Chapter Summaries

Ye Ruan reunited with Gu Cheng in a hidden cave, where they shared food and spent the night together. The next morning, Gu Cheng offered to eliminate the remaining players, but Ye Ruan reminded him that only one of them could ultimately win.

• Ye Ruan followed Yu Jingjing's directions and reunited with Gu Cheng, who had arranged for her to bring him there.
• Gu Cheng took Ye Ruan to a concealed cave, described the other players' situation, and cooked noodles for them to share.
• Gu Cheng persuaded Ye Ruan to stay the night, then transformed into a wolf and took advantage of Ye Ruan's eagerness to cuddle with him.
• The next morning, Gu Cheng helped Ye Ruan dress and offered to eliminate the remaining players before returning for him.
• Ye Ruan pointed out that their differently colored Marking Guns meant they would still have to decide which of them won; Gu Cheng said Ye Ruan could shoot him once they were alone.

Ye Ruan learned from Cai Hao that the elimination match could be used to reorganize the teams, and angrily defended his Third Team before rushing toward his companions. As Gu Cheng reunited with Fang Ci and Yu Jingjing, a zombie threat and a sudden blaze put the group in danger.

• Ye Ruan said goodbye to Gu Cheng, then asked Cai Hao whether the match was meant to separate him from Gu Cheng and evaluate the teams.
• Cai Hao admitted that the Third Team’s members might be abandoned for being too timid and weak, prompting Ye Ruan to defend them and curse at him before the call ended.
• Ye Ruan heard zombies approaching from the direction of He Zhou and the others and hurried toward them.
• Gu Cheng found Fang Ci and Yu Jingjing, and Fang Ci caught Yang Xiaomian when he fell from a tree.
• A shrill bird cry sounded, and Gu Cheng saw smoke and flames rising in the direction Ye Ruan had gone.

Ye Ruan and his team fought off a Level Three parrot monster, then encountered the giant earthworm that had escaped City H. As the earthworm attacked, Chi Yuan sacrificed himself to shield Ye Ruan, leaving the young moose crushed and dying in his arms.

• Ye Ruan lured a Level Three parrot into a dead tree and burned it with Lou Yu's lighter and medical alcohol.
• Ye Ruan learned that the parrot likely came from City H, and Cai Hao failed to answer his Communicator.
• Ye Ruan led the team through the woods toward Gu Cheng, but they encountered the giant earthworm that had attacked people at the Farmhouse.
• A second parrot shrieked and charged Ye Ruan as the earthworm lunged at him.
• Chi Yuan knocked Ye Ruan down and shielded him, but the earthworm crushed his antlers and body, leaving him dying in moose form.

Ye Ruan and Gu Cheng killed the earthworm monster, but Chi Yuan died from his injuries after confessing his feelings to Ye Ruan. At the Temporary Camp, Ye Ruan confronted the Headquarters Team over Chi Yuan’s death and demanded to know whether they had known the defensive line outside City H had collapsed.

• Ye Ruan attacked the earthworm while Gu Cheng exposed and severed the human head that was its fatal weak point.
• Chi Yuan told Ye Ruan he liked him, thanked him for taking him in, and said goodbye before dying in Tang Tang’s arms.
• Ye Ruan carried Chi Yuan down the mountain as Gu Cheng comforted him and promised to stay by his side.
• At the Temporary Camp, Ye Ruan confronted Cai Hao for ignoring their calls and showed the Headquarters Team Chi Yuan’s body.
• Ye Ruan demanded that Nan Han and the senior officers explain whether they had known the defensive line outside City H had collapsed.

After learning that Headquarters had concealed the collapse of the world beyond S City, Ye Ruan confronted Nan Han over the deaths and the danger they had faced. Grieving Chi Yuan and Moose, Ye Ruan returned home with Gu Cheng, who comforted him as he talked about escaping the base and then sought to help him forget his pain.

• Ye Ruan, Gu Cheng, Fang Ci, and Lou Yu demanded answers from Nan Han, who admitted that City H's defenses had fallen and Headquarters had kept it secret.
• Ye Ruan warned Nan Han that evolved bird monsters had flown into S City and a giant earthworm had tracked his scent; Nan Han apologized for the oversight.
• Gu Cheng led the exhausted Ye Ruan away, and He Zhou told him that Headquarters had approved Moose's cremation for the next day.
• At home, Gu Cheng bathed and comforted Ye Ruan, who said he wanted to leave the base and imagined building a peaceful life with their loved ones.
• Ye Ruan told Gu Cheng he wanted intimacy to help him forget his grief, and Gu Cheng hesitated because Ye Ruan was exhausted.

Ye Ruan and Gu Cheng said goodbye to Chi Yuan at the funeral, while unease about the spreading apocalypse weighed on them. They prepared for the danger ahead by stocking up on supplies before going to see Xu Chu.

• Ye Qingman left early, and Gu Cheng comforted the sleep-deprived Ye Ruan over breakfast while they discussed the threat to S City.
• Ye Ruan and Gu Cheng dressed in black, bought white tulips, and attended Chi Yuan’s cremation and burial with the base’s teams.
• Ye Qingman joined the funeral and invited Fang Ci and the others to dinner that evening.
• Gu Cheng suggested a date, then took Ye Ruan shopping and filled more than a dozen carts with supplies for the uncertain days ahead.

Gu Cheng and Ye Ruan learned that the base planned to abandon members during an evacuation, and they decided to leave together with their teammates. As they departed, Xu Chu hinted that he had something important to tell Ye Ruan about his mother, while Lu Yao offered weapons in exchange for being taken along.

• Gu Cheng took Ye Ruan to stock up on food and supplies, then brought his sleepy partner to Xu Chu's laboratory.
• Xu Chu revealed that most regions had fallen and that the base planned to evacuate while leaving behind five people from the First Team, nine from the Second Team, and ten from the Third Team.
• Ye Ruan refused to let Gu Cheng stay behind alone, and Gu Cheng agreed that they would leave together with the others.
• Xu Chu gave Gu Cheng a bag containing the key to a large armored vehicle and told them the new base was on a large island in Country W.
• Xu Chu told Ye Ruan he had something to reveal about his mother, and Lu Yao asked Gu Cheng to take him and Lou Yu along in exchange for crossbow bolts and homemade bombs.
• Gu Cheng said he would think about Lu Yao's offer and left the research institute with Ye Ruan.

Ye Ruan learned that Nan Han had tried to arrange one final embryo transfer for Ye Qingman, but the procedure was interrupted when zombies breached the base. As the survivors rushed to evacuate, Ye Ruan reunited with Gu Cheng and their teammates at the airfield, where the group prepared to escape together.

• Ye Ruan confronted Ye Qingman about her plan to leave with Gu Cheng, and she explained Nan Han had promised to free them if she underwent one final embryo transfer.
• A base-wide alarm announced that zombies had breached the defenses, so Ye Ruan and Ye Qingman grabbed their packed suitcases and fled toward the airfield.
• Ye Ruan killed two Level Two Zombies attacking people on the road and helped escort survivors toward the airfield.
• Commander Li arrived with Li Tuantuan and Ren Fei'er, and Ye Ruan arranged for Ye Qingman to evacuate with him while he waited for his teammates.
• Gu Cheng arrived with Yu Jingjing, Fang Ci, Li Rang, Lu Jiayi, He Zhou, Tang Tang, Lou Yu, Lu Yao, and the rest of their teams, and Ye Ruan ran into his arms.
• Yu Jingjing urged everyone to stop talking and leave as zombies began climbing over the airfield fence.

When Headquarters tried to evacuate only its strongest special persons, Ye Ruan and Gu Cheng refused to leave their teammates behind and took Nan Han hostage to force the leaders to go without them. After the planes left, the remaining teams fought their way through the zombies, while Lou Yu and Lu Yao chose to stay together.

• Cai Hao announced that only the people named on Nan Han's list could board the planes, leaving the rest of the teams behind.
• Gu Cheng refused to abandon his teammates, and Ye Ruan punched Nan Han and threatened the leaders into evacuating without them.
• Gu Cheng and Yu Jingjing tied up Nan Han, and Commander Li agreed to return for the group after reaching Island W.
• Ye Ruan said goodbye to Ye Qingman and Ren Fei'er as the planes departed from the base.
• Lou Yu and Lu Yao chose to stay together and headed for the garage while the zombies closed in.
• Ye Ruan, Gu Cheng, and the others fought through the zombie horde, with Li Rang forced to carry Nan Han.

Gu Cheng drove the group away from the base, and Ye Ruan helped them rescue Xia Yue from a building. Afterward, Lu Yao and Lou Yu proposed stopping to make weapons as they headed toward Lin City.

• Gu Cheng drove the group through the zombie horde after Ye Ruan threw a bomb, and they decided to leave the base behind.
• Ye Ruan and Yu Jingjing recognized Xia Yue calling for help from a survivors’ building, so Gu Cheng brought the vehicle alongside it.
• Ye Ruan blew open the base gates, and Lu Jiayi transformed into a black panther to carry Xia Yue safely back to the vehicle.
• The group celebrated the reunion before setting off toward Lin City, while Gu Cheng and Ye Ruan flirted in the front of the vehicle.
• Lu Yao and Lou Yu suggested stopping to make bombs, crossbows, and arrows, and Lou Yu recalled Ye Ruan’s skill with a bow, making Lu Yao jealous.

Gu Cheng and Ye Ruan rested with their companions on the road to Lin City, while Fang Ci discovered that Yang Xiaomian had kissed him. The next morning, their group woke to a crowd of zombies outside the vehicle and prepared to clear them without wasting bullets.

• Lu Yao questioned Lou Yu about his past feelings for another man, and Lou Yu insisted he had moved on.
• Gu Cheng stopped the vehicle so everyone could sleep, and Ye Ruan told him he loved him.
• Yang Xiaomian kissed Fang Ci while the others slept, leaving Fang Ci planning to explain that he could not return those feelings.
• In the morning, Ye Ruan ignored Nan Han's demand to be untied as the surrounding beasts woke and roared at him.
• Gu Cheng saw a crowd of zombies outside, and Ye Ruan, Fang Ci, Jiujiu, Tang Tang, and Little Mian prepared to fight them without using guns.

Ye Ruan and his team cleared zombies before choosing a small temple as a safer place to stay while they prepared to travel south. At the temple, Gu Cheng flirted with Ye Ruan in the vehicle, while Nan Han watched and angrily insisted that he was Ye Ruan’s biological father.

• Ye Ruan easily fought through the zombies, and Yang Jiu rammed one into a utility pole before Ye Ruan told him to use a knife.
• The team discussed sheltering at a small temple with two sturdy gates, then Gu Cheng drove the armored vehicle down the narrow, tree-lined road to it.
• The group went outside to scout the temple, leaving Gu Cheng, Ye Ruan, Lou Yu, Lu Yao, and the bound Nan Han in the vehicle.
• Gu Cheng tried to kiss Ye Ruan, who objected because Lou Yu, Lu Yao, and Nan Han were still present; Lou Yu and Lu Yao then left the vehicle.
• Nan Han declared that he was Ye Ruan’s biological father, and Ye Ruan angrily tried to confront him before Gu Cheng held him back and kissed him.
• Ye Ruan playfully bit Gu Cheng’s arm and asked for wolf meat, while Gu Cheng teased him about still getting shy.

The teams settled into a temple as shelter and planned defenses while Gu Cheng and Ye Ruan stayed close. The chapter ended with Yang Xiaomian offering Fang Ci water and nervously offering to help.

• Gu Cheng and the teams inspected the temple, found sleeping space, and decided to leave the Main Hall statue where it was.
• Lu Yao discussed making bows, arrows, and a small number of explosives to prepare for zombie threats.
• Ye Ruan explored the back courtyard, spotted the Peach Grove, Vegetable Patch, road, and Reservoir, and proposed using hammocks for watch shifts.
• Gu Cheng caught Ye Ruan when he jumped from the wall, kissed him, and teased him about being his wife.
• Gu Cheng prepared lunch while Ye Ruan rinsed the rice, and Fang Ci and Li Rang gave up trying to move the heavy statue.
• Yang Xiaomian brought Fang Ci water and offered to help, while Fang Ci said he would sweep instead.

As the team shared a rainy-day meal and settled in for the night, Ye Ruan confronted Nan Han over his past abandonment and Yuan Yuan’s death. Gu Cheng comforted Ye Ruan and carried him to their tent near the entrance, where he planned to check the gate.

• Gu Cheng and Ye Ruan shared lunch in the warm kitchen, and Ye Ruan fed Gu Cheng extra food from his Wristband.
• As the team prepared for a rainy night, Ye Ruan gave Nan Han bread and water, then rejected him as his father and blamed him for Yuan Yuan’s death.
• Gu Cheng noticed Ye Ruan’s anger, took his hand, and led him away from Nan Han.
• With the power and internet out, the team played cards and cat’s cradle while Gu Cheng discussed their plans and confirmed that Commander Li and Auntie Man were safe.
• When Ye Ruan grew sleepy, Gu Cheng carried him to a tent by the entrance and went to check that the gate was secure.

Ye Ruan and Gu Cheng sheltered from the rain at a temple when strange tremors revealed a gigantic, spike-tailed wild cat near the Special People's base. The monster noticed the group, and its terrifying yowl and stench rushed toward them.

• Gu Cheng reported that zombies were gathering on the main road but were unlikely to climb the steep path to the temple, and he planned to ask Headquarters about Nan Han the next day.
• A loud impact shook the ground, prompting Ye Ruan, Gu Cheng, Yu Jingjing, Tang Tang, and the others to investigate.
• Si Ning and Fang Ci said the enormous creature was close, while Lou Yu and Yu Jingjing watched from the wall in animal forms.
• Ye Ruan climbed the wall as a rabbit and saw a gigantic wild cat with growths on its back and a tail covered in spikes.
• As the wild cat turned toward them, Ye Ruan knocked Lou Yu and Yu Jingjing off the wall, and Gu Cheng caught them before signaling everyone to stay silent.
• The wild cat let out an earth-shattering yowl, sending a stench of decay toward the group.

A gigantic Level Three monster shaped like a spiked cat fled toward Lin City after startling the Special People at the Temple. After the group discussed the threat and prepared for the day, Gu Cheng doted on Ye Ruan while everyone gathered for breakfast.

• A thunderclap startled Ye Ruan and Yu Jingjing, and the enormous cat ran toward Lin City, shaking the ground with its footsteps.
• Yu Jingjing identified the creature as a Level Three monster over twenty meters tall, and Lu Yao and Fang Ci discussed its danger and the scarce Freezing Guns.
• Gu Cheng dried Ye Ruan after the rain, while Lu Yao restrained Lou Yu and toweled off the fox.
• After dawn, Gu Cheng dressed and carried the tired Ye Ruan, then stopped Yu Jingjing from crashing into him.
• Fang Ci served breakfast made with vegetables from the garden, and he secretly gave boiled eggs to Yu Jingjing and Ye Ruan.

Ye Ruan and the others gathered wood and made weapons while Gu Cheng worked on explosives, and Gu Cheng revealed that Lu Yao had developed the poison Nan Han possessed. The chapter ended with He Zhou and the Macaque Special Person spotting—or thinking they spotted—two humanlike figures outside the Temple gate.

• Ye Ruan joined Yu Jingjing and the others in cutting down oak trees for bows, while they discussed Xia Yue and Yang Xiaomian’s feelings for Lu Jiayi and Fang Ci.
• Ye Ruan inspected Lu Yao’s newly made bow and said it would work, though shorter people might struggle to use it.
• Lu Yao finished coating the bow and making twenty arrows, and Gu Cheng told Ye Ruan that Lu Yao had developed the poison Nan Han had taken without permission.
• During their night watch, the Macaque Special Person saw two humanlike figures move behind a tree near the main gate, but He Zhou saw nothing.

Ye Ruan went outside alone to investigate a possible threat and returned with a badly injured ankle after stepping into an animal trap. Gu Cheng found him and cared for him, leaving Ye Ruan trying to soothe the worried, self-blaming wolf as they settled back down.

• He Zhou and Yuan Hou discussed investigating the sounds outside, but Ye Ruan volunteered and slipped over the wall alone.
• After waiting anxiously, He Zhou and Yuan Hou saw Ye Ruan return with a bleeding ankle; he said he had found someone outside but stepped into an animal trap.
• Ye Ruan cleaned and bandaged his wound while He Zhou worried about Gu Cheng's reaction.
• Gu Cheng appeared, lifted Ye Ruan's injured leg, and carried him back inside while giving He Zhou an icy look.
• Gu Cheng admitted he was angry with himself for sleeping through Ye Ruan's departure, then stayed beside him as Ye Ruan tried to coax him into kissing.

Ye Ruan soothed Gu Cheng’s anger and guilt over the animal trap, and Gu Cheng revealed that someone had been watching them from the opposite hillside. As the group searched the woods for clues, Yang Xiaomian tumbled down a muddy slope.

• Gu Cheng scolded Ye Ruan for going out alone, then made sure he ate lunch after Ye Ruan woke at noon.
• Ye Ruan teased Yang Xiaomian about Fang Ci and gave him advice on how to win a boyfriend.
• Ye Ruan found Gu Cheng smoking and comforted him as Gu Cheng worried that an animal trap had endangered Ye Ruan and their group.
• Ye Ruan and Gu Cheng agreed to face danger as comrades, and Gu Cheng said someone had watched them through binoculars from the opposite hillside.
• Fang Ci found a soaked scrap of paper in the woods, while Yang Xiaomian slipped in the mud, rolled down a slope, and crashed into a tree.

Yang Xiaomian got Fang Ci to carry him back, while the team discovered that a scorpion symbol linked a grain coupon to the trap that injured Ye Ruan. At the temple, Ye Ruan showed off his archery skill, and Gu Cheng praised and held him.

• Yang Xiaomian pretended his ankle was sprained, and Fang Ci carried him back while Ye Ruan and Yu Jingjing helped persuade him.
• Gu Cheng and the others examined a grain coupon and found a scorpion symbol matching the one engraved on the Animal Trap that injured Ye Ruan.
• Gu Cheng said the team would go to Lin City once the Explosives were ready, and Yu Jingjing urged them to take revenge.
• Lu Yao gave Ye Ruan a newly made bow, and Ye Ruan shot two sparrows with one arrow.
• Ye Ruan hit a distant wooden plaque with two arrows, splitting the first arrow with the second, then Gu Cheng picked him up and kissed his nose.