Chapter Summaries

Zhang Ming struggled with worsening Unreality Disorder while trying to keep going for Brother Hao, and he sought help from Bai Ze and the World Tree. When he sensed that something momentous was happening far away, he contacted Earth's Gaia Consciousness.

• Stone Mama demanded a share of the gourd’s deal, while the gourd explored the ship’s old computers and books and told Little White it was not a demon.
• Zhang Ming caught a huge mutant fish with Little White and cooked Golden Fish Roasted Rice Burgers, though his illness had taken away his sense of taste.
• Zhang Ming told Little Gourd to take care of Brother Hao, and the gourd soothed the aging dog into a peaceful sleep.
• Zhang Ming visited the Energy Room, where Bai Ze used a vision of everyday harvest work to help him resist his worsening symptoms.
• Zhang Ming reflected on his fraying connection to Earth, sensed a momentous event far away, and contacted Earth's Gaia Consciousness through the World Tree.

After escaping the Abyss, Zhang Ming suffered from Unreality Disorder, which drained his emotions as he learned that his sister was dying and then died. He reflected on humanity’s repeated political patterns while his condition worsened, leaving him increasingly detached from personal loss.

• Zhang Ming contacted Wang Fumin and learned that his sister’s organs were failing; he asked Wang to look after his family.
• Zhang Ming struggled with his inability to feel sadness and resisted an urge to jump into the sea.
• After three sleepless days, Zhang Ming learned from Wang Fumin that his sister had died at the age of 137.
• Zhang Ming discussed reconstruction, real estate, and the fading Global Wealth Tax with Wang Fumin, observing how human societies repeated old patterns.
• Zhang Ming recognized that his emotions were disappearing even as he remained clear-eyed about civilization’s grand narratives.

Zhang Ming struggled with Unreality Disorder after his younger sister's death and asked the golden Little Gourd to help him recover what he had lost. The gourd soothed him into a dream of his high school days, where he realized he had returned to an ordinary summer day to recover memories.

• Wang Fumin worried that Zhang Ming might fall in the Demon God's Sea after Zhang Ming left the Gaia Consciousness space.
• Zhang Ming read his younger sister's letters, but could barely feel anything and used pain to force himself to shed a tear.
• The golden Little Gourd explained that Unreality Disorder was connected to a thread reaching into the Deep Sea and offered to help recover some things if Zhang Ming made a wish.
• Zhang Ming wished for the gourd's help, and its song soothed him into a deep dream.
• Zhang Ming woke in a dream as an ordinary high school student and realized he had come back to recover something from his past.

Little Gourd restored Zhang Ming’s memory of a happy day with his family and first love, giving him a mental anchor against Unreality Disorder. Back in his bedroom, Zhang Ming decided to use the Dream Entry Technique to reinforce the memory and offered to grant Little Gourd a wish.

• Zhang Ming relived borrowing money from his younger sister and meeting his first-love girlfriend at KFC.
• Zhang Ming remembered their date at the cinema and his awkward request to bury his head in her yellow sweater.
• The dream blurred, and Zhang Ming woke from sleep paralysis overwhelmed by the restored memory.
• Little Gourd said the memory could anchor Zhang Ming’s mind against Unreality Disorder but warned that relying on old memories could make him unwilling to wake.
• Zhang Ming resolved to reinforce the memory with the Dream Entry Technique and asked Little Gourd what it wanted him to do.

Zhang Ming explained his old breakup and confused memory to the Gourd Monster, then used the Dream Entry Technique to build a dream firewall against Unreality Disorder. He finished by strengthening his mental anchors as he watched Little White and Brother Hao.

• Zhang Ming told the Gourd Monster that he and his former girlfriend had broken up because their personalities were incompatible, and explained his wool-sweater memory through the reproduction drive.
• The Gourd Monster encouraged Zhang Ming to build a dream firewall and left to read stories, while Zhang Ming switched the Dream Entry Technique into his mental skill slot.
• Zhang Ming constructed a mental seed of Little White and recreated Turtle Island as a dream layer to slow Unreality Disorder's advance.
• Zhang Ming watched Little White and Brother Hao to make his dream images more lifelike, treating Brother Hao's survival as an anchor to the real world.

Zhang Ming searched for a world where he could recover, but the ship’s crew had no reliable way to find one, so they continued drifting. As he spent months using memories to build a Dream Firewall against Unreality Disorder, his illness worsened and pieces of his past disappeared.

• Zhang Ming learned from Stone Mama that only World Hunters could reliably find worlds, and that capturing one would be difficult.
• The Gourd admitted it could not find a world without entering one, while Bai Ze silently worried about the Gourd’s influence and Stone Mama urged it to slack off.
• Zhang Ming spent months asleep aboard the Steamship, using memories to construct the Dream Firewall as the ship crossed the ocean.
• Zhang Ming unearthed forgotten memories of childhood friends and acquaintances, but Unreality Disorder turned them into dream ruins after only a few days.
• Zhang Ming asked the Gourd whether using his memories would eventually change his personality, and it could only promise to tell him the stories of their journey together.
• The crew relied on Little White, the Strange Objects, the Rune Machine Gun, Old Sheephead, and Stone Mama to handle dangers during the voyage.

Zhang Ming endured years of worsening Unreality Disorder while trying to preserve his sanity at sea, relying on Little Gourd to help him sleep and stay awake. Six more years passed, and with Brother Hao near death and Zhang Ming conscious for only a few hours each month, he wondered what the Demon God wanted from him.

• Zhang Ming continued chatting with Little Gourd, cursed [Unfulfilled Wish] as [Wish Mama], and asked how he could sever the line anchored to him.
• Little Gourd said Zhang Ming could not use the necessary methods while his mental state was poor, but promised to help once he found a world suitable for recuperation.
• Zhang Ming developed insomnia, leaving him unable to use dreams to resist Unreality Disorder, so Little Gourd helped him fall asleep.
• Over the following six years, more than a hundred Homeless symptoms afflicted Zhang Ming, and he could remain awake for only two or three hours a month.
• Brother Hao's condition worsened until he stopped eating, while Zhang Ming wondered what the Demon God wanted from him.

Zhang Ming accepted that he had to rely on Little Gourd to survive, despite suspecting it might be an enemy, and arranged a farewell before setting out with Brother Hao. He planned to release the Space-Time Worm’s Unique Rule when he died, leaving the conflict it caused to unfold without him.

• Old Sheephead warned Zhang Ming that Little Gourd might be waiting for his death, but Zhang Ming admitted he could not refuse its help.
• Zhang Ming declared that he would rely on Little Gourd, divided his belongings among his companions, and secretly prepared a soul clone to undo the seal on his Attribute Panel at the moment of his death.
• Zhang Ming cooked a farewell feast, shut down the Steamship’s engine, and prepared a small backup boat.
• Zhang Ming took his Abyss Axe and the decrepit Brother Hao aboard the boat, intending to spend his final days with Brother Hao and the Gourd Monster before releasing the Space-Time Worm.
• Zhang Ming bid farewell to Little White and Stone Mama, then heard a pelican shriek.

Zhang Ming left his ship to Pelican Big Sis after sparring with her, then traveled east to a dead world in hopes of dying there. He reached its shore with Dog, whose failing soul seemed to revive briefly at the sight of land.

• Pelican Big Sis tracked Zhang Ming’s ship using the golden feather she had given Little White and challenged him for ownership of it.
• Zhang Ming surrendered during their spar, gave Pelican Big Sis the ship, and set off with Dog toward a dead world 320 kilometers east.
• Pelican Big Sis saw black threads attached to Zhang Ming and warned him that he was going to die, then told him about the nearby dead world.
• Zhang Ming used Diamond’s ability to cross the sea and reached the dead world after more than an hour of travel.
• Dog leaped excitedly across the strange shore, though Zhang Ming believed the old dog’s soul was failing and he would not survive the day.

After Brother Hao died, Zhang Ming resisted [Unfulfilled Wish] until Little Gourd drew him inside and lulled him to sleep. In his dream of his childhood home, he reunited briefly with his mother and younger sister before Unreality Disorder erased them, leaving him alone with the final memory.

• Brother Hao died peacefully, and Zhang Ming burned his body to keep the mushrooms from consuming it before burying his ashes.
• Zhang Ming told Little Gourd he wanted to trust it but still had to resist [Unfulfilled Wish] because others depended on him.
• As the mushrooms closed in and Unreality Disorder overwhelmed his mind, Zhang Ming agreed to enter the Gourd.
• Little Gourd opened its mouth, drew Zhang Ming inside, and sang him to sleep as he prepared to detonate the bomb hidden in his Memory Library.
• Zhang Ming returned to a childhood dream, spoke with his mother and younger sister, and remembered how they joked about what to do if either of them died.
• Unreality Disorder contaminated the dream and erased his younger sister, leaving Zhang Ming to accept the scene as its final outcome.

Zhang Ming escaped the corrupted dream after Gourd gave him most of her power, but he feared that saving him had been part of [Unfulfilled Wish]’s scheme to trap Gourd and become an Ultimate. He faced an urgent choice over whether to use his hidden soul-clone trump card, unsure whether Gourd was telling the truth.

• Zhang Ming fought his way through corrupted versions of Younger Sister and his mother before finding Gourd outside KFC.
• Gourd led Zhang Ming to the movie theater and pushed him through the flame of [Unfulfilled Wish], giving him eighty percent of her power and a chance to wake from his slumber.
• Gourd told Zhang Ming that she was the reverse side of [Unfulfilled Wish] and that she had volunteered to remain trapped in the dream cage.
• Zhang Ming considered using the soul clone hidden in his Memory Library, knowing it might destroy Gourd if her account was true.
• Zhang Ming suspected that [Unfulfilled Wish] had used him as bait to trap Gourd and gain the chance to become an Ultimate.

Zhang Ming used Gourd's help and his Memory Library to counter the Unreality Disorder and protect his memories. After Gourd hid inside the Memory Library, Zhang Ming tried to retrieve the notebook from beyond the red flames, leaving his survival uncertain.

• Zhang Ming told Gourd to fetch his younger sister's blue math workbook, which contained the disguised Memory Library.
• Gourd returned with the notebook, and Zhang Ming had her read a sentence on page seventeen to open the Memory Library.
• Zhang Ming summoned a destructive Soul Clone from the library and urged Gourd to escape the cage, but she could no longer cross the red flames.
• Zhang Ming told Gourd to hide inside the Memory Library, where she discovered his preserved memory backups.
• Zhang Ming directed his Soul Clone to hand him the notebook and reached through the red flames, burning himself as Gourd's protective power rapidly faded.

Zhang Ming rescued Gourd Lady from [Unfulfilled Wish] and fled through his corrupted dreams, trusting her despite the danger. As they searched for a way out, Zhang Ming weakened and Gourd Lady took over, hacking open a path through the dream ruins.

• Zhang Ming recovered his beloved notebook, destroyed his burning soul clone, and escaped the mental prison with Gourd Lady still inside the Memory Library.
• Zhang Ming used the Abyss Axe to cut through abandoned dream scenes while Gourd Lady warned him that his mental power was running low.
• Zhang Ming promised to help Gourd Lady escape and told her about his university graduation trip as they fled the pursuing monsters.
• Gourd Lady explained that killing [Unfulfilled Wish] would give it the Judgment Balance’s full authority, but Zhang Ming vowed to destroy it anyway.
• After the dream they occupied exploded, Zhang Ming and Gourd Lady agreed to rely on his companions to cut off the Demon God’s power and take turns resting in the Memory Library.
• When Zhang Ming could no longer hold the axe steadily, Gourd Lady came out and hacked open a path through the dream ruins.

Zhang Ming and Gourd Lady reconciled in the Memory Library, where he asked her to stop speaking so formally and to insult him. Meanwhile, his companions searched the ruined world for him and found his axe, gourd, and grave, but no body, leaving Bai Ze to suspect Zhang Ming was still alive.

• Zhang Ming told Gourd Lady to choose her own appearance and argued that she should not use his private thoughts to tease him.
• Zhang Ming asked Gourd Lady to stop addressing him formally and to insult him as an apology for how others had treated her.
• Gourd Lady called Zhang Ming a big dummy after struggling to come up with an insult.
• Little White and the others sailed to the destroyed world, where Little White sensed Zhang Ming's axe but no signs of life.
• Stone Mama sent Big Sister Pelican to retrieve Brother Hao's grave, Little Gourd, and the Abyss Axe, and Pelican brought them back to the ship.
• Bai Ze examined Little Gourd and concluded that Zhang Ming might not be dead.

Zhang Ming’s companions believed he might still be alive after detecting a Morse-code distress signal from the moon, and they set course for the Death World to seek refuge and a way to save him. On Earth, Wang Fumin told Li Xianfeng that Zhang Ming had been out of contact for ten years and might be dead, but urged him to keep the news secret.

• Stone Mama and Little White scattered Brother Hao’s ashes into the World Tree’s pot, where a tiny leaf sprouted.
• Little White insisted the animals should continue adventuring rather than return to Turtle Island or go to the human world.
• Old Bai Ze sensed the moon shaking in a pattern, and Little White recognized it as a distress signal that suggested Zhang Ming was still alive.
• Bai Ze proposed finding a world to block the Demon God’s power from reaching Zhang Ming, and the ship turned toward the Death World to find world hunters.
• Wang Fumin told Li Xianfeng that Zhang Ming had been unreachable for ten years and might have died from Unreality Disorder.
• Wang Fumin asked Li Xianfeng to keep his suspicion secret and continue treating Zhang Ming as missing.

Li Xianfeng and Wang Fumin discussed Old Zhang’s death and the coming trade with the Honggang Civilization, while Li worried about his declining health and what to leave for his next life. Wang traveled to Cloudsea City, where he prepared for the trade and confronted the city’s lawless, profit-driven reality.

• Wang Fumin told Li Xianfeng that Old Zhang had died and that he planned to conceal it so they could still use Old Zhang’s influence in negotiations with the Honggang Civilization.
• Li Xianfeng reassured Wang Fumin, heard about his great-granddaughter’s congenital heart disease, and watched Wang leave for the Demon God’s Sea.
• After coughing blood, Li Xianfeng reflected on his limited political power, poor health, and plans for his next life.
• Wang Fumin flew to Cloudsea City, once Tokyo, and learned that financial groups wanted to take passengers there to give birth based on rumors that local-born children were more intelligent.
• Wang Fumin ordered that weapons for the front line and the civilization trade meet strict standards, then reviewed reports of criminals and law-enforcement casualties in Cloudsea City.

Wang Fumin prepared Earth's delegation for its first trade mission with the Honggang Civilization, while Deep Sea Admiral Taduo approached the meeting point and consulted his brother Gangduo about trading. The chapter left both fleets on their way toward the exchange, with the terms of trade still unsettled.

• Wang Fumin warned Earth's delegation not to disclose sensitive information, use superpowers, spread pathogens, or ignore symptoms of becoming Homeless.
• Wang Fumin led more than ten thousand people aboard a Fearless Class aircraft carrier and its escort fleet as they departed Earth.
• Taduo's Honggang fleet neared the Snake People territory and planned to rest at the artificial island before meeting Human Civilization.
• Taduo contacted Gangduo, who showed off his Crown Tier armor and promised him a mithril suit of armor and an axe.
• Gangduo asked Taduo how he planned to trade with the humans, and the two discussed the difficulty and risks of valuing unique technologies.

Taduo received a warning that a disaster might be spreading through a neighboring World Cluster, prompting him to prepare for possible trouble. A month later, he arrived at the island shared by humans and Snake People, where Wang Fumin welcomed him while keeping Old Zhang’s fate secret.

• Taduo and Gangduo discussed following the High Council’s trade instructions while giving their partners a generous batch of gifts.
• Taduo received a Wanhai Civilization notice warning of a suspected spreading disaster in the Gai Rang Gai World Cluster and summoned secretaries to discuss it.
• A month later, Wang Fumin and the Snake People Governor welcomed the arriving Honggang Civilization delegation at the island harbor.
• Taduo praised the island and said his older brother had faced life and death alongside the Transcendent.
• Wang Fumin claimed the Transcendent was still roaming the sea, concealing that Old Zhang was dead.

At a banquet with the Macrosteel People, Wang Fumin learned that a spreading calamity threatened a neighboring World Cluster and feared for Zhang Ming. Meanwhile, Zhang Ming and Gourd escaped contamination from Dusk’s memory monsters by excising his arm, and he teased Gourd about showing him a maid before pretending to die.

• The humans observed the Macrosteel People’s superior equipment and wealth while the two civilizations shared food, drink, and conversation.
• Taduo warned that a calamity had spread through a neighboring World Cluster and advised the humans to call their traveler back before it was too late.
• Wang Fumin realized that Zhang Ming might be in danger as Taduo described Demon God Calamities and other disasters that could overwhelm entire worlds.
• In the Memory Library, Gourd cut off Zhang Ming’s contaminated arm so he could stop Dusk’s memory monsters from spreading corruption through his soul.
• Gourd conjured a giant panda for Zhang Ming, who then joked that he had wanted to see a maid and pretended to be dying.

Zhang Ming and Gourd Lady discussed the Judgment Balance’s enormous costs while hiding from the monsters invading his mental world. Stone Mama and the others found a world that stopped the Demon Gods’ power from pouring in, leaving Zhang Ming and Gourd ready to clear the remaining monsters and restore his mind.

• Zhang Ming pretended he was dying to coax Gourd Lady into explaining why she could not use the Judgment Balance.
• Gourd Lady explained that the Balance required immense resources, and rescuing them would cost around 1,220,000 source.
• Gourd Lady went out to check for monsters and found that sunlight had returned to Zhang Ming’s mental world.
• Zhang Ming realized Stone Mama and the others had found a world that cut off the Demon Gods’ invading power.
• Gourd Lady asked Zhang Ming to take her to kill monsters so they could clear his mental world and help him recover.