Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng chooses three backup items for his upcoming fishing attempt:
  • Empowerment Golden Needle, which grants the maker’s massage skills for one massage.
  • Super-Large Blood Gem, useful for restoring Blood Quality or enhancing weapons, though Liu currently has no use for either function.
  • Gold Champion Medal, a rare Fine-quality item that may eventually help him advance his citizen rank.
• He reflects on the value of Si Xue’s favors, realizing that her assistance is more valuable than any discarded treasure. When he jokingly offers himself as bait, Si Xue takes him literally, kicks him into the lake, and hooks him in the rear.
• Liu discovers that the lake is warm, sulfurous, extremely dark beyond a short distance, and inhabited by strange “fish” or entities. He activates the Enhanced Heart of the Ocean pendant to improve his survivability.
• Rather than waiting passively for something to bite him, Liu decides to swim around and hunt for potential targets. He hears several bizarre voices, including:
  • Two cats apparently insulting each other.
  • A powerful, Fahai-like Buddhist exorcist chanting against demons.
  • SpongeBob and Patrick-like figures, whom Liu avoids because of the danger associated with gag-character logic.
• He eventually returns to the sounds of the cats and discovers that they are enormous, supernatural versions of a Black Tabby and a Silver Shaded fighting underwater.
• Liu initially considers helping one side and then betraying it, but notices that both cats’ relaxed eyes and body language suggest their fight may be staged or playful rather than genuine.
• He abandons his weapons, claims that he has come to “join” them, and identifies himself as an employee sent by Si Xue to fish.
• The cats reveal that Liu is not the fisherman but their intended prey. They accuse him of lying about receiving a special benefit and attack him together.

Character Development

• Liu Zheng continues to display pragmatism, opportunism, and strong survival instincts. He carefully weighs the value of physical items against Si Xue’s future favors and avoids spending resources unnecessarily.
• His willingness to use himself as bait highlights both his bizarre sense of humor and his confidence in his defensive abilities, particularly the combination of the sapphire pendant and Flesh Rebirth.
• Liu also shows improved observational skills. He listens carefully in the darkness, analyzes the cats’ pupils and posture, and recognizes that their apparent battle does not match their emotional signals.
• Despite his cleverness, his habit of trying to manipulate dangerous beings leaves him vulnerable when the cats see through his intentions.
• Si Xue remains domineering and teasing, but she also treats her promise to fulfill Liu’s requests seriously. Her willingness to help is valuable enough that Liu chooses not to waste it on retrieving the fishhook.
• The two supernatural cats are introduced as intelligent, powerful, and coordinated. Their apparent quarrel may have been an act designed to lure an outsider closer.

Significant Themes

• Resource management and calculated risk: Liu constantly evaluates whether items, abilities, and favors are worth using, emphasizing the value of long-term survival over short-term gains.
• Deception and perception: The chapter repeatedly contrasts appearances with reality. The apparent fight between the cats, Liu’s carefully worded “truth,” and the strange voices in the lake all demonstrate the danger of taking things at face value.
• Absurdity and genre parody: The lake contains references to familiar fantasy, religious, cartoon, and supernatural figures. Liu’s practical reactions to these absurd encounters create much of the chapter’s humor.
• Survival through adaptability: Liu cannot rely solely on strength, so he uses observation, cautious movement, strategic deception, and knowledge of his own defensive abilities.
• Power hierarchies and status: Liu’s thoughts about citizen ranks and rare medals show his growing awareness that social status in Metropolis may be as important as combat strength.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Si Xue: Their exchange is sarcastic and adversarial. Liu tries to avoid wasting Si Xue’s favor, while she mocks his unusual priorities and forcibly turns his joke about becoming bait into reality.
• Liu and the lake’s inhabitants: He repeatedly hears dangerous or bizarre entities and chooses avoidance over unnecessary confrontation.
• Liu and the two cats: He first observes their battle from a distance, then considers exploiting whichever side wins. After realizing they may be pretending, he attempts to present himself as a cooperative participant. The cats instead expose his lie and attack him together, ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng encounters the Black Tabby and Silver Shaded, two powerful cat-like exhibits in Treasure Lake. He prevents them from attacking him by showing them a single-use Tindalos Chew Toy, though he avoids using it because it could indiscriminately destroy everyone nearby.
• He tries to distract and manipulate the cats with dried fish from his inventory. The cats initially threaten to kill him for it, but Liu Zheng convinces them that they can obtain better food and entertainment outside Treasure Lake.
• The Silver Shaded becomes interested in meeting Liu Zheng’s cat companions, especially the Calico Cat. The Black Tabby reacts possessively and humorously discusses taking both the Calico Cat and the male Black Cat as companions, showing the cats’ unconventional attitudes toward gender and relationships.
• Liu Zheng proposes bringing the two cats out of the lake. The Black Tabby pretends the idea was hers, but both cats suddenly attack him anyway, crushing his tentacles and breastbone.
• The attack causes Liu Zheng’s blood to attract numerous aquatic exhibits. He quickly pulls on Si Xue’s fishing line and escapes the lake with the two cats while a swarm of hostile creatures converges below.
• Outside the lake, Liu Zheng regenerates his damaged body. The cats’ original forms become a black laser pointer and a silver bell collar, but neither item initially receives a system description.
• Si Xue explains that the cats have followed Liu Zheng without truly recognizing him. Until they acknowledge him, they exist in an unstable state between living beings and items. Their spiritual nature will gradually fade outside Treasure Lake and disappear entirely beyond Metropolis.
• Si Xue identifies the abilities of the two objects: the laser pointer can attack or control enemies, while the bell collar is a reusable or single-use summoning item.
• Liu Zheng prepares to leave, but Si Xue stops him, implying that she has another matter to address.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates his usual resourcefulness and shameless bargaining. He relies on dried fish, promises of freedom, and descriptions of the Sewer to persuade the cats, though his plan still ends with him being badly injured.
• He remains pragmatic about suffering and reputation, accepting physical pain as preferable to death. He also refuses to be overly concerned about rumors that he is the Legendary Deliveryman’s illegitimate son.
• Liu Zheng gains two potentially powerful allies or items but realizes that their survival depends on earning their genuine loyalty and maintaining their spiritual nature.
• The Black Tabby is established as proud, domineering, suspicious, and strongly concerned with her status as “boss” or “king.” Despite her arrogance, she is tempted by dried fish, freedom, and the possibility of meeting other cats.
• The Silver Shaded is more obedient, impulsive, and socially curious than the Black Tabby. He readily supports Liu Zheng’s proposal and eagerly wants to meet the Calico Cat and Black Cat, though he is intimidated by his superior.
• Si Xue continues to act as Liu Zheng’s powerful and sardonic superior. She rescues him, mocks his tendency to create chaos, and provides crucial information about the cats and their abilities.

Significant Themes

• Freedom versus survival: The cats may gain freedom by leaving Treasure Lake, but doing so threatens their existence. Their decision raises the question of whether a short period of freedom is worth sacrificing a more stable but repetitive life.
• Loyalty and recognition: The cats’ powers depend on whether they genuinely acknowledge Liu Zheng, emphasizing that true allegiance cannot be obtained merely through bargains or coercion.
• Resourcefulness and manipulation: Liu Zheng repeatedly survives by exploiting food, curiosity, and the cats’ boredom rather than overpowering them directly.
• Identity and inheritance: Si Xue connects Liu Zheng to the Legendary Deliveryman through their shared humanity, troublemaking tendencies, disguise, and delivery box. Liu Zheng rejects the rumors but recognizes that others will judge him by this association.
• Humor amid danger: Violent confrontations, regeneration, and existential risks are repeatedly undercut by absurd jokes about cat pride, dried fish, romance, and the cats’ casual attitudes toward relationships.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng attempts to control the Black Tabby and Silver Shaded through playful negotiation, calling them “good kitties” and using dried fish as leverage.
• The Black Tabby dominates the Silver Shaded, striking him when he shows too much enthusiasm and insisting on maintaining her authority.
• The Silver Shaded is impressed by Liu Zheng’s cat companions and eagerly seeks introductions, while the Black Tabby treats the situation as an opportunity to claim them for herself and her subordinate.
• Liu Zheng and Si Xue maintain a teasing but hierarchical relationship. He flatters her whenever necessary, while she criticizes his recklessness and compares him unfavorably with the legendary figure whose legacy he appears to have inherited.
• The chapter ends with Si Xue preventing Liu Zheng from leaving, suggesting that his escape and acquisition of the cats are not yet the end of the matter.

Chapter Summary

Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng notices Si Xue is barefoot and nervously worries that she may force him to lick her feet—or something worse. He flatters her by suggesting she needs several pairs of shoes, and she makes him remove her shoes before dismissing him.
• After Liu Zheng leaves, Si Xue stamps a golden Magatama onto Sukuna’s forehead and freezes him beneath a layer of tea.
• The Lake God confronts Si Xue for allowing Liu Zheng, who is not an Outstanding Employee, to fish in Treasure Lake. Si Xue intimidates and verbally attacks him, defending Liu Zheng and reminding the Lake God that her treasures helped him gain spirituality and improve his status.
• The Lake God argues that Treasure Lake must be managed according to his agreement with the Restaurant. Si Xue counters that she is effectively his boss and threatens him until he gives her unrestricted permission to fish there.
• Si Xue forces the Lake God to remain as an audience while she calls a rival “birdwoman.” The two exchange vicious insults, but Si Xue ultimately provokes her by boasting that she possesses Sukuna’s head and Amaterasu’s mark. The rival hangs up, leaving Si Xue delighted.
• Si Xue orders Napoleon to prepare Liu Zheng’s requested item and send her a special-grade bird feast. She briefly considers calling someone else to brag to, but instead returns to roasting sweet potatoes.
• Liu Zheng arrives at the Kitchen to retrieve the requested materials. White-Feather Chicken explains that most staff are unloading cargo and sends Calico Cat to help him.
• Liu Zheng briefly interacts affectionately with Calico Cat, who recognizes his scent and eagerly asks to be hugged.
• Calico Cat leads Liu Zheng to cold-storage cabinet 6238, where they retrieve the frozen corpse of a Wood Elf royal. The elf appears mostly human but has antler-like hair, pointed ears, and a vine necklace with its pendant setting empty—likely where the Epoch Acorn once rested.
• Liu Zheng worries that the Wood Elf might revive, but Calico Cat assures him that the corpse is fully dead and will remain frozen outside the Kitchen’s specialized thawing system.
• Calico Cat pulls the corpse drawer from the cabinet, causing it to crash loudly, and prepares to help Liu Zheng collect the remaining items.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains cautious and easily intimidated by Si Xue, but he also shows confidence and humor when dealing with the Kitchen staff. His fondness for Calico Cat becomes evident, though he struggles to resist cuddling it.
• Si Xue is shown to be domineering, shamelessly foul-mouthed, and highly protective of her authority. She fiercely defends Liu Zheng, manipulates the Lake God through intimidation, and enjoys provoking powerful rivals. Beneath her arrogance, she appears proud of Liu Zheng and eager to show off her accomplishments.
• The Lake God is established as powerful but submissive when confronted by Si Xue. Although he insists on rules and administrative authority, his fear of losing his personality and status makes him yield.
• Calico Cat displays a contrast between laziness and professional competence. It acts spoiled and affectionate with Liu Zheng but becomes reliable and efficient when carrying out Kitchen duties.
• White-Feather Chicken remains blunt and practical, managing the Kitchen’s logistics while delegating Liu Zheng’s errand.

Significant Themes

• Authority and hierarchy: Si Xue constantly asserts dominance over the Lake God, the Restaurant’s systems, and her rivals, showing that power depends as much on personality and leverage as on raw strength.
• Rules versus personal influence: The Lake God invokes formal agreements, but Si Xue’s connections, contributions, and intimidation allow her to bypass or redefine those rules.
• Personality as power and vulnerability: The Lake God’s fear that his personality could be erased suggests that developing individuality makes powerful beings more emotionally vulnerable.
• Dark humor and absurdity: Threats involving corpses, demons, divine relics, and dangerous artifacts are treated alongside mundane concerns such as buying shoes, roasting sweet potatoes, and petting a cat.
• Possession and status: Si Xue’s boast about obtaining rare artifacts demonstrates how valuable objects function as symbols of prestige and tools for humiliating rivals.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Si Xue: Their exchange is flirtatious, coercive, and comedic. Liu Zheng obeys Si Xue nervously, while she enjoys teasing and ordering him around.
• Si Xue and the Lake God: Their confrontation is a battle of authority. Si Xue overwhelms him verbally and physically, forcing him to acknowledge her superiority and permit her activities.
• Si Xue and the birdwoman: Their phone call consists of mutual insults and competitive boasting, revealing a long-standing rivalry among powerful figures.
• Liu Zheng and Calico Cat: Their interaction is affectionate and playful. Calico Cat openly seeks his attention, while Liu Zheng enjoys treating it like a pet despite its role as a capable Kitchen worker.
• Liu Zheng and White-Feather Chicken: Their relationship is casual and cooperative, with the chef trusting Liu Zheng enough to send him to retrieve rare and dangerous materials.

Chapter Summary: “Cow-Horse’s Real Father?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng and Calico Cat search the Bloodstained Restaurant’s cold storage for an ingredient. Using Calico Cat’s observation that the boss lingered longest near cabinet 6385, Liu Zheng selects that drawer.
• Inside is the corpse of an enormous, scarred Bullfighting Cow-Horse—a multiple-time champion from the same 103 Breeding Farm associated with Cow-Horse’s origins.
• White-Feather Chicken explains that the corpse may be related to Cow-Horse, possibly its father, grandfather, or another ancestor. The exact relationship is unknown.
• The corpse is identified as a Perfect-quality Champion Cow-Horse Corpse, an ingredient containing immense power. Although it currently has no effect, a skilled chef could turn it into a dish that greatly increases attributes. It can also be taken out of the dungeon.
• Liu Zheng realizes he must choose between:
  • Returning the corpse to Cow-Horse, who may be related to it, or
  • Keeping it for himself and using it to gain powerful attribute enhancements.
• After considering his growing need for strength, Liu Zheng decides to take the corpse. Calico Cat promises to keep his secret, though she admits she may feel somewhat unhappy if Cow-Horse is denied it.
• Calico Cat agrees to deal with two troublesome cats Liu Zheng previously captured, relying on help from her master, the Human Face. Liu Zheng promises to ensure she continues receiving dried fish.
• Liu Zheng brings the champion corpse to Cow-Horse under the pretense of repaying him for another corpse he had used to help the Cemetery caretaker.
• Cow-Horse initially dismisses the news, but becomes furious when he realizes the corpse is that of another Cow-Horse. The chapter ends with him rising in rage and threatening Liu Zheng.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng is placed in a serious moral and practical dilemma. He recognizes the corpse’s enormous value but also understands its possible emotional importance to Cow-Horse. His decision to keep it reveals that survival and gaining strength are becoming increasingly important to him.
• Calico Cat demonstrates loyalty, innocence, and emotional intelligence. She understands Liu Zheng’s dilemma, agrees to protect his secret, and reassures him that their friendship will survive even if she is disappointed. She also shows confidence in handling the two captured cats.
• White-Feather Chicken remains calculating and sarcastic. It appears to have deliberately allowed Liu Zheng access to the corpse, possibly to test him or create an entertaining conflict. Its comments suggest it understands the consequences of Liu Zheng’s choice.
• Cow-Horse is revealed to be deeply possessive and easily angered, especially when he believes Liu Zheng is withholding something valuable. His fierce reaction to the corpse hints that the possible family connection may matter to him, even though he does not yet know the full truth.
• The Human Face continues to act as Calico Cat’s silent, intimidating protector and master.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty versus self-interest: Liu Zheng must decide whether friendship and possible family ties outweigh the enormous personal benefits of the corpse.
• Moral ambiguity: The corpse is both a powerful ingredient and potentially the remains of Cow-Horse’s ancestor, forcing Liu Zheng to view it as more than an ordinary resource.
• Trust and secrecy: Liu Zheng depends on Calico Cat and potentially White-Feather Chicken to keep the discovery hidden from Cow-Horse.
• Power and survival: The promised attribute increase is especially important because Liu Zheng’s current strength relies heavily on the Legendary Disguise, which may no longer be sufficient against stronger enemies.
• Family and identity: The discovery raises questions about Cow-Horse’s origins and whether the champion corpse is his biological father or another close relative.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng playfully manipulates and praises Calico Cat to identify the likely cabinet, strengthening their affectionate friendship.
• White-Feather Chicken warns Liu Zheng about the corpse’s value and mocks him while effectively forcing him to confront the ethical choice.
• Calico Cat offers emotional support and promises not to betray Liu Zheng, while admitting that Cow-Horse’s possible loss would still make her unhappy.
• Liu Zheng asks White-Feather Chicken for assistance transporting the heavy corpse and flatters it into helping.
• Liu Zheng prepares Cow-Horse gradually for the revelation, first mentioning ordinary corpses and then revealing that the second is a Bullfighting Cow-Horse champion.
• Cow-Horse’s reaction shifts from indifference to explosive fury, setting up a confrontation over the corpse and its possible connection to his own lineage.

Chapter Summary: “Cow-Horse Didn't Deserve That Beating”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng brings Champion Cow-Horse’s corpse back to Cow-Horse, revealing that he came from 103 Breeding Farm. Cow-Horse recognizes him as its father and orders Liu Zheng to bring the body inside.
• Cow-Horse realizes that Napoleon the White-Feather Chicken had used its father’s corpse to manipulate or torment it. Although angry, Cow-Horse decides to give its father a proper burial rather than let Liu Zheng eat the body.
• Cow-Horse names its father Niu Dafa and imagines establishing a multigenerational family that will no longer be treated as livestock with serial numbers, but as legitimate citizens of Metropolis.
• Liu Zheng advises Cow-Horse to focus first on building a strong family and social position; only then will it be able to help the other Cow-Horses still trapped in the breeding farm. He also jokingly offers to help destroy 103 Breeding Farm in the future.
• Cow-Horse transports Niu Dafa’s body toward the Kitchen, initially forgetting that the body requires two carts.
• Liu Zheng then delivers a Wood Elf Royal Family corpse to French Plane Tree as payment. Before it can secure the corpse, a mutated creature from the Sewer attacks and swallows it.
• French Plane Tree instantly kills the monster by impaling it with roots and stripping its flesh away with its leaves, leaving only bones.
• French Plane Tree warns Liu Zheng that the corpse contains such immense life force and natural power that consuming it could cause a forced evolution into a Tree Demon or another powerful form.
• French Plane Tree hesitates over whether to consume the corpse, while Liu Zheng impatiently waits for it to provide a coffin for Niu Dafa. The chapter ends with French Plane Tree considering creating another tree of its kind.

Character Developments

• Cow-Horse shifts from furious resentment to grief, tenderness, and hope after seeing its father’s corpse. It develops a new sense of identity, imagining itself as the founder of a true family rather than merely a product of a breeding farm.
• Cow-Horse also begins thinking beyond personal survival. It remains troubled by the fate of the other Cow-Horses, though Liu Zheng persuades it that long-term strength and family prosperity may be the most practical way to help them.
• Liu Zheng displays unusual compassion by returning the corpse instead of allowing it to be eaten, while still maintaining his irreverent, pragmatic humor. He supports Cow-Horse emotionally but refuses to become overly sentimental.
• Liu Zheng’s confidence and resourcefulness are emphasized by his acquisition of a rare Wood Elf Royal Family corpse and his willingness to trade it for other necessities.
• French Plane Tree is shown to be immensely powerful and fiercely protective of its territory and possessions. Despite its arrogance and insults, it cares about Liu Zheng’s safety and warns him about the dangers of displaying valuable goods.
• French Plane Tree also faces a significant personal dilemma: consuming the corpse could trigger an unpredictable evolution, forcing it to choose between growth and maintaining control over its current form.

Significant Themes

• Family and belonging: Cow-Horse’s imagined family transforms its father’s death into the foundation of a new identity and lineage.
• Freedom versus exploitation: The breeding farm represents a system that reduces living beings to livestock and serial numbers. Cow-Horse’s dream is to reclaim personhood and citizenship.
• Individual survival versus collective responsibility: Liu Zheng argues that one must first become strong enough to protect oneself and one’s family before helping an oppressed population.
• Grief and ritual: Cow-Horse’s plans for a coffin, tombstone, anniversaries, and future generations show how burial customs create memory and dignity.
• Power and transformation: The Wood Elf corpse represents extraordinary power, but consuming it may come with the dangerous cost of involuntary evolution.
• Humor amid tragedy: Sarcastic exchanges and absurd situations—such as Cow-Horse choosing the name Niu Dafa and Liu Zheng joking about perversion—soften the chapter’s darker themes without eliminating their emotional weight.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse share a rough but loyal friendship. Liu Zheng teases Cow-Horse and gives blunt advice, while Cow-Horse threatens him but ultimately listens.
• Cow-Horse’s interaction with its father is mostly one-sided, yet deeply emotional: seeing the corpse allows it to acknowledge a family connection it never previously possessed.
• Liu Zheng and French Plane Tree continue their antagonistic trading relationship, filled with insults, threats, and mutual dependence.
• French Plane Tree’s immediate warning allows Liu Zheng to evade the Sewer creature, demonstrating that beneath their verbal hostility, they trust and protect one another.
• Their argument over the Wood Elf corpse highlights their contrasting personalities: Liu Zheng is casual and opportunistic, while French Plane Tree is cautious, proud, and intensely aware of the corpse’s value.

Chapter Summary: “French Plane Tree: No Matter How Big It Gets, It’s Not Bigger Than Me”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng discovers that the French Plane Tree did not drain the life force of the trees along Rose Street; it only removed their excess spirituality and natural power. The tree had done this to prevent itself from overflowing while ensuring that no rival intelligent trees emerged.
• The French Plane Tree explains that creating another intelligent tree is dangerous. A second tree spirit could compete for Rose Street’s resources, especially because the street’s trees are public property and might attract outside factions seeking control.
• Liu Zheng offers the unconscious Ginseng Baby, Yuan Bao’er’s gift, as a possible vessel for absorbing the spirituality of a Wood Elf Royal Family corpse. The Ginseng Baby escapes immediately, but the French Plane Tree captures it with its roots.
• The tree decides that the Ginseng Baby has sufficient spirituality but a weak foundation. If it evolves into a tree spirit, the French Plane Tree may eventually consume it; otherwise, it may keep the creature as a useful subordinate.
• After being told to leave Rose Street for ten minutes, Liu Zheng returns and receives a black coffin containing the Wood Elf corpse. He notices that the coffin is made from the French Plane Tree’s own trunk, revealing that the tree sacrificed part of itself despite its injuries.
• Concerned that the tree will be vulnerable while absorbing the corpse and evolving toward becoming a Phoenix, Liu Zheng arranges protection. He summons Nile Doctor, Niu Daji, and Guokou Tangzi’s group.
• Liu Zheng recruits Guokou Tangzi and the Ultimate Flavor Group as additional bodyguards by mentioning the rare ingredients and resources controlled by the French Plane Tree.
• Niu Daji arrives in inherited armor, while Guokou Tangzi comes with the Onion-Ginger-Garlic-Pepper Quartet, all dressed in a heavily armed samurai-style formation.
• Liu Zheng leaves Rose Street with the coffin, while Nile Doctor and Guokou Tangzi’s group remain behind to protect the French Plane Tree.
• After Liu Zheng departs, Guokou Tangzi begins speaking with Nile Doctor and hesitantly prepares to explain why her group has never sought treatment at his nearby clinic.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to act as a clever mediator and opportunist. He takes advantage of the French Plane Tree’s pride but also shows genuine concern by arranging protection and preserving its chance to evolve.
• French Plane Tree reveals greater vulnerability beneath its arrogance. It has sacrificed part of its trunk to create the coffin and fears losing control of Rose Street while weakened. Nevertheless, it remains boastful, territorial, and determined to maintain its status as the street’s dominant power.
• The Ginseng Baby is established as timid, instinctive, and difficult to control. Its great spirituality makes it useful, but its lack of foundation limits its potential.
• Nile Doctor remains sarcastic and practical, but readily agrees to protect Liu Zheng’s ally.
• Niu Daji demonstrates loyalty and eagerness to serve, immediately treating the French Plane Tree as an important boss.
• Guokou Tangzi shows her group’s adaptability and business sense. She first discusses acquiring Ultimate Flavor Restaurant, then quickly reframes protection as a personal obligation when Liu Zheng mentions valuable resources.
• The Ultimate Flavor Group is portrayed as disciplined and professional despite losing its former name and status.

Significant Themes

• Power and territorial control: The French Plane Tree’s dominance over Rose Street depends not only on strength but also on public ownership, political interests, and control of resources.
• Sacrifice and vulnerability: The tree’s use of its own trunk for the coffin exposes the cost of its evolution and contrasts with its constant claims of superiority.
• Alliance and obligation: Liu Zheng gathers protection through a mixture of friendship, manipulation, and mutually beneficial exchange. Relationships in this world are both emotional and transactional.
• Pride versus dependence: The French Plane Tree insists it needs no help, yet accepts protection from Liu Zheng and his allies while preparing for a dangerous transformation.
• Comedic inversion: A supposedly powerful tree spirit is repeatedly bullied and negotiated with by Liu Zheng, while the timid Ginseng Baby becomes a valuable supernatural asset.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and the French Plane Tree bicker constantly, with Liu Zheng mocking its arrogance and the tree responding with threats and insults. Despite this, their exchanges reveal mutual trust and concern.
• Liu Zheng uses the possibility of burning the coffin to stop the tree from attacking him, demonstrating how well he understands its priorities.
• He introduces Niu Daji to the French Plane Tree as a subordinate and presents the tree as “Lord Dai Lego,” reinforcing its pride while establishing Niu Daji’s role as a guard.
• Guokou Tangzi and Liu Zheng discuss the purchase of Ultimate Flavor Restaurant and the delayed plan to attack Jorden Family properties.
• Liu Zheng recruits the Ultimate Flavor Group as bodyguards by appealing to their interest in Rose Street’s rare resources.
• Nile Doctor and Guokou Tangzi begin forming a professional relationship, though her hesitation suggests the group may have avoided his clinic for a humorous or embarrassing reason that is revealed in the next chapter.

Chapter Summary: “This Costs Extra”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Guokou Tangzi confronts the Nile Doctor about Ultimate Flavor Restaurant’s former signature dish, Mummy Medicinal Soup, which used mummies as ingredients.
• The Nile Doctor reacts violently, cracking the ground and surrounding himself with golden flames. The Onion-Ginger-Garlic-Pepper Quartet prepare to fight, but Tangzi orders them to stand down because the Nile Doctor is Liu Zheng’s friend.
• Tangzi clarifies that Ultimate Flavor Group never purchased the mummies; customers supplied them. She promises that the group will never treat Liu Zheng’s friends as food.
• The Nile Doctor agrees not to target the group as long as they stop using his people as ingredients. This allows Ultimate Flavor Group to safely seek medical treatment at the Imhotep Clinic.
• The French Plane Tree consumes the corpses of the Wood Elf Royal Family and the Ginseng Baby, disturbing everyone with the sound of its chewing.
• Meanwhile, Liu Zheng travels toward the Cemetery while speaking with the Deputy Minister. They discuss Sister Yoko, Minister Thirteen Yao, Granny Tang, and the complications surrounding Liu Zheng’s unofficial recruitment.
• Liu Zheng arrives at the Cemetery with the French Plane Tree’s coffin and meets the Gravekeeper, who has been waiting since Liu Zheng left.
• The Gravekeeper tests the coffin by climbing inside it, insisting that he feels safer during negotiations with the lid closed.
• Liu Zheng asks the Gravekeeper to help him obtain a burial plot. The Gravekeeper agrees, charging either three hundred thousand or nothing, implying that the free option would carry a hidden or greater cost.
• Liu Zheng pays the three hundred thousand and adds extra money as feed for Thin Horse. When he tries to pet the horse, Thin Horse stops him, humorously suggesting that even affection “costs extra.”
• Liu Zheng then asks for help finding the soul of a friend’s wife, who died by suicide and whose soul mysteriously disappeared.

Character Developments

• Guokou Tangzi demonstrates political judgment and loyalty to Liu Zheng. She prevents a confrontation, protects her subordinates, and carefully preserves her relationship with the Nile Doctor.
• The Nile Doctor remains deeply hostile toward those involved in exploiting mummies, but he shows restraint because of his friendship with Liu Zheng. He accepts Tangzi’s conditions and agrees to treat Ultimate Flavor Group.
• Ultimate Flavor Group shifts from fearing medical treatment to gaining access to a dependable clinic. Their relief also highlights their distrust of incompetent and profit-driven doctors.
• Liu Zheng continues to act quickly and decisively, traveling to the Cemetery almost immediately to fulfill his promise. He also reveals a strong sense of loyalty: he wants to repay kindness, take revenge promptly, and help a friend recover his wife’s soul.
• The Gravekeeper is shown as intimidating, eccentric, and deliberately difficult to read. His repeated questions and strange coffin-related behavior suggest both caution and a fondness for psychological games.
• Thin Horse appears intelligent and expressive, communicating through gestures and reinforcing the chapter’s recurring idea that everything—including kindness—may come at a price.

Significant Themes

• The cost of actions and favors: The title is reflected in the Gravekeeper’s ambiguous pricing, Thin Horse’s refusal to be petted without extra payment, and the broader suggestion that supernatural assistance always carries hidden costs.
• Loyalty and friendship: Liu Zheng’s connections protect Ultimate Flavor Group from the Nile Doctor, while Liu Zheng’s own loyalty motivates him to help an absent friend.
• Moral responsibility: Tangzi distinguishes between cooking mummies supplied by customers and directly purchasing them, attempting to limit the group’s culpability while promising not to repeat the practice.
• Power and negotiation: Violent conflict is avoided through reputation, alliances, and carefully worded promises rather than force.
• Death and the afterlife: The Cemetery, burial plots, vanished souls, and the Gravekeeper’s role establish a deeper mystery surrounding what happens to the dead in Metropolis.

Character Interactions

• Tangzi and the Nile Doctor negotiate a truce through their shared connection to Liu Zheng.
• Tangzi commands the Quartet to suppress their fear and hostility, establishing her authority over them.
• Liu Zheng flirts awkwardly with the Deputy Minister before shifting to practical concerns about her safety and Thirteen Yao’s recruitment.
• Liu Zheng and the Gravekeeper engage in a tense but comedic exchange, with Liu Zheng using sarcasm to cope with the Gravekeeper’s bizarre behavior.
• Liu Zheng attempts to show kindness to Thin Horse by offering feed money, but the horse humorously rejects physical affection as something that requires additional payment.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng asking the Gravekeeper to locate a missing soul, turning a routine burial request into a potentially much larger supernatural investigation.

Chapter Summary: “Cloud-Raising Dogs for the Big Shots”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng asks the Gravekeeper about Chihaya, Red Pig’s missing wife, hoping the Gravekeeper can locate her soul. The Gravekeeper searches both his own coffin and Red Pig’s grave but cannot find her, suggesting that Chihaya may have completely vanished.
• In exchange for the Gravekeeper’s help, Liu Zheng is given a revolver—but he is instructed to fire one shot at Red Pig and then return it.
• Liu visits Red Pig’s grave, using Cow-Horse as an insult to provoke Red Pig into emerging. He fires the revolver, and its supernatural bullet pierces Red Pig’s heart before returning to the gun.
• Red Pig attempts to counter with his own pistol, but his bullet is destroyed. Although wounded, he survives and quickly recovers.
• Liu claims he shot Red Pig out of revenge, while Red Pig suspects the shooting is connected to his commission to find Chihaya. Liu angrily defends his progress, insisting that he has only had a few days and is not powerful enough to solve such a disappearance instantly.
• Red Pig reluctantly apologizes. Despite his suspicions, he recognizes that Liu is probably trying to help and promises to reward him generously if he eventually finds Chihaya.
• Liu returns the revolver to the Gravekeeper. The Gravekeeper fires it at the skinny horse, who catches the bullet in its mouth. The Gravekeeper then orders the horse to search for Chihaya’s soul—or, failing that, her corpse.
• Liu secretly gives the horse extra money, hoping it will make a greater effort. The horse sets off to investigate.
• Before Liu leaves, the Gravekeeper forces him to accept another job: robbing or retrieving something from a grave. Liu initially refuses but gives in when the Gravekeeper points the revolver at him.
• The Gravekeeper explains that Liu was chosen because he is “useful,” reinforcing the idea that powerful beings in Metropolis treat him as a convenient servant or tool. Liu realizes that he has become a “cloud-raised dog” employed by the city’s influential figures.
• Liu also asks permission to transplant his French Plane Tree friend into the Cemetery so that the Gravekeeper can protect it while it evolves. The Gravekeeper agrees but warns that trees in the Cemetery can evolve only into a particular type of entity. The chapter ends before revealing what that type is.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: Demonstrates cleverness, nerve, and opportunism. He manipulates Red Pig through insults, exaggerates his frustration to avoid revealing the truth, and uses bribery to improve the horse’s search. At the same time, he becomes increasingly aware that his usefulness has made him vulnerable to exploitation by powerful figures.
• Red Pig: Initially appears enraged and suspicious, but he quickly recognizes Liu’s sincerity beneath the sarcasm. His anger softens into reluctant trust, and he remains hopeful that Liu will uncover Chihaya’s fate.
• The Gravekeeper: Remains calm, mysterious, and domineering. He cannot find Chihaya but still takes action by dispatching the skinny horse. He treats Liu as an expendable but useful agent and forces him into further service.
• The Skinny Horse: Acts as the Gravekeeper’s bizarre assistant and searcher. Its smug behavior and acceptance of Liu’s money add comic relief, while its mission may determine whether Chihaya’s soul or body can be recovered.

Significant Themes

• Hope versus despair: Liu avoids telling Red Pig that Chihaya may be completely gone, believing that giving him no hope is better than making him suffer through renewed disappointment.
• Power and exploitation: Liu’s growing usefulness attracts powerful beings who impose tasks on him. His “check-in spot” status comes with obligations, suggesting that influence in Metropolis is transactional and dangerous.
• Loyalty and hidden concern: Liu constantly pretends to be annoyed or indifferent, but his actions—seeking Chihaya, bribing the horse, and trying to reunite the couple even in death—show genuine concern.
• The limits of authority: Even the Gravekeeper cannot locate Chihaya, implying that her disappearance lies beyond ordinary supernatural power and may involve the Supreme Speaker or the Hell Game itself.
• Dark humor amid tragedy: Grave robbing, milk baths, supernatural gunshots, and sarcastic arguments balance the emotional weight of Chihaya’s disappearance and Red Pig’s grief.

Character Interactions

• Liu and the Gravekeeper negotiate through evasive answers and threats, with Liu trying to preserve his independence while the Gravekeeper repeatedly assigns him tasks.
• Liu and Red Pig exchange insults and accusations, but their argument reveals mutual dependence: Red Pig needs Liu’s investigation, while Liu benefits from Red Pig’s rewards and connections.
• The Gravekeeper and the skinny horse operate as an odd but effective team, with the horse serving as a supernatural tracker.
• Liu’s request to protect the French Plane Tree shows his expanding network of relationships and his desire to secure safe places for those he considers allies.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng consults the Gravekeeper about transforming the French Plane Tree into a more powerful form. The idea of evolving it into “Tree Demon Granny” is rejected because of the tree’s personality and appearance, though Liu Zheng notes it could instead become a dignified tree spirit.
• Liu Zheng purchases a special plant from the Cemetery to help the Nile Doctor’s daughter, Sesha, whose transformation into a Mummy left her mentally impaired. The Ghoul merchant provides the grotesque Deadman’s Brain Pulp, which the Gravekeeper burns and refines into the safer Deadman’s Brain Core.
• The Gravekeeper explains that the original Brain Pulp is parasitic and can overwrite the user’s personality, while the Brain Core improves intelligence gradually without destroying the user’s identity. For a Mummy, the process may take roughly one hundred years.
• After leaving the Cemetery, Liu Zheng discovers that something is wrong in Rose Street. He orders the truck back and finds the tree-protection group battling five black-armored humanoids.
• Liu Zheng intervenes by having the heavily armored truck charge into the fight. The attack forces the black-armored assailants to retreat, although they remain unharmed and highly agile.
• The defenders—including Niu Daji, the Nile Doctor, and the Ultimate Flavor Group—are mostly safe. The French Plane Tree, however, appears unconscious or incapacitated after complaining about the number of enemies.
• Liu Zheng confronts the attackers and learns they are assassins who recognize him as the Deliveryman from Bloodstained Restaurant. They reveal that someone has offered one million for his life.
• Instead of being intimidated, Liu Zheng mocks the low bounty and offers them three million to kill the person who hired them. The black-armored leader refuses and demands the corpse of a Wood Elf royal.
• Liu Zheng refuses, explaining that the corpse was assigned to him by Bloodstained Restaurant and delivered to the French Plane Tree. He insists that only the Restaurant’s owner can order him to surrender it, setting up a likely confrontation.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to show confidence, sarcasm, and aggressive resourcefulness. He is willing to bargain, threaten, or use overwhelming force, but he also demonstrates loyalty by protecting the French Plane Tree and helping the Nile Doctor’s daughter.
• The Gravekeeper is revealed as detached, intimidating, and highly knowledgeable. Despite his threatening manner, he assists Liu Zheng by neutralizing the Brain Pulp’s dangerous parasitic properties.
• The Nile Doctor is shown to care deeply about his daughter’s condition. His concern motivates Liu Zheng’s visit to the Cemetery.
• Niu Daji proves himself a loyal and capable subordinate, using his family’s heavy armor to withstand repeated attacks and proudly affirming that he did not want to embarrass Liu Zheng.
• The Ghoul merchant is hostile and greedy, provoking Liu Zheng during the transaction. Their mutual animosity becomes a source of comic tension.
• The French Plane Tree remains gluttonous, impulsive, and unreliable. Its apparent collapse after consuming or confronting too many enemies reflects its recurring tendency to overindulge and fail to learn from past mistakes.
• The black-armored leader emerges as a disciplined, powerful assassin who remains calm under pressure and possesses knowledge of Liu Zheng’s identity and affiliations.

Significant Themes

• Identity and preservation of personality: The Gravekeeper’s refinement of the Brain Pulp emphasizes that increasing intelligence is worthless if the subject loses its own mind and identity.
• Loyalty and responsibility: Liu Zheng protects his allies and refuses to surrender the Wood Elf royal corpse, honoring his obligations to Bloodstained Restaurant.
• Power and reputation: The assassins’ knowledge of Liu Zheng and the bounty on his life show that his reputation is growing, while Liu Zheng’s reaction demonstrates his refusal to be underestimated.
• Life, death, and transformation: The Cemetery, Mummies, Deadman’s Brain, and evolving monsters reinforce the chapter’s exploration of unnatural forms of life and the consequences of transformation.
• Comedy amid danger: Threatening encounters are repeatedly undercut by Liu Zheng’s sarcasm, the Ghoul’s grotesque behavior, the driver’s enthusiasm, and the Plane Tree’s foolishness.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and the Gravekeeper have a tense but familiar exchange, with Liu Zheng repeatedly testing the Gravekeeper’s patience while still relying on his expertise.
• Liu Zheng clashes comically with the Ghoul, trading insults and nearly provoking a fight, though the Gravekeeper prevents immediate violence.
• Liu Zheng supports Niu Daji and checks on the defenders after the battle, reinforcing his role as their leader.
• Liu Zheng and the black-armored leader engage in a verbal negotiation that quickly becomes a confrontation over the Wood Elf royal corpse.
• The chapter ends with both sides refusing to yield: the assassins demand their target, while Liu Zheng asserts Bloodstained Restaurant’s authority and prepares for further conflict.

Chapter Summary: “Heretics Are More Hateful Than Heathens”

Key Plot Points and Events

• A Black Armored Man secretly contacts his group, and Liu Zheng’s phone immediately receives a delivery order directing him to the Old District Slave Market. Liu realizes the order is a trap intended to lure him away, steal the Wood Elf Royal Family’s corpse, and claim the bounty on him.
• Liu exposes the group’s plan and reveals that he has identified their headquarters. He threatens to retaliate, though he is mainly using the threat to intimidate and stall them.
• The group’s leader, a priestess known as Cain’s Bride, emerges from the armor and offers Liu wealth, slave-purchasing privileges, and a personal relationship in exchange for the Wood Elf corpse.
• Liu learns that the corpse is intended as a sacrifice to Bloodhand Kane, a god of violence and war. The priestess explains that the Wood Elves worship Kane but are considered unworthy heretics, making their deaths especially valuable.
• Nile Doctor challenges the priestess’s religious logic, arguing that she has received no divine oracle and may be acting out of arrogance rather than loyalty. He further claims that taking the corpse away from the tree consuming it would insult his own god, Ra.
• Liu attempts to negotiate an alternative sacrifice. The priestess explains that ordinary slaughter has become insufficient to satisfy Kane, who now demands a sacrifice of greater rarity and “weight.”
• Liu proposes using intelligent monsters instead, particularly the yokai of Mount Oe and the surrounding Hundred Thousand Mountains. The priestess is tempted because yokai would be a novel and potentially more valuable sacrifice.
• The negotiation is interrupted when Liu’s allies arrive: members of the Bloodstained Restaurant, Bathhouse Street, and related groups. Their presence makes an attack against Liu impractical.
• Rather than fight, Cain’s Bride exchanges contact information with Liu and agrees to consider cooperating on the Mount Oe operation. She warns that she will eventually sacrifice Liu if he betrays her, while Liu jokes that his body and soul are already claimed by other powerful factions.
• The Black Armored Men withdraw from the area, leaving the conflict unresolved but temporarily defused.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates his growing influence, strategic cunning, and ability to manipulate dangerous groups through bluffing, negotiation, and social connections. He turns a planned ambush into a possible alliance.
• He also shows lingering guilt over the death of the editor security guard during the earlier Worm extermination operation, briefly wondering whether cooperation with the slave traders might have prevented it.
• Nile Doctor proves highly skilled at religious debate and psychological manipulation. By framing the priestess’s actions as arrogance and betrayal of her god, he destabilizes her confidence and protects the corpse.
• Cain’s Bride is portrayed as both fanatically devoted and pragmatic. Although she is willing to threaten Liu and commit atrocities for her god, she is also capable of negotiating when a better sacrifice becomes available.
• Niu Daji continues to support Liu’s performance, echoing his threats and helping maintain the illusion of overwhelming confidence.
• Liu’s allies reinforce his status as someone with extensive connections across Metropolis, including criminal, commercial, religious, and institutional networks.

Significant Themes

• Religious extremism and heresy: The chapter explores how believers can condemn members of their own faith as impure or unworthy. Cain’s Bride considers the Wood Elves worse than outsiders because they worship Kane incorrectly.
• Faith versus personal interpretation: Nile Doctor argues that, without a divine oracle, the priestess may be mistaking her own desires for divine will. The chapter questions whether religious leaders truly serve their gods or merely use religion to justify personal agendas.
• Pragmatism versus fanaticism: Liu approaches the corpse as a negotiable resource, while Cain’s Bride views it as spiritually priceless. Their opposing perspectives eventually meet when Liu offers the yokai as a more effective sacrifice.
• Power through connections: Liu survives not simply through strength but through alliances and reputation. His ability to summon powerful friends makes the Black Armored Men reconsider attacking him.
• Morality in a corrupt society: Violence, murder, slavery, and sacrifice are treated as ordinary transactions. The humor comes from Liu’s casual attitude toward these brutal practices and his ability to exploit the same system for his own ends.
• Manipulation and performance: Much of the chapter consists of bluffs, staged confidence, and verbal maneuvering. Liu and Nile Doctor win time by making their opponents believe they possess greater authority and resources than they may actually have.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and the Black Armored Man: Liu recognizes the trap behind the delivery order and mocks the group for failing to account for his vacation status.
• Liu Zheng and Cain’s Bride: Their exchange shifts from threats and attempted bribery to negotiation. Liu refuses to surrender the corpse but offers a potentially superior sacrificial target.
• Liu Zheng and Nile Doctor: They cooperate smoothly, with Liu providing the setup and Nile Doctor delivering the theological argument that undermines the priestess.
• Cain’s Bride and Nile Doctor: Their debate centers on divine authority. Nile Doctor accuses her of arrogance and betrayal, while she angrily defends her devotion to Bloodhand Kane.
• Liu Zheng and his arriving allies: The arrival of the Bloodstained Restaurant and Bathhouse Street forces the enemy to recognize that Liu is not isolated. Their informal, joking loyalty contrasts with the priestess’s rigid religious fanaticism.
• Liu Zheng and the priestess’s group: Although they remain enemies, they establish a possible future partnership against the Mount Oe yokai, leaving the chapter on an uneasy diplomatic note.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Liu Zheng thanks supporters from the Zhengzong Massage Clinic and the Yakuza Sento for gathering to protect the French Plane Tree and the Wood Elf Royal Family’s corpse.
• The two groups express their willingness to fight for him, since Liu Zheng previously saved Jingzi and helped their businesses. Their members begin discussing cooperation, as their different skills and personnel complement one another.
• Because the supporters can only stay until sunset, and Liu Zheng must eventually return to his food-delivery job, he realizes he cannot rely on them for permanent protection. The Nile Doctor’s group may also struggle against the black-armored attackers, who are likely to return better prepared.
• Liu Zheng briefly considers attacking the enemy’s hideout in the Slave Market, but rejects the idea because he does not know their numbers, resources, or current location. He refuses to risk the lives of those who came to help him.
• He notices a possible legal loophole: the attackers are not technically targeting the publicly protected tree, but are trying to excavate the black soil and remove the Wood Elf corpse. This leads him to seek official protection through the city government.
• Liu Zheng contacts Yoko and asks whether her brother-in-law, who works in City Hall’s Market Supervision Department, knows anyone in the Sanitation Bureau.
• Yoko introduces him to her older sister, Yuriko. After an initially tense and formal conversation, Liu Zheng explains the situation involving the tree and asks for help. Yuriko and her husband, Silver Wolf, are cautious because interfering with another department could jeopardize Silver Wolf’s career.
• Silver Wolf reveals that he works for the powerful Border Management Bureau and is competing for a deputy section chief position. Although he is more qualified than his rival, the rival has a powerful uncle—a deputy division chief—who may influence the promotion.
• Silver Wolf implies that he is looking for an alternative source of support or a way to protect his career, setting up a potential exchange of favors with Liu Zheng.

Character developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates responsibility and strategic restraint. Though he wants to eliminate the threat, he refuses to launch an uninformed attack that could endanger his allies.
• He also shows political awareness, recognizing that official protection may be more reliable than brute force and that relationships should be based on mutual benefit rather than forced repayment.
• Yinghu, Jinzi, and their communities reaffirm their loyalty to Liu Zheng. Their willingness to cooperate marks a growing alliance between the massage clinic and the bathhouse.
• Yoko acts as a bridge between Liu Zheng and City Hall, showing trust and gratitude toward him.
• Yuriko initially treats Liu Zheng formally and defensively, but becomes more open after he speaks honestly and refuses to pressure her into helping.
• Silver Wolf is introduced as capable but politically vulnerable. His career depends not only on merit but also on connections, highlighting his need for a strategic ally.

Significant themes

• Mutual aid and reciprocal relationships: Liu Zheng values cooperation in which both sides benefit, rather than one-sided repayment of favors.
• Strategy over recklessness: The chapter contrasts Liu Zheng’s violent impulse with his decision to gather information and use legal or political means.
• Institutional power and corruption: Promotions and authority in City Hall depend heavily on family connections, political influence, and the presence of long-lived species who occupy positions for extended periods.
• Public property and bureaucratic loopholes: Liu Zheng realizes that rules protecting the tree may not cover the corpse or soil beneath it, illustrating how exploiting loopholes is not unique to humans.
• Merit versus privilege: Silver Wolf’s qualifications may not be enough to defeat a rival backed by a powerful relative, exposing the unfairness of the bureaucratic system.
• Political independence: Liu Zheng avoids relying too heavily on the Anti-Slavery Faction or his own family’s political influence because he does not want to become trapped in complicated political obligations.

Character interactions

• Liu Zheng jokes with Jinzi about her family’s nearly identical appearances and restrains her surprisingly powerful playful punches, showing their comfortable and teasing relationship.
• Yinghu and Jinzi publicly pledge their groups’ support, while Liu Zheng acknowledges their practical limitations.
• Liu Zheng and Yoko speak casually, but their conversation quickly becomes a serious request for assistance.
• Liu Zheng’s bluntness with Yuriko creates tension, yet his refusal to demand help earns her respect. Their exchange develops into playful banter.
• Liu Zheng and Silver Wolf immediately establish a familiar, joking relationship through Liu Zheng’s insistence on calling him “brother-in-law,” despite not being related.
• Silver Wolf’s candid explanation of his career troubles suggests that his relationship with Liu Zheng may become mutually beneficial: Liu Zheng needs government protection, while Silver Wolf may need political or institutional assistance.

Chapter Summary: “City Hall Work, No Interference Allowed”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng contacts 4399 to ask whether Silver Wolf can transfer from the Market Supervision Bureau to the Border Management Bureau.
• 4399 initially questions Silver Wolf’s usefulness and background, but after investigating, agrees to consider him. He offers Silver Wolf a permanent position as deputy section chief—provided he survives his first month.
• The sudden availability of many positions suggests that the Border Management Bureau has recently suffered serious casualties, hinting at a major unseen crisis.
• 4399 also promises to delay action against Liu Zheng’s friend for one day, giving him time to resolve the immediate threat. He requests that Liu Zheng send the promised 100,000 payment to Zhengwen Pawnshop.
• Silver Wolf agrees to inspect the Border Management Bureau himself and decide whether to accept the position. He also handles Liu Zheng’s separate problem temporarily.
• Liu Zheng’s companions tease him about appearing to be a powerful second-generation heir because he can arrange government transfers and promotions with a few phone calls. Their joking helps ease the tension among the group.
• Liu Zheng distributes dried fish from the Bloodstained Restaurant, particularly pleasing Yinghu.
• The Sanitation Bureau arrives to protect the French Plane Tree. A group of Flymen temporary workers, led by a skeleton called Black Bro, surrounds the tree with warning signs, barricades, traffic cones, and electrical equipment.
• Liu Zheng bribes Black Bro to ensure that the Sanitation Bureau continues guarding the tree until the following night. Although the Flymen are mostly pretending to work, the presence of City Hall personnel serves as a powerful deterrent.
• The members of Zhengzong Massage Clinic and Yakuza Sento leave after confirming they will return if needed, while Nile Doctor and the Ultimate Flavor Group remain with Liu Zheng.
• Liu Zheng gives Nile Doctor the Deadman’s Brain Core, a Cemetery specialty intended to help create a more intelligent heir. In return, Nile Doctor promises to perform Ra’s Grace, a resurrection ritual, for Liu Zheng.
• Liu Zheng also gives Guokou Tangzi several monster limbs from Mount Oe, though she complains that the amount is insufficient.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng and the others waiting anxiously to see whether Dai Lego can survive.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates increasing influence and political resourcefulness. He can negotiate with multiple City Hall departments, use money and personal connections effectively, and protect his allies without directly confronting powerful enemies.
• Silver Wolf is portrayed as ambitious, hardworking, and willing to risk his life for advancement. His past rise from a street bum to a permanent City Hall employee explains why he refuses to simply give up. He is ready to investigate the dangerous Border Management Bureau position himself.
• 4399 appears pragmatic and influential. Although blunt and skeptical, he recognizes Silver Wolf’s value and is willing to give him a chance. His comments imply that the Border Management Bureau is facing a severe crisis.
• Nile Doctor becomes more hopeful about creating a capable heir after receiving the Deadman’s Brain Core. He also confirms that Liu Zheng can rely on him for true resurrection.
• Black Bro is shown as low-ranking but loyal. He values his friendship with Silver Wolf and uses his limited authority to help protect Liu Zheng’s group.
• Yinghu displays his affectionate, catlike nature, eagerly accepting extra dried fish while remaining too shy to ask for more.
• Guokou Tangzi maintains her greedy, demanding personality but clearly expects to be treated equally with the others.
• Niu Daji proudly regards Liu Zheng as his boss, reinforcing the loyalty Liu inspires in his followers.

Significant Themes

• Ambition and survival: Silver Wolf’s determination reflects the harsh reality of Metropolis, where refusing to struggle means becoming someone else’s prey.
• Power and bureaucracy: City Hall positions are treated as life-or-death political prizes. Employment, rank, and institutional connections determine survival as much as personal strength.
• Pragmatic alliances: Liu Zheng relies on favors, bribes, friendships, and bureaucratic authority rather than force alone.
• Human solidarity: Liu Zheng argues that humans should support one another in City Hall, suggesting that collective influence may protect humanity in a nonhuman-dominated society.
• Loyalty and reciprocity: Silver Wolf, Black Bro, Nile Doctor, and Liu Zheng help one another through exchanges of money, protection, information, and future favors.
• Appearance versus reality: City Hall workers create the appearance of sanitation and protection, while the real purpose is deterrence. Likewise, Liu Zheng’s joking “second-generation heir” persona hides his genuine ability to manipulate powerful systems.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and 4399 negotiate Silver Wolf’s transfer, with Liu Zheng defending Silver Wolf and arguing that a capable nonhuman employee could benefit the Border Management Bureau.
• Liu Zheng and Silver Wolf discuss both the transfer and the temporary protection of Liu Zheng’s ally, showing their developing brother-in-law relationship and mutual trust.
• Liu Zheng’s companions mock his apparent influence, but their laughter strengthens group unity.
• Liu Zheng bribes and befriends Black Bro, turning a routine Sanitation Bureau operation into reliable protection for the French Plane Tree.
• Liu Zheng reassures Yinghu and dismisses Jinzi’s flirtation, sending the group away while preserving their willingness to help.
• Liu Zheng and Nile Doctor deepen their mutual trust through the exchange of the Brain Core for the promise of resurrection.
• The chapter closes with everyone united around the uncertain fate of Dai Lego, connecting the various political, personal, and supernatural preparations to the larger crisis.

Chapter Summary: Nightingale: Then I'll Have to Sacrifice My Looks

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng discusses Metropolis’s mental hospitals with Nile Doctor. These institutions function more like detention centers for wealthy or influential families’ insane relatives than places focused on humane treatment.
• Nile Doctor reveals that he once treated a powerful patient suffering from a supernatural fear of darkness. He cured the patient by planting Ra’s Radiance in their eyes, earning a clinic permit instead of substantial payment.
• Liu Zheng reflects on Metropolis’s economic system, observing how City Hall extracts money through hospitals, cemeteries, restaurants, taxes, lotteries, and other institutions while maintaining the value of its currency.
• Nightingale calls Liu Zheng and warns him that Sea Woman may have attracted the attention of the monks. She asks him to help delay Sea Woman’s capture or conversion.
• Liu Zheng tells Nile Doctor about the monks’ intentions. Nile Doctor defends forced religious conversion as a normal tool of divine power, but becomes enraged when Liu Zheng suggests that Sesha could be targeted instead.
• Liu Zheng returns to the Sewer to obtain help from Fisherman and to deliver honey yogurt to Red Ghost, hoping she can turn it into a powerful weapon.
• Fisherman immediately blames Liu Zheng for failing to keep Sea Woman safely hidden at the Board-Game Hall. Their argument escalates into mutual accusations about past favors, responsibilities, and their hostile ways of communicating.
• Liu Zheng sarcastically threatens to hand Sea Woman over to the monks so that she can be brainwashed and forget Nightingale. Fisherman reacts furiously, revealing how deeply vulnerable and protective he is regarding his daughter.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to act as the reluctant mediator among multiple factions. He is overwhelmed by the number of debts and responsibilities he has accumulated but remains willing to help protect Sea Woman and support Nightingale.
• Nile Doctor is shown to be highly accomplished, possessing religious, medical, scholarly, and historical expertise. His loyalty to Ra is genuine, though his morality is shaped by ruthless divine logic. He also demonstrates hypocrisy by accepting harsh methods when they benefit his own side but rejecting them when Sesha might be harmed.
• Nightingale remains playful, sarcastic, and resourceful. Despite joking about “sacrificing her looks,” she is seriously concerned about Sea Woman and is prepared to create a distraction to buy Liu Zheng more time.
• Fisherman becomes increasingly emotional and defensive. His aggressive attitude masks strong affection for Sea Woman and dependence on Liu Zheng’s assistance. His insistence that everything he does is “for her own good” exposes his controlling but protective nature.
• Sea Woman does not appear directly, but her possible capture or conversion becomes the chapter’s central immediate threat.
• Ra is characterized as a fallen deity whose remaining followers use both mercy and coercion to preserve his influence.

Significant Themes

• Institutional control and exploitation: Metropolis maintains order through strict laws, supernatural institutions, and systematic economic extraction.
• Power and privilege: Mental hospitals and other services are designed largely to accommodate powerful families, showing how social status determines treatment.
• Religious coercion versus protection: The monks’ possible attempt to convert Sea Woman raises questions about whether divine “salvation” can be justified when imposed by force.
• Hypocrisy and moral double standards: Nile Doctor openly accepts ruthless methods against enemies but condemns the same logic when it threatens his own allies.
• Obligation and accumulated debts: Liu Zheng’s many favors have trapped him in a web of responsibilities, making it difficult for him to prioritize his own needs.
• Family, loyalty, and control: Fisherman’s conflict with Liu Zheng reveals the tension between protecting someone and controlling their choices.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Nile Doctor: Their exchange is filled with teasing, insults, and mutual familiarity. Despite their disagreements, they trust each other enough to discuss sensitive matters and conduct business.
• Liu Zheng and Nightingale: Their flirtatious, sarcastic conversation hides genuine cooperation. Nightingale pressures him to act while offering to delay Sea Woman’s return.
• Liu Zheng and Fisherman: Their meeting turns into a bitter but revealing argument. Both accuse the other of selfishness and poor attitude, yet their willingness to argue also shows that they regard each other as allies or family.
• Liu Zheng and Sea Woman: Although Sea Woman is absent, Liu Zheng’s promise—or perceived responsibility—to protect her drives much of the chapter’s action.
• Fisherman and Sea Woman: Fisherman’s reactions make clear that Sea Woman is his greatest emotional weakness and the person he most wants to protect, despite his harsh manner toward her and others.

Chapter Summary: “Show Me What You’ve Got, Liu Zheng”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng advises Fisherman on how to repair his relationship with Sea Woman. He argues that Fisherman’s harsh, authoritarian attitude is ineffective now that Sea Woman is an independent adult and encourages him to treat her as family rather than as a creature he raised.
• Fisherman gives Liu Zheng a Frogfish King’s Resonance Sac, a single-use item capable of unleashing a powerful indiscriminate sonic attack. He suggests using it against the bald monks while they chant, though Liu Zheng must be careful not to harm his allies.
• Fisherman also provides two pieces of fish skin to protect Liu Zheng and Sea Woman’s ears. Their exchange remains sarcastic and antagonistic, with Fisherman mocking Liu Zheng’s inhuman appearance and Liu Zheng complaining about his stinginess.
• Liu Zheng asks Fisherman to contact Sewer so he can visit Red Ghost. Fisherman helps him reach the security door leading to Red Ghost’s shelter.
• Red Ghost comments on Liu Zheng’s frequent interference with Sewer and questions his calm attitude despite the dangers and burdens surrounding him. Their conversation focuses on ambition, survival, and whether Liu Zheng has chosen a clear path as a hero or villain.
• Liu Zheng reunites with the dead children in Red Ghost’s shelter. He jokes with Tonya and Paul over whether the Dead can grow, using Vampire Girl’s injury and recovery as a deliberately misleading example to “prove” Tonya’s point.
• Liu Zheng gives the children bottles of Hell Honey Milk. The children and Red Ghost dilute it into yogurt, which becomes a joyful communal treat. Liu Zheng is treated as a trusted member of the shelter rather than an outsider.
• After the meal, Red Ghost takes Liu Zheng to the warehouse. He reveals that he promised Sewer Liu Zheng could beat him once if Liu Zheng brought milk.
• Red Ghost transforms into the appearance of a frail, exhausted middle-aged man and prepares to let Liu Zheng attack him in front of Sewer’s surveillance camera. Liu Zheng, wary of Red Ghost’s strength, asks him to tie up one hand as well.
• Red Ghost tears off his own sleeve and left hand, accepts the handicap, and challenges Liu Zheng to prove whether his strength matches his boasts.

Character Development

• Liu Zheng: Shows practical wisdom in advising Fisherman, emotional warmth toward the shelter children, and a growing sense of responsibility toward his allies. Although he jokes constantly, he is cautious and self-aware, recognizing that Red Ghost may still be dangerous even while weakened. His survival-focused worldview remains unchanged: ambition can wait until his basic needs are secure.
• Fisherman: Reveals concern for Sea Woman despite his inability to express affection properly. His willingness to provide Liu Zheng with a powerful item and protective equipment shows that he is prepared to help, even while maintaining his abrasive personality.
• Red Ghost: Displays both paternal affection and leadership. He is pleased that Liu Zheng has made the children happier and trusts him enough to participate in the staged beating. His discussion with Liu Zheng suggests that he understands the importance of ambition but also recognizes his own inability to preach from a position of success.
• Sea Woman: Does not appear directly, but her strained relationship with Fisherman becomes an important point of discussion. She is portrayed as independent and resistant to her father’s controlling behavior.
• Tonya and Paul: Their childish argument highlights their personalities: Tonya is emotional, playful, and eager to be validated, while Paul is literal, stubborn, and committed to rules and facts.

Significant Themes

• Family and emotional communication: Fisherman’s failure to show affection demonstrates that familial authority alone cannot maintain a relationship. Liu Zheng encourages empathy, patience, and adaptation.
• Survival versus ambition: Liu Zheng rejects the idea that he must immediately define himself as a hero or villain. For him, surviving in Metropolis is already a major achievement.
• Found family and belonging: The shelter children no longer regard Liu Zheng as an outsider. His gifts and kindness create a bond that contrasts with the isolation and hostility of the wider world.
• Humor amid darkness: Corpse children, dangerous monsters, abusive powers, and existential threats are repeatedly undercut by jokes, petty arguments, and absurd situations.
• Performance and deception: Liu Zheng and Red Ghost plan to stage a convincing fight for Sewer’s benefit, highlighting how characters manipulate supernatural observers and survive through improvisation.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Fisherman: Their hostile banter masks a practical alliance. Liu Zheng advises Fisherman about Sea Woman while negotiating for weapons and protection.
• Liu Zheng and Red Ghost: Their relationship combines suspicion, mutual respect, and humor. Red Ghost challenges Liu Zheng’s lack of ambition, while Liu Zheng responds with pragmatic defiance.
• Liu Zheng and the shelter children: Liu Zheng acts as a playful, affectionate adult figure. He entertains Tonya, outwits Paul in their argument, and provides the children with a rare source of pleasure.
• Red Ghost and the children: Red Ghost acts as a strict but caring teacher and guardian. He organizes the yogurt distribution and allows Liu Zheng to participate because the children trust him.
• Liu Zheng and Red Ghost during the staged fight: Their cooperation reveals mutual trust. Liu Zheng remains cautious and cheats slightly by requesting an additional handicap, while Red Ghost willingly accommodates him and prepares for the confrontation.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng and Red Ghost engage in a brutal hand-to-hand fight inside the warehouse. Liu uses his four tentacles as limbs, while Red Ghost—having reduced himself to a mortal state—fights with only one hand and one leg.
• Red Ghost’s punches are extremely powerful, breaking one of Liu’s tentacles. Liu counters with multiple tentacle strikes, but Red Ghost avoids them through unconventional movements and lands a whip-like kick that sends Liu flying.
• Both fighters eventually exhaust themselves. Liu pretends to surrender, while Red Ghost collapses from extensive injuries and admits that neither of them truly won.
• Red Ghost explains that, after being separated from humanity for so long, experiencing pain again was strangely nostalgic. His damaged coat was the last clothing he wore while alive.
• Liu offers to have the Weaver-Spider Clan repair the coat and retrieves the mission camera, completing his assignment. Red Ghost acknowledges that Liu exceeded the mission requirements and offers him an additional reward.
• During their conversation, Liu discusses several recent problems:
  • A Gravekeeper at the Cemetery asked him to help rob a tomb.
  • A friend’s family is being threatened by bald monks.
• Red Ghost identifies the Gravekeeper as Shilei and explains the Cemetery’s significance. The Cemetery has existed since Metropolis was founded, and its Gravekeeper is chosen by the Cemetery rather than seeking the position voluntarily. Gravekeepers usually lose their personalities after roughly five hundred years.
• Red Ghost gives Liu a hand-cranked air-raid siren to help defend his friend. The item produces a powerful sonic attack, but if pushed to its limit, it summons an air raid that may also target the user.

2. Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: Demonstrates resilience, tactical awareness, and a willingness to take risks. Though he fights creatively with his tentacles, he recognizes the limitations of his martial arts training and physical form. He also shows self-awareness, rejecting Red Ghost’s suggestion that he could become a major leader, while remaining open to seeing a mental-health professional after Red Ghost notices instability in his personality.
• Red Ghost: Reveals a more reflective and philosophical side beneath his intimidating combat abilities. He values fairness, insists on rewarding competent work, and displays deep knowledge of Metropolis’s landmarks and history. His nostalgia for pain and his ruined clothing emphasize his lingering connection to his former humanity.
• Their relationship: The fight evolves into mutual respect and informal camaraderie. Red Ghost teases and advises Liu, while Liu treats Red Ghost casually despite his power and status.

3. Significant Themes

• Humanity and memory: Red Ghost’s enjoyment of pain and attachment to his old coat show how physical sensations and personal objects preserve remnants of his human identity.
• Mortality and decay: The Cemetery represents the inevitability of death, even for gods, the Dead, Metropolis, and possibly the universe itself. Its Gravekeepers eventually suffer the erosion of personality caused by prolonged contact with death.
• Destiny versus personal choice: Red Ghost argues that historical forces often choose individuals rather than individuals shaping events. Liu, however, insists that he is unsuited to becoming a large-scale leader and wants to avoid burdens beyond his abilities.
• Power and consequence: The air-raid siren offers immense defensive power but carries the danger of turning its user into a target, reinforcing the chapter’s recurring idea that every advantage has a cost.
• Identity and psychological stability: Red Ghost’s concern about Liu’s unstable self-consistency hints that Liu’s unusual nature and multiple aspects of identity may threaten his future growth.

4. Character Interactions

• The fight between Liu and Red Ghost is both violent and almost playful, with Liu mocking Red Ghost’s strange movements and Red Ghost calmly countering him.
• After the battle, they discuss Red Ghost’s coat, the Weaver-Spider Clan, and the German remnants associated with Liu’s acquaintance. Red Ghost warns Liu that seemingly harmless interests can become addictive.
• Red Ghost diagnoses a possible psychological danger in Liu and advises him to seek psychiatric help; Liu accepts the suggestion cautiously but plans to use a real-world mental-health center.
• Their discussion of the Gravekeeper becomes a philosophical exchange about death, leadership, destiny, and the burden of guiding others. Red Ghost encourages Liu, while Liu humorously dismisses the idea that he could lead a great movement.
• Finally, Liu asks Red Ghost for help protecting his friend. Red Ghost recognizes the power of the Frogfish vocal sac and provides the air-raid siren, though its dangerous description leaves Liu worried that using it may cause an attack on himself.

Chapter Summary: “Innate Self-Destruct Truck Physique”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Red Ghost explains that its powerful objects are not necessarily mutually destructive weapons, but “souvenirs” or tools with specialized uses. It mentions a fortification capable of surviving air raids, though Liu Zheng lacks the engineering knowledge needed to operate it.
• Red Ghost permits Liu Zheng to seek help from the German survivor, emphasizing that weapons are morally neutral and that people—not objects—determine whether they are used for good or evil.
• Before Liu Zheng leaves, Red Ghost gives him a mysterious religious-military portrait. The image resembles Red Ghost but contains elements belonging to both Red Ghost and its enemy. Red Ghost claims it will activate automatically when carried and assures Liu Zheng that City Hall will not be alerted.
• Liu Zheng returns to the river and reports to Sewer, presenting the camera from his completed task. Sewer praises his usefulness and jokes that Liu has progressed from being hunted by Rat Swarms to defeating Red Ghost in a sparring match.
• Sewer asks whether Cemetery is also interested in Liu Zheng and whether Liu questioned the gravekeeper about Sewer’s avatar. Liu admits he did not dare ask. Sewer calls him a cautious “dog” but gives him a tear pearl that will help the gravekeeper locate Sewer’s avatar.
• As a reward, Sewer offers Liu Zheng a favor. Liu asks for another Black Koi, hoping to gain extreme luck for future plans. Sewer explains that no additional Black Koi are available because the remaining fish must reproduce.
• Instead, Sewer creates a sarira from the preserved spine of the Black Carp Dragon, an evolved Black Koi. The item, Black Carp Dragon’s Grievance Sarira, has a 99% chance of killing its user and a 1% chance of granting Heavenly Fortune, raising Luck to its maximum for one hour.
• Liu Zheng recognizes the item as an immensely powerful but nearly suicidal trump card—the latest example of his “Innate Self-Destruct Truck Physique.”
• Sewer explains that the Black Koi became a dragon after passing through the Dragon Gate but was prevented from escaping because Sewer had supplied the resources necessary for its transformation and resented losing something that belonged to it.
• Sewer finally reveals that descending upon the Fisherman had cost it energy and demands that Liu Zheng bring its avatar back soon so it can recover.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains cautious, adaptable, and highly pragmatic. He avoids being drawn into ideological conflicts, preferring to remain an ordinary person rather than a hero or villain. He also continues using humility, flattery, and humor to survive interactions with powerful beings.
• He demonstrates increasing confidence in dealing with supernatural entities, but still carefully conceals his thoughts and avoids provoking Sewer. His willingness to accept dangerous items shows how dependent he has become on extreme-risk strategies.
• Red Ghost displays unexpected trust in Liu Zheng by allowing him to use an object connected to its enemy and by acknowledging that morally questionable actions may sometimes be necessary. Its rare helplessness over the strange portrait adds a more human, self-aware dimension to its character.
• Sewer treats Liu Zheng as a useful servant or “dog,” mixing threats, mockery, praise, and rewards. It reveals both immense power and possessiveness, especially in its resentment toward the Black Carp Dragon. Its dependence on recovering its avatar also exposes a vulnerability.
• The Black Carp Dragon is developed indirectly through Sewer’s explanation: it was once an exceptionally rare Black Koi that achieved dragonhood but remained trapped by its dependence on Sewer.

Significant Themes

• Power and moral responsibility: Red Ghost argues that weapons themselves are neither good nor evil; morality depends on their users. Liu Zheng’s reluctance to become either a villain or an opposing force reflects his desire to survive without being defined by grand moral causes.
• Survival through compromise: Liu Zheng repeatedly accepts humiliation, dangerous bargains, and morally ambiguous tasks because cooperation with powerful entities is necessary for survival.
• Extreme risk versus extraordinary reward: The sarira embodies the chapter’s central comedic and strategic pattern: a nearly useless chance of obtaining an overwhelmingly powerful ability, balanced by an almost certain death sentence.
• Ownership and exploitation: Sewer’s treatment of the Black Carp Dragon raises questions about whether creating or nurturing something gives one the right to control it. Sewer views the dragon as an investment and part of itself rather than as an independent being.
• Identity and hybridization: The strange portrait combines religious, military, and supernatural imagery, suggesting how collective beliefs and creativity can produce entities or artifacts that defy conventional categories.
• Dependency and hidden costs: Sewer’s final admission that its descent drained its strength emphasizes that even seemingly omnipotent beings have limitations and that supernatural assistance always carries a price.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Red Ghost: They discuss engineering, morality, and the danger of becoming a villain or enemy. Red Ghost trusts Liu enough to lend him the mysterious portrait and affectionately scolds him for playing with children.
• Liu Zheng and Sewer: Their exchange is built on calculated submission. Liu flatters Sewer and accepts being called a “dog,” while Sewer rewards his usefulness, tests his loyalty, and relies on him to retrieve the avatar.
• Liu Zheng and the gravekeeper/Cemetery: Although the gravekeeper does not appear directly, Sewer’s questions reveal that Cemetery has an interest in Liu Zheng and may be involved in locating Sewer’s avatar.
• Sewer and the Black Carp Dragon: Their relationship is defined by resentment and possessiveness. Sewer helped enable the carp’s transformation but refused to let it escape, preserving its remains for possible future use.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng visits Fisherman in the Sewer. Fisherman complains about the trouble Liu Zheng has brought him, though Liu Zheng points out that their cooperation has also accomplished more than Fisherman managed in decades.
• Killer Bro is away searching for the river mouth that might lead out to sea, possibly hoping to escape rather than wait for Liu Zheng to clear his wanted status. Fisherman explains that entering Metropolis is easy, but leaving is extremely difficult.
• Liu Zheng returns to the surface, where Nile Doctor reports sensing distant observers, possibly the Black Armored Men. Liu Zheng tells the group to continue keeping watch while he goes to collect Fisherman’s daughter, Sea Woman.
• Liu Zheng and Nile Doctor argue humorously over whether Liu Zheng is treating the errand as a date. Liu insists he is helping preserve Fisherman’s family line and emphasizes that friendship is based on shared experiences rather than length of acquaintance.
• On the way, Liu Zheng shows the driver the hand-cranked air-raid siren given to him by Red Ghost. The driver nostalgically recalls the old conflict between their forces and explains that he specializes in engineering, military sciences, and anti-air-raid warfare.
• The driver arranges for the Hound tank to be taken out of maintenance. Liu Zheng pays him for the favor, leading to a discussion about social connections, influence, and the relative advantages of being a minor or major official.
• The Hound has been upgraded with alchemical wax-oil armor, a magical equivalent of reactive armor. The coating can detect incoming attacks, redistribute itself to prevent repeated strikes in one area, and distinguish allies from enemies.
• The driver gives Liu Zheng five military insignia to identify his companions as friendlies. Liu claims the higher-ranking Staff Sergeant insignia for himself.
• Liu Zheng arrives at the Red Witch Board-Game Hall to pick up Nightingale. When he respectfully greets the Witch, she attacks him with crimson lightning.
• The Holy Icon Painting automatically emerges from Liu Zheng’s delivery box and destroys the lightning, preparing to retaliate against the Witch. Liu quickly intervenes, declares that they are allies, and explains that he cannot fully control the protective artifact.
• The Witch backs down, though she gives Liu Zheng an irritated glare. Liu reflects that possessing a powerful weapon makes negotiations much easier and likely saved him from being forced into another unfair agreement.
• To avoid provoking another conflict, Liu Zheng waits outside and calls Nightingale out rather than entering the building.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to rely on humor, flattery, bribery, and strategic displays of power to solve problems. He shows genuine loyalty toward Fisherman, Fisherman’s family, and his allies, despite pretending that many of his actions are casual or transactional.
• Fisherman is portrayed as abrasive and proud but increasingly cooperative with Liu Zheng. His close bond with Killer Bro shows his isolation and the importance of companionship in the Sewer.
• Killer Bro appears considerate and independent, preferring to seek his own escape rather than burden his friends by waiting for Liu Zheng’s help.
• Nile Doctor becomes more comfortable challenging Liu Zheng and objecting to being treated as a mere guard, highlighting his pride and growing familiarity with Liu’s group.
• The driver/Colonel reveals extensive military knowledge and lingering regret about his former rank. He remains vain about his expertise but also appreciates Liu Zheng’s praise and social cleverness.
• The Witch remains dangerous, temperamental, and suspicious of Liu Zheng, but she recognizes the threat posed by his Holy Icon Painting and chooses not to escalate the confrontation.
• The Holy Icon Painting demonstrates autonomous protective behavior, acting on Liu Zheng’s behalf even without his command.

Significant Themes

• Negotiation backed by force: The chapter’s central idea is that diplomacy is most effective when backed by credible weapons. Liu Zheng’s ability to negotiate with the Witch depends heavily on the Holy Icon Painting’s intervention.
• Friendship beyond time and status: Liu Zheng argues that shared danger and loyalty matter more than how long people have known one another, contrasting human relationships with the long lifespans of nonhuman characters.
• Power, rank, and influence: The conversation with the driver explores how official rank is less important than personal connections, practical authority, and the ability to influence others.
• Adaptation of modern technology through fantasy: Tanks, reactive armor, air raids, military insignia, and engineering are reinterpreted through alchemy and magic.
• Isolation and companionship: Fisherman and Killer Bro’s relationship shows how surviving in hostile environments can create strong bonds, while the chapter repeatedly emphasizes the value of allies.
• Dangerous coexistence: Liu Zheng’s interactions with powerful beings such as the Witch, the Holy Icon Painting, and the Sewer’s inhabitants show how fragile cooperation can be when everyone possesses overwhelming abilities.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Fisherman trade insults while acknowledging their productive partnership.
• Liu Zheng and Nile Doctor joke and argue about friendship, dating, and Liu’s habit of ordering others around.
• Liu Zheng and the driver bond over military equipment, bargaining, nostalgia, and the driver’s former status.
• Liu Zheng uses money and praise to secure the Hound tank’s immediate deployment.
• Liu Zheng respectfully approaches the Witch, but the meeting nearly becomes a magical confrontation when the Holy Icon Painting retaliates against her attack.
• Liu Zheng mediates between the Witch and the autonomous painting, preventing a potentially disastrous battle before calling Nightingale to leave with him.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng meets Nightingale and Sea Woman after work, accompanied by Vampire Girl, who is dressed as a Christmas elf after working as an NPC.
• He takes the group back toward Sea Woman’s apartment, intending to use it as bait to lure out the mysterious bald monks. Nightingale warns that the monks are dangerous and may be connected to the Metaverse.
• During the journey, Nightingale explains that the Metaverse is a deeper, virtual layer of the internet where consciousness can enter and where people may be attacked, possessed, or even spiritually converted. Religious groups banned from openly preaching in Metropolis use it to spread their beliefs.
• Liu Zheng refuses to enter the Metaverse because his greatest abilities depend on his physical body and would be useless there.
• At the apartment, Liu Zheng escorts Nightingale, Sea Woman, and Vampire Girl inside but does not accompany them upstairs. He continues joking and flirting with them, provoking jealousy and teasing.
• Before leaving, Liu Zheng investigates the security room and discovers that the current guard is not the frail man he remembers, but a muscular older man. The guard reveals that he brewed the same rejuvenating tonic associated with the “old lady.”
• The security guard explains that Liu Zheng’s actions saved his life by driving the old woman away. Although he misses her financial generosity, he now values living freely and “having fun with others instead of letting others have fun with” him.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng preparing to ask the grateful guard for a favor.

2. Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains calculating, resourceful, and irreverent. He deliberately considers using Sea Woman’s apartment as bait but also shows concern for the group’s safety. His refusal to enter the Metaverse demonstrates practical self-awareness: he knows his powers are tied to his physical body.
• He briefly reveals his painful childhood as an orphan and his terminal illness, explaining his determination to seize every moment and his lack of interest in returning home to seek recognition.
• Nightingale continues acting as Liu Zheng’s sharp-tongued foil. She understands his plans quickly, provides important information about the bald monks and the Metaverse, and increasingly recognizes his potential to become a ruthless and influential figure.
• Sea Woman is wary of returning to her apartment because of the danger connected to the bald monks, though she ultimately accepts Liu Zheng’s protection. Her awkward reaction to his joking description of their relationship hints at emotional tension.
• Vampire Girl displays childish affection and possessiveness toward Liu Zheng. She clings to him, bites him when frustrated, insists that she should be his only woman, and wants him to obtain alcohol for her.
• The security guard has gained strength and a new outlook after escaping the old woman’s influence. He is grateful to Liu Zheng and ready to cooperate with him.

3. Significant Themes

• Control versus agency: The chapter contrasts people being manipulated, converted, or exploited with the desire to make one’s own choices. The title reflects the guard’s determination to stop being used by others.
• Life and mortality: Liu Zheng’s illness and childhood hardships motivate his urgency, while the guard’s rejuvenation highlights the temptation and cost of extending life.
• Reality versus illusion: The Metaverse blurs the boundary between virtual and physical existence, raising questions about consciousness, identity, possession, and the possibility of virtual beings becoming divine.
• Power and vulnerability: Liu Zheng is formidable in the real world but recognizes that entering the Metaverse could strip away his advantages. His caution contrasts with the recklessness of people who seek danger for excitement or profit.
• Found family and unconventional relationships: The banter among Liu Zheng, Nightingale, Sea Woman, and Vampire Girl combines mockery, affection, jealousy, and mutual protection.

4. Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Nightingale trade constant insults, with Nightingale teasing his background and Liu Zheng answering with exaggerated confidence.
• Liu Zheng and Vampire Girl have a playful but chaotic bond: she attacks him affectionately, demands attention, and becomes jealous when he jokes about having a harem.
• Sea Woman is embarrassed by Liu Zheng’s flirtatious remarks and by Nightingale’s provocative teasing, though she relies on Liu Zheng to protect her.
• Nightingale and Sea Woman maintain a teasing friendship, with Sea Woman physically stopping Nightingale when her jokes go too far.
• Liu Zheng and the security guard share a mutually beneficial relationship: Liu Zheng saved him from the old woman, and the guard now appears willing to help Liu Zheng with his next plan.

Chapter Summary

• Liu Zheng persuades the security guard to help protect Britannia. He visits the elderly security guard, gives him prized dried fish from Bloodstained Restaurant, and reminds him of their previous encounter. The guard gratefully accepts the gift and becomes willing to help.
• A security plan is devised. Liu Zheng explains that a group of monks is targeting his female friend, Britannia, but that he cannot personally watch over her because of work and social propriety. The security guard admits he lacks the strength to confront a large group but proposes organizing a safety drill. By having the influential auntie complain to management about inadequate security, he can request additional personnel from headquarters. Liu Zheng promises to compensate for any damage caused by his deliveries.
• The conversation highlights their shared history of humiliation and survival. The two jokingly compare the degrading and dangerous jobs they have endured in Metropolis. Liu Zheng describes licking feet covered in corrosive Black Water and drinking centuries-old Sewer water, while the guard boasts about his own drinking habits. Their exaggerated exchange establishes a bond based on ruthless perseverance and the belief that success in Metropolis requires being cruel to oneself as well as others. Liu Zheng jokingly promises to buy the guard’s company and promote him once he becomes powerful.
• Liu Zheng calls the auntie. The guard gives him her number and advises him to call rather than visit, warning that she would otherwise take advantage of him. During the call, the auntie flirts aggressively with Liu Zheng, while Britannia is apparently with her and complains about being ignored. The auntie agrees to contact management and arrange the safety drill, largely because she favors Liu Zheng. Her interaction with Britannia is sexually charged and competitive, leaving Liu Zheng extremely uncomfortable. He quickly ends the call after promising to dine with her another time.
• The security guard receives confirmation. After the call, he reassures Liu Zheng that the plan will work. He then leaves briefly to answer his phone, presumably to handle the arrangements with management.
• Liu Zheng reads the newspapers and learns more about Metropolis. While waiting, he reads sensational headlines, including a supposed massacre that turns out to be a pest-control operation involving millions of intelligent cockroaches. The newspapers resemble real-world journalism but are even more absurd and backward, reinforcing the bizarre nature of Metropolis.
• The welfare lottery reveals potentially important political developments. Liu Zheng notices that the grand prize has changed from dinner with the Supreme Speaker to a manuscript written by him. He speculates that the Supreme Speaker may be preparing to intervene in the declining Writers Association, or might secretly be its mysterious president. Because Liu Zheng is effectively an outsider or illegal immigrant in Metropolis, he considers the manuscript safer and more useful than a personal meeting with such a powerful figure.
• Municipal No. 1 Primary School becomes significant. Liu Zheng discovers that admission to the elite, City Hall-run school has been added to the lottery’s special prizes. The security guard explains that the school offers the best education in the city and provides a direct path to the top middle school and eventually university. A university diploma, in turn, nearly guarantees employment with City Hall. The guard humorously says his family would worship him if he secured a place there for his grandson. Liu Zheng becomes thoughtful, suggesting that the school or the lottery may be relevant to his future plans.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Liu Zheng demonstrates his resourcefulness, emotional restraint, and willingness to manipulate social connections. He uses gifts, flattery, humor, and promises to secure protection for Britannia while avoiding direct involvement. His reflections on his outsider status also show increasing caution about powerful figures such as the Supreme Speaker.
• The old security guard shifts from a limited, somewhat resentful employee into an enthusiastic ally. He admits his weaknesses but uses his knowledge of company politics to create a practical solution.
• The auntie is portrayed as powerful, shamelessly flirtatious, and influential within the company, while still being favorably disposed toward Liu Zheng.
• Britannia appears possessive and frustrated by the auntie’s attention, revealing a more personal and competitive side.
• The chapter’s humor comes largely from the guard and Liu Zheng’s exaggerated mutual boasting, their discussion of survival through humiliation, and Liu Zheng’s awkward attempts to ignore the auntie and Britannia’s suggestive conversation.

Major Themes

• Survival through compromise: Advancement in Metropolis requires enduring humiliation, danger, and morally questionable situations.
• Power and social connections: Even a low-ranking security guard can solve problems through institutional knowledge and influential contacts.
• Outsider anxiety and secrecy: Liu Zheng remains wary of exposing his true origins or attracting the attention of powerful beings.
• Absurdity beneath ordinary systems: Newspapers, lotteries, schools, and corporate security resemble familiar institutions but operate according to Metropolis’s bizarre and grotesque logic.
• Education and status: Municipal No. 1 Primary School represents a powerful route toward social mobility, employment, and legitimacy within Metropolis.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng learns that the apartment complex is organizing a large-scale security drill, partly to promote it as a safe and reassuring residential community.
• The security guards want Liu Zheng—the infamous Bloodstained Restaurant Deliveryman—to participate in promotional footage by allowing himself to be beaten and “defeated” outside the gates.
• He agrees, confident that ordinary security guards cannot seriously injure him. The arrangement becomes a form of karmic repayment after Liu Zheng previously made Red Ghost cooperate in a similar staged beating.
• Liu Zheng pressures the old security guard to move the operation forward quickly. When the guard claims the property manager may delay matters out of a desire to exercise authority, Liu Zheng reveals his City Hall Family Certificate and hints at his political connections.
• He gives the manager a dried fish as a symbolic “share in his good fortune,” while indirectly threatening anyone who refuses to cooperate. The old guard immediately arranges for the security team to arrive.
• Liu Zheng offers generous bonuses and compensation to the guards: doubled pay if they survive and tripled compensation if they die. He also promises to help arrange their affairs afterward, demonstrating both his wealth and his ruthless practicality.
• A bus arrives carrying a heavily armed security force composed mostly of humanoid or semi-humanoid beings. The most notable member is a tall reptilian “Doghead” dressed like a Roman soldier and armed with a gladius and shield.
• The property manager gives the guards a motivational briefing, ordering them to treat the drill as real combat. Security Captain Yang Dali, a sheep-faced humanoid, takes operational command.
• The driver identifies the Roman-style Doghead as an especially powerful Atavistic Doghead warlock, possibly possessing dragonlike traits. Liu Zheng, impressed by this assessment, asks the old guard to recruit the Doghead to his side by promising him future opportunities and rewards.
• Liu Zheng then returns to Rose Street, where Nile Doctor points out a flock of dangerous, vulture-headed birds circling above the French Plane Tree.
• The birds appear interested in eating the Flymen. Although the Flymen are supposedly protected as Sanitation Bureau workers, Nile Doctor explains that animals are governed by instinct rather than legal status and will attack if they perceive weakness.
• The birds and Flymen remain in a tense standoff. Nile Doctor has avoided provoking a fight because Dai Lego might be endangered.
• When Liu Zheng returns, one Flyman urgently approaches him, chattering for help. The chapter ends with Liu Zheng asking for someone to translate.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to display confidence, manipulation, and a casual willingness to use both money and threats. He treats favors, political influence, and dangerous situations as tools he can easily manage.
• His sense of humor remains dark and opportunistic. He enjoys the idea of making Cow-Horse and his wife kneel to him through political influence, and he embraces the absurdity of being publicly beaten for promotional purposes.
• Liu Zheng also shows a protective or strategic interest in capable individuals. After learning about the Doghead’s abilities, he immediately attempts to recruit him.
• The old security guard becomes increasingly intimidated by Liu Zheng but also treats him as a powerful ally and “brother.” He is willing to bend rules, pressure the manager, and expand the operation to satisfy Liu Zheng.
• The property manager is portrayed as an authority-conscious leader who enjoys exercising control but is ultimately cautious when confronted with Liu Zheng’s political connections.
• The Doghead security guard is established as an unusual and potentially formidable figure whose true strength may exceed his apparent role as a normal security guard.
• Nile Doctor demonstrates caution and responsibility by avoiding conflict that could endanger Dai Lego, while also providing a practical explanation of the birds’ behavior.
• The driver reveals his extensive knowledge of supernatural races and military figures from the past, giving important insight into the Doghead’s identity.
• The Flymen shift from comic background workers to vulnerable beings facing a genuine predatory threat.

Significant Themes

• Power and social status: Liu Zheng’s City Hall connections allow him to override bureaucratic delays and intimidate people more effectively than money alone.
• Strength versus official recognition: The Flymen’s protected status means little to creatures acting on instinct. The chapter emphasizes that legal or institutional protection is useless without the power to enforce it.
• Authority and intimidation: The property manager relies on formal command structures, while Liu Zheng exercises influence through wealth, reputation, connections, and implied violence.
• Reciprocity and karmic reversal: Liu Zheng’s role in the staged beating mirrors his earlier treatment of Red Ghost, suggesting that his actions quickly return to him in altered forms.
• Recruitment and alliances: Liu Zheng constantly evaluates useful individuals and tries to bring them into his network, suggesting that survival in Metropolis depends on building relationships with powerful or unusual allies.
• The absurdity of Metropolis: Promotional security drills involve supernatural beings, heavy weapons, political favors, and real danger, blurring the boundary between bureaucracy, comedy, and life-threatening conflict.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and the old security guard interact like criminally minded business partners, combining fake brotherly affection with threats, bribery, and mutual exploitation.
• Liu Zheng uses the City Hall Family Certificate to pressure the old guard into speeding up the drill and influencing the property manager.
• Liu Zheng offers the security guards generous rewards, motivating them to treat the staged battle seriously.
• The property manager rallies the guards with a formal speech, while Yang Dali assumes tactical command.
• Liu Zheng consults the driver about the Doghead’s identity and strength, trusting the driver’s historical and supernatural expertise.
• Liu Zheng asks the old guard to deliver a recruitment message to the Doghead, promising him advancement and opportunities.
• Nile Doctor warns Liu Zheng about the birds threatening the Flymen and explains why their official protected status will not deter natural predators.
• The chapter closes with a Flyman urgently trying to communicate with Liu Zheng, establishing an imminent crisis that has yet to be explained.