Recaps

Zhang Chu rescued Lu Xiao from Driver, a monster who escaped by melting their taxi, then fled until a sniper brought Driver down. Zhang Chu explained that monsters existed and said Lu Xiao would be recruited into the organization, while his team prepared to capture Driver and warned that Driver and his wife shared one body.

• Driver captured Zhang Chu after he entered the apartment, then carried him and Lu Xiao away in the taxi’s trunk.
• Zhang Chu used a spell to melt the taxi, causing Driver to crash and freeing Zhang Chu and Lu Xiao.
• Zhang Chu challenged Driver but ran away with Lu Xiao, admitting he could not handle the monster and summoning help with burning Talisman Paper.
• A sniper shot Driver in the chest, stopping him as Zhang Chu and Lu Xiao escaped.
• Zhang Chu told Lu Xiao that monsters were no longer human and that he would be recruited into the organization.
• A square-faced man arrived in an Off-Road Vehicle, and Zhang Chu ordered him to bind Driver while warning that Driver and his wife were One Body, Two Souls.

Lu Xiao was rescued from a monster posing as a taxi driver and taken away by Zhang Chu and a square-faced man. He learned that the organization planned to recruit him, and Zhang Chu called him a promising recruit because he was an orphan.

• The square-faced man and his companion tied up the unconscious driver while Lu Xiao stayed behind Zhang Chu.
• Lu Xiao noticed that the square-faced man resembled Dart and Zhang Chu resembled Ding Dan, then asked Little Black why they looked familiar; Little Black said the dream came from Lu Xiao's memories.
• The square-faced man and Zhang Chu loaded the captured driver into their SUV and explained that the monster had been a taxi driver who had eaten more than a dozen people.
• Zhang Chu told Lu Xiao that the organization would take him in and that he would need to undergo confidentiality training before returning to society.
• When Lu Xiao said he had no parents, Zhang Chu called him a promising recruit worth special training, and the young man explained that orphans had no one to worry about them.

Zhang Chu brought Lu Xiao to a hidden military facility after capturing the monster posing as a taxi driver. Lu Xiao was assigned to the Prison Warden Combat Squad despite wanting clerical work, where he met Chen Fei and Liu Guang.

• Lu Xiao asked whether Zhang Chu was an orphan, and Zhang Chu explained that he had a wife and child after returning to secular life.
• Zhang Chu and the others drove to a deserted village, where their vehicle descended underground into a laboratory-like facility.
• A military officer questioned Zhang Chu about the bound Driver, then ordered soldiers to take the monster to researchers and told the others to settle in.
• Zhang Chu led Lu Xiao to the Prison Warden Combat Squad’s bedroom and told him he would join the frontline team, despite Lu Xiao asking for a clerical job.
• Chen Fei and Liu Guang introduced themselves to Lu Xiao after a soldier made his bunk.

Lu Xiao learned about his new role in the Frontline Combat Team and prepared for the demanding training ahead. After Doctor Li started his fitness test, Lu Xiao began running on a treadmill set to its highest speed.

• Chen Fei told Lu Xiao that his records would be classified and that he would receive a tax-free monthly salary of fifty thousand, convincing him to take the position seriously.
• Liu Guang took Lu Xiao to the infirmary to have his wound treated, then explained that the team mostly fought monsters and promised that special training would prepare him.
• Chen Fei took Lu Xiao to the training area the next morning while Zhang Chu stayed behind in bed.
• Doctor Li began Lu Xiao's fitness test with a twenty-kilometer run and raised the treadmill to its highest setting after his warm-up.
• Liu Guang started running on a neighboring treadmill to encourage Lu Xiao.

Lu Xiao was pushed through a grueling fitness test that left his abdominal wound bleeding and ended with him passing out after running thirty-two kilometers. After recovering enough to eat, he learned his remaining tests would be held the next day, when Chen Fei would also reveal a surprise.

• Chen Fei used promises of higher pay, a third-class merit, and an expensive off-roader to keep Lu Xiao running despite his exhaustion and bleeding wound.
• Lu Xiao completed twenty kilometers, then kept going as Chen Fei urged him to run extra distances for his squad leader and others, until he was thrown off the treadmill at thirty-two kilometers.
• Dr. Li praised Lu Xiao’s result, but he passed out before completing the rest of the tests; Chen Fei caught him, and Dr. Li ordered that he rest and continue the tests the next day.
• Lu Xiao woke up vomiting, then later woke again and ate food Liu Fei had brought him.
• Chen Fei massaged Lu Xiao’s thighs and said they would make a tailored training plan after the remaining tests, promising an unexpected surprise.

Lu Xiao completed a series of physical tests and began a mental power test using a crystal ball and a projected image. At the C03 Containment Facility, the Doctor had his diseased lungs removed and replaced with flesh, while the Director prepared to undergo surgery too.

• The Doctor asked the Prison Doctor to remove his lungs and inject him with Lu Xiao's blood, refusing anesthesia.
• The Prison Doctor removed the Doctor's lungs and replaced them with flesh while the Director operated a breathing device.
• The Doctor finished Lu Xiao's physical tests and said his customized training plan would be ready the next day.
• Chen Fei brought Lu Xiao to a secure room for his mental power test, where Doctor Li instructed him to study a projected image.
• A monstrous image flashed across the screen, and the crystal ball beneath Lu Xiao's hand erupted with brilliant light.

Lu Xiao’s test revealed the highest possible level of innate Mental Power, prompting Bai Xuedong to impose secrecy and assign researchers to study him. Doctor Li reassured Lu Xiao that he would not be treated as a lab rat, though he admitted that a merely light-bulb-bright result would have led to experiments.

• Lu Xiao’s palm made the crystal ball fill the chamber with brilliant light, and Doctor Li identified his result as the highest possible caliber of innate Mental Power.
• Bai Xuedong canceled everyone’s leave, cut off their outside contact, and told Lu Xiao he could report any mistreatment directly to him.
• The researchers asked Lu Xiao to repeat the test, and the chamber filled with brilliant light again; Chen Fei said his own result had been only a grain of light, while Liu Guang’s had been soybean-sized.
• Bai Xuedong arranged for Lu Xiao and the researchers to move to a guarded laboratory, where the group signed strict confidentiality agreements.
• Cass Shuns explained that Lu Xiao’s result surpassed even the Pope’s, but admitted the researchers did not yet understand what Mental Power was.
• Doctor Li became Lu Xiao’s personal assistant and told him that his result would not make him a lab rat, though someone with a light-bulb-level result would become an experimental subject.

Lu Xiao woke from a dreamscape in which Doctor Li had promised him strict protection and a higher salary in exchange for cooperating with experiments. Back in the C03 Containment Facility, the Prison Doctor examined his worsening blood curse and suspected the Bone Spur was involved.

• Doctor Li told Lu Xiao that, because he was unique, any experiments on him would undergo rigorous review, and Lu Xiao negotiated to double his salary.
• Shuns announced that the experiment paperwork had arrived, but the dreamscape shattered before the experiment could begin.
• Lu Xiao woke in the C03 Containment Facility, found Little Black exhausted, and went to the Prison Doctor's containment room.
• Lu Xiao saw the Doctor and the Director lying sick on operating tables and learned they had injected themselves with his blood.
• The Prison Doctor examined Lu Xiao and explained that his curse had worsened, making the magic circle on his bones less effective.
• After hearing that Lu Xiao had used the Bone Spur over a hundred times and stabbed it into his heart twice, the Prison Doctor said he thought he knew the cause.

The Prison Doctor warned Lu Xiao that the Bone Spur was awakening an evil god and could bring about its descent with one more use. Lu Xiao left the Containment Room after agreeing to focus on lifting his curse, then found Lu Qian happily flying around a laboratory.

• The Prison Doctor explained that the Bone Spur's gem had changed color because Lu Xiao's blood offerings were awakening the evil god, and said one more use would let the god locate and descend upon him.
• The Prison Doctor revealed that he had summoned an evil god for medical knowledge and eternal life, leaving his body mangled and cursed.
• Lu Xiao tried to stab the Bone Spur into his heart because he wanted an evil god to modify his body, but the Prison Doctor stopped him and warned that they might become the god's food.
• The Prison Doctor urged Lu Xiao to prioritize resolving his curse, and Lu Xiao agreed to put off his plans for body modification.
• Lu Xiao left after learning Lu Qian's whereabouts, then found her flying in a laboratory while the staff gathered around and laughed with her.

Lu Xiao, the Prison Doctor, and Ivan played cards in the Containment Room until the Doctor awakened with a third eye and demonstrated extraordinary reasoning. The Director woke at the end of the chapter.

• Lu Xiao left with Lu Qian after she greeted the staff, and two days later he played Fight the Landlord with the Prison Doctor and Ivan.
• The Doctor sat up, discovered a vertical eye on his forehead, and asked the Prison Doctor to examine him.
• The Prison Doctor declared the Doctor healthy and at a higher level of life, and the Doctor said he could think faster.
• The Doctor joined the card game, deduced the other players' hands, and won round after round while Ivan and the Prison Doctor lost.
• The Director awoke while Ivan's skeleton was covered in colorful doodles.

After the Director’s experiment left his internal organs acting like brawling people, the Doctor questioned Lu Xiao about Lu Qian’s abilities. Lu Qian demonstrated her soul-rending scream and healing soul blessing, leaving the Doctor eager to study her further.

• The Prison Doctor examined the Director and found his organs fighting and posing inside his chest, while the Director asked for them to be removed.
• The Doctor asked Lu Xiao what abilities Lu Qian had, and Lu Xiao explained that she possessed Screech and Affinity.
• The Doctor recorded Lu Qian as Serial number 307 and asked her to demonstrate her abilities.
• Lu Qian’s scream shattered glass, hurt those nearby, and triggered the facility alarm before the Doctor ordered the soldiers to stand down.
• Lu Qian sang again, waking the unconscious staff and making those present feel clearer and healed as the Doctor identified the effect as a temporary boost to mental power.

Lu Xiao warned the Doctor that Lu Qian’s Affinity might bring C03 under her control, but the Doctor concluded the ending could not be changed and looked for a way to limit its effects. The chapter left the Director planning an agreement to keep anyone from provoking Lu Xiao into being deployed.

• Lu Xiao told the Doctor that the Omniscient Mirror had warned him Lu Qian’s Affinity might destroy C03, and the Doctor inferred that the facility’s people would come under her control.
• The Director suggested eliminating Lu Qian, but Lu Xiao refused to let anyone harm his daughter.
• The Doctor asked the Omniscient Mirror how to stop C03 personnel from growing close to Lu Qian, but it said he could not afford the price.
• The Doctor revealed his plan to keep the Omniscient Mirror by relying on Lu Xiao to deter anyone who tried to take it.
• The Director decided to return to his Containment Facility and draft an agreement titled “Terms and Conditions for Keeping Our Side from Deploying Lu Xiao First.”

Niclade oversaw a mass sacrifice that formed a flesh-and-blood gate, preparing for Cthulhu’s awakening in three days. He questioned the Saints about their preparations and offered War a reward, but War declined to ask for anything.

• Niclade led gray-robed believers in a sacrificial dance until their bodies burst into blood mist, which fed the magic circle and formed a gate of flesh and blood.
• Niclade confirmed with Pope that thirty High Priests were mentally assimilated and ready to offer their souls to Cthulhu.
• Niclade questioned Pride-Lucilla about the Prison Wardens’ anomaly deployment lists; she had only obtained U01’s list and said Doctor had handled the others.
• Niclade learned from Lucilla that War had concealed her identity, then praised War and offered him a reward.
• Gambler reminded Niclade that War had also restored Sloth’s mind, but War declined to request anything, calling service to Cthulhu an honor.

Niclade offered War a quick path to divinity, but War insisted on pursuing godhood himself. Niclade then persuaded the Pope to enter the flesh-and-blood gate for the Lord’s divinity, and the Pope stepped through believing it had restored his vitality.

• Niclade offered to ask the Master to grant War divinity, but War refused and said he wanted to become a god on his own.
• Niclade released the Saints from helping in the final battle and warned them to handle their own tasks.
• Niclade told the Pope he intended to have the Lord grant him divinity, and the Pope accepted without hesitation.
• Niclade swore the Pope would receive divinity through the flesh-and-blood gate, and the Pope approached it wearing the Church’s crown.
• The Pope reached through the gate, saw that his hand’s skin had tightened, and eagerly prepared to claim godhood.

The Pope crossed the gate of flesh, received Cthulhu’s divinity, and agreed to help Niclade advance the Lord’s plans. Meanwhile, Containment Facilities worldwide mobilized, and Antie ordered his Assistant to stop criticizing cooperation with C03.

• The Pope entered Cthulhu’s realm, where the crown transformed into the Flesh Crown and he awoke devoted to Cthulhu.
• The Pope emerged as a god, rejected his former faith, and promised Niclade he would help Cthulhu regain his authority.
• Niclade tasked the Pope with monitoring War, testing his loyalty, helping with his ascension if he proved loyal, and preventing the other seven from escaping.
• Niclade dismissed the Pope and watched over the enormous Magic Circle beneath his feet.
• Containment Facilities worldwide mobilized, while Antie ordered his Assistant not to criticize cooperation with C03.

Antie sent P02-Angel toward the battlefield and warned the Doctor that he would take responsibility if anything went wrong during its transport. The Warden and Shadow discussed He Shang’s disappearance and Shadow’s Deification Ritual, which had reached its final step.

• Antie killed the Assistant, arranged P02-Angel’s transport, and told the Doctor that only he and the pilot knew the route.
• The Doctor consulted the Warden, who said Antie would not interfere before the Sacrifice Plan was completed and would take responsibility for P02’s transport.
• The Doctor told the Warden he planned to travel to the battlefield in the Transforming Vehicle, while the Warden said he would remain at the Containment Facility.
• The Warden shared tea with Shadow, and they discussed Old Bai’s awakening and He Shang’s disappearance and mutation.
• The Warden realized the Highest Office had concealed He Shang’s disappearance to make a move on his seat, and Shadow said his Deification Ritual had nearly reached its end.

Shadow warned the Warden that becoming a god might change him, then confronted the newly ascended Pope, who threatened to expose and destroy him. The next day, Doctor and the Director took Lu Xiao and the others aboard the Transforming Vehicle to sacrifice a deity, and Lu Xiao ended up announcing the plane’s takeoff from the cockpit.

• Shadow told the Warden that becoming a god might change who he was, then vanished.
• The Pope confronted Shadow, revealed that Niclade had sent him to watch Shadow, and vowed to crush his hopes.
• Doctor and the Director visited Lu Xiao and invited him to join the trip to sacrifice a deity.
• Driver brought the group to Lu Xiao’s Containment Room in the cramped Transforming Vehicle, and the Director transformed it into a luxury airplane.
• Lu Xiao broke Driver’s arms and legs to get back at him for frightening him in a dream, then headed for the plane.
• Lu Xiao announced the plane’s takeoff over the speaker while the Director assured him he would still feel involved.

Lu Xiao learned that the Director had taken over piloting the plane while Liuguang revealed how he had punished Liu Wen and the wealthy people who had used Nini to cure their illnesses. Meanwhile, Niclade continued the ritual to awaken the entity behind the Flesh Gate, which he expected to descend in twenty hours.

• The Director took over flying the plane, and Lu Xiao told Ding Dan he wanted to pilot it himself.
• Sly asked Liuguang whether he had let Liu Wen go, and Liuguang explained that he had made her and the other people who exploited Nini drink milk containing blood from Nini’s transfusion.
• Sly learned that Liu Wen had been driven to ruin by Liu Mingsheng after Nini disappeared and that she had confessed to her crimes.
• Niclade led twenty strangely dressed old men in a ritual before the Flesh Gate as gray-robed believers died in flames.
• Niclade proclaimed that the entity would descend in twenty hours and reclaim its authority.

Niclade's ritual raised the island of R'lyeh and opened a gigantic gate of flesh and blood, drawing Doctor, the Director, and containment forces to the scene. As the group prepared to face the deity, the Green Mailbox delivered Niclade a letter from the Feis King, inviting him to hell.

• Niclade completed his incantation, and the temple collapsed as its blood and flesh fed the Magic Circle and enlarged the gate of flesh and blood.
• A hundred-meter wave swallowed the island, exposing R'lyeh, which Doctor identified as the legendary site.
• Doctor and the Director arrived as containment aircraft gathered, while Lu Xiao and Prison Doctor looked forward to tasting the deity.
• The Green Mailbox appeared before Niclade and delivered him a letter from the Feis King inviting him to hell.
• Niclade read the letter and remarked that he had drawn a King-level entity.

Niclade fought off King Feis, but the Doctor’s Contained Anomalies trapped him in a battle against the String Puppet and the Clay Figurine. After Niclade escaped their control and survived having his head twisted off, the Doctor summoned the Butler.

• Niclade summoned King Feis, then used Distortion to twist Feis and drive it back into Hell.
• The String Puppet immobilized Niclade while the old men continued drumming, and the Clay Figurine appeared within his sight.
• The Clay Figurine twisted the heads off nineteen drummers, whose headless bodies continued beating their drums.
• The Clay Figurine twisted Niclade’s head off, but Niclade broke free of the String Puppet’s control and gouged out his own eyeball to attack it.
• Aboard an aircraft, the Doctor rang the clapperless bell and summoned the Butler.

The Doctor ordered his butler to plant the Withered Branch in Niclade, while Niclade battled the Feis King. The branch consumed Niclade’s blood and grew into a towering tree bearing fruits that opened to reveal heads with Niclade’s face.

• The Doctor asked the butler to assassinate the deity below, then instructed him to insert a pure-lead box into its flesh when he refused.
• The Feis King repeatedly attacked Niclade from hiding, and Niclade distorted the area while trying to find it.
• The butler opened the box, took out the Withered Branch, and struggled through the distorted space toward Niclade.
• The Feis King hurled a cursed steel fork at Niclade, but Niclade reversed its course, sending it into the Feis King’s forehead as a gate dragged him back to hell.
• The butler drove the Withered Branch into Niclade’s neck, and it took root in his body and consumed his blood.
• The branch grew into a towering tree with blue hair instead of leaves, and its fruits burst open to reveal heads bearing Niclade’s face.

Doctor deployed 02-Angel against the bizarre tree on the island, and her single devastating strike erased nearly everything there. With Angel asleep and Niclade possibly still alive but badly injured, Prison Doctor, Lu Xiao, Chainsaw Man, and Ding Dan prepared to investigate and sacrifice him if they could.

• Doctor ordered 02-Angel deployed and the other aircraft withdrew as a transparent dome dropped her onto the island.
• 02-Angel transformed into a towering, winged figure and struck the bizarre tree with a holy sword, evaporating almost everything on the island.
• Angel fell asleep after her attack, while the Clay Statue, Green Mailbox, and other remaining anomalies were left behind; the String Puppet disappeared.
• Doctor told Prison Doctor, Lu Xiao, and Chainsaw Man to investigate, warning that Niclade might have survived the completed sacrifice but was likely seriously injured.
• Prison Doctor, Lu Xiao, and Chainsaw Man jumped from the Transforming Vehicle, and Ding Dan agreed to follow them after Doctor pointed out he could help identify the Contained Anomalies.

Lu Xiao, Ding Dan, Chainsaw Man, and Prison Doctor reached the island and confronted Niclade, who revealed how he survived Angel’s attack and merged with the String Puppet. Niclade summoned Cthulhu through the Flesh Gate, leaving the group facing the awakening deity.

• The group landed on the island, and Chainsaw Man set Ding Dan’s sprained ankle back in place.
• Ding Dan calmed down after an injection, while Lu Xiao examined the Green Mailbox and Angel and Prison Doctor studied the Clay Statue.
• Niclade emerged from the Flesh Gate, picked up Angel, and declared that she would become the Lord’s beloved pet.
• Niclade explained that he had distorted Serial Number 137’s rules, entered the Lord’s residence, and fused with the String Puppet.
• Niclade called for Cthulhu to awaken, and an enormous figure emerged from the Flesh Gate.

Niclade explained how he had manipulated the laws holding back technological progress, while the Omniscient Mirror revealed that he would die without his soul being claimed by Cthulhu. As the figure emerged from the Flesh Gate, Niclade discovered it was not his Lord but a thousand-meter-tall Black Cat.

• Niclade said he had made a deal with the Omniscient Mirror and that sacrificing him would restore humanity's ability to advance technologically.
• The Omniscient Mirror admitted it had to honor its deal with Niclade but assured Lu Xiao that it could not lie when answering questions for a price.
• Niclade promised to introduce the Omniscient Mirror to the Lord, and the mirror spat on him and predicted his death.
• Lu Xiao paid a fingernail for the Omniscient Mirror to explain that Cthulhu would not claim Niclade's soul and that Niclade would leave no soul behind.
• Niclade watched the Flesh Gate open and saw a thousand-meter-tall Black Cat emerge instead of his Lord.

Little Black revealed that Niclade had been trapped in a dreamscape, but Niclade transformed into a rampaging monster after the illusion shattered. Lu Xiao and the others fought to contain him, and the Doctor prepared to use Serial Number 306-Cage as the battle worsened.

• Little Black's dreamscape broke, revealing Niclade's treelike body and the group gathered around him.
• Niclade's branches bloomed into eyeballs, and he lost control, spreading madness through the group.
• Lu Xiao fired three shots from the Corrupted Revolver, damaging Niclade but losing the flesh on his face and suffering the weapon's other costs.
• Niclade's roar drove Ding Dan toward losing control, but the Prison Doctor's sedatives calmed him and the others.
• The Doctor told the Director to put Lu Qian in charge of C03 if he died, then took out Serial Number 306-Cage.