Chapter Summaries

After recovering, Qin Siyang settled matters with Li Tianming and distributed titan reed fragments and Crimson Crystal to the people who had helped him. He then prepared for another trip Outside the Safe Zone and arrived at Safe Zone No. 213’s exit.

• Qin Siyang accused Li Tianming of pretending to be his godfather, but accepted the repaired Armor Li Tianming gave him.
• Qin Siyang gave titan reed inner leaf fragments to Chen Fenghe and Zhao Fengjun, and arranged for Zhao Longfei to receive a share through Zhao Fengjun.
• Qin Siyang returned to Area No. 9 with Zhao Longfei and distributed Crimson Crystal to Zhang Yingrui, Tang Wangong, and Lu Daoxing.
• Qin Siyang collected his Sequence Potion and monetary reward from Tang Wangong, then gave the Sequence Potion to Li Tianming.
• Qin Siyang secretly gave Hu Chan a titan reed fragment and told him he planned to go Outside the Safe Zone soon.
• After two days of planning with Zhao Sifang, Qin Siyang arrived at the Safe Zone No. 213 exit on May 16, 2010.

Qin Siyang used Zhao Sifang as a decoy while he secretly hunted gods outside the Safe Zone, but he returned without finding the two gods he needed. He learned that powerful agents from major factions were watching him and feared they might abduct him if he ventured too far alone.

• Qin Siyang sat on a rock outside the Safe Zone for three days, drawing the attention of people who expected him to hunt gods.
• Zhao Sifang arrived in red armor, revealing that he had impersonated Qin Siyang while the real Qin Siyang hunted outside the Safe Zone.
• The two returned to the Safe Zone together, leaving onlookers confused about which Qin Siyang was real.
• Inside a private car, Qin Siyang used pharmaceuticals to take on Zhao Sifang's appearance and said he had killed a Corrosive Black Centipede for mission points.
• Qin Siyang told Zhao Sifang he had failed to find the Blood Moon Spider or Abyss Hound and had only killed a Giant Mountain Boar and several small gods.
• Qin Siyang realized powerful watchers from major factions were following him and decided he could not safely hunt deep in the wilderness alone.

Qin Siyang turned in part of the Corrosive Black Centipede remains to Tang Wangong and received his points, then prepared to leave Area No. 9 for Area No. 7. After returning to the Hotel, he found Li Tianming waiting with hot water, hoping Qin Siyang had saved the centipede’s Corrosive Fluid Sac for him.

• Qin Siyang met Tang Wangong at the Administration Bureau and claimed he had killed a Corrosive Black Centipede, prompting Tang to loudly announce the news to the lobby.
• Qin Siyang submitted about one-third of the centipede’s remains, without its Corrosive Fluid Sac, and received his points from Tang Wangong.
• Qin Siyang returned to the Hotel, rested, and decided his business in Area No. 9 was finished and he could head to Area No. 7.
• Li Tianming appeared outside Qin Siyang’s room with a bucket of hot water, offering to wash his feet as he had promised.
• Qin Siyang denied saving the Corrosive Fluid Sac for Li Tianming, who appealed to their supposed long-standing partnership and asked to be called Xiao Ming.

Qin Siyang and Li Tianming headed to Area No. 7 as the Zhao Merchants' Association prepared to move there, while Zhao Longteng and Zhao Longfei discussed Qin Siyang's value and the backlash against the association. On the trip, Qin Siyang discovered that Bureau Chief Olof had been cleared after the Sigma District massacre was exposed as a World-Destroying Cult frame-up.

• Qin Siyang agreed to give Li Tianming the Corrosive Black Centipede's Corrosive Fluid Sac after they settled in Area No. 7, and Zhao Longfei arranged their ride to Nanrong University.
• Zhao Longfei told Zhao Longteng that Qin Siyang had killed a Corrosive Black Centipede, and Zhao Longteng warned that the Zhao Merchants' Association's revenue had already fallen amid pressure from rival groups.
• Zhao Longteng argued that Qin Siyang's generosity and character made him worth supporting, despite the trouble he brought and the association's losses.
• Qin Siyang browsed the forum and found that people still debated whether he was alive or an impostor.
• Qin Siyang read that Bureau Chief Olof had been cleared after the World-Destroying Cult was blamed for the Sigma District massacre, and he was dismayed that Olof had escaped punishment.

Qin Siyang asked Li Tianming where to find Blood Moon Spiders and Abyss Hounds for offerings to open the path of the believer, and learned that small gods were scarce near busy Safe Zone exits. Li Tianming explained how humanity’s fear of gods returned after people discovered that advancing to sequence level six meant being suppressed by them.

• Qin Siyang told Li Tianming he had searched outside the Safe Zone for three days without finding Blood Moon Spiders or Abyss Hounds.
• Li Tianming explained that powerful Sequence Ability Users competed for those small gods near Safe Zone No. 213 Exit, and that gods gathered where stronger users were present.
• Qin Siyang learned that more gods attracted stronger Sequence Ability Users, while stronger users also drew more gods.
• Li Tianming recounted how humans initially called the creatures gods because they could not fight back, then began using contemptuous names after sequence abilities let them kill gods.
• Li Tianming described how a leaked report revealed the God-Worship Ritual and the path of the believer, along with the fact that sequence level six users would be suppressed by gods.
• Li Tianming explained that people continued calling the creatures gods because their name reflected humanity’s awe and fear of being unable to escape their control.

Qin Siyang and Li Tianming arrived at Nanrong University, where Qin mocked Zhao Longfei’s reputation and planned to warn prospective students about him. Their argument ended when an angry voice interrupted them over the car speakers.

• Li Tianming explained that researchers’ study of Strange Creatures had led some to revere the gods, and he and Qin Siyang changed the subject during their journey to Area No. 7.
• At Nanrong University, Qin learned that Zhao Longfei’s surveillance made a gate unnecessary and overheard a father praising the principal’s open-door policy to his son.
• Qin insulted Zhao Longfei and asked the driver to stop so he could warn the father and son, but the driver refused because the Zhao Family paid his wages.
• Li Tianming tried to suggest Zhao Longfei had earned the university’s reputation through fair leadership, but Qin rejected the idea and continued insulting him.
• An angry voice erupted from the car speakers, demanding that Qin Siyang stop.

Qin Siyang used the Corrosive Black Centipede remains to make Zhao Longfei back down, then arrived at Nanrong University's East Guesthouse with Li Tianming. Li Tianming tried to stay in Qin Siyang's room, but Qin Siyang refused to pay for him, leaving them to share the one room reserved for Qin.

• Qin Siyang confronted Zhao Longfei over being monitored and threatened to withhold Corrosive Black Centipede remains, prompting Zhao to apologize and arrange rooms for him.
• Li Tianming warned Qin Siyang that Zhao Longfei might retaliate, but Qin Siyang said his rare materials would keep Zhao respectful.
• Qin Siyang asked Li Tianming to repeat the materials he needed, and promised to look for them outside the Safe Zone.
• Li Tianming told Qin Siyang that Feng He was paying for his home, and Qin Siyang accused him of living off a woman.
• At the East Guesthouse, Qin Siyang learned that only one room had been cleared for him and refused to pay for Li Tianming's stay, so Li Tianming suggested they share it.

Qin Siyang settled into the East Guesthouse with Li Tianming, then learned that visiting the lab could help him earn research points. Li Tianming showed him the research group’s six-story laboratory building, and their tour ended with Li Tianming again calling him his godson.

• Qin Siyang admired his East Guesthouse suite but resented sharing its bed with Li Tianming, who showered and went to sleep.
• In the morning, Li Tianming explained that Qin Siyang should visit the lab so photos could support his contribution and help him earn research points.
• Li Tianming led Qin Siyang to the laboratory building and revealed that their research group occupied all six floors.
• Li Tianming explained how the professors’ research used the building’s space, and Qin Siyang questioned why their group had so much room.
• Li Tianming praised the group’s abilities and called Qin Siyang his godson, prompting Qin Siyang to threaten to withhold the Corrosive Fluid Sac.

Qin Siyang visited the Zhao Family’s new laboratory building with Li Tianming and learned that the professors hoped he would find rare research materials while Outside the Safe Zone. The building had been named Miracle Building after Qin Siyang’s nickname, and Li Tianming revealed that his rejected naming suggestion was Father-and-Son Building.

• Qin Siyang and Li Tianming passed through the laboratory building’s hidden protective light curtain and found the professors sorting equipment and research materials.
• The professors asked Qin Siyang to collect specific rare materials for their research, believing his strength and luck let him grant their wishes.
• Qin Siyang agreed to note down their most urgent requests and bring back anything he found Outside the Safe Zone.
• Qin Siyang saw the name Miracle Building and learned Wu Yu had chosen it because the professors considered him their greatest hope for overcoming research bottlenecks.
• Li Tianming denied influencing the name and told Qin Siyang that his own rejected suggestion had been Father-and-Son Building.

After Qin Siyang narrowly avoided being stabbed by Qin Siyang’s Heaven-Splitting Halberd, he discussed how to evade the factions watching the Safe Zone exits. Lu Daoxing offered him an obsolete underground-travel artifact in exchange for a favor, and Qin Siyang explored the newly named Miracle Building while Lu Daoxing prepared to host him at home.

• Qin Siyang’s Heaven-Splitting Halberd jabbed Li Tianming in the backside, and the group posed for a commemorative photo before Li Tianming limped into the Laboratory Building.
• Qin Siyang told the professors that factions were watching him and asked how he could travel outside the Safe Zone safely.
• Lu Daoxing explained that Qin Siyang could bypass official exits if he did not need to redeem points and offered him an obsolete Capsule Pod for a mutually beneficial trade.
• Lu Daoxing invited Qin Siyang to his home for dinner, and Qin Siyang agreed to visit after looking around the Laboratory Building.
• Qin Siyang explored the Miracle Building and saw that Lu Daoxing’s laboratories occupied the first two floors.

Qin Siyang toured the professors’ laboratories before Lu Daoxing took him out and explained how he and his wife met and built a life together. Lu Daoxing began recounting how a Mutated Scythe Beetle wounded her while they were trying to reach a Safe Zone.

• Qin Siyang toured the laboratories and saw the different collections and workspaces of the professors.
• Lu Daoxing took Qin Siyang out before finishing moving his equipment into the laboratory.
• Lu Daoxing explained that his wife had begun trading futures because her health kept her from working and she wanted to help him.
• Lu Daoxing recalled meeting his wife while playing baseball in middle school and marrying her after university.
• Lu Daoxing said that he and his wife fled toward a Safe Zone after the apocalypse, following Li Tianming’s advice.
• A Mutated Scythe Beetle attacked Lu Daoxing near the Safe Zone, and his wife shoved him aside but was pierced in the lower abdomen.

Lu Daoxing told Qin Siyang how Li Tianming had saved him and his wife, Yang Dan, and explained how her injuries and financial worries had strained her. Lu Daoxing offered Qin Siyang a Capsule Pod, and they arrived at his home for dinner, where Qin Siyang tried to reassure Yang Dan that he had only helped Lu Daoxing in exchange for a meal and a fourth-tier God-Hunting Artifact.

• Lu Daoxing recounted how Li Tianming had helped him get his badly injured wife treated after a Mutated Scythe Beetle attack ten years earlier.
• Lu Daoxing explained that Yang Dan's permanent injuries left her unable to work or have children, and that he had hidden his sensitive work from her, making her believe they were struggling financially.
• Lu Daoxing thanked Qin Siyang for helping repay Yang Dan's debt and offered him the Capsule Pod outright, while asking him to downplay the repayment at dinner.
• Lu Daoxing brought Qin Siyang home, where Yang Dan welcomed him and introduced him to Aunt Xu, their [Sleepless] housekeeper.
• Qin Siyang told Yang Dan that Lu Daoxing had promised him a family dinner and a fourth-tier God-Hunting Artifact in exchange for helping with materials.

Qin Siyang enjoyed dinner with Lu Daoxing and Yang Dan, then received a Tier-Four Drill Pod from Lu Daoxing and learned how to operate it. Back at the Guesthouse, Qin Siyang prepared to leave the Safe Zone again, and Li Tianming gave him a mind-scrambling liquid to coat his Heaven-Splitting Halberd.

• Qin Siyang praised Yang Dan’s cooking at dinner, helping Lu Daoxing and Yang Dan enjoy a cheerful evening.
• Lu Daoxing took Qin Siyang to the [Miracle Building] and demonstrated the Drill Pod, explaining its capabilities and limitations.
• Qin Siyang test-drove the Drill Pod, learned that it used Sequence Potions for fuel, and accepted it from Lu Daoxing.
• Qin Siyang returned to the Guesthouse and asked Li Tianming for five hundred bottles of Sequence Potions to fuel the Drill Pod.
• Li Tianming gave Qin Siyang a liquid that could scramble a god’s mind when applied to the Heaven-Splitting Halberd.

Qin Siyang realized that his feelings of security and gratitude toward Li Tianming might be familial affection, then asked whether Li Tianming could continue his research without yellow-silver star ore. After learning that every rare material was essential, Qin Siyang kept quiet about the materials he had gathered and set out with Hu Chan to search for Blood Moon Spiders and Abyss Hounds.

• Qin Siyang recognized that his unfamiliar closeness to Li Tianming might be the familial affection he had never experienced.
• Qin Siyang asked Li Tianming whether his research could proceed without yellow-silver star ore, and Li Tianming said every required material lacked a substitute.
• Li Tianming warned Qin Siyang not to risk his life gathering rare materials, so Qin Siyang decided not to tell him what he had obtained.
• Qin Siyang called Hu Chan and asked him to help find Blood Moon Spiders and Abyss Hounds.
• Hu Chan realized Qin Siyang was preparing to embark on the path of the believer and said the two kinds of gods had been wiped out near the Safe Zone.
• Qin Siyang poured Sequence Potion into the Drill Pod's fuel tank and asked Hu Chan who had said he would search near the Safe Zone.

Qin Siyang arranged to meet Hu Chan outside the Safe Zone before heading farther away to hunt Small Gods. He drove his Drill Pod toward remote coordinates and settled into a carefree routine, leaving the chapter with him asleep as the pod raced onward.

• Qin Siyang convinced Hu Chan to meet him at coordinates thirty kilometers from the Safe Zone, promising they would hunt gods somewhere else.
• Hu Chan agreed after recording their conversation to hold Qin Siyang to his promise.
• Qin Siyang secretly planned to travel a hundred kilometers from the Safe Zone, where he expected to find more gods.
• Qin Siyang refueled his Drill Pod, applied Li Tianming's potion to the Heaven-Splitting Halberd, and departed from the [Miracle Building].
• Qin Siyang tied down the accelerator, set the Drill Pod racing toward its destination, and spent the journey sleeping, eating, and browsing his phone.

Qin Siyang picked up Hu Chan in the Drill Pod and persuaded him that he had invented its underground-travel technology. As they headed farther from the Safe Zone, Hu Chan realized Qin Siyang was taking them deeper into it to hunt small gods.

• Qin Siyang and Hu Chan confirmed each other's identities before Hu Chan boarded the Drill Pod.
• Qin Siyang claimed he had built the Drill Pod and researched its underground-travel technology in three months, leaving Hu Chan stunned by his supposed genius.
• Hu Chan noticed the Drill Pod was moving away from the Safe Zone and questioned Qin Siyang's route.
• Qin Siyang said the outskirts had no small gods, so they were drilling deeper into the Safe Zone, and Hu Chan feared they were heading to their deaths.

Qin Siyang pressured Hu Chan into using his skill to locate small gods beyond the Safe Zone, despite Hu Chan’s fears. After they found a swarm of Long-legged Worms and Iron-Helm Rat Fleas, the shaking ground revealed that the creatures were Sandworm Servants.

• Qin Siyang drove Hu Chan 103 kilometers from the Safe Zone and made him choose between helping hunt gods or losing the chance to earn a titan reed inner leaf fragment.
• Hu Chan agreed to help, and Qin Siyang recorded their conversation before they left the Drill Pod.
• Hu Chan used his skill and sensed a gathering of small gods, though he could not identify their kinds.
• Qin Siyang and Hu Chan hurried toward the gathering and found a huge swarm of Long-legged Worms and Iron-Helm Rat Fleas.
• The ground began to tremble, and Hu Chan and Qin Siyang realized the creatures were Sandworm Servants.

Qin Siyang and Hu Chan encountered a gigantic Sandworm that pursued them across the plain. Qin Siyang sacrificed his finger to free the Ring and escape with Hu Chan in the Drill Pod, and the Sandworm’s pursuit eventually faded underground.

• Qin Siyang and Hu Chan fled when the Sandworm erupted from underground and began chasing them.
• Hu Chan urged Qin Siyang to use the Drill Pod, but Qin Siyang could not remove the Ring stuck on his finger.
• Qin Siyang cut off his index finger with the God-Hunting Dagger, threw down the Ring, and climbed into the transformed Drill Pod.
• Qin Siyang drove the Drill Pod underground with Hu Chan aboard as the Sandworm followed them beneath the surface.
• After about half an hour, the Sandworm fell behind, leaving Qin Siyang and Hu Chan relatively safe.

After losing a finger in a Sandworm attack, Qin Siyang refused to return to the Safe Zone and continued hunting small gods with Hu Chan. When the Sandworm appeared again despite their distance, Qin Siyang began to suspect it was deliberately following them.

• Qin Siyang preserved his severed finger in the Storage Box, stopped the bleeding with First Aid Medicine, and insisted on continuing the hunt instead of returning to the Safe Zone.
• Qin Siyang and Hu Chan moved closer to the Safe Zone, where Hu Chan used his skill to locate nearby small gods.
• After a long, cautious journey, Qin Siyang identified the nearby gods as Hard-Shelled Frog Moths and decided their carapaces were not valuable enough.
• A tremor revealed the Sandworm rising behind Qin Siyang and Hu Chan, and the two escaped in the Drill Pod.
• As Hu Chan wondered why the Sandworm kept pursuing them, Qin Siyang recalled something from his past and suspected the creature was targeting him.

Qin Siyang and Hu Chan tried to hunt Small Gods but were repeatedly chased by a Sandworm, so Qin Siyang kept them inside the Drill Pod and offered Hu Chan a research opportunity. The chapter ended with Hu Chan realizing that the Sandworm was pursuing Qin Siyang and that Qin Siyang knew why.

• Qin Siyang and Hu Chan fled the Sandworm again, and Hu Chan angrily demanded an end to their fruitless trip.
• Qin Siyang promised to turn back and pay Hu Chan if they encountered the Sandworm again, then persuaded him to activate his skill outside the Drill Pod while Qin Siyang stayed inside.
• Hu Chan found groups of Small Gods in two directions and asked Qin Siyang whether he suspected the Sandworm was coming for him.
• Qin Siyang told Hu Chan he might be his benefactor and offered him second authorship on a paper about the secrets of Large Gods in exchange for doing the research.
• Hu Chan realized the Sandworm really was pursuing Qin Siyang and demanded to know whether Qin Siyang knew the reason.