Chapter Summaries

Song Xiaozhu asked Shen Qi to watch over Qiu Shuyu and said she planned to rebuild the ninety-nine bases rather than join the God-Favored struggle. She used public opinion to synthesize soil purifiers and seeds, then wondered whether Xiao He had based the recipes on her again.

• Song Xiaozhu asked Shen Qi to quietly look for Qiu Shuyu in the Holy City, and he agreed to arrange it.
• Song Xiaozhu told Shen Qi that her next plan was to build up the ninety-nine bases and help their survivors.
• Song Xiaozhu reviewed new recipes generated by public opinion, including soil purifiers and seeds for grain, vegetables, fruit, candy, salt, and spices.
• Song Xiaozhu activated Automatic Synthesis and Batch Synthesis to produce soil purifiers and large quantities of seeds.
• Song Xiaozhu asked Xiao He whether she had used Song Xiaozhu as the model for the recipes again.

Song Xiaozhu prepared soil purifiers, seeds, and advanced hoes so the villagers could reclaim farmland, but stayed behind because it was too dangerous for her to leave the village. The Undead tested the equipment overnight, and by morning the polluted ground had turned back into ordinary soil.

• Song Xiaozhu obtained advanced hoes and brought them with seeds and soil purifiers to Xiao Yunjie, asking the villagers to test them outside Liu Family Village.
• Luo Liuzi and the others persuaded Song Xiaozhu to remain in the village, and Xiao Yunjie arranged for the Guard Team to reclaim land while patrol drones followed them.
• Survivors from Deer Town eagerly volunteered, and Xiao Yunjie led the Undead out to test the soil purifiers.
• The Undead watched the purifiers work for about eight hours, and by daybreak the polluted ground had returned to ordinary brown-black soil.

Song Xiaozhu helped the villagers reclaim and farm purified land, while keeping in touch with Qiu Shuyu and investigating her situation at Ten Nations Technology. Qiu Shuyu’s recent activities seemed to confirm she was safe, though Song Xiaozhu still struggled to quiet her unease.

• Xiao Yunjie used her advanced hoe to break ground, and Song Xiaozhu encouraged Xiao Tong and the others to sow seeds.
• Song Xiaozhu supplied a thousand soil purifiers, and the villagers of Liu Family Village cultivated land toward the Scavenger Community.
• Song Xiaozhu and Chen Quanquan worked together to plant a half-mu farm in front of her shop.
• Song Xiaozhu sensed an unusual familiarity in her conversations with Qiu Shuyu, then learned from Shen Qi that an elder from Ten Nations Technology was helping Qiu Shuyu recover and awaken.
• Song Xiaozhu asked Qiu Shuyu to add her on a personal terminal and checked her recent activities, which appeared to confirm Qiu Shuyu was safe.

Song Xiaozhu helped survivors across the 99 Testing Grounds rebuild with tools, food, and clean water, but she remained confined to her protected base by a hidden hunter. Her companions debated taking her outside, while the paused God-Favored struggle left them waiting for the enemy to act.

• Shen Qi told Song Xiaozhu that Dharma City had submitted and that New Han-Tang’s support and her synthesized supplies were bringing survivors across the Testing Grounds together.
• Song Xiaozhu provided tools, basic meals, and clean water, while the survivors did the labor of rebuilding their communities.
• A month later, the first vegetables ripened, and Song Xiaozhu watched the villagers celebrate through a patrol drone while her Leadership Value surpassed one hundred million.
• Song Xiaozhu remained afraid to leave her base because the hunter knew its rules and was waiting for her to venture out.
• Xiao Tong urged the others to take Song Xiaozhu outside, but Xiao Yunjie argued that the God-Favored struggle was only paused, and Xiao Tong wished she had the mechanical sword.

Song Xiaozhu synthesized the Sword of Genesis, a mechanical weapon designed to protect her, after the villagers’ hopes inspired a new recipe. She brought it to the village and refused Xiao Tong’s request to use it.

• Xiao Tong suggested that Song Xiaozhu could use a mechanical sword like Fan Cang’s to protect herself, and the villagers spread the idea among their families.
• Xiao He told Song Xiaozhu that a new public opinion recipe had appeared: the Sword of Genesis, which required Quantum Coins and leadership value.
• Song Xiaozhu synthesized the sword and learned that it could defend and attack automatically under Xiao He’s control or move manually at her will.
• Song Xiaozhu equipped the sword and told Fan Cang that their choices had taken them down different paths.
• Xiao Yunjie and the others saw the sword at Song Xiaozhu’s waist, and Xiao Tong eagerly asked to use it, but she refused.

Song Xiaozhu visited Hu Yuan, who named the community Wengen before dying peacefully, and equipped it with a Quantum Light Shield and Anti-Aircraft Cannon. Song Xiaozhu then entered Ink City, where no living people remained despite signs of recent life.

• Song Xiaozhu asked Xiao Yunjie about Hu Yuan and learned she was unlikely to survive the winter.
• Song Xiaozhu and Xiao Yunjie walked through the cultivated fields and rebuilt community to visit Hu Yuan.
• Hu Yuan told Song Xiaozhu she loved the community and named it Wengen Community after her late son, Hu Wengen.
• Song Xiaozhu had Xiao He place the Base Manager, giving the Wengen Community a Quantum Light Shield and a Quantum Anti-Aircraft Cannon, and Hu Yuan died with a smile.
• Song Xiaozhu visited Ink City and found it empty of living people, though signs of life remained.

Song Xiaozhu weighed conflicting accounts of the Fortresses, then left them untouched and spent months establishing bases across the region. As Qiu Shuyu neared the end of her treatment, Li Shijian appeared before Wen Changye and identified Li Siyuan as the Day After Tomorrow Society’s hope.

• Song Xiaozhu considered the conflicting explanations for the Fortresses and decided not to build a base in Ink City while she investigated their connection to Li Shihai's assassination.
• Song Xiaozhu established over three hundred Base Managers across communities in the Fortresses, bringing residents protection and making Leadership Value easier to collect.
• Qiu Shuyu told Song Xiaozhu that her treatment would be finished in three days, and Song Xiaozhu planned to return to Liu Family Village to meet her.
• Li Shijian appeared before Wen Changye at the Day After Tomorrow Society headquarters and showed him a Bodily Transmission Stone.
• Li Shijian told Wen Changye that Li Siyuan was the heir to the Han-Tang Group and the child Mr. Bai had chosen as the Day After Tomorrow Society's hope.

Li Shijian took Shang Xiaoyue to collect the Heart of the Creator fragments, then hypnotized Wen Changye and left with Bai Jing's Bodily Transmission Stone. After learning Li was a level-six Hypnotist using Skynet to gather the fragments, Shen Qi raced to warn Song Xiaozhu and ordered all personal terminals destroyed.

• Li Shijian took Shang Xiaoyue, explaining that the Synthesizer inside her could collect the Heart of the Creator fragments without driving her mad.
• Wen Changye kept Bai Jing's Bodily Transmission Stone and realized his adoptive father was still alive.
• Leina discovered Shang Xiaoyue was gone, and Wen Changye recognized that Li Shijian had hypnotized him.
• Leina warned Shen Qi that Li Shijian was collecting the final Heart of the Creator fragments, but Shen Qi learned Su Wenjun and Gao Mingshu had already disappeared.
• Shen Qi set out to find Song Xiaozhu and ordered Jiang Xiuqi to shut down the channel and destroy all personal terminals.

Li Shijian finished preparing Qiu Shuyu to collect fragments of the Heart of the Creator, while a new God-Favored ranking revealed Li Siyuan as the sole ranked person. Shen Qi realized Li Shijian had been using personal terminals to hypnotize people and destroyed Song Xiaozhu’s terminal, but she said the village had no others.

• Li Shijian told Song Xiaozhu that his treatment of Qiu Shuyu would end in three days, then provoked a confrontation with three hypnotized God-Favored.
• Qiu Shuyu killed Gao Mingshu and the other two attackers, and Li Shijian told her to collect the fragments scattered on the floor.
• Today's News removed Shang Xiaoyue, Gao Mingshu, and Su Wenjun from the rankings and named Li Siyuan the sole ranked God-Favored, at rank 1 with a Slaughter Value of 3.76 billion.
• Jiang Xiuqi told Shen Qi about the ranking, and Shen Qi destroyed Jiang Xiuqi's personal terminal and explained that Li Shijian could use terminals and familiar objects to hypnotize people.
• Shen Qi found Song Xiaozhu in Liu Family Village, burned her personal terminal, and learned that the villagers used communicators instead.

Song Xiaozhu realized Li Shijian had used his Hypnotist abilities to keep her from investigating Qiu Shuyu, who was now in his hands. After learning Qiu Shuyu was waiting with Li Shijian at the Clouds, Song Xiaozhu decided to go there despite the trap.

• Shen Qi told Song Xiaozhu that Li Shijian was a level-six Hypnotist who had influenced personal-terminal owners through Skynet.
• Song Xiaozhu recognized that Li Shijian had confused her for over half a year so she would not search for Qiu Shuyu.
• Song Xiaozhu contacted Qiu Shuyu and received a message from Li Shijian saying they were waiting for her at the Clouds.
• Shen Qi explained that Wen Changye had exposed Li Shijian's class after Li hypnotized him and took Shang Xiaoyue away.
• Song Xiaozhu told Shen Qi she would go to the Clouds to rescue Qiu Shuyu and confront Li Shijian.

Song Xiaozhu prepared to confront Li Shijian and rescue Qiu Shuyu, entrusting the expanding network of bases to her companions. Before leaving, she learned more about Bai Jing’s past and accepted a pouch meant to help her save Shuyu.

• Song Xiaozhu assigned Xiao Yunjie, Tian Man, Luo Liuzi, Lu Xiaochu, and Lu Xiaofang responsibilities for managing the bases, shops, and roads.
• Song Xiaozhu visited Bai Jing and told him she planned to bring Qiu Shuyu back from the Han-Tang Group.
• Bai Jing admitted he had suspected Qiu Shuyu was in danger but had kept quiet to prevent Song Xiaozhu from rushing into Li Shijian’s control.
• Bai Jing gave Song Xiaozhu a brocade pouch and told her to open it after waking Qiu Shuyu if Li Shijian forced them to fight.
• Bai Jing began recounting how he and his friend Hou Chen had founded the Day After Tomorrow Society after the Great Cataclysm.

Bai Jing told Song Xiaozhu about the Day After Tomorrow Society’s collapse and sent her on her way after she reminded him that he had already planted seeds of hope. In Holy City, Song Xiaozhu recognized its resemblance to Ink City and recalled a hidden encounter with Li Shijian that raised disturbing questions about Li Siyuan’s memories and an incubation nest.

• Bai Jing recounted how factional conflict drove Hou Chen mad and led to his death, while Bai Jing abandoned the Day After Tomorrow Society and settled beneath Garbage Mountain.
• Song Xiaozhu told Bai Jing that he had already sown countless seeds of hope, and he understood before urging her to go.
• Song Xiaozhu arrived alone beneath Holy City and saw garbage trucks carrying waste beyond its walls, just as in Ink City.
• Song Xiaozhu remembered seeing Li Shihai control a display showing ninety-nine cities and being hidden by Li Shijian, who called himself her youngest uncle.
• Song Xiaozhu wondered whether the memories were Li Siyuan’s and what the incubation nest and its supposed siblings were.

Song Xiaozhu entered the real Clouds to rescue Qiu Shuyu, but Li Shijian revealed that Qiu Shuyu had collected a hundred Rough Stone Fragments and urged Song Xiaozhu to give her the Synthesizer. Song Xiaozhu found Qiu Shuyu maddened and fighting her, with the Sword of Genesis close to breaking.

• Song Xiaozhu resisted Li Shijian’s hypnosis, climbed the floating stairs, and entered the black door leading to the Clouds.
• Li Shijian told Song Xiaozhu that Qiu Shuyu had collected a hundred Rough Stone Fragments and would need the Synthesizer to avoid madness.
• Song Xiaozhu refused to give Qiu Shuyu to Li Shijian and entered the real Clouds to find her.
• Song Xiaozhu found Qiu Shuyu consumed by madness and attacking her with overwhelming strength.
• Qiu Shuyu’s punches damaged the Sword of Genesis by 90%, while Song Xiaozhu considered whether to strike back.

Song Xiaozhu fought to break Li Shijian’s hypnosis over Qiu Shuyu, but the Heart of the Creator’s fragments drove Qiu Shuyu to beg for death. Song Xiaozhu killed her with the Sword of Genesis and opened Master Bai’s brocade pouch.

• Qiu Shuyu attacked Song Xiaozhu, who told her that Li Shijian was a Hypnotist and that she was really Qiu Shuyu.
• Qiu Shuyu insisted that she was Li Siyuan and damaged Song Xiaozhu’s Sword of Genesis, so Song Xiaozhu made a second one.
• Song Xiaozhu reminded Qiu Shuyu of Master Bai and their past, and Qiu Shuyu began to recognize her as Xiaozhu.
• The Heart of the Creator’s fragments stirred inside Qiu Shuyu, and she begged Song Xiaozhu to kill her before she hurt anyone.
• Song Xiaozhu drove the Sword of Genesis into Qiu Shuyu’s heart, killing her, then opened Master Bai’s brocade pouch.

Song Xiaozhu saved Qiu Shuyu by using Bai Jing’s Healer’s Benevolent Heart to synthesize her into an Undead Queen, then confronted Li Shijian. Li Shijian revealed a recording that awakened Song Xiaozhu’s memories of her past in the Hatching Nest, where she had been forced to fight other teenagers.

• Song Xiaozhu synthesized Qiu Shuyu into an Undead Queen, and Qiu Shuyu woke, unaware of what had happened to her.
• Song Xiaozhu told Qiu Shuyu that Bai Jing could survive if they returned home, then prepared to destroy Li Shijian’s facility.
• Li Shijian confronted Song Xiaozhu and accused her of treating people as stepping stones, then asked Qiu Shuyu to remember what Song Xiaozhu had once done.
• Li Shijian revealed a recording that brought back Song Xiaozhu’s memories of waking in the Hatching Nest as a child called Xiaozhu.
• The recording showed Song Xiaozhu’s supposed father ordering her to kill people he called rats, while a group of teenagers rushed at her with knives.

Song Xiaozhu endured Li Shihai’s slaughter trials in the Hatching Nest and learned from Li Shijian that the Synthesizer’s successor had to be chosen through killing. She and Li Shijian resolved to destroy the Synthesizer, but with no other independent-minded allies, Li Shijian proposed that Song Xiaozhu become its successor by killing the synthesized beings.

• Song Xiaozhu refused to kill the boys in Li Shihai’s trials and tried to make them recognize one another as people.
• Song Xiaozhu explored the Hatching Nest, discovered Li Shihai manipulating 99 cities, and met Li Shijian, a defective synthesized human.
• Li Shijian explained the Synthesizer’s history and said Li Shihai was choosing a successor through slaughter.
• Song Xiaozhu and Li Shijian agreed to destroy the Synthesizer and searched for a way to act against Li Shihai.
• After they found no other synthesized humans with an independent sense of self, Li Shijian proposed killing them so Song Xiaozhu could inherit the Synthesizer and destroy it.

Song Xiaozhu remembered how Li Shihai had separated her from Li Shijian and tortured him, and she realized his scheme had turned Li Shijian into a weapon meant to claim the Synthesizer. Facing the transformed Li Shijian, she said Li Shihai had erased her memories and offered to let him hypnotize her to learn the truth.

• Song Xiaozhu refused to kill the sleeping synthetic humans and decided to assassinate Li Shihai, agreeing to let Li Shijian support her from the shadows.
• Li Shihai watched their plan as Song Xiaozhu entered the room, where the Workbench vanished and she lost consciousness.
• Song Xiaozhu woke with memories of Li Siyuan and forgot her life with Li Shijian, while Li Shihai kept Li Shijian behind and tortured him as an Undead.
• Li Shijian awakened as a Hypnotist, drove the synthetic humans to kill Li Shihai, and vowed to make Song Xiaozhu lose everything.
• Song Xiaozhu remembered Li Shijian's suffering and Li Shihai's plan to make him seize the Synthesizer, then told Li Shijian that her memories had been erased and offered to be hypnotized.

Song Xiaozhu refused to destroy the Synthesizer and tried to save the people in the Fortresses without sacrificing anyone. After Li Shijian killed himself, she returned to the village and affirmed that she trusted Xiao He.

• Li Shijian revealed that the Synthesizer had caused the Great Cataclysm and demanded that Song Xiaozhu destroy it.
• Song Xiaozhu explained that Leadership Value could sustain the Synthesizer, while Li Shijian threatened the ten million people in the Fortresses.
• Song Xiaozhu refused to kill Li Shijian or destroy the Synthesizer, and he drove her sword into his own chest, shattering his Awakening Stone.
• Qiu Shuyu steadied Song Xiaozhu, who asked to go home, and she later woke in the village after sleeping for a day and night.
• Xiao He asked whether she might destroy humanity and whether Song Xiaozhu trusted her, and Song Xiaozhu said she did.

Li Shijian learned that Song Xiaozhu had accepted Li Shihai’s offer to become his daughter and leave with the Synthesizer, leaving Li Shijian behind. After awakening as a Hypnotist and killing Li Shihai, Li Shijian discovered the Synthesizer’s origins and began reading about its contradictory Growth Quests.

• Li Shihai told Li Shijian that Song Xiaozhu had chosen to become his daughter and take the Synthesizer outside rather than stay with Li Shijian.
• Li Shijian refused to believe Song Xiaozhu had abandoned him and attacked Li Shihai, but an invisible barrier stopped him.
• Driven by hatred, Li Shijian awakened as a Hypnotist using Energy Stones from the Undead and killed Li Shihai with the other children.
• Li Shijian saw a smiling girl on a screen and decided not to destroy everything, instead wanting her to suffer as he had.
• Li Shijian read Li Shihai’s drafts and learned that the Synthesizer came from the asteroid that had destroyed human civilization.
• Li Shijian found Li Shihai’s diary, which described two seemingly contradictory Growth Quests: killing invaders and escaping danger.

Li Shijian learned from Li Shihai’s diary how his choices built the Holy City and ninety-nine Fortresses while leaving his society dependent on dwindling Energy Fragments and uncontrolled Polluted Beasts. The diary revealed that Li Shihai created the Hatching Nest and his successors to produce someone who would choose slaughter, and its end left Li Shijian clearheaded.

• Li Shihai’s diary recorded how he repeatedly chose trade, expansion, and control of Polluted Beasts while justifying increasingly ruthless actions as necessary for survival.
• Li Shihai established the Holy City and ninety-nine Fortresses, but he could not control the Polluted Beasts or develop new humans strong enough to fight them.
• Energy Fragments began dissolving inside Polluted Beasts, and Gatherers struggled to collect them, threatening the system Li Shihai had built.
• Li Shihai tried to make Slaughter Value exceed Transaction Value, but his level-six Synthesizer remained fixed as a merchant.
• Li Shihai began synthesizing people to find a successor who would choose slaughter, leading to the Hatching Nest, Li Shijian, Song Xiaozhu, and the God-Favored.
• After reading Li Shihai’s manuscript, Li Shijian became clearheaded.