Chapter Summaries

Song Xiaozhu found a way to harvest iron from a massive discarded truck bed by using Qiu Shuyu’s digging and her Workbench. After the truck bed collapsed, she began synthesizing a professional axe with the iron raw material she had obtained.

• Song Xiaozhu learned from Qiu Shuyu that overcrowding in the Fortress forced residents of the lower district to live in extremely cramped homes.
• Song Xiaozhu asked Qiu Shuyu to dig a hole beneath the truck bed, then gathered materials to synthesize crude oil while Qiu Shuyu worked.
• Song Xiaozhu placed the Workbench in the hole and successfully extracted three pieces of iron raw material from the truck bed.
• The truck bed collapsed into the garbage heap, and Song Xiaozhu pulled Qiu Shuyu away from the falling debris.
• Song Xiaozhu stored the iron raw material in the Workbench and began synthesizing a professional axe.

Song Xiaozhu successfully made professional axes, advanced her Logger achievement to level 2, and spent the reward on the hemostatic powder recipe. She synthesized ten doses of the new medicine, whose application carried an unexplained drawback.

• Song Xiaozhu synthesized a professional axe with 60% greater logging efficiency and a 10% logging critical hit rate, then showed it to Qiu Shuyu.
• Song Xiaozhu made another professional axe with 70% greater logging efficiency and unlocked the level 2 Logger achievement, earning 10 Quantum Coins.
• Song Xiaozhu spent the Quantum Coins to unlock the level 2 hemostatic powder recipe.
• Song Xiaozhu synthesized two batches of hemostatic powder; the first failed, while the second produced ten doses that could rapidly stop bleeding when used with bandages.

Song Xiaozhu synthesized professional axes while Qiu Shuyu gathered iron raw material, and Xiao Tong went to meet Old Madam Hu alone to seek antibiotics. Bai Jing returned to his shack, discovered signs of heavy bleeding, and Song Xiaozhu finished the day with an axe whose usage effect reached 90%.

• Song Xiaozhu asked Qiu Shuyu to keep digging for iron raw material so she could synthesize and compare more professional axes.
• Song Xiaozhu and Qiu Shuyu worked through the afternoon while Bai Jing and Xiao Tong waited outside Old Madam Hu's office building.
• Chen San told Bai Jing that Old Madam Hu would meet Xiao Tong alone, and Xiao Tong insisted on going upstairs without Bai Jing.
• Bai Jing returned to his shack, coughed up blood, and detected the scent of a large amount of human blood inside.
• Song Xiaozhu synthesized five professional axes, including one with a usage effect of 90%.

Song Xiaozhu and Qiu Shuyu returned to the shack with iron axes and found Bai Jing back from Liu Family Village. After Bai Jing discovered the blood from Song Xiaozhu’s killing of Shang Bao, she explained what had happened and revealed her mysterious crafting ability.

• Song Xiaozhu and Qiu Shuyu brought iron axes back to the community and found Bai Jing waiting outside the shack.
• Bai Jing thanked Qiu Shuyu for caring for Song Xiaozhu, then sent her away so he could speak privately with Song Xiaozhu.
• Bai Jing noticed blood in the shack and demanded to know who had broken in and where the body was.
• Song Xiaozhu admitted that she had killed Shang Bao and said his body vanished in white mist, leaving behind fertilizer from a failed crafting attempt.
• Song Xiaozhu told Bai Jing that Qiu Shuyu had identified the mist as an Awakened’s Force and confessed that she had made up the name Song Xiaozhu.

Song Xiaozhu tried to explain her awakening to Bai Jing without exposing too much about Li Siyuan’s past. Bai Jing revealed that Li Siyuan had received an Awakening Stone at birth, and Song Xiaozhu realized her Synthesizer ability might have emerged through sudden enlightenment.

• Song Xiaozhu told Bai Jing she had lost her memories, had kept her past from Qiu Shuyu to protect her, and suspected she was a Craftsman.
• Bai Jing questioned how someone implanted with an Awakening Stone at birth could awaken as a Craftsman.
• Song Xiaozhu wondered whether Li Siyuan’s implanted Awakening Stone was connected to her Synthesizer ability.
• Bai Jing explained that awakening meant sudden enlightenment, when a dormant seed planted by an Awakening Stone finally came to fruition.
• Bai Jing said later enlightenment and greater upheaval before enlightenment could produce stronger abilities, though he mocked the cost of such strength.

Song Xiaozhu explained her abilities to Bai Jing, who recognized signs of an awakened class and was startled by her ability to make medicine. After seeing her medicines and spatial box, Bai Jing warned that creating such an item could damage her foundation, while Song Xiaozhu privately realized her Synthesizer was damaged and awaiting repair.

• Song Xiaozhu and Bai Jing discussed how her memory loss had prevented her from awakening during her past upheaval.
• Song Xiaozhu described the tools, weapons, armor, food, water, and medicines she could make while keeping the Synthesizer secret.
• Bai Jing reacted with surprise when Song Xiaozhu said she could make anti-inflammatory tablets and hemostatic powder.
• Song Xiaozhu revealed the medicines from her spatial box, and Bai Jing identified the box as an item formed from Force.
• Bai Jing warned Song Xiaozhu that creating an item of that caliber could damage her foundation, and Song Xiaozhu remembered that her Synthesizer was damaged and awaiting repair.

Song Xiaozhu learned how Awakened people’s bodies changed when they used Force and that they became Awakening Stones when they died. Bai Jing identified her rare profession as an All-Purpose Craftsman, which could pass as an Engineer, then asked how quickly she could produce medicine; she estimated at least ten thousand tablets an hour with enough materials.

• Bai Jing used Force to examine Song Xiaozhu’s medicine, temporarily becoming young before returning to his elderly appearance and calling it ordinary.
• Bai Jing explained that Awakened people temporarily returned to the condition they were in when they awakened, and that their bodies changed as a cost of using Force.
• Bai Jing told Song Xiaozhu that Awakened people became more powerful Awakening Stones when they died and explained Bodily Transmission.
• Bai Jing identified Song Xiaozhu’s rare profession as an All-Purpose Craftsman and agreed she could present herself as an Engineer.
• Bai Jing asked how efficiently Song Xiaozhu could make medicine, and she estimated she could produce around ten thousand tablets an hour if she had enough raw materials.

Bai Jing treated the gravely wounded Xiao Tong after Chen San brought him back from Old Madam Hu’s office with a bottle of antibiotics. Song Xiaozhu revealed that she had made only a small supply of medicine, leaving Bai Jing asking how much she had prepared.

• Chen San and two guards brought the injured Xiao Tong to Bai Jing’s shack and explained that he had attacked Old Madam Hu after she spoke to him.
• Chen San gave Bai Jing a bottle of antibiotics as a token of goodwill from Old Madam Hu before leaving with the guards.
• Bai Jing injected the antibiotics into Xiao Tong, who insisted that the medicine should be saved for the villagers.
• Xiao Tong sank into despair as Old Madam Hu’s accusation about his father echoed in his mind.
• Bai Jing asked Song Xiaozhu for hemostatic powder and anti-inflammatory tablets, and she showed him her limited supply, explaining that she lacked materials.

Bai Jing treated Xiao Tong’s severe wound with Song Xiaozhu’s medicine, which stopped the bleeding but caused excruciating pain, while the anti-inflammatory tablets tasted so awful that Xiao Tong burst into tears. As Xiao Tong slept and Song Xiaozhu prepared dinner, Bai Jing—back in his aged form—approached the meal with little confidence in her wild vegetable powder.

• Bai Jing applied Song Xiaozhu’s hemostatic powder to Xiao Tong’s wound, and Xiao Tong convulsed from the pain before the bleeding subsided.
• Bai Jing gave Xiao Tong anti-inflammatory tablets that dissolved in his mouth and made him cry from their terrible taste.
• Xiao Tong fell asleep, and Bai Jing assured Qiu Shuyu that he was not dead and seemed likely to recover quickly.
• Song Xiaozhu reheated simple meals with wild vegetable powder while Qiu Shuyu helped serve dinner.
• Bai Jing returned to his aged appearance and doubted that Song Xiaozhu’s special wild vegetable powder would taste good.

Song Xiaozhu explained how she could produce anti-inflammatory tablets and hemostatic powder, revealing that foxtail grass was a usable ingredient. Bai Jing was astonished by her ability and concluded that her background and Awakened class were more impressive than he had thought.

• Bai Jing and Qiu Shuyu tried Song Xiaozhu’s wild vegetable powder, and Bai Jing enjoyed it despite complaining that it was too hot.
• Bai Jing told Song Xiaozhu that Liu Family Village had fifteen seriously injured people and a hundred and sixty with minor injuries.
• Song Xiaozhu offered to make medicine, and Bai Jing asked how quickly she could produce it.
• Song Xiaozhu explained that she could make one or two thousand tablets an hour if she had enough medicinal raw materials.
• Song Xiaozhu identified foxtail grass at the logging camp as a suitable ingredient, shocking Bai Jing.
• Bai Jing hinted that Song Xiaozhu was an Engineer, and she described how she refined herbs with Force to make medicine.

Song Xiaozhu agreed to make anti-inflammatory medicine for the wounded in Liu Family Village, while Bai Jing offered to take credit for it. She priced 4,000 tablets at only 400 yuan, intending to keep the leftover raw materials rather than profit from the medicine.

• Bai Jing said he would ask Mu Qing to post an urgent commission for foxtail grass so Song Xiaozhu could make medicine for Liu Family Village.
• Song Xiaozhu agreed that Bai Jing could take credit for the medicine, but she and Bai Jing could not keep her skill a secret from Xiao Tong.
• After regaining consciousness, Xiao Tong doubted that Song Xiaozhu could make medicine until Bai Jing explained that she was two years younger than him and Song Xiaozhu discussed the needed quantities.
• Song Xiaozhu calculated that she could provide 4,000 tablets over six days for 400 yuan.
• Bai Jing warned that the price would barely cover the urgent gathering commission, and Song Xiaozhu said she would keep only the leftover raw materials.

Song Xiaozhu promised to provide Liu Family Village with medicine without charge, while Xiao Tong learned that his father had opened the isolation zone and caused the village’s devastation. The chapter ended with Song Xiaozhu noticing Qiu Shuyu had discarded the dressing table she once treasured.

• Song Xiaozhu refused to charge Liu Family Village for the urgently needed anti-inflammatory tablets and hemostatic powder, and Xiao Tong called her the village’s greatest benefactor.
• Bai Jing accepted Song Xiaozhu’s promise and decided to find a way to support and protect her.
• Bai Jing asked Xiao Tong what Hu Yuan had said, and Xiao Tong revealed that she had blamed his father, Liu Xuangang, for opening the isolation zone.
• Bai Jing told Xiao Tong to rest and said he would take the first batch of medicine to Liu Family Village the next day, but he could not confirm whether Hu Yuan’s accusation was true.
• Song Xiaozhu and Qiu Shuyu went to sleep in Qiu Shuyu’s shack, where Song Xiaozhu saw that Qiu Shuyu had thrown out her old dressing table.

Qiu Shuyu let go of her old dream and found hope in a future with Song Xiaozhu, while Song Xiaozhu explained why Liu Family Village might try to open the isolation zone. The next morning, Bai Jing took Song Xiaozhu and Qiu Shuyu to the logging camp, while Xiao Tong stayed behind to recover and prepare to support his village.

• Qiu Shuyu realized that the dressing table represented her impossible childhood dream and felt relieved when she let it go.
• Song Xiaozhu explained that Liu Family Village’s poverty and the Hunters’ lack of prey could make Old Madam Hu’s claim about opening the isolation zone credible.
• Song Xiaozhu prepared four portions of food, and Luo Liuzi and Tian Man joked about how much they missed her cooking.
• Bai Jing took Song Xiaozhu and Qiu Shuyu to the logging camp after Xiao Tong chose to stay behind and recover.
• Bai Jing brought the two girls to meet Mu Qing, who greeted him politely and smiled gently at Song Xiaozhu.

Song Xiaozhu placed a rush order for foxtail grass after Bai Jing revealed he needed it to make medicine, while Liu Mu seized on the lucrative job. As they waited at the logging camp, Song Xiaozhu prepared to test the iron axes she had made.

• Bai Jing thanked Mu Qing for helping Song Xiaozhu escape the Acidic Crawler, then ordered foxtail grass at one yuan per jin to make medicine.
• Liu Mu resented Tian Man and Luo Liuzi for profiting from Song Xiaozhu’s stone axes, but spotted the foxtail-grass order and rushed to pursue it.
• Song Xiaozhu stayed at the logging camp to test her five professional iron axes while Bai Jing rested and Qiu Shuyu eagerly handled an axe.
• Song Xiaozhu picked up the iron axe labeled 9, which had a 90% effect, to assess its performance and value.

Song Xiaozhu tested her new iron axe with Qiu Shuyu and Bai Jing, discovering its exceptional strength and efficiency. She proposed selling axes at the logging site with Mu Qing, but Bai Jing explained that Mu Qing’s powerful family connections meant money was not the issue.

• Song Xiaozhu swung the iron axe, then let Qiu Shuyu try it; Qiu Shuyu felled a tree with one blow.
• Bai Jing tested the axe and chopped a thick branch into short sections, confirming its effectiveness.
• Song Xiaozhu compared the iron axe’s performance and critical-hit rate, concluding that its practical effectiveness could reach about 200 percent.
• After lunch, Song Xiaozhu proposed partnering with Mu Qing to sell axes at the logging site.
• Bai Jing said Mu Qing would not cooperate because he was not short of money and his mother had married into the powerful Fan Clan.

Song Xiaozhu explained why Mu Qing kept loggers at the camp and believed that raising their productivity could persuade him to work with her. She then joined Bai Jing and Qiu Shuyu at the logging camp, where she began synthesizing foxtail grass into medicinal materials for anti-inflammatory tablets.

• Bai Jing told Song Xiaozhu that Mu Qing kept loggers despite the Fan Clan’s efficient heavy machinery because he felt sorry for displaced people.
• Song Xiaozhu argued that making the loggers more productive could help Mu Qing prove their value, and Bai Jing dismissed her idea as naive.
• Song Xiaozhu and Qiu Shuyu gathered raw wood material with Qiu Shuyu’s help, then followed Bai Jing to the logging camp.
• Mu Qing said the camp had collected over a hundred jin of foxtail grass and let Bai Jing use the warehouse.
• Song Xiaozhu used her Workbench to synthesize foxtail grass into medicinal raw materials, while Bai Jing watched her remarkable efficiency.

Song Xiaozhu used foxtail grass to synthesize thousands of doses of anti-inflammatory medicine and hemostatic powder, then chose a quest to establish a shop. She decided Liu Family Village was the best place to open one, and returned to the shack with Bai Jing and Qiu Shuyu, where Xiao Tong awaited news of the medicine.

• Song Xiaozhu synthesized over three hundred sets of anti-inflammatory medicine and hemostatic powder from two hundred jin of foxtail grass, though she was disappointed with her luck and her Pharmacist level did not advance.
• Song Xiaozhu received Growth Quest 4 and chose to establish a shop rather than forcibly seize one.
• Song Xiaozhu considered opening a shop at the logging camp but worried that Old Madam Hu would retaliate against Mu Qing and the loggers.
• Song Xiaozhu decided to open a shop in Liu Family Village, where rebuilding would create demand for tools, food, and water.
• Bai Jing, Qiu Shuyu, and Song Xiaozhu returned to the shack, where Xiao Tong anxiously awaited the lifesaving medicine.

Song Xiaozhu sent Bai Jing and Xiao Tong to bring anti-inflammatory tablets to Liu Family Village, then arranged to buy scrap iron from Old Chen's family for making powerful iron axes. Over the next two days, the scrap iron began arriving secretly, while Song Xiaozhu helped sell stone axes.

• Bai Jing told Xiao Tong to rest, but Xiao Tong learned that Song Xiaozhu had made the anti-inflammatory tablets and kowtowed to her in gratitude.
• Xiao Tong went with Bai Jing to Liu Family Village, and Song Xiaozhu said she would ask Xiao Tong for a favor after the villagers recovered.
• Song Xiaozhu asked Tian Man and Luo Liuzi to negotiate for scrap iron from Old Chen's family, offering more than the recycling station's standard price while buying only half their supply.
• Song Xiaozhu revealed that the iron axes were twice as effective as first-grade axes, surprising Luo Liuzi and Tian Man.
• Old Chen's family began secretly delivering scrap iron to a hidden spot on Garbage Mountain, where Qiu Shuyu watched over it.
• Tian Man and Luo Liuzi kept selling stone axes, and Song Xiaozhu joined them, leaving Luo Liuzi confused about why she was helping.

Song Xiaozhu spent Quantum Coins upgrading useful recipes and unlocking an antidote recipe before learning that Random Synthesis could create custom recipes. She bought a level 2 Random Synthesis attempt and carefully considered which materials to use.

• Song Xiaozhu upgraded the professional hoe, professional pickaxe, and hearty simple meal recipes, then unlocked the antidote recipe.
• Song Xiaozhu learned that items created through Random Synthesis could be recorded as custom recipes.
• Song Xiaozhu spent five Quantum Coins to purchase one level 2 Random Synthesis attempt.
• Song Xiaozhu examined the materials in her room and chose carefully, knowing that material quality affected the Random Synthesis result.

Song Xiaozhu synthesized a professional axe into fresh meat, a rare resource that could strengthen her over time. She tried to record the meat as a custom recipe, learned the first recording would cost two Quantum Coins, and was left wondering about the cost of a second.

• Song Xiaozhu decided not to use her Ink City currency for Random Synthesis and placed a professional axe on the Synthesizer.
• Tian Man arranged for Old Chen's family to supply Song Xiaozhu with quality-priced scrap iron, which she used to produce axes at a profit.
• Song Xiaozhu synthesized a professional axe and received a piece of fresh meat that could strengthen the body with long-term consumption.
• Song Xiaozhu asked how to record a custom recipe, and the notification voice confirmed the meat qualified.
• Song Xiaozhu learned the first recipe recording cost two Quantum Coins and asked the price of the second, but the notification voice stayed silent.