Chapter Summaries

Su Nian’s team used a coordinated surprise attack to knock the Green-Haired Wraith back into the Gray Fog, allowing the convoy to escape. They continued down the road, but Hao Ren spotted that their route would pass through Green Mountain Town.

• Su Nian organized Gong Qing and Big Black Bull to help him attack the Green-Haired Wraith while Hao Ren drove the Raptor.
• Su Nian struck the wraith with the skeletal giant and his knife as Gong Qing trapped its consciousness, then Big Black Bull rammed it into the Gray Fog.
• The convoy surged past the opening and continued onward, with Hao Ren slowing down so Big Black Bull could catch up.
• Hao Ren told the group the supply truck had not escaped and checked the map for nearby Supply Points.
• Hao Ren spotted a menacing red dot and realized the road ahead passed through Green Mountain Town.

The convoy chose to detour toward Fallen Dragon Village rather than risk entering Green Mountain Town, whose danger Su Ran had warned them about. After escaping the Grave-Crying Specter's domain, the survivors regrouped and began reshuffling roles as Hao Ren assessed their dwindling supplies and growing need for people.

• Hao Ren asked the group whether they should change course, and Gong Qing, Wen Kele, Su Yue, and Su Nian agreed that finding food mattered more than continuing toward their original route.
• The convoy escaped the Grave-Crying Specter's pursuit, earning Su Nian 2,000 Survival Points, and stopped to rest in the morning sunlight.
• Hao Ren appointed Tang Chen as his driver and gave him Zhang Ping's former duties, while Chen Tai urged Tang Zhou to seek a position with Su Nian's group.
• Su Yue reunited with Li Wu, and Wen Kele greeted Chen Shu before immediately asking whether her charger and chips had survived.
• Hao Ren counted eleven vehicles and thirty-two survivors, found that the convoy had very little food, and concluded it needed more people to gather supplies and grow stronger.

Hao Ren’s convoy returned with scarce supplies and took everything the survivors had gathered, then Hao Ren’s group divided their own food and examined the Curios they had collected. The chapter left them still inventorying supernatural tools, while Wen Keyi offered to grow improved Purple-Gold Rice and Palewood Fruit.

• Hao Ren ordered Tang Chen to collect all supplies for later distribution, and the returning survivors—including Li Sheng—handed theirs over.
• Hao Ren, Wen Kele, Su Nian, Su Yue, and Gong Qing divided their food and discussed how to prepare the cow’s blood.
• Hao Ren identified the Red Candles, white candles, Evil-Breaking Sea Salt, and Palewood Fruit among the Curios.
• Wen Keyi said she would try to grow the Palewood Fruit and produce improved Purple-Gold Rice for the survivors.
• Hao Ren explained how Stone Guardian Fragments and curse-sealing jars worked, warning the group to guard against both supernatural entities and people.
• Hao Ren continued taking inventory, bringing out an incense stick, an Ink-Line Reel, a jade pendant, a talisman, and copper coins.

After the group divided their Curios and supplies, Wen Keyi rapidly grew Purple-Gold Rice to feed the survivors and Big Black Bull. Tang Zhou offered to work as Su Nian’s driver and helper, and Su Nian agreed to give her a chance while warning that betrayal would cost her life.

• Hao Ren distributed the candles, Evil-Breaking Sea Salt, and basic equipment, while he took the Cinnabar Jade Pendant and Su Nian returned a borrowed candle.
• Wen Keyi planted Purple-Gold Rice in the median strip and hid seeds in the vehicles, then the group harvested and cooked the rice, used the husks for porridge, and fed the stalks to Big Black Bull.
• Tang Zhou decided that driving for Su Nian could protect her and her brother, so she approached Su Nian and asked to become his driver.
• Tang Zhou listed her practical skills and offered to earn Su Nian’s trust gradually; Su Nian warned her he would kill her if she gave him reason to distrust her, then agreed to try her out.

Su Nian’s convoy fed the survivors Purple-Gold Rice while he assessed Xia Lingling, an elderly newcomer who arrived by tricycle and was an Awakened with the Drinker talent. The chapter ended with Wen Kele challenging the others to a duel after they teased her and questioned Su Nian’s appraisal.

• Su Nian told Tang Zhou to wash her face and said she would have to sleep with him if she joined his vehicle; Tang Zhou hid the conversation from Tang Chen and agreed to drive for Su Nian.
• Chen Tai served the survivors small portions of purple broth, and the newcomers discovered that the supernatural food left them full.
• Jiang Ying and Xiao Shengge finished their portions, while the bodyguards concluded that the convoy’s food was nourishing despite its appearance.
• Xia Lingling arrived on a loaded tricycle, and Su Nian appraised her as an Awakened with Sequence 9 Drinker talent.
• Wen Kele accused Su Nian of checking out Xia Lingling, and after the others teased her, she demanded a duel to decide who had the final say.

Xia Lingling repaid her debt to Jiang Shuang but refused to give her more supplies, then revealed to Su Nian that she was a Sequence Nine Drinker. Su Nian confronted her about her hidden awakening, leaving her to explain that she had concealed it to survive.

• Xia Lingling told Jiang Shuang that she had repaid the favor owed to her late husband and refused to hand over more supplies.
• Tang Chen intervened in their argument, ordered supplies centralized, and slapped Jiang Shuang when she protested.
• Su Nian and Hao Ren approached Xia Lingling after suspecting she had awakened, and Su Nian identified her as a Sequence Nine Drinker.
• Xia Lingling admitted she had awakened in her previous convoy and hidden her ability because she distrusted its conduct and wanted to stay alive.

Su Nian brought Xia Lingling into his convoy, then dealt with Wen Kele’s challenge before upgrading the Cinnabar Jade Pendant twice. The second upgrade began spreading a crimson-gold glow across his body, and its effects remained unknown.

• Su Nian told Xia Lingling she had to join his convoy or die, and she agreed; he ignored Jiang Shuang’s attempt to join.
• Hao Ren arranged for Tang Chen to choose a vehicle and strip fuel and spare parts from the convoy’s excess cars, while Su Nian claimed the gold inside them.
• Wen Kele challenged Su Nian to a fight, but he dodged her attacks and spanked her once, sending her back to her vehicle flushed and secretly wishing for another spank.
• Su Nian spent Survival Points to repair and upgrade the Cinnabar Jade Pendant, giving it a Blood Sun Domain that weakened supernatural entities.
• Su Nian upgraded the pendant again, and it transformed into a crimson-gold sigil that merged with his body and began spreading across his skin.

Su Nian inspected the upgraded Nine Suns Prison-Calming Pendant and arranged for the system to turn his vehicle into a well-armored, comfortable RV. Meanwhile, Tang Zhou prepared to hand over her vehicle and considered how to make herself more appealing to Su Nian.

• Su Nian examined the pendant’s new abilities, noted its heavy mental-power cost, and decided not to spend more Survival Points upgrading it.
• Su Nian asked the system to modify his vehicle using parts from the six convoy vehicles and a bag of gold, then arranged for the others to remove parts first.
• Tang Chen went to tell Tang Zhou that her vehicle would be handed over and found her cleaned up and dressed in a cropped top and shorts.
• Tang Chen told Tang Zhou to change clothes, while Tang Zhou put on a baseball cap and thought about her planned relationship with Su Nian.

Tang Zhou joined Su Nian’s convoy as his driver after showing off her appearance and saber skills. Su Nian spent 3,100 Survival Points to transform six vehicles and his Raptor into a massive golden armored RV, then began showing off its luxurious interior despite its heavy fuel consumption.

• Tang Zhou dressed up for her second interview, and Su Nian hired her to drive while learning that she knew martial arts and the Tang Family’s ancestral saber technique.
• The convoy’s final count reached sixty-two ordinary survivors, and Su Nian woke Tang Zhou before making a vehicle modification.
• Su Nian used 3,100 Survival Points to transform six battered vehicles and his Raptor into a twenty-ton golden armored vehicle with living quarters.
• Gong Qing pointed out that the new vehicle consumed sixty liters of fuel per hundred kilometers, and Su Nian considered having Big Black Bull pull it or upgrading its engine.
• Su Nian opened the vehicle’s cabin and revealed a spacious living area with a booth sofa and folding wooden table.

Su Nian settled into the upgraded vehicle while the convoy traveled, and Li Cheng seized a gun from an anomalous bus stop, plotting to kill the Awakened and steal their power. The chapter left Li Cheng armed and poised to put his plan into action.

• Su Nian checked that the vehicle's supplies and water tank were full, while Li Sheng watched Tang Zhou take over as driver and felt jealous.
• Tang Zhou drove as Big Black Bull hauled the vehicle, and Su Nian added a cargo rack, arranged fodder for Big Black Bull, and raised his Constitution and Spirit to 36.
• At the rear of the convoy, Li Cheng persuaded Sun Hao that the Awakened were using them as bait and proposed killing them and eating their flesh to awaken.
• Li Cheng stepped onto the bus stop platform, took the bag containing a suppressed rifle, and returned to the road.
• Li Cheng laughed over his find as gray-black haze slipped into his mouth and a black handprint appeared on his back.