Chapter Summaries

Lu Heng killed Scarface and his men, then granted the dying Bully Dog a peaceful death and buried it with Zhou Cheng. He discovered a photograph of Zhou Cheng and the dog that had become a spiritual item called Companionship, then took stock of the stronghold’s remaining supplies.

• Lu Heng refused to accept Scarface and his men, and the Bone Demon killed all five after they begged for mercy.
• The Bully Dog avenged Zhou Cheng, then bowed to Lu Heng and asked for death; Lu Heng used the King Snake to end its life.
• Lu Heng buried Zhou Cheng and the Bully Dog together beneath an old locust tree.
• Lu Heng found a photograph of Zhou Cheng with the dog, identified the dog as Afu, and learned the photograph had become the spiritual item Companionship.
• Lu Heng tucked the photograph against his chest and found a full diesel generator and enough hidden food for his stronghold to last half a month.

Lu Heng returned from the residential complex carrying anger and grief over the betrayals and deaths he had witnessed. After leaving supplies for Song Yunzhong, he returned to the Shelter and placed Afu’s photograph beside his pillow.

• Lu Heng stopped the Bone Demon from fighting a group of zombies and hacked them down himself to vent his anger.
• Lu Heng left a diesel generator, fuel, and surplus supplies outside Song Yunzhong’s home without meeting anyone.
• Lu Heng returned through the Portal to the Shelter and went alone to the Astrology Room.
• Lu Heng looked at Afu’s photograph, remembered their life together and Afu’s final choice, and set the picture beside his pillow.

After a warning announced fifteen days of Insect Plague and Vegetation Withering, Lu Heng decided to endure the disasters in the Survival World rather than risk losing his survivor status by fleeing. He went to protect his Blood-Devouring Vines and began planning how to preserve their roots.

• Lu Heng received a mandatory warning that Insect Plague and Vegetation Withering would strike simultaneously for fifteen days.
• Lu Heng considered hiding in the Exploration World but rejected it because abandoning his Survival World Shelter might cost him his survivor status and privileges.
• Lu Heng decided the disasters would threaten his Blood-Devouring Vines most, so he took the Bone Demon to relocate and protect them.
• Lu Heng found that the vines had spread across more than thirty meters of fence and decided to cut away everything aboveground while preserving the buried main roots.
• Lu Heng drew his blade and prepared to cut the vines from the section nearest the main gate.

Lu Heng pruned and transplanted the Blood-Devouring Vine into the Shelter’s Planting Room, then went to catch live fish for the approaching natural disaster. He realized the Mutant King Cobra had killed its first catch by instinct and paused to reconsider how to control it underwater.

• Lu Heng cut away the Blood-Devouring Vine’s outer growth while the Bone Demon dragged the severed branches aside.
• Lu Heng and the Bone Demon dug up the vine’s main root system intact and moved it into the Planting Room, where it settled beside the Star Lotus.
• Lu Heng stored the cut vines as materials and went to the nearby river to gather live fish for the pond.
• Lu Heng adapted to controlling the Mutant King Cobra underwater and guided it toward a school of large fish.
• The King Cobra constricted and poisoned a fish, killing it, and Lu Heng realized its familiar hunting routine was unsuited to capturing prey alive.

Lu Heng caught fish with the King Cobra and pursued a giant otter that stole one of his catches, but a camouflaged creature attacked him by the river. The Bone Demon moved to shield him as the creature lunged.

• Lu Heng made a leaf-and-branch basin, caught several live fish, and gave a dead fish to the Bone Demon.
• A giant otter stole a fish from the King Snake and escaped into the river despite Lu Heng's pursuit.
• Lu Heng secured the remaining live fish in a tree and followed the otter's tracks to an abandoned den.
• A creature disguised as a dead branch sprang from the river at Lu Heng, and the Bone Demon moved to block its attack.

Lu Heng survived a Giant-Toothed Crocodile’s ambush and followed the otter tracks to the clan’s den, where he shot one of their pups in retaliation. The enraged otters advanced on him as he readied another bolt, setting up a fight to the death.

• Bone Demon stopped the Giant-Toothed Crocodile’s attack, and Lu Heng ordered Bone Demon to tear it apart.
• Lu Heng followed the giant otter’s tracks upstream and found its den, where six adults and four pups had gathered.
• The lead giant otter mocked Lu Heng before retreating into the den with its clan.
• Lu Heng shot the smallest pup with his crossbow, making the otters panic.
• Four adult otters advanced on Lu Heng as he loaded another bolt, and the two sides prepared to fight.

Lu Heng and the Bone Demon killed the giant otter pack, but a bronze tier giant-toothed crocodile suddenly emerged from the river and claimed the corpses. Lu Heng faced the much larger predator as it guarded its kill.

• Lu Heng baited the giant otters into attacking, and the Bone Demon met their charge.
• Lu Heng and the Bone Demon killed all six adult giant otters, including their leader.
• Lu Heng collected the otter corpses and praised the Bone Demon for its help.
• Lu Heng sensed danger and sprang away from the water as a bronze tier giant-toothed crocodile burst from the river.
• The crocodile began eating the otter corpses and watched Lu Heng while shielding the rest of its food.

Lu Heng killed and manually dismantled a Bronze Tier Giant-Toothed Crocodile, discovering that monsters contained both Energy Cores and Flesh Cores. After finding the same cores in a Giant Otter, he realized the Wristband’s one-click dismantling had been destroying valuable treasures and stayed by the river to await more creatures drawn by the blood.

• Lu Heng charged into the water and severed the Giant-Toothed Crocodile’s limbs and tail before dragging it onto the bank.
• Lu Heng had the Bone Demon pin the crocodile down while he skinned it manually, and the crocodile died during the process.
• Lu Heng ordered the Bone Demon to devour damaged Giant Otter corpses, repairing its injuries.
• Lu Heng found an Energy Core in the crocodile’s skull and a Flesh Core in its chest, then discovered the same kinds of cores inside a Giant Otter.
• Lu Heng concluded that the Wristband’s one-click dismantling destroyed the cores and waited by the river as blood drew fish and potentially larger creatures.

Lu Heng tested his heat ability by the river and learned that the water held unseen dangers, then returned to the Shelter to eat and open treasure chests. He gained new equipment and Sun Onion Seeds before going to sleep, knowing disaster would arrive the next day.

• Lu Heng heated the river shallows, killed several small fish, and watched the surviving fish swarm to devour them.
• Lu Heng took the scalded fish back to the Shelter, where the puppet prepared a meal for him.
• Lu Heng opened the Bronze-Tier Treasure Chest and found Black Armor Shoes, a Black Feather Hat, and Sun Onion Seeds.
• Lu Heng instructed the Furniture Puppet to plant the Sun Onion Seeds, then opened the three Black Iron Chests and stored their contents.
• Lu Heng went to bed, expecting disaster to arrive the next day.

Lu Heng surveyed the insect plague spreading through the forest and found the animals already sensing danger. He visited the shared base, compared notes with other survivors about their areas, and concluded that he alone had faced a Silver Tier ghost.

• Lu Heng found insect damage spreading across the forest and entered the woods to assess the disaster.
• Lu Heng discovered a wooden treasure chest containing bread, crackers, and water, then continued his patrol.
• Lu Heng observed blue sheep gathering on high ground, squirrels moving their young, and silent birds watching the ground.
• Lu Heng left the Bone Demon at the Shelter and traveled to the shared base to check on other survivors.
• Lu Heng told the base channel he was in the outer city and had faced a Python, then warned that exploring the city was dangerous.
• Lu Heng compared the survivors’ reports and thought that he was the only one who had encountered a Silver Tier ghost.

Lu Heng discovered that all scattered zombies had vanished across the region, then traced heavy artillery fire to a military base besieged by a vast zombie horde. He watched the defenders fight back and wondered whether the military had launched a full-scale counteroffensive.

• Lu Heng patrolled the city and found no zombies anywhere in the districts he knew.
• Lu Heng asked the chat channel whether zombies had disappeared elsewhere, and Wang Haoyu, Li Na, Zhao Haifeng, and Sun Lei confirmed that they had.
• Lu Heng heard artillery and organized gunfire and hurried toward the source.
• Lu Heng saw a huge zombie horde besieging a fortified military base as its defenders fought from the walls.
• Lu Heng watched the battle and wondered whether the military had begun a full-scale counteroffensive.

Lu Heng watched a military battle against an unusually coordinated zombie horde and realized an unseen force was gathering the deaths’ blood energy. After entering the sewer beneath the battlefield to investigate, he encountered a Bronze Tier Steel-Claw Spider.

• Lu Heng observed that a hidden controller was directing the zombie horde and that an unknown entity was absorbing the battlefield’s death energy.
• Lu Heng spotted Song Yunzhong hiding nearby and hoped he would not recklessly join the battle.
• After nightfall, Lu Heng traced the energy’s flow toward a sewer entrance, but soldiers began burning the corpses, prompting him to slip underground.
• Lu Heng followed the sewer passage and found a Bronze Tier Steel-Claw Spider feeding on a zombie corpse.
• Lu Heng prepared to fight the Steel-Claw Spider in the narrow sewer.

Lu Heng defeated the Bronze Tier Steel-Claw Spider in the sewer by using Mind Spike after discovering its weak consciousness. He found an unfamiliar force controlling the spider and realized the Zombie attacks were part of a deliberate harvest, but decided not to warn anyone because he had no proof.

• The Steel-Claw Spider attacked Lu Heng, damaging the Rat King Bone Knife as he blocked and dodged its blows.
• Lu Heng sensed that the spider had a weak, muddled consciousness and used Mind Spike to erase it.
• Lu Heng killed the immobilized spider by driving his damaged knife through a gap in its armor.
• Lu Heng sensed an unfamiliar energy controlling the spider and connected it to the Zombies' organized movements and the underground flow of blood energy.
• Lu Heng considered warning others that the monsters were being controlled, but chose to stay silent because no one would believe him without evidence.

After killing the Steel-Claw Spider, Lu Heng continued through the sewers, using Mind Spike to dispatch solitary monsters and his heat talent to destroy a swarm of aberrant worms. Lost in the maze and wary of contaminated corpses, he realized he needed the sewer master map to find the source of the blood energy.

• Lu Heng continued deeper into the sewer maze and realized he had lost his bearings, so he decided he needed a complete sewer map.
• Lu Heng used Mind Spike to kill lone aberrant creatures without touching or collecting their corpses, fearing they carried a parasitic mark.
• Lu Heng found a vast swarm of aberrant worms ahead while another swarm cut off his retreat.
• Lu Heng activated his heat talent and killed the worms, but the effort left him mentally fatigued.
• Lu Heng refused to approach the dried worm remains and concluded that finding the sewer master map was the only way to locate the blood energy's source.

After failing to map the sewers by exploring them, Lu Heng returned to Song Yunzhong's Shelter and learned where he might find the city's sewer plans. He planned to search a wastewater treatment plant and promised to escort Song Yunzhong's group to the military district in the next day or two.

• Lu Heng abandoned his sewer exploration, climbed out through a manhole, and returned to the city streets.
• Lu Heng visited Song Yunzhong's Shelter, gave candy to the children, and learned that Song Yunzhong planned to join the military district with his group soon.
• Lu Heng promised to escort Song Yunzhong and the others to the military district when they left.
• Song Yunzhong told Lu Heng that wastewater treatment plants were the likeliest places to find complete sewer plans, though mutated creatures might occupy them.
• Lu Heng left the Shelter and set his next destination as a wastewater treatment plant.

After securing Lakeside Shelter and arranging to escort Song Yunzhong’s group to the military district, Lu Heng traveled to the city’s sewage treatment plant to find a sewer map and investigate the underground force. He entered the silent plant and found numerous dead predators, leaving him wary as he pressed on with the Bone Demon.

• Lu Heng returned to Lakeside Shelter, strengthened its defenses, stored his fish, and rested through the night by meditating in the Astrology Room.
• Lu Heng set aside the damaged Rat King Bone Knife, chose the Deboning Knife as his new primary weapon, and postponed crafting another Bone Demon because he lacked suitable materials.
• Lu Heng visited Song Yunzhong and agreed to escort his group to the military district the morning after next.
• Lu Heng traveled west with the Bone Demon toward the sewage treatment plant, where he intended to find the city’s sewer map and trace the underground blood energy.
• Lu Heng entered the plant and found the carcasses of wolves, monkeys, and other large predators; after sensing no living creatures or malice, he signaled the Bone Demon to follow and went farther inside.

Lu Heng searched the factory for underground utility plans, then encountered a Poisonwater Lizard that the Bone Demon devoured with ease. His mental perception revealed invisible hyphae controlling the sewage plant, and he followed them into the main treatment workshop, where their source came into view.

• Lu Heng found an old map of the urban district in the administrative building and memorized its layout, but found no underground pipe plans.
• Lu Heng headed toward the sewage treatment facilities, where a Poisonwater Lizard ambushed him.
• The Bone Demon ignored the lizard's corrosive venom and swallowed it whole.
• Lu Heng sensed invisible hyphae throughout the sewage plant and realized they had restrained and controlled the Poisonwater Lizard.
• Lu Heng followed the hyphae into the main treatment workshop, where he saw their source at the center of the room.

Lu Heng discovered that a controlled fungal network beneath the sewage treatment plant had turned its aberrants into puppets and generated a regenerating simulacrum to guard its main vein. As Lu Heng approached the source, his interference awakened the original host buried underground.

• Lu Heng connected the plant’s corpses, missing drainage records, and the Poisonwater Lizard’s unexplained defeat to a fungal network converging beneath the workshop.
• Lu Heng touched the fungal main vein, prompting it to form a sludge-and-fungus simulacrum that charged at him.
• The Bone Demon blocked the simulacrum and repeatedly cut it apart, but the fungal threads rebuilt it each time.
• Lu Heng realized that the simulacrum could not be permanently defeated while the underground main vein remained intact, so he moved toward its source while the Bone Demon held it back.
• A growl from deep beneath the plant shook the workshop and the fungal network, signaling that Lu Heng had disturbed the original host.

Lu Heng discovered that the mycelium was only a transmission network for a hidden organism deep beneath the sewage treatment plant. To stop the threat, he leaped underground to confront its source as it rushed toward him.

• The mycelium attacked Lu Heng while the Mimetic Organisms regenerated faster and pinned down the Bone Demon.
• Lu Heng struck the strands in the central crack, triggering a violent mental assault and the simultaneous formation of three Mimetic Organisms.
• Lu Heng sensed a vast root network below the plant and realized an unknown organism controlled the mycelium, mutated creatures, and corpse hordes.
• Lu Heng chose to descend and destroy the underground organism, leaving the Bone Demon to hold off the puppets.
• Lu Heng leaped into the underground passage, and the hidden organism accelerated toward him through the labyrinth.

Lu Heng fell into the Blood Taisui’s underground nest, where the advancing Silver Tier creature weighed the most efficient way to kill him. It began parasitizing the Bone Demon as a weapon and marked Lu Heng, leaving him injured and trapped beneath the collapsed passage.

• The Blood Taisui collapsed the ground beneath Lu Heng and struck him with fungal filaments, sending him into the underground cavity.
• Lu Heng activated his Survival Bracelet and identified the creature as an advancing Silver Tier Blood Taisui.
• Lu Heng realized the Blood Taisui was conserving energy as nearby fungal filaments and corpse puppets held back from attacking.
• Lu Heng sensed the Bone Demon had gone still and saw dark red fungal patterns spreading across its bones.
• The Blood Taisui redirected its filaments to parasitize the Bone Demon and marked Lu Heng with fungal residue and a mental imprint.