Chapter Summaries

Lu Heng fought the supermarket shopkeeper, who revealed that he had cultivated four evil Anomalies and confessed to becoming evil in response to a lifetime of being feared and judged. After secretly restoring his psychic power with a Soul Crystal, Lu Heng confronted him, and the shopkeeper unleashed the formation’s stored resentment as their battle began.

• Lu Heng combined the Geothermal Talisman’s heat with his psychic power to strike the shopkeeper, but the shopkeeper blocked the blade wave with a psychic barrier.
• The shopkeeper explained how he had enabled the butcher, cashier, human trafficker, and medicine dealer to commit evil and accumulate resentment.
• As the shopkeeper recounted his past, Lu Heng secretly absorbed the energy of a Soul Crystal to restore his psychic power.
• The shopkeeper revealed that his father and others had treated him as evil because of a supposed violent gene, so he had chosen to become evil incarnate.
• Lu Heng told the shopkeeper he was no longer human, and the shopkeeper agreed that he had abandoned his humanity.
• The shopkeeper unleashed the resentment stored in the Sealing Formation, beginning the fight in earnest.

Lu Heng fought the shopkeeper inside the supermarket’s Ghost Domain, but his strongest attack struck an illusion and left him helpless. The Geothermal Talisman shattered itself to save him, destroying the shopkeeper and unlocking Shelter construction, while the supermarket’s second floor remained unexplored.

• The shopkeeper unleashed his Ghost Domain, and Lu Heng used his remaining Geothermal Talisman energy and two pills to launch a desperate attack.
• Lu Heng’s powerful slash tore through the Ghost Domain but hit only the shopkeeper’s illusion, after which the shopkeeper seized him and suppressed his strength.
• As Lu Heng neared death, the Geothermal Talisman shattered and released a torrent of scorching origin energy that clung to and destroyed the shopkeeper.
• The shopkeeper’s death collapsed the Ghost Domain and disabled the Sealing Runes, while the supermarket began restoring itself.
• Lu Heng’s Survival Bracelet announced that killing the area boss had unlocked construction permissions for an exclusive Shelter, and the restored staircase revealed the way to the still-unknown second floor.

After defeating the shopkeeper, Lu Heng discovered that the Geothermal Talisman's power had permanently strengthened his high-temperature talent. He uncovered the shopkeeper's records and the remains of his victims, then found an indestructible family portrait that preserved the villain's last trace of kindness and could improve survivors' recovery.

• Lu Heng recovered from the battle and found that the destroyed Geothermal Talisman's heat had permanently advanced his Survival Talent.
• Lu Heng entered the second floor and realized the unidentified meat from the Butcher Area had been made from human remains.
• Lu Heng burned the victims' remains to ash and confirmed that the shopkeeper had masterminded the Four Great Anomalies' crimes.
• Lu Heng read the shopkeeper's records, took a Nightmare Chest, and found a family portrait bearing evidence of the shopkeeper's conflicted feelings toward his parents.
• Lu Heng appraised the indestructible portrait and stored it in his Wristband after learning it doubled stamina and mental energy recovery in a bedroom-sized area.

Lu Heng left the ruined supermarket after refusing its supplies, gathered usable notebooks and pens, and burned the building in tribute to its victims. Back at his Shelter, he slept until he had recovered and laid out the four unopened Nightmare Chests from the battle.

• Lu Heng found the Bone Demon's skeleton destroyed and searched the supermarket, but took none of its supplies because he could not trust them.
• Lu Heng collected blank notebooks and usable pens, then set fire to the supermarket and watched the building collapse.
• Lu Heng reviewed the battle's losses and gains before returning through the World Light Curtain to his Stone Cave Fortress.
• Lu Heng placed [The Villain's Family Portrait] in his Modified Exclusive Bedroom and fell asleep from exhaustion.
• Lu Heng awoke fully recovered and arranged the four Nightmare Chests left by the Cashier, the Bulk Goods Clerk, the General Merchandise Clerk, and the Shopkeeper.

Lu Heng sorted the supermarket spoils and opened four Nightmare Chests, gaining rare equipment and supplies that brought the Shelter closer to a base upgrade. He sacrificed the unneeded relics at the Star Altar, where a new card appeared.

• Lu Heng kept the Silver Tier Heart of Evil and decided to sacrifice the other supermarket relics for construction resources.
• Lu Heng opened all four Nightmare Chests and received a Furniture Puppet, a Kiss of Nightmare, a Dream Heart, materials, equipment, and a skill orb.
• Lu Heng sorted the rewards and recognized that his accumulated supplies could support building the base and upgrading the Stone Cave Shelter.
• Lu Heng carried the unneeded items to the Star Altar and sacrificed them.
• Lu Heng knelt before the Star Altar and took a card that had appeared from the offerings.

Lu Heng learned that the Star Altar allowed survivors to strengthen their Talents with compatible materials during major breakthroughs, and he planned to stockpile resources for his future advancement. He used the Companion Pact to bind the Mutant King Cobra egg, gaining a companion that could fight alongside him or conceal itself as a tattoo.

• Lu Heng received the Companion Pact, which bound a creature to him as a controllable companion that grew with his strength.
• The Star Altar revealed that survivors could use Talent-compatible materials to improve their foundations and refine their Talents during major breakthroughs.
• Lu Heng decided to collect compatible Flesh Cores, Energy Cores, and special plants for future breakthroughs.
• Lu Heng used the Companion Pact on his Mutant King Cobra egg, and a young snake hatched as his companion.
• Lu Heng learned that the snake could conceal itself as a tattoo, share its senses, and lend him its resistance to potent venom.
• Lu Heng concluded that he had gathered enough supplies to upgrade and renovate the Stone Cave Shelter.

Lu Heng chose the Sunlight Pearl, Moonlight Pearl, and Star Tear as candidates for upgrading the Cliffside Shelter, then used the Heart of Evil and nightmare stone to build a main base in the Suburban Park. The new base unlocked powerful features and privileges, and Lu Heng confirmed it could teleport him back to the Cliffside Shelter, where the isolating light barrier had disappeared.

• Lu Heng assessed his construction materials and ruled out the Heart of Evil, Nightmare Bell, Purifying Water Lotus's Lotus Seed, and Family Portrait of the Evil for upgrading the Cliffside Shelter.
• Lu Heng selected the Sunlight Pearl, Moonlight Pearl, and Star Tear as his provisional supplementary materials and decided to save night stone for offensive equipment.
• Lu Heng traveled to the Suburban Park and used the Base Blueprint exclusive to the Otherworld, the Heart of Evil, and nightmare stone to construct a main base in the Lakeside Stone Pavilion.
• The new base unlocked two-way fixed-point teleportation, disguise, malice detection, supernatural repulsion, and global transportation, information exchange, and trading functions.
• Lu Heng found the World Public Channel empty except for himself and realized he was the only survivor in the ruined town who had unlocked a high-tier main base.
• Lu Heng tested the teleportation door and returned to the Cliffside Shelter, where he saw that its isolating light barrier had vanished.

Lu Heng upgraded his Cliffside Shelter into a three-story fortress, unlocking an Observatory and an Armory with the help of the Sun, Moon, and Stars set and his stored materials. The fortress was complete, but his Wristband then detected unknown hostile intent near the hidden main base in the town's central lake.

• Lu Heng used five hundred units of ore and the Sunlight Pearl, Moonlight Pearl, and Star Tear to upgrade the Cliffside Shelter, while reserving his Night Stone for future weapons.
• The Shelter transformed into a three-story fortress with expanded defenses, a Planting Room, living quarters, storage, and an armory.
• The upgrade unlocked an Observatory that gathered sunlight, moonlight, and starlight energy and improved meditation and cultivation.
• Lu Heng inspected the expanded perimeter fence and watchtower, noting that the alarm system still warned him of approaching threats.
• Lu Heng's Wristband detected unknown hostile intent outside the hidden main base in the town's central lake.

Lu Heng used the Mutant King Cobra to defeat mutant fish threatening the lake-center base, then harvested their meat and considered the base’s lack of defenses. Back at the Fortress Shelter, he made handmade noodles and decided not to give Song Yunjing his revolver unless an opportunity arose.

• Lu Heng discovered two nest-guarding Blackfish and a school of Ink-Scaled Fish beneath the lake-center base, where the base’s foundations had disrupted the blackfish nest.
• Lu Heng sent the Mutant King Cobra to kill the Blackfish and several Ink-Scaled Fish, though some of the smaller fish escaped into gaps between the rocks.
• Lu Heng gathered the fish carcasses, dismantled them into meat and bones, and noted that the lake-center base needed aquatic defenses.
• Lu Heng returned to the Fortress Shelter and prepared dough for handmade noodles while considering whether to give Song Yunjing his revolver.
• Lu Heng put away the revolver, deciding he would give it to Song Yunjing only if the right opportunity arose, then began rolling out the rested dough.

After enjoying a proper meal, Lu Heng cultivated on the Nightmare Bed in the astrology room and bonded with the Big Dipper. He awakened the constellation’s killing nature, and its first star began to light up.

• Lu Heng fried fish and cooked noodles, then savored the meal in the Shelter.
• Lu Heng placed the Nightmare Bed in the astrology room and began cultivating with the Starlight Meditation Method.
• Lu Heng entered a vision of constellations and followed an instinctive pull to the Big Dipper.
• Lu Heng learned that the Big Dipper had seven stars, each unlocking special energy, and that it would imprint its character on his meditation method.
• Lu Heng sensed the Big Dipper’s decisive, slaughtering power and emerged from meditation as its first star began to light up.

After deep meditation, Lu Heng advanced to Bronze Tier and gained Starlight Big Dipper energy with a Slaughter trait. He went into the forest to test his new abilities, easily killed three Cold Stiffs, and sensed an unknown creature approaching beneath the river.

• Lu Heng woke from meditation, found his body transformed, and saw that he had reached Bronze Tier with all four attributes at 30.
• Lu Heng discovered that his Mental Energy had become Starlight Big Dipper, with the Seven Luminaries Unlock still inactive and the Slaughter trait active.
• Lu Heng left the Shelter at night to test his strength while avoiding the intelligent beasts’ territories.
• Lu Heng killed three Cold Stiffs in less than ten seconds without breaking a sweat.
• Lu Heng heard something moving beneath the river and turned toward the water, eager for a fight.

Lu Heng discovered and defeated a Bronze Tier Sludge Mutant by using mental energy to destroy its core, then collected the resulting Mutant Core. As a rush of water sounded downstream, the core’s strong attraction for beasts threatened to draw something near.

• Lu Heng sent his King Snake underwater and found a Sludge Mutant hiding among the riverbed rocks.
• Lu Heng lured the Sludge Mutant into the shallows and identified it as a Bronze Tier creature with a hidden core.
• Lu Heng used mental energy on the Rat King Bone Knife to cut through the mutant’s healing body and shatter its core.
• The Wristband disassembled the mutant, leaving Lu Heng with a Mutant Core that strongly attracted beasts.
• Lu Heng heard a muffled rush of water coming from downstream.

Lu Heng discovered that the Mudstone Pincer-Mouthed Turtles had pursued the Sludge Mutant, not been lured by him, and now wanted the Mutant Core he had taken. Surrounded by six black iron-tier turtles, he stood his ground and found that Mental Energy could seep through a seam in the turtle king’s shell.

• Five or six Mudstone Pincer-Mouthed Turtles surfaced near Lu Heng and focused on the Sludge Mutant’s remains and the core in his hand.
• Lu Heng realized the turtles had chased the Sludge Mutant upstream and that he had only intercepted their prey by chance.
• The turtles tested Lu Heng, then spread out to surround him as he weighed whether to flee or fight.
• Lu Heng spotted the turtle king, whose shell bore Sludge Mutant residue and whose pincer held bone fragments.
• As the turtles charged, Lu Heng struck the turtle king’s shell with his Mental Energy-laced bone knife and made its movement falter.

Lu Heng offered the Mudstone Pincer-Mouthed Turtles a Bronze Tier Mutant Core in exchange for a wilderness treasure chest. After the Turtle King accepted and sent the group searching, Lu Heng stayed alert and had his Companion King Snake watch the river.

• Lu Heng injured the Mudstone Pincer-Mouthed Turtle King and drove the turtles into a fearful stalemate.
• Lu Heng decided to trade the Bronze Tier Mutant Core rather than fight the turtles for little reward.
• Lu Heng showed the core to the turtles and offered it in exchange for a wilderness treasure chest.
• The Turtle King accepted Lu Heng's offer and ordered the Mudstone Pincer-Mouthed Turtles to search the river.
• Lu Heng sent his Companion King Snake to watch for an ambush while he waited and replenished his Mental Energy.

Lu Heng received four treasure chests from the Mudstone Pincer-Mouthed Turtles and gave them a Mutant Core, which advanced the Turtle King to Bronze Tier but drove another turtle into a rampage. With the Turtle King's permission, Lu Heng attacked the aberrant turtle using the Deboning Knife, leaving the blade lodged in its shell as it thrashed.

• Four Mudstone Pincer-Mouthed Turtles delivered three Black Iron-Level Treasure Chests and one Bronze-Tier Treasure Chest to Lu Heng.
• Lu Heng offered the Mutant Core to the turtles, and the Turtle King divided it among the group.
• The Turtle King advanced from Black Iron Tier to Bronze Tier after absorbing its share of the core.
• One Mudstone Pincer-Mouthed Turtle went aberrant and began thrashing violently after swallowing a fragment.
• Lu Heng asked the Turtle King for permission to kill the aberrant turtle and take its corpse, and the Turtle King nodded.
• Lu Heng struck the aberrant turtle with the Deboning Knife, which cut deep into its shell and began drawing its blood as it continued to struggle.

Lu Heng returned to the Shelter with treasure chests and modules, then established a pond and farmland outside the cave. With the puppet preparing the poor soil, the Shelter began moving toward producing its own grain and aquatic food.

• Lu Heng killed the Mutated Turtle, collected the treasure chests, and told the Turtle King to trade future treasures for chests.
• Lu Heng fed the Mutated Turtle's corpse to the Blood-Devouring Vine and opened the three Black Iron Chests, finding rations, lettuce seeds, a turtle shell shield, a Pond Module, and a Farmland Module.
• Lu Heng opened the Bronze Treasure Chest and obtained composting instructions, a refined bronze longsword, and a portable constant-temperature air conditioner.
• Lu Heng activated the Pond Module and created a flowing-water pond, then activated the Farmland Module to create a plot of infertile soil.
• Lu Heng instructed the puppet to prepare the farmland, leaving the Shelter equipped to begin producing grain and aquatic food.

Lu Heng discovered a horde of more than a hundred zombies gathered in the industrial district and attacked them with the Deboning Knife. His Combat Suit withstood their attacks as he carved through the horde, leaving the fight ongoing.

• Lu Heng inspected the new farmland and empty fishpond, noting that cold weather threatened outdoor crops and fast-maturing seeds could solve the problem.
• Lu Heng traveled from the Shelter to the base and headed toward the industrial district to scavenge supplies.
• Lu Heng found more than a hundred zombies clustered among the factory buildings, apparently drawn there by something in the district.
• Lu Heng charged the horde and used Mental Energy with the Deboning Knife to cut down zombies in wide sweeps.
• The zombies swarmed Lu Heng, but their claws and bites could not penetrate his Combat Suit as he continued fighting through them.

Lu Heng confronted a Bronze Tier Gluttonous Aberrant in the factory compound and used Zombie corpses to overload its ability to devour. With the Aberrant unable to swallow more and charging at him in pain, Lu Heng rushed forward to meet it.

• Lu Heng scanned the Gluttonous Aberrant and learned that it had mutated by devouring flesh and could grow stronger by eating.
• Lu Heng dodged the Aberrant’s attack and kicked a wounded ordinary Zombie into its grasp, distracting it while it swallowed the Zombie.
• Lu Heng repeatedly hurled Zombie corpses at the Aberrant, forcing it to catch and eat them until it could no longer swallow another.
• Lu Heng drew the Deboning Knife and charged at the berserk Aberrant as it rushed toward him.

Lu Heng realized that the Gluttonous Aberrant’s strength, defense, recovery, and reactions made it nearly impossible to defeat through physical combat, so he prepared to attack its active brain with Mental Energy. He created an opening by throwing a Zombie onto the monster’s head, then unleashed a Mind Spike at its cerebral nerves.

• Lu Heng traded blows with the Gluttonous Aberrant and observed that it healed rapidly by eating nearby Zombies.
• Lu Heng assessed the monster’s strengths and identified its mediocre straight-line speed, then spotted a dark red glow deep in its throat.
• Lu Heng concluded that close combat would not overcome the monster’s physical advantages and decided to attack its brain with Mental Energy.
• Lu Heng waited for the Gluttonous Aberrant’s devouring instinct to take over, then kicked a Zombie onto its head to distract it.
• Lu Heng charged and sent a concentrated Mind Spike into the Gluttonous Aberrant’s cerebral nerves.

Lu Heng killed the Gluttonous Aberrant with Mind Spike, cleared the remaining Zombies, and used the mutant’s body and a Soul Crystal to create a stronger Gluttonous Bone Demon. He then sent the Bone Demon to consume the leftover bones and headed deeper into the factory to investigate why the monsters had gathered there.

• Lu Heng killed the Gluttonous Aberrant with Mind Spike, then cut down the ordinary Zombies after its influence over them ended.
• Lu Heng dismantled the Zombie corpses and collected twenty-three Copper Coins, then decided to use the intact Gluttonous Aberrant as material for a new Bone Demon.
• Lu Heng used the Bone Demon Crafting Scroll and a Soul Crystal to create the Bronze Tier Gluttonous Bone Demon, reinforcing its resistance to mental attacks.
• Lu Heng ordered the Gluttonous Bone Demon to eat the remaining skeletons, and it consumed every bone without leaving fragments.
• Lu Heng wondered why the Gluttonous Aberrant and hundreds of Zombies had gathered at the abandoned factory, then went deeper into the grounds with the Bone Demon following.