontrollably, amusing both Thirteen Yao and Shi Sang.
• During their banter, Thirteen Yao reveals more about his romantic life and jokes about having numerous girlfriends and children. Liu teases him about his relationship with Liu’s uncle.
• Shi Sang crouches down and reveals a flower-filled basin on top of his head. Because Liu is a newcomer and has entertained him, Shi Sang offers him a “red envelope” in the form of a flower.
• Liu chooses a revolting pink, slime-secreting flower. Its item description identifies it as Shi Tiantian’s Little Flower, an Excellent-quality item that grants one-use stone skin capable of blocking damage. Liu asks to preserve it rather than consume it, and Shi Sang agrees.
• Thirteen Yao makes Liu repeatedly thank Shi Sang, turning the moment into another humiliating joke. Shi Sang laughs so hard that his shaking nearly knocks Liu off the ladder.
• Liu finishes filling the Stone Man’s remaining gaps and discovers that Shi Sang’s lemon-treated surface has become soft and springy.
• Shi Sang then sits down for the actual massage. Thirteen Yao warns Liu that the Stone Man enjoys SM, leaving Liu to adapt unfamiliar massage techniques to a non-human, stone-bodied client.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates practicality, caution, and resilience. Although embarrassed and physically overwhelmed by the sour lemon juice, he continues working and responds to the others’ jokes with sarcasm.
• He begins forming a favorable impression of Shi Sang, recognizing that the Stone Man is enormous and intimidating but gentle, cooperative, and easily amused.
• Liu also shows growing awareness of the value of items and abilities. Rather than immediately consuming the flower, he strategically preserves its defensive effect for a future instance.
• Thirteen Yao appears sadistic and mischievous, using his authority to tease and embarrass Liu, but he also acts as a guide by explaining the job and helping Liu interact with Shi Sang.
• Shi Sang is established as a powerful but good-natured client. Though unable to speak normally, he communicates through nods, laughter, gestures, and generous gifts.

Significant Themes

• Humiliation as entertainment: Thirteen Yao and Shi Sang treat Liu’s discomfort—especially his reaction to the lemon juice—as amusing workplace entertainment.
• Adaptation to the bizarre: Liu must perform ordinary service work in an extraordinary setting, applying massage and maintenance techniques to a living Stone Man.
• Hidden kindness beneath frightening appearances: Shi Sang looks terrifying but behaves gently, cooperates with Liu, and rewards his effort.
• Strategic survival: Liu’s decision to save the defensive flower reflects his habit of thinking beyond the immediate situation and preparing for future dangers.
• Workplace hierarchy and initiation: As a new employee, Liu is subjected to teasing, tests, and ritualized embarrassment before being accepted by the department and its clients.

Character Interactions

• Thirteen Yao directs Liu’s work, mocks his reactions, and pressures him to taste the lemon juice and loudly thank Shi Sang.
• Liu and Thirteen Yao trade sarcastic remarks about sourness, romance, children, and Liu’s future career.
• Liu communicates respectfully with Shi Sang, asking permission to use the ladder and thanking him for the flower. Shi Sang responds through physical gestures and laughter.
• Thirteen Yao interprets Shi Sang’s nonverbal behavior for Liu, explaining that the flower is a gift and confirming that Shi Sang agrees to Liu’s requests.
• The chapter ends with Thirteen Yao preparing Liu for the true challenge: massaging Shi Sang according to the Stone Man’s preference for SM.

Chapter Summary: “What Was There to See on a Stone?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng is assigned to massage Stone Man, also known as Shi Tiantian, a female Stone Spirit customer at the Night Parade Bathhouse.
• Before beginning, Liu asks whether she prefers physical or psychological “SM.” Thirteen Yao explains that she prefers the physical kind, though he warns Liu not to underestimate her.
• Thirteen Yao demonstrates his strength by striking Stone Man with the Nandou Dark Demon Fist, unleashing a powerful black-energy wave. Stone Man remains completely unharmed, while Liu dramatically rolls into a corner to avoid the shockwave.
• Liu prepares to massage Stone Man but is forbidden from using his cleaver and boning knife. Instead, he must use traditional massage techniques.
• Thirteen explains that lemon juice from the earlier attack is temporarily softening Stone Man’s body, creating a brief opportunity for massage.
• Stone Man sits down elegantly, despite being a massive rock figure, and Liu begins using the Chen-style Eight Massage Techniques.
• Liu’s first palm strike unexpectedly penetrates Stone Man’s back up to his wrist. His second strike drives half of his forearm into her body, causing the skulls embedded in her stone form to laugh hysterically.
• Milky-white “stone blood” pours from the wounds, and black flowers briefly grow from the spilled fluid before withering.
• Thirteen Yao orders Liu to stop, realizing that Liu’s “massage” is seriously injuring a powerful and well-connected client.
• Liu points out that Thirteen had previously told him not to hold back, creating a conflict between the director’s earlier and current orders.
• Just as Thirteen prepares to intervene, Stone Man insists that he should not interfere. She appears to enjoy Liu’s violent treatment and encourages him to continue.
• Thirteen reluctantly sits aside and allows the bizarre “massage” to proceed.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: Demonstrates that his combat and massage abilities are far greater than Thirteen expected. His apparent clumsiness—such as rolling away from the energy blast—is partly comedic misdirection, as he soon proves capable of penetrating Stone Man’s otherwise impenetrable body. He also shows confidence, cleverness, and a willingness to exploit contradictions in Thirteen’s orders.
• Thirteen Yao: Initially acts as Liu’s instructor and protector, warning him about the dangers of Stone Man and trying to prevent him from mishandling an important client. His confidence is shaken when Liu’s massage techniques prove unexpectedly destructive. He also reveals a humorous, somewhat lecherous personality through his comments and exaggerated translations of Stone Man’s words.
• Stone Man / Shi Tiantian: Is established as a powerful, durable, and eccentric Stone Spirit. Although she appears physically expressionless and intimidating, her laughter and apparent enjoyment of pain reveal a playful, masochistic personality. She is also socially powerful because of her influential Stone Spirit family.
• Liu and Thirteen’s relationship: Their boss-subordinate dynamic develops through teasing, conflicting instructions, and mutual surprise. Thirteen tries to maintain authority, while Liu responds with literal reasoning and cheeky confidence.

Significant Themes

• Misjudgment and hidden ability: Liu initially appears weak and cowardly, but his actual abilities surpass expectations. Likewise, Stone Man’s harmless-looking stillness conceals her unusual nature and immense toughness.
• The absurdity of professional roles: Massage, martial arts, torture, and combat are deliberately blurred. Liu treats a massage like a battle, while Thirteen uses extravagant martial-arts terminology for ordinary workplace demonstrations.
• Authority and contradictory orders: Liu exposes the problem of Thirteen telling him both not to hold back and to stop once the consequences become alarming.
• Pain, pleasure, and consent: The chapter plays with the boundary between harm and treatment. Stone Man actively requests and enjoys the brutal “massage,” while Thirteen’s concern centers on whether she truly wants it and whether Liu understands the danger.
• Comedy through literalism and unfamiliarity: Liu struggles to interpret Stone Man’s gender, anatomy, and behavior, while everyone else treats these strange facts as obvious. The contrast creates much of the chapter’s humor.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu and Thirteen: Thirteen tests and instructs Liu, while Liu jokes, challenges his assumptions, and ultimately surprises him with his strength.
• Liu and Stone Man: Liu approaches her with professional courtesy, but his massage quickly turns into a violent physical assault. Stone Man responds with laughter and enthusiasm rather than anger.
• Thirteen and Stone Man: Thirteen acts as her translator and tries to protect both her and the bathhouse from the consequences of Liu’s actions. However, he ultimately respects her wishes and steps aside.
• The Stone family’s implied presence: Thirteen’s fear of Stone Man’s parents, brother, and broader Stone Spirit family emphasizes her importance and raises the stakes of Liu’s reckless treatment.

Chapter Summary: “It Just Passed Out from Pleasure”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng performs an extremely intense massage on Shi Tiantian, a stone-bodied guest from the Shi family, using the “Striking Method” and increasingly powerful bone-setting techniques.
• His assault causes a massive disturbance in the Barrier Room, prompting the General Affairs Department to call Thirteen Yao and ask whether the Security Department should intervene.
• Thirteen Yao dismisses the disturbance as a satisfied customer enjoying the bathhouse’s services. The conversation also reveals his seniority, authority, and predatory interest in younger female employees.
• Liu Zheng finishes with the powerful move “Golden Summit Mountain-Piercing Gale,” causing Shi Tiantian to collapse unconscious and crush him beneath its body.
• Thirteen Yao determines that Shi Tiantian has not died but has likely “passed out from pleasure.” He calls the Medical Crew to treat the unconscious guest.
• Liu Zheng’s Blood-Confounding Rune activates for the first time, restoring him slightly after Shi Tiantian’s internal organs suffer a heavy blow.
• To keep Liu Zheng away from Shi Tiantian while waiting for medical assistance, Thirteen Yao sends him to stay with another employee, Hachijo. He gives Liu Zheng a worthless lump of coal slag as an item to identify him.
• Liu Zheng travels through the disturbing corridors of the Night Parade Bathhouse. He receives a system notification confirming that he is immune to sanity decline, though the environment still causes him discomfort.
• A seductive female attendant attempts to lure him into conversation and then accuses him of being a spy when he refuses to respond beyond repeating, “I’m working. Please do not disturb me.”
• The attendant attacks him using a bluish-black intestine that emerges from her body and forms a noose. Liu Zheng cuts through the intestinal weapon with his cleaver and boning knife, becoming excited by the apparent quality of the “ingredient.”

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates enormous physical strength, fearlessness, and an unusual enthusiasm for violence when it is framed as massage or work. He enjoys finally being able to attack an opponent who does not fight back.
• His professional confidence grows, but he remains naïve about the bathhouse’s customs and worries that injuring a guest might get him fired.
• Liu Zheng continues to rely heavily on literal instructions, following Thirteen Yao’s advice not to engage with anyone in the corridor.
• His culinary and combat instincts overlap: after cutting the attendant’s intestine, he immediately evaluates it as a high-quality ingredient.
• Thirteen Yao is shown to be highly influential within Night Parade Bathhouse, especially because of his long service and connections to the Massage Department. He is arrogant toward lower-ranking departments but cautious about protecting important guests.
• Thirteen Yao’s lecherous personality becomes clearer through his attempted flirtation with Three Wan and his concern that Shi Tiantian might request another dangerous session with Liu Zheng.
• Shi Tiantian is established as a powerful, durable, and masochistic Stone Spirit who can withstand Liu Zheng’s devastating techniques, though the session ultimately overwhelms it.
• Three Wan appears cautious and professional, avoiding Thirteen Yao’s invitation despite his authority and flirtatious behavior.
• The female attendant shifts from seductive to hostile when Liu Zheng ignores her, revealing that the bathhouse’s apparent hospitality can quickly become predatory violence.

Significant Themes

• Violence disguised as service: Liu Zheng’s brutal attack is officially treated as a massage, blurring the line between pleasure, pain, work, and combat.
• Power and hierarchy: Thirteen Yao’s authority protects him from scrutiny, while employees in other departments must defer to him. His status also gives him confidence to behave abusively toward subordinates.
• The absurdity of the supernatural workplace: Extremely dangerous events—such as a guest being nearly crushed or an employee attacking with her own intestines—are handled like routine workplace incidents.
• Survival through obedience and emotional detachment: Liu Zheng survives the bathhouse by following instructions, suppressing his curiosity, and refusing to react to provocations.
• Human and monstrous appetites: The chapter repeatedly connects pleasure, violence, lust, pain, and consumption. Liu Zheng’s excitement over the severed intestine reinforces his tendency to view danger as either combat or food.
• System mechanics and adaptation: The activation of the Blood-Confounding Rune and Sanity Decline Immunity highlights Liu Zheng’s growing dependence on his abilities and equipment in unfamiliar supernatural environments.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Shi Tiantian: Their interaction resembles both a massage and a one-sided battle. Shi Tiantian willingly endures Liu Zheng’s attacks until it loses consciousness.
• Thirteen Yao and Three Wan: Their phone conversation establishes workplace hierarchy, Thirteen Yao’s reputation, and his inappropriate interest in female employees. Three Wan maintains professionalism and ends the call.
• Thirteen Yao and Liu Zheng: Thirteen Yao alternates between supervising, criticizing, and managing Liu Zheng. He recognizes Liu Zheng’s power but also sees him as a dangerous liability.
• Liu Zheng and the female attendant: She attempts seduction, intimidation, and deception, but Liu Zheng refuses to engage. Her frustration leads directly to physical violence.
• Liu Zheng and the bathhouse environment: The corridor itself acts as an antagonistic presence, using disturbing sights, sounds, and invitations to test his sanity and judgment.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng defeats a monstrous maid-like entity outside a Barrier Room. He slices through the intestine embedded in her body, tears it apart, and reduces her form to a sheet of human skin.
• From inside the Barrier Room, another entity repeatedly screams “Die!” at him. Liu Zheng taunts it aggressively, refusing to be intimidated or enter the room.
• A second maid, One Bamboo, arrives and shuts the Barrier Room’s paper door, preventing the conflict from escalating. She explains that Liu Zheng’s reckless behavior could have gotten him drained or killed.
• Liu Zheng introduces himself as “Renhe,” a newcomer from the Massage Department brought in by Director Thirteen Yao. One Bamboo is skeptical that Thirteen Yao would casually leave an inexperienced newcomer unsupervised.
• During their conversation, Liu Zheng reveals that Little Wan asked him to rescue her from the Bathhouse in exchange for her pendant. One Bamboo realizes that Little Wan has placed significant trust in him.
• Liu Zheng explains that he encountered Little Wan in the elevator and believes she reached the thirteenth floor safely, partly because the elevator’s samurai-like guardian, “One Shot,” seemed to favor him.
• One Bamboo admits she had intended to accompany Little Wan but was called away for work. She had feared Little Wan might die, so she is relieved Liu Zheng encountered her.
• One Bamboo warns Liu Zheng that, since he promised to help Little Wan, he must do everything possible to keep her alive. She also makes clear that she will oppose him if he abandons that responsibility.
• She agrees not to report Liu Zheng or Little Wan’s escape attempt, explaining that she is not part of the departments responsible for security or general affairs and does not care about the reward for turning people in.
• Liu Zheng says Thirteen Yao has ordered him to stay temporarily in the Boiler Room. One Bamboo confirms that the cinder he carries is a guide to Basement Level One and warns that losing it could leave him trapped.
• She describes Old Man Hachijo, the Boiler Room’s guardian, as strict but fair, and explains that the Boiler Room is safe but does not accept new workers. Once inside, a person may be unable to leave without another guide.
• Liu Zheng asks for One Bamboo’s phone number, intending to use her connections later—especially to help rescue Jingzi, another Service Club employee. One Bamboo agrees only after he promises not to give her contact information to Thirteen Yao.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: Demonstrates his combat ability, confidence, and willingness to confront supernatural threats. He remains crude, sarcastic, and provocative, but also shows compassion toward the defeated maid and genuine concern for Little Wan and Jingzi. He continues building alliances through charm, flattery, and calculated concealment.
• One Bamboo/Yoko: Is introduced as a kindhearted but blunt veteran employee of the Service Club. She is protective of Little Wan, suspicious of Liu Zheng’s motives, and willing to bend rules to help others. Her concern for Little Wan reveals a strong moral center beneath her sarcastic demeanor.
• Little Wan: Although absent from the chapter, her relationship with Liu Zheng develops through his promise to rescue her. Her willingness to offer her mother’s pendant indicates deep trust and desperation.
• Thirteen Yao: His reputation worsens through One Bamboo’s account of his romantic manipulation, debts, and questionable behavior, despite his otherwise competent leadership.
• Jingzi: Remains Liu Zheng’s hidden objective. His effort to establish contact with One Bamboo is part of a larger plan to rescue her.

Significant Themes

• Survival within a corrupt supernatural system: The Bathhouse is governed by dangerous rules, departments, hierarchies, and hidden threats. Success depends on knowing when to fight, retreat, or form alliances.
• Kindness amid brutality: Liu Zheng and One Bamboo both recognize the ugliness of their world, yet still try to preserve or protect what is valuable. One Bamboo’s concern for Little Wan contrasts with the Bathhouse’s indifference to individual lives.
• Trust and responsibility: Liu Zheng’s promise to Little Wan becomes a moral obligation rather than merely a transaction. One Bamboo tests whether he is genuinely committed to helping her.
• Identity and secrecy: Employees use codenames, and personal information is carefully guarded. Liu Zheng hides his real objectives while gathering information and contacts.
• Defiance and personal agency: Liu Zheng refuses to submit passively to threats or institutional rules. His vulgar taunts and willingness to fight represent his determination to control his own fate.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng’s confrontation with the Barrier Room entity establishes his fearless, irreverent attitude.
• His interaction with One Bamboo shifts from reprimand to mutual familiarity. He flatters her, jokes with her, and earns enough trust to exchange contact information.
• One Bamboo challenges Liu Zheng’s motives regarding Little Wan but ultimately accepts that he is sincerely trying to help.
• Liu Zheng uses his conversation with One Bamboo strategically, concealing his mission to rescue Jingzi while cultivating her as a potential ally.
• Their final exchange—One Bamboo warning him not to share her number with Thirteen Yao—creates a personal connection and reinforces their shared distrust of Thirteen Yao.

Chapter Summary: “Break Under Pressure, or Go Crazy Under Pressure”

Key Plot Points and Events

• One Bamboo warns Liu Zheng to avoid speaking with members of the Service Club, whose department has an exceptionally high casualty rate and is notorious for workers breaking down psychologically under pressure.
• Liu Zheng collects the discarded intestines from the corridor in his Legendary Delivery Box, considering selling them to Pajama Guy or offering them to White-Feather Chicken.
• Returning to the three elevators, Liu Zheng debates trying the Woman’s Elevator for its promise of maximum luck or the Old Man’s Elevator for its business-related challenge. He ultimately chooses One Shot Samurai’s elevator again.
• One Shot Samurai attacks Liu Zheng as part of their usual performance. Liu Zheng defends himself with his cleaver and boning knife, but his lower body is badly cut because he neglects his defense. The encounter highlights his major weakness: Flesh Rebirth helps him recover in prolonged fights, but he lacks strong protection against sudden, explosive attacks.
• They discuss Little Wan, who successfully passed One Shot Samurai’s test. Samurai praises her resilience and considers taking her as a disciple—and possibly as a future daughter-in-law—to protect his wife and child if Liu Zheng succeeds in reviving them.
• Liu Zheng arrives at basement level one and discovers that the elevator disappears into the darkness once he exits, though it can be summoned again. He tests this mechanism, mildly irritating One Shot Samurai.
• Following Thirteen Yao’s instructions, Liu Zheng uses a mysterious cinder to guide himself through the dark passage. He encounters and slashes at an unseen creature, finding only jellyfish-like fragments afterward.
• Liu Zheng reaches an iron door and introduces himself to Uncle Hachijo, claiming to be Renhe, a new Massage Department recruit sent by Thirteen Yao.
• Inside the Boiler Room, he sees Hachijo operating an enormous boiler connected to eight suspended copper kettles. Hachijo has eight arms and works rapidly, adding various materials to the kettles according to hanging labels.
• Unable to identify herbs, prepare tea properly, or monitor boiler equipment, Liu Zheng openly admits his incompetence and chooses to lie down in a corner rather than interfere.
• Hachijo initially criticizes Liu Zheng’s laziness but finds him preferable to workers who try to help and cause trouble. The chapter ends when Hachijo suddenly calls for his “little ones” to come out and work.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: Shows his usual pragmatic, irreverent attitude, collecting potentially useful items and carefully weighing which elevator to use. His fight with One Shot Samurai exposes his lack of defensive ability. He also demonstrates self-awareness and honesty by admitting that he cannot help in the Boiler Room, though he turns this into an excuse to avoid work.
• One Shot Samurai: Continues to act as Liu Zheng’s elevator operator while maintaining their staged combat routine. He reveals genuine hope that his wife and child may one day be revived and displays a softer, paternal side through his interest in Little Wan.
• Little Wan: Gains recognition as mentally resilient and naturally talented. Her apparent weakness during the test concealed considerable endurance, earning One Shot Samurai’s respect.
• Hachijo: Is introduced as a busy, irritable but not entirely cruel boiler master. His complaints resemble those of an overworked elder who secretly enjoys his responsibilities. His eight arms and mechanical skill establish him as a highly unusual and capable figure.
• Thirteen Yao: Though absent, he influences events by sending Liu Zheng to stay with Hachijo.

Significant Themes

• Pressure and psychological collapse: The Service Club’s high casualty rate reflects the danger of sustained stress, with workers more likely to lash out at peers and family than at those truly responsible.
• Strength versus vulnerability: Liu Zheng possesses powerful recovery and unusual offensive tools, but the fight emphasizes that regeneration cannot replace reliable defense.
• Hidden resilience: Little Wan’s success shows that outward weakness can conceal strong willpower and capability.
• Work, duty, and reluctant responsibility: Hachijo complains about his workload yet continues performing it, while Liu Zheng avoids responsibility whenever possible but remains willing to help when necessary.
• Pragmatism and survival: Liu Zheng constantly evaluates risks, useful objects, relationships, and opportunities, treating even grotesque remains or strange elevator rules as potential resources.
• Different people occupying different “stages”: Liu Zheng recognizes that although he may be the central figure in his own story, others—such as Little Wan—must also have opportunities to become important in their own right.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and One Bamboo: One Bamboo gives him a serious warning about the Service Club and indirectly reinforces the danger of the Bathhouse’s departments.
• Liu Zheng and One Shot Samurai: Their mock battle reveals Liu Zheng’s defensive weakness, while their conversation develops Samurai’s hopes for his family and his interest in mentoring Little Wan. Liu Zheng jokingly accuses him of seeking a daughter-in-law.
• Liu Zheng and Little Wan: They do not interact directly in this chapter, but Liu Zheng’s response to Samurai’s praise shows that he is beginning to appreciate her hidden strength.
• Liu Zheng and Hachijo: Their first meeting establishes a comedic contrast between Hachijo’s intense work ethic and Liu Zheng’s deliberate laziness. Hachijo orders him to stay out of the way, and Liu Zheng happily complies.
• Liu Zheng and the unseen creature: Their brief encounter in the darkness demonstrates Liu Zheng’s caution and combat reflexes, though the creature escapes or leaves behind only unidentified fragments.

Chapter Summary: “Stoking the Fire”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng wakes in the Boiler Room and observes tens of thousands of Black Dumplings transporting massive, gemstone-like chunks of coal from an underground tunnel.
• The creatures work with remarkable coordination, forming orderly lines and feeding the coal into Hachijo’s boiler. Although the flames appear dangerous, an invisible barrier protects them from being burned.
• Hachijo manages the Dumplings by striking the boiler with a wrench and ordering them back to work. Their frightened reactions amuse Liu Zheng.
• When the Dumplings stop working to demand an explanation for Liu Zheng’s laughter, he explains that he recently joined Night Parade Bathhouse and had beaten a troublesome customer. Hachijo reveals that the customer is a notorious repeat offender on the Bathhouse’s private “Most Unwelcome Customers” list.
• Hachijo complains that he is trapped in a lifetime employment contract signed when he was young, with a penalty too expensive to pay. Liu Zheng compares this relatively mild restriction to the far harsher employment conditions at Bloodstained Restaurant.
• A messenger from the General Affairs Department arrives to announce that the powerful customer Lord Da Chuanliu will arrive in about five minutes. Hachijo becomes angry that the department has given him almost no preparation time, since he must prepare a medicinal bath.
• The messenger, Pure Hand, questions Liu Zheng about his presence in the Boiler Room and attempts to assert seniority over him. Liu Zheng refuses to submit, answers sarcastically, and charges that further questions will “cost extra.”
• Pure Hand threatens to teach him respect the next time they meet. Liu Zheng interprets this as a likely “death flag,” sensing something deeply unpleasant about her despite her outwardly respectable appearance.
• After Pure Hand leaves, Hachijo criticizes Liu Zheng for provoking her and comments that the General Affairs Department corrupts everyone who works there.
• Hachijo then orders the Black Dumplings to intensify the fire. He bribes them with double overtime meals, prompting them to emerge carrying ordinary-looking but extraordinarily hot coal.
• The Dumplings begin throwing themselves into the boiler along with the coal, becoming living fuel that produces brilliant golden flames. Hachijo frantically adds medicinal ingredients to the kettle and urges them onward.
• Liu Zheng watches without intervening, reasoning that everyone in the room is engaged in dangerous, life-consuming work. When he notices one Dumpling crushed and burning beneath a coal chunk, he tries to ignore it—but a hidden tentacle beneath his Erotic Suit suddenly sends him a burning sensation, ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains irreverent, observant, and resistant to authority. He is willing to challenge senior employees, yet he also shows a detached acceptance of the brutal working conditions around him.
• His instincts become more prominent: he immediately draws his weapons when the messenger enters and senses that Pure Hand is fundamentally repulsive or dangerous.
• Hachijo is established as a gruff, cynical Boiler Room director. He resents his lifetime contract and the Bathhouse’s poor benefits, but he remains highly competent and protective of the Boiler Room’s operation.
• Hachijo’s treatment of the Black Dumplings is harsh, though he also understands how to control and motivate them. His complaints about the General Affairs Department reveal his distrust of Bathhouse bureaucracy.
• Pure Hand is introduced as an authoritarian representative of the General Affairs Department. Her insistence on hierarchy and her veiled threat establish her as a likely future antagonist.
• The Black Dumplings shift between comic, animal-like creatures and tragic expendable laborers. Their coordination, fear, resentment, and willingness to sacrifice themselves highlight the strange social structure of the Bathhouse.

Significant Themes

• Exploitative labor and coercion: Hachijo’s lifetime contract, the Dumplings’ dangerous labor, and the Bathhouse’s bureaucratic hierarchy all portray work as something that can consume or imprison individuals.
• Absurdity amid brutality: The comedic behavior of the Dumplings and Liu Zheng’s jokes coexist with scenes of burning bodies and lethal labor, creating a darkly humorous tone.
• Institutional corruption: The General Affairs Department is portrayed as an organization that erodes people’s character and turns them into cold, bureaucratic enforcers.
• Authority versus independence: Liu Zheng refuses to obey arbitrary seniority rules, while Hachijo and Pure Hand represent different forms of authority.
• Moral detachment: Liu Zheng questions whether he should help the suffering Dumplings but ultimately chooses not to interfere, reflecting his practical and increasingly hardened worldview.
• Hidden danger: Liu Zheng’s intuition about Pure Hand and the mysterious burning sensation from his suit suggest that threats may be concealed beneath apparently ordinary situations.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Hachijo: Their relationship is informal and sarcastic. Liu Zheng treats Hachijo as a gruff older coworker, while Hachijo tolerates him as long as he does not interfere. They exchange jokes and complaints, but Hachijo also warns Liu Zheng about the consequences of his actions.
• Liu Zheng and the Black Dumplings: The Dumplings become offended when Liu Zheng laughs at them and demand an explanation. Their interaction is humorous but also reveals their collective personality and resentment.
• Liu Zheng and Pure Hand: Their first meeting is openly antagonistic. Pure Hand demands obedience based on seniority, while Liu Zheng mocks her authority and refuses to be intimidated.
• Hachijo and Pure Hand: Hachijo is irritated by the General Affairs Department’s late notice but ultimately accepts the explanation because Lord Da Chuanliu is too important to offend. Their exchange emphasizes the Bathhouse’s rigid hierarchy and political pressures.
• Hachijo and the Black Dumplings: Hachijo commands them harshly, using noise, orders, and promised rewards to drive them into increasingly dangerous work. Their relationship is managerial and exploitative, though familiar and efficient.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng discovers that the glowing black mark on his disguise is connected to the Black Dumplings. When one is trapped beneath burning coal, he agrees to rescue it.
• With Hachijo’s help, Liu Zheng frees the Black Dumpling and assists the others in gathering heavy coal for Da Chuanliu’s bath.
• Liu Zheng uses his enhanced strength, tentacles, and Human-Bone Crutch to transport coal rapidly to the boiler. He worries that adding too much fuel might cause an explosion, though Hachijo assures him the fire is still insufficient.
• Hachijo gives Liu Zheng Fireproof Spider eyeballs to eat. They greatly reduce the damage caused by the heat, allowing him to work more efficiently.
• The Black Dumplings and Hachijo perform a bizarre ritual to intensify the furnace. The Dumplings sing, spin, and eventually fling themselves into the fire as fuel.
• Hachijo adds several medicinal broths to the boiler. The mixture erupts into colorful explosions before becoming purified bathwater and flowing upward toward Da Chuanliu’s bath.
• After the work is finished, Liu Zheng massages Hachijo to relieve the strain caused by operating the boiler.
• Hachijo explains that Liu Zheng was sent to the Boiler Room partly to help with the work and partly to keep him out of trouble after he attacked a guest.
• One Bamboo arrives with Hachijo’s overtime pay from the General Affairs Department. Hachijo gives it to Liu Zheng and throws him off the platform, signaling that his temporary assignment is over.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates compassion and a willingness to help despite his sarcastic, self-deprecating attitude. He rescues the Black Dumpling, works hard in the Boiler Room, and shows concern for both Jingzi and the other workers.
• He continues to conceal his abilities and tentacles, deliberately acting as though he is merely an insignificant person. His claim that he is “not the protagonist” contrasts with his increasingly heroic behavior.
• Liu Zheng’s experience in the Massage Department becomes important when he relieves Hachijo’s physical strain, proving that his role and skills are useful beyond combat.
• Hachijo is revealed to be an exhausted but capable old monster who bears the physical burden of maintaining the Boiler Room. Though gruff and threatening, he helps Liu Zheng by providing the Fireproof Spider eyes and acknowledges that Liu Zheng’s labor was valuable.
• The Black Dumplings become more cooperative with Liu Zheng after he saves one of their group. Their willingness to gather coal and sacrifice themselves for the boiler highlights their strange communal loyalty.
• One Bamboo maintains an authoritative but familiar relationship with Liu Zheng, reprimanding him for using her real name while still delivering his payment and checking on the Boiler Room.

Significant Themes

• Compassion beneath cynicism: Liu Zheng frequently jokes, complains, or pretends not to care, but his actions reveal genuine concern for the Black Dumplings, Jingzi, and Hachijo.
• Heroism without recognition: Liu Zheng rejects the idea that he is a protagonist, yet he repeatedly performs dangerous, selfless acts. The chapter suggests that meaningful deeds do not require fame or a heroic identity.
• Labor and exploitation: The Boiler Room’s work is physically brutal, and both the Black Dumplings and Hachijo sacrifice themselves or their vitality to satisfy wealthy guests. The Bathhouse’s luxury depends on unseen suffering.
• Community and cooperation: Liu Zheng, Hachijo, and the Black Dumplings must work together to complete the demanding boiler operation.
• Humor amid grotesque danger: Burning flesh, eyeball consumption, medicinal explosions, and self-immolating creatures are treated with absurd comedy, reinforcing the chapter’s surreal tone.
• The value of money and service: Liu Zheng’s generous spending and Hachijo’s emphasis on saving reveal different attitudes toward wealth, while the overtime payment recognizes the often-overlooked labor behind the Bathhouse’s operations.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and the trapped Black Dumpling communicate through squeaks and gestures, establishing mutual trust after he rescues it.
• Liu Zheng repeatedly teases Hachijo about his tentacles and tries to provoke a reaction, while Hachijo responds with threats and deliberate indifference.
• Hachijo secretly assists Liu Zheng by giving him Fireproof Spider eyes, though their exchange remains insulting and comedic.
• Liu Zheng massages Hachijo after the exhausting boiler operation, creating a rare moment of practical cooperation and mutual acknowledgment.
• Hachijo reveals that Liu Zheng’s earlier generosity helped the Black Dumplings, connecting Liu Zheng’s seemingly casual spending to the group’s loyalty toward him.
• One Bamboo and Liu Zheng interact with familiarity and mild embarrassment. She reprimands him for revealing her name, while Hachijo treats him as temporary help and dismisses him once the task is complete.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng meets One Bamboo/Yoko in the Boiler Room while she checks on him. She explains that Little Wan’s work has finished safely, though the arrival of the dangerous guest Da Chuanliu has made the Service Club extremely busy.
• Liu suspects the bathhouse may contain hidden lower levels beneath B1, possibly connected to Jingzi’s imprisonment, but he keeps this suspicion to himself.
• One Bamboo gives Hachijo several packages of Cow-Horse jerky. Liu examines the packaging and confirms that the meat comes from the 103 Breeding Farm, hoping to learn more about his Cow-Horse friend’s whereabouts.
• Hachijo orders Liu to help feed the Black Dumplings. Liu struggles with the heavy hammer and is mocked for his lack of physical strength, though he argues that massage depends on technique rather than brute force.
• Liu learns that the colorful “silt” is processed bathhouse waste or mud that has hardened into stone. Eating it can make employees more resistant to the bathhouse and less able to leave.
• He scatters the silt and smashes it with Hachijo’s hammer. The Black Dumplings emerge from the pipes and swallow the colorful sparks released by the impacts.
• The sparks cause the Black Dumplings to become pregnant. Hachijo explains that they must be “delivered” by smashing more silt, and that the newborns will inherit an imprint from the person assisting their birth.
• Liu considers which of his many supernatural imprints to use. He rejects the dangerous or politically problematic marks and ultimately chooses the imprint of Amaterasu Omikami.
• After silently invoking her three times, a golden Magatama appears in his right eye. Hachijo notices the change and reacts with shock.

2. Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues balancing humor with caution. Beneath his joking behavior, he remains observant and suspicious, especially regarding the bathhouse’s hidden floors and the fate of Cow-Horse.
• His compassion becomes clear when he worries that the Black Dumplings have eaten too much and are suffering. He is disturbed by the idea of smashing them to deliver their offspring, even though he eventually follows Hachijo’s instructions.
• Liu shows growing acceptance of his unusual supernatural condition. He carefully weighs the risks of his various imprints before selecting Amaterasu’s, demonstrating strategic judgment rather than acting impulsively.
• One Bamboo/Yoko is shown to be socially pragmatic. She saves special city-bought food to cultivate relationships and build influence among bathhouse employees. Despite teasing Liu, she genuinely checks on him and worries about Little Wan’s safety.
• Hachijo remains abrasive and mocking, but he also provides essential knowledge about the Black Dumplings and their reproduction. His embarrassment over enjoying Liu’s massage reveals a rare vulnerable side.
• Little Wan is indirectly characterized as inexperienced and vulnerable. She has survived a frightening assignment but apparently lacks relatives who would claim compensation if she died.
• The Black Dumplings are depicted as obedient, hardworking creatures whose reproduction depends on dangerous labor and the intervention of others.

3. Significant Themes

• Survival through adaptation: Employees must learn the bathhouse’s bizarre rules quickly, whether dealing with dangerous guests, strange materials, or monstrous creatures.
• Labor and exploitation: The Black Dumplings work obediently, consume dangerous materials, and can be killed in the process of giving birth. Liu humorously compares them to ideal workers, exposing the disturbing exploitation underlying the bathhouse’s system.
• Social networks and protection: One Bamboo’s jerky is valuable because it helps her build alliances. In the bathhouse, survival depends not only on personal ability but also on relationships and backing.
• Identity and imprint: The unborn Black Dumplings inherit the imprint of their “midwife,” making reproduction a form of legacy. Liu’s choice of imprint raises the possibility that his supernatural affiliations may shape future beings.
• Moral compromise: Liu wants to help the creatures but must harm them to ensure their survival. The chapter repeatedly blurs the boundaries between care, violence, work, and exploitation.
• Hidden truths: Liu’s investigation into the breeding farm, the bathhouse’s possible lower floors, and the nature of the silt suggests that important secrets remain buried beneath the bathhouse’s ordinary operations.

4. Character Interactions

• Liu and One Bamboo trade sarcastic remarks, with her mocking his narcissism and him teasing her concern for him.
• They discuss Little Wan’s safety and the lethal risks associated with serving Da Chuanliu.
• One Bamboo and Hachijo interact familiarly; she calls him “Uncle Hachijo,” while he complains about her treating his workspace like a daycare.
• Liu and Hachijo argue over Liu’s physical strength and massage technique, with Hachijo mocking him and Liu defending his professional skills.
• Hachijo instructs Liu on feeding the Black Dumplings and explains their pregnancy and birth process.
• Liu’s concern for the suffering Black Dumplings contrasts with Hachijo’s practical insistence that he continue smashing the silt.
• The chapter ends with Hachijo reacting intensely to the manifestation of Amaterasu Omikami’s imprint, signaling that Liu’s choice may have significant consequences.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng uses his iron hammer to split the Black Dumplings’ combined formation. The creatures divide into numerous smaller dumplings, each marked by a golden ring and golden, cataract-like eyes. They immediately become attached to Liu Zheng, climbing over him and treating him like their parent.
• Hachijo recognizes that the dumplings have been infused with exceptionally pure Solar Divine Power. He suggests they will be useful as fuel, but questions Liu Zheng about the source of the power.
• Liu Zheng refuses to reveal that the power came from Amaterasu Omikami, since doing so could expose him to danger. Tension rises as both he and Hachijo prepare for a possible fight.
• Hachijo asks why Liu Zheng came to the bathhouse. Liu Zheng first confirms that Yoko cannot overhear them, then admits that he has come to rescue Jingzi.
• One Bamboo, who knows Jingzi from the Service Club, questions Liu Zheng. He explains that Jingzi’s aunt, Jinzi, hired him because Granny Tang had imprisoned Jingzi after her family refused to continue paying exorbitant amounts to keep her from being sent to the pig farm.
• Jingzi’s original “crime” was falling in love with a pig. One Bamboo accepts Liu Zheng’s explanation as credible and confirms that Jingzi’s situation is consistent with Granny Tang’s greed.
• Hachijo orders Liu Zheng to leave the Night Parade Bathhouse, but Liu Zheng refuses. He argues that they are both workers and need not become enemies, proposing that Hachijo and Yoko help locate Jingzi and assist in her escape.
• Hachijo rejects the request, insisting that Liu Zheng is trying to make him responsible for the entire operation. Liu Zheng then begins manipulating Hachijo and Yoko by warning them that Granny Tang may eventually exploit their families in the same way she exploited Jingzi’s family.
• Liu Zheng argues that Hachijo’s position as boiler-room manager is politically vulnerable. If Granny Tang wants to remove him, she could provoke him into breaking the rules and then use him as an example to consolidate her authority.
• He similarly warns Yoko that Granny Tang could financially pressure her sister and brother-in-law, eventually damaging or destroying their family.
• Yoko asks whether helping Jingzi would prevent Granny Tang from repeating such schemes. Liu Zheng honestly admits he cannot guarantee that—but says refusing to act guarantees another victim will be targeted.
• The chapter ends with Yoko turning to Hachijo for his decision, while holding the Cow-Horse jerky Liu Zheng gave her.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates combat ability, caution, and psychological skill. He avoids revealing the origin of his Solar Divine Power and remains confident even when confronting Hachijo. Rather than relying solely on force, he uses logic, fear, and political reasoning to recruit allies.
• Hachijo is shown to be enormously powerful but politically cautious and deeply protective of his remaining family. Though initially hostile to Liu Zheng’s intrusion, he becomes unsettled when Liu Zheng suggests Granny Tang could engineer his downfall or endanger his granddaughter Mirai.
• Yoko begins as a nervous observer caught between Hachijo and Liu Zheng. As Liu Zheng points out how Granny Tang’s greed could threaten Yoko’s sister and brother-in-law, Yoko becomes personally invested in the rescue.
• One Bamboo acts as an intermediary and investigator. Her knowledge of Jingzi lends credibility to Liu Zheng’s story, and she shares his concern about Granny Tang’s behavior.
• Jingzi, though absent, is characterized through others’ accounts as someone punished for an unconventional romance and exploited by the bathhouse’s oppressive system.
• Granny Tang emerges as the chapter’s unseen antagonist: greedy, suspicious, politically calculating, and willing to financially exploit employees and their families.
• The Black Dumplings shift from dangerous opponents into affectionate, obedient creatures bonded to Liu Zheng.

Significant Themes

• Workplace exploitation and debt: The chapter’s central idea is that being forced to work endlessly to repay debt is worse than ordinary wage labor. Granny Tang maintains power by turning employees’ mistakes and family obligations into financial leverage.
• Power and political control: Hachijo’s authority is threatened not through direct confrontation but through the possibility of being made an example of. Legitimate punishment becomes a weapon for consolidating control.
• Manipulation versus violence: Liu Zheng emphasizes that rescue does not require open combat. He uses persuasion and strategic fear to turn neutral workers into potential allies.
• Family vulnerability: The characters’ loyalty to their relatives becomes both a source of strength and a weakness that Granny Tang can exploit.
• Moral ambiguity and self-preservation: Hachijo and Yoko are not naturally heroic rebels; they are workers trying to survive. Liu Zheng appeals to their self-interest rather than expecting them to act purely out of compassion.
• Cycles of exploitation: Liu Zheng argues that successful exploitation creates a pattern. If Granny Tang is allowed to profit from Jingzi’s family, she will repeat the practice against others.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Hachijo engage in a tense verbal and potential physical confrontation, each prepared to defend himself.
• Hachijo and One Bamboo question Liu Zheng about Jingzi, with One Bamboo ultimately validating his account.
• Liu Zheng tries to recruit Hachijo and Yoko by presenting the rescue as a shared laborers’ problem rather than a personal favor.
• His discussion with Hachijo focuses on job security, political vulnerability, and Mirai’s devotion to her grandfather.
• His exchange with Yoko shifts the issue toward family finances and the possibility of Granny Tang destroying her sister’s household.
• Yoko ultimately asks Hachijo to decide whether they should help Liu Zheng, leaving the chapter on a moment of suspense.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng negotiates payment from Hachijo after helping him in the Boiler Room. Hachijo initially refuses, but Liu Zheng points out that the Golden Dumplings he created will greatly reduce Hachijo’s danger and workload when serving powerful clients.
• Instead of money, Hachijo tells Liu Zheng about a wastewater drainage pipe leading near the entrance of Bathhouse Street, potentially useful as a route out. He also gives Liu Zheng a piece of coal slag resembling one previously given to him by Thirteen Yao.
• Thirteen Yao arrives and learns that Liu Zheng has caused—or at least survived—trouble in the Boiler Room. Their exchange is humorous and confrontational, with Liu Zheng pretending to be modest while implying that his competence overwhelmed Hachijo.
• Thirteen Yao assigns Liu Zheng a difficult task: scraping the softened body of the powerful guest Da Chuanliu, whose bath Hachijo has just prepared.
• A second major guest, Kunagu, has also arrived. Thirteen Yao originally came to borrow Hachijo’s Black Dumplings to handle the situation, but Hachijo refuses to lend the newly created Golden Dumplings.
• One Bamboo explains the difference between Kunagu and Shaoming Kunagu. They are two aspects of the same god: Shaoming Kunagu is a benevolent childlike god associated with medicine and exorcism, while Kunagu is a troublesome hermaphroditic god associated with lust, comedy, pranks, and abuse of Bathhouse employees.
• Thirteen Yao explains that Bathhouse Street is legally and politically protected, but its contract with the Eight Directional Gods requires it to serve gods even when they are dangerous or troublesome. This leaves the staff unable to refuse such guests.
• Hachijo gives Liu Zheng a valuable mud-like medicinal pill that can save him once if he reaches his limit. Thirteen Yao protests that Hachijo never gave him similar protection when he was a newcomer.
• Liu Zheng, Thirteen Yao, and One Bamboo leave the Boiler Room together. Thirteen Yao asks whether Liu Zheng would rather massage Kunagu or perform gua sha on Da Chuanliu, but reveals that he himself intends to avoid handling either guest directly.

2. Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates increasing confidence, resourcefulness, and willingness to bargain. He recognizes the value of the Golden Dumplings and uses that knowledge to secure a useful favor from Hachijo.
• He continues to use humor and feigned innocence to conceal his calculations, while also showing reluctance toward dangerous assignments.
• Hachijo remains gruff and self-interested, but his actions reveal that he values Liu Zheng’s help. He accepts the Golden Dumplings, gives Liu Zheng an escape-related lead, and ultimately provides him with a protective pill.
• Thirteen Yao is shown as shameless, flirtatious, politically knowledgeable, and prone to teasing, but he also takes responsibility for managing Bathhouse crises. His reluctance to personally face the two VIPs shows a more cautious side.
• One Bamboo maintains her cool, professional demeanor and openly resists Thirteen Yao’s inappropriate advances. She also offers important knowledge about the gods and Bathhouse Street’s obligations.
• Hachijo and Thirteen Yao’s relationship is revealed as a long-standing mix of familiarity, irritation, and mutual dependence.

3. Significant Themes

• Competence as both advantage and burden: Liu Zheng’s abilities earn him recognition, but they also cause others to assign him increasingly dangerous work.
• Debt and obligation: Liu Zheng’s help creates a debt Hachijo feels compelled to repay, while Bathhouse Street itself is bound by its contract with the Eight Directional Gods.
• Power and political compromise: The Bathhouse’s wealthy human backers care about profit and ownership but leave the staff to handle supernatural threats themselves.
• Survival through negotiation and alliances: Liu Zheng relies on wit, Hachijo’s reluctant assistance, Thirteen Yao’s authority, and One Bamboo’s knowledge to navigate dangerous circumstances.
• The cost of service: Employees cannot simply refuse powerful or abusive customers, emphasizing the exploitative nature of their work.
• Humor amid danger: Flirtation, sarcasm, workplace complaints, and petty arguments contrast with the serious threat posed by the gods and VIP guests.

4. Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Hachijo: Their negotiation over payment reflects mutual suspicion and reluctant respect. Liu Zheng presses Hachijo about the value of the Golden Dumplings, while Hachijo responds with irritation but ultimately helps him.
• Thirteen Yao and One Bamboo: Their conversation exposes Thirteen Yao’s inappropriate flirtation and One Bamboo’s distrust of him. She recalls how he used a previous act of assistance as an excuse to touch her.
• Thirteen Yao and Liu Zheng: Their relationship is teasing and adversarial. Thirteen Yao mocks Liu Zheng as a troublemaker, while Liu Zheng responds with evasive humor and exaggerated modesty.
• Hachijo and Thirteen Yao: Thirteen Yao tries to borrow the Golden Dumplings, but Hachijo firmly refuses, showing his protectiveness toward his new creations and their importance to him.
• Liu Zheng and One Bamboo: They leave together with Thirteen Yao, and her presence provides Liu Zheng with an experienced companion as they face the crisis involving Da Chuanliu and Kunagu.

Chapter Summary: “In Metropolis, That Was No Laughing Matter”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng pressures Thirteen Yao to protect and guide him during his dangerous work at the bathhouse, using emotional blackmail, family connections, and even a thick wad of money.
• He reveals a City Hall Employee Family Badge, proving that he has powerful connections. One Bamboo explains that such badges are reserved for the relatives of highly ranked City Hall employees, making Thirteen Yao suspicious of Liu Zheng’s true identity and motives.
• Liu Zheng hints that he is involved in a secret operation but refuses to explain unless Thirteen Yao joins his “pirate ship.” Thirteen Yao declines, unwilling to become entangled in a possible plot against Granny Tang or the bathhouse’s power structure.
• Thirteen Yao advises Liu Zheng to serve Lord Da Chuanliu and tells him that Elder Hachijo’s pills may help him survive.
• Before reaching their destination, Thirteen Yao uses the Nandou Dark Demon Fist to knock One Bamboo unconscious. He explains that this is necessary because Lord Da Chuanliu’s bathhouse visits are extremely dangerous.
• Thirteen Yao reveals the truth about Lord Da Chuanliu: although regarded as a benevolent god, the figure visiting the bathhouse is an evil personality created through corruption. The bathing ritual purifies that corruption, but the benevolent personality can only protect a limited number of people.
• Thirteen Yao warns Liu Zheng that this information is a closely guarded secret and threatens to erase his memory—or kill him—if he reveals it.
• He gives Liu Zheng three rules for surviving the encounter:
  1. Do not show disgust or revulsion.
  2. Do not make any sound, regardless of what happens.
  3. Make himself physically dirty before serving Lord Da Chuanliu.
• If Liu Zheng survives, Thirteen Yao promises to promote him to team leader.
• The chapter ends as the two men jokingly flatter one another while approaching the elevator, their exaggerated camaraderie masking mutual suspicion and self-interest.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates that he is manipulative, quick-witted, wealthy, and highly skilled at using flattery and deception. He repeatedly turns Thirteen Yao’s words against him and uses humor to conceal his real intentions.
• He also shows genuine strategic caution: although he seeks Thirteen Yao’s guidance, he does not fully trust him and recognizes that Thirteen Yao might exploit the secret operation for political gain.
• Thirteen Yao is portrayed as cynical, opportunistic, and easily frustrated by Liu Zheng’s shameless behavior. However, he is also knowledgeable, politically perceptive, and capable of offering practical survival advice.
• Despite claiming not to care, Thirteen Yao takes responsibility for Liu Zheng as a subordinate and gives him valuable information about Lord Da Chuanliu.
• One Bamboo remains a relatively neutral figure. She helps identify Liu Zheng’s badge and accepts Thirteen Yao’s rough treatment without protest, reflecting how accustomed bathhouse workers are to danger and exploitation.

Significant Themes

• Power, connections, and corruption: The City Hall badge reveals how status and family ties shape people’s opportunities and safety. The bathhouse operates within a larger political system where powerful organizations can destroy weaker factions through regulation, taxation, and administrative pressure.
• Survival through compromise: Workers survive not through heroism but by following disturbing rules, accepting danger, and learning how to appease powerful beings.
• The contrast between appearance and reality: Lord Da Chuanliu appears benevolent but is linked to a corrupted evil personality. Likewise, Liu Zheng and Thirteen Yao pretend to be friendly while constantly manipulating and assessing one another.
• Humor amid danger: The characters’ crude jokes, false flattery, and absurd arguments create comic relief, but the chapter repeatedly emphasizes that the threats surrounding them are genuine and potentially fatal.
• Secrets and controlled knowledge: Information is treated as a weapon. Thirteen Yao’s knowledge of Da Chuanliu’s nature is restricted to department heads, and Liu Zheng’s survival depends partly on keeping it secret.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Thirteen Yao engage in a continuous battle of insults, threats, bribery, and exaggerated politeness. Their banter creates the appearance of family familiarity while revealing deep mistrust.
• Liu Zheng invokes his relationship with Thirteen Yao’s superior and his connection to One Bamboo to pressure Thirteen Yao into protecting him.
• Liu Zheng flirts with One Bamboo and deliberately provokes Thirteen Yao, suggesting that the two of them might become a couple. Thirteen Yao reacts with jealousy and suspicion.
• Thirteen Yao alternates between threatening Liu Zheng, bargaining with him, and offering genuine guidance, ultimately treating him as both a troublesome subordinate and a potentially valuable recruit.
• Their final exchange of mutual praise is transparently insincere, yet it also suggests that the two may function effectively as allies despite their lack of trust.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Thirteen Yao orders Liu Zheng to go to the sixth floor while he enters Laughing Old Man’s elevator separately.
• Liu Zheng speaks with One Bamboo, asking her to try to serve Da Chuanliu—and, if possible, to arrange protection for herself and Little Wan. He explains that he wants to save them mainly to rescue Jingzi, but also because their goodness helps him preserve his own sanity in the Bathhouse’s corrupt environment.
• One Bamboo questions whether Liu Zheng is truly a good person and whether he will remain at the Bathhouse after saving Jingzi. Liu Zheng says he probably will not stay.
• Liu Zheng meets One-Shot Samurai, who reveals that Da Chuanliu and Kunguna have arrived. Their conversation shifts to the Heavenly Sound-Killing School, a once-renowned but now extinct school devoted to justice and protecting innocents.
• One-Shot Samurai explains that the school declined because Metropolis’s social environment could not sustain its ideals. It eventually became a hereditary tradition passed from father to son. He asks Liu Zheng to revive his wife and children so the school can continue.
• Liu Zheng promises to help and reassures him that he will provide an explanation even if he fails.
• Thirteen Yao brings Liu Zheng to the Massage Department’s Barrier Room, where more than a dozen male employees—including nonhuman beings—are assembled for a dangerous assignment.
• Liu Zheng is introduced as a new employee and as All Terminals’s nephew. His reputation for nearly incapacitating Shi Tiantian during his interview causes the others to tolerate his insufficiently respectful bow.
• The employees are ordered to wear black mourning clothes, symbolizing that their upcoming work may be fatal. Thirteen Yao offers substantial rewards: at least fifteen years’ salary in total, priority for promotion, and the possibility that Six Circles will become executive deputy minister if he survives.
• Motivated by the rewards, the employees set out under Six Circles’s leadership.
• They enter Laughing Old Man’s elevator, which grants them priority because they are serving distinguished guests. The elevator begins ascending, but Six Circles does not press a floor button, creating suspense about their destination.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: His exhaustion and psychological strain become increasingly apparent. He recognizes that maintaining his disguise and surviving the Bathhouse have pushed him close to madness, making One Bamboo’s kindness an important emotional anchor. Despite his cynical humor, he continues choosing to protect others and accepts responsibility for promises.
• One Bamboo: She remains skeptical of Liu Zheng’s motives, recognizing that his desire to help her is partly connected to Jingzi. Nevertheless, she is moved enough to wonder privately whether he is genuinely a good person.
• One-Shot Samurai: His commitment to justice is reinforced, but his desperation is also revealed. He wants Liu Zheng to revive his family both out of love and to preserve the remnants of his school.
• Thirteen Yao: He demonstrates authority and organizational skill, presenting himself as strict but fair. His leadership includes both harsh warnings and meaningful incentives, revealing how he manages workers in a deadly institution.
• Six Circles: He is introduced as a powerful, respected deputy minister and the leader of the expedition. Though initially cautious about Liu Zheng’s arrogance, he quickly becomes accommodating once he learns Liu Zheng’s connections and dangerous abilities.

Significant Themes

• Goodness in a corrupt world: Liu Zheng’s desire to save others is presented as both moral responsibility and a means of preserving his own humanity.
• The conflict between ideals and history: The Heavenly Sound-Killing School’s decline shows that noble principles alone cannot guarantee survival. Institutions must adapt to the society and historical conditions around them.
• Survival versus morality: The Bathhouse rewards employees for risking death, turning personal ambition and financial need into incentives for extreme danger.
• Legacy and continuity: One-Shot Samurai’s attempt to revive his family and school reflects the desire to preserve values and traditions even after their original social foundation has disappeared.
• Performance and identity: Liu Zheng must constantly act, manipulate impressions, and control his behavior to survive. This prolonged performance threatens to destroy his sense of self.
• Institutional hierarchy: Titles, connections, promotion, and formal respect strongly shape interactions within the Bathhouse, often overriding personal judgments.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and One Bamboo exchange sarcastic banter that masks genuine concern and mutual dependence.
• Liu Zheng and One-Shot Samurai discuss morality, the collapse of righteous institutions, and the responsibility to preserve a dying legacy.
• Thirteen Yao treats Liu Zheng as both a subordinate and a valuable connection, publicly introducing him with enough status to secure the others’ cooperation.
• Six Circles and the other massage workers initially judge Liu Zheng’s etiquette, but their attitude changes after learning of his connection to All Terminals and his dangerous performance during recruitment.
• Thirteen Yao’s farewell bow and the employees’ response emphasize the grim possibility that the assembled workers may not return.

Chapter Summary: “Could This Be the Eighteenth Level of Hell?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The elevator carrying the Massage Department continues past the eighteenth floor before its display malfunctions and it plunges downward. The sudden drop terrifies and nauseates several technicians, prompting the unseen elevator operator—an elderly, mocking man—to ridicule them.
• The group arrives not in hell, but in an extravagant, festival-like area decorated with lanterns, gold leaf, sandalwood, and luxurious furnishings.
• They are met by Two Circles of the Service Club, a highly ranked and famously attractive employee. She and Six Circles exchange polite recognition and praise, while the Massage Department members openly stare at her figure.
• Liu Zheng accidentally reveals that Six Circles may soon become executive deputy director. Six Circles reprimands him, though he is clearly pleased by the compliment.
• Two Circles leads the group toward the residence or work area of Lord Da Chuanliu, warning them that they must remain together. Liu Zheng befriends Peaceful Hand, who explains the departmental hierarchy and clarifies that the Massage Department is handling Da Chuanliu, while the Service Club is primarily assigned to Lord Kunguna.
• Before entering a huge, lavish gate, Six Circles gives everyone time to compose themselves. The group is visibly terrified, while Liu Zheng remains unusually calm.
• One Bamboo opens a smaller side door to admit them. Liu Zheng learns from her that Wan Zi has gone to Kunguna’s side and may still be rescued if the current operation ends quickly.
• Liu Zheng declares that he intends to save Wan Zi, but Six Circles violently punches and threatens him for causing trouble. Liu secretly signals One Bamboo that he is fine despite the attack.
• One Bamboo and Two Circles exchange hostile, provocative remarks. Two Circles expresses interest in seducing Liu Zheng, while One Bamboo threatens her, implying that her powerful brother-in-law might help her kill Two Circles if necessary.
• One Bamboo takes over as guide, and Six Circles allows it. The group reaches a vast side hall containing an enormous obsidian bath filled with yellow, muddy water.
• The chapter ends as One Bamboo points out two ladders leading upward, with mysterious “people” climbing them.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains outwardly shameless, relaxed, and humorous despite the danger. His calmness contrasts sharply with the fear of the others. He also shows growing determination to save Wan Zi and appears to possess a hidden plan connected to his earlier promise to One Bamboo.
• Six Circles demonstrates authority, ambition, and ruthlessness. He is concerned with preserving the Massage Department’s reputation and controlling Liu Zheng, but he also shows political awareness by tolerating One Bamboo’s assistance and protecting the team’s discipline.
• One Bamboo reveals a stronger and more sinister side beneath her usual gentleness. Her concern for Wan Zi and willingness to confront Two Circles suggest genuine loyalty, while her confidence in Liu Zheng indicates that she believes he may accomplish the seemingly impossible.
• Two Circles is established as seductive, manipulative, and dangerous. She treats sexual attention as a weapon and appears to enjoy provoking One Bamboo, yet she is also highly confident in her status and abilities.
• Peaceful Hand acts as a friendly senior colleague. His conversation with Liu Zheng helps establish the departments’ relationships and hints that surviving this mission could create a powerful alliance around Six Circles.
• Wan Zi, though absent, becomes an important motivation for Liu Zheng and One Bamboo, as her transfer to Kunguna’s side places her in potential danger.

Significant Themes

• Fear beneath professional bravado: The team members try to maintain composure, but their physical reactions reveal how dangerous the assignment is.
• Power, status, and political ambition: Six Circles’ possible promotion shapes his behavior, while departmental rankings and alliances influence how characters interact.
• Loyalty and mutual dependence: The dangerous mission may forge lasting bonds among the Massage Department members, while One Bamboo’s concern for Wan Zi shows that personal loyalty can conflict with institutional orders.
• Appearance versus reality: The luxurious, festive surroundings conceal a threatening environment, and characters such as One Bamboo and Two Circles possess personalities very different from their surface appearances.
• Sexuality as manipulation and power: Two Circles uses seduction and physical allure as tools of control, while her exchanges with One Bamboo turn flirtation into open psychological warfare.
• Defiance and hidden plans: Liu Zheng’s apparent recklessness masks determination and possibly a larger strategy, especially regarding his promise to rescue Wan Zi.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Six Circles: Liu Zheng’s casual comments and determination repeatedly challenge Six Circles’ authority. Six Circles responds with both irritation and violence, but continues to tolerate him because of the mission.
• Liu Zheng and Peaceful Hand: Their joking conversation eases the team’s tension and establishes a tentative bond between them.
• Liu Zheng and One Bamboo: One Bamboo privately tells him about Wan Zi’s danger. Their brief exchange shows mutual trust, with Liu refusing to abandon Wan Zi and silently reassuring One Bamboo after being attacked.
• One Bamboo and Two Circles: Their interaction is openly antagonistic. Two Circles provokes One Bamboo with sexual and insulting remarks, while One Bamboo responds with cold threats, revealing a serious personal grudge.
• Six Circles and One Bamboo: Although Six Circles notices the connection between Liu Zheng and One Bamboo, he pragmatically allows her to guide the group.
• The Massage Department and the unknown host: The mocking voice from the elevator establishes that the group is entering an environment controlled by hostile, contemptuous figures, increasing the sense of danger before they meet the mysterious inhabitants of the enormous bath.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng and the Massage Department discover that the Service Club members have been transformed into grotesque mud creatures. The creatures still wear their uniforms and mechanically carry out their old duties, pouring boiling water into the bath while continuously contaminating it with mud and garbage.
• One Bamboo recognizes that nearly the entire Service Club has been lost; only she and Two Circles remain alive. She suggests that the mud people may be puppets of Lord Da Chuanliu.
• Liu Zheng reasons that Lord Da Chuanliu’s condition may be worse than before. Since the Service Club suffered an unusually high casualty rate, he warns that the Massage Department could also be wiped out if they do nothing.
• He proposes destroying the mud people, both to eliminate a possible threat and to provoke a conflict between Da Chuanliu’s benevolent and evil aspects.
• Six Circles distrusts Liu Zheng’s motives and strength. To ensure Liu Zheng is committed, he plants an aquatic grass blade in Liu Zheng’s heart, warning that it will drain him if Six Circles dies.
• Liu Zheng volunteers to test his strength by asking Six Circles to stand still and let him strike once. He then launches a serious attack with the Cleaver.
• Six Circles attempts to defend himself with his supernatural Threefold Grass Shield, but Liu Zheng’s Cleaver—later identified as the Self-Devouring Spirit—cuts through all three layers in one blow. Six Circles narrowly avoids decapitation and acknowledges Liu Zheng’s power.
• Liu Zheng advances toward the bath pool while the others watch, many of them already coveting his weapon and considering ways to cheat him out of it.
• At the pool, he confronts a mud creature that reveals itself as Three Bamboo, a former Service Club member. She tries to deceive him by claiming that one more bucket of water will restore her original form.
• One Bamboo recognizes the trap and prepares to rescue Liu Zheng with a magical Flower Card. Before she can act, Liu Zheng calmly splits Three Bamboo’s head and body in two, declaring that he will replace the contaminated water and packing her collapsing remains into the bucket.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates that he is far stronger and more calculating than the others assumed. Although he presents himself as cooperative and humble, he deliberately uses his attack on Six Circles to establish authority and intimidate potential challengers.
• He also shows a ruthless willingness to destroy former acquaintances once he determines that they are irredeemable or dangerous.
• Six Circles shifts from suspicion and hostility to reluctant respect. He remains wary of Liu Zheng, especially after seeing the Cleaver’s power, but accepts him as a valuable combatant and promises to recommend him for promotion.
• One Bamboo reveals genuine concern for Liu Zheng despite their limited relationship. Her willingness to use a treasured escape-and-rescue item for him contrasts with her earlier sorrow over Three Bamboo.
• One Bamboo’s relationship with Three Bamboo is shown to have been strained by jealousy and sarcastic remarks, yet One Bamboo still mourns her transformation and tries to prevent Liu Zheng from falling into her trap.
• The other Massage Department members move from dismissing Liu Zheng as a newcomer to fearing and envying him.

Significant Themes

• Survival over sentiment: The characters must prioritize survival, even when confronting former colleagues or friends who have become monsters.
• Transformation and loss of identity: The Service Club members retain their uniforms and fragments of their former behavior, but their bodies and minds have been reduced to grotesque, possibly puppet-like forms.
• Distrust and power politics: Liu Zheng’s unusual initiative makes the others suspect hidden motives, while his display of strength forces them to reconsider the power hierarchy.
• Weapon and wielder: The Cleaver appears vastly more powerful than Liu Zheng’s natural strength, raising questions about its true nature and whether it possesses a hidden identity or purpose.
• False hope and manipulation: Three Bamboo’s promise that she can be restored illustrates how corrupted beings exploit survivors’ sympathy.
• Institutional decay: The Service Club’s catastrophic losses suggest that Da Chuanliu’s condition is deteriorating and that the entire organization may be approaching collapse.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Six Circles engage in a tense negotiation over trust, loyalty, and strength. Their confrontation establishes a grudging partnership.
• One Bamboo challenges Liu Zheng’s plan and later attempts to save him, showing that she is both cautious and compassionate.
• Six Circles publicly recognizes Liu Zheng’s combat ability, indirectly legitimizing him before the rest of the department.
• The department members observe Liu Zheng with a mixture of fear, admiration, and greed, creating the possibility of future conflict over the Cleaver.
• Liu Zheng’s final exchange with Three Bamboo is deliberately one-sided: he ignores her plea, kills her without hesitation, and treats her remains as part of the bath-cleaning task.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng ignores Three Bamboo’s death and immediately focuses on survival and completing the mission. He rolls in the sludge to coat himself, apparently using it as protection against the mudmen and the bath’s toxin.
• Six Circles suspects Liu Zheng is acting irrationally and orders others to stop him, but Liu Zheng threatens them with Cleaver and insists that Six Circles honor his promise to let him handle the situation.
• Liu Zheng kills the remaining mudmen one by one. Each mudman repeats the same request—asking him to carry a bucket—before Liu cuts off its head and collects the resulting sludge.
• After defeating the mudmen, Liu discovers that the sludge has not visibly contaminated or transformed him. He then drinks all five buckets of muddy water, apparently testing its effects and strengthening the protective sludge coating his body.
• The technicians are horrified by his behavior and debate whether humans are naturally strange. They eventually rationalize Liu Zheng’s abnormality by assuming he is a powerful human hybrid.
• One Bamboo defends Liu Zheng when the Massage Department staff suggest stopping him. An argument nearly becomes a fight, but Six Circles suppresses the conflict with threats and orders everyone to let Liu continue.
• Liu asks whether he may physically attack Lord Da Chuanliu in order to force the damp toxin out. Six Circles gives permission.
• Liu climbs the ladder, knocks a mudman out of line, and sarcastically comments on the lack of workplace safety. He then takes Hachijo’s pill and dives into the main mud bath.
• Inside the bath, Liu reveals his tentacles and equips his various tools and protective items. The dense sludge presses against him and attempts to enter his body through every opening.
• The sludge he swallowed and smeared over himself hardens into protective layers, confirming Thirteen Yao’s secret method works. However, Cleaver’s attacks only cut the mud temporarily; the bath immediately repairs itself.
• Liu realizes he must locate Da Chuanliu’s true body rather than simply attack the surrounding sludge. Meanwhile, his internal protective sludge begins to be forced out and replaced by the bathwater. If this continues, he may be transformed into a mudman within three minutes.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng displays extreme fearlessness, improvisational skill, and grotesque practicality. He treats corpses, sludge, and bodily contamination as resources if they improve his chances of survival.
• His strange behavior becomes so unsettling that the other workers consider him more frightening than the spirit creatures around them. Despite appearing reckless, his actions are calculated experiments designed to test the bath’s dangers.
• Liu also reveals confidence in his abilities by openly challenging Six Circles and preparing to fight Da Chuanliu directly.
• Six Circles shifts between anger, suspicion, and reluctant trust. Although he could trigger the waterweed inside Liu Zheng and kill him, he hesitates, eventually allowing Liu to continue and taking responsibility for the outcome.
• One Bamboo emerges as Liu’s strongest defender. She recognizes that he is deliberately risking himself to test the danger and refuses to let the others interfere. Her own painful history with mixed heritage also gives her a skeptical view of the technicians’ “hybrid” explanation.
• The technicians are frightened and confused by Liu’s actions. Their attempts to explain him reveal their ignorance and prejudice, particularly their belief that hybrids naturally possess superior abilities.

Significant Themes

• Human strangeness versus monstrous strangeness: The chapter humorously suggests that humans may be more unpredictable and disturbing than supernatural creatures.
• Survival through adaptation: Liu repeatedly turns disgusting or dangerous materials into tools, using sludge as armor, food, and experimental protection.
• Trust and responsibility: Six Circles must decide whether to trust Liu’s judgment, while Liu demands that Six Circles honor the authority he granted him.
• Bureaucracy and workplace absurdity: The dangerous bathhouse operation is treated like a workplace with departments, seniority disputes, safety concerns, and internal politics, creating comic contrast with the extreme violence.
• Prejudice and identity: The technicians explain Liu’s abilities through assumptions about race and hybridity, while One Bamboo’s history exposes the cruelty and oversimplification behind those beliefs.
• Appearance versus intention: Liu looks insane and behaves repulsively, but his actions are purposeful and strategic.

Character Interactions

• Liu and Six Circles clash over control of the mission, with Liu using Cleaver and verbal pressure to prevent interference.
• One Bamboo repeatedly supports Liu and confronts the Massage Department workers who want to stop him.
• The technicians mock and speculate about Liu, eventually convincing themselves that his strangeness comes from hybrid ancestry.
• Six Circles ends the dispute between One Bamboo and the technician by threatening everyone involved, reinforcing his authority.
• Liu treats the mudmen as obstacles rather than individuals, cutting them down and even knocking one from the ladder when it refuses to let him pass.
• The chapter ends with Liu trapped inside the mud bath, racing to find Da Chuanliu’s true body before his protective sludge disappears and he is assimilated.

Chapter Summary

Plot and key events

• Liu Zheng struggles to locate Da Chuanliu’s true body while trapped in a vast pit of heavy, foul-smelling sludge.
• He uses the Secret-Peeking False Eye to detect an anomalous patch hidden beneath the mud, then devises a method of escape: wielding Cleaver like a propeller with his tentacles.
• As he moves backward through the sludge, he encounters seemingly immovable debris. Rather than trying to avoid it, Liu Zheng swallows the trash in his path, enduring severe abdominal pain and physical exhaustion.
• He eventually discovers Da Chuanliu as a giant, elderly Human Face, trapped beneath a fine fishing net and held in place by an anchor and chain. Da Chuanliu appears unable to speak and may be close to being corrupted into an evil god.
• Before Liu Zheng can fully reach him, the sludge begins assimilating his body. He consumes Hachijo’s medicinal pill, which expels the sludge and trash from his body and covers him in protective herbs.
• Liu Zheng learns through Da Chuanliu’s gestures that he must destroy the fishing net. With Cleaver’s serrated blade and True Damage, he cuts through the net while Da Chuanliu periodically sprays cleansing water from his nostrils to restore the pill’s failing protection.
• Liu Zheng tears the fishing net apart, freeing Da Chuanliu from that restraint. However, the anchor remains, and its chain proves completely impervious to Cleaver. The chapter ends with Liu Zheng believing he has reached the limit of what he can do.

Character developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates resourcefulness, endurance, and an unconventional willingness to exploit his abnormal body. He transforms Cleaver into a propeller, eats hazardous debris, and continues despite extreme pain and exhaustion.
• His practical, game-like thinking remains central: he treats the fishing net as an object with a “health bar,” trusts True Damage, and approaches the rescue like a boss battle.
• Liu Zheng’s motivation becomes clearer. Although he is indifferent to the destruction of the Night Parade Bathhouse, he wants to prevent harm to Little Wan, Yoko, and Jingzi, prompting him to help Da Chuanliu.
• Da Chuanliu is revealed to be helpless and severely restrained, unable to speak because the anchor forces their mouth shut. Despite this, they retain awareness and cooperate with Liu Zheng by using facial expressions and streams of water.
• Da Chuanliu shows irritation at the prospect of becoming a “stinking god,” suggesting pride, shame, or anger toward whoever or whatever is corrupting them.

Themes

• Ingenuity under pressure: Liu Zheng survives by turning ordinary tools and bodily abilities into unexpected solutions.
• Persistence and sacrifice: He knowingly endures pain, exhaustion, contamination, and possible assimilation to continue the rescue.
• Corruption and transformation: The sludge threatens to convert Da Chuanliu into an evil god, while also attempting to assimilate Liu Zheng.
• Communication beyond language: Because Da Chuanliu cannot speak, the two characters coordinate through gestures, water streams, and observation.
• The grotesque and the comedic: Horrific imagery—rotting sludge, trapped gods, and bodily transformation—is repeatedly undercut by Liu Zheng’s crude jokes and absurd commentary.

Character interactions

• Liu Zheng and Da Chuanliu form a temporary alliance despite being unable to communicate normally.
• Liu Zheng interprets Da Chuanliu’s nostril sprays as instructions and assistance, while Da Chuanliu studies and supports Liu Zheng’s unusual rescue method.
• Their cooperation culminates in the destruction of the fishing net, but the unbreakable anchor chain leaves Da Chuanliu’s ultimate freedom—and the rescue’s success—uncertain.

Chapter Summary: “Thinking with the Lower Body Was Faster”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng attempts to persuade Da Chuanliu to release him. When ordinary reasoning fails, he displays the cosplay outfit, Legendary Underwear, Amaterasu Omikami’s mark, and a Deadly Delivery slip to signal his connections and threaten future retaliation.
• Da Chuanliu responds by expelling a powerful double-helix column of water through their nostrils. Liu Zheng is swept upward from the bath and launched toward the ceiling.
• Outside, Deputy Minister Six Circles and the bathhouse technicians grow increasingly anxious after Liu Zheng exceeds the agreed time limit. They fear Da Chuanliu may become enraged and repeat a previous massacre of bathhouse employees.
• Six Circles leads the technicians into the hall to investigate. They spot Liu Zheng embedded in a chandelier, alive but afraid of heights. The technicians laugh, easing the tension.
• A bird-headed technician flies up and carries Liu Zheng down. Liu Zheng reveals that he tore apart the fishing net binding Da Chuanliu but could not remove the anchor in their mouth; Six Circles and the others must finish the job.
• Liu Zheng insists on leaving to rescue someone at Lord Kunguna’s location. Six Circles initially refuses, reminding him that he is still part of the team and that the task is incomplete.
• Liu Zheng tries to persuade the technicians with money and promises of drinks and entertainment. When Six Circles still refuses, Liu Zheng threatens him with the Cleaver and Boning Knife, creating a brief confrontation.
• The bird-headed technician mediates, and Liu Zheng apologizes with an extreme 120-degree bow. Six Circles is shocked by the gesture but ultimately removes the waterweed embedded in Liu Zheng’s body, allowing him to leave.
• The technicians joke that Liu Zheng owes them drinks and geishas. One Bamboo criticizes their crude priorities, while Liu Zheng quips that “lower-body” thinking at least makes them act quickly.
• One Bamboo questions whether Liu Zheng truly intends to go to Lord Kunguna. Liu Zheng insists that he has endured everything to gain the freedom to choose his own path. He then silences her by covering her mouth and orders her to guide him.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates resourcefulness, nerve, and stubborn determination. He uses intimidation, bribery, humor, and diplomacy as needed, while remaining committed to rescuing someone despite the danger.
• His actions reinforce that he values promises deeply. He is willing to sacrifice his dignity—bowing extraordinarily low—to honor his word and secure freedom of movement.
• Da Chuanliu remains largely unreadable and terrifyingly powerful. Their decision to eject rather than kill Liu Zheng suggests that his threats or displayed symbols made some impression.
• Six Circles is shown as authoritarian and hostile but not entirely unreasonable. He initially enforces workplace rules, yet ultimately allows Liu Zheng to leave after removing the waterweed himself.
• The technicians shift from fear to camaraderie once Liu Zheng emerges alive. Their willingness to joke with him shows that he has earned a place among them, despite being a newcomer.
• One Bamboo becomes increasingly concerned about Liu Zheng. Her reluctance to use the Flower Card may reflect fear that she would only retrieve his corpse, revealing an attachment she does not openly acknowledge.

Significant Themes

• Freedom and personal choice: Liu Zheng argues that surviving hardship has earned him the right to decide his own actions.
• Promises and honor: His extreme apology demonstrates that promises matter more to him than pride or dignity.
• Power and negotiation: The chapter contrasts physical strength with social maneuvering, threats, bribery, and symbolic authority.
• Camaraderie amid danger: Shared peril, humor, and promises of drinking create solidarity among the technicians.
• Fear versus courage: The characters are terrified of Da Chuanliu, but collective action and Six Circles’s leadership allow them to confront the danger.
• Crude humor as tension relief: Jokes about drinking, geishas, and “thinking with the lower body” lighten an otherwise deadly situation.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Da Chuanliu engage in a silent contest of threats and recognition, with Liu Zheng relying on religious and supernatural symbols.
• Six Circles and the technicians argue over whether to enter the bath, revealing both fear of Da Chuanliu and pressure to fulfill their duties.
• Liu Zheng quickly bonds with the bird-headed technician through politeness, humor, and promises of drinks.
• Liu Zheng and Six Circles clash over authority, duty, and freedom, but their conflict ends in a grudging release rather than violence.
• One Bamboo acts as both a concerned companion and a skeptical guide. Her teasing exchanges with Liu Zheng show growing familiarity, while his physically silencing her highlights their combative, intimate dynamic.