Chapter Summaries

Lu Xiao and his companions entered the depths of the Dark Prison to investigate the mutation and search for Dart, while He Shang continued to mutate in a Northern European manor. The chapter left the group cautiously driving into the unknown as He Shang's two shoulder-heads demanded food.

• Ding Dan told Lu Xiao that the Doctor suspected the mutation was connected to Dart and warned that R019-Source of Pollution might assimilate him.
• Chainsaw Man recalled that Dart had changed after putting on a mask, and Driver agreed to take the group deeper into the Dark Prison.
• Lu Xiao and the others drove into the depths in an orange taxi, using their auras to deter dangers as they proceeded cautiously.
• He Shang sat in a manor with a rotting head on each shoulder, and both heads complained of hunger.
• He Shang threatened to eat Future if it spoke of eating him, and Present urged him not to be rash.

He Shang struggled to accept his mutated body and considered abandoning his plan to obtain the system after Future suggested a reckless alternative. Meanwhile, Lu Xiao and his companions followed Dart’s trail into the Dark Prison, believing he remained conscious and hoping to find him.

• He Shang complained that the scriptures had not changed his appearance, and Past and Future explained that his unsettled mind prevented them from working.
• Future urged He Shang to eat Sequence Number 02-Angel, while He Shang reassured his teacher that he would obtain the system after Doctor and the others’ god-slaying operation.
• Future suggested stealing the system outright, and He Shang began considering a risky plan involving Sequence Number 05-Protagonist.
• Lu Xiao, Ding Dan, Chainsaw Man, and Driver found severed limbs in the Dark Prison and identified them as markers left by Dart.
• Driver urged the group to turn back, but Lu Xiao wanted to find Dart, and Ding Dan reasoned that R019 had likely beguiled him rather than assimilated him.

Lu Xiao, Ding Dan, and Driver traveled deeper into the Dark Prison to investigate R019-Source of Contamination’s assimilation of Dart before it could threaten the Present World. Lu Xiao noticed that the creatures were avoiding them, and the group realized their communicators could no longer reach the outside world.

• Ding Dan warned that R019-Source of Contamination might become terrifying after assimilating Dart and could try to invade the Present World, so the group hurried toward it.
• Lu Xiao told Driver that Dart might be able to reverse-assimilate R019 if his willpower was strong enough, and Driver planned to use the Transforming Vehicle’s teleportation to escape if necessary.
• As the orange taxi moved through the ruined buildings, Lu Xiao noticed that powerful auras vanished or kept their distance instead of attacking.
• Lu Xiao explained that he had Chainsaw Uncle release his aura to identify rational, dangerous beings, but the group had encountered neither those beings nor the mad creatures expected in the depths.
• Ding Dan learned that Lu Xiao understood the Dark Prison’s survival rules from experience, but their communicators had stopped working beyond the signal range, leaving them cut off from the outside.

Lu Xiao discovered that the ruins in the Dark Prison were in Shanghai, linking the present world to his Near-Ancient Era. He suspected that the Pioneers had concealed the history of that era, and Ding Dan revealed that the Pioneers founded the Prison Wardens.

• Lu Xiao asked the Omniscient Mirror where the ruins were, and it identified them as Shanghai, which Driver and Ding Dan recognized as the Magic City.
• Ding Dan explained that little was known about the Calamity Era or Near-Ancient Era, while the Innovation Century supposedly advanced from agriculture to technology in only thirty years.
• Lu Xiao pointed out that the Pioneers may have inherited technology from his era, making the lack of historical records suspicious.
• Ding Dan said records about the Dark Prison's origins required extremely high clearance, perhaps beyond Doctor's rank.
• When Lu Xiao asked who founded the Prison Wardens, Ding Dan answered that the Pioneers had founded them.

Lu Xiao and Ding Dan discussed the Prison Wardens’ mission before finding scraps of Dart’s clothes and flesh deep in the Dark Prison. Lu Xiao sensed malice in the distance and set off to investigate, leaving Dart’s fate uncertain.

• Lu Xiao questioned Ding Dan about why the Prison Wardens were founded, and Ding Dan said their mission was to protect the Present World from Anomalies.
• Two Weird Life beings watched the orange taxi from the ruins and speculated that a powerful being had returned to hunt a man who had been eating nearby.
• Lu Xiao found severed limbs and scraps of Dart’s marked clothing, then guessed Dart had transformed after feeding or had left a trail for them to follow.
• Ding Dan told Lu Xiao that his importance might have prompted Doctor to send them deep into the Dark Prison, making Lu Xiao valuable to many Containment Facilities.
• Lu Xiao sensed intense malice in one direction and returned to the taxi to lead the group toward it.

Lu Xiao and his companions found the high-level Weird Life gathered in an estuary and met Dart, who had transformed into a monstrous being. Dart welcomed them and asked whether Liuguang, Sly, and Xiao Yu had become Sacrificial Ones.

• Driver teleported the Transforming Vehicle to a cliffside estuary, where Lu Xiao and the others saw countless high-level Weird Life crowding the sea.
• Lu Xiao stopped Driver from teleporting away after sensing fear among the creatures, and Dart approached them atop an enormous fish-like creature.
• Lu Xiao recognized Dart beneath his monstrous appearance, and Ding Dan introduced himself as a former Sacrificial One and the instructor of Liuguang, Sly, and Xiao Yu.
• Dart greeted Driver and Chainsaw Man, then wondered why it felt as if years had passed since they last met, although Driver said only a few days had gone by.

Dart told Lu Xiao and the others that the true depths lay beyond their current location and that the Prison Gate was failing, drawing dangerous creatures toward the estuary. He stayed behind to delay the Gate’s failure while helping Ding Dan’s group with food, and said the creatures all feared him.

• Dart revealed that the true Dark Prison lay farther ahead and told Ding Dan to report the discovery to Doctor, but said he could no longer return.
• Ding Dan explained that he and Doctor had changed after using Prison Doctor’s flesh and Lu Xiao’s blood, and Dart said he had learned from R019 that the Gate was failing.
• Dart explained that he wanted to delay the Gate’s failure while R019 wanted to return to the depths and find its master, who had built the Prison Gate.
• Dart said the Gate had been contaminated and that creatures from the true Prison would soon wander toward it, then had his flying mount bring back a huge monster for the group to eat.
• Lu Xiao woke Chef and introduced Dart as their number one supporter, and Chef began preparing the monster as an ingredient.
• Ding Dan asked Dart how strong he was, and Dart said he did not know, but that all the creatures feared him.

Ding Dan tried to persuade Dart to leave C03's Gate and return to the Present World, but Dart insisted on guarding it. During the group’s meal, Chainsaw Man shed his bandages and revealed an unmutated human form, delighting Lu Xiao.

• Dart told Ding Dan that Doctor planned to sacrifice Niclade in twenty-odd days to gain an answer that would advance human technology, and said he would try to buy time.
• Ding Dan warned Dart that the other Gates could fall and urged him to leave, but Dart said he could only guard C03's Gate and would stay.
• Driver announced that the food was ready, and Ding Dan accepted Lu Xiao's offer to eat an eyeball after Dart nodded.
• Chainsaw Man tore off his bandages and revealed the pale, unmutated face of a middle-aged man, surprising the group.
• Lu Xiao rejoiced at Chainsaw Man's transformation, and Chainsaw Man stiffly called Lu Xiao handsome as the group shared a warm meal.

Dart rejected R019-Source of Contamination’s repeated offer and remained committed to their agreement. In Northern Europe, He Shang infected worshippers and Prison Warden personnel with his fanatical teachings, prompting Smith to order the contaminated staff eliminated and the survivors quarantined.

• Dart refused R019-Source of Contamination’s offer of control over his body and told it he would honor their agreement after it helped him finish his business.
• He Shang entered a rural church, infected the priest and worshippers, and ordered the priest to spread his teachings across Northern Europe.
• He Shang left the church without destroying the Prison Wardens’ surveillance camera, infecting the staff member watching its footage.
• Smith arrived at the U01 Containment Facility and ordered soldiers to shoot the infected staff member, who exploded and scattered contaminated flesh.
• When another staff member began showing signs of infection, Smith ordered everyone to fall back, then had the staff member shot and ordered the area cleaned, the bodies cremated, and the remaining staff quarantined.

Lucilla investigated a highly contaminating higher-order weird life-form and accepted Niclade’s order to capture him, though she wanted to eat him. She found He Shang in a church as he planned to become a saint, and Past and Future disagreed over whether to flee or attack her.

• Smith reported the dangerous weird life-form to the Matriarch, and Lucilla arrived, fed on him, and ordered him to show her the surveillance footage.
• Lucilla watched the footage, contacted Niclade with a blood magic circle, and agreed to bring the weird life-form to him despite wanting to eat it.
• Lucilla warned Smith not to repeat his mistake and ordered him to have his memory erased.
• He Shang directed a priest to spread his Buddha’s teachings while Future and Past discussed meeting the protagonist after their merit halos formed.
• He Shang declared that he would abandon his humanity and become a saint before Lucilla appeared in the church and recognized him.
• Past urged He Shang to run from Lucilla, while Future urged him to eat her.

He Shang and Lucilla fought inside the church after she killed his followers and revealed her intent to eat him. He Shang discovered her hidden threads and charged toward her, but Lucilla ended the chapter by revealing she had deceived him.

• He Shang chose to take a risk against Lucilla while his Past and Future heads argued over whether to flee or attack.
• Lucilla recognized He Shang, killed the priest and the other believers, and declared that she intended to eat He Shang's body and bring his head to the Chief.
• He Shang attacked Lucilla with his tentacles, but she severed them with an unseen strike.
• Sunlight revealed the metallic threads hidden in the church's shadows, and He Shang realized they were Lucilla's weapon.
• He Shang rushed through the threads toward Lucilla, who retreated to the church entrance and announced, "Hehe, I lied!"

He Shang overpowered Lucilla and revealed that he could erase the past, but she exposed that she had fooled him again and turned his ability against him. The chapter ended with Lucilla plucking a blood-red thread as He Shang suffered in pain.

• Lucilla bound He Shang with crystalline threads and drew him close, intending to eat him because he was a commoner.
• He Shang vanished and reappeared behind Lucilla, tearing off her wings and restraining her with tentacles.
• He Shang explained that he had erased the past and gloated that Lucilla was now his prey.
• Lucilla revealed that she had fooled He Shang again, released herself, and said she now knew his ability.
• Lucilla showed He Shang a blood-red thread and plucked it, leaving him in agony.

He Shang was defeated by Lucilla, the fourth seat of the Saints, but escaped by erasing his past and learned that changing the future had left him badly weakened. He suspected Pride had ties to the Prison Wardens and asked his teacher to investigate the U01 Containment Facility, which he claimed was connected to the Saints.

• Lucilla revealed that she was Pride, the fourth seat of the Saints, and explained nothing about her ability to He Shang.
• Lucilla’s red threads failed to hold He Shang, whose body dissolved into slime as he escaped.
• Lucilla told Niclade that He Shang had used two abilities, and Niclade scolded her for revealing her identity and risking his plan.
• He Shang recovered in a low house as Past warned him that altering the future had cost far more than erasing the past and urged him to earn merit and avoid the Prison Wardens.
• He Shang contacted his teacher and asked him to use his influence to investigate the U01 Containment Facility, which He Shang said had ties to the Saints.

Doctor agreed to send Hairy Bear two thousand doses of Cage while investigating the weakening divinity in a mass of cells. In the Dark Prison, Lu Xiao and the others tried to get Dart to kill his flying fish mount for food, but it escaped into the sea.

• Doctor answered Hairy Bear's call and agreed to send him two thousand doses of Cage in two days.
• Doctor examined the cells from the writhing mass and wondered whether their divinity was weakening because they had been separated from the curse.
• Lu Xiao asked the Omniscient Mirror why he had not changed despite eating, and it said the food was inferior.
• Dart offered to slaughter his flying fish mount after Lu Xiao and the others asked him to provide more food.
• The fish-like creature dove into the sea, and Dart promised to chase it.

Lu Xiao asked the Omniscient Mirror about Lu Qian’s abilities and invited the others to ask questions. Ding Dan learned R019 had used only Temptation on Dart, while Driver asked whether he could find a wife more beautiful than his current one.

• Dart leaped off the cliff, and Lu Qian returned to Lu Xiao’s head before unleashing a sound wave that left Ding Dan and Driver in pain.
• At Ding Dan’s suggestion, Lu Xiao summoned the Omniscient Mirror and paid fingernails to learn that Lu Qian had Screech and Affinity, though Affinity was distorted.
• Lu Xiao offered his remaining fingernails so the others could ask questions, and Ding Dan asked whether R019’s information to Dart was true.
• After the Mirror suggested rephrasing, Ding Dan learned R019 had never used Deception on Dart and had used only Temptation.
• Driver asked the Omniscient Mirror whether he could find a wife more beautiful than his current one.

Driver learned that the Omniscient Mirror would not reveal the Transforming Vehicle’s owner without a very high price, while Ding Dan discovered that Lu Xiao’s blood mutated people differently depending on their physical condition. The group’s discussion ended when Dart returned with a wounded fish-like creature and a captured tentacle from an even larger foe.

• The Omniscient Mirror told Driver he would spend his life with the Transforming Vehicle and refused to reveal its true owner without a very high price.
• Ding Dan asked why he and Dart had mutated differently, and the Omniscient Mirror said their physical condition when they received Lu Xiao’s blood determined the outcome.
• Lu Xiao explained that Ding Dan had been diseased and incomplete, while Dart’s body had been whole and healthy when Prison Doctor treated him.
• Ding Dan recalled Prison Doctor’s words about “pure ascension” and began to understand the difference between their mutations.
• Dart returned atop a badly wounded fish-like creature, explaining that an even larger weird life form had fled and that he had kept one of its tentacles.
• The fish-like creature dropped the still-writhing tentacle, whose barbed suckers had caused its wounds.

Dart asked the Omniscient Mirror whether he could become human again and learned that he could not, while Lu Xiao reassured him that his deeds would be remembered. As Lu Xiao and the others left the Dark Prison, Ding Dan explained his view of the Prison Wardens and Doctor.

• Ding Dan grew enormous black wings after eating the tentacle, then suggested searching for unusual Contained Anomalies that might help Doctor's plan.
• Dart asked the Omniscient Mirror if he could turn back into a human, and it told him the answer was no.
• Lu Xiao thanked Dart for being his number-one supporter and promised that he would remember what Dart had done; the Omniscient Mirror then told Dart to consume the drops of blood Lu Xiao had left.
• In the vehicle, Ding Dan said Dart might be trying to prove he was still human and declined Driver's offer of a cigarette.
• Ding Dan described the Prison Wardens as neither good nor evil and called Doctor an attentive but show-offish man whom the Sacrificial Ones nicknamed the stone-faced nanny.

Lu Xiao, Driver, Ding Dan, and Chainsaw Man became stranded in the Dark Prison after an attack disrupted their teleportation and left Driver unable to reach any known coordinates. They searched for landmarks but found only endless wilderness beneath the crimson moon.

• Driver attempted to teleport the Transforming Vehicle to C02's territory, but an immense force struck it as Dart killed an eyeball-like Weird Life nearby.
• A fly-like Weird Life consumed a puddle creature, then Dart appeared and killed the fly while wondering whether any other Monarch-level Weird Life remained.
• Lu Xiao recognized Dart's presence and realized he had likely intervened to save them, but Driver discovered that all remembered coordinates were out of teleportation range.
• Driver teleported repeatedly, but the group kept appearing in wilderness without landmarks or a signal.
• Lu Xiao told Driver to travel in one direction, so Driver transformed the vehicle into an aircraft and sped across the unchanging plain.

Lu Xiao and his companions left the plain and crossed a barren desert while avoiding dangerous Weird Life. A mysterious wave of drowsiness overcame everyone in the Transforming Vehicle, leaving Lu Xiao struggling to think as the chapter ended.

• Driver stopped the Transforming Vehicle at the ocean, and Lu Xiao used the Omniscient Mirror to learn they should head in the one o'clock direction.
• Ding Dan warned Driver that Contained Anomalies could gradually assimilate their users, and the Omniscient Mirror spat thick liquid onto Ding Dan's face.
• Lu Xiao and his companions drove out of the plain into a barren desert, using the Omniscient Mirror to find their way and avoiding powerful Weird Life.
• Driver, Chef, Chainsaw Man, Ding Dan, and Lu Xiao all grew overwhelmingly sleepy as they traveled.
• Lu Xiao realized something was wrong, but the drowsiness made thinking feel exhausting.

Lu Xiao and the others fell asleep inside the Transforming Vehicle in the Dark Prison, where a strange figure tore off a car door and guarded the vehicle. Lu Xiao then woke in an orange taxi that had turned into a trap, with the driver accusing him of sitting on his wife.

• Ding Dan, Chainsaw Man, Driver, and Lu Xiao succumbed to exhaustion inside the Transforming Vehicle.
• A tall, thin figure found the vehicle, tore off its door, tasted the flesh, and decided to guard it because he suspected Gambler had set a trap.
• Lu Xiao left work early and took an orange taxi home, chatting with the driver about his wife.
• The driver locked the taxi doors, pulled out a knife, and revealed that the seat beneath Lu Xiao had become rotten flesh.
• The road emptied as the driver told Lu Xiao his wife had cheated on him, then claimed Lu Xiao was sitting on her.