Chapter Summaries

Liu Zheng bought Henry Claw’s painting, The Mother Thunder Lizard Giving Birth, for Professor Newt, who gave him a contact at the Grand Theater to help with his search for Black Swan. Liu Zheng met the contact’s instructions by heading to the Hundred Birds Hall, where a parrot immediately defecated into his mouth.

• Liu Zheng drove to Zhengwen Pawnshop and paid for a pawn ticket and the redemption of Henry Claw’s painting, The Mother Thunder Lizard Giving Birth.
• Liu Zheng delivered the painting to Professor Newt, then lost three games of military chess to Tindalos and lost three tentacles as snacks.
• Professor Newt gave Liu Zheng a phone number and the password “Deliveryman,” and asked him to bring back Black Swan alive if possible.
• Liu Zheng called the contact, arranged to meet at the Hundred Birds Hall, and used the contact’s membership number to get a private room.
• Liu Zheng arrived at the Hundred Birds Hall, where Gray Parrot greeted him by dropping its droppings into his mouth.

Chapter Summary: “Contact Established”

Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng arrives at Hundred Birds Hall, a restaurant and social club for intelligent birds. A Gray Parrot attempts to defecate on him, but he dodges, establishing their hostile relationship.
• He uses his contact’s membership number, 7734, to reserve Private Room Eight, the room his friend usually uses.
• The Lion-Headed Goose waitress explains that the hall’s birds suppress their predatory instincts and coexist peacefully, even though both prey birds and predators are present.
• Because the restaurant rarely serves humans, the waitress must find Liu Zheng a chair. She brings him the owner’s ornate dragon throne, revealing that she is the owner’s younger sister.
• Liu orders fruit and dried fruit from the restaurant’s limited menu. The fresh fruit tastes revolting, but the dried fruit restores his body to its normal size, though his physical reserves remain low.
• A Red-Crowned Crane from the Grand Theater enters and recognizes Liu’s Bloodstained Restaurant uniform. Liu explains that he is on vacation and begins questioning the crane about Black Swan, the theater’s celebrated lead ballet dancer.
• Liu claims that Black Swan is secretly an Ugly Duckling, a parasitic creature that replaces another bird’s appearance, talent, and memories. He asks the crane to provide information on Black Swan, track their movements, and eventually help him get close to them.
• The crane refuses to order takeout from the Bloodstained Restaurant, even for a large payment, but agrees to help Liu’s people infiltrate the Grand Theater.
• Liu offers approximately 100,000 yuan as operating funds. He demands loyalty, secrecy, and complete commitment to the task.
• Instead of requesting more money, the crane asks Liu to rescue Deer Child, a human-deer hybrid who was sold from a zoo to a wealthy private owner.
• The crane reveals that Deer Child was a childhood friend and fellow acting student who disappeared after joining a mysterious money-making project. Liu suspects the project may have been the 404 Project, linking Deer Child’s disappearance to the larger investigation.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains irreverent, resourceful, and aggressive, but he also shows consideration when he worries that the waitress might get in trouble for lending him the owner’s chair. He demonstrates strategic flexibility by accepting the crane’s help with infiltration when the takeout plan fails.
• The Lion-Headed Goose is established as a conscientious and capable waitress, as well as the owner’s younger sister. Her professional attitude contrasts humorously with her awkward attempts to imitate human behavior.
• The Red-Crowned Crane is revealed to be ambitious, resentful, and emotionally conflicted. It envies Black Swan’s dominant position in the theater but still values acting and dance as expressions of personal worth. Its request to save Deer Child exposes a compassionate and loyal side beneath its bitterness.
• Black Swan is characterized indirectly as an exceptionally talented but arrogant performer who overshadows other artists.
• Deer Child is introduced as a missing human-deer hybrid whose fate may be connected to the 404 Project.

Significant Themes

• Identity and stolen talent: The Ugly Duckling legend raises questions about whether appearance, ability, and memory determine a person’s true identity.
• Ambition and self-worth: The Red-Crowned Crane’s resentment toward Black Swan reflects the destructive effects of comparison and professional competition.
• Loyalty and betrayal: Liu demands secrecy from the crane, while the crane’s request to rescue Deer Child shows that old friendships can survive conflict and separation.
• Coexistence versus instinct: Hundred Birds Hall represents intelligent creatures restraining their natural impulses in order to socialize and cooperate.
• Exploitation of hybrids and unusual beings: Deer Child’s sale from a zoo into private ownership suggests a world where supernatural or hybrid individuals can be treated as commodities.

Character Interactions

• Liu’s antagonistic exchange with the Gray Parrot provides comic relief and establishes an ongoing feud.
• His interactions with the Lion-Headed Goose highlight the cultural differences between humans and intelligent birds, especially regarding food, furniture, and social customs.
• Liu and the Red-Crowned Crane engage in a philosophical argument over artistic rivalry and whether one can simply abandon a profession tied to personal identity.
• Liu recruits the crane through a combination of money, persuasion, and intimidation, but their relationship becomes more personal when the crane asks him to save Deer Child.
• The chapter ends with Liu connecting Deer Child’s disappearance to the 404 Project, advancing the larger mystery.

Liu Zheng enlisted Hishikibe’s help to free Deer Child from Tamamo-no-Mae Yuichi and learned about a suspicious City Hall official from Silver Wolf. After bringing food to Box Weaver-Spider, he caught two Rat-Skin Men stealing it, and one began writing a message in the dirt.

• Liu Zheng asked Novelist and Hishikibe about Tamamo-no-Mae Yuichi, and Hishikibe identified him as the younger brother of Tamamo-no-Mae Nobunaga and the Sanada Clan’s second-in-command.
• Liu Zheng told Red-Crowned Crane he would try to rescue Deer Child but warned them to handle his business in return.
• Liu Zheng learned from Silver Wolf that Yong Ren was a former Buddhist Order member who had become a City Hall official, then asked Silver Wolf to negotiate with him.
• Liu Zheng bought twenty C combos at Hundred Birds Hall and brought them to Box Weaver-Spider at the Silk-Coiling Cave.
• Liu Zheng caught two Rat-Skin Men moving the food boxes, but they surrendered and one scratched five characters into the ground with a bone spear.

Chapter Summary: “The Sewer’s Soil Really Nurtured People”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng discovers three Rat-Skin Men near the former Sunshine Pet Store and realizes they were once the mutated pets he had encountered before.
• One of them is Sniper Rifle, the little girl Liu Zheng previously named. She has grown dramatically after eating mutated sewer creatures, becoming tall, muscular, and partially nonhuman.
• Sniper Rifle explains that she and the others have been living in the sewers, where the dangerous environment and sewer creatures have made them stronger.
• Liu Zheng offers them three choices: separate from him, work under Fisherman in the sewers, or move to Bathhouse Street. Sniper Rifle chooses to remain in the sewers, valuing their continued growth.
• The Rat-Skin Men help Liu Zheng move boxes before accompanying him to see Box Weaver-Spider.
• Box Weaver-Spider initially jokes about eating the Rat-Skin Men. Liu Zheng asserts his authority and warns that their relationship has changed because he is now much stronger. Box Weaver-Spider apologizes and agrees not to make such jokes again.
• Liu Zheng asks Box Weaver-Spider to help refurbish Lamp God’s magic carpet, though the cost is expected to be enormous. Box Weaver-Spider offers only a seventy-percent discount, estimating the work at no less than 300,000.
• Liu Zheng also asks Box Weaver-Spider to purchase high-quality bandages for the Mummy. Box Weaver-Spider agrees to obtain two full-body sets for one million.
• Finally, Liu Zheng asks Box Weaver-Spider to re-stitch his Crude Phoenix Cape using Spirit Thread. Box Weaver-Spider refuses to accept money alone and says Liu Zheng must first find Craft Weaver-Spider.
• Liu Zheng produces Supreme Oil-Sealed Giant Maggots made from Divine Monster flesh, offering them as payment for the Spirit Thread.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates his increasing power and growing status as a leader. He is more confident, intimidating, and willing to demand obedience, while still balancing authority with practical consideration.
• Sniper Rifle has evolved physically and psychologically through life in the sewers. She is stronger, more capable, and openly chooses the dangerous sewer environment over safer human society.
• The Rat-Skin Men show loyalty and obedience by following Sniper Rifle’s lead and helping Liu Zheng without protest.
• Box Weaver-Spider recognizes that Liu Zheng has become substantially stronger after his journey to the Hundred Thousand Mountains, where he destroyed mountains, killed a god, and consumed divine flesh. Despite its pride, it chooses diplomacy and apologizes.
• Liu Zheng and Box Weaver-Spider’s relationship shifts from strained acquaintance toward a more cooperative, mutually beneficial partnership, though both continue to insult and bargain with each other.

Significant Themes

• Adaptation and transformation: The sewer changes former pets into powerful, healthier beings, suggesting that harsh environments can nurture those willing to abandon conventional humanity.
• Humanity versus monstrosity: The Rat-Skin Men retain human forms despite mutation, while Liu Zheng reflects that his own humanity may be no greater than theirs.
• Power and leadership: Liu Zheng argues that a leader must be decisive and authoritarian, but not recklessly stubborn. The chapter explores the difficult balance between command and consideration.
• Social hierarchy and reputation: Liu Zheng’s growing supernatural strength changes how others interact with him. Box Weaver-Spider can sense his increased “essence” and recognizes that old patterns of disrespect are no longer safe.
• Money, value, and favors: The chapter repeatedly contrasts monetary cost with personal relationships and favors. Liu Zheng negotiates discounts, pays for services, and uses rare supernatural food as barter.
• Pragmatism beneath humor: Much of the dialogue is comedic and sarcastic, but both Liu Zheng and Box Weaver-Spider are calculating, aware of their leverage, and willing to compromise when necessary.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng questions Sniper Rifle about her transformation and offers her group a safer life, but respects her decision to remain in the sewers.
• The Rat-Skin Men react defensively to Box Weaver-Spider’s predatory joke, with Sniper Rifle positioning herself protectively in front of them.
• Liu Zheng confronts Box Weaver-Spider, making clear that their relationship no longer permits careless insults or threats.
• Box Weaver-Spider apologizes but continues to mock Liu Zheng during their negotiations, creating a rhythm of mutual sarcasm and reluctant cooperation.
• Their discussion expands into several business arrangements: refurbishing Lamp God’s magic carpet, purchasing bandages for the Mummy, and acquiring Spirit Thread for Liu Zheng’s cape.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng attempting to secure the rare sewing material through an unusual and valuable offering: fried maggots made from Divine Monster flesh.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After leaving Silk-Coiling Cave, Liu Zheng successfully trades his Spirit Thread to the Box Weaver-Spider in exchange for the Supreme Oil-Sealed Giant Maggot, exploiting the spider’s appetite.
• He returns to the sewers with the Rat-Skin Men rescued from Sunshine Pet Store. Sniper Rifle uses a bone whistle to summon survivors, but only three remain; the rest have died in Metropolis.
• The survivors preserve the dead through marked femur bones. Liu Zheng gives both the dead and living Rat-Skin Men names, establishing them as a recognized group with the surname Xi, derived from Sunshine Pet Store and the mythological figure Fuxi.
• He names the deceased according to their memorable traits and assigns names to the living:
  • Xi Shou, Xi Shui, Xi Ya among the dead
  • Xi Chi, Xi Zhi, Xi Zu, Xi Yue, Xi Jiang among the living
  • Sniper Rifle becomes Xi He, their leader.
• Liu Zheng charges Xi He with protecting the group and, if possible, rescuing other Pet People so they can live as true humans.
• He contacts Fisherman and persuades him to take the Xi Family into his care. Fisherman arrives dramatically, kicks Liu Zheng into the Sewer River, and defeats the Rat-Skin Men when they attack him.
• Despite Fisherman’s harsh treatment, Xi He and the others choose to remain under his protection. Fisherman begins assigning them work, starting with the construction of a fish pond.
• Liu Zheng receives a call from Hishikibe, who explains that Tamamo-no-Mae Yuichi will eventually send Deer Child after finishing his own “training” with him. The condition of Deer Child afterward is uncertain.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to grow more powerful and influential. He shows compassion and responsibility by formally naming the Rat-Skin Men and their deceased companions, while also manipulating Fisherman into protecting them.
• Xi He develops into a determined leader. She accepts Liu Zheng’s mission, resists Fisherman’s attack despite serious injury, and chooses to remain with him to secure a future for her people.
• The Rat-Skin Men gain individuality and dignity through their names. Their loyalty to Xi He and Liu Zheng becomes clear when they immediately defend one another.
• Fisherman remains abrasive and intimidating but agrees to shelter the group. Liu Zheng’s rapid progress alarms him and rekindles his competitive spirit, motivating him to train seriously again.
• Sniper Rifle/Xi He acts as translator, historian, and social bridge between Liu Zheng and the Rat-Skin Men, preserving their memories and helping establish their new identity.

Significant Themes

• Identity and humanity: Names symbolize recognition and personhood. Liu Zheng’s naming ceremony transforms the Rat-Skin Men from disposable “pets” into individuals with histories and a shared family identity.
• Memory and mourning: The marked bones preserve the dead Rat-Skin Men’s stories, showing how even brief lives can carry meaning.
• Survival in a brutal world: Metropolis kills indiscriminately, and survival depends on luck, strength, alliances, and adaptability.
• Responsibility and found family: Liu Zheng refuses to abandon those he rescued and seeks long-term protection for them, while Xi He accepts the duty of leading her people.
• Generational rivalry and growth: Fisherman is unsettled by Liu Zheng’s astonishing improvement, creating a humorous but genuine pressure for him to regain his former strength.
• Power versus compassion: Fisherman believes harsh discipline is necessary, while Liu Zheng urges him not to mistreat the vulnerable Rat-Skin Men.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and the Box Weaver-Spider: Liu Zheng exploits the spider’s greed to secure the giant maggot.
• Liu Zheng and Sniper Rifle/Xi He: Their practical cooperation develops into mutual respect, culminating in Liu Zheng giving her the name Xi He and entrusting her with leadership.
• Liu Zheng and the Rat-Skin Men: He treats them with unusual kindness, naming them, honoring their dead, and encouraging them to live with dignity.
• Liu Zheng and Fisherman: Their relationship is openly antagonistic and comic. Liu Zheng manipulates Fisherman through concern for Sea Woman, while Fisherman resents being lectured and fears Liu Zheng’s rapid advancement.
• Fisherman and the Xi Family: Fisherman tests them brutally, but their willingness to endure his treatment convinces him to accept them as subordinates.
• Liu Zheng and Hishikibe: Hishikibe scolds Liu Zheng for missing her call but provides an update about obtaining Deer Child, moving another plot thread forward.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng negotiates with Hishikibe over rescuing Deer Child. Hishikibe agrees to help only if Liu Zheng can help him advance from Grandmaster Author to Platinum Author.
• Hishikibe explains that becoming a Platinum Author requires substantial industry influence, such as recommendations from three existing Platinum Authors or a highly prestigious academic paper analyzing his novels.
• Liu Zheng jokingly proposes creating a criminal incident involving Hishikibe’s books so scholars would study their social and psychological influence. Alarmed by Liu Zheng’s dangerous methods, Hishikibe settles for simply obtaining three Platinum recommendations.
• Liu Zheng agrees to help because Hishikibe has assisted him in the past and is Novelist’s closest friend. He also values Novelist’s earlier help when he first arrived at the Bloodstained Restaurant and during Nightingale’s rescue.
• Remembering that the Nine-Dragon Pulling Coffin still needs a coffin, Liu Zheng decides to offer the Northern Yin Heaven-Mending Coffin to Fool, believing it may be more valuable than the Writers Association chairman’s own coffin.
• Liu Zheng brings Fool to Imhotep Clinic, where Nile Doctor reveals the coffin from a hidden chamber beneath the floor.
• Fool recognizes the coffin as the legendary Northern Yin Heaven-Mending Coffin and reveals that he had searched for it previously. He agrees to help secure Hishikibe’s promotion to Platinum Author in exchange for the coffin.
• Liu Zheng warns Fool that a cultivator using Yin-Yang Reversal Art and Red Lotus Karmic Fire remains inside. Fool is unfazed and agrees to retrieve the Red Lotus Karmic Fire afterward for the Gravekeeper, who collects powerful flames.
• Fool effortlessly lifts the coffin with one claw and departs. Nile Doctor remarks that Fool is even stronger than Cow-Horse.
• The chapter ends with playful banter between Liu Zheng and Nile Doctor about Liu Zheng’s strange appearance, possible origins, and increasingly “Metropolis-like” insults.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates his growing influence and resourcefulness. He is willing to trade a powerful supernatural artifact to help Hishikibe, motivated by loyalty rather than personal gain.
• Hishikibe is shown as ambitious but cautious. He wants the prestige of becoming a Platinum Author but immediately rejects Liu Zheng’s potentially criminal scheme when it threatens his safety.
• Fool is established as both powerful and socially influential. His status as a Platinum Author and prospective Writers Association chairman makes him capable of advancing Hishikibe’s career, while his effortless handling of the coffin confirms his formidable strength.
• Sphinx remains blunt, defensive, and proud, rejecting Fool’s flirtatious attention and feline grooming product.
• Nile Doctor continues to act as a dry, teasing medical authority. His assessment of Fool’s strength emphasizes the latter’s importance.
• Novelist, though mostly offscreen, is shown to remain emotionally significant to Liu Zheng. His willingness to help Hishikibe is largely rooted in his gratitude toward her.

Significant Themes

• Social influence can be manufactured or derived indirectly: The discussion about Hishikibe’s Platinum status satirizes how reputation, scholarship, commercial success, and public controversy can determine cultural authority.
• Power through relationships: Liu Zheng relies on alliances with Fool, Novelist, Hishikibe, and others rather than strength alone. His social network gives him influence disproportionate to his official status.
• Loyalty and repayment: Liu Zheng helps Hishikibe because of past favors and Hishikibe’s connection to Novelist, showing that personal bonds matter more to him than the immediate value of a transaction.
• Dangerous objects and hidden power: The coffin and Red Lotus Karmic Fire suggest that seemingly mundane exchanges involve artifacts of immense supernatural significance.
• Humor amid danger: Serious matters—criminal schemes, powerful relics, and dangerous flames—are handled through sarcasm, absurd negotiations, and comedic character interactions.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Hishikibe: Their negotiation is sarcastic and transactional, but also reveals mutual trust. Hishikibe complains about Liu Zheng’s methods yet ultimately depends on him.
• Liu Zheng and Novelist: Liu Zheng’s affection and gratitude toward Novelist motivate his willingness to help her friend. Her cutesy interruption embarrasses Hishikibe and reinforces their close relationship.
• Liu Zheng and Fool: Their exchange is respectful and cooperative. Liu Zheng provides Fool with a treasured coffin, while Fool agrees to support Hishikibe’s advancement and potentially retrieve the Red Lotus Karmic Fire.
• Fool and Sphinx: Fool attempts to charm Sphinx with a gift designed for feline fur, but she rejects both the gift and his attention.
• Fool and Nile Doctor: They exchange formal courtesies, establishing mutual respect. Fool invites Nile Doctor to Source Fort.
• Liu Zheng and Nile Doctor: Their final exchange is teasing and familiar, with Nile Doctor joking about Liu Zheng’s possible powerful origins and Liu Zheng defending his bizarre appearance.

After returning to the Restaurant, Liu Zheng dealt with Weaver Lady, arranged funding for the Du Kang Liquor Shop quota, and caught up with Cow-Horse. He left to relax at the Yakuza Sento while several other plans awaited news or treatment.

• The Sphinx scolded Liu Zheng for bringing Boss Fool to the clinic, then accepted his dried fish.
• Liu Zheng triggered Cow-Horse's rat traps in the Haystack and gave Weaver Lady insect meals, Spirit Thread, and the Crude Phoenix Cape to sew.
• Liu Zheng apologized to Yuan Bao'er about the failed attack on Mount Oe and arranged for her and City Hall to finance most of his Du Kang Liquor Shop quota.
• Liu Zheng told 4399 he would front money only for 4399 and 8848, while the others had to pay their own shares.
• Cow-Horse said he had delivered takeout to Malina or Melina at the Pink Kingdom and warned that she might now be a walking corpse.
• Liu Zheng told Cow-Horse he had taken care of the person threatening his wife, then drove to the Yakuza Sento.

Chapter Summary: Jinzi Clan’s Aphrodisiac Cuisine

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng visits the Jinzi Clan’s bathhouse and is warmly greeted by Jinzi, who flirts with him. He refuses her advances because he is cultivating a virgin cultivation technique that forbids intimacy with both women and men.
• He asks Jinzi to arrange a large meal, a massage, and a medicinal dish that enhances sexual ability. He also offers the clan two million worth of purchase quota from Du Kang Liquor Shop, presenting it as both a profitable investment and repayment for their friendship.
• Jinzi reports that the Attendant Clan has found a possible Legendary Deliveryman item: a wristwatch that can increase the wearer’s speed tenfold for three seconds. She promises to obtain it before the next morning.
• After bathing, Liu Zheng eats at a private room reserved for him by the bathhouse’s owner. He consumes the clan’s “Creamy Clam and Mushroom Soup,” which permanently greatly increases his sexual ability. The effect is linked to breast-control proficiency, and the soup’s unusual ingredient is revealed to come from the clanswomen’s efforts.
• Liu Zheng enjoys a massive meal without becoming sick, attributing his extraordinary appetite to the Black Goat’s Young bloodline. He then receives a proper massage from Jinzi and leaves after refusing another meal and further temptation.
• Liu Zheng contacts Nile Doctor to check on the injured companions from the Hundred Thousand Mountains. The Bai Family has arrived to assist with treatment, greatly improving recovery speed. Panda is nearly healed, while Niu Daji has reverted to a cow after absorbing medicinal grasses and undergoing ancestral reversion.
• Nile Doctor suggests that Daji could become one of Sun God Ra’s Subordinate Gods, possibly filling the bull form associated with Ra. Liu Zheng does not reject the idea entirely but makes clear that Daji would have to choose willingly.
• Liu Zheng decides to repay Bai San’s assistance by helping locate Bai Tianshi, an associate chief physician who has disappeared. He begins contacting acquaintances for connections in the hospital or Health Department.
• The Pet-Rejection Faction offers little assistance: 4399 agrees to report the matter but warns Liu Zheng not to expect much, while Silver Wolf and Ace have no useful contacts. Novelist offers to ask Hishikibe, though Liu Zheng tells her not to trouble herself.
• Black Skeleton agrees to investigate through his Health Department contact, despite admitting that the person’s influence is limited.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng calling Fool for help and joking about having “virtual afternoon tea.” He then asks whether Fool has opened the mysterious coffin.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains cautious and disciplined despite repeated seduction attempts, prioritizing his powerful cultivation skill over temporary pleasure. He also demonstrates generosity by sharing Du Kang Liquor Shop’s lucrative purchase quota with Jinzi’s clan.
• He continues to strengthen his network and reputation by repaying favors, especially Bai San’s help. His willingness to seek assistance from multiple factions shows growing strategic awareness.
• Jinzi becomes more openly affectionate and flirtatious toward Liu Zheng, while also proving herself reliable and politically useful. She promises to secure the Legendary Deliveryman’s wristwatch and assist in gathering information.
• Nile Doctor shows loyalty to Sun God Ra and a strong interest in expanding Ra’s strength through potential Subordinate Gods, particularly Niu Daji.
• Niu Daji is placed in an uncertain state after reverting into a cow. Its future identity—returning to a Minotaur or becoming a divine subordinate—remains unresolved.
• Black Skeleton demonstrates genuine friendship and sympathy, agreeing to help Liu Zheng despite having limited influence.
• Novelist is portrayed as sincere and emotionally supportive. Unlike other contacts, she does not appear to conceal motives or make excuses, which Liu Zheng deeply values.
• Fool retains his playful, questioning personality and immediately engages Liu Zheng in humorous conversation.

Significant Themes

• Self-control versus temptation: Liu Zheng repeatedly rejects Jinzi, Jingzi, and Little Wan, emphasizing his commitment to cultivation and the consequences of abandoning discipline.
• Friendship and reciprocity: Liu Zheng treats relationships as more than transactions, sharing valuable business opportunities and seeking ways to repay those who help him.
• Unusual cultivation and bodily transformation: The aphrodisiac soup, Black Goat bloodline, Daji’s ancestral reversion, and the possibility of divine transformation all highlight the bizarre and unpredictable effects of supernatural powers.
• Networks and factional influence: Liu Zheng’s search for help reveals how access to hospitals and government departments depends on factional connections. Different organizations possess influence in different areas.
• Trust in a dangerous society: Liu Zheng finds Novelist especially comforting because he believes her willingness to help is genuine, contrasting her with the more politically complicated relationships elsewhere.
• Power and utility: Characters and creatures are frequently evaluated according to their potential combat strength, divine value, or usefulness to larger plans.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Jinzi: Their flirtatious exchanges mix romantic tension with practical cooperation. Jinzi wants to tempt him, while Liu Zheng maintains boundaries but trusts her clan’s abilities.
• Liu Zheng and Nile Doctor: Their conversation covers the recovery of the injured, Daji’s transformation, and the possibility of serving Sun God Ra. Liu Zheng remains protective of Daji’s autonomy.
• Liu Zheng and the Pet-Rejection Faction: His calls reveal the limits of their influence and the difficulty of obtaining help through official channels.
• Liu Zheng and Black Skeleton: Black Skeleton responds sympathetically and agrees to use his limited Health Department connection to investigate Bai Tianshi’s disappearance.
• Liu Zheng and Novelist: Their exchange highlights mutual trust and emotional warmth. Liu Zheng reassures her that her willingness to help matters even if she lacks the necessary connections.
• Liu Zheng and Fool: Their playful conversation provides a lighter ending before shifting toward the unresolved mystery of the coffin.

Chapter Summary

Liu Zheng contacts Fool to ask for help finding someone in the Health Department who can assist Bai Tianshi. Fool offers to involve the Writers Association president through the Culture Department, but Liu Zheng refuses to use such an important favor unless all other options fail.
They arrange to meet at Imhotep Clinic, where Fool is enthusiastically trying to impress Sphinx with catnip, fish oil, and other luxury products. Sphinx is visibly annoyed and asks Liu Zheng to make him leave. Fool gives Liu the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, stored inside an unstable lighter created by the Writers Association president, and warns him not to throw it at enemies because a strong impact could cause it to collapse and injure him. He also gives Liu a jade pendant recovered from the coffin burned by the fire. The pendant apparently contains the deceased person’s sect inheritance, though Liu cannot access it because he possesses neither mana nor divine sense.
Fool explains that Narrators can create or erase objects, creatures, rules, races, and territories through writing. Unlike Creator Gods, they lack divine sparks and cannot use the world’s origin power, but they are also free from divine sparks and the world’s will. As a result, their potential may exceed that of Creator Gods even though their normal limits are lower.
Fool asks why Sphinx dislikes him despite his strength, status, and appearance. Liu explains that Sphinx is hostile toward nearly everyone, but her willingness to turn her back on him indicates that she trusts Liu because they fought the Divine Monster together. Their conversation highlights the bond formed through shared danger, while Fool’s attraction to Sphinx remains one-sided and awkward. After Fool leaves, Sphinx threatens to bite Liu for encouraging the situation. She then bites into his head in irritation, treating him with her usual violent affection. Liu responds casually, distracting her with dried fish before leaving.
Liu next contacts Thirteen Yao to retrieve the fire he had arranged. He asks whether sedan chairs can transport people into the city, but learns that this privilege is reserved for VIPs. His joking attempt to claim Sukuna’s former status is rejected because doing so would provoke the Eight Directional Gods. Liu continues their familiar, teasing exchange, calling himself “half a son” and swearing to help Thirteen Yao whenever needed.
He also follows up with the deputy director and Li Ziming about protecting Hachijo’s granddaughter, Ouma Mirai. Li reports that his allies have sabotaged several students who might harm her, including scratching the face of a popular girl and frightening a boy into avoiding her. However, they cannot reach the school’s top student, who is heavily protected because of his academic value and future admission to Municipal First University. Liu is angered by the school’s unequal treatment: Ouma Mirai receives little protection because only her mathematics performance is exceptional, while the more valuable student is guarded constantly.
Although Li’s group has arranged shifts to prevent Ouma from being bullied at school, Liu recognizes that this is only a temporary solution. He concludes that the problem must be addressed at its source and begins devising a more decisive plan, ending the chapter with a cold smile.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Fool: Their relationship remains cooperative but informal. Liu values Fool’s assistance but carefully avoids wasting the Writers Association president’s influence.
• Fool and Sphinx: Fool openly courts Sphinx with gifts and flattery, while Sphinx finds him irritating and potentially threatening. Their mismatched interaction provides comic relief.
• Liu Zheng and Sphinx: Their violent exchanges reveal mutual trust and familiarity. Sphinx can attack Liu without damaging their underlying camaraderie.
• Liu Zheng and Thirteen Yao: They maintain a sarcastic, quasi-familial relationship, with Liu manipulating humor and exaggerated promises to obtain help.
• Liu Zheng and Li Ziming: Liu acts as the strategist and authority figure, while Li reports on the situation and follows his instructions despite the limitations of his helpers.

Significant Themes

• Power and creation: The Writers Association’s Narrators possess reality-altering abilities that challenge the distinction between authors, gods, and natural laws.
• Trust through shared danger: Sphinx’s reluctant trust in Liu comes from surviving battles together rather than from status or charm.
• Value-based protection and social inequality: Ouma Mirai is neglected because the school does not consider her valuable enough, while a top student receives extreme protection.
• Temporary fixes versus root causes: Guarding Ouma can prevent immediate bullying, but Liu understands that lasting safety requires eliminating the source of the threat.
• Humor amid danger: Violent situations, supernatural weapons, and political favors are repeatedly undercut by sarcasm, teasing, and absurd interactions.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng discusses how to deal with Fengmo Mirai’s remaining bully. He considers several extreme methods but decides to act carefully, especially since two of the three bullies have already been dealt with and Li Ziming’s friends are protecting Mirai.
• He instructs Li Ziming to locate a secluded manhole near the school, warning him not to enter it without preparation because of the danger of the Sewer.
• Liu Zheng is transported to the Night Parade Bathhouse in a sedan chair carried by eight small demons. He tips them before entering.
• At the bathhouse, he exchanges hostile but playful banter with Yoko, who drops her polite façade and reveals her aggressive personality. Thirteen Yao joins in the vulgar joking.
• Liu Zheng brings out his corn pipe and uses the Writers Association president’s lighter. The lighter releases terrifying Red Lotus Karmic Fire, which nearly overwhelms Liu Zheng himself before the pipe absorbs it.
• The lighter transforms into ink and merges with the pipe, upgrading it into the Perfect Fireproof Pipe. The pipe can now store large quantities of high-quality flames and gives tobacco enhanced flavor based on the flames it contains.
• Liu Zheng realizes he has collected six of the seven flames required by the Gravekeeper; the final one is the stove fire promised by the White-Feather Chicken.
• He contacts Hachijo to report on Mirai’s situation. Hachijo worries that sending her to a city school exposed her to bullying, but Liu Zheng reassures him that the immediate problem is under control.
• Liu Zheng promises to help Mirai avoid future bullying if she reaches City No. 1 University, mentioning his connection to a professor there. He jokingly asks Hachijo for another stick of Deity-Invoking Incense as payment, but Hachijo refuses.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to demonstrate resourcefulness, ruthlessness, and confidence. Although he imagines brutal solutions to Mirai’s problem, he ultimately prioritizes protection and long-term planning.
• His growing network of influential figures becomes clear: agents and leaders connected to the Bloodstained Restaurant, Cemetery, and Writers Association have all aided him, giving him unusual resources despite his ordinary background.
• Yoko abandons her formal “Yamato Nadeshiko” behavior around Liu Zheng and openly shows her violent, sarcastic, and tough personality. Their relationship is defined by mutual provocation and familiarity.
• Thirteen Yao is shown to be both crude and cautious. He enjoys teasing Liu Zheng but is genuinely frightened by the Red Lotus Karmic Fire and worried about damage to the bathhouse.
• Hachijo reveals paternal concern for Mirai and doubts whether sending her to the city was wise. His willingness to seek better opportunities for her shows both ambition and affection.
• Fengmo Mirai does not appear directly, but the chapter establishes that she is vulnerable, valued by Hachijo and Liu Zheng, and now under protection.

Significant Themes

• Protection versus revenge: Liu Zheng considers violent retaliation but focuses instead on ensuring Mirai’s safety and future.
• Connections and influence: Liu Zheng’s power comes less from wealth or family and more from the relationships he has built with major figures and supernatural organizations.
• Dangerous power and control: The Red Lotus Karmic Fire is immensely powerful but also dangerous to its wielder, emphasizing that strength must be handled carefully.
• Transformation and accumulation: The corn pipe’s upgrade symbolizes how Liu Zheng’s collected resources and alliances gradually increase his power.
• Family, responsibility, and opportunity: Hachijo’s concern highlights the risks of pursuing a better education and city life, while Liu Zheng frames Mirai’s future as something she must eventually manage herself.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Li Ziming: Liu Zheng gives Li Ziming practical instructions about the manhole and the Sewer, while Li Ziming responds obediently.
• Liu Zheng and the sedan demons: The interaction is respectful and transactional; Liu Zheng rewards their service with cash.
• Liu Zheng and Yoko: They insult, threaten, and physically annoy each other, but their banter suggests comfort and familiarity.
• Liu Zheng and Thirteen Yao: Their conversation is dominated by vulgar jokes and provocation, though Thirteen Yao’s fear of the fire reveals genuine respect for its danger.
• Liu Zheng and Hachijo: They argue humorously about Hachijo’s spitting and the Deity-Invoking Incense, but beneath the jokes is a serious discussion about Mirai’s safety, education, and future.

Chapter Summary: “Asking Around”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hachijo has Yoko bring Liu Zheng a chunk of Edible Coal, an excellent-quality item that dramatically boosts fire damage while lowering fire resistance. Liu realizes that, combined with the flames stored in his pipe and Dumplings’ Gratitude, it could let him unleash a devastating fire attack—possibly enough to roast Cow-Horse—but would likely incinerate him as well.
• After leaving the Night Parade Bathhouse, Liu returns to the city in his golden sports car and discovers that the Sphinx has not damaged or hidden it.
• 4399 reports that investigating Bai Tianshi through the Pet-Rejection Faction could expose him to the Mixed-Blood Faction. Liu rejects the plan because it might result in Bai Tianshi being killed, controlled, or moved, making it harder to help Bai San.
• Liu considers a more direct method: having Bai San order a delivery for Bai Tianshi. If the order succeeds, they could confirm Bai Tianshi is alive and locate him, giving Liu grounds to force entry into the hospital. He recognizes that this could provoke a major confrontation, but is also excited by the danger.
• Black Skeleton finds a possible source of information inside the hospital: an electrician related to one of his friends, who demands 300,000 upfront but cannot guarantee results. Liu agrees to pay but insists the investigation remain discreet and rely on rumors and indirect clues rather than directly asking about Bai Tianshi.
• Liu realizes that a professional detective would be more suitable. Black Skeleton is told to delay the electrician’s investigation.
• At the Imhotep Clinic, Liu finds the Nile Doctor relaxing after completing the Bai Family’s exorcism ritual. Liu drinks honey beer and jokes casually with the doctor.
• Liu contacts Healing Bee to reach detective Luo Ping. During the call, Liu confronts Healing Bee about concealing the risks and failure surrounding Niu Daji’s sensory-mutation treatment. Healing Bee blames the incident on an experimental treatment and claims he informed Niu Daji, but Liu warns him not to deceive him again.
• Luo Ping contacts Liu and agrees to investigate Bai Tianshi for one million. Their conversation also touches on Killer, who is hiding in the Sewer and living quietly while Liu works to resolve the wanted notice against him.
• Luo Ping asks Liu to meet him at Morrison Elementary School in the Old District to discuss conditions for the commission. Liu becomes suspicious that the meeting could be a trap.
• The Nile Doctor offers to accompany him, but Liu refuses because the doctor has not fully recovered and the clinic is vulnerable. He also refuses to take the Sphinx, since leaving the clinic undefended could invite an attack. Liu decides to wait until the injured panda recovers, prioritizing the safety of those depending on him.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to show boldness, resourcefulness, and a willingness to risk himself. His thoughts about using the edible coal and potentially blowing up the hospital reveal his destructive humor and appetite for danger, though he ultimately acts cautiously when other people’s safety is involved.
• Liu becomes more strategically minded. Rather than recklessly exposing Bai Tianshi’s situation, he rejects a risky factional investigation and searches for a discreet, professional alternative.
• The Sphinx remains proud, sarcastic, and destructive, but its banter with Liu shows growing familiarity. It reveals irritation toward the Great Desert and jokingly negotiates a mutual agreement to destroy it and the hospital.
• The Nile Doctor and Liu display a comfortable, teasing friendship. The doctor also demonstrates concern for Liu by offering to accompany him, while Liu protects the clinic by refusing to take him.
• Black Skeleton proves dependable and generous, offering to advance the investigation money and help Liu gather information.
• Healing Bee is shown to be evasive and irresponsible, attempting to minimize his role in Niu Daji’s mutation. Liu becomes more openly distrustful and assertive toward him.
• Luo Ping appears cautious and professional. His willingness to take a dangerous commission, his concern for Killer, and his insistence on meeting face-to-face suggest that he has independent motives and standards.

Significant Themes

• Information-gathering and discretion: The chapter emphasizes that uncovering Bai Tianshi’s whereabouts is dangerous. Direct action could alert powerful factions and worsen his situation, so Liu seeks indirect, carefully controlled methods.
• Risk versus responsibility: Liu enjoys danger and imagines spectacular destruction, but he restrains himself because the clinic’s patients and allies rely on him.
• Trust and accountability: Liu distinguishes between reliable allies such as Black Skeleton and evasive figures such as Healing Bee. He demands that people take responsibility for their actions and honor the terms of their agreements.
• Found family and mutual protection: The characters’ teasing relationships conceal genuine loyalty. Liu, the Nile Doctor, Black Skeleton, and even the Sphinx look out for one another while working toward shared goals.
• Power and confrontation: The hospital represents a force powerful enough to rival the Bloodstained Restaurant. Liu’s willingness to challenge it reflects his growing confidence, but his caution shows that he understands the consequences.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu and the Sphinx joke about destroying the hospital and the Great Desert, highlighting their combative but increasingly familiar relationship.
• Liu and 4399 discuss the dangers of investigating Bai Tianshi through factional channels; Liu chooses Bai San’s safety over speed.
• Liu and Black Skeleton coordinate a covert hospital investigation, with Black Skeleton offering both contacts and financial assistance.
• Liu and the Nile Doctor share drinks and banter at the clinic, while also discussing the need to protect the clinic from possible attacks.
• Liu confronts Healing Bee over the mishandling of Niu Daji’s treatment and threatens consequences if Healing Bee deceives him again.
• Liu and Luo Ping establish a one-million-unit detective commission, discuss Killer’s situation, and arrange a potentially dangerous meeting in the Old District.

Liu Zheng brought Panda to the Old District, first arranging a future home for Malina’s son and then continuing on to Morrison Elementary School. Along the way, Panda learned from an inheritance jade slip and asked Liu Zheng when he would blow up the Municipal Building.

• Nile Doctor hosted Liu Zheng, and Panda emerged from surgery hungry and was persuaded to work in exchange for opportunities and access to the Yin-Yang Jade Pendant.
• Panda studied the pendant’s inheritance during the drive, then noticed the Old District’s chaotic auras as Liu Zheng teased him about blowing up a building.
• Liu Zheng visited Malina in the Pink Kingdom and proposed that Niu Daji’s family raise her son; Malina indicated her agreement, and the queen accepted the plan.
• Liu Zheng joked that a Good Deeds System made him stronger, angering the queen, who ordered Zhizi to cut off his little buddy.
• Liu Zheng and Panda navigated the ruined Old District with Panda’s spells and arrived at Morrison Elementary School.

Chapter Summary: “Liu Zheng, How Much Longer Can You Live?”

Key Plot Points and Events

Liu Zheng and Panda arrive at Morrison Elementary School, a church-like building protected by Luo Ping’s powerful Absolute Sanctuary spell. The barrier prevents both outsiders from entering and those inside from leaving, creating a completely isolated safe zone.
Luo Ping introduces the school’s supervisor, Jane Eyre, who manages the students and daily operations. The school has forty-five students, most of whom are humanoid or other unusual creatures. Jane organizes them efficiently, and Liu Zheng recognizes that her disciplined approach follows the methods of the previous supervisor.
Inside the school, Luo Ping shows Liu Zheng a bust of his father, LeBlanc Morrison, and a stained-glass image of his grandfather, Rouen Morrison. He then recounts the school’s violent history:

• Rouen was once a thief who was forced to join the Mowei Brotherhood after being caught stealing.
• After being persecuted by fellow believers, he escaped into the Sewer and returned transformed into a creature made of maggots and excrement.
• He killed the sect members, took over the church, and later adopted LeBlanc under similarly coercive circumstances.
• LeBlanc eventually converted the church into an elementary school that also became an orphanage.
• When a gang attempted to seize the school, LeBlanc and the teachers died defending it. Only Luo Ping and Jane survived among the children.
• Luo Ping became principal, while Jane became the school’s supervisor. Luo Ping worked as a detective to fund the school and eventually created the Absolute Sanctuary array to protect it.
  Luo Ping asks Liu Zheng to accept a commission. His terms are a payment of one million in cash, a powerful legal representative for the school who cannot interfere with daily operations, and complete freedom to act without Liu Zheng influencing him. Liu Zheng agrees to the payment and proposes Nile Doctor as both the school doctor and legal representative. Luo Ping is enthusiastic because Nile Doctor could provide medical care, long-term protection, and potentially support the children spiritually.
  Luo Ping’s final concern is whether Liu Zheng can avoid interfering after accepting the commission. Liu Zheng admits that he may die soon and can only guarantee his cooperation while alive. When asked how long he expects to live, he answers, “Three days.” Luo Ping therefore commits to completing the commission within three days.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains practical, observant, and darkly humorous. He quickly evaluates the school’s situation, understands Luo Ping’s motives, and offers a solution involving Nile Doctor. His statement that he may die within three days emphasizes his precarious condition and limited time.
• Luo Ping is shown to be responsible, modest, and deeply committed to preserving Morrison Elementary School. Though he works as a detective and has survived the school’s violent past, his main concern is protecting the children and securing the institution’s future.
• Jane Eyre is established as a capable and disciplined administrator who handles nearly every aspect of the school’s daily life. Her cautious reaction to Liu Zheng and Panda suggests both shyness and vigilance.
• Panda provides comic relief, especially through his disdain for the sparkling wine and his confusion about Sun Wukong and Tang Sanzang.
• Nile Doctor, though absent, becomes important through Liu Zheng’s proposal. His medical expertise, longevity, and character make him an ideal protector and school doctor.

Significant Themes

• Protection and sanctuary: The Absolute Sanctuary represents both physical safety and isolation. The school is secure, but its inhabitants are also cut off from the outside world.
• Cycles of violence and adoption: Rouen, LeBlanc, and Luo Ping all become connected through coercion, violence, and unexpected family bonds. The school’s history shows how trauma and survival shape successive generations.
• Responsibility and inheritance: Luo Ping inherits not only the school but also the responsibility to preserve the ideals established by his predecessors. Jane likewise continues the traditions of earlier administrators.
• Tradition versus innovation: Liu Zheng’s reflections on his former school contrast the value of proven methods with the damage caused by unnecessary “innovation.” Morrison Elementary succeeds partly because Luo Ping respects the systems left by those before him.
• Mortality and urgency: Liu Zheng’s possible death within three days places a strict deadline on the commission and highlights the fragility of alliances and plans.
• Community beyond species: The school shelters children of many different forms and backgrounds, functioning as both an educational institution and an orphanage.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Panda discuss Luo Ping’s protective spell, comparing it to the Body-Sheltering Spell from Journey to the West.
• Liu Zheng compliments Luo Ping’s school management and shares his belief that established professional methods should not be discarded without reason.
• Luo Ping tells Liu Zheng the Morrison family history, revealing the school’s origins and the sacrifices made to protect it.
• Liu Zheng predicts that Luo Ping’s own adoption must have involved the same violent pattern as his predecessors, but Luo Ping clarifies that he was adopted after being punished for a prank.
• Liu Zheng and Luo Ping negotiate the commission’s conditions. Liu Zheng refuses to guarantee control over events after his death but agrees to help while alive.
• Liu Zheng proposes Nile Doctor as the school’s legal representative and doctor, offering Morrison Elementary School both medical support and long-term protection.

Chapter Summary: “Lottery Shop, Here I Fucking Come”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng and Panda return from donating money and acquiring protective talismans. During their trip, they bicker over Liu Zheng’s statement that he has “three days left to live.”
• Instead of parking directly outside Lucky One Lottery Shop, Liu Zheng hides the car and carefully organizes his weapons and items in his system storage. He intends to confront the shopkeeper while appearing unprepared, since a failed assassination attempt could provoke serious retaliation.
• The lottery shop owner immediately recognizes Liu Zheng as someone from the Bloodstained Restaurant and refuses to serve him, particularly denying his request to buy Scratch-Off Lottery tickets.
• Liu Zheng initially leaves rather than attack, sensing that the owner’s strength is abnormal. Panda describes the owner’s aura as impossible to grasp, like sliding off a massive slab of fat.
• Liu Zheng contacts 4399 and learns that the owner is likely a former City Hall employee forced into early retirement. Such people may be assigned jobs, including running lottery shops, and are assessed by the Human Resources Department. This gives Liu Zheng a way to threaten and control him.
• Liu Zheng returns and threatens to open a competing giveaway stall outside the shop, eventually warning that he can make the owner fail his assessment and reopen his retirement case.
• The owner releases an overwhelming aura, but Panda shields Liu Zheng. Liu then reveals that he has connections to City Hall and possesses a large Du Kang Liquor Shop procurement quota, making his death potentially costly for the owner.
• The confrontation becomes a vicious exchange of insults. The owner is forced to compromise, allowing Panda—whom he considers “one of his own”—to purchase lottery tickets.
• Liu Zheng buys 5,000 yuan worth of Electronic Scratch-Off Lottery tickets. Before the owner begins scratching them, Liu Zheng leaves to prepare a special item combination.
• Outside, Liu Zheng uses the Shuffled Dice on the Black Carp Dragon’s Grievance Sarira, an item with a 99% chance of instant death and a 1% chance of granting “Heavenly Fortune.” The dice randomly rearranges the probabilities of the sarira’s effects.
• The chapter ends as Liu Zheng eagerly checks the altered item description, preparing to gamble on the outcome.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates increasing caution and strategic thinking. Rather than recklessly attacking the owner, he investigates the owner’s background and exploits City Hall’s bureaucratic systems and financial interests.
• He also displays his usual aggressive confidence, using threats, money, insults, and political leverage to force stronger opponents into concessions.
• Liu Zheng’s willingness to gamble with the Grievance Sarira highlights both his courage and recklessness. He remains excited despite the possibility of instant death.
• Panda continues serving as Liu Zheng’s blunt, loyal companion. Although initially confused by Liu Zheng’s retreat, he protects him when the owner releases his aura and helps create the pretext that allows the purchase.
• The lottery shop owner is revealed to be a disgruntled former Special Operations Team member and former deputy section chief or similar official. He is powerful, arrogant, resentful, and deliberately antagonistic, but becomes cautious when Liu Zheng threatens his benefits and career.
• 4399 provides crucial information without probing too deeply, suggesting either discretion or awareness that Liu Zheng is pursuing a dangerous objective.

Significant Themes

• Strategy over brute force: Liu Zheng avoids a direct fight and instead weaponizes information, bureaucracy, money, and political connections.
• Institutional control: City Hall’s system of assigning jobs and monitoring retired employees reveals how it manages potentially dangerous former officials.
• Power and social hierarchy: The owner’s former status makes him unwilling to submit to Liu Zheng, while Liu Zheng’s connections and resources allow him to challenge him.
• Gambling with fate: The Sarira and Shuffled Dice embody the chapter’s focus on risk, luck, and the desire to turn a deadly probability into an advantage.
• Comedy through hostility: Much of the tension is undercut by exaggerated insults and vulgar arguments, especially between Liu Zheng and the owner.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Panda trade sarcastic remarks throughout the journey, displaying their familiar but combative friendship.
• Liu Zheng and the shop owner engage in escalating verbal warfare, each refusing to show weakness.
• Panda physically protects Liu Zheng from the owner’s oppressive aura, demonstrating his loyalty despite his casual attitude.
• Liu Zheng manipulates the owner’s assumptions about Panda and his own background, eventually persuading the owner to sell the tickets.
• Liu Zheng’s call with 4399 provides the information that transforms the conflict from a possible physical battle into a bureaucratic and financial confrontation.

Chapter Summary: “A Hundred Million Grand Prize!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng decides to use the Black Carp Dragon’s Grievance Sarira, accepting a 1% risk of instant death in exchange for a 99% chance of gaining Heavenly Fortune for one hour. He successfully receives the luck-enhancing status.
• He immediately enters the lottery shop and discovers that pressing the electronic “Draw” button causes a physical lottery ticket to slap him in the face. The shop owner explains that the ticket is randomly generated through electronic and quantum processes.
• Liu Zheng wins 5,000 points on his first ticket, confirming the effectiveness of his temporary luck boost.
• He spends enough money to draw roughly 10,000 tickets, using multiple tentacles to draw and scratch them rapidly. However, Heavenly Fortune expires after one hour, limiting the number of tickets benefiting from the effect.
• After counting the tickets, the shop owner processes them all at once. Liu Zheng wins an astounding 100,560,000 points, becoming the recipient of the lottery’s enormous grand prize.
• The shop owner realizes Liu Zheng must have used a luck-based treasure and attempts to extort him by threatening to report him for cheating. Liu Zheng refuses to yield and instead bribes him with a bottle of Copper-Label Liquor.
• Liu Zheng exchanges the largest available prize—worth 100 million points—for a mysterious manuscript belonging to a powerful figure known as the Supreme Speaker.
• The manuscript contains only three questions—“What is life? What is consciousness? What is existence?”—with the remaining pages blank. Liu Zheng recognizes its immense value despite not understanding it.
• Concerned about losing the manuscript, Liu Zheng entrusts it to Panda and plans to acquire a separate storage item for extra security.
• With 560,000 points remaining, Liu Zheng begins looking for Eugenics Drug or a superior alternative to help Cow-Horse, whose contamination has likely worsened after being parasitized by something from the Garbage Processing Plant.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates boldness, opportunism, and strategic thinking. He takes a calculated risk with the Sarira, exploits his temporary luck to the fullest, and spends lavishly to maximize his winnings.
• His confidence and political awareness become more apparent when he intimidates the shop owner with connections to the Public Security Bureau, Planeswalkers, and high-level City Hall politics.
• Liu Zheng also shows foresight and caution regarding the manuscript. Though he jokes and behaves recklessly, he understands the danger of carrying such a priceless object and takes steps to protect it.
• Panda remains loyal and useful, counting thousands of tickets and agreeing to safeguard the manuscript. Their pride is boosted by Liu Zheng’s trust, even though they still have reservations about fully following him.
• The shop owner shifts from dismissive and antagonistic to cooperative after receiving Liu Zheng’s bribe. His greed, jealousy, political knowledge, and fear of powerful figures are all revealed.

Significant Themes

• Luck and risk: Liu Zheng’s enormous success depends on a dangerous gamble, emphasizing the balance between chance and calculated action.
• Wealth and power: The chapter shows that money and political connections are major sources of influence in Metropolis. Liu Zheng uses both to defend himself and obtain rare treasures.
• Trust and loyalty: Liu Zheng’s decision to entrust the manuscript to Panda strengthens their relationship and gives Panda a greater sense of importance.
• Knowledge and mystery: The manuscript’s profound questions and blank pages suggest hidden wisdom that Liu Zheng cannot yet access, foreshadowing future discoveries.
• Corruption and transactional relationships: Bribery, threats, political leverage, and personal profit shape nearly every interaction in the lottery shop.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Panda exchange jokes and insults, but their relationship reveals mutual familiarity and growing trust.
• Liu Zheng confronts the shop owner after the owner treats Panda disrespectfully and attempts to claim Panda as a “pet.” Liu Zheng firmly defends Panda as a subordinate and friend.
• Liu Zheng and the shop owner engage in a battle of intimidation and bargaining. Liu Zheng uses threats and political rumors, while the shop owner tries to exploit his supposed lottery cheating.
• After Liu Zheng offers the shop owner liquor, the owner immediately becomes polite and helpful, demonstrating how easily their hostility is replaced by self-interest.
• Liu Zheng entrusts the valuable manuscript to Panda, making the latter feel genuinely valued despite Panda’s continued uncertainty about their future allegiance.

Chapter Summary: Legendary Deliveryman’s Rusty Gold Watch

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng purchases two boxes of Potent Eugenics Drug for the Female Cow-Horse, hoping to ensure healthy offspring. The drug guarantees uncontaminated children for ordinary species, though it is ineffective or irrelevant for already long-lived species.
• He considers buying citizen statuses for members of the Xi Family Army, but learns that such statuses can only be purchased for oneself or immediate family.
• Instead, Liu Zheng purchases an Extraordinary Ability Awakening Drug, which grants him the passive skill Universal Flesh. His body can now serve as most ritual materials and spellcasting ingredients, potentially replacing rare or difficult-to-obtain components.
• After reviewing his growing collection of abilities, Liu Zheng receives a call from Jinzi, who has obtained the item he requested: the Legendary Deliveryman’s Rusty Gold Watch.
• The watch consumes gold. After devouring fifty gold bars, it evolves from Inferior to Perfect quality and becomes the Legendary Deliveryman’s Gold Watch. Its effect is to randomly grant an ability related to gold, though Liu Zheng dislikes the uncertainty of the result.
• Jinzi brings Liu Zheng before the shrine of Ebisu through an elaborate ritual procession. She and her attendants carry him in a human palanquin while chanting, expending nearly all their strength.
• Once they reach the shrine, Liu Zheng helps the exhausted attendants and feeds them dried fish before approaching Ebisu.
• Liu Zheng protects Jinzi and her clansmen by invoking Amaterasu Omikami’s True Name, whose mark causes Ebisu to ease the divine pressure he exerts.
• He offers Ebisu gold bars and kneels, demanding that the god take only the offering rather than draining his companions. When Ebisu signals dissatisfaction, Liu Zheng gives him ten more gold bars.
• Ebisu finally releases the enormous Wooden Carp, which immediately charges toward Liu Zheng.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to expand his resources and abilities, showing both practicality and generosity. He prepares medicine for the Female Cow-Horse, seeks useful status upgrades for his allies, and acquires a powerful new passive skill.
• His reaction to Universal Flesh reveals his tendency toward sardonic humor: although the skill is extremely valuable, he initially feels that its strange nature means he may have received a poor bargain.
• Liu Zheng becomes increasingly protective of his companions. He refuses to let Ebisu exploit Jinzi and the attendants, helps them recover after the ritual, and threatens to stop visiting the bathhouse if they endanger themselves again.
• Jinzi demonstrates loyalty and devotion by organizing an exhausting ritual procession to help Liu Zheng access Ebisu’s shrine. Her concern over his dissatisfaction with the gold watch also shows her emotional investment in him.
• Jingzi and the other attendants willingly exhaust themselves carrying Liu Zheng, but their physical collapse emphasizes the seriousness of their devotion and the cost of supporting him.
• The shopkeeper remains opportunistic and resentful. He accepts another bottle of liquor to avoid reporting Liu Zheng, then gives in to childish anger after Liu Zheng leaves.
• Ebisu is portrayed as greedy, powerful, and amused. He responds to Liu Zheng’s divine protection with caution but continues demanding greater offerings.

Significant Themes

• Power and exchange: Almost everything has a price, from medicine and citizenship to divine protection. Gold and Welfare Points function as measures of influence.
• Luck versus control: Liu Zheng dislikes the random nature of the gold watch’s ability, reflecting his preference for predictable, directly useful powers.
• Devotion and sacrifice: Jinzi and her attendants nearly collapse to bring Liu Zheng before Ebisu, demonstrating the physical cost of religious ritual.
• Protection of companions: Liu Zheng’s willingness to spend wealth and confront a god shows that his relationships are becoming more important than mere personal advancement.
• The absurdity of power systems: The chapter mixes cosmic divinity, welfare medicine, lottery mechanics, and bodily humor, portraying supernatural power through bureaucratic and transactional systems.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng bargains with the shopkeeper, buying drugs and abilities while using liquor to manipulate and placate him.
• He speaks with Jinzi, who gives him the gold watch and later arranges the ritual procession.
• Liu Zheng comforts and feeds Jinzi, Jingzi, and the attendants, establishing a reciprocal bond rather than treating them as servants.
• He confronts Ebisu, invoking Amaterasu’s authority and insisting that the god spare his companions.
• The chapter ends with Ebisu unleashing the giant Wooden Carp, setting up an imminent confrontation between Liu Zheng and the divine creature.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng receives Ebisu’s Giant Taiyaki, a Fine-quality item that greatly increases Luck when he next uses an item or skill. He thanks Ebisu and returns with the Jinzi Clan to the men’s bath.
• Seeing that the Jinzi attendants are exhausted, Liu Zheng offers to help increase business at Bliss Sento. He contacts the Queen and arranges for the Queen’s large group of women to visit the bathhouse in batches, providing much-needed customers and follow-up medical visits.
• Liu Zheng gives Jinzi money to cover the group’s expenses, then returns to the lottery shop to redeem more prizes.
• He exchanges Welfare Points for several items:
  • Strength Amplifier, glasses that add up to 25% of his Strength when using Strength-based skills.
  • Citizen Walking Shoes, which increase movement speed in Metropolis and solve his problem of walking barefoot.
  • Metaverse Safe Link Protocol, allowing safe entry and escape from the Metaverse, though City Hall will monitor him.
  • Citizen Arm-Strengthener, which can permanently increase Strength through tens of thousands of repetitions.
  • Citizen’s Last-Wish Recorder, a one-use device that grants a final wish after his death, though impossible wishes may be fulfilled in distorted ways.
• Liu Zheng devises a plan with Panda to attack the lottery shopkeeper after asking whether he has any free prizes. Panda activates the Yin-Yang Two-Qi Formation, catching the shopkeeper off guard.
• The shopkeeper responds with powerful martial techniques, turning his fist force into weapons and using a blazing Solar Fist to repel the resentful auntie and destroy her explosives.
• Liu Zheng prepares two grotesque but powerful items—Three-Feces Power and a Bloodied Manure Fork—intending to combine them and unleash a poisonous, resentment-based attack on the shopkeeper.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to grow stronger and more resourceful, combining strategic planning with his usual shameless humor. He also shows generosity by funding the Jinzi Clan’s customers and considering giving Sea Woman the Metaverse escape item.
• He demonstrates increasing confidence in exploiting his unusual body, planning to use regeneration to complete the Arm-Strengthener’s enormous number of repetitions in only a few days.
• Jinzi remains playful and shrewd, joking about her earlier overcharging of Liu Zheng while sincerely trying to protect the Jinzi Clan’s livelihood.
• The Queen is persuaded to cooperate with Liu Zheng after he offers free recreation, medical follow-up, and a favor.
• Panda proves to be a reliable combat partner, immediately following Liu Zheng’s signal and unleashing all of its magical artifacts.
• The lottery shopkeeper is revealed to be an exceptionally experienced and confident martial artist. He relies on instinct and combat experience, believing he can defeat Liu Zheng despite the possible consequences.
• The resentful auntie spirit continues her chaotic attempts to fight, though the shopkeeper’s Solar Fist overwhelms her.

Significant Themes

• Strength through unconventional means: Liu Zheng’s power comes not only from conventional upgrades but also from regeneration, absurd items, and creative exploitation of loopholes.
• Humor and vulgarity as weapons: The chapter turns disgusting objects and bodily functions into serious combat tools, blending comedy with supernatural action.
• Generosity and practical loyalty: Liu Zheng helps the Jinzi Clan and considers leaving Sea Woman a means of escape, showing that beneath his irreverence he values his allies.
• Risk, surveillance, and freedom: The Metaverse Safe Link Protocol raises questions about safety versus privacy, while Liu Zheng weighs his unfinished business against the possibility of leaving Metropolis.
• Overconfidence and escalation: Both Liu Zheng and the shopkeeper approach the confrontation with confidence, setting up a clash between martial power and Liu Zheng’s bizarre, unpredictable tactics.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Jinzi exchange teasing remarks about the Sento’s prices, while he insists the clan must not exploit the customers he sends.
• Liu Zheng negotiates with the Queen, offering financial support and leisure in exchange for bringing customers to the Sento.
• Liu Zheng jokes with Panda about his new glasses and refined appearance, contrasting his dignified self-image with his monstrous reputation.
• Liu Zheng and the shopkeeper engage in a tense verbal exchange before the fight, with Liu Zheng attempting to provoke him and the shopkeeper confidently threatening both Liu Zheng and Panda.
• During the battle, Panda identifies the shopkeeper’s martial technique, while the auntie’s attack distracts him briefly. Liu Zheng then prepares his disgusting final weapon, ending the chapter on the promise of an explosive and highly unconventional counterattack.

Liu Zheng and Panda survived the destruction of a lottery shop after defeating its shopkeeper, but a woman arrived and tried to bargain for Liu Zheng to stay out of the French Plane Tree’s affairs. Liu Zheng refused and stalled for time with extravagant demands until the woman decided to capture him and Panda.

• Panda unleashed the Three-Feces Power and its strongest techniques against the shopkeeper, while Liu Zheng and the middle-aged woman's vengeful spirit shielded one another from the shopkeeper's explosive attack.
• The shopkeeper's burning fecal qi destroyed the lottery shop and blasted Liu Zheng and Panda away, but Panda caught Liu Zheng with the damaged Lesser Yang Dawnlight Banner.
• A woman in a pale-green robe approached Liu Zheng, slowed his regeneration with a Withered Seed, and proposed that he stay out of future matters involving the French Plane Tree.
• Liu Zheng refused to abandon the French Plane Tree, then demanded increasingly large sums of money for the favors and resources he had invested in their relationship.
• Liu Zheng demanded one billion, and the woman accused him of stalling before sending white silk to bind him and Panda.

Liu Zheng recovered from the attack, collected payment for his commission, and exchanged items with White-Feather Chicken before drinking with Cow-Horse and Ghost Hand. He learned where to find the Sloth kitchen knife and gained a new item from Ghost Hand, then left Cow-Horse’s lounge.

• Liu Zheng blinded and deafened the woman pursuing him with Flash Jade and Sonic Jade, forcing her to flee, while Panda lay dazed nearby.
• Liu Zheng regenerated his body, drove Panda to the clinic, and returned to the Restaurant to collect his commission payment.
• Liu Zheng gave Cow-Horse Potent Eugenics Drug and asked it to contact Napoleon, then showed White-Feather Chicken evidence that he had destroyed the lottery shop.
• White-Feather Chicken reclaimed Anger, offered to trade it for the Sloth kitchen knife, gave Liu Zheng Sloth’s address, and supplied him with the seventh flame and a chef’s sharpening stone.
• Liu Zheng drank with Cow-Horse and Ghost Hand; Ghost Hand traded his gold watch for a sunscreen mask, and Cow-Horse called him back as he was leaving.

Chapter Summary: “Liu Zheng, You’re Busted”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng visits the clinic to check on Abao, who is recovering from injuries sustained during the recent operation. Nile Doctor explains that Abao has mostly superficial wounds, with some internal damage, but should recover after treatment with Bai Family ointment and Medicinal Dung.
• Liu Zheng recognizes the value of Nile Doctor’s feces-based abilities and decides to acquire more materials for him. Nile Doctor gives him a magical wooden bucket capable of storing up to five cubic meters of biological excrement.
• Ace calls Liu Zheng about the destruction of the lottery shop. Liu Zheng openly admits responsibility and explains that he acted on White-Feather Chicken’s commission.
• Ace reveals that a jurisdictional dispute has erupted between Office Administration and the Public Security Bureau over the case. Since Wang Guo, the lottery shop owner, was formerly part of a special task group, Office Administration claims authority, while Criminal Investigation Division One argues that Wang Guo was an ordinary citizen after retirement.
• Ace warns Liu Zheng that Criminal Investigation Division One may arrest him. Liu Zheng realizes that Cole Holmes, who previously tried to exploit one of his victories, is likely leading the pursuit.
• While Liu Zheng is preparing to return to the Bloodstained Restaurant, Sphinx warns him of approaching danger. Liu Zheng uses a Delivery Slip to escape on Deliveryman’s supernatural bicycle, abandoning his sports car.
• Cole arrives shortly afterward and attempts to detain Sphinx for questioning. Sphinx challenges him with legal knowledge, pointing out that Cole lacks the required summons. Cole agrees to obtain one but clearly intends to harm Sphinx during interrogation.
• Once Liu Zheng reaches the Restaurant, Ace confirms that Cole and Criminal Investigation Division One are pursuing him. Liu Zheng realizes that Cole may retaliate against the Sphinx and the clinic if he cannot capture him directly.
• Liu Zheng contacts Nile Doctor and learns that Public Security Bureau personnel have already taken Ando and his sports car from the clinic. He orders Nile Doctor and the others to hide in the Sewer and asks him to warn Ultimate Flavor Group. Liu Zheng also plans to contact Fisherman for assistance.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng grimly deciding that if Criminal Investigation Division One abuses its authority, he will respond with force.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to show boldness, resourcefulness, and strong loyalty to his allies. He is unusually frank with Ace and trusts his instincts when judging people. At the same time, he becomes increasingly protective of the Sphinx, Nile Doctor, and the clinic staff.
• Ace is established as intelligent, socially perceptive, and more reliable than his lazy, unambitious reputation suggests. Liu Zheng’s sincere trust and praise affect him deeply. Although he works for the Public Security Bureau, he quietly helps Liu Zheng navigate the institutional conflict.
• Nile Doctor is shown as modest despite possessing powerful and versatile medical abilities. His concern for the Sphinx reveals that his relationship with the clinic’s employees is familial rather than merely professional.
• Sphinx demonstrates extensive legal knowledge and courage. Rather than submit passively to Cole, it challenges the legality of his attempted detention.
• Cole Holmes emerges as vindictive and corrupt or, at minimum, dangerously willing to misuse his authority. His stated goal of investigation masks an intention to retaliate against Liu Zheng’s associates.
• Deliveryman remains mysterious, supernatural, and comically disdainful, transporting Liu Zheng while refusing to accommodate his sports car.

Significant Themes

• Institutional power and jurisdiction: The dispute between Office Administration and the Public Security Bureau shows how bureaucratic competition can determine who controls an investigation.
• Law versus abuse of authority: Sphinx’s insistence on the correct summons highlights the gap between legal procedure and officials who use the law as a pretext for intimidation.
• Trust and instinctive friendship: Liu Zheng believes genuine friendship depends on depth rather than length of acquaintance, and his faith in Ace strengthens their relationship.
• Loyalty and mutual protection: Liu Zheng risks himself to protect his allies, while Ace, Nile Doctor, and the others work to shield him from arrest.
• Humor amid danger: The chapter balances serious threats with absurd elements such as the feces-storage bucket, Deliveryman’s bicycle, and Liu Zheng’s concern about preserving his dignity.
• Hidden power structures: Former affiliations, administrative control, and supernatural organizations complicate the seemingly simple destruction of a lottery shop.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Nile Doctor: Their conversation combines practical planning with mutual respect. Liu Zheng wants to support the Doctor’s abilities, while Nile Doctor worries about the safety of the clinic and its people.
• Liu Zheng and Ace: Their honest conversation establishes genuine trust. Ace provides crucial information while Liu Zheng’s confidence in him makes Ace feel valued.
• Liu Zheng and Sphinx: Sphinx’s warning saves Liu Zheng from Cole, reinforcing its loyalty and usefulness as a companion.
• Cole and Sphinx: Their confrontation pits official authority against legal knowledge. Sphinx resists intimidation, while Cole threatens it indirectly through the possibility of interrogation.
• Liu Zheng and Nile Doctor after the arrest: Liu Zheng takes command, instructing the clinic’s occupants to evacuate and contact allies as the authorities begin targeting everyone connected to him.