Chapter Summaries

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.

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].

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Wang Fumin weighed enlisting to support his family while reassuring his daughter that he would not be going to war. In the Red Mangrove Forest, Zhang Ming waited inside the Faraday Cage as the enraged, wounded Golden Eel unleashed a lightning storm.

• Wang Fumin and Lu Tuyu discussed enlistment as a source of stable work amid economic collapse.
• Wang Fumin promised his daughter treats and an amusement park visit, then said he planned to rescue her idol in the Mysterious Zone rather than fight in a war.
• Lu Tuyu noted that only three mirages remained and wondered whether the lone island survivor, Zhang Ming, was hunting with his turtles and iron cage.
• Zhang Ming recalled that the Golden Eel had escaped after swallowing the chili-soaked crab and gone on a rampage through the Red Mangrove Forest.
• Zhang Ming waited for the wounded Golden Eel to tire while lightning tore through the forest around his Faraday Cage.

Zhang Ming lured the exhausted Golden Eel into attacking his Faraday Cage, then struck it with a spear when it tried to flee. He pursued the wounded eel through the storm, with his mental value reaching its maximum as the hunt continued.

• Zhang Ming threw chili sauce at the wounded Golden Eel to provoke it into attacking his Faraday Cage.
• The Golden Eel unleashed a powerful electrical assault on the cage, but the metal enclosure grounded the current.
• As the eel's strength dwindled, Zhang Ming prepared his Crab-Leg Spear and waited for it to flee.
• When the Golden Eel turned to escape, Zhang Ming burst from the cage and struck it with his spear.
• Zhang Ming raced after the wounded eel through the storm, and his mental value reached 110/110.

After defeating and killing the Golden Electric Eel, Zhang Ming discovered that eating its meat granted him attributes and unlocked the Lightning Control superpower. The sea turtles carried him toward their home, and he delayed activating the new ability until he knew more about their intentions.

• Zhang Ming killed the Golden Electric Eel with a spear through its eye after a prolonged battle in the Red Mangrove Forest.
• Zhang Ming tied a rope around the eel and asked the arriving sea turtles to help transport it, offering to share some of the meat.
• The Little White Turtle directed the group to carry Zhang Ming and the eel toward the sea turtles' home.
• Zhang Ming ate a piece of eel meat and gained one point each in Physique, Perception, and Spirit, while realizing the meat's energy had filled him up.
• Zhang Ming's attribute panel revealed Lightning Control, which required 60 attribute points to activate, but he held off because he was wary of the turtles and the possible deep sleep.

Zhang Ming explored an underwater ruin and discovered a turtle settlement alongside murals depicting the ancient Flame-Horned People and their civilization. The murals ended with the death of a colossal turtle and the apparent destruction of the Flame-Horned People’s world.

• Sea turtles carried Zhang Ming through a glowing cave filled with ruins, submerged houses, and unfamiliar murals.
• The Little White Turtle brought Zhang Ming to its home, where he met its father, Old White, and saw the turtle clan guarding its eggs.
• Zhang Ming examined the ruined temple and named the horned people depicted in its murals the Flame-Horned People.
• The murals showed the Flame-Horned People building a civilization in symbiosis with sea turtles, including a kingdom on the back of a colossal turtle.
• Zhang Ming saw that the murals ended with the colossal turtle dying as fungal colonies spread through its body, followed by the Flame-Horned People’s apparent apocalypse.

Zhang Ming discovered that the Black Stone in the Flame-Horned ruins repeated broadcasts and tested whether it was alive. After negotiating with Old White, he traded the Golden Electric Eel’s head for an ancient supernatural spear.

• Zhang Ming explored the ruins and found the skeleton of a Flame-Horned man beside a mural depicting the people’s downfall.
• Zhang Ming found a Black Stone that repeated a news broadcast by Li Xianfeng and concluded it might be a supernatural strange object.
• Zhang Ming tested the Black Stone with tongue twisters, and it garbled the difficult one.
• Old White asked Zhang Ming to offer the Golden Electric Eel to the Black Stone, but Zhang Ming refused to give up the whole eel.
• Old White offered a sharp, icy spear in exchange for the eel’s head, and Zhang Ming agreed to the trade.

Zhang Ming helped the sea turtles make an offering to a strange red mushroom and witnessed a terrifying vision of two super lifeforms hidden on the island. After the turtles sacrificed eggs and the mushroom vanished, he suspected the Black Stone might be more than a repeater.

• Zhang Ming used the ancient spear to cut off the electric eel's head, which the sea turtles offered to the Stone Altar.
• A red mushroom grew from the altar, and Zhang Ming saw a vision of two immense, tangled beings connected to it by a thread.
• The altar absorbed the eel head as blood essence, and Zhang Ming realized the mushroom demanded more offerings.
• The sea turtles offered unfertilized eggs until the red mushroom faded and crumbled into ash.
• The Black Stone leaped onto the altar, prompting Zhang Ming to wonder whether it had hidden power, but it only repeated his words.

Zhang Ming celebrated with the sea turtles, discovered their varied superpowers, and tried to bargain with Old White Turtle for seafood, turtle eggs, and help exploring the ruins. Meanwhile, enhanced images of Zhang Ming's battle spread across Earth's fragmented internet and sparked intense global discussion.

• The sea turtles showed Zhang Ming their abilities, including Little White Turtle's petrification, Old White Turtle's telekinesis, and Giant Turtle's freezing breath.
• Zhang Ming shared a song with the turtles, then wondered about the ancient civilization and what powers eating turtle eggs might grant him.
• Zhang Ming offered Old White Turtle eel remains in exchange for seafood and one or two unfertilized turtle eggs, and promised help claiming the Red Mangrove Forest.
• Zhang Ming also asked Old White Turtle for turtles to help excavate the underwater ruins and for the talking Black Stone, which repeated his words.
• Enhanced images of Zhang Ming's battle spread rapidly across Earth's internet and provoked worldwide discussion about humanity's potential.

Wang Fumin learned that the fighter in Mysterious Zone 16 had battled a lightning-wielding creature and was being hailed worldwide as humanity’s strongest superpower user. The revelation lifted his spirits as he prepared to join the army, while he and Lu Tuyu watched the online arguments grow.

• Wang Fumin took his daughter to a noodle shop and told her he would soon join the army while she returned to their hometown with her mother.
• Wang Fumin overheard young men discussing images of a battle in Mysterious Zone 16 and learned that a human had fought a lightning-shooting undersea creature.
• Wang Fumin felt less troubled after realizing that the drifting bottle he had sent had reached humanity’s strongest superpower user.
• Wang Fumin visited Lu Tuyu, who was connecting to the foreign internet and following the worldwide reactions to the fighter’s feat.
• Wang Fumin laughed as Lu Tuyu traded sarcastic replies with people arguing online about the rankings of superpower users.

Lu Tuyu and Wang Fumin discussed a foreign professor’s claim that Zhang Ming was humanity’s strongest superpower user, while officials debated why the claim had been publicized. A researcher proposed that the delay between the mirage and the public reaction could support the Gaia Consciousness hypothesis, leaving Li Xianfeng concerned about possible effects on Earth.

• Lu Tuyu advised Wang Fumin to answer online criticism with sarcasm, and they laughed at the message he posted.
• Professor Peter Greer announced that Zhang Ming was humanity’s strongest superpower user, prompting widespread discussion online.
• At a meeting, Li Xianfeng and officials debated Professor Peter’s motives for releasing images of Zhang Ming’s combat prowess.
• A young researcher suggested that the ten-hour delay before public opinion surged supported the Gaia Consciousness hypothesis rather than an omnipotent God directing events.
• Academician Ge argued that influencing Gaia through public opinion would be difficult, and Li Xianfeng asked whether the news could cause changes on Earth.

Academician Ge outlined how public belief in Great Xia could affect earthquakes, weather, and the formation of Pangaea, while Li Xianfeng worried about the dangers of a united landmass. Meanwhile, Zhang Ming ate eel, gained attribute points, and talked with the Black Stone about the universe, still stranded with the extraterrestrial treasure awaiting rescue.

• Academician Ge said public belief might bring Great Xia fewer earthquakes, better weather, and a greater chance of being at the center of Pangaea.
• Li Xianfeng worried that rising seas, declining food production, and connected land borders could transform the global political order.
• Zhang Ming cooked and ate eel hot pot, gaining four attribute points from the meal.
• Zhang Ming recalled that he needed a rescue team to transport the extraterrestrial treasures home and wrote a plea for help in the sand.
• Zhang Ming chatted with the Black Stone about the vast universe and questioned what human life was for.