Elder Qi

Biodata

Power Progression

Appearance

• An elderly man with an aged, kindly face and a hunched back; he is barefoot when preparing to leave Dama Town 7 8.
• Walks with a cane, which also serves as an Anomaly for selecting relatively safe directions 11 14.
• His posture becomes more stooped when burdened by decisions and casualty reports 11 30.

Personality

Elder Qi wants to preserve humanity’s survivors. He initially welcomes the Xiaohe Village refugees because he sees additional survivors as more “sparks of humanity.” He later brings food shortages to the Sequence Transcendents’ attention, prompting them to donate staples for communal porridge 7 27.

His compassion does not prevent ruthless triage. Unable to identify the anomaly among the refugees, he decides to abandon survivors without vehicles to protect the convoy’s Sequence Transcendents. The decision visibly troubles him, but he considers the empowered survivors more important to humanity’s continued survival 11.

He is cautious about supernatural rules and discourages provoking unidentified entities. However, he also withholds information: he conceals that his Guide ability marks every available route as deadly, and his explanation for knowing about the merging worlds is explicitly presented as untruthful 8 13 14.

As a mentor, he openly shares his breakthrough experience while acknowledging that his conclusions may be incomplete. When death appears inevitable in Ice and Snow City, he records the Long-Tongued Wraith’s warning signs in the hope of helping later survivors 21 34.

Abilities & Skills

Guide Sequence

Provides supernatural guidance and awareness of dangerous presences 8 13.

• Aura detection: Senses nearby horrors, warns the convoy of pursuit, and locates a faint aura near the graveyard’s three enormous tombstones 12 22.
• Route assessment: Identifies dangerous directions and helps determine the convoy’s route through the altered landscape 13 14.
• Detection limits: Fails to identify the hidden refugee anomaly or sense a supernatural presence on the dead bikers 8 20.
• Environmental interference: Purple grass blocks his ability to sense the eerie creatures concealed within it 27.
• Exploitable guidance: The Intelligent Weird manipulates the surrounding threats so that his guidance repeatedly directs the convoy toward its graveyard trap 22.

Decoy Convoy

A Sequence 2 ability that creates an illusory duplicate of the convoy 22.

• Sends the duplicate along another route while temporarily hiding the real convoy from Weirds’ perception 22.
• Fails against the graveyard’s pursuers; the decoy is torn apart after approximately half an hour 22.
• Can scout hazardous terrain, allowing Elder Qi to investigate the purple grass before committing the convoy 27.

Sequence Advancement Guidance

Develops an early theory linking advancement to repeated expenditure and recovery of mental power 21.

• Compares mental power to a lake that expands through repeated draining and refilling.
• Suggests the method may suit ability-based sequences such as Guide and Songstress.
• Explicitly cautions that physical sequences, including Da Hu’s, may advance differently.
• States that reaching Sequence 2 grants four new abilities, although the supplied passages do not identify his complete ability set 21.

Leadership and Supernatural Knowledge

• Coordinates departures, supply searches, vehicle repairs, food relief, and retreats 13 20 27 35.
• Warns that exposing a rule-based entity could activate its killing condition 8.
• Changes the convoy’s graveyard tactics after Lin Yi identifies the death-triggered rule, ordering gunmen to disable hostile riders rather than kill them 22.
• Explains that certain Sequence users can craft Anomalies from smelting materials, which can also be traded with other convoys 25.
• Holds information about the apocalypse’s apparent fusion of two worlds, but does not truthfully explain its source 13.

Equipment / Vehicles / Items

• Anomalous walking stick — Indicates a relatively safe direction when allowed to fall. Its guidance does not guarantee survival; the grassland is preferable to the alternatives despite all four routes being marked as deadly 14.
• Apocalypse Heavy Truck — A modified heavy truck used as transport, living quarters, and a meeting space. Its RV-like interior contains triple-tier bunks and a separate bed near the cab. Concealed firing ports allow its occupants to unleash heavy gunfire 14 20 30.
• Heavily armored pickup — Part of his force’s vehicle contingent; carries roughly twenty crew members and has a roof-mounted machine-gun turret 13 20.
• Notebook/message book — Used to document supernatural threats, including the Long-Tongued Wraith and the sobbing that signals its arrival 34 35.
• Megaphone and radio communications — Used to stop approaching vehicles, issue warnings, and coordinate the convoy 18 22 27.

Relationships

• Li Yong — Trusted organizer who handles refugees, casualty reports, and survivor arrangements. He respects Elder Qi’s authority but also challenges assumptions that could endanger the convoy 8 9 13 16 20.
• Lin Yi — Allows him to establish an independent force within the core convoy and later shares advancement knowledge and information about Anomaly materials. After Lin Yi draws the Blood Ghost away, Elder Qi gratefully calls him “a good child” 8 21 25 39.
• Da Sha — Recognizes his golden-eyed warning as evidence of Sequence power despite being unable to identify his sequence. Later shelters the unconscious boy aboard his truck; upon awakening, Da Sha thanks him and asks him to look after Lin Yi 8 9 37 39.
• Da Hu — The convoy’s Divine Fist Sequence fighter. Elder Qi relies on him for combat and assigns Lin Yi and Da Sha to his vehicle when they first enter the core convoy 7 8 11.
• Bai Xiaoyu — Fellow core-convoy Sequence Transcendent. Elder Qi consults her about the suspected refugee entity and includes her in leadership discussions 8 11 30.
• Xu Zhong — Shares his advancement findings with him and encourages him not to become discouraged by the uncertainties of Sequence progression. Later announces his departure and plays his farewell recording for the others 21 26.
• Zhao Xing and Clown — Comforts them after Xu Zhong leaves the convoy 26.

Background / History

Dama Town and the Refugees

Elder Qi leads the convoy out of Dama Town while Da Hu remains behind briefly to fight. Before departure, he examines the boy following Lin Yi and reports that he senses no Weird aura from him 6 7.

When refugees arrive from Xiaohe Village, Elder Qi initially welcomes them. Da Sha’s warning forces him to reconsider, but neither his own senses nor subsequent observation reveals the hidden threat. Concerned that testing the refugees could trigger an unknown rule, he admits them under surveillance and prepares to flee if anything changes 7 8 9.

He eventually orders the convoy to sacrifice those without vehicles to escape the suspected anomaly. After the flight, he estimates that only around a hundred survivors remain; the supposed removal of the hidden danger is mistaken, as the body-stealing creature remains among them 11 18.

The Grassland Route

Following the encounter with the enormous willow, Elder Qi keeps the convoy moving through daylight to escape the nearby supernatural threat. A desperate refueling stop allows the vehicles to continue 12 13.

He then directs preparations for crossing the grassland, explaining that the apocalypse appears to be merging two worlds. Privately, he knows that every route promises death and uses his anomalous cane to select the relatively safest option 13 14.

During the city supply search, Lu Sheng’s report of Huang Nana’s gruesome death prompts Elder Qi to order an early departure, leaving the missing Lin Yi and Da Sha behind. He is surprised when Lin Yi later returns with another group of survivors 16 18.

Sequence 2 and the Graveyard

After the biker attack, Elder Qi reaches Sequence 2 and gathers the convoy’s Sequence users to share what he has learned about advancement 20 21.

His new decoy cannot divert the threats herding the convoy across the grassland. Realizing that an intelligent entity is exploiting his Guide ability, he identifies finding and killing it as their only chance. His directions help Lin Yi locate the Intelligent Weird, and he orders the convoy onward once it is dead 22 23.

The subsequent purple-grass crossing causes another devastating loss. Elder Qi keeps the convoy moving when Lin Yi turns back for Da Sha, knowing that stopping would be fatal. The later casualty report lists fifty-three survivors lost and three Sequence members missing and presumed dead 28 30.

Ice and Snow City

Trapped with the survivors in a supermarket, Elder Qi witnesses Da Hu’s death and the Long-Tongued Wraith’s slaughter. Expecting the group to die, he records the creature’s warning signs for whoever might find his notes. Lin Yi’s arrival saves the remaining defenders, allowing Elder Qi to organize their retreat 33 34 35.

When the Blood Ghost approaches, he orders everyone to flee. He later takes the unconscious Da Sha aboard his truck as the convoy escapes, while Lin Yi draws the creature away 35 37 39.

With only six vehicles left, Elder Qi watches over Da Sha and worries about how he will react to losing Lin Yi. Da Sha unexpectedly awakens with clear eyes and golden light, thanks him, and flies toward Ice and Snow City. Elder Qi is left shocked and unable to explain the transformation 39.

Notable Quotes

“As the spark of humanity's survival, Sequence Transcendence is clearly more important.” 11

“Sequence Transcendence is a new path to begin with. There always have to be pioneers to explore the way.” 21

“I hope this can be of some use to those who come after us.” 34