Chapter Summaries

Chu Sheng demonstrated the Dark-Gold Magnetic Blade and negotiated with Wang Jianguo to turn the Mechanical City's supernatural materials into Sacrificial Items, including four custom generators with endless energy. The deal depended on the coming trade for the Eternal Flame, and Wang Jianguo said a hundred and twenty people were nearly there.

• Chu Sheng examined the Dark-Gold Magnetic Blade's abilities, then let Yang Jing and An Xi inspect it; Yang Jing questioned why its cost was so low.
• Chu Sheng explained that using his own Sacrificial Items reduced their costs and pointed out that Yang Jing could halve the costs of his own creations.
• Wang Jianguo offered Chu Sheng a thousand supernatural materials in exchange for Sacrificial Items, and Chu Sheng proposed random fusions or custom items with endless energy.
• Wang Jianguo chose four custom energy generators and asked Chu Sheng to turn the remaining six hundred materials into other Sacrificial Items.
• Chu Sheng asked Wang Jianguo about trading the Eternal Flame, and Wang Jianguo said a hundred and twenty people were almost there.

Wang Jianguo negotiated major purchases of Chu Sheng and Xingzi’s supernatural goods for Mechanical City, then paid for the Eternal Flame and ignited it. Old Qin followed him and appeared to awaken a Sequence as his red flame manifested a martial aura.

• Wang Jianguo bought bandages, cold medicine, and Adrenaline from Xingzi for three hundred pieces of supernatural material, then purchased her five Healing Leaves for fifty more.
• Xiao Zhan informed Old Qin, Old Wang, and Little Li that Wang Jianguo had committed Mechanical City to trades totaling thirteen hundred and fifty pieces of supernatural material.
• Wang Jianguo paid Chu Sheng a hundred and twenty pieces of supernatural material and ignited the Eternal Flame with the Lighter.
• Old Qin took the Lighter, ignited a red Eternal Flame, and announced that he thought he had awakened a Sequence.

After the Eternal Flame killed eight people who failed its test, Chu Sheng offered Wang Jianguo information about a group of Sequence Adepts whose abilities could greatly strengthen the Mechanical City. Wang Jianguo confirmed the information was true and asked how much supernatural material Chu Sheng wanted for it.

• Old Qin revealed that he had awakened an ordinary soldier sequence, and Captain Hui explained that sequences could be shared by multiple people.
• A woman failed to light the Eternal Flame twice before it erupted from within her and burned her to ashes.
• Wang Jianguo and A Xin urged the remaining participants to reconsider, and twenty-eight people withdrew while eighty-four lit the flame and eight died.
• After the participants left, Chu Sheng offered Wang Jianguo information about a group based in a fixed location and described their Sequence Adepts’ abilities.
• The Wolf King confirmed that Chu Sheng’s claims were true, and Wang Jianguo asked how much supernatural material Chu Sheng wanted.

Chu Sheng negotiated a deal with Wang Jianguo, selling information about the Enclosed Tower and its survivors to the Mechanical City. After the trades left the Mechanical City with no supernatural materials, Xingzi revealed how broadly her Healer Sequence could turn those materials into medicine.

• Chu Sheng told Wang Jianguo that the Enclosed Tower survivors owed Old Man Li ten supernatural materials and negotiated a total payment of forty-five for the debt, their location, and the route to them.
• Captain Hui provided a hand-drawn map, and Wang Jianguo paid the supernatural materials after the Secret Room confirmed Chu Sheng's information was truthful.
• Chu Sheng calculated that he had earned 926 supernatural materials for himself, while Xingzi kept 300 after splitting her cold medicine earnings with Old Man Li.
• Chu Sheng gave Xingzi a bloodstained white coat, and she explained that her Healer Sequence could turn supernatural materials into medicines that restored blood and energy or strengthened the body.
• Wang Jianguo finished trading with Old Man Li and the others, leaving the Mechanical City without any supernatural materials.

After trading with the Mechanical City, Chu Sheng and his companions divided their gains and prepared to leave, wary that the city might turn against them. A burst of sacrificial-item crafting by Chu Sheng caused rankings to plummet far away, convincing strangers that a god was mass-producing them.

• Wang Jianguo completed trades with Chu Sheng, Xingzi, Old Man Li, and Captain Hui, leaving the Mechanical City with fewer than a hundred supernatural materials.
• Captain Hui warned Chu Sheng to deliver the energy-type sacrificial items last, and Chu Sheng agreed to craft the items quickly before the convoy left.
• Chu Sheng explained that people with the Eternal Flame could still consider killing others necessary for civilization, so the convoy should not trust the Mechanical City completely.
• Chu Sheng distributed supernatural materials owed from the Enclosed Tower intelligence sale, then returned to the Netherworld Light and fused materials into thirty Bone Knives or Bone Swords and twenty pieces of White Bone Battle Armor.
• The Hook-Nosed Man and people aboard a Fishing Boat saw their sacrificial-item rankings drop by fifty places, and Old Lin concluded that a god was mass-producing sacrificial items.

Chu Sheng fused a time-bearing tree stump with Five Thousand Years of Chinese History, creating the special sacrificial item Book of Time, which recorded history and revealed events from the apocalypse. After deciding to keep its personal records secret, he rested in the Mechanical City and began crafting more sacrificial items the next morning.

• Chu Sheng fused the tree stump with Five Thousand Years of Chinese History and created the special sacrificial item Book of Time.
• Chu Sheng read the Book of Time’s records, witnessed the apocalypse’s arrival, and discovered that its annals described his own life and crafting.
• Chu Sheng decided to keep the Book of Time secret, then instructed Butcher and Youming to guard him while he slept.
• The next morning, Chu Sheng found four generators and power-type supernatural materials delivered by the Mechanical City and chose to save them for later.
• Chu Sheng fused eighty supernatural materials with eighty objects, and Youming shut the Netherworld Light’s windows to contain the resulting light.

After exhausting his mental power fusing eighty sacrificial items, Chu Sheng used a Healing Leaf and went back to sleep, leaving Butcher to watch over him. Meanwhile, A Xin told An Xi that Xingzi’s Sequence price amplified her romantic love, explaining her devotion to Chu Sheng as Xingzi remained unconscious.

• Chu Sheng ate one of Xingzi’s Healing Leaves to recover some mental power, then told Butcher to wake him if anything happened or feed him the remaining leaves if he could not.
• A Xin teased An Xi about Xingzi’s devotion to Chu Sheng, then revealed that Xingzi had told her about her Sequence price.
• An Xi worried that Xingzi had exposed a dangerous weakness, but A Xin explained that Xingzi’s price amplified an emotion she had not identified before meeting Chu Sheng.
• A Xin said Xingzi had lit the Eternal Flame by being willing to sacrifice herself rather than choose between Chu Sheng and civilization.
• An Xi realized that Xingzi had fallen in love with Chu Sheng before her Sequence amplified that love, then condemned Chu Sheng as Xingzi lay unconscious.

Chu Sheng finished Mechanical City's commission and prepared to leave, while his intimacy with Xingzi deepened and An Xi watched with jealousy. He left the completed Sacrificial Items behind and had Captain Hui invite the survivors to join the group, leaving their next move undecided.

• Chu Sheng learned that a good reputation could help him trade with Kindling Bases and finished crafting two hundred Sacrificial Items.
• Xingzi told Chu Sheng she had saved Healing Leaves for him, and he took her inside the Netherworld Light, where they spent three hours together.
• Chu Sheng crafted four generator Sacrificial Items from the supernatural materials, completing Mechanical City's commission.
• The next day, Chu Sheng left the two hundred assorted Sacrificial Items and four generators behind rather than delivering them in person.
• Captain Hui told Cheng Xue to invite survivors to join them, while Chu Sheng explained that those who wanted to stay at the official Kindling Base could do so.

Wu Meng and the others chose to follow Chu Sheng’s convoy rather than stay safely in the Mechanical City, trusting Cheng Xue’s judgment and gambling on a better future. The convoy departed with 176 survivors, while Wang Jianguo and the others watched them leave.

• Cheng Xue told Wu Meng and her companions they could either stay in the Mechanical City or follow the convoy, and Wu Meng chose to trust Cheng Xue and return to the convoy.
• Wu Meng persuaded Zhou Dun that the convoy offered better prospects, and Li Qian and Li Ling chose to go with them as well.
• Captain Hui recognized that Wu Meng’s group had chosen the risky option because they believed the convoy had a better future than the city.
• After 176 survivors gathered on the roof, Chu Sheng set off in the Netherworld Light with Captain Hui and the others, and the survivors followed in their vehicles.
• Wang Jianguo, Old Qin, and Little Li watched the convoy depart and discussed the survivors’ distrust and chances of survival.

Captain Hui warned the convoy that a month-long torrential rainstorm lay ahead, with rainfall at its center more than ten times heavier than at its edge. As the survivors prepared for flooding, Chu Sheng agreed to modify Old Man Li’s Pickup Truck so it could travel on water.

• Captain Hui told the convoy that the rain would intensify over the next hundred kilometers and could take at least a month to cross.
• Cheng Xue warned the survivors to prepare for torrential rain, and Wu Meng urged Zhou Dun to offer Chu Sheng his supernatural material in exchange for help.
• Wu Meng reasoned that the relentless rain would cause massive flooding and leave only Boat Cars like Zhu Qing’s able to travel safely.
• Old Man Li asked Chu Sheng to make his Pickup Truck amphibious and offered him supernatural materials in payment.
• Chu Sheng selected foam, a gyroscope, and a propeller to modify the Pickup Truck, agreeing to charge five pieces of supernatural material.

Chu Sheng transformed Old Man Li’s pickup into a Fish Cart and left after their guarded conversation. Far away, Fang Hong’s convoy struggled through an immense storm and floods while Qingqing recovered, and Wang Meng led his disciples in defending their bus from towering waves.

• Chu Sheng transformed Old Man Li’s pickup using supernatural materials, then discussed their abilities with him before taking toilet paper and a paint roller.
• Old Man Li realized neither he nor Chu Sheng had learned anything from the conversation, and Captain Hui pulled Chu Sheng aside.
• Fang Hong’s convoy remained stranded in a vast extreme-weather zone, where Qingqing had exhausted herself carrying them through the air as a dragon.
• Fang Hong sensed an unexplained feeling about fate and approaching good fortune while Wang Meng went outside to check the convoy’s defenses.
• Wang Meng organized his disciples to shield their bus from the waves, then fired a blast of vital energy at a wave nearly thirty meters high.

Chu Sheng upgraded the Bus into a fish cart for the survivors after Xingzi paid for the work, then killed a man who tried to take advantage of her and warned the crowd against crossing her. As Chu Sheng and Xingzi prepared to leave, the Butcher reacted to Sister La kissing the Blood-Colored Kitten, triggering its rule that anyone who loved a cat in front of it would turn into a cat and be slaughtered.

• Chu Sheng and the other Sequence Adepts guarded the convoy while he upgraded several vehicles into fish carts using supernatural materials.
• Xingzi gave Chu Sheng materials to upgrade the Bus so the survivors would have a better chance against the coming extreme weather.
• Chu Sheng killed a survivor who tried to touch Xingzi and threatened to kill anyone who harassed her.
• Chu Sheng transformed the Bus into an oversized fish cart, and Xingzi admired him for protecting her.
• Sister La kissed the Blood-Colored Kitten, causing the Butcher to appear and announce that its cat-loving rule had been triggered.

Chu Sheng used the Butcher to punish Sister La for showing affection to a cat, then took the Blood-Colored Kitten after explaining its dangerous cost. As Chu Sheng and Xingzi left, An Xi and A Xin teased each other in the Blackheart Off-Road Fish Cart, and An Xi fled to find Chu Sheng.

• The Butcher transformed Sister La into a hairless cat and killed her after Chu Sheng explained that showing cats affection triggered the Butcher's cost.
• Chu Sheng examined the Blood-Colored Kitten, learned it had to be fed blood or flesh daily, and left with Xingzi and the kitten.
• The survivors feared Chu Sheng, while Baldy silently admired him and Xingzi defended him against the others' criticism.
• A Xin teased An Xi about Xingzi winning Chu Sheng over, and An Xi squeezed A Xin's cat ear to silence her.
• An Xi fled the vehicle and ran toward Chu Sheng's Netherworld Light, planning to cook and spend time with him.

Chu Sheng upgraded the Butcher with a Cat Fiend and charged supernatural materials from people who wanted aboard the Netherworld Light as the convoy set out. A torrential downpour soon obscured the road, but Chu Sheng had Youming scan the surroundings and project images onto the windshield.

• Chu Sheng hid his Infinite Toilet Paper and admired how fusing the Cat Fiend had improved the Butcher and given it a Sequence Eight companion.
• Captain Hui paid Chu Sheng a stick of incense to board the Netherworld Light and guide the convoy.
• Chu Sheng refused free entry to Zhu Qing and the others, while Xingzi paid with two Healing Leaves and joined him.
• The convoy departed behind the Netherworld Light, and the rain grew into a torrential downpour.
• Chu Sheng told Youming to scan the surroundings and project the images onto the windshield when Captain Hui noticed they could barely see ahead.

Chu Sheng led the convoy through a torrential downpour in the Netherworld Light while Captain Hui discovered the vehicle’s advanced displays and Cheng Xue drove the fortified Infinite Bone Vehicle behind them. Far ahead, Fang Hong prayed for guidance and learned that her group would escape the flooded region in two days and meet a beneficial convoy.

• Captain Hui marveled at the Netherworld Light’s rain-clearing screen, and Chu Sheng had Youming copy his more detailed displays to Captain Hui’s screen.
• Xingzi confirmed that Captain Hui had initially been shown only the rain-free road view, and Captain Hui claimed he needed to focus on his divination.
• Cheng Xue followed the Netherworld Light through deep floodwater in the regenerative, amphibious Infinite Bone Vehicle.
• An Azure Dragon carried Fang Hong, Wang Meng, and their sleeping disciples through the water toward their destination.
• Fang Hong told Wang Meng that fate had shown them they would leave the region in two days and encounter a convoy that would bring them benefits.

Chu Sheng’s convoy pushed through the extreme torrential rain as the Netherworld Light transformed to cross the rising water. Chu Sheng explained his grading system for supernatural materials and prepared the group for an approaching Anomaly and a convoy they would meet the next day.

• Wang Meng eagerly anticipated leaving the rain-soaked region in two days and trusted Fang Hong to guide them.
• Chu Sheng ordered Youming to transform the Netherworld Light into its mecha form so it could speed through the deepening water.
• Captain Hui divined that a lone Sequence Nine Anomaly was approaching and that the convoy would encounter another convoy the following day.
• Chu Sheng told the group to approach the other convoy cautiously and use the Netherworld Mecha’s laser as the signal if they needed to attack.
• Chu Sheng described how hundreds of bone-type materials had strengthened the Netherworld Light, though raising its ranking by just over thirty places had consumed more than seven hundred materials.
• Chu Sheng explained that supernatural materials increased in grade by fivefold in quantity between Sequences, while their strength could differ by at least a hundredfold.

Chu Sheng used Youming and the Netherworld Mecha to kill a Sequence Nine anomaly approaching the convoy. Seeing Chu Sheng’s crimson-tinted vision led Captain Hui to question his assumptions about him, and he concluded that Chu Sheng was a warrior fighting for civilization.

• Chu Sheng explained how he ranked supernatural materials and adjusted the prices for fusing them into sacrificial items.
• Chu Sheng told Youming to connect to his vision and use Strangulation on a weak anomaly ahead of the convoy.
• Youming located the mosquito-like anomaly and had the Netherworld Mecha throw its Crowbar to swallow and eliminate it.
• Xingzi saw Chu Sheng’s crimson world and felt greater affection and sympathy for him.
• Captain Hui reconsidered his past judgments, concluded that his first impression had colored his view of Chu Sheng, and believed Chu Sheng was a warrior fighting for civilization.

As the convoy pushed deeper into the extreme rainstorm, Captain Hui warned that enormous waves could scatter the vehicles and asked whether anyone could link them together. Chu Sheng used an experimental magnetic chain to connect every vehicle to the Netherworld Mecha, leaving the convoy prepared to face the approaching waves.

• Chu Sheng misunderstood Xingzi and Captain Hui's sympathetic looks, then reassured them that he could endure seeing the Crimson World for humanity and civilization.
• The Netherworld Mecha traveled against the strong current as the water rose to its chest, and Chu Sheng told Youming to wait for a suitable spot before deploying the Netherworld Ship.
• Captain Hui shared his divination warning that waves up to over a hundred meters tall could strike the convoy and scatter its vehicles.
• Old Man Li offered a rope-type supernatural material, but Chu Sheng revealed that he already had a sacrificial item capable of linking the convoy.
• Chu Sheng used the Magnetic Attraction Chain to connect the Netherworld Mecha to every Fish Cart and told the convoy that the connection would hold as long as the vehicles stayed intact.

An Xi and A Xin discussed A Xin’s oath and feelings about Chu Sheng while Chu Sheng tested his electric Sacrificial Item on Captain Hui and Xingzi. Xingzi discovered her Healing Light could counteract the current, and Captain Hui had to pay her one piece of supernatural material for treatment.

• A Xin swore on her Sequence that she was not interested in Chu Sheng, and An Xi warned her that such oaths could bring real consequences.
• Chu Sheng explained that his self-made Sacrificial Items cost him less to use and defended hiding the electric toilet paper from the others.
• Xingzi tried the toilet paper on her forearm and found that its electric current was uncomfortable but manageable.
• Xingzi used Healing Light to neutralize the lingering current in Captain Hui’s lips.
• Xingzi told Captain Hui that her treatment fee was one piece of supernatural material.

Xingzi charged Captain Hui for treating him and gave the supernatural material to Chu Sheng as the convoy traveled deeper into the extreme rainstorm. The Netherworld Ship sped up, but the convoy remained together as the worsening weather left A Xin and Zhu Qing miserable.

• Xingzi told Captain Hui he owed her a supernatural material for his treatment, then gave it to Chu Sheng to collect later.
• The Netherworld Mecha transformed into the Netherworld Ship, whose speed rose past ninety kilometers per hour while towing the Fish Carts.
• Captain Hui explained that the convoy needed to stay together, and Chu Sheng agreed that life with the group was better than surviving alone.
• As the convoy entered deeper into the extreme rainstorm, Captain Hui continued divining for dangers while visibility and conditions worsened.
• A Xin complained about being trapped in the rocking Fish Carts, and Zhu Qing vomited while Lu Guan told him to stop talking.