Chapter Summaries

Lu Zhan attended his first life alchemy class, where Teacher Lu Guanhong explained the seventh law to a crowd of curious classmates. The lesson offered Lu Zhan a possible explanation for his unusual abilities, but he could not determine what had caused them.

• Lu Guanhong arrived at class and was surprised to find the lecture hall unusually full, then learned that Basic Class had a new student.
• Lu Zhan introduced himself and said his classmates seemed to have misconceptions about him, while Lu Guanhong realized they had gathered to see whether he posed a contamination risk.
• Lu Guanhong taught the seventh law of life alchemy, explaining that members of the same species rarely contaminate one another unless there was a large difference in rank.
• Lu Zhan wondered whether his unusual ability came from contamination by a human while he was returning from the dead, but he lacked enough evidence to decide.
• The other students complained that Lu Guanhong's detailed explanations were long-winded, while he continued to hope he might train a true life alchemist.

After Lu Guanhong's life alchemy lesson ended, Lu Zhan ignored his classmates' prejudice and went to explore the Training Center library. He discovered a computer-like alchemy device but could only make it display text and numbers before the librarian called out his clumsy use of it.

• Lu Guanhong ended the lesson after warning the students to get along and not believe rumors about evil.
• Wen Shiyan reassured Lu Zhan that life alchemy lessons repeated limited material, while classmates continued to whisper and point at them.
• Lu Zhan told Wen Shiyan he had come to become an Armored Warrior, then headed to the library while she focused on Basic Combat.
• Lu Zhan used his identification card to enter the library and searched its catalog on a computer-like device.
• The librarian warned Lu Zhan to stop tapping randomly, noting that the device was operated with two fingers.

Lu Zhan searched the Training Center library for books on world history, life, and Yero City, then chose to borrow basic education textbooks. Meanwhile, Ma Yancheng learned that Lu Zhan had disappeared and ordered Lin Kexian to bring him back within a day.

• Lu Zhan asked the librarian for books on the world's origin, the origin of life, and Yero City, but the library had none of them.
• The librarian explained that the library mainly held general knowledge, novels, repair manuals, and illustrated books.
• Lu Zhan asked for basic education textbooks and learned the library had a complete set.
• Lin Kexian told Ma Yancheng that Lu Zhan had failed to return to his rented room and had disappeared.
• Ma Yancheng ordered Lin Kexian to find Lu Zhan and bring him back within one day.
• Lin Kexian planned to sell Lu Zhan's blood to recover the hundred bucks he had lent him.

Lu Zhan recorded his first month at the Training Center, where the Blood-Red Antenna disrupted his sleep and his attempts to control it failed. After Old Lu ended their growing acquaintance over Lu Zhan’s claim that life began in lightning, the long-awaited Gourmet Appreciation Class resumed, and Lu Zhan looked forward to attending it.

• Lu Zhan struggled with poor sleep, discovered the Blood-Red Antenna was receiving signals while he slept, and tried unsuccessfully to control it with a homemade helmet.
• Lu Zhan studied diligently, repeatedly encountered Old Lu at the library, and grew closer to him while Gourmet Appreciation Class remained canceled.
• Lu Zhan suspected the Wutu Gang was asking about him, then welcomed Old Lu’s growing interest in his intelligence and diligence.
• Old Lu asked Lu Zhan where life came from, and Lu Zhan answered that life originated in lightning.
• Old Lu called Lu Zhan a heretic and stopped speaking to him, while Gourmet Appreciation Class resumed.
• On August 31, Lu Zhan adapted to the noises disturbing his sleep and looked forward to attending Gourmet Appreciation Class.

Lu Zhan ran into Ajak, Zhou Qi, and Vikem after cheering himself on, while the three discussed his background and Vikem’s blood-powered Ore Radio. At breakfast, Lu Zhan reflected on how the Training Center’s students ate to replenish their cells and approach the perfect state needed to become true Armored Warriors.

• Lu Zhan greeted Ajak, Zhou Qi, and Vikem outside Room 309 and invited them to breakfast, but they declined and reminded him to eat well and attend Gourmet Appreciation Class.
• After Lu Zhan left, Zhou Qi questioned Ajak for being polite, and Ajak explained that Lu Zhan came from District 9 and that Wutu Gang seniors had been asking about him.
• Zhou Qi urged Vikem to stop dripping blood on the Ore Radio, but Vikem dismissed his concerns and defended the practice as safe.
• At Cafeteria C, Lu Zhan considered why students had to eat so much and recalled that Life Alchemy described equal cellular life fluctuations as the ideal state.
• Lu Zhan understood that the Training Center’s intensive feeding helped students make up for past nutritional deficits, since restoring uniform cellular fluctuations was necessary to become a true Armored Warrior.

After a month at the Training Center, Lu Zhan faced two senior trainees sent by the Wutu Gang but used the rules and his Military status to deter them. He overheard them retreating and concluded they were unlikely to trouble him again soon.

• Lu Zhan ate until he felt full and noticed his appetite had shrunk as his body adapted to the high-energy diet.
• Trainees gossiping in the cafeteria told Lu Zhan that two senior members of the Wutu Gang were waiting for him outside.
• Lu Zhan forced down three more eggs and left the cafeteria to meet the two Wutu Gang trainees, who accused him of betraying the gang.
• Lu Zhan cited the Training Center's ban on fighting and warned that attacking him could get them punished and damage their standing.
• Baluk and Li Dakui left without fighting, and Lu Zhan overheard Baluk say he had only come to satisfy Ma Yancheng and did not want to risk expulsion.

Lu Zhan reflected on what he learned from probing Baluk and confirmed that properly trained Armored Warrior Apprentices did not need to eat people. On the way to class, he encountered the mottled-headed black cat again and recognized that his gaze could transmit his thoughts, an ability he could now control.

• Lu Zhan used the Blood-Red Antenna when Baluk patted his shoulder and sensed that Baluk was strong and hungry, unlike Ma Yancheng, whose cells had registered as a predator that ate people.
• Lu Zhan concluded that Ma Yancheng was abnormal, felt relieved he had left the Wutu Gang, and resolved to get stronger.
• Lu Zhan met the mottled-headed black cat in the corridor and stepped aside to let it pass.
• Lu Zhan recalled that his gaze could transmit his thoughts, causing the cat and Old Wang to learn what he was thinking, and realized he could control the Eye Art when his emotions were steady.
• The black cat strutted ahead of Lu Zhan and entered his classroom.

Lu Zhan attended the long-delayed Gourmet Appreciation Class, where Su Yuyan arrived with a black box after returning from the Wilderness. The trainees eagerly awaited its contents, but Lu Zhan could detect neither food nor scent from it.

• Lu Zhan entered the crowded classroom and sat beside Wen Shiyan, who asked about his trouble with the Wutu Gang and kept the class's secret a surprise.
• Graham and Liu Shuang speculated that the class had been postponed because of a supply problem with its unusual foods.
• At ten thirty on August 31, Su Yuyan resumed the Gourmet Appreciation Class and brought a one-meter black box as a gift from the Wilderness.
• The ugly cat rushed to Su Yuyan and begged for affection while keeping its eyes on the box.
• Lu Zhan watched the box with confusion because he could not see through it or smell any food.

Lu Zhan attended Su Yuyan’s Gourmet Appreciation Class, where she used a giant Golden Corn kernel to teach students to experience food through appearance, aroma, and flavor. The lesson awakened a powerful hunger in Lu Zhan, and Su Yuyan urged him to endure it as the basis of his talent as an Armored Warrior.

• Lu Zhan introduced himself to Su Yuyan as a new recruit from District 13, and she promised to give him special attention in class.
• Su Yuyan opened a case containing a soccer-ball-sized Golden Corn kernel she had planted and harvested herself, and she described her failed attempt to create Rainbow Corn.
• Su Yuyan told Lu Zhan to focus on the kernel and taught him that a fine delicacy’s appearance, aroma, and flavor could transform into one another.
• Lu Zhan perceived the Golden Corn’s light as a fresh, milky sweetness, and the experience awakened something dormant within him.
• A sudden hunger overwhelmed Lu Zhan, and Su Yuyan told him to resist it because enduring the primal instinct could strengthen his innate talent and help him become an Armored Warrior.

Lu Zhan experienced cellular autophagy for the first time, and his Blood-Red Antenna magnified the hunger and violent cellular struggle far beyond what the other students endured. As classmates lost control and Su Yuyan subdued them, Lu Zhan resolved to keep resisting despite being unable to switch off the antenna.

• Lu Zhan perceived hunger as mouths on his cells, and the students’ bodies rapidly consumed their stored energy.
• After Lu Zhan’s energy ran out, autophagy spread through his cells as they attacked one another, while Su Yuyan explained that the brutal process raised cellular fluctuation strength.
• Graham lost control and lunged for the Golden Corn, but Su Yuyan knocked him unconscious with a touch.
• Graham’s outburst triggered other students to attack the Golden Corn, and Su Yuyan subdued them one by one.
• Lu Zhan saw that most students were still enduring the hunger and resolved to resist, even as the Blood-Red Antenna made his autophagy far more intense and could not be switched off.

During Gourmet Appreciation Class, Lu Zhan endured intense hunger while Wen Shiyan and Su Yuyan explained ways to resist or deceive it. He discovered that deep thinking eased the hunger amplified by his Blood-Red Antenna, and he continued holding out under the ugly cat’s contemptuous gaze.

• As the students grew ravenous, Wen Shiyan praised Lu Zhan’s composure and taught him tricks for distracting himself from hunger or making his body feel full.
• Lu Zhan rejected the tricks as shortcuts that could slow cellular evolution, but remembered them, especially the method of deceiving his body.
• Su Yuyan privately told Lu Zhan that distraction only helped briefly and that deceiving hunger came with a cost, which he recognized as reduced appetite and eating less.
• Lu Zhan realized that intense thought lowered the Blood-Red Antenna’s amplification of his hunger, making distraction especially effective for him.
• Lu Zhan resisted giving up, spurred on by the ugly cat’s disdain whenever he neared the point of gnawing on the table.

Lu Zhan endured the Golden Corn’s hunger test and passed, emerging with greater strength and a changed Blood-Red Antenna. Su Yuyan warned him that future classes would be harder, then singled him out with advice that sparked gossip among the students.

• Su Yuyan watched Lu Zhan endure repeated waves of hunger and told Little Black that his trial was far more intense than an ordinary student’s.
• Lu Zhan passed the test after nine bouts of torment, and the Blood-Red Antenna in his mind faded in color during a moment of clarity.
• Su Yuyan packed away the Golden Corn apparatus as the other students recovered, and Lu Zhan discovered he had grown stronger enough to dent a metal tabletop with one hand.
• Su Yuyan congratulated Lu Zhan, warned that hunger would intensify in future Gourmet Appreciation Classes, and advised him to practice Basic Combat.
• After Su Yuyan left, students speculated that she was giving Lu Zhan special treatment, while Liu Shuang teased Graham about being her previous example of wasted potential.

Lu Zhan reflected on the secretive origins of Golden Corn and the effects of suppressing hunger as he ate voraciously in the cafeteria. His unusually powerful digestion made him recognize the physical strength of Armored Warrior Apprentices and left him eating without restraint.

• Lu Zhan reasoned that Golden Corn was likely connected to the research institute and controlled life alchemy, then considered seeking more gourmet food through Su Yuyan.
• Lu Zhan reached the cafeteria and devoured ten pieces of roast meat in three minutes while the other students ate very little.
• Lu Zhan realized that students who had tricked [Hunger] still needed energy but struggled to eat because their bodies felt full.
• Lu Zhan ate more meat, used the Blood-Red Antenna to inspect himself, and discovered that he had already digested half the roast meat.
• Lu Zhan concluded that even an Armored Warrior Apprentice had formidable physical strength and resumed eating without restraint.

During lunch, Lu Zhan overheard Liu Shuang’s clique discuss their progress, their fears of disappointing their factions, and Graham’s use of nutrient injections. The students’ hidden shortcuts further shook Lu Zhan’s faith in Yero City’s stability, and he resolved to practice Basic Combat more.

• Graham resented Lu Zhan for drawing attention to his past, while Liu Shuang urged him to accept reality and remain patient.
• Graham worried that slow progress could make their factions lower their assessments or sell them to the Military, but Liu Shuang reassured the clique that they had time to advance.
• When the clique teased Graham about his low test result, he panicked and revealed that he had connections and used nutrient injections.
• Lu Zhan overheard the cafeteria conversations and learned that students used injections and appetite-stimulating potions to overcome their difficulty eating.
• Lu Zhan reflected on the shady practices in the Training Center and decided to follow Su Yuyan’s guidance and practice Basic Combat.

Ma Yancheng raged at Baluk and his partner for refusing to attack Lu Zhan, while the Wutu Gang faced trouble after its inside man in the Public Security Office disappeared. Lin Kexian escaped Ma Yancheng and decided to seek new protection, recalling Lu Zhan’s claimed connection to the Inspection Office.

• Ma Yancheng blamed Baluk and his partner for delaying their attack on Lu Zhan, and Lin Kexian contradicted himself while trying to defend them.
• Lin Kexian reminded Ma Yancheng that he had tracked Lu Zhan to District 13, prompting Ma Yancheng to blame Lu Zhan for enlisting with the Military and betraying the Wutu Gang.
• Ma Yancheng recalled that the gang’s inside man in the Public Security Office had stopped responding, and learned that the Inspection Office had arrested him.
• Ma Yancheng grabbed Lin Kexian by the throat, but a gang messenger interrupted him with news of the arrest, allowing Lin Kexian to escape.
• Lin Kexian decided to find a new patron and remembered Lu Zhan’s claim that he had earned the favor of an Inspection Office commissioner.

Lu Zhan discovered that his talent had given his body a heat-recovery ability as he trained to adapt to his changed physique. Meanwhile, Wutu Gang leaders questioned Ma Yancheng about Wang Yang’s trouble with the Inspection Office and learned that Commissioner Xin Ya had isolated Wang Yang and Wesker for questioning.

• Lu Zhan trained at the Training Center and realized his body recovered heat, letting him conserve energy and exercise for longer.
• Lu Zhan resolved to spend the rest of the day practicing Basic Combat and improve his standing in class.
• Hall Master Yin demanded that Ma Yancheng explain why Wang Yang had come under the Inspection Office’s scrutiny.
• Ma Yancheng denied knowing why Wang Yang was in trouble and suggested another gang might be responsible, but Hall Master Yin rejected the idea.
• Wei Tong reported that Wesker had gone missing with Wang Yang and that Commissioner Xin Ya had questioned them after they helped her investigate a Mutant Beast attack.

The Wutu Gang tried to explain why Xin Ya had Wang Yang and Wesker detained, eventually deciding she was retaliating because she valued Lu Zhan’s talent. Meanwhile, Xin Ya reported that she had secured the two witnesses but still could not reach Lu Zhan, who had entered the Training Center.

• Wei Tong rejected the idea that Wang Yang and Wesker had casually offended Xin Ya, while Hall Master Yin reasoned that her actions must relate to the massacre investigation.
• Ma Yancheng suggested Xin Ya had taken revenge because she was romantically involved with Lu Zhan, prompting the gang leaders to laugh at him.
• Chen Wansen proposed that Xin Ya was interested in Lu Zhan’s talent, and Wei Tong agreed that the gang had disrupted her plans and might need to pay her off.
• Xin Ya told Ouyang Hao that Wang Yang and Wesker were being held separately and that the Public Security Office had cooperated.
• Xin Ya reported that Lu Zhan had entered the Training Center, leaving her unable to contact him without revealing the value of his [Blood-Red Antenna] memory fragment.

Ouyang Hao reconsidered the threat posed by Lu Zhan after Xin Ya revealed that Training Center instructor Lu Guanhong had once been a Third-Level Researcher and was barred from life alchemy experiments for violating the Second Prohibition. Ouyang Hao chose not to confront Lu Zhan for now and ordered the team to focus on finding the Mutant Beast.

• Ouyang Hao accepted Xin Ya's apology and discussed keeping the Blood-Red Antenna information contained while avoiding unnecessary action against Wang Yang, Wesker, and Lu Zhan.
• Xin Ya explained that Lu Guanhong had been a Third-Level Researcher at the Eighth Research Institute and might know about the Wide-Area Information Receiver.
• Xin Ya revealed that Lu Guanhong had been banned from life alchemy experiments for violating the Second Prohibition, which forbade Life Alchemists from challenging the second law of life alchemy.
• Xin Ya argued that Lu Zhan was unlikely to risk breaking the Inspection Office's gag order, though her confidence might weaken over time.
• Ouyang Hao decided to leave Lu Zhan alone, direct Xin Ya to search for the Mutant Beast, and bring Xin Ya back onto the team.

After training through the night, Lu Zhan caught the big black cat and used it to test how his Eye Art and Blood-Red Antenna had changed. He left the cat with a backflip regimen and a challenge to take revenge on him.

• Lu Zhan trained in the Training Center until early morning, raising his Basic Combat proficiency from beginner to minor mastery.
• Lu Zhan spotted the big black cat spying on him, chased it down with Snake Form, and caught it.
• Lu Zhan flicked the cat on the forehead and made it perform a series of tricks, testing his improved ability to project instructions through his Eye Art.
• Lu Zhan tried to teach the cat the Sun and Moon Breathing Method, but it failed to understand the cultivation method.
• Lu Zhan ordered the cat to do three hundred backflips a day and challenged it to touch a hair on his head or surrender half its daily cat food.
• After Lu Zhan left, the cat came to its senses and instinctively did a backflip, then a front flip in defiance.

As Lu Zhan slept, Vikem, Zhou Qi, and Ajak listened to the Ore Radio, whose reception had improved without Vikem feeding it blood. Vikem noticed Avril’s voice sounded lifeless, remembered his search for secret broadcasts about Yero City, and ended the chapter by bleeding more heavily onto the radio to seek them out.

• Lu Zhan returned to his dorm, washed up, and fell into a deep sleep.
• Ajak and Zhou Qi joined Vikem in Room 309, where the Ore Radio received Avril’s singing clearly without a drop of blood.
• Vikem heard a lifeless quality in the broadcast that Zhou Qi and Ajak could not detect.
• Vikem recalled that he had built the radio to find secret stations carrying hidden information about Yero City.
• Ajak said the rumored stations were linked to rebel forces, and Vikem cut himself more deeply and dripped extra blood onto the Ore Radio.