Chapter Summaries

Le Gu Nan rescued Kong Haochen from a Spore Person and asked where she could find more, while Shen Heng faced two Decaying Spore Guards and moved in close despite being wounded. The chapter ended as Shen Heng fired his last bullet at one of the guards.

• Le Gu Nan beheaded the Spore Person pursuing Kong Haochen, then asked the gathered students where she could find another one.
• Shen Shuning pointed Le Gu Nan toward a Spore Person heading for the administration building, and Yan Sheng wondered what that made the person Le Gu Nan had followed earlier.
• Shen Heng dodged attacks from two Decaying Spore Guards while trying to keep them away from the approaching students.
• Shen Heng failed to cut through a tentacle and took several hits as he closed the distance to the guards.
• Shen Heng drew his gun beneath a Decaying Spore Guard's tentacle and fired his last bullet.

Shen Heng killed the remaining Decaying Spore Guards with help from Han Ling, while the others searched the school for surviving Spore People. Elsewhere, Wei Leyang rescued fleeing students, who mistook him for a hero, and he introduced himself as a guy who liked weaving fate.

• Shen Heng retreated from the last Decaying Spore Guard while dodging its tentacle attacks and using his pistol to trick it into lowering its guard.
• Han Ling shot the Decaying Spore Guard’s head, killing it and leaving Shen Heng standing beside the three corpses.
• Han Ling told Shen Heng that Wei Leyang was searching the school and that the captain and Wu Cheng were heading to his position.
• Wei Leyang killed a Spore Person pursuing several fleeing students with a thin thread.
• The students asked Wei Leyang if he was a hero, and he replied that he was a guy who liked weaving fate.

Shen Heng sent Wang Hai, Wu Cheng, and Han Ling to investigate the mountain while he searched the school for remaining Spore People. In a dark conference room, Huang Ruiyang took comfort in hiding near a girl he admired, until her phone alarm rang and drew the other students’ anger.

• Shen Heng told Wang Hai that the Decaying Spore Guards had come from the mountain, and Wang Hai sent him to search the school while the others climbed the mountain.
• Shen Heng judged that the Decaying Spore had likely spent much of its Origin Power sealing the school, then ran off to listen for Spore People.
• Huang Ruiyang and several others hid among the seats in a dark conference room, afraid to leave while Spore People might be outside.
• Huang Ruiyang watched a girl he admired and felt reassured that they were in the same room.
• The girl’s phone alarm rang, and she apologized after explaining that it was a reminder from her mother to drink milk.
• A boy angrily challenged the girl for leaving an alarm on despite being told to silence their phones.

Huang Ruiyang left the meeting room to draw away a Spore Person that had been attracted by a girl's phone, but the creature quickly caught up with him. A saber-wielding young man rushed past Huang Ruiyang and decapitated the Spore Person.

• The Spore Person circled back to the meeting room and began ramming its door after the girl's phone ringtone drew it there.
• The girl offered to leave through a window and lure the creature away, but Huang Ruiyang volunteered to go in her place.
• Huang Ruiyang climbed out the window, called to the Spore Person, and ran as it pursued him.
• A bloodstained young man carrying a saber charged down the corridor toward Huang Ruiyang and the pursuing Spore Person.
• The young man ran past Huang Ruiyang and cut off the Spore Person's mushroom head with his saber.

Shen Heng and Wei Leyang finished clearing the Spore People from the school, and the incident was declared over. Students left their hiding places and gathered at the school gate for testing before being sent home.

• Shen Heng killed another Spore Person, then listened for signs of any others and waited for five minutes.
• Shen Heng reached the broadcasting station and saw armed police surrounding the area outside the school.
• Shen Heng received confirmation that the Decaying Spore had been dealt with and broadcast instructions for everyone to gather at the school gate.
• A short-haired girl and the others cautiously left the library after hearing the announcement and joined students heading to the gate.
• Students formed lines at the school gate while uniformed personnel maintained order.

The short-haired girl entered a blue tent, where Shen Heng reassured her that the incident was over. Later, Shen Heng arranged leave for the college entrance exam and completed his first round of Bone Tempering.

• The short-haired girl waited in line, entered a blue tent, and heard Shen Heng tell her that everything was over.
• At dinner, Shen Heng asked Wang Hai for three days off to help a family member with the college entrance exam, and Wang Hai approved.
• Han Ling and Wu Cheng discussed Gu Nan joining the Linhai City Supervision Bureau after the exam, while the others urged Shen Heng to take the exam himself.
• Shen Heng declined to take the college entrance exam and returned to his training room after dinner.
• Shen Heng tempered the final patch of his skull and completed his first round of Bone Tempering.

On the morning of the college entrance examination, Shen Heng drove Shen Shuning to Linhai No. 2 High School and waited for her while she sat the exam. Afterward, he met his homeroom teacher, Zhou Hong, outside the school, who questioned why he was there despite saying he would not take the exam.

• Xu Yuqin checked Shen Shuning’s exam supplies and asked Shen Heng to take her to the exam venue.
• Shen Heng drove Shen Shuning to Linhai No. 2 High School in a car assigned to him by the Supervision Bureau.
• During the drive, Shen Shuning asked about a school incident two weeks earlier, and Shen Heng repeated the official explanation of a chemical leak.
• Shen Heng gave Shen Shuning water, watched her enter the exam venue, and returned to the school gate to wait for her.
• At the school gate, Shen Heng encountered Zhou Hong, who asked why he was there after saying he would not take the college entrance exam.

Shen Heng waited with Zhou Hong for Shen Shuning to finish her exams, and Zhou Hong asked her about the papers. After Shen Heng warned Zhou Hong to get home early because of possible danger, Wang Hai announced that Le Gu Nan might not join the Linhai City Supervision Bureau.

• Shen Heng told Zhou Hong he was waiting to drive his older sister, Shen Shuning, to and from her exams.
• Shen Shuning came out after the Chinese exam, and Zhou Hong asked her about the paper after learning she was Shen Heng’s sister.
• Shen Heng learned that Shen Shuning had settled on Capital University but was still taking the exam because she would receive money for it.
• Zhou Hong told Shen Heng that evening self-study would end by 8:30 starting next semester, and Shen Heng warned him to get home early because of possible danger.
• Wang Hai told the Supervision Bureau dining hall that Le Gu Nan might not come to the Linhai City Supervision Bureau after all.

Le Gu Nan’s parents wanted her to transfer from the Linhai Supervision Bureau to the Capital Supervision Bureau, and Han Ling rallied their colleagues to support her staying. The group then faced the challenge of persuading Le Gu Nan’s parents despite the Capital’s clear advantages in resources and powerful ability users.

• Wang Hai explained that Le Gu Nan could transfer if she and both bureaus met the requirements, and that the Capital would likely accept her.
• Han Ling called Le Gu Nan and learned that her parents wanted her to move to the Capital for better opportunities.
• Wang Hai prompted the group to state their opinions, and Han Ling, Wu Cheng, Wei Leyang, Old Li, and eventually Shen Heng supported Le Gu Nan staying in Linhai.
• Wang Hai asked the group to consider how to change Le Gu Nan’s parents’ minds, and Shen Heng pointed to Han Ling’s claim that Linhai could offer her just as much as the Capital.

Shen Heng and the Linhai team planned ways to persuade Le Gu Nan to stay, naming their effort Operation Save Le Gu Nan. Afterward, Shen Heng asked Wang Hai to arrange a light, carefully timed job for his mother, Xu Yuqin, and Wang Hai agreed to help.

• Shen Heng explained that Le Gu Nan could earn useful resources by staying in Linhai, even though the Capital Supervision Bureau offered better guidance from high-tier ability users.
• Shen Heng suggested creating a training plan for Le Gu Nan, and Wei Leyang agreed to study her ability and develop suggestions.
• Han Ling agreed to gather information about Le Gu Nan and her family, and the group named their plan Operation Save Le Gu Nan.
• Shen Heng asked Wang Hai to find Xu Yuqin a light job with a seven-thousand salary and hours that would keep her from taking other work.
• Wang Hai agreed to ask someone to arrange the job, and Shen Heng thanked him.

Shen Heng considered how to use his surplus Origin Power in combat and searched Martial World Easy Exchange for a suitable technique. He decided to save his points for the 3,000-point target, then opened the everyday items section to look for something else.

• Shen Heng reflected on Le Gu Nan's reluctance to join and planned to help persuade her parents after the arrangements were ready.
• Shen Heng tested reinforcing his fist with Origin Power but found the method wasteful because the power could not be reclaimed and had to be continually replenished.
• Shen Heng browsed the combat techniques on Martial World Easy Exchange, but the available saber and skill techniques did not fit his budget.
• Shen Heng considered buying Gale Three Stages for 400 points, then chose to save toward 3,000 points because he did not urgently need the technique.
• Shen Heng reopened Martial World Easy Exchange and switched to the everyday items section, where he spotted a target.

Shen Heng studied a research paper on Origin Power, identified its instability as the obstacle to controlling it, and found a promising way to investigate circulating it through his body. Meanwhile, Yan Sheng asked whether Shen Heng would attend the graduation gathering, and Shen Heng declined.

• Shen Heng spent 25 points to read the White Paper on Basic Origin Power Research and learned about Origin Power’s properties and control training.
• Shen Heng decided to focus on developing a technique-based combat art and experimented with circulating Origin Power throughout his body using the routes of Five Animal Fist.
• Shen Heng found that listening to Origin Power’s movements could help him discover a method, though he still needed better control to succeed.
• Yan Sheng asked Shen Heng whether he would attend the graduation gathering at Guohui Hotel on June 18, and Shen Heng replied that he would not go.

At the Supervision Bureau, Wei Leyang proposed ways for Le Gu Nan to develop her Reconstruction ability, including specializing in fast material reshaping for combat. The group left the choice to Le Gu Nan and decided that three of them would visit her home in the next few days.

• Han Ling told Wu Cheng that Huaihe Pharmaceuticals belonged to Le Gu Nan's wealthy family.
• Wei Leyang described three levels of Reconstruction and suggested Le Gu Nan specialize in reshaping one or two materials quickly for combat.
• Wei Leyang proposed carrying materials to make weapons or reshaping concrete and asphalt into versatile constructs.
• Han Ling and Wu Cheng argued over which approach Le Gu Nan should take, and Shen Heng outlined the advantages and disadvantages of both.
• Wang Hai ended the argument, said Le Gu Nan should choose her path, and decided that three people would visit her home soon.

Wang Hai and his team visited Le Xiangwen to persuade him to let Le Gu Nan remain with the Linhai Supervision Bureau, but Le Xiangwen argued that the Capital offered more certain opportunities, and Le Gu Nan agreed that it might be better for her. Just as Wang Hai was about to respond, someone challenged the assumption that resources determined everything.

• Wang Hai chose Shen Heng to join him and Han Ling in visiting Le Gu Nan's family, explaining that Shen Heng's proposal to develop her ability would be made clear.
• Shen Heng, Wang Hai, and Han Ling arrived at Le Xiangwen's manor and met him and Le Gu Nan.
• Wang Hai asked Le Gu Nan to stay with the Linhai Supervision Bureau and explained the team's plans for developing her ability.
• Le Xiangwen argued that the Capital Supervision Bureau offered more reliable prospects because resources gathered there, and Le Gu Nan said she might prefer to go to the Capital.
• As Wang Hai prepared to answer, an unidentified voice challenged the idea that resources decided everything.

Shen Heng argued that Le Gu Nan would gain more strength and experience by staying with the Linhai Supervision Bureau than by joining the safer Capital bureau. Le Xiangwen agreed to discuss the decision with his daughter, while Shen Heng raised the Research Department as another option.

• Le Xiangwen questioned who Shen Heng was, and Shen Heng introduced himself as a new Supervision Bureau member and Le Gu Nan's schoolmate.
• Shen Heng challenged Le Xiangwen's focus on resources, arguing that the Linhai bureau's dangerous work could build experience and temperament as well as strength.
• Le Xiangwen noticed Le Gu Nan's silence and asked for time to discuss her future with her over the next day or two.
• Wang Hai gave Le Gu Nan a document outlining a possible direction for developing her ability, then left with Shen Heng and Han Ling.
• At the door, Shen Heng said Le Gu Nan could apply to the Research Department, and later told Han Ling he now believed staying in Linhai would suit her better.

Le Xiangwen let Le Gu Nan choose to stay in Linhai for three years before he reassessed her abilities and decided whether she should join the Research Department. Several days later, Shen Heng trained his Origin Power control with a rubber ball as Wang Hai’s team drove to a mission at Hi Nest.

• Le Gu Nan told Le Xiangwen she wanted to stay in Linhai, and he gave her three years to prove herself before reassessing her assignment.
• Le Xiangwen told Le Gu Nan he would try to interfere less but reminded her to visit her grandfather when she was home in the evening.
• Han Ling asked Wang Hai when Le Gu Nan would arrive, and Wang Hai said she would start the following Monday.
• Shen Heng explained that he used a rubber ball to train his Origin Power control after reading research material redeemed from Martial World Easy Exchange.
• Wang Hai considered having the Supervision Bureau members redeem the research paper, while Shen Heng turned toward the window and murmured that their mission was at Hi Nest.

Shen Heng and the Supervision Bureau team arrived at Hi Nest, where Stone Fire Ants had appeared after a loud bang in the basement. Shen Heng detected at least thirty or forty survivors hiding inside, and Wang Hai prepared to enter the dark building with Wei Leyang.

• Wang Hai explained that villages suffered fewer Calamity Beast casualties than cities because beasts in the wilderness rarely found people.
• The team reached Hi Nest and identified the creatures at its entrance as Stone Fire Ants.
• The officer in charge said the ants had emerged one after another after a loud bang in the basement, leading Shen Heng to suspect a large-scale overlap between the two worlds.
• Shen Heng sensed at least thirty or forty people still hiding inside Hi Nest.
• Wang Hai ordered Wei Leyang to enter with him and told Shen Heng and Han Ling to wait outside; he then asked for a building map.

Wang Hai and Wei Leyang found that the Stone Fire Ant colony was a second-tier threat, but the ants escaped underground before they could resolve it. Shen Heng detected one moving deeper beneath the basement and realized Wang Hai planned to use Wu Cheng to attack it.

• Wang Hai left Shen Heng in charge outside while he and Wei Leyang entered the Hi Nest building.
• Han Ling spotted a Stone Fire Ant peering from a third-floor window and shot it when it exposed its head.
• Shen Heng sensed the Stone Fire Ants emerging and warned the group, which opened fire as the ants charged outside.
• In the basement, Wang Hai dug through ant corpses and confirmed the second-tier Stone Fire Ants had escaped underground.
• Shen Heng located an ant moving down more than twenty meters beneath Wang Hai and heard Wang Hai order Wu Cheng to hurry to the basement.

Shen Heng joined Han Ling in clearing Stone Fire Ants from the building and faced his first Calamity Beast in close combat. After his initial strike failed to pierce its exoskeleton, he adapted and killed it with a blade strengthened by Origin Power.

• Shen Heng asked Wang Hai to let him join Wei Leyang and Han Ling upstairs, and Wang Hai agreed while warning him to avoid groups of Stone Fire Ants.
• Shen Heng and Han Ling entered the building and split up, with Han Ling taking the right passage and Shen Heng heading left.
• Shen Heng found a Stone Fire Ant feeding on two bodies and confronted it as it mimicked the victims' pleas for help.
• The Stone Fire Ant dodged Shen Heng's first slash, then lunged at him; his next strike cut only shallowly into its exoskeleton.
• Shen Heng kicked the ant away, gathered Origin Power into his blade, and decapitated it with a final slash.

Shen Heng, Wei Leyang, and Han Ling hunted Stone Fire Ants while guiding frightened survivors through an infested building. In a room where a group remained in hiding, Fan Qimei blamed He Wenhao for suggesting their outing and demanded that he kill the ants.

• Shen Heng warned Wei Leyang about a Stone Fire Ant hidden behind an inner door, and Wei Leyang killed it with silver threads.
• Shen Heng, Wei Leyang, and Han Ling compared their kills, and Shen Heng told two onlookers to stay inside until someone notified them.
• Shen Heng stopped while heading toward his next target and stared up to his right.
• Yan Sheng watched as Fan Qimei complained that the group was still in danger and blamed He Wenhao for their predicament.
• Fan Qimei ordered He Wenhao to go out and kill the ants, but he protested that ordinary people could not fight creatures that large.