Arc 2Into the Red Mangroves

As disasters spread across the world, Zhang Ming grew stronger on the island, uncovered traces of an ancient civilization, and prepared to hunt the Golden Electric Eel. Li Xianfeng’s team learned that Earth lay within a vast parallel world and began planning expeditions and rescue efforts, while Zhang Ming entered the mangroves on his own.

  • Li Xianfeng and Wang Yuheng arranged to send Zhang Ming food information, while a global earthquake and eerie laughter brought worsening disasters and mass mobilization.
  • Zhang Ming trained, fortified his camp, and grew stronger by eating crabs and turtle barnacles as he searched the island for food and clues about its monsters.
  • Li Xianfeng’s team launched a satellite survey from a tethered warship, but the rocket failed to escape the atmosphere and the satellite revealed only a silent ocean.
  • Zhang Ming discovered ancient ruins and a blood-marked tower, escaped fungal whispers, and used plants, chilies, and barnacles to gain new abilities and build a bond with the turtles.
  • Zhang Ming gained Toxin Resistance and Extraordinary Vision, endured harmful mushrooms, and gathered bird eggs while Li Xianfeng concealed his ability to reincarnate with his memories.
  • Academician Ge reported that the Mysterious Zones connected Earth to a vast parallel world, and Li Xianfeng’s team began planning research bases, rescue operations, and floating platforms.
  • Zhang Ming built a Faraday Cage to face the Golden Electric Eel and, despite the turtles’ protests, carried it and his weapons into the Red Mangrove Forest.
Chapters 26–51 Vol. 1 Read

Ch. 26The Mysterious Zone Attacked Earth

Li Xianfeng and the experts discussed communication with Zhang Ming and plans to explore and rescue people trapped in the Mysterious Zones. Their meeting was interrupted when the Zone 15 mirage showed stranded fishermen dancing strangely, and eerie laughter came through the broadcast.

  • Li Xianfeng reviewed the disasters in Zones 15 and 6, where stranded crews faced worsening danger.
  • Wang Yuheng and Li Xianfeng agreed to send Zhang Ming coconut recipes mixed with other food information and use beach messages to communicate.
  • Li Xianfeng proposed tethering equipment to investigate the Mysterious Zones after experts described the dangers and failures of submarine missions.
  • Li Xianfeng received a message about Zone 15 and called the experts' attention to its mirage.
  • The fishermen on the island danced in contorted movements, and eerie laughter came through the mirage.

Ch. 27Disaster Descended

Li Xianfeng and the experts watched Mirage 15’s fishermen succumb to an unseen force, while an eerie laughter left observers unable to control their bodies. A magnitude 9.7 earthquake in Great Ang then triggered catastrophic forecasts of methane release, rapid global warming, and rising sea levels, leaving humanity facing disaster as Li Xianfeng drew a little courage from Zhang Ming’s survival in Mirage 16.

  • Li Xianfeng and the experts regained control of themselves when Mirage 15 blurred and the laughter stopped.
  • The fishermen writhed for half an hour before collapsing and slowly wriggling into the jungle.
  • Li Xianfeng called for preparations as experts confirmed that mirages around the world had exposed people to the laughter.
  • Satellites detected a magnitude 9.7 earthquake in Great Ang that severely damaged the North Sea oil fields and threatened massive oil and gas leaks.
  • An expert warned that the disaster could drive sea levels up sixty meters within ten years, submerging coastal cities and causing food shortages and extreme weather.
  • Li Xianfeng looked at Zhang Ming, who was still drying crab meat in Mirage 16, and regained a trace of courage.

Ch. 28Mass conscription and the Suiren Project

After the deaths in Mysterious Zone 15 and the North Sea earthquake triggered worldwide panic, Great Xia announced mass military recruitment and the vast Suiren Project. The chapter left Wang Fumin and Lu Tuyu worrying about the future and whether their message in a bottle would reach the young man in Mysterious Zone 16.

  • A North Sea earthquake and the deaths of Mysterious Zone 15's survivors spread panic as eerie laughter threatened people across the world.
  • Peter Greer warned that humanity knew little about the world and that war was approaching.
  • Great Xia mobilized its government and suppressed images of Mirage 15 while experts assessed the earthquake's consequences.
  • Great Xia announced plans to recruit thirty million young people into its armed forces over five years.
  • The government revealed the Suiren Plan, which would recruit 130 million workers to build inland cities, shelters, dams, and water-storage lakes.
  • Wang Fumin and Lu Tuyu discussed the plans and worried that the young man in Mysterious Zone 16 might die before Wang's message in a bottle arrived.

Ch. 29One month

After a month alone on the island, Zhang Ming had grown much stronger, built up food stores and shelter, and resolved to cross the Pacific if no one came to rescue him. A radio broadcast revealed that Earth’s upheaval continued and that governments were evacuating cities as human civilization adapted to the changing world.

  • Zhang Ming endured worsening loneliness over the month and comforted himself by imagining how ordinary life might have gone before the supernatural age.
  • Zhang Ming set himself the goal of becoming strong enough to cross the Pacific Ocean and return home.
  • After a month of training, Zhang Ming demonstrated his strength by lifting and throwing a three-hundred-jin coconut and jumping five meters into the air.
  • Zhang Ming stored crab and coconut products, built a sheet-metal shelter from airplane wreckage, and fenced his camp with pointed crab legs.
  • Announcer Li Xianfeng reported that tectonic movement would continue, more than sixty percent of major-city residents had been evacuated, and authorities had announced the Suiren Plan.

Ch. 30There was no such thing as dignity for ordinary people

Zhang Ming listened to news of financial collapse, shortages, and disasters across Blue Star as governments struggled to keep society functioning. The broadcasts left him wondering about his parents and confronting how easily ordinary people in weak countries were forgotten.

  • Zhang Ming heard that Great Xia had imposed monthly withdrawal limits and shifted its banking system toward gold as earthquakes wrecked cities and drove prices skyward.
  • Zhang Ming worried about his parents in their county town and realized his 270,000 US dollars had lost much of its value, though he could not bring himself to burn it.
  • Li Xianfeng reported that Fusang was relocating its population abroad, while flooding and a chemical leak caused further disasters overseas.
  • Zhang Ming considered how disaster reports had numbed him and how poor countries' suffering often went unreported.
  • Zhang Ming concluded that ordinary people without a powerful nation behind them had little protection or hope of being heard.

Ch. 31The Top Gun of Rookies

After hearing a broadcast about mutated creatures and the risks of eating them, Zhang Ming assessed his growth from a month of eating crabs and decided to seek new food. That evening, a group of giant sea turtles visited his shelter, including one that tried to eat his fence.

  • Li Xianfeng broadcast research findings about alpha enzymes, warned listeners about dangerous mutated creatures, and explained that consuming their flesh could sometimes awaken abilities.
  • Zhang Ming realized he needed to be cautious about what he ate and noted that other people could not gain attribute points from mutated flesh as he could.
  • Zhang Ming reviewed his attributes, which had risen by fifty points from eating crabs, and concluded that he might be one of the strongest humans.
  • Giant sea turtles gathered by Zhang Ming's shelter to listen to the radio and look for food.
  • A gigantic sea turtle tried to eat crab legs on Zhang Ming's fence, and Zhang Ming warned it to stop while privately wishing for turtle meat.

Ch. 32New Food (Two Chapters in One)

Zhang Ming listened to news of supernatural disasters around the world while removing barnacles from a giant turtle and discovering they offered a strong bodily boost when eaten. The clever little white turtle drew a cryptic picture suggesting there were blocks or buildings at the island’s center, leaving Zhang Ming wary of the danger there.

  • Zhang Ming heard a radio report about global supernatural threats and wondered whether the island’s unexplained safety meant a powerful creature controlled it.
  • The little white turtle led Zhang Ming to the giant turtle, and he used a heated bone knife to remove its barnacles while the other turtles tried to steal them.
  • Zhang Ming collected the barnacles, roasted one, and found that it produced a stronger warm current in his body than crab meat.
  • Zhang Ming asked the turtles about the island monster, and the little white turtle drew crooked pictures that seemed to indicate blocks near the island’s center.
  • The little white turtle happily practiced drawing before Zhang Ming took back his pen and sent the turtles off to sleep.

Ch. 34Investigating the Mysterious Zone

Zhang Ming returned to his hut, where loneliness led him to sleep early, while a large expedition prepared to investigate the Pacific Ocean’s Mysterious Zone and locate him. The chapter left the expedition facing a single chance to launch a satellite as Professor Peter Greer contacted Li Xianfeng.

  • Zhang Ming returned to his hut, reflected on his loneliness, and went to sleep.
  • Li Xianfeng reviewed reports aboard a military vessel as a fleet of twenty-six ships prepared to investigate the Mysterious Zone.
  • Wang Yuheng explained that the zone disoriented investigators, swallowed drones and submarines, and had yielded no known land or clear dangers.
  • An expert proposed launching a satellite to locate Zhang Ming’s island, and Li Xianfeng insisted the rocket launch had to succeed.
  • Li Xianfeng spoke with Professor Peter Greer, who noted that Zhang Ming’s survival could spare Great Xia from serious damage.

Ch. 35Tracking and Investigating Supernatural Phenomena

Li Xianfeng and Professor Peter agreed to share research on the Mysterious Zone, and Great Xia received an American report on supernatural phenomena in Hawaii. The experts reviewed its findings on superpowers and mutant flesh, while Li promised to seek funding for more experiments.

  • Professor Peter proposed cooperation with Li Xianfeng, including sharing research and data from the next satellite survey, and Li forwarded the offer to his superiors.
  • An elderly official approved the cooperation, and the American research file, "Tracking and Investigating Supernatural Phenomena in the Hawaii Region," arrived by satellite.
  • Li Xianfeng and the experts read that the Americans estimated at least ten percent of people could possess superpowers, most of them physical abilities.
  • The experts discussed how people with superpowers might serve in research, policing, or the military as disasters weakened society and its economy.
  • The report said that eating mutant creatures' flesh could sometimes activate superpowers, a finding Great Xia had already tested based on Zhang Ming's message from Mysterious Zone 16.
  • Li Xianfeng promised to request more funding for experiments and urged the experts to continue taking Zhang Ming's information seriously.

Ch. 36Exploring the Deserted Island

Professor Peter and other experts discussed how people with supernatural powers might cultivate, and Li Xianfeng ordered Great Xia to share satellite data with the United States. On the deserted island, Zhang Ming set out to explore the beach and mangrove forest for food and seasonings, leaving the island's dangerous interior alone.

  • Professor Peter argued that an ancient cultivation method must have existed, since mutated creatures could awaken powers but could not steadily strengthen them.
  • Li Xianfeng ordered the experts to send the United States satellite data and finish preparing for the next day's launch.
  • Zhang Ming checked his barnacles, gathered his crab spear and backpack, and began searching the beach for food and useful ingredients.
  • Zhang Ming followed the coast past the giant crabs and rocky slope, avoiding the deep bay and its unknown dangers.
  • Zhang Ming entered the mangrove forest to look for seasonings and a sago palm while watching for mutated insects.

Ch. 37The Best of the Worst

Zhang Ming entered the mangroves, witnessed a golden eel kill a giant red toad, and returned safely with unfamiliar plants. His encounter made him determined to find a way to kill the eel and gain its electric ability, while people watching Mirage No. 16 worried until he came back.

  • Zhang Ming explored the mangroves cautiously and encountered a giant red toad that hunted fish with its long tongue.
  • A golden eel leaped from the sea, struck the red toad with lightning, and ate it before Zhang Ming could react.
  • Zhang Ming realized the mangroves were full of powerful mutated creatures and decided to devise a careful plan to kill the eel and obtain its ability.
  • Zhang Ming withdrew from the mangroves with mud on his body and gathered unfamiliar plants to take back.
  • Li Xianfeng and others feared Zhang Ming had been lured into danger, then relaxed when he returned alive three hours later.
  • People watching Mirage No. 16 discussed Zhang Ming's plant-gathering and hoped to see more of his food experiments.

Ch. 38Launching the rocket

Li Xianfeng led a rocket launch from a warship inside the Mysterious Zone, where the crew experienced an intense sense of homesickness and discovered that Earth was invisible from within. The rocket could not escape the Zone’s unusually deep, turbulent atmosphere, so Li ordered the satellite’s fairing jettisoned to gather data before it burned up.

  • Li Xianfeng approved the launch and led the warship into the Mysterious Zone, tethered to ships outside by a steel cable.
  • The crew encountered strange spatial ripples, could not see Earth, and felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness.
  • Li warned the crew about possible superpower awakenings and ordered preparations for the rocket launch.
  • The rocket launched, but Academician Ge reported that unexpected drag and powerful winds kept it trapped in the atmosphere.
  • Li ordered the fairing jettisoned and the satellite’s detection systems activated before the rocket ran out of fuel.

Ch. 39The Graveyard of Worlds

Li Xianfeng’s team saw a seemingly endless, lifeless ocean from a satellite and returned toward Earth, troubled by the possibility that the Mysterious Zone was a resting place for worlds. In Mysterious Zone 16, Zhang Ming found pottery and a worked stone slab, suggesting that someone—or another civilization—had been on the island.

  • A satellite image revealed a flat, silent ocean that seemed to bury the histories of many worlds, leaving Li Xianfeng and the control room overcome with grief.
  • The satellite burned up, and Li Xianfeng ordered everyone to return to Earth.
  • Zhang Ming returned from the mangroves carrying a backpack full of unfamiliar plants and wondered how the island’s monsters ranked in strength.
  • Zhang Ming found an ancient pottery shard and wondered whether humans or another intelligent civilization had visited the island.
  • Zhang Ming searched nearby and discovered a regularly shaped bluestone slab that appeared to have been worked by hand.

Ch. 40The Mysterious Valley

Zhang Ming discovered a ruined valley covered in supernatural fungi and barely escaped their mind-controlling influence. Back at camp, he recovered his mental strength while wondering whether the ruins held a valuable legacy and whether a national expedition might explore them.

  • Zhang Ming followed the Great Bluestone and discovered fungal colonies covering ruined hills and a colossal, damaged tower marked by blood that warned him to run.
  • The fungi’s whispers drove Zhang Ming to bite his own arm, breaking their hold long enough for him to flee the valley.
  • Zhang Ming returned to his coconut-grove camp and found comfort in the sea turtles and the radio broadcast from Comrade Li Xianfeng.
  • Zhang Ming checked his mental stat, transferred attribute points into it, and gradually recovered from the valley’s influence.
  • Zhang Ming concluded that an intelligent civilization had once lived on the island and considered whether its ruins held treasures worth a national expedition exploring.

Ch. 41Turtle Tastes a Hundred Herbs Plan

Zhang Ming tested plants with the sea turtles’ help and discovered fragrant bark and an intensely spicy green fruit that gave him a powerful surge of warmth. He diluted some chili water and offered the first taste to the little white turtle.

  • Zhang Ming raised his spirit by transferring attribute points and decided to grow stronger by eating plants.
  • When the sea turtles refused the plants, Zhang Ming acted out poisoning himself until the little white turtle helped sort out the poisonous ones.
  • Zhang Ming tested the safe plants, finding fragrant bark that worked as seasoning and a foul-smelling leaf that reduced his spirit.
  • Zhang Ming tasted a fiery green chili and gained a powerful surge of warmth, along with several spirit points.
  • The sea turtles begged to try the chili, so Zhang Ming diluted its juice in water and fed some to the little white turtle.

Ch. 42Men die for wealth, turtles die for food

Zhang Ming cooked spicy barnacles and shared them with the sea turtles after discovering chilies that sent the turtles fleeing in tears. He proposed a partnership with the turtles, offering to clean their shells and cook in exchange for food from the sea.

  • Zhang Ming tricked Little White Turtle and the other turtles into tasting chili water, and they all rushed into the sea to escape the heat.
  • Zhang Ming gathered chilies to preserve, redistributed his attributes after his spirit recovered, and joked with Little White Turtle about the island’s mysteries.
  • Zhang Ming listened to reports about supernatural abilities and human research while preparing barnacles, chili, fennel bark, coconut oil, and rice.
  • Zhang Ming ate the spicy barnacles and gave shells to the turtles, who discovered they enjoyed the food.
  • Zhang Ming offered the Turtle King and the other sea turtles a partnership: they would share sea food, and he would clean their shells or cook for them.

Ch. 43Toxin Resistance

Zhang Ming activated Toxin Resistance after learning it came from barnacles that survived on a colossal creature’s toxic waste. The ability expelled strange mushrooms from his lungs, but he discovered that the ordeal had cost him a year of his lifespan.

  • Zhang Ming realized the turtles were strong and comfortable enough to offer him food, though he still struggled to teach them the idea of trading.
  • After eating barnacles, Zhang Ming gained two attribute points and discovered a new Toxin Resistance ability that cost eight points to activate.
  • In a vision, Zhang Ming saw barnacles survive by purifying toxins from waste emitted by a gigantic deep-sea creature he called a Kun.
  • Zhang Ming activated Toxin Resistance, and a warm current of spirit moved through his body before forcing several tiny mushrooms out of his lungs.
  • Zhang Ming checked his attribute panel and found that his lifespan had fallen by one year, to [24/29].

Ch. 44No one could take my stats away!

Zhang Ming roasted and ate the parasitic mushrooms, gaining four points of Perception despite severe pain and losing one point of lifespan. On Earth, Li Xianfeng concealed a second, unusual ability after reporting only his enhanced senses.

  • Zhang Ming worried that fungal spores had cost him a point of lifespan, then decided to roast and eat the parasitic mushrooms.
  • After eating part of a mushroom, Zhang Ming endured intense pain and discovered that his Perception had increased by one point.
  • Zhang Ming ate both mushrooms over several hours, gaining four points of Perception while suffering severe side effects.
  • Li Xianfeng heard that many people who entered the Mysterious Zone had fallen unconscious and often awakened with superpowers.
  • Li Xianfeng passed himself off as an average Extrasensory Perceiver while hiding his other strange ability.

Ch. 45What's the Matter, Little Bro?

Li Xianfeng recognized that his Reincarnator ability could make him effectively immortal, but chose to conceal it and live normally. Meanwhile, Zhang Ming used mushroom spores to increase his Perception and discovered he could frighten local creatures with them; he ended the chapter confronting a giant seagull to take its eggs.

  • Li Xianfeng realized he could reincarnate with his memories as long as human civilization endured, and decided to hide the ability.
  • Zhang Ming observed the Golden Electric Eel, then absorbed spores near the Indigenous Civilization's infested buildings to raise his Perception.
  • Zhang Ming used Toxin Resistance to expel the mushrooms growing in his lungs, terrifying the turtles and sending them fleeing.
  • Zhang Ming found that crabs were also afraid of the mushrooms and carried a jar of them up a coconut tree to reach a seabird nest.
  • The male seagull attacked Zhang Ming as he asked whether its eggs were cooked.

Ch. 46Heaven Cherishes Life

Zhang Ming frightened a pair of seagulls away from their nest and took two eggs, returning the one with an embryo. After eating one egg, he gained three attribute points and was left with the remaining egg and a group of hungry turtles eyeing his food.

  • Zhang Ming hurled the jar containing the mushroom at a seagull, frightening both birds into abandoning their nest.
  • Zhang Ming examined the three eggs, returned the one with an embryo, and took the other two with him.
  • Zhang Ming boiled one egg while studying Advanced Mathematics, and a group of sea turtles gathered to inspect the jar and pot.
  • Zhang Ming ate the egg, gained three attribute points, and mused about the first hen humans domesticated.
  • The turtles begged Zhang Ming for food while eyeing the eggshells and the mushroom in the jar.

Ch. 47A bloodbath swept through the martial world

Zhang Ming activated Extraordinary Vision and struggled to use his acquired abilities at the same time. Over the next few days, he terrorized the island’s birds while collecting their eggs, earning the title of Martial Arts Overlord and an angry avian entourage.

  • Zhang Ming activated Extraordinary Vision and saw the world in infrared and ultraviolet light.
  • Zhang Ming discovered that he could not consciously use two acquired abilities simultaneously, though Attribute Conversion worked alongside them.
  • Zhang Ming collected bird eggs by Borrowing the Tiger's Might and drove the island’s martial world into terror as the Mushroom Freak.
  • Zhang Ming became known as the Martial Arts Overlord, while the birds circled overhead and dropped poop at him.
  • Zhang Ming warned the birds that he would throw rocks if they kept targeting him.

Ch. 48The Gaia Consciousness Hypothesis (double-length chapter)

Zhang Ming celebrated a growing food supply on Mysterious Zone 16 while asking Earth for advice about a Faraday Cage and warning of natives. On Earth, experts explained new satellite findings and planned survivor rescues and a research base for people with superpowers.

  • Zhang Ming counted 101 bird eggs and considered how to manage the many new abilities they could unlock.
  • Li Xianfeng and the experts read Zhang Ming's beach messages and agreed to broadcast Faraday Cage information, though they could not help with his warning about natives.
  • Academician Ge reported that the four Mysterious Zones were connected and that Earth had been embedded in a vast parallel world.
  • Academician Ge said satellite data had located Mirage No. 1 and the Arctic Ocean team, prompting plans for international rescue operations.
  • Li Xianfeng announced that a research base would be established near the Pacific boundary and that superpower training and research would begin within a month.

Ch. 49The theoretical multi-ability user

Li Xianfeng discussed building offshore bases to send soldiers into the Mysterious Zone, then spoke with Professor Peter Greer about rescuing stranded teams and Zhang Ming. Peter guessed that Zhang Ming might be a multi-ability user, while Zhang remained stranded in Zone 16.

  • Li Xianfeng proposed building five floating platforms near the Mysterious Zone to support monthly deployments and provide slots to neighboring countries.
  • Li Xianfeng warned that shrinking resources and population pressure could worsen international tensions, then asked the researchers to propose locations for the platforms.
  • Li Xianfeng told Academician Ge that he was worried about rescuing Zhang Ming, while Ge explained how difficult it would be to locate him without communications equipment.
  • Li Xianfeng connected with Professor Peter Greer, who described Zhang Ming's growing strength and his ability to thrive alone in the supernatural world.
  • Professor Peter Greer theorized that Zhang Ming might be a multi-ability user whose powers enhanced his body and mind.

Ch. 50Hunting the Golden Electric Eel

On his ninety-first day on the deserted island, Zhang Ming finished a Faraday Cage and prepared to hunt the Golden Electric Eel, deciding he could no longer wait for rescue. When the clouds briefly cleared, he set out for the mangroves with the turtles following him.

  • Zhang Ming listened to reports of wars around the world and worried that the outside world might forget about him.
  • Zhang Ming completed a metal Faraday Cage to protect himself from the Golden Electric Eel.
  • Zhang Ming reviewed his attributes and noted that bird eggs and Parasitic Mushrooms were providing fewer benefits.
  • When sunlight broke through the clouds, Zhang Ming resolved to challenge a stronger monster and rely on himself rather than wait for rescue.
  • Zhang Ming carried the heavy cage and crab spears toward the mangroves as the turtles followed, equipped with a homemade insulating outfit and a plan to use traps and venom.

Ch. 51Mutated creatures could actually become good friends with humans?

Zhang Ming prepared a painful trap for the Golden Electric Eel and set out toward the Red Mangrove Forest with the turtles following him. As the world watched the turtles befriend him, people debated Gaia Consciousness and adjusted to a transformed society, while authorities warned that supernatural objects could be deadly.

  • Zhang Ming prepared crabmeat with a hidden dagger and a mountain of chili peppers, then entered the Red Mangrove Forest despite the turtles urging him to stop.
  • People worldwide watched Zhang Ming carry a Faraday Cage with the Turtle Group following him, and many were stunned that mutated creatures could befriend a human.
  • Online commenters discussed rescue efforts, the survivors in Mysterious Zones, and theories that humanity's collective consciousness influenced natural disasters.
  • Residents at Cloud Sea Shelter discussed wars, the oil crisis, financial restrictions, and the growing popularity of the Gaia theory.
  • The government announced rewards for people who surrendered supernatural objects and described cases in which a glowing stone and mysterious cola caused fatal mutations and uncontrollable laughter.
Arc 2 of 7