Chapter Summaries

Qin Siyang faced fear and isolation at school before leaving with Laudno for Area No. 7 at Furensa’s request. After a journey of more than three days, he was still on the road as the scenery shifted from the outskirts to more developed areas.

• Qin Siyang sat in class while teachers and students trembled around him, then ate lunch and spoke with Wen Shu in the Library.
• Wen Shu told Qin Siyang not to take on her housing problem as another burden, and he agreed.
• Furensa arranged for Laudno to collect Qin Siyang from school in a car from State No. 10.
• Laudno told Qin Siyang that Furensa was delayed while completing paperwork and borrowing the Doom Octopus disc carapace for research.
• Qin Siyang slept and woke during the long drive, which continued for more than three days through increasingly developed areas.

Qin Siyang arrived in Area No. 7 and learned how its location near the mountains made it safer and allowed residents to reach stronger gods beyond them. At Furensa’s laboratory, Qin Siyang demanded third authorship as separate payment for his help, and Furensa admitted that the position had already been promised to someone else.

• Laudno brought Qin Siyang to Area No. 7, where Qin Siyang saw its bright streets, restaurants, and greenery.
• Laudno explained that the mountain range made Area No. 7 safer and that tunnels and underground railways let residents cross the mountains to hunt gods.
• Laudno led Qin Siyang through Nanrong University to the Sequence Research Institute, where Furensa welcomed him.
• Furensa offered Qin Siyang a graded God-Hunting Artifact as compensation for his earlier mistake after the paper was published.
• Qin Siyang asked for third authorship as separate payment for helping with the research, and Furensa said the position had already been promised to someone else. Qin Siyang pointed out that the paper and three earlier papers depended on his cooperation.

Qin Siyang negotiated third authorship with Furensa in exchange for cooperating with the Doom Octopus research, then insisted on continuing to hunt gods rather than waiting for the paper to be published. Furensa discovered that Qin Siyang had earned more than six thousand God-Hunting Points in just one week, leaving the lab stunned by his rapid progress.

• Qin Siyang showed Furensa the online backlash and persuaded him to agree that Qin Siyang would be the paper's third author.
• Qin Siyang answered questions under video and Lie Detector monitoring, then passed a Memory Continuity Test while withholding how he had identified the Doom Octopus's heart.
• Furensa offered to deliver Qin Siyang a graded God-Hunting Artifact after the paper was published, but Qin Siyang said he wanted to hunt gods outside a Safe Zone exit in Area No. 7.
• Qin Siyang rejected Furensa's request to wait for the paper review, explaining that he had less than four months to improve his special admission prospects.
• Qin Siyang revealed that he had awakened his sequence only the previous month and had earned over six thousand points; Furensa checked his records and found that his first god hunt had been just a week earlier.

Furensa gave Qin Siyang a God-identifying phone and a Green-Patterned Armor in hopes of building a research partnership with him. As Laudno arranged Qin Siyang’s stay on campus, Qin reflected that he would start college in six months.

• Furensa sent Qin Siyang information about Gods and gave him a phone that could identify them by scanning.
• Furensa asked Qin Siyang to bring back tissue from Gods useful to the laboratory’s research, offering further rewards in return.
• Furensa gave Qin Siyang the grade-one Green-Patterned Armor and explained that God-Hunting Artifacts could not be bought openly.
• Furensa told his assistant that he wanted to build connections through Qin Siyang and believed the God hunter could benefit the laboratory.
• Laudno escorted Qin Siyang to the school’s guest accommodations, where Qin Siyang thought about starting college in six months.

Qin Siyang settled into the university guesthouse, enjoyed familiar food, and grew determined to earn special admission to a higher-ranked area. The next morning, Laudno drove him toward Safe Zone Exit No. 207, where they stopped in traffic at a mountain tunnel.

• Laudno helped Qin Siyang move into a guesthouse room and explained that long-term rent cost two silver coins a day.
• Qin Siyang tasted the familiar dishes and breakfast Laudno had brought, then decided he had to get special admission to a university in a higher-ranked area.
• Qin Siyang used Furensa's phone to photograph his meal and discovered that its camera labeled the food and him automatically.
• Qin Siyang read about local laws, showered, and went to sleep before his planned trip to hunt gods.
• On February 9, Qin Siyang ate breakfast, put on his armor, and joined Laudno on the drive to Safe Zone Exit No. 207.
• Qin Siyang and Laudno stopped at a traffic jam outside a tunnel at the foot of a mountain.

Laudno drove Qin Siyang through heavy traffic to Safe Zone Exit No. 207, where Qin learned about the exit’s facilities and entry requirements. After verifying his identity and God-Hunting Dagger, Qin entered the crowded platform while Laudno waited for him outside.

• Laudno restrained his anger in the tunnel traffic because he was responsible for safely transporting Qin Siyang.
• After leaving the tunnel, Laudno sped through traffic and drove Qin to Safe Zone Exit No. 207.
• Qin Siyang saw the vast, crowded exit platform and its many facilities, then asked Laudno why so many people gathered there.
• Laudno explained that the exit required at least two thousand God-Hunting Points and was popular because mostly Small and medium-sized Gods appeared nearby.
• Laudno offered to wait while Qin went outside the Safe Zone, and Qin agreed after hearing he had no other assignments.
• Qin gave the inspector his name and Sequence Ability User number, had his God-Hunting Dagger scanned, and was cleared to enter.

Qin Siyang hunted Gods outside the Safe Zone, collecting valuable remains while discovering that eating weaker Gods no longer improved his Sequence. After effortlessly killing many Gods, he considered returning to discuss his plans with Old Li, while nearby hunters wondered how strong he was.

• Qin Siyang left the Safe Zone alone and caught a Duck Rat, then killed it and stored its disc carapace and body for rewards.
• Qin Siyang killed a Snake-Bodied Poison Boar with one kick, collected its disc carapace and tusks, and found that eating its meat did not improve his Sequence.
• Qin Siyang felt a terrifying gaze after complaining about his Sequence and the bird's eye that had awakened it, but saw nothing in the sky.
• Qin Siyang continued killing Gods and collected more than thirty God-Hunting Points' worth of disc carapaces in about three hours.
• Qin Siyang considered asking Furensa to fund his stay, then decided he should return and discuss matters with Old Li.
• A nearby team struggling against a Snake-Bodied Poison Boar watched Qin Siyang kill one with a single kick and wondered how powerful he was.

Qin Siyang hunted Small Gods outside the Safe Zone and discovered that Furensa wanted him to collect their remains for research. He encountered a rampaging Sacrificial Giant Vine and saw a crazed boy claim its Vine Heart as the boy led the vine past him.

• Qin Siyang killed Small Gods while turning down invitations from other Sequence Ability Users.
• After noticing that Furensa's information listed research value and rewards for nearly every God’s remains, Qin Siyang complained that he had been tricked into collecting research materials.
• A Sacrificial Giant Vine erupted aboveground and struck down two Sequence Ability Users as others fled.
• Qin Siyang learned that stealing the Vine Heart had driven the Large God berserk and realized Furensa desperately wanted the crystal.
• A boy raced past Qin Siyang with the giant vine pursuing him, shouting that the Vine Heart was his, and Qin Siyang turned to watch.

Qin Siyang used [Feast Domain] to catch the crazed boy and steal the Vine Heart, but the boy survived his attack through an unknown ability. Qin Siyang fled toward the Safe Zone while the Sacrificial Giant Vine pursued the boy, who had lost both the Vine Heart and his collected Disc Carapace.

• The crazed boy used his terrain-changing ability to trap Qin Siyang and tried to lure the Sacrificial Giant Vine into killing him.
• Qin Siyang activated [Feast Domain], raced past the softened terrain, and slashed open the boy’s backpack to take the Vine Heart.
• Qin Siyang kicked the boy with [Violence], but the boy shattered into fragments and reappeared unharmed farther away.
• Qin Siyang fled toward the Safe Zone as the Sacrificial Giant Vine chased the boy, whose Disc Carapace had spilled along the way.

Qin Siyang escaped with the Vine Heart and learned from Li Tianming how to claim it, but the Mad Boy publicly announced that he knew the thief’s appearance. Qin Siyang realized he could not safely leave for three days and prepared to secure the Vine Heart while crowds searched for him.

• Qin Siyang returned to the Safe Zone, told Laudno that someone had stolen the Vine Heart, and handed over his God Remains for Professor Furensa.
• The Mad Boy shouted that he knew what the Vine Heart thief looked like, drawing a crowd and making Qin Siyang abandon his plan to return home.
• Qin Siyang called Li Tianming, who explained that blood could establish a contract with a Vine Heart after it had been separated from the Sacrificial Giant Vine for more than ten minutes.
• Li Tianming told Chen Fenghe that Qin Siyang might have obtained a Vine Heart and lamented that he had never claimed one himself.

Qin Siyang was caught in a frenzied struggle over the Vine Heart, but he managed to bind it to himself by breaking his own finger while restrained. The crowd abandoned its attempt to seize the now-owned treasure, and Qin Siyang collapsed after [Violence] wore off.

• Sequence Ability Users rushed Qin Siyang after recognizing his Green-Patterned Armor and hearing he had the Vine Heart.
• A masked [Shadow Controller] restrained Qin Siyang, preventing him from drawing a blade while the crowd fought over his backpack.
• A thief stole Qin Siyang's backpack, but another person dragged the thief back, and the crowd tore the backpack apart to reveal the Vine Heart.
• The crowd noticed blood markings on the Vine Heart and realized Qin Siyang had formed a contract with it.
• Qin Siyang revealed that he had broken his index finger to make it bleed while restrained, binding the Vine Heart to himself.
• The crowd backed off to avoid the consequences of damaging the contracted Vine Heart, and Qin Siyang collapsed when [Violence] wore off.

Qin Siyang recovered after forming a pact with the Vine Heart, then rejected Professor Harrison’s request to provide it for research. Harrison offered him a place at Nanrong University and his laboratory, but Qin Siyang insisted he wanted to remain independent.

• Laudno carried the exhausted Qin Siyang and the Vine Heart back to Nanrong University, where Qin Siyang fell asleep.
• Qin Siyang woke in the guesthouse after a day, learned a professor had reattached his finger, and met Harrison, Furensa’s advisor.
• Harrison asked Qin Siyang to provide the Vine Heart for research, but Qin Siyang declined after recounting how he had already helped the laboratory.
• Harrison offered Qin Siyang favorable terms at Nanrong University and a place in his laboratory, but Qin Siyang said he did not want an advisor.
• Furensa told Harrison that Qin Siyang had spoken to Li Tianming as an equal, prompting Harrison to study Qin Siyang more closely.

Qin Siyang refused Harrison’s attempt to pressure him into supporting the laboratory’s research and let the Sequence Ability Management Bureau investigate him. After he proved he had not stolen the Vine Heart and declined to explain how he obtained it, the investigators left, drawing the attention of groups hoping to negotiate with him.

• Harrison warned Qin Siyang that he might face trouble over the Vine Heart unless he cooperated with the laboratory, but Qin Siyang asked him to let the investigators in.
• The Administration Bureau personnel questioned Qin Siyang and used Lie Detectors, which confirmed he had neither stolen the Vine Heart nor arranged for someone else to steal it.
• Qin Siyang refused to say how he had obtained the Vine Heart or identify the boy who had revealed it, citing his right not to answer.
• Qin Siyang invoked Crawford’s name when an investigator threatened him, and the personnel stopped questioning him after conducting a Memory Continuity Test.
• Observers near Nanrong University saw the Administration Bureau personnel and Harrison leave without the Vine Heart, then called their associates to urge them to negotiate with Qin Siyang.

After discovering Furensa’s phone had blocked calls, Qin Siyang contacted Li Tianming to ask about the Vine Heart and offered him the chance to develop it. Li Tianming, who had assumed their partnership was ending, accepted with relief and celebrated their enduring friendship.

• Qin Siyang discovered that Furensa’s phone could not receive calls and switched his SIM card back to his old phone, where he received a call from Professor Sun Hugang.
• Qin Siyang called Li Tianming, who revealed that researchers had been contacting him because they could not reach Qin Siyang.
• Li Tianming explained that the Vine Heart was valuable for crafting, pharmaceuticals, and research, and said it had attracted widespread attention.
• Li Tianming said their partnership had reached its end and that he would handle his ex-wife on his own.
• Qin Siyang offered to entrust Li Tianming with developing the Vine Heart because he had fallen out with others over their demands.
• Li Tianming accepted Qin Siyang’s offer and joyfully declared that their friendship would last forever.

Qin Siyang returned to school after declining cooperation over the Vine Heart, only to find Li Tianming and Qian Wendao exhausted from fielding calls on his behalf. The two asked Qin Siyang for a share of the Vine Heart, and he ended the discussion without agreeing.

• Qin Siyang left Furensa's guesthouse, returned the phone, and rode back to Area No. 14121 with Laudno and the driver.
• On the trip, Qin Siyang declined repeated calls from researchers asking to cooperate over the Vine Heart.
• Qin Siyang returned to school and found Li Tianming worn down by calls asking him to discuss the Vine Heart.
• Qian Wendao arrived with Qin Siyang's Sequence Potions and reward money, explaining that United Government officials had also been calling him.
• Qin Siyang told Li Tianming and Qian Wendao to rest, but both demanded some of the Vine Heart, and Qin Siyang cut them off.

Olof investigated Zhou Xing’s disappearance and suspected Qin Siyang, but a call from 002 forced him to stop and prepare for a transfer to the Sigma District. The chapter ended with Olof staring at Qin Siyang’s photograph and questioning the organization’s motto, “All for humanity.”

• Olof reviewed the evidence linking Qin Siyang to Zhou Xing’s disappearance and reasoned that Zhou Xing’s body was hidden near the bloodstain.
• Olof received a call from 002, who told him to stop investigating Qin Siyang because Qin Siyang had obtained a Vine Heart.
• Olof learned that 004 and 005 were pursuing leads connected to the [Eye of the Divine Crow], while Li Tianming’s charges had been dropped.
• 002 ordered Olof’s immediate transfer to the Sigma District, where he would become a Police Bureau branch chief and help contain church agitators.
• Olof accepted the order, ended the call, and stared at Qin Siyang’s photograph while questioning the phrase “All for humanity.”

Qin Siyang returned and took responsibility for the pressure surrounding the Vine Heart, then proposed auctioning its development rights. Li Tianming explained that researchers held great influence because they possessed deep knowledge of Sequences and could wield powerful, mysterious artifacts.

• Qin Siyang ordered Qian Wendao and Li Tianming to turn off their phones and rest, taking responsibility for anyone who objected.
• After the three men slept in Li Tianming's office, Qin Siyang woke from an embarrassing dream and spent the night studying law and information about Gods.
• Qian Wendao and Li Tianming woke to hundreds of messages, and Qin Siyang proposed holding a bidding conference for the Vine Heart's development rights.
• Qian Wendao and Li Tianming rejected the proposal, warning Qin Siyang that offending researchers could be dangerous.
• Li Tianming explained that researchers might be the Safe Zone's strongest Sequence Ability Users and described how Harrison had once stopped a God attack with an unknown God-Hunting Artifact.

Qian Wendao explained to Qin Siyang and Li Tianming why researchers held power in the Safe Zone, recounting Harrison's God-Hunting Artifact and the researchers' successful resistance against the United Government. Li Tianming then questioned how Qian knew details of an incident the government had suppressed.

• Qian Wendao told Qin Siyang that Harrison had used a seal-like God-Hunting Artifact to repair the Safe Zone's air-defense glass, and said researchers' unpublished work concealed their real abilities.
• Qian Wendao explained that researchers had organized a planned resistance against the United Government's efforts to imprison them and force them to reveal their findings, eventually winning greater freedom.
• Qian Wendao said connections made falsifying Sequences possible and defended charging Qin Siyang one silver coin for the service.
• Li Tianming explained that researchers' papers helped humanity advance and warned Qin Siyang to conduct his competitive bidding fairly.
• Li Tianming asked Qian Wendao how he had learned about Harrison's feat, since the United Government had suppressed the incident.

Li Tianming confronted Qian Wendao about his hidden past and learned that Qian had been present when Zhou Xing was killed. After verifying Qian’s account and accepting that he had helped cover up the incident, the group returned to deciding what to do with the Vine Heart.

• Qian Wendao admitted that he knew Li Tianming and Harrison because of a past he preferred to keep secret, while Qin Siyang defended judging trust by actions rather than secrets.
• Qian Wendao revealed that he had been at the alley where Li Tianming and Qin Siyang killed Zhou Xing, and said he had disposed of the body before Olof could find it.
• Li Tianming called someone to verify that Zhou Xing had arranged to meet Qian Wendao, then apologized and shook Qian’s hand.
• Qin Siyang, Li Tianming, and Qian Wendao resumed discussing the Vine Heart, and Qin suggested holding a bidding meeting while leaving the details to the other two.

Qin Siyang, Li Tianming, and Qian Wendao planned a conference to decide who would receive the Vine Heart, while Li Tianming learned that his name had been cleared and agreed to join Qin Siyang at whichever university admitted him. As preparations moved to the state level, Chen Zhongming informed Qian Wendao that he had been appointed Bureau Chief of the regional Administration Bureau.

• Li Tianming learned that the Education Department had cleared him of the case and said Guo Jiuxiao had helped resolve it after Zhou Xing identified who was responsible.
• Qin Siyang invited Li Tianming to join him at the university that admitted him, and Li Tianming agreed, so they would be offered together at the Vine Heart conference.
• The three set the conference for February 26, assigned their roles, and began publicizing it and screening attendees.
• Chen Zhongming told Qian Wendao that the state had arranged the State Government's conference room for the event.
• Chen Zhongming revealed that Feng Shouben had resigned and that Qian Wendao had been appointed as the new Bureau Chief.