Zhou Ping

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Zhou Ping graduated from university and ran a restaurant for several years before his life in the Weird World. His Chef Sequence preserves that connection to cooking, making him a support specialist rather than a frontline fighter 25 26.

Liu Tie saved him after his arrival in the Weird World, and Zhou Ping followed him thereafter. According to Lin Xue, he is probably the person Liu Tie trusts most in the convoy 30.

Appearance

• Tobacco stain on his hand: His identifying physical detail at his introduction 6.
• Bright smile: Flashes his “pearly whites” while greeting Fan Shang after Li Qiang’s death 23.

Personality

Zhou Ping is talkative, cheeky, and quick to interrupt. He repeatedly teases Liu Tie, recites the captain’s lectures about rules before they are finished, and turns serious introductions into banter. Lin Xue’s blunt replies often leave him speechless 6 23 29.

His fear of weird entities is grounded in his lack of combat power. He celebrates Fan Shang’s recruitment because another fighter improves his chances of survival, and he is deeply frustrated that awakening a Sequence did not give him the ability to fight anomalies effectively. Nevertheless, his experience makes him quick to recognize danger and escape 26 30 43.

He is firm about payment for his abilities. Before the Jinghuai Town expedition, he refuses to lower his price and warns customers against withholding their promised supplies. His practical approach also extends to ordinary cooking: he rinses seasoning packets into the pot to avoid wasting anything 29 41.

Although he praises Fan Shang’s ruthlessness and resents Li Qiang’s bullying, he is initially shocked when Fan Shang kills the woman demanding compensation. Zhou Ping had intended only to beat her, but soon accepts the killing 6 23 39 40.

Abilities & Skills

Chef Sequence

A D-rank support Sequence that allows Zhou Ping to make special food that improves strength. Liu Tie considers its ability to benefit other Sequence Users unusually valuable, despite its low rank 25.

• Support role: Supplies strengthening food to the convoy’s fighters 25 34.
• Combat limitation: Cannot meaningfully threaten anomalies; his attempts to fight Weirds are dangerous and yield little Sequence progress 43 50.
• Advancement method: Uses Yin Objects in porridge-making to strengthen his own Sequence 50.
• Preparation cost: Says cooking Rune Meat Porridge takes a substantial toll on him; the precise cost is not specified 45.

Rune Meat Porridge

His signature Sequence-produced food, served as a dark porridge 25.

• Constitution increase: Fan Shang gains 0.5 constitution after consuming it 25.
• Per-pot limit: Only the first mouthful from each pot increases Fan Shang’s constitution; further servings from that pot provide no additional increase 26.
• Scavenging support: Offers porridge that fills the stomach and temporarily boosts stamina and strength before the Jinghuai Town expedition 29.
• Price: Charges 20% of the supplies gathered by those who accept the pre-expedition porridge 29.
• Yin Object use: Can turn the group’s recovered Yin Object into Rune Meat Porridge, requesting a share of the resulting food as payment 45.

Strength-Boosting Food

• Distributes strengthening items during the Grudge-Crying Ghost crisis 34.
• Gives Fan Shang a steamed bun, though Fan Shang defeats his opponent without using it 38.
• Liu Tie eats a steamed bun during the battle and visibly grows larger before attacking again 35.

Survival Instincts

• Recognizes that the convoy’s unusually fast departure from Jinghuai Town signals pursuing danger 30.
• Immediately grabs his cooking pot, starts his vehicle, and escapes before the waiting survivors understand the warning 30.

Equipment / Items

• Large cooking pot — Used to prepare his food; he takes it with him when fleeing Jinghuai Town 29 30.
• Vehicle — His means of escape; temporarily blocked by a survivor and then her corpse during the ghost attack 32.
• Yin Objects — Ingredients used to strengthen others through porridge and advance his own Sequence; their scarcity restricts his progress 45 50.

Relationships

• Liu Tie — Rescuer, captain, and trusted companion. Their frequent arguments and restrained scuffles reflect an established bond rather than a break in loyalty. Liu Tie promises protection in exchange for his strengthening porridge 30 43.
• Fan Shang — Fellow convoy leader and later protection partner. Zhou Ping defends him after the ghost battle and insists on calling him “Brother Shang.” Their eventual agreement exchanges Rune Meat Porridge for protection within Fan Shang’s capabilities 38 41 44.
• Lin Xue — Fellow original Sequence Transcendent. She reins in his awkward remarks and explains his history with Liu Tie to Fan Shang 26 30.
• Li Qiang — A convoy bully Zhou Ping openly despises. He claims he would have killed Li Qiang himself if Liu Tie had not stopped him 23.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Fan Shang’s Recruitment

• Applauds Fan Shang after he kills Li Qiang and correctly suspects that he has awakened a Sequence 22 23.
• Introduces the convoy leaders and shares Rune Meat Porridge during their private meal 23 25.
• Celebrates Fan Shang becoming the convoy’s fourth Sequence Transcendent 26.

Jinghuai Town and the Grudge-Crying Ghosts

• Remains outside town after selling porridge to scavengers, then escapes when he notices the returning vehicles fleeing at full speed 29 30.
• Is marked by a Grudge-Crying Ghost and becomes its immediate target 34.
• Survives when Fan Shang identifies the ghost’s vulnerable killing phase and Liu Tie and Lin Xue interrupt its attack 35.
• Defends Fan Shang against accusations that the Sequence Users caused the survivors’ deaths; Fan Shang and Liu Tie restrain him when he tries to attack the accuser 38 39.

Protection Agreement and Yin Object Distribution

• Suspects Fan Shang’s Sequence is B-rank and offers to become his lackey or adopted son in return for protection. Fan Shang rejects these gestures and proposes a food-for-protection arrangement instead 44.
• Accepts that Fan Shang will help only within his abilities and may flee an overwhelming threat 44.
• Declines a combat share of Liu Tie’s Yin Object because he did not contribute to the kill, but requests payment when asked to cook with it 45.

Provincial Highway Decision

• Recognizes the rainstorm as a natural disaster and survives the convoy’s escape from its range 47 48.
• Strongly objects to Liu Tie’s plan to enter the Provincial Highway because of its danger 49 50.
• Ultimately stays with the convoy, reasoning that leaving alone with a D-rank Sequence would likely get him killed 50.

Trivia

• Conflicting arrival timeline: His introduction says he has spent a year in the uncanny world, while Lin Xue later says he arrived half a year earlier 6 30.
• No adoption takes place: His attempt to make Fan Shang his adoptive father ends in a kick and a practical protection contract 44.