Recaps

[Howling Pothos] moved his supplies into a new body and brought his old corpse to Enzo, who agreed to work with him. They arranged to meet at Enzo's home while Enzo gathered information from the prison and discreetly helped [Howling Pothos]'s companions.

• [Howling Pothos] returned to Enzo's home, transferred his equipment to his new body, and decided to give his old corpse to Enzo.
• Enzo met [Howling Pothos], accepted his sister's wooden carving, and heard that she was traveling under the escort of Holy Crusaders.
• [Howling Pothos] offered Enzo his corpse, and Enzo explained that most treant test subjects struggled to bring back prey from Fir City.
• Enzo accepted the corpse and agreed to cooperate with [Howling Pothos].
• [Howling Pothos] asked Enzo to discreetly help his companions and report new prison developments, and they chose Enzo's home as their meeting place.

Enzo told Howling Pothos about changes in the prison, while players on the World of Disorder forums debated Clear Soup Master’s Tree Transformation and whether to combine it with Blood Corpse Transformation. The discussion ended with plans for smuggling into Fir City and a recruitment post for players willing to stay there.

• Enzo agreed to let Howling Pothos use his old home and told him about a recent change in the prison.
• Clear Soup Master asked the forums about his Tree Transformation buff, and players compared it with Blood Corpse Transformation.
• Chosen of the Four Gods explained the effects of a completed Blood Corpse Transformation, while players discussed whether Clear Soup Master might become a treant.
• Do Some Farm Work proposed combining the two transformation buffs, and Clear Soup Master agreed to try it if he could find a Blood Corpse.
• Do Some Farm Work offered Clear Soup Master a negotiable private smuggling route into Fir City, and Zhong Lele recruited players to stay there long-term.

After realizing he could earn money without sacrificing his progress, [Howling Pothos] proposed a business partnership built around a hidden waterway into Fir City, fishing, and a roadside shop. The group agreed to develop the plan but decided to keep [Shit Appraisal Master] out of it because he and [Good Times Don't Last] seemed to bring bad luck when they worked together.

• [Howling Pothos] read a forum post and realized he could make money by organizing services instead of doing everything himself.
• [Howling Pothos] invited [Epic-Level Giant], [Good Times Don't Last], and [Do Some Farm Work] to discuss using a hidden waterway for paid entry, exit, and smuggling into Fir City.
• [Howling Pothos] proposed that [Good Times Don't Last] buy the group’s excess fish and sell it in other towns.
• [Good Times Don't Last] suggested expanding the supply station with a supermarket and rest area, and the others praised the idea.
• [Howling Pothos], [Epic-Level Giant], and [Do Some Farm Work] warned [Good Times Don't Last] not to involve [Shit Appraisal Master] because their past partnerships had gone badly.
• In Great Labyrinth City, [Shit Appraisal Master] said he planned to tell his friend about setting up trade routes, and [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] and [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] tried to stop him.

[Good Times Don't Last] sent Dragonborn workers to Black Locust Town while Valhalla became the official name for the player settlement. In Fir City, Antiya Lisi identified Duolin as the rebel leader and awaited three Stained Ones Knight Orders to crush the rebellion.

• [Good Times Don't Last] arranged the Dragonborn workers’ travel applications and sent them toward Black Locust Town to gather timber.
• The players’ vote named the settlement around the castle Valhalla, and the developers added the name to the map.
• [Do Some Farm Work] closed his courtyard and went to the supply station carrying a small bag of mysterious items.
• Antiya Lisi learned that searches had failed to find the tunnel and concluded that Duolin had built the rebel force during the Blood Corpse crisis.
• Antiya Lisi learned that three Stained Ones Knight Orders were on their way and expected Aduolin Province to be reunified before spring.

Antiya Lisi explained why Fir City’s northern position made him confident that reinforcements would defeat the rebels, then checked on a captive undergoing Tree Transformation. The transformation finished while [Clear Soup Master] was logged out, and he returned to find that he had become a Treant.

• Antiya Lisi assessed the Tree Worship Church’s borders and military strength, concluding that Fir City was safe until reinforcements arrived.
• Antiya Lisi entered the dungeon and found a captive Soul Returner suspended with tree roots embedded in his body.
• Antiya Lisi believed the captive’s transformation had reached its final stage and that he would soon become a Treant Hunter.
• [Clear Soup Master] logged into the World of Disorder and saw that his Tree Transformation had ended.
• [Clear Soup Master] read his new Treant status, which increased his constitution and strength but sharply reduced his willpower.

[Clear Soup Master] completed Tree Transformation and became an iron-birch treant under Antiya Lisi’s watch, then wandered Fir City to map its streets while bound by the archbishop’s rules. When he heard a fight nearby, he rushed toward it, hoping the combatants would keep fighting.

• [Clear Soup Master] discovered that Tree Transformation had been suppressed and waited for Antiya Lisi to resume the treants’ nightly hunt.
• Antiya Lisi released [Clear Soup Master]’s restraints, and he transformed into a treant while the archbishop watched.
• [Clear Soup Master] struggled to control his transformed body and decided to map Fir City rather than attack clergy or players.
• [Clear Soup Master] wandered the streets twisting his neck to record areas and signal other players from afar.
• [Clear Soup Master] heard a fight and hurried toward it, inwardly hoping the combatants would not stop.

[That's Good Then] and [That's Really Bad] were cornered by treants on a street in Fir City until [Clear Soup Master], transformed into an iron birch treant, rescued them. After driving off their attackers, [Clear Soup Master] warned the two players to hide because the treants were dangerous and difficult to reason with.

• [That's Good Then] and [That's Really Bad] fought two treants but were caught in a tightening cage and pierced by barbed branches.
• [Clear Soup Master] arrived, exchanged the secret cuckoo signal with [That's Good Then], and challenged the treants while pretending they had stolen from him.
• [Clear Soup Master] knocked down the treant that had pierced the players and tore off its branches, then did the same to the other treant.
• The two treants fled, leaving [Clear Soup Master] with [That's Good Then] and [That's Really Bad].
• [That's Good Then] recognized [Clear Soup Master] as an organizer of the Blood Corpse assembly-line event, and [Clear Soup Master] urged the players to hide from the dangerous treants.

[Clear Soup Master] recruited [That's Good Then] to join the treants and headed toward Fir City's central cathedral with him and [That's Really Bad]'s corpse. Meanwhile, [Do Some Farm Work] began his first smuggling run into Fir City through an icy river and spotted a hand reaching out of the water.

• [That's Good Then] agreed to undergo the treant transformation after [Clear Soup Master] explained the process.
• [That's Really Bad] died after asking for compensation, and [Clear Soup Master] took his corpse along with [That's Good Then].
• [Aluode], [Western Sharpshooter], and [Gill's Cuisine] collected discarded Living Wood branches and discussed leaving Fir City before dawn.
• [Epic-Level Giant] urged [Do Some Farm Work] to risk the freezing river for his smuggling run into Fir City.
• [Do Some Farm Work] followed the current through a cut metal grate and saw a hand reaching into the river.

[Howling Pothos] received a dangerous delivery from [Do Some Farm Work] and passed it to Enzo for [Clear Soup Master]. He also arranged to send Enzo’s earnings and furniture-sale money to Enzo’s family as they traveled toward Valhalla, while Fir City remained to be taken.

• [Do Some Farm Work] grabbed [Howling Pothos]'s severed forearm from the icy water, and [Howling Pothos] hauled him onto the riverbank.
• [Howling Pothos] explained that he had given his corpse to a friend, then collected a tightly wrapped bundle of contaminated material from [Do Some Farm Work].
• [Do Some Farm Work] warned [Howling Pothos] to use the biological weapon only against the Stained Ones, and [Howling Pothos] threw him back into the water to swim home.
• [Howling Pothos] handed the bundle to Enzo and promised to pay him for the delivery, directing the money to Enzo's family in Valhalla.
• Enzo agreed to sell the remaining furniture in his home, with the proceeds also going to his family, then resumed wandering through Fir City.

[Howling Pothos] arranged for [Mules and Horses Drive the Sun] to collect a wardrobe, while [Clear Soup Master] received a secret bundle from a treant messenger. At the small church, [Zhong Lele] helped [Pond Fish and Old Abyss] and [Dark Archmage] take over the identities of two nuns.

• [Howling Pothos] led [Mules and Horses Drive the Sun] to Enzo's home, where he collected a wardrobe on credit.
• A treant delivered [Howling Pothos]'s regards and a cloth bundle to [Clear Soup Master], who planned to use it against Antiya Lisi during Ed's assault.
• [Zhong Lele] reassured an orphan that the strange noises outside came from a rat extermination team.
• [Pond Fish and Old Abyss] and [Dark Archmage] joined [Zhong Lele]'s plan to replace two nuns who had no family in Fir City.
• [Zhong Lele] instructed them to subdue the original nuns with as little force as possible.

Zhong Lele and her companions arranged to smuggle two nuns out of Fir City and planned to recruit more players to replace the chapel staff. After Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop agreed to present their proposal to Guide Ed, she offered to pay the three planners one gold coin each.

• Pond Fish and Old Abyss captured two nuns and packed them into ventilated crates for Mules and Horses Drive the Sun to remove from the chapel.
• Dark Archmage asked Zhong Lele whether they should send the children away, and Zhong Lele said they would need to replace at least two-thirds of the nuns first.
• Zhong Lele proposed waiting three days for more volunteers before asking Ed for funding to make the operation semi-official.
• Mules and Horses Drive the Sun delivered a new wardrobe to the chapel, using rat damage as an excuse while Sister Qieli and two nuns carried the crates inside.
• Pond Fish and Old Abyss asked Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop to negotiate with Ed and refine the Fir City proposal, and Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop offered one gold coin to each of the three planners.

Ed reviewed and expanded the budget for a plan to rescue the orphans from Fir City’s little church, while [Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop] relayed revisions and took photos of him. The undercover operation neared completion as the bishop called a meeting about the rats secretly helping the players remove church furnishings and people.

• [Pond Fish and Old Abyss] agreed on a price with [Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop] and sent the rescue proposal to Ed.
• Ed judged the hundred-gold-coin budget too low, requested revisions, and doubled the incentive as the plan was refined over three days.
• [Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop] passed Ed’s feedback to the planners and secretly took photos of him during their discussions.
• The bishop grew furious after rats repeatedly damaged the little church’s furniture, and he summoned its clerics and nuns to discuss the infestation.
• [Zhong Lele], [Pond Fish and Old Abyss], and [Dark Archmage] attended the meeting in disguise while their group worked toward replacing the church’s shifts and evacuating the orphans.

Zhong Lele, Dark Archmage, and Pond Fish and Old Abyss planned to bring real Thorn Rats into the chapel to support their false infestation reports and protect the orphans. Their bounty drew bankrupt players into the wilderness around Valhalla, where they hoped to earn enough to revive and return to the Fir City Operation.

• After the bishop's angry speech, the three nuns met in the storage room and discussed how their repeated rat reports risked exposing them.
• Zhong Lele proposed catching harmless Thorn Rats and bringing them to the chapel, and Pond Fish and Old Abyss suggested getting everyone involved through a bounty.
• A notice appeared in Valhalla offering five copper coins for each live Thorn Rat, with a three-day deadline and the Greenhouse as the exchange point.
• Bankrupt players struggling with negative balances saw the bounty as a way to earn money for revival costs and entry fees.
• Veteran players headed into the wilderness around Valhalla to catch Thorn Rats and prepare for another attempt at the Fir City Operation.

Ever-Changing Master Ye repeatedly failed to infiltrate Fir City and spent all his savings on the attempts. He revived using Negative Assets Mode, fell into debt, and returned to Valhalla ready to give up on the event and go back to fishing.

• Ever-Changing Master Ye entered Fir City without preparation and was killed by a treant on his first attempt.
• He returned in better equipment but was mistaken for a Holy See fugitive and killed by combat clerics and Holy Crusaders.
• After studying guides, he made repeated infiltration attempts, losing his savings each time until his balance reached zero.
• Unable to contact friends trapped in Fir City, Ever-Changing Master Ye accepted Negative Assets Mode and revived in debt.
• Out of supplies and funds, he returned to Valhalla's revival point and muttered that he was quitting.

Ever-Changing Master Ye tried to earn money by catching live Thorn Rats, but quickly realized the task was too difficult and tiring. Drawing on his fishing experience, he devised a way to lure and catch the rats, then prepared a barbed hook baited with Scarlet Millet.

• Ever-Changing Master Ye accepted the Greenhouse's bounty for live Thorn Rats after seeing that the purchase notice had sixty-five hours left.
• A player warned Ever-Changing Master Ye that Thorn Rats were difficult to catch alive, but he went into the wilderness and caught two live rats and one severed tail.
• After calculating how little he could earn, Ever-Changing Master Ye realized that catching rats had much in common with fishing.
• Ever-Changing Master Ye returned home for fishing rods, bought Scarlet Millet seeds at the Greenhouse, and headed back into the wilderness.
• Ever-Changing Master Ye fashioned a small barbed wooden hook, grew a Scarlet Millet seed using his own nutrients, and baited the hook with it.

[Ever-Changing Master Ye] used Scarlet Millet as bait to catch Thorn Rats in the winter wilderness, turning his first successful catch into a large-scale operation. After bringing nearly a hundred rats to [Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop] at the Greenhouse, he agreed to help dig a pit and asked to be paid in cash.

• [Ever-Changing Master Ye] caught a Thorn Rat by hooking Scarlet Millet hidden inside its cheek pouch.
• [Ever-Changing Master Ye] raided the rat's nest for grain and fruit, then scattered the food to attract more Thorn Rats.
• [Ever-Changing Master Ye] used six ratting rods to catch Thorn Rats until his cage was full, then marked several nests and headed to Valhalla.
• [Ever-Changing Master Ye] brought nearly a hundred Thorn Rats to [Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop], who offered extra pay if he helped dig a pit.
• [Ever-Changing Master Ye] accepted the work and asked [Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop] to pay him in cash.

[Ever-Changing Master Ye] began a rat-catching business after [Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop] agreed to pay him in physical currency despite his debts. He recruited two Dragonborn and taught them his fishing method, leaving them to catch Thorn Rats across the snowfield outside Valhalla.

• [Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop] learned that [Ever-Changing Master Ye] needed physical currency because his account was overdrawn and agreed to pay him in cash for a few days.
• [Ever-Changing Master Ye] dug a pit in the Greenhouse, where [Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop] used Deadwood Vines to keep the Thorn Rats from escaping.
• [Ever-Changing Master Ye] spent his first cash payment on flexible poles, two large cages, and bee silk, hiring two Dragonborn along the way.
• [Ever-Changing Master Ye] turned the poles into makeshift fishing rods and took the Dragonborn to the wilderness outside Valhalla.
• [Ever-Changing Master Ye] taught the Dragonborn to fish for Thorn Rats and made them promise to keep the method secret until their contracts ended.
• After forty minutes of training, [Ever-Changing Master Ye] and the two Dragonborn split up across the snowfield to catch rats.

[Ever-Changing Master Ye] collected a large number of Thorn Rats for [Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop], who grew suspicious that the bounty plan had a hidden purpose. He then hired two half-dragons for an unusually high wage to keep the rat-catching operation running, leaving them wondering whom he wanted killed.

• [Ever-Changing Master Ye] used food to lure Thorn Rats into cages and kept them hungry to prevent them from forming a Rat King.
• [Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop] paid [Ever-Changing Master Ye] two gold coins and silver coins for the rats, then suspected he needed them for more than the bounty and tried to contact three other players.
• [Ever-Changing Master Ye] asked the two half-dragons how long they could work and offered triple pay for overnight overtime.
• [Ever-Changing Master Ye] hired the half-dragons through the daytime two days later for thirty silver coins each.
• One half-dragon asked [Ever-Changing Master Ye] who he wanted killed.

[Ever-Changing Master Ye] hired Dragonborn to catch Thorn Rats and delivered hundreds to [Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop], threatening to overwhelm the Greenhouse’s purchase budget. [Pond Fish and Old Abyss], [Zhong Lele], and [Dark Archmage] realized they could not break their contract and hoped the rats and workers were limited in number.

• [Ever-Changing Master Ye] recruited and trained four Dragonborn to make rat rods and catch Thorn Rats.
• [Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop] paid [Ever-Changing Master Ye] nearly forty silver coins for four cages of rats, and he paid the first two Dragonborn before logging off.
• [Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop] told [Pond Fish and Old Abyss] that her Greenhouse held at least five hundred live Thorn Rats and that [Ever-Changing Master Ye] was hiring more catchers.
• [Pond Fish and Old Abyss] convened [Zhong Lele], [Dark Archmage], and [Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop] to discuss the risk of their event budget being overwhelmed.
• [Dark Archmage] explained that their Root Network- and Seraphina-certified purchase contract could not be broken without losing their deposit and damaging trust.
• [Zhong Lele] suggested that they could only hope Thorn Rats and temporary Dragonborn workers were limited in number.

Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop discovered that Ever-Changing Master Ye had delivered thousands of Thorn Rats to her Greenhouse, leaving her overwhelmed and desperate for a way to handle them. The chapter ended with the disguised nuns realizing that instructions needed to be extremely precise.

• Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop asked Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop to check her Greenhouse and deal with any rats that had escaped.
• Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop found four enormous cages packed with Thorn Rats outside the Greenhouse and told Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop that none had escaped inside.
• Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop logged in and saw Ever-Changing Master Ye arrive with four more cages of Thorn Rats carried by four Dragonborn.
• Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop asked Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop to count the live rats, then logged off in despair and left him in charge.
• Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop warned the group chat that the Greenhouse held at least eight thousand Thorn Rats, while three disguised nuns concluded that wording had to be precise.

Zhong Lele and her friends decided to stay in the city and seek help only if their purchase-notice problem became unmanageable. Meanwhile, [Ever-Changing Master Ye] expanded his rat-catching operation, while [Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop] and [Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop] confronted the flaw in her notice and the risk of bankruptcy.

• [Pond Fish and Old Abyss] logged off to stay in touch with the others, while [Zhong Lele] said they should ask for help on the forums if necessary without letting Ed or the other NPCs find out.
• [Ever-Changing Master Ye] paid [Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop] for counting the rats, then hired workers and resumed making rat-catching poles.
• The Great Prospects General Store explained that few Dragonborn workers remained available, so [Ever-Changing Master Ye] could hire only two more, bringing his team to seven.
• [Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop] logged back in and told [Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop] that excess rat purchases and the notice's rules could drive her group bankrupt.
• [Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop] criticized the notice's wording before learning his sister had written it, then offered her a family loan if [Ever-Changing Master Ye] bankrupted her group and was chased from the Greenhouse by deadwood vines.

[Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop] realized that the flood of cheap frozen fish could become a major problem when spring arrived, and traveled to the fishing camp near Fir City to propose buying some. The chapter ended with [Good Times Don't Last] asking what he needed.

• [Not Bad Tasting] served [Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop] fish and explained that fishing addicts had found a productive spot, leaving the market flooded with cheap fish.
• [Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop] recognized that the frozen fish might become a surplus like the Thorn Rats once spring thawed them.
• [Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop] contacted [Gu Gugu], who sent him the fishing spot's location near Fir City.
• [Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop] traveled north, briefly rode in a freight wagon, and continued on foot to the supply station.
• [Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop] saw the overflowing fish warehouse and asked [Good Times Don't Last] whether he could buy frozen fish cheaply.

[Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop] negotiated a bulk price for frozen fish and proposed using them to create a Rat King in Fir City, turning the surplus rats into a threat while limiting their spread. The plan’s creators agreed it could work, and he ended by asking them for a favor in return.

• [Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop] negotiated with [Good Times Don't Last] for a low price on bulk frozen fish without delivery.
• [Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop] heard [Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop]'s pleas about the growing number of rats and asked to speak with the plan’s creators.
• [Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop] told [Zhong Lele], [Pond Fish and Old Abyss], and [Dark Archmage] that he could not recover their losses but could help make their investment count.
• [Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop] proposed feeding frozen fish to the rats in the Holy Tree Garden to create a Rat King inside the chapel’s walled grounds.
• [Dark Archmage] asked where they could get enough animal carcasses, and [Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop] said he could obtain cheap frozen fish.
• [Zhong Lele] agreed to reimburse him for the fish, and [Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop] asked the group to help him with a favor.

Ever-Changing Master Ye expanded his rat-catching operation, paid his Dragonborn workers, and made a fortune before settling his debts. As the final day of Royal Calendar Year 908 ended, Zhong Lele and her companions prepared to launch their own plan for the following night.

• Ever-Changing Master Ye supervised six Dragonborn catching Thorn Rats and promised them a meal, while Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop paid promptly and said the rats now had somewhere good to go.
• At the small church in Fir City, Pond Fish and Old Abyss, Zhong Lele, and Dark Archmage agreed to carry out their plan in the latter half of the night after the purchase notice expired.
• The rat-catching brigade's output declined as rats fled cleared areas and alerted others, but Ever-Changing Master Ye still earned four gold, eighty silver, and three copper in his final settlement.
• Ever-Changing Master Ye showed Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop that he had earned twenty-four gold, fifteen silver, and ninety-six copper over sixty hours by catching 80,532 Thorn Rats.
• Ever-Changing Master Ye paid the Dragonborn their wages and bonuses, repaid Ed's cyber loan, and kept twenty gold coins plus some silver and copper.
• Ever-Changing Master Ye returned to his little house, picked up his old fishing rod, and headed for Fir City's popular suburban wild-fishing spot.

Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop brought Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop along to observe a plan to drop Thorn Rats and frozen fish into Fir City and create two Rat Kings. The convoy split up above the city, with one Rat King bound for the chapel and the other for the cathedral.

• Nuolun met Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop and Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop at the Adventurers' Guild and agreed to cooperate with their mission.
• The siblings learned that Soldier Bees carried cages of Thorn Rats and frozen fish, while Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop explained that she had helped prepare the warm corridor and planted Deadwood Vine guards around the Stability Anchors.
• Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop and Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop boarded Soldier Bees and joined the player convoy, which rendezvoused with a second team on the way to Fir City.
• The players divided the surviving rats and frozen fish into two loads to keep either Rat King from becoming too large and endangering civilians.
• The convoy split above Fir City to drop the loads at the chapel and cathedral; Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop revealed that the Rat Kings were codenamed Little Boy and Fat Man.