Chapter Summaries

Wang Jianshe told Su Wuwei why the factions were keeping him apart from Ye Buyu: they feared she might be connected to a Calamity. Su Wuwei pressed him for details, then challenged him to consider what humanity would do if Ye Buyu were a Calamity guiding the Present World.

• Wang Jianshe warned Su Wuwei not to bring his dangerous teammates to the Construction Engineering Institute and said the factions were separating them because something seemed to be pushing Su forward.
• Wang Jianshe said major events had placed Su in the eye of the storm and that the evidence pointed to Ye Buyu, raising the possibility that she was connected to a Calamity or was an avatar of one.
• Wang Jianshe explained that Mao Mansion had found Ye Buyu dominated her own Mindscape, while a Calamity concealed its presence from observation.
• Wang Jianshe revealed that Ye Buyu's Mindscape contained a fragment of the [Whale of Wailing]'s heart and that she was likely its Priest, able to gain information through the remains.
• Su Wuwei asked what humanity would do if the real Ye Buyu had died and the current Ye Buyu were a Calamity in disguise; Wang Jianshe said the people of the Present World could not simply be killed, controlled, or replaced.

Wang Jianshe explained to Su Wuwei that the Present World suspected an outside force was helping it and hoped Ye Buyu could lead them to more clues. The Present World planned to support the Hold Up the Heavens Team from behind while keeping the secret from most people, and Wang Jianshe asked Su Wuwei to pass the information to Ye Buyu.

• Su Wuwei mocked Wang Jianshe’s view that someone’s contributions and crimes should be judged separately, then accused him of trying to use Ye Buyu.
• Wang Jianshe said Ye Buyu might unknowingly be connected to a crucial lead about an external force that had helped restore the Present World after it was destroyed.
• Wang Jianshe pointed to the Forbidden Zone and cited mysterious technology and the histories of [Earthshaker] and Panshi Star as evidence that the Present World was not alone against the Calamities.
• Wang Jianshe explained that the Present World had split up the Hold Up the Heavens Team to help them grow and build support while watching for developments around Ye Buyu.
• Su Wuwei realized Wang Jianshe had told him the secret so he would relay it to Ye Buyu, while Wang Jianshe admitted he also feared the team would rush to the front line together.

Wang Jianshe connected to Bai Zhao’s view of the Frontline so Su Wuwei and Yang You could watch Lou Guanshan at work. After seeing Lou earn his team’s trust, they watched him suspect that rice supplies had been contaminated by Calamity Power.

• Wang Jianshe used Bai Zhao’s Terminal to connect the Construction Engineering Institute to the Frontline feed.
• Bai Zhao mistook Lou Guanshan’s questions about his assignment for a sign that Lou had misunderstood a classified mission.
• Wang Jianshe and Yang You watched Lou lead the support vanguard and discussed how he had earned the veteran soldiers’ respect.
• Lou Guanshan detected something suspicious in a sack of rice and ordered the team to test it with another detector.

Ye Buyu rushed to the Frontline because she feared a food-related Calamity, while Lou Guanshan independently noticed something suspicious about a supply batch. Their warnings prompted Minister Wusu to halt food distribution and order inspections, leaving Bai Zhao alarmed by the apparent connection.

• Lou Guanshan sensed a trace of Calamity Power in the supplies, found no other abnormalities, and decided to return the batch for replacement.
• Ye Buyu jumped from a warship to reach the Frontline quickly because she feared a food-related disaster, and Xue Qing caught her before she landed.
• Ye Buyu asked Xue Qing to take her to the logistics unit so she could eat, while Xue Qing informed Minister Wusu of her request.
• Bai Zhao told Minister Wusu that Lou Guanshan had returned to replace the supplies, and Wusu ordered every outpost to hold deliveries, seal logistics, and inspect the food.
• A colleague told Bai Zhao that Ye Buyu had also arrived in a hurry and immediately asked for food, making Bai Zhao realize the warnings might be connected.

Ye Buyu discovered that a Calamity had disguised food at the Frontline, and that people had unknowingly eaten Calamities for three days. As she and Xue Qing headed to inspect the warehouse, Ye Buyu asked about the [Seedling Eater], and Xue Qing agreed to have Minister Wusu monitor its followers.

• Ye Buyu identified the kitchen’s ingredients as Calamities and warned the Cook Squad not to eat the food.
• Ye Buyu and the Logistics Department found Calamities among the preserved meals from the past three days, and she told Xue Qing and the others what they had eaten.
• Xue Qing contacted the Frontline Medical Center to activate emergency preparations while the Logistics Department investigated supply records.
• Xue Qing learned that Lou Guanshan had noticed problems with some new supplies and was returning them with a group.
• Ye Buyu accompanied Xue Qing to the warehouse and asked whether followers of the [Seedling Eater] had been near the Frontline.
• Xue Qing said she would inform Minister Wusu and have him monitor the [Seedling Eater] and its followers.

Ye Buyu and Lou Guanshan discovered that the Frontline supplies were being corrupted by an unknown Calamity, and Xue Qing and Bai Zhao confronted it at the warehouse. The [Perception Controller] escaped after revealing itself, leaving the group facing a threat the Present World had never recorded.

• Ye Buyu warned Xue Qing that the food-related disaster might involve Calamities beyond the [Seedling Eater] and its [Hunger King].
• Lou Guanshan explained that he had sensed Calamity Aura in a later supply delivery and brought the suspicious food back to the warehouse.
• Ye Buyu, Lou Guanshan, Xue Qing, and Bai Zhao entered the warehouse and found the supplies mutating under the control of the disguised Temperature Controller.
• Ye Buyu shot at the temperature-control device, which transformed into a tentacled monster and identified itself as the [Perception Controller].
• Xue Qing and Bai Zhao attacked the [Perception Controller], but it abandoned its form and escaped as their strikes destroyed the warehouse.
• Ye Buyu and Lou Guanshan realized they had never heard of the [Perception Controller] and suspected it was an unobserved Calamity.

Ye Buyu and Lou Guanshan investigated the corrupted warehouse supplies and searched for the mastermind behind the attack. They reviewed the warehouse surveillance footage, hoping to find a lead Lou Guanshan could track with his special perception.

• Ye Buyu explained that the Frontline could avoid mass casualties if they removed the food’s contamination quickly, and said the Scholars’ Association would provide support while they investigated the enemy.
• Xue Qing dragged Bai Zhao behind the ruins to check whether she could beat whatever he had eaten out of him.
• Lou Guanshan sent Old Liu and the other soldiers to headquarters to report their findings and stay safe in case the food caused delayed effects.
• Ye Buyu and Lou Guanshan entered the logistics surveillance room and asked Ma Zhuo for footage of the warehouse from the past seven days.
• Ye Buyu said she would look for a clue in the footage and have Lou Guanshan track it; he agreed to take on the task.

Ye Buyu and Lou Guanshan discovered that the Calamity [Perception Controller] could divide, proliferate, and hide its aura by attaching itself to objects, including food. After detecting hidden Calamities inside people, they warned the Frontline and headed for Command Headquarters, where Ye Buyu feared an outbreak was imminent.

• Ye Buyu and Lou Guanshan reviewed surveillance footage and found that a tentacle had entered the warehouse on Ma Zhuo's shoulder five days earlier.
• Ma Zhuo identified himself in the footage and explained that a soldier had called him outside before the tentacle crawled onto the temperature control unit.
• Ye Buyu realized the tentacle could proliferate, then used her ability to make hidden Calamities emerge from Lou Guanshan and Ma Zhuo.
• Ye Buyu warned Huang Songming that [Perception Controller] could conceal itself in objects and ordered Soul Radar coverage, scanning, and shielding.
• Ye Buyu used a Light Wheel to purify the people in the room, then left for Command Headquarters with Lou Guanshan because she feared the Calamity would trigger an outbreak there.

Ye Buyu and Lou Guanshan reached Command Headquarters, where Ye Buyu shared what she knew about the [Perception Controller] and its split-off entities. Lü Yuncheng's area purification revealed Calamity contamination, and the Vermilion Bird Division began searching the Frontline as Shen Juan caught and destroyed one entity.

• Lou Guanshan carried Ye Buyu underground to Command Headquarters, where they unexpectedly surfaced in the middle of the room.
• Ye Buyu told Director Wusu what she knew, and Xue Qing arrived with Bai Zhao and Lü Yuncheng.
• Ye Buyu wondered whether anyone had mutated after ingesting Calamity, and Shen Juan showed her a tentacle trapped in a vine cage.
• Ye Buyu identified the tentacle as a split-off entity rather than the [Perception Controller]'s main body, and Shen Juan crushed it.
• Lü Yuncheng explained that his area purification revealed Calamity contamination in everyone at Command Headquarters, while Shen Juan had caught a moving bottle.
• Vermilion Bird Division members and supporting scholars set out across the Frontline to detect and address the split-off entities.

Ye Buyu and Lü Yuncheng realized [Perception Controller] was inciting a riot at the Frontline, and Lü went to intervene while Shen Juan held the others back. As the Frontline's soldiers battled unnatural hunger and attacks on their senses, the chapter ended with [Hunger King] approaching and disaster spreading across the battlefield.

• Bai Zhao reported that soldiers from Lou Guanshan's Vanguard Unit had attacked him and Xue Qing, so he knocked them out and brought them back.
• Lü Yuncheng left to deal with the threat, while Shen Juan stopped Ye Buyu and Lou Guanshan from following and told them to watch their seniors fight.
• [Perception Controller] revealed that it was using its split parts to manipulate soldiers' senses and turn them against their comrades.
• [Perception Controller] summoned [Hunger King], who headed for the Frontline and spread an overpowering hunger among the soldiers.
• Zhang Tu and the medics tried to suppress the soldiers' abnormal urges, while units retreated, used Soul Power to resist, and burned the tainted food.

Lü Yuncheng purified the Frontline as the [Perception Controller] triggered a new wave of proliferation, forcing the soldiers and scholars to fight back. Lou Guanshan raised defensive walls, but a King approached, and Ye Buyu was overwhelmed by hunger before Little Whale brought her back to her senses.

• Lü Yuncheng used Ten Directions of Light to purify the Frontline, but the [Perception Controller] ordered its offshoots to intensify proliferation.
• Calamities infected soldiers and transformed some into monsters, while Zhang Tu urged the troops to hold their line and protect one another.
• Lou Guanshan raised towering rock walls with his Mo Dao, and Bai Zhao explained that they had been building the Panshi Star pass.
• The [Perception Controller] sent an emaciated King toward the Frontline, and its hunger drove the monsters to attack each other.
• Ye Buyu entered the Mindscape under the King’s influence and bit Little Whale, who woke her and heard her ask how to resist the [Hunger King].

Little Whale explained that the [Hunger King] sought an utter death, but Ye Buyu had to figure out how to kill it herself. The team fought the [Hunger King] and learned that it devoured attacks and regenerated, leaving it reassembled and still starving as the [Perception Controller] watched the battlefield.

• Little Whale told Ye Buyu that the [Hunger King] was seeking death and could not be killed by ordinary methods.
• Ye Buyu woke to find Lou Guanshan gnawing on his Mo Dao while Lü Yuncheng joined the battle below.
• Shen Juan severed the [Hunger King]'s limbs and head, but its remains devoured nearby matter and began regenerating.
• Bai Zhao, Shen Juan, Xue Qing, and Lü Yuncheng tried to destroy or seal the remains, but the [Hunger King] absorbed their attacks.
• The team cleared the surrounding battlefield, but the [Hunger King] reassembled, remained desperately hungry, and drew the [Perception Controller]'s attention.

The Frontline was overwhelmed by [Hunger King]'s alternating hunger and fullness and [Perception Controller]'s hidden Split Bodies until Ye Buyu activated the Scholars' Association's Soul Radar. With the Split Bodies exposed and the soldiers back in control, [Perception Controller] regrouped its forces around [Hunger King].

• [Perception Controller] taunted the Frontline and warned that hidden Split Bodies were already among the soldiers.
• [Hunger King] inflicted hunger and then unbearable fullness on the soldiers, while Wu Gao used Willow Leaves to pin down those driven out of control.
• Ye Buyu summoned a spear, and a Red Light Arrow struck the Frontline, spreading the Soul Radar across the battlefield and exposing [Perception Controller]'s Split Bodies.
• Ye Buyu told the soldiers to attack the exposed Split Bodies while Wu Gao and the other fighters focused on [Hunger King].
• The soldiers rallied and began destroying the Split Bodies, prompting [Perception Controller] to gather them together so [Hunger King] could eat its fill.

With the Soul Radar exposing the Calamities, Frontline resumed its counterattack while the Vermilion Bird Division held off the enemy army outside. Huang Songming ordered the Scholars' Association to fire the Soul Electromagnetic Cannon at full power, devastating the converging bodies and leaving the battlefield stunned by the weapon's strength.

• Frontline's soldiers used the Soul Radar to target the merging Calamities and launched a coordinated artillery counterattack.
• Wing Fire Snake and Chariot Water Earthworm continued to hold the Calamity army outside Frontline, despite losing several Lord-class Calamities.
• Ye Buyu watched the split bodies converge on the [Hunger King] and said a greater attack awaited them.
• Huang Songming ordered the warship to fire the Soul Electromagnetic Cannon at full power and target the [Hunger King] as well.
• Bai Zhao and the others dodged as the cannon struck, destroying the Calamity amalgamations and their soul fragments.
• Professor Dada and the Scholars' Association explained the Soul Electromagnetic Cannon to the stunned soldiers.

Ye Buyu and Lou Guanshan tracked the [Perception Controller] and sent its location to Minister Wusu. Wusu confronted the King-level Calamity in the Abyss and prepared to strike it with a vermilion arrow.

• The Soul Electromagnetic Cannon damaged the [Hunger King] and destroyed the [Perception Controller]'s splinter bodies, impressing Ye Buyu and the Frontline soldiers.
• After receiving a new mission, Ye Buyu revived Lou Guanshan and told him they would use his ability to track the [Perception Controller].
• Ye Buyu and Lou Guanshan followed Soul Threads underground, avoided a huge root system, and sent Minister Wusu the Calamity's coordinates.
• The [Perception Controller] regretted relying on its splinter bodies and decided to act personally, but Wusu arrived in the Abyss before it could move.
• Wusu exposed the [Perception Controller] with his vermilion flames and formed an arrow to attack it.

Minister Wusu overwhelmed the [Perception Controller], which escaped by abandoning its body and fleeing underground. Ye Buyu and Lou Guanshan intercepted the gemstone-like core, and Ye Buyu shot it at close range.

• Minister Wusu battered the [Perception Controller] while Ye Buyu, Lou Guanshan, and Su Wuwei watched and discussed its unknown origins.
• Ye Buyu suggested the [Perception Controller] might serve [Eternal Frozen Silence], and Lou Guanshan and Su Wuwei accepted her claim as informed.
• The [Perception Controller] created a decoy shell to hold Wusu back and sent its gemstone core fleeing underground.
• Ye Buyu and Lou Guanshan appeared in the core's path, and Ye Buyu pressed her gun against it and fired.

Ye Buyu and Lou Guanshan captured the [Perception Controller]'s core, but [Eternal Frozen Silence] intervened and pulled it away. The core recovered in the Forbidden Zone as a cucumber with kaleidoscope eyes, prompting [Eternal Frozen Silence] to blame the [Whale of Wailing].

• Ye Buyu shot the [Perception Controller]'s core after it escaped underground, and Lou Guanshan trapped it in a stone cage.
• Ye Buyu told Wusu they had caught the core, and Wusu rushed to them after defeating the Calamities around him.
• [Eternal Frozen Silence] froze the area, shattered the stone cage, and drew the core away while Ye Buyu fired a special bullet after it.
• The [Seedling Eater] accused the [Whale of Wailing] of aiding the Present World, and the [Whale of Wailing] refused to let the Calamities leave the Forbidden Zone.
• [Eternal Frozen Silence] restored the core, which formed a cucumber body and asked, "I'm... a cucumber?"
• [Eternal Frozen Silence] roared at the [Whale of Wailing] after it reacted in shock to the cucumber.

Ye Buyu learned that the [Hunger King] had never truly died and asked Minister Wusu to accompany her while she tried a skill on it. The chapter ended as she activated a power that began reversing the tides in the [Hunger King]'s Mindscape.

• The [Whale of Wailing] found that Ye Buyu's Cucumber Virus had left the [Perception Controller] cognitively confused and partially crippled.
• Ye Buyu told Little Whale that the virus was a concentrated Soul Virus and asked how the [Hunger King] could be killed permanently.
• Little Whale explained that the [Hunger King] had never truly died, though the [Seedling Eater] had sent it to the Present World because it might find an end there.
• Ye Buyu asked Minister Wusu to let her examine the [Hunger King], and he agreed on the condition that he accompany her.
• The Vermilion Bird Division kept the [Hunger King] dismembered while Wusu proposed sealing it with an energy isolation device.
• Ye Buyu touched the [Hunger King]'s head and activated a skill that caused the tides in its Mindscape to flow backward.

The [Hunger King] relived the memories of the Calamities it punished and the famine that had given rise to its hatred. As the memories ended, the story returned to the starving people whose suffering had shaped its obsession with revenge.

• The [Hunger King] punished the Calamities for their cruelty, forcing them into a frenzy of hunger until they devoured one another and the last defiant Calamity died.
• The [Hunger King] remembered meeting the [Seedling Eater], who named it [Hunger] and promised to help it take revenge.
• The memory shifted to a woman who tried to grow crops through a drought, but the promised rain never reached her before she died.
• The Inner City promised starving people a chance to migrate in exchange for their grain, then sealed its gates and left them to die outside.
• Hunger drove the abandoned refugees to lose their humanity and devour one another as they hated the Inner City, their helplessness, and themselves.

The [Hunger King] recalled the famine and abandonment that had created it, then accepted that Ye Buyu could not grant its wish for true death. Wusu agreed to escort it with Ye Buyu and Lou Guanshan as they searched for a way to end it permanently.

• The [Hunger King] remembered how its planet's starving inhabitants were abandoned, and how its search for true death had failed.
• The [Hunger King] told Ye Buyu that [Those Without a Home] had been unable to kill it, and Wusu concluded they would have to contain it physically.
• The [Hunger King] asked to be taken for a walk, and Wusu agreed to accompany it along with Ye Buyu and Lou Guanshan.
• Professor Dada asked Ye Buyu to distribute the supplies, and she approved a full meal for the soldiers.
• Lou Guanshan used his power to lower the wall into the ground while Wusu kept watch on the [Hunger King].