Chapter Summaries

He Shang advanced his plans to become a Buddha by draining Baibao and preparing to seize the system, while Lu Xiao woke from a strange dream and began an experiment involving unsettling images. The chapter ended with Shuns asking Lu Xiao what he felt while watching the video.

• He Shang appointed Baibao to preside over the Underground Buddha Land, then drained him with a tentacle and sent the restored, mindless Duobao back there.
• He Shang discussed his plan with Past and Future to obtain the system and sever his remaining humanity so he could progress toward Buddhahood.
• Lu Xiao woke from a brief strange dream and agreed with Shuns to begin the approved experiment.
• Shuns explained that Lu Xiao would view images and videos while the researchers wore blindfolds, and Lu Xiao studied the blurry pictures and a silent first-person video.
• Shuns asked whether Lu Xiao felt anything unusual, and Lu Xiao said he felt nothing and could only make out vague creature outlines before Shuns asked about the video.

Lu Xiao learned that the videos were part of an experiment testing his resistance to mental contamination, and he appeared unaffected by images that drove other subjects mad. After watching graphic footage of a human test subject, he became nauseated and the experiment ended early.

• Lu Xiao told Shuns that the video had made him feel carsick, and Doctor Li explained that the images caused mental contamination in carbon-based life.
• Shuns showed Lu Xiao footage of a mouse that had gone mad after seeing one photograph, then realized Lu Xiao might have perceived the image differently from other subjects.
• Shuns showed footage of a terminally ill man who mutilated himself and smiled at the camera, despite not knowing where the camera was.
• Lu Xiao refused to watch more footage because he feared he might go mad, and Doctor Li told Shuns to end the experiment so Lu Xiao could rest.

After seeing disturbing photographs in the laboratory, Lu Xiao chose to return to the dorm with Chen Fei and the others, where they received a feast and liquor from Bai Xuedong. As the group drank, Zhang Chu boasted about his Taoist skills and attempted to demonstrate a thunder technique, but the room ended with a loud snore instead.

• Doctor Li told Lu Xiao that everyone who took the photographs had died in the line of duty, then informed him that Bai Xuedong had arranged a new place for him.
• Lu Xiao asked to stay with Chen Fei and the others, and Bai Xuedong approved the request.
• Lu Xiao returned to the dorm, where soldiers stood guard outside and Chen Fei arranged food and liquor for the group.
• Chen Fei reassured Lu Xiao that he mattered more than their missions, while Zhang Chu celebrated the free food and drink.
• After drinking, Zhang Chu boasted about his Taoist abilities and challenged Chen Fei to watch him perform a thunder technique.
• Zhang Chu chanted an incantation and stood with his wooden sword, but Chen Fei said the resulting snoring sounded louder than thunder.

Lu Xiao was taken to observe the interrogation of the Taxi Driver, who had nearly killed him. The questioning began with researcher Cass Shuns introducing himself to the captive.

• Liu Guang put the sleeping Zhang Chu back on his bunk, cleaned up, and checked Lu Xiao’s wound before resting.
• Doctor Li waited for Lu Xiao the next morning and took him to watch the Taxi Driver’s interrogation.
• Chief Bai Xuedong reassured Lu Xiao that the researchers would treat him well and explained the one-way bulletproof glass.
• Shuns and the silver-haired researcher Antie entered the interrogation room with two escorts.
• Cass Shuns introduced himself to the bound Taxi Driver, who struggled to understand how he had ended up there.

Shuns interrogated Hu Haichao, while Doctor Li explained to Lu Xiao that the driver had been contaminated and his wife’s instinct drove him to hunt people. Lu Xiao learned that the organization had allowed earlier hunts to gather information and prepare a safer capture, and he apologized before they returned to watching the interrogation.

• Shuns questioned Hu Haichao about his background and asked what had caused his transformation, but Hu remained silent.
• Doctor Li told Lu Xiao that Hu had been contaminated psychologically and physically and needed to hunt living creatures to grow stronger.
• Doctor Li explained that Hu’s wife, rather than Hu himself, had wanted to eat Lu Xiao, and that the organization had monitored earlier hunts to assess Hu’s abilities and plan a safe arrest.
• Lu Xiao accepted the explanation, compared the organization’s choice to the trolley problem, and apologized to Doctor Li for misunderstanding.
• Bai Xuedong shifted the conversation back to Shuns’s interrogation.

During Driver’s interrogation, Lu Xiao saw a terrifying woman behind him and insisted on continuing to observe. Shuns investigated Driver’s missing wife and urged Driver to speak in his own personality, leaving her connection to the Salvation Society unresolved.

• Driver spoke in a woman’s voice, declared that the Salvation Society would save the world, and Shuns ordered an investigation into his wife.
• Lu Xiao told Bai Xuedong and Doctor Li that he saw a decaying woman behind Driver, who could see him.
• Lu Xiao refused to leave and chose to keep watching the interrogation despite his fear.
• Shuns told Driver that his wife had been missing for over a month and had often vanished during college and after their marriage.
• Shuns suggested Driver’s wife might have joined an evil organization, possibly the Salvation Society, and asked Driver to speak using his own personality.

The Driver recounted how he met and married his wife, then said his mutation began about a week after she disappeared. Shuns and the others connected the mutation to the Salvation Society and examined whether the Driver’s first meeting with his wife was an unnatural coincidence.

• The Driver told Shuns that he had met his graceful university classmate while rescuing her from knife-wielding attackers, and later married her.
• The Driver said he had no malice toward humans and that his split personality likely began about a week after his wife disappeared.
• Shuns left without telling the Driver where his wife was, saying they needed time to investigate.
• Shuns briefed Bai Xuedong, Lu Xiao, and the others that the Driver’s mutation was connected to his wife, who had joined the Salvation Society.
• Lu Xiao recalled that the Driver attacked him after he suggested the Driver’s wife might be cheating, and the group considered whether such remarks triggered the attacks.
• Antie argued that the Driver’s chance encounter with his wife seemed illogical and possibly abnormal.

Bai Xuedong and the others suspected the Salvation Society had targeted Mr. Haichao because of his Mental Power, so they tested him and investigated his past. The investigation confirmed his meeting with his wife had been arranged, but she joined the Salvation Society only afterward.

• Antie and Shuns reasoned that the Salvation Society had targeted Mr. Haichao before he met his wife, likely because of his Mental Power.
• Bai Xuedong ordered a Mental Power test, and the Driver's results showed unusually strong power, though less than Lu Xiao's.
• Doctor Li suggested a course of action to Bai Xuedong, who ordered an investigation while the group waited in his office.
• A soldier delivered the investigation report, and Doctor Li confirmed that the Salvation Society had targeted the Driver and arranged his meeting with his wife.
• Doctor Li clarified that the Driver's meeting with his wife had been arranged, but she joined the Salvation Society afterward.

Bai Xuedong tricked Lu Xiao into signing a military enlistment agreement while claiming it was a confidentiality agreement, then let him read an interrogation record revealing the Salvation Society had infiltrated Driver’s university. The chapter ended with Bai Xuedong warning that the Society’s control might extend beyond the university’s leadership and that the information had to remain secret to prevent public panic.

• Bai Xuedong told Shuns to switch the experimental subject to Driver, strengthen laboratory security, and let Shuns’s student join the research.
• Bai Xuedong offered Lu Xiao access to the important document if he signed a confidentiality agreement.
• When Lu Xiao hesitated over the thick stack of papers, Bai Xuedong summoned armed guards and forced him to sign and leave a thumbprint.
• Bai Xuedong revealed that the papers included a military enlistment agreement and said Lu Xiao would be treated as a deserter if he changed his mind.
• Doctor Li gave Lu Xiao the interrogation record, which showed that Driver’s university president had been a member of the Salvation Society.
• Lu Xiao realized the Society might control more than the university’s leadership, and Bai Xuedong explained that the secret had to be kept from the public.

Lu Xiao learned about the Salvation Society and negotiated a raise after joining Bai Xuedong's organization. Doctor Li then brought him to a heavily guarded computer room to view materials related to the Western Church's possible communication with a Deity.

• Doctor Li explained that the Salvation Society opposed humanity and followed the scripture, “Advent, salvation,” which he interpreted as the True God descending to save all living beings.
• Bai Xuedong approved doubling Lu Xiao's salary and reluctantly agreed to give him another thousand from his own pay.
• Lu Xiao left Bai Xuedong's office pleased with his successful negotiation and asked Doctor Li whether the Salvation Society was their main enemy.
• Doctor Li said the Western Church was dealing with the Salvation Society and suggested that it might be able to communicate with a Deity.
• Doctor Li took Lu Xiao through security checks to a computer room housing a system costing seven billion US dollars, built by technology companies around the world.

Doctor Li showed Lu Xiao records of the Salvation Society’s bloody sacrificial rituals and explained that the Anomaly Supervision Bureau was investigating what the cult worshipped. He then revealed that Chief Bai was the bureau’s sole leader, leaving Lu Xiao realizing he should treat Bai more politely.

• Lu Xiao followed Doctor Li through the enormous supercomputer facility to access records about the Salvation Society.
• Lu Xiao watched footage of robed members stabbing themselves in a ritual, while a magic circle absorbed their blood.
• Doctor Li explained that civilian theology teams compiled the records and that the bureau was studying what the sacrifices were made to.
• Lu Xiao asked to see records about his organization, and Doctor Li showed him the Anomaly Supervision Bureau folder.
• Doctor Li told Lu Xiao that Chief Bai was the bureau’s sole leader and advised him to be more polite to Bai.

Lu Xiao learned more about the Anomaly Supervision Bureau, accepted his new role, and began to feel a sense of belonging. After his roommates punished him for teasing them about his nondisclosure agreement, he later recounted a terrifying encounter with a Driver’s wife.

• Lu Xiao asked Doctor Li about Bai Xuedong and joked that he would obey his new boss for his monthly salary of 101,000.
• Doctor Li told Bai Xuedong that Lu Xiao was developing a sense of belonging, and Bai asked Doctor Li to keep an eye on him and pay attention to his feelings.
• Lu Xiao returned to the dorm and teased Zhang Chu, Chen Fei, and Liu Guang by claiming he could not tell them what he had seen because of his nondisclosure agreement.
• Zhang Chu, Chen Fei, and Liu Guang locked the dorm door and tormented Lu Xiao until he pleaded for mercy.
• That night, Lu Xiao told his roommates about the terrifying Driver’s wife, then spat out a piece of old ginger that Chen Fei had put in his bowl.

Lu Xiao learned that Driver’s wife was central to understanding his transformation, but the investigation details were confidential. The next day, Doctor Li took Lu Xiao to the base’s Weapons Research and Development Department to have a weapon custom-made.

• Lu Xiao told Zhang Chu, Chen Fei, and Liu Guang that Driver claimed he bore humanity no ill will, and said investigators were looking into Driver’s wife.
• Lu Xiao woke with a hangover, received a customized physical training plan from Doctor Li, and learned he had other plans for the day.
• Bai Xuedong told Lu Xiao to visit his office for an authorization and hinted that his custom weapon would not disappoint him.
• Bai Xuedong gave Lu Xiao a blank form bearing his signature and the official seal, and Doctor Li explained it was required to commission a weapon.
• Doctor Li brought Lu Xiao to the Weapons Research and Development Department and explained that its weapons used special forging methods and mysterious materials to harm beings without physical bodies.

Lu Xiao visited Master Zhang to have a weapon custom-made and learned how Mental Power and conductivity worked. Master Zhang eventually returned with a plain, pitch-black three-edged spike for him.

• Master Zhang examined the hidden document and, following the Chief's instructions, asked Doctor Li to have a weapon designed for the highest conductivity.
• Lu Xiao worried Master Zhang might make him a watermelon knife instead of the sniper rifle or AK he wanted, but Doctor Li told him to wait.
• While they waited, Doctor Li explained that special meteorite metal could conduct Mental Power and described how strong Mental Power helped resist mental contamination.
• Master Zhang returned and presented Lu Xiao with a custom-made, pitch-black three-edged spike.

Lu Xiao received a Tri-Edged Bayonet and learned that weapons made from a special material had to be activated with their wielder’s blood to harm nonphysical monsters. He left skeptical of Doctor Li and Chen Fei’s advice to stab himself in the thigh to minimize the pain.

• Lu Xiao found his Tri-Edged Bayonet strange-looking, but felt better after seeing Chen Fei’s iron-nail weapon and hearing about other oddly shaped weapons.
• Chen Fei explained that the Weapons Research and Development Department forged weapons from a special material that could not be repeatedly forged without losing its conductivity.
• Doctor Li explained that the material only needed to be sharp enough to pierce flesh and that standard-issue firearms were provided for missions.
• Chen Fei told Lu Xiao he had to stab himself to activate the bayonet with his blood so it could hurt monsters without physical bodies.
• Chen Fei and Doctor Li advised Lu Xiao to stab his thigh, and Lu Xiao suspected they were scamming him.

Doctor Li moved into the dorm to monitor Lu Xiao and the others, and Bai Suoyi joined the Prison Warden squad as its sixth member. Bai earned Chen Fei’s respect with his exceptional bed-making, but Zhang Chu’s casual request for help folding a quilt left him stunned.

• Doctor Li moved into the dorm and announced that the squad was expanding to six members.
• Bai Suoyi reported for duty, and the others suspected he was Chief Bai’s son after he hinted that their relationship was secret.
• Chen Fei questioned whether Chief Bai’s son should join the squad, but Doctor Li said Chief Bai wanted him treated like any other soldier.
• Bai Suoyi took the upper bunk and made his bed with such precision that Chen Fei recognized his skill and changed his mind about him.
• Zhang Chu asked Bai Suoyi to fold his quilt, leaving Bai Suoyi visibly stunned.

Lu Xiao and his squad endured Doctor Li’s grueling physical training and strict meal plans. That evening, Doctor Li offered Liu Guang special training for undercover work and gave him the codename Shadow.

• Bai Suoyi made Zhang Chu’s bed, but Zhang Chu immediately messed it up again and claimed his master had kicked him off the mountain to slay demons.
• Doctor Li handed the squad personalized training plans, including weighted runs ranging from thirty to two hundred kilometers.
• Lu Xiao and Zhang Chu struggled through their assignments while Bai Suoyi, Chen Fei, and Liu Guang completed theirs; Lu Xiao kept going after Doctor Li threatened to deduct his salary.
• Doctor Li arranged special meals, took the squad to the medical room for massages, and led them through more training until evening.
• Doctor Li stopped Liu Guang outside the dorm and offered him undercover training under the codename Shadow.

Doctor Li and the squad prepared for their first mission: raiding a suspected Salvation Society hideout in their country. Chen Fei took command and assigned roles, while the squad awaited Doctor Li’s answer about joining them.

• Doctor Li told Liu Guang that Chief Bai had chosen him for undercover work, and Liu Guang accepted without asking where he would go.
• Doctor Li’s training rapidly improved the squad’s fitness, while he continued taking Liu Guang aside after each day’s exercises.
• Bai Xuedong informed Doctor Li that surveillance had pointed to a suspected Salvation Society hideout, and the higher-ups ordered the squad to attack it and search for clues before military and police forces handled the follow-up.
• Doctor Li agreed that the squad could take the mission as training, and Lu Xiao eagerly declared himself ready for battle.
• Chen Fei took command, named Bai Suoyi as his deputy, and told Zhang Chu to escape with Lu Xiao if the squad faced annihilation.
• Chen Fei asked whether Doctor Li would accompany them, and Doctor Li replied that he was not good at fighting.

Chen Fei’s team set out for their mission, but after Lu Xiao crashed their vehicle, they reached a village whose residents watched them strangely. Doctor Li reported the suspected anomaly to Bai Xuedong, who ordered the team to avoid action and wait for reinforcements, just as a tremendous bang sounded behind them.

• The team collected their weapons and First Aid Bullets, then Lu Xiao volunteered to drive despite lacking a license.
• Lu Xiao crashed the Off-Road Vehicle into a parking-lot pillar, so Zhang Chu took over driving.
• As the team drove through the village, the villagers stopped working and watched their vehicle, prompting Chen Fei to put everyone on alert.
• Doctor Li told Bai Xuedong that Chen Fei suspected something was wrong with the village, and Bai Xuedong arranged reinforcements and village records while advising them to leave if possible.
• A tremendous bang sounded behind the team.

Chen Fei and his team were surrounded by armed villagers, fought them without using firearms, and tried to escape on foot. Niclade, a bishop of the Salvation Society, appeared and revealed that he controlled the villagers.

• The villagers rammed the Off-Road Vehicle and surrounded it, while the Doctor learned that the village had 378 residents.
• Chen Fei, Bai Suoyi, and Liu Guang fought off the villagers who attacked them with farming tools, while Lu Xiao and Doctor Li stayed in the vehicle.
• As more villagers approached, Chen Fei ordered everyone to abandon the vehicle and escape.
• Niclade introduced himself as the bishop of the Salvation Society and confirmed that he controlled the villagers.