Chapter Summaries

As the convoy fled the Spectral Bear, Red Hare explained how Chen Mo could awaken as a Transcendent and revealed the nature of the Still Realm, the Resonant Realm, and spectral creatures. The convoy reached Spectral Apricot Blossom Town and split up, leaving Chen Mo and the others to find their own routes through the danger.

• Lin Lu’s command vehicle ordered everyone to pack and leave camp within ten minutes, and Chen Mo drove out with Red Hare beside him.
• Red Hare described three ways to awaken as a Transcendent and offered to help Chen Mo steal energy from a spectral creature, though the attempt could be fatal.
• Red Hare explained that the Still Realm was like a dinner plate for the Resonant Realm and distinguished native spectral creatures, intelligent variants, and invasive species.
• The convoy stopped near Apricot Blossom Town while Su Qian argued with Lin Lu over whether to abandon people to reduce the group’s losses.
• Xiao Liu announced that the convoy would split up and ordered everyone to regroup at a highway junction thirty kilometers north in five hours.

After the Transcendents abandoned the survivors outside Apricot Blossom Town, Chen Mo asked Red Hare to help him awaken. Red Hare sent him into a clinic haunted by a level-two rule-based horror, and Chen Mo entered carrying a token that could save him from one fatal attack.

• Lin Lu, Su Qian, and Big Niu drove into Apricot Blossom Town, leaving the survivors behind; Brother Dao and other drivers followed them, while the bus remained on the highway.
• Chen Mo asked Red Hare whether he could awaken, and Red Hare directed him to the town clinic, where a level-two rule-based horror had recently appeared.
• Red Hare gave Chen Mo a token that could teleport him back ten minutes after a fatal attack and explained that Chen Mo had to discover the horror's killing rules and escape.
• Chen Mo rejected the chance to leave town, put down his Mountain-Cleaving Blade, and walked into the clinic alone.
• Chen Mo entered the clean, silent reception hall and began to pull the door nearly shut when it clicked.

Chen Mo entered the clinic and learned that Dr. Wen Li punished patients who lied by killing them. After losing a life, Chen Mo told the truth, received a diagnosis of Doomsday Syndrome, and was sent to prepare for brain surgery.

• Chen Mo claimed to have a headache, and Dr. Wen Li killed him for lying, breaking the clay token that Red Hare had given him.
• Chen Mo revived outside the consultation room and realized that he had to act as a patient and tell Dr. Wen the truth.
• Chen Mo described his nightmares, anxiety, and numbness, and Dr. Wen diagnosed him with Doomsday Syndrome.
• Dr. Wen prescribed preoperative preparation for Cerebral Nerve Ablation and directed Chen Mo to Ward 204.
• Chen Mo saw a notice revealing that Dr. Wen Li had been removed from his previous hospital and reassigned to the Apricot Blossom Town Clinic after a medical dispute.

Chen Mo pieced together Doctor Wen Li’s rules and survived being taken to surgery by claiming he had recovered and should be discharged. As he escaped the clinic, Doctor Wen realized Chen Mo was lying and attacked him at the door.

• Chen Mo inferred that Doctor Wen Li’s resentment had turned him into a monster obsessed with perfect medical care, and that patients had to follow his rules and never lie.
• A nurse who sounded like Doctor Wen forced Chen Mo to take a pill, and Chen Mo fell asleep before waking in the operating room.
• Doctor Wen prepared to perform a prefrontal lobotomy, but Chen Mo claimed the medicine had cured him and asked to be discharged.
• Doctor Wen accepted Chen Mo’s claim, removed his restraints, and let him crawl toward the clinic entrance as the anesthetic weakened him.
• Doctor Wen realized Chen Mo was lying and shrieked, and Chen Mo raised his hand behind his neck just as something struck him.

Chen Mo escaped Doctor Wen’s clinic with Red Hare’s help after losing two fingers. He explained the clinic’s rules and Doctor Wen’s resentment, and Red Hare prepared to storm back inside for revenge.

• Doctor Wen severed Chen Mo’s ring and little fingers, and Chen Mo crawled toward the sunlight while Doctor Wen advanced on his legs.
• Chen Mo called out to Red Hare, promising it the corpse and revealing that he had figured out the clinic’s rules and the source of Doctor Wen’s resentment.
• Red Hare blocked Doctor Wen’s scalpel with its hoof, used its shattered black clay token, and dragged Chen Mo out of the clinic.
• Chen Mo bandaged his severed fingers and explained that patients had to obey Doctor Wen’s treatments until he declared them recovered and discharged.
• Chen Mo told Red Hare that Doctor Wen’s career had been ruined by a medical dispute and that he hated dishonest patients and challenges to his authority.
• Red Hare vowed to charge back into the clinic and show Doctor Wen what a hospital rampage looked like.

Red Hare dragged Chen Mo back into the clinic and provoked Doctor Wen into a fight, defeating him and taking his scalpel. It then offered Chen Mo a dangerous chance to absorb Wen Li’s power, and Chen Mo agreed.

• Red Hare hauled the reluctant, injured Chen Mo into the clinic and wrecked the waiting area to draw Doctor Wen out.
• Red Hare and Chen Mo accused Doctor Wen of mutilating Chen Mo, and their staged outburst began breaking the clinic’s domain and nullifying its rules.
• Doctor Wen attacked with his silver scalpel, but Red Hare countered with a Donkey Roll and a Donkey Spring Kick, shattering Wen Li’s domain and defeating him.
• Red Hare dragged Wen Li to the operating room and warned Chen Mo that absorbing Wen Li’s mixed power could make him a Transcendent or destroy his mind or body.
• Chen Mo agreed to take the risk, and Red Hare opened Wen Li’s skull with the scalpel.

At Hualian Supermarket, Hu Yaya was betrayed by Li Shiqi, while Brother Dao killed Li Shiqi and collected the travel passes. At Apricot Blossom Clinic, Chen Mo resisted Doctor Wen’s resentment, awakened the Blade Wielder sequence, and prepared to flee as the bear approached.

• Hu Yaya and the others were trapped in Hualian Supermarket, where Brother Dao’s group killed four survivors to obtain travel passes.
• Li Shiqi pushed Hu Yaya out from hiding, but Brother Dao killed Li Shiqi and gave her head to Zhang Meili.
• Shopping assistant Li Xia issued five travel passes, and Brother Dao led his group out while Hu Yaya remained alone in the supermarket.
• Chen Mo resisted Doctor Wen’s memories and resentment as Red Hare guided the eerie energy into his brain.
• Chen Mo awakened the First Tier Blade Wielder sequence, gained Blade Specialization and Coup de Grâce, and received Wen Li’s Scalpel from the donkey.
• The donkey warned Chen Mo that the bear was about to catch up.

Chen Mo and Red Hare confronted a Salesperson Mannequin at Hualian Supermarket, where Travel Passes cost one human head. After Red Hare helped Chen Mo destroy the mannequin’s Control Core, they recruited Hu Yaya to help loot the store and left amid its alarms.

• Chen Mo found Hu Yaya cornered by Li Xia, who demanded one human head for each Travel Pass.
• Chen Mo attacked Li Xia, discovered that she could restore damaged parts, and Red Hare crashed into the supermarket to help.
• Red Hare held Li Xia off while Chen Mo found and destroyed her Control Core, collecting a defective level-one Mechanical Core.
• Red Hare began loading the supermarket’s goods into the Dump Truck and told Hu Yaya to bring her E300 inside.
• Chen Mo urged Hu Yaya to help if she wanted to survive, and the three looted the supermarket as its alarms called for the store manager.

Chen Mo and Red Hare confronted the Supermarket Store Manager, then launched a sneak attack when he refused to pay compensation. Their battle wrecked the first floor before the lights went out and the store announced closing time.

• The Store Manager descended the stairs, and Red Hare warned Chen Mo that the second-tier variant would be a difficult opponent.
• Red Hare and Chen Mo demanded compensation for their companions, while Hu Yaya reluctantly pretended to mourn Li Shiqi.
• Red Hare tricked the Store Manager into a handshake and kicked him as Chen Mo stabbed at his back.
• The Store Manager unleashed his strange power, sending objects flying as Chen Mo and Red Hare fought him across the Supermarket.
• The Supermarket lights went out, and an announcement declared that the store was closing.

Chen Mo and Red Hare fled Apricot Blossom Town after the Spectral Bear arrived and killed the Apricot Blossom Lady, while the Store Manager escaped in spider form. Hu Yaya offered to act as bait to prove her worth, and Chen Mo approached her with a surgical knife.

• The Store Manager transformed into a six-legged spider monster but vanished before Chen Mo and Red Hare could attack.
• The Spectral Bear roared through Apricot Blossom Town, prompting Chen Mo, Red Hare, and Hu Yaya to flee north as the Apricot Blossom Lady confronted it and was killed.
• Red Hare dragged Li Xia into the truck cab, claimed her as his servant, and ordered her to massage him.
• Wang Teng fled toward the northern exit after hearing the Apricot Blossom Lady's screams, while Chen Mo and Red Hare discussed killing Hu Yaya before she could reveal the donkey's secret.
• Hu Yaya slowed down, then offered to use her faster car to lure the Spectral Bear away in exchange for her life.
• Chen Mo got out, twirled his surgical knife, and walked toward Hu Yaya.

After Hu Yaya sacrificed herself to draw the Spectral Bear away, Chen Mo returned to the Starfire Convoy with Red Hare and revealed that he had awakened as a Beast Tamer. The chapter ended with Lin Lu welcoming him to the Starfire Council.

• Hu Yaya drove her E300 at the Spectral Bear to lure it away, telling Chen Mo that she no longer owed him as he drove off.
• Chen Mo rejoined the Starfire Convoy at dawn, and Brother Dao's group decided to return what they had taken from him.
• Old Yang noticed Chen Mo had awakened and brought him to the convoy's leaders.
• Chen Mo introduced Red Hare as his contracted steed and identified his sequence as Beast Tamer, drawing laughter from the group.
• Lin Lu explained that Beast Tamer was a powerful Second Sequence and welcomed Chen Mo to the Starfire Council.

At Spark Camp, Lin Lu explained what the convoy knew about Transcendents and wondrous items before Su Qian proposed rules for the Starfire Council. The survivors accepted the arrangement, and Red Hare reluctantly enjoyed a meal served in an iron basin.

• Lin Lu treated the survivors to pork and glass noodles while gathering the Starfire Council members for their first meeting.
• Chen Mo asked about Transcendent sequences, improving abilities, and wondrous items, and Lin Lu explained what he knew about them.
• Lin Lu attributed his knowledge to Everbright Bastion and refused to elaborate.
• Su Qian proposed council rules on supplies, gathering fees, and sharing spoils, and the members present accepted them.
• Old Yang served Red Hare a heaping meal in a battered iron basin, and Red Hare grumbled about being treated like a dog before eating eagerly.

Old Yang modified Chen Mo’s Dump Truck by fusing Li Xia into it as an intelligent system, and the convoy continued across the wheat fields. The truck gained new abilities, but Lin Lu’s radio warned of anomalous activity ahead, forcing everyone to prepare for battle.

• Chen Mo asked Old Yang to modify his Dump Truck and repair Li Xia, whose core was shattered and whose host connection was lost.
• Old Yang fused a Mechanical Core into the truck and turned Li Xia into its intelligent system, while Yellow-Hair recognized her as the Sales Assistant from the Supermarket and fled in terror.
• Red Hare told Chen Mo that Xiao Ya was probably a level-two Transcendent and that Lin Lu came from Everbright.
• Two days later, Li Xia reported the modified truck’s abilities, including autonomous driving and increased defenses, while Red Hare named her Red Hare Two.
• Lin Lu’s radio reported anomalous activity one kilometer ahead, and the convoy was ordered to prepare for battle.

The convoy met a Sequence Three Wandering Merchant who offered three valuable items, but no one had anything suitable to trade. Chen Mo offered Red Hare in exchange for the merchant’s chained resentful spirit, and the merchant discovered that Red Hare really was a level-two mutant beast.

• Lin Lu identified the approaching old man as a Wandering Merchant, and the merchant introduced his wares to the convoy.
• The merchant explained the properties of a Fantasy Phone, a level-one weird energy core, and an Impersonator potion, but the survivors had nothing he wanted to trade.
• As the merchant prepared to leave, Chen Mo offered Red Hare in exchange for the chained resentful spirit.
• The merchant examined Red Hare and realized he was genuinely a level-two mutant beast with promising potential, then asked Chen Mo what trade he had in mind.

Chen Mo traded Red Hare, a second-tier Variant, to Old Zhang for a Lion-Headed Vengeful Soul and an Energy Core, despite his companions’ protests. After the trade, Lin Lu exchanged two uncanny remains for Old Zhang’s Fantasy Phone.

• Old Zhang recognized Red Hare as an intelligent second-tier Variant and tried to negotiate for Chen Mo’s vehicle as well as the donkey.
• Chen Mo offered Red Hare, a black-haired finger, and a first-tier Energy Core, then pretended to walk away with the donkey.
• Old Zhang accepted the deal, giving Chen Mo the Lion-Headed Vengeful Soul and Energy Core and warning him to tether the soul and burn spirit money for it at midnight.
• Su Qian, Big Niu, Lin Lu, Old Yang, and Xiao Ya objected to Chen Mo trading away Red Hare, but Chen Mo handed the donkey over to Old Zhang.
• Lin Lu traded the Hairy Savage’s hand and the Black Skull of a Canine Creature for Old Zhang’s Fantasy Phone.

Chen Mo’s convoy escaped after he gave Red Hare to Old Zhang, then Red Hare betrayed the old man, stole his belongings, and fled. Old Zhang chased after him in fury while Red Hare hid nearby and planned to delay him with other beasts.

• Chen Mo and Lin Lu hurried the Starfire Convoy away, leaving Su Qian and the others confused about why Chen Mo had given Red Hare to Old Zhang.
• Old Zhang praised Red Hare for his companionship and let him carry his bundle while he stopped to relieve himself.
• Red Hare kicked Old Zhang, stripped off his clothes, stole his belongings, and attacked him with eerie power.
• Old Zhang blasted Red Hare with an antique bronze mirror, but the donkey’s body collapsed into foul sludge, revealing the escape trick.
• Red Hare hid nearby wearing pink boxer shorts and planned to send beasts after Old Zhang to buy time.

Chen Mo explained how Red Hare had escaped from Old Zhang and waited for the donkey to return with the stolen goods. Red Hare came back, and Chen Mo discovered he had hidden valuable items and forced him to hand them over.

• Chen Mo told the convoy that Red Hare had used his freedom as a Contract Beast to escape and promised to return with Old Zhang's belongings.
• Chen Mo fed the chained Lion-Headed Vengeful Soul pages from an Old World magazine and decided to wait before using the golden energy core.
• Red Hare returned to the Dump Truck after losing Old Zhang and said the old man was now facing a third-tier specter.
• Chen Mo and Red Hare searched Old Zhang's bundle, finding clothes, cans, comics, the traded remains, a black canine skull, and an Impersonator serum.
• Chen Mo caught Red Hare hiding another bundle and threatened him with the Surgical Knife until the donkey agreed to hand over the rest.

Chen Mo learned that the saliva-soaked booklet Red Hare gave him contained a cultivation method disguised as radio calisthenics, and he secretly used it to strengthen his transcendent power. Meanwhile, Zhang Meili ordered Brother Dao to test the exercises, and Old Zhang received an urgent Beacon Fire Token amid a growing ghost threat.

• Red Hare gave Chen Mo the Eighth Set of Radio Calisthenics booklet, and they agreed to share the other stolen goods with the Starfire Council.
• Red Hare admitted that it could learn the exercises too, then sent Chen Mo away and took the Lion-Headed Vengeful Soul into the truck.
• Chen Mo practiced the booklet's movements through the night, sensed Tide Cry energy, and felt his transcendent power grow.
• Zhang Meili watched Chen Mo practice and told Brother Dao to have Yellow-Hair secretly test the movements and blame him if anything went wrong.
• Old Zhang fought ghosts in the fog until another red-robed man intervened and gave him a black-flamed Beacon Fire Token, warning that the great tide might be coming.

The Starfire Convoy entered snowbound Prosper City, where Lin Lu warned that powerful anomalies were suppressing his perception. Chen Mo and a small team searched the city’s shopping center for supplies, and Xiao Ya’s Barbie Doll attacked a creature lurking in the seafood section.

• Lin Lu told the Starfire Council that several convoys were preparing to build a permanent settlement beyond Horseshoe Gully No-Man's Land, and the group found Zhang Tao dead from an unknown cause.
• After the convoy buried Zhang Tao and continued north, his frost-covered body emerged from the grave and followed them.
• The convoy entered Prosper City, where heavy snow reduced Lin Lu’s perception range, and stopped at Prosper City International Shopping Center to gather supplies.
• Chen Mo, Big Niu, Xiao Ya, and ten survivors entered the dark, foul-smelling shopping center while Lin Lu, Su Qian, and Old Yang stayed outside to provide support.
• Xiao Ya’s Barbie Doll shot toward the seafood section and struck at a huge, slime-covered creature whose tail vanished into the darkness.

Chen Mo, Big Niu, and the others fought a giant catfish and swarms of oversized insects on the Supermarket's first floor. After they reached the clothing section upstairs, the escalator vanished behind them, leaving them trapped on the second floor.

• Chen Mo let a terrified man flee and slipped a modified flashlight into his pocket, revealing a giant catfish when it swallowed him.
• Big Niu and Chen Mo attacked the catfish while giant flies and maggots swarmed the rest of the group.
• The Barbie Doll helped Big Niu and Chen Mo stun the catfish, and Chen Mo killed it with his Surgical Knife.
• Big Niu stored the catfish in his sack, and the survivors headed upstairs to search for clothes.
• Yellow-Hair saw that the escalator had disappeared, leaving only seamless flooring where the passage to the first floor had been.