Chapter Summaries

Li Tianming restrained Qin Siyang and questioned whether he was an impostor, concerned that his sudden increase in strength suggested someone had altered his memories. Qin Siyang explained that he had killed the rare Gods earlier, and Li Tianming eventually freed him after the professors accepted his account.

• Li Tianming restrained Qin Siyang and told the professors he suspected the real Qin Siyang had died and been replaced by Guo Jiuxiao's double.
• Lu Daoxing used a Bird-Shaped Lie Detector, which confirmed Qin Siyang was telling the truth when he said he was Qin Siyang.
• Li Tianming remained suspicious because Qin Siyang's strength had changed so dramatically, while Qin Siyang insisted he had always been strong.
• Qin Siyang claimed he had killed the Ice Crystal Giant Moth, Lava Crocodile, Corrosive Black Centipede, and Thunder Snow Wolf during an earlier rescue, and the detector confirmed his account.
• Li Tianming ended the interrogation, returned the Bird-Shaped Lie Detector to Qin Siyang, and released him.

Li Tianming stopped the professors from pressing Qin Siyang about a possible titan reed, but Qin Siyang freely revealed that he had obtained one and shared its leaves with them. He promised to bring Li Tianming more materials soon, leaving Li Tianming deeply moved by his generosity.

• Li Tianming switched off the Lie Detector to prevent the professors from pressuring Qin Siyang about titan reeds.
• Qin Siyang revealed that he had obtained an entire titan reed, and Lu Daoxing tried to claim several leaves before Chang Tianxiang and Wu Yu rebuked him.
• Qin Siyang distributed titan reed leaves to Li Tianming and the professors for their research, while Zhang Kuang and others reminded him about materials they still wanted.
• Qin Siyang promised Li Tianming the Lava Crocodile and Ice Crystal Giant Moth carcasses after they were processed, and Li Tianming quietly accepted, visibly moved.

Qin Siyang entered the Miracle Building with Li Tianming, while the professors organized research on the materials he had given them. In Li Tianming’s office, Qin Siyang learned about the risks and preparations for the Path of the Believer, and Li Tianming warned him to keep his breakthrough location absolutely secret.

• The professors debated research priorities, and Lu Daoxing gave Hao Liang most of his bluewater glass star ore and titan reed leaves to study.
• Qin Siyang and Li Tianming went to the sixth floor, where Qin Siyang asked for advice about embarking on the Path of the Believer.
• Li Tianming explained that reaching sequence level six would sharply weaken Qin Siyang’s ability to fight gods and asked whether he had enough resources to advance.
• Qin Siyang realized that the remains he had on hand would provide little usable meat, so he said he would gather more resources before breaking through.
• Li Tianming began explaining how to embark on the Path of the Believer and warned Qin Siyang never to reveal where he would do it, not even to Li Tianming.

Li Tianming warned Qin Siyang that activating the Path of the Believer left him vulnerable and could make his treasures ownerless if he died, then explained how to perform the God-Worship Ritual and what the different grades offered. Qin Siyang learned his offerings could grant him a dawn-grade path and eagerly asked about the advantage it would give him in combat.

• Li Tianming warned Qin Siyang to choose a hidden, safe place to activate the Path of the Believer because he would be unable to sense danger or fight back.
• Li Tianming explained that Qin Siyang's contracted materials and Special Locks would become ownerless if he died during the breakthrough, and admitted he had briefly thought of profiting from Qin Siyang's death.
• Qin Siyang reassured Li Tianming and promised not to reveal when or where he would activate the Path of the Believer.
• Li Tianming described the God-Worship Ritual, which required one hundred Small Gods' disc carapaces and two Medium Gods' disc carapaces, and outlined the four grades of the resulting path.
• Li Tianming said Qin Siyang's Lava Crocodile and Ice Crystal Giant Moth offerings would give him a dawn-grade path and explained that believers gained an advantage over Sequence Ability Users who had not activated theirs.
• Qin Siyang grew excited about his expected breakthrough and asked Li Tianming to explain the combat advantage in more detail.

Li Tianming explained how the Path of the Believer suppresses lower-sequence opponents and how offerings affect believers’ protection and standing with the gods. Qin Siyang learned that his unusually high offerings might make him powerful in the Safe Zone but leave him especially vulnerable to gods Outside it.

• Li Tianming explained that sequence level six grants suppression over level-five opponents and protection from one fatal injury, with sequence level seven exerting similar pressure on level six.
• Li Tianming described how Small God disc carapace points let believers see more gods on the Path of the Believer, though no other benefit was known.
• Qin Siyang asked whether his full offerings made him invincible, and Li Tianming warned that his devotion could bring powerful suppression from gods Outside the Safe Zone.
• Li Tianming said he could not compare Qin Siyang’s situation with others because nobody else had collected offerings to such extremes.
• Li Tianming refused to discuss Director Zhang’s circumstances and revealed that he himself was still at sequence level five.

Li Tianming explained to Qin Siyang why he had not yet embarked on the Path of the Believer: he was waiting to see whether his research could give him a chance to defeat Guo Jiuxiao. He described the uncertainty and effort of serious research, leaving Qin Siyang to question whether the researchers he remembered fit that description.

• Li Tianming told Qin Siyang he had not embarked on the Path of the Believer because he was waiting for his research to produce results.
• Li Tianming revealed that the research was his last trump card and his only chance to beat Guo Jiuxiao.
• Li Tianming explained that serious research meant years of uncertain work, with no guarantee that the effort would succeed.
• Qin Siyang recalled his own graduate-school experience and argued that some researchers seemed to live comfortable, carefree lives.
• Li Tianming said those comfortable figures were research bosses, while their students were the ones doing the difficult work.

Li Tianming explained how the apocalypse and sequence awakening reshaped researchers’ careers, then revealed that a single remaining research project was his only chance to recover his standing. Qin Siyang had helped him gather most of its rare materials, but Li Tianming’s hopeful thoughts were interrupted by a sudden red presence.

• Li Tianming told Qin Siyang that post-apocalypse research had elevated capable researchers and sequence-related discoveries had made their work even more consequential.
• Li Tianming explained that years of specializing, followed by Guo Jiuxiao framing him, had left most of his research projects with little chance of success.
• Li Tianming said only one research project could still bear substantial fruit and that losing it would mean losing himself.
• Li Tianming thanked Qin Siyang for helping him collect most of the required materials and said he still needed yellow-silver star ore and a fist-sized Crimson Crystal.
• As Li Tianming imagined turning his fortunes around, an enchanting mass of red suddenly filled his vision.

Li Tianming examined the fist-sized Crimson Crystal Qin Siyang had obtained and agreed to share its contract, while they discussed the missing yellow-silver star ore needed for Li Tianming’s research. Qin Siyang agreed not to pressure Zhong Dingming, but planned to negotiate with him, then left to prepare materials and consider the cost of becoming a God's believer.

• Li Tianming was astonished by the fist-sized Crimson Crystal and learned that Qin Siyang had found it after killing Ji Ping in a Waterlogged Begonia.
• Li Tianming and Qin Siyang signed a Sharing Contract for the Crimson Crystal, then discussed their lack of yellow-silver star ore and the possible value of bluewater glass star ore.
• Li Tianming urged Qin Siyang not to harm Zhong Dingming, explaining that he would rather lose to Guo Jiuxiao than betray someone who had helped him.
• Qin Siyang agreed not to give Zhong Dingming trouble, but said he would ask whether Zhong was willing to share the secret in exchange for terms.
• Qin Siyang promised to bring Li Tianming materials the next day and help look after Li Pengfei during Li Tianming’s trip, then left to consider the price of becoming a God's believer.

Cui Zhonghua returned from vacation to find that Du Wei had been missing for a week, while City Hall had delayed action and Du Wei’s informants had also vanished. After handing the investigation to Zhang Guo, Cui received a call from Mayor Chen, who asked him to remain bureau chief and named He Kui as the new district chief.

• Cui Zhonghua demanded an explanation for Du Wei’s disappearance and learned that the Police Bureau had found no clues despite reporting the case to City Hall.
• Gong Rang explained that City Hall had repeatedly sent the case back, while Zhang Guo complained that the bureau lacked help and its only Scent Seeker, Roylena, had died.
• Cui Zhonghua asked whether Du Wei’s informants Old Tiger and Old Snake had been contacted, and Zhang Guo said they had disappeared too.
• Cui Zhonghua cited his health, assigned Zhang Guo to lead the investigation, and left the Police Bureau for a hospital follow-up.
• Mayor Chen called Cui Zhonghua, urged him to keep serving as bureau chief, and told him that He Kui had been selected as the new district chief.

Cui Zhonghua learned that He Kui would become District Chief of the 14121 Region, giving him the backing to keep serving as Police Bureau Chief while the region was cleaned up. In Area No. 7, Qin Siyang met with the Wang brothers after arranging housing for their families.

• Chen Zhongming told Cui Zhonghua that He Kui's appointment as District Chief had been approved and that Governor Jonathan had personally informed him.
• Chen Zhongming persuaded Cui Zhonghua to postpone retirement, with He Kui expected to take on the region's troubles and Cui Zhonghua focused on running the Police Bureau.
• After the call, Cui Zhonghua concluded that Du Wei was being targeted by both Chen Zhongming and Governor Jonathan and expected the region to settle once Du Wei was dead.
• At Nanrong University, Qin Siyang praised Zhao Longfei for dealing with a deputy bureau chief, and Qin promised to support Zhao's currency issuance plan after handling his own affairs.
• Qin Siyang met Wang Defa, Wang Deyou, and Wang Dezhong at a Soaring Group construction site and explained that he had bought their families a large courtyard house for less than two hundred silver coins.

Qin Siyang explained that he was hiding his connection to the Wang brothers and ordered them to eliminate the people in the sacks. Wang Defa killed Du Wei and spared Old Snake, whom he brought before Qin Siyang to answer questions.

• Qin Siyang told Wang Defa, Wang Deyou, and Wang Dezhong that he planned to make them Sequence Ability Users and needed them to keep their ties to him secret.
• The brothers opened the sacks and found Du Wei and the assassins who had worked for him, including Old Snake.
• Wang Defa confronted Du Wei about trying to kill his family and stabbed him to death.
• Wang Deyou and Wang Dezhong killed the remaining captives, while Wang Defa spared Old Snake and asked Qin Siyang to spare him too.
• Qin Siyang ordered Old Snake's gag removed and prepared to question him.

Qin Siyang used a lie detector to question She Haqiang, then offered him a chance to become a Sequence Ability User if he dealt with Du Wei. He also ordered Wang Defa and his brothers to prepare to hunt Gods outside the Safe Zone.

• Qin Siyang confirmed She Haqiang had helped Wang Defa and learned that She Haqiang was a hitman whose paralyzed sister lived in a secret hideout.
• Qin Siyang offered She Haqiang a reward for killing Du Wei and promised to cure his sister if he failed, and She Haqiang accepted.
• Qin Siyang told Wang Defa, Wang Deyou, and Wang Dezhong to practice because they would accompany him outside the Safe Zone to hunt Gods.
• After Qin Siyang left, She Haqiang thanked Wang Defa for saving him, while Wang Dezhong admitted he was afraid of fighting Gods and Wang Defa insisted they would obey Qin Siyang.

Qin Siyang picked up Li Pengfei from school and brought him to investigate a tutoring class inside Nanrong University. There, he unexpectedly recognized Furensa as the teacher.

• Qin Siyang planned to build a Sequence Regiment by helping Wang Defa and his companions awaken their Sequences and establish authority over future recruits.
• Qin Siyang picked up Li Pengfei from Southern Glory Affiliated Elementary School and learned the boy had made two friends by standing up for them.
• Li Pengfei asked about a Lake Island Class that his friends attended, and Qin Siyang agreed to take him to see it after learning it was inside Nanrong University.
• Qin Siyang and Li Pengfei entered the Little Genius Tutoring Class, where Qin Siyang recognized Furensa teaching the children.

Qin Siyang learned that Furensa had fallen on hard times after their Doom Octopus papers were rejected and his student Laudno died. Realizing the committee was targeting him, Qin Siyang urged Furensa to remove his name from the papers and resubmit them, leaving Furensa deeply grateful.

• Qin Siyang unexpectedly met Furensa while he was tutoring elementary school students at Nanrong University.
• Furensa explained that the Paper Review Committee had rejected their Doom Octopus papers, preventing his promotion and costing him the research points he had promised Qin Siyang.
• Furensa told Qin Siyang that Laudno had died Outside the Safe Zone and that he had given most of his savings to Laudno's grieving parents.
• Qin Siyang realized Furensa had been caught up in the committee's efforts to target him and told Furensa to remove his name from the papers and resubmit them.
• Furensa refused at first, but Qin Siyang reassured him that other blocked papers would provide his research points and urged him to focus on restoring his career.
• Furensa thanked Qin Siyang emotionally and praised his generosity.

After the tutoring class dissolved, Qin Siyang learned that Li Pengfei loved reading and was far more perceptive than he had assumed. Li Pengfei revealed his suspicions about Li and Chen, and Qin Siyang decided to take him to meet Wen Shu, though the boy made Qin Siyang admit he was trying to see a pretty woman.

• Qin Siyang asked Li Pengfei what he liked, and Li Pengfei said he loved reading Huaguo classics, histories, philosophical works, and literary collections.
• Li Pengfei explained a story about friendships ending, impressing Qin Siyang with his understanding while saying he trusted people he knew more than lessons in books.
• Li Pengfei told Qin Siyang he felt Li wanted to be his father, and Qin Siyang decided to bring him to meet Wen Shu because they both enjoyed reading.
• Li Pengfei revealed he had secretly peeked at Li and Chen embracing, and Qin Siyang caught him pretending to be asleep.
• Li Pengfei threatened not to meet the pretty big sister if Qin Siyang kept lecturing him, so Qin Siyang eagerly agreed to take him to Wen Shu.

Qin Siyang brought Li Pengfei to visit Wen Shu, using the boy’s interest in reading as an excuse to spend time with her. They ate dinner and quietly read together until Wen Shu invited Li Pengfei to return the next day to borrow books from Nanrong University’s Library.

• Qin Siyang introduced Li Pengfei to Wen Shu, and Xu Lanzhi urged Wen Shu to spend time with Qin Siyang while she ate alone.
• Qin Siyang, Wen Shu, and Li Pengfei ate dinner together after Qin Siyang refused Li Pengfei’s request for fries and cola.
• Wen Shu and Li Pengfei read while Qin Siyang browsed Forum posts, and the three kept one another company until bedtime.
• Wen Shu offered to take Li Pengfei to the Library the next day, and Li Pengfei wondered how Qin Siyang had gotten a library card.

Qin Siyang cared for Li Pengfei and brought him to school before visiting the Wang brothers, who were training with automatic combat models. He arranged to take them outside the Safe Zone to hunt gods in three days.

• Qin Siyang bathed Li Pengfei and told him that his father was one of the living dead, leaving Li Pengfei wondering where his father was.
• Qin Siyang took Li Pengfei to school the next day and rode the Drill Pod to the Wang Family's courtyard.
• Qin Siyang inspected the buried Redstone Moth remains and hoped they would awaken Sequence Abilities in Wang Defa and his brothers.
• Qin Siyang found Wang Defa, Wang Deyou, and Wang Dezhong practicing against automated models that attacked and adjusted their difficulty.
• Qin Siyang told the Wang brothers to keep training and said they would join him to hunt gods Outside the Safe Zone in three days.

Qin Siyang set the Wang brothers on a path toward awakening Sequence Abilities, then went to watch Hu Chan defeat Rong Xin in the Combat Arena. Afterward, Zhao Sifang and Gu Yunpeng challenged Rong Xin, while Shi Tao pushed him to accept in hopes of recovering his losses.

• Qin Siyang told the Wang brothers he would train the three of them first and expected them to become strong enough to help him.
• Qin Siyang joined Zhao Sifang, Gu Yunpeng, Wen Shu, and Gu Yunxuan at the Combat Arena to watch Hu Chan and Rong Xin fight.
• Hu Chan reached thirty points first and won, but felt displeased because Rong Xin implied that Qin Siyang and Chu Baxing had beaten him with less effort and fewer revealed resources.
• Rong Xin told Shi Tao that Shi Tao's Tier-Four God-Hunting Artifact was gone, prompting Shi Tao to lament his losses.
• Gu Yunpeng and Zhao Sifang asked Rong Xin to spar with them, and Shi Tao accepted the challenge on Rong Xin's behalf so they could build ties with the Gu and Zhao families.

Zhao Longfei told Qin Siyang that the Zhao Family had extracted and divided the valuable information from Zhang Yingrui’s memories. The chapter ended with Qin arguing over his share of the proceeds as Zhao Longfei insisted the struggling Zhao Family needed the money.

• Qin Siyang went to Zhao Longfei’s office, where Zhao explained that Zhang Yingrui’s memories had taken longer to process because he had held many secrets and possessed photographic memory.
• Zhao Longfei said Han Shuo had taken the easiest rewards from the memories, while Hu Chan and Yu Ziying had claimed information related to the World Salvation Church.
• Zhao Longfei explained that the Zhao Family had taken the remaining opportunities, which required more resources and effort to pursue.
• Zhao Longfei offered to split the net proceeds thirty-seventy between Qin Siyang and the Zhao Family, with Qin receiving thirty percent.
• Qin Siyang demanded a larger share, but Zhao Longfei said the Zhao Family was short on money and asked him to be understanding.

Qin Siyang weighed whether to pursue the Path of the Believer and, after consulting the professors and Wen Shu, chose the [Dawn Rank] path for greater safety inside the Safe Zone. He set out with Hu Chan to hunt Medium Gods and stockpile resources before advancing.

• Zhao Longfei gave Qin Siyang five Gold Coins from the proceeds of Zhang Yingrui's intel, and Qin Siyang learned they came from selling Sequence Potions at a price he disputed.
• Qin Siyang asked the professors about Gods' suppression and heard that God-Hunting Artifacts and safety inside the Safe Zone mattered more than preserving his advantage against Gods.
• Wen Shu told Qin Siyang he could choose either path, easing his worries about whether fighting people or Gods would be harder.
• Qin Siyang consulted the Xia Calendar and Copper Coins, then chose to embark on the [Dawn Rank] Path of the Believer.
• Qin Siyang took Hu Chan out to hunt Medium Gods, planning to gather resources before advancing despite the path making God-hunting much harder.