Chapter Summaries

Song Xiaozhu secretly synthesized steel sabers from the iron ore beneath the Earth Temple and discovered an Awakening Stone that counted toward her Repair Quest. She continued crafting while hoping to find enough stones to meet the quest’s requirement, but her limited storage space remained a problem.

• Song Xiaozhu explained that she had stopped crafting because she had run out of wood, and Liu Xuangang arranged for the personal guard to bring more.
• Xiao Yunjie ordered the personal guard to keep watch so that no one else could see Song Xiaozhu’s unusual crafting process.
• Song Xiaozhu resumed synthesis and crafted 500 steel sabers before finding a milky-white Awakening Stone in the iron ore.
• Song Xiaozhu secretly stored the Awakening Stone, and the Synthesizer updated her Repair Quest to show that she had collected one of ten required Energy Stones.
• Song Xiaozhu considered crafting a Sturdy Storage Box but could not afford its 50 Quantum Coins.

Song Xiaozhu arranged a low-cost steel blade order and an iron ore purchase to help Liu Family Village while earning Transaction Value. Xiao Yunjie’s respect unlocked two Digger achievements and 30 Quantum Coins, prompting Song Xiaozhu to consider finding more Awakened beneath Garbage Mountain.

• Song Xiaozhu asked Xiao Yunjie how many steel blades Liu Family Village needed, then offered ten thousand for three each despite the village’s limited funds.
• Song Xiaozhu offered to buy thirty thousand worth of the village’s iron ore, effectively giving Liu Family Village the blades for free through the two contracts.
• Xiao Yunjie was moved by Song Xiaozhu’s generosity and expressed her gratitude.
• The notification voice awarded Song Xiaozhu 30 Quantum Coins after Xiao Yunjie unlocked level-two and level-three Digger achievements.
• Song Xiaozhu considered whether other Awakened she knew could earn her achievements, then concluded that the Awakened beneath Garbage Mountain might be more promising than those in the city.

Song Xiaozhu discovered that Xiao Yunjie's advance payment earned her transaction value before she delivered the steel blades, and she triggered a new growth quest. After planning how to complete it and spend her Quantum Coins, she passed Bai Jing treating a frightened child in the temple.

• Song Xiaozhu considered awakening people who trusted her and planned to ask Bai Jing about Awakened levels while gathering materials and transaction value.
• Xiao Yunjie gave Song Xiaozhu six thousand yuan as an advance payment, earning her two thousand transaction value before she delivered any blades.
• Song Xiaozhu's question about failing to deliver triggered Growth Quest 7, which offered rewards for either breaking contracts and killing customers or fulfilling contracts and gaining customers.
• Song Xiaozhu planned to complete the honest contract quest, earn enough repair points, and use her fifty-four Quantum Coins toward a small storage box.
• Song Xiaozhu saw Bai Jing treating a little girl, who resisted and accused him of killing Xiaohua.

Song Xiaozhu questioned Bai Jing about Awakened levels and learned that advancing beyond level three required a rare Breakthrough Stone. She suspected Fan Cang planned to destroy the second line of defense, then returned to her shop and summoned the Workbench.

• Bai Jing treated a feverish little girl, then mocked Song Xiaozhu when she visited the temple.
• Song Xiaozhu asked whether Awakened had levels, and Bai Jing explained how their levels were measured by the reach of Force.
• Bai Jing said level three was the limit for ordinary people and that higher levels required a rare Breakthrough Stone.
• Song Xiaozhu learned that Fan Cang had broken through and suspected his interest in the Earth Temple was tied to destroying the second line of defense.
• Bai Jing warned Song Xiaozhu against rushing to break through, and she returned to the shop and summoned the Workbench.

Song Xiaozhu successfully synthesized a Sturdy Storage Box and discovered that it could hold far more items than her crude box. She returned to the Golden Temple to stockpile Iron Raw Material and found that collecting another Awakening Stone advanced her quest.

• Song Xiaozhu spent her last four Quantum Coins to raise the Sturdy Storage Box synthesis success rate, then successfully made the box.
• Song Xiaozhu found that the box had a hundred slots and could stack up to forty Iron Raw Material in each slot.
• Song Xiaozhu returned to the Golden Temple, where Bai Jing watched her hurry inside and Xiao Yunjie's guards let her pass.
• Song Xiaozhu synthesized Iron Raw Material at the iron ore wall and discovered that the box could stack up to a hundred units per slot.
• Song Xiaozhu checked the Repair Quest, then put a newly mined Awakening Stone into the box and advanced the quest's Energy Stones collected count to two.

Song Xiaozhu discovered that her sturdy small box could stack identical items, though steel sabers with different usage bonuses stayed separate. She tested the limit by making more sabers while Liu Xuangang, Xiao Yunjie, and Qiu Shuyu watched anxiously, unaware that she was experimenting.

• Song Xiaozhu realized that Repair Points, not Energy Stones, were now preventing her Synthesizer upgrade, and she doubted she could find Polluted Beasts to complete her quest.
• Liu Xuangang returned with Xiao Yunjie and received achievement rewards of thirty Quantum Coins after she told him about Song Xiaozhu’s generous prices and iron ore order.
• Song Xiaozhu noticed that Awakening Stones stacked in her sturdy small box, then found that steel sabers stacked only when they had matching usage bonuses.
• Song Xiaozhu produced separate stacks of sabers with 15%, 20%, 30%, and 10% bonuses as Liu Xuangang, Xiao Yunjie, and Qiu Shuyu worried that she was failing to craft anything.

Song Xiaozhu demonstrated her new ability to mass-produce steel sabers, and Liu Family Village planned how to distribute and sell them. The next morning, Chen San arrived with Old Chen’s family to negotiate a bow-and-arrow contract with Song Xiaozhu.

• Song Xiaozhu revealed that she could produce items in bulk by emptying a storage box containing two hundred steel sabers.
• Song Xiaozhu made over three thousand steel sabers, and Liu Xuangang and Xiao Yunjie planned to arm the guards and villagers and sell some to Deer Town.
• Song Xiaozhu suggested contacting Deer Town as a possible refuge if the temples were destroyed, and Liu Xuangang agreed to ask its mayor, Lu Chen.
• Qiu Shuyu worried Song Xiaozhu had overused her Force, but Song Xiaozhu explained that her legs were numb from standing all day.
• Chen San arrived at Liu Family Village with Old Chen’s family, gifts, and steel sabers to sign a bow-and-arrow purchase contract with Song Xiaozhu.

Chen San arrived at Liu Family Village expecting to impress Song Xiaozhu with his community’s resources, but found the villagers equipped with steel sabers and surrounded by abundant supplies. He abandoned his plans to bargain and hoped only to return Old Chen’s family safely and leave on good terms.

• Chen San ordered his men to watch the old merchants, who were arrested after they abducted a sixteen-year-old girl for their deceased son.
• Chen San brought a wagon of steel sabers to Liu Family Village, expecting to negotiate a bow-and-arrow contract with Song Xiaozhu.
• Liu Xuangang had the Guard Team distribute steel sabers to every villager, leaving Chen San stunned by the village’s weapons.
• Chen San saw the villagers’ tools and food, realized Song Xiaozhu could produce far more than bows and arrows, and covered his wagon’s supplies.
• Chen San greeted Tian Man and Luo Liuzi politely at the Taobao Shop and entered, overwhelmed by its abundance of goods.

Song Xiaozhu traded steel sabers and limited special arrowheads with Chen San, then used her growing resources to plan for upgrading the Synthesizer and preparing for the isolation zone’s collapse. She decided to conserve most of her Quantum Coins and wait for contaminated beasts so she could advance the Synthesizer and unlock stronger recipes.

• Song Xiaozhu welcomed Chen San, reunited Old Chen’s family, and agreed to sell District Chief Hu steel sabers and three special arrowheads under a long-term contract.
• Song Xiaozhu completed an order of ten thousand steel sabers, gaining 8,000 transaction value and completing Growth Quest 7 for 20 Quantum Coins.
• Song Xiaozhu counted 128 Quantum Coins and planned to spend 50 upgrading her two small chests while saving the rest.
• Song Xiaozhu planned to collect ten Awakening Stones and discuss keeping them in the village with Liu Xuangang and Xiao Yunjie instead of giving them to Fan Cang.
• Song Xiaozhu concluded that contaminated beasts were necessary to obtain repair points and beast hide, and resolved to save her Quantum Coins for advanced Synthesizer recipes.

Song Xiaozhu prepared Liu Family Village for a possible disaster by stockpiling weapons, food, water, medicine, and materials while dismantling the iron ore wall. She revealed six Awakening Stones to Liu Xuangang and Xiao Yunjie, who chose not to give them to Fan Cang and urged her to use them for breakthroughs.

• Song Xiaozhu equipped Liu Family Village with steel blades, bows, and arrows, and asked Liu Xuangang to organize an archery squad.
• Song Xiaozhu gathered 5,000 portions of simple meals, 2,000 portions of clean water, and 1,000 portions of crude oil from Garbage Mountain, and planned to stockpile medicine and building materials.
• Liu Family Village's residents prepared for danger by storing food and practicing with their weapons, while Bai Jing stayed at the Earth Temple and asked no questions.
• Song Xiaozhu's efforts removed more than half of the iron ore wall, leaving Liu Xuangang to wonder whether even the Fortress's walls could withstand sufficient strength.
• Song Xiaozhu showed Liu Xuangang and Xiao Yunjie six Awakening Stones and asked to discuss them with the couple.
• Xiao Yunjie told Song Xiaozhu that she and Liu Xuangang would not give the stones to Fan Cang, and Song Xiaozhu said she already had enough stones for Breakthrough Stones and that these were extras.

Song Xiaozhu divided the Awakening Stones between her group and Xiao Yunjie and Liu Xuangang, while Qiu Shuyu explained that ordinary stones could not awaken her. At the logging camp, Mu Qing confronted Fan Cang about breaking the isolation zone and stopped him to ask whether he remembered Song Xiaozhu.

• Song Xiaozhu gave Xiao Yunjie and Liu Xuangang three Awakening Stones to assign, kept three for Qiu Shuyu, Tian Man, and Luo Liuzi, and said she was researching how to make Breakthrough Stones.
• Xiao Yunjie said they would prioritize awakening personal-guard captains, and he and Liu Xuangang took the stones upstairs with Er Ying and Liu Huli among their candidates.
• Qiu Shuyu told Song Xiaozhu that special training meant she was certain to awaken as a Warrior, but she needed a special Awakening Stone; Song Xiaozhu reassured her that she could become strong through weapons.
• Mu Qing confronted Fan Cang at the logging camp over his decision to break through the isolation zone, while Fan Cang argued that the zone trapped people in miserable conditions.
• Mu Qing said he would stay at the logging camp and keep repairing the isolation zone, then asked Fan Cang whether he remembered Song Xiaozhu, the girl he had saved.

Song Xiaozhu asked Bai Jing about Awakening Stones before deciding whether to give them to Tian Man and Luo Liuzi. Bai Jing explained their origins and the risks and constraints of awakening, leaving Song Xiaozhu with a clearer understanding of how Awakened are bound to their professions.

• Song Xiaozhu decided to return and consult Bai Jing about awakening, then asked him to explain the Awakening Stones.
• Bai Jing told Song Xiaozhu that Awakening Stones were living forms of contamination that spread after escaping the control of financial conglomerates.
• Bai Jing explained that Awakening Stones were scarce, depleted through use, and could turn a candidate into a stone instead of making them Awakened.
• Bai Jing warned Song Xiaozhu that most Awakened received a fixed profession they could not resist or change.
• Bai Jing said Awakened who could not fulfill their profession gradually lost their sense of self-worth and sank into emptiness.

Song Xiaozhu explained the dangers of awakening to Tian Man and Luo Liuzi, who weighed whether to use the Awakening Stones. Their discussion was interrupted when a man from the city arrived looking for Song Xiaozhu.

• Song Xiaozhu told Tian Man and Luo Liuzi that awakening could kill them or bind them to a class for life.
• Tian Man and Luo Liuzi reconsidered awakening, and Song Xiaozhu gave them until the next day to decide.
• Chen Quanquan reported that a man from the city was looking for Song Xiaozhu.
• Song Xiaozhu went downstairs with Qiu Shuyu to meet the man as villagers gathered outside the shop.

With Ink City fallen and the isolation zone breached, Liu Family Village prepared to defend itself against an incoming attack. Song Xiaozhu learned what Tian Man and Luo Liuzi could do after awakening, then went downstairs with them to see what was happening.

• Liu Xuangang led the guards into the first round of fighting, using traps laid by Xiao Yunjie to kill pollution beasts.
• Tian Man told Song Xiaozhu that she could purify highly polluted water and food, but could only cleanse a small patch of land.
• Luo Liuzi explained that he had become a strong swimmer who could sense fish and had developed a fondness for eating them.
• Song Xiaozhu told Tian Man and Luo Liuzi to stay with her, then took them downstairs as Old Chen's family hurried over.

As a beast tide threatened Liu Family Village, Song Xiaozhu organized the shop and arranged for Polluted Beast corpses to be brought back so she could study materials needed for crafting and repairs. After hearing the village was holding steady, she examined the corpses and learned that the steel blades were wearing down quickly.

• Song Xiaozhu assigned the Chen family and Quanquan tasks in the shop, then sent Luo Liuzi and Tian Man to bring back Polluted Beast corpses.
• Luo Liuzi and Tian Man returned with Liu Huli, who reported that the village was holding off a beast tide similar to the last one.
• Song Xiaozhu reasoned that the scattered beasts were less likely to focus their assault on Liu Family Village than during the previous tide.
• Song Xiaozhu examined the wild boar and cattle corpses and learned they had been caught in Xiao Yunjie's traps and hacked down with steel blades.
• Liu Huli told Song Xiaozhu that the men had already switched to their second batch of steel blades.

Song Xiaozhu had the Polluted Beasts’ hides processed so she could craft armor while the Guard Team fought on the front line. After an initial synthesis failed, she made a Leather Helmet that increased defense and granted a small chance to resist fatal injuries.

• Song Xiaozhu had Liu Huli and the guards carry the Polluted Beast corpses into the shop’s backyard.
• Song Xiaozhu asked Qiu Shuyu, Tian Man, Luo Liuzi, Liu Huli, and the guards to skin the beasts, and they worked together to prepare the hides.
• Song Xiaozhu told Liu Huli to butcher the skinned beast while keeping its internal organs and bones intact.
• Song Xiaozhu tried to synthesize a Leather Helmet, but the first attempt failed because she had not added enough beast hide and crude oil.
• Song Xiaozhu added more materials and successfully synthesized a Leather Helmet that increased defense by 10% and granted 1% immunity to fatal injuries.

Song Xiaozhu tested the effects of synthesized leather gear and learned that leather armor gave Hunters a larger defense boost. When Qiu Shuyu found milky-white fluid inside a contaminated black pig beast, they discovered a damaged Awakening Stone embedded in its heart, which vanished into mist when she touched it.

• Song Xiaozhu synthesized leather helmets and found that immunity to fatal injuries appeared randomly, while leather armor granted Hunters double its defense boost.
• Song Xiaozhu discovered that leather gloves also increased gathering efficiency.
• Qiu Shuyu called Song Xiaozhu over after the black pig beast's purplish-black blood turned milky white.
• Song Xiaozhu told Qiu Shuyu to find the beast's heart, and Qiu Shuyu extracted it and cut it open.
• Song Xiaozhu and the others found a small, damaged Awakening Stone inside the heart.
• The Awakening Stone turned into white mist and disappeared as Qiu Shuyu tried to remove it.

Song Xiaozhu tested whether leather gloves could help her extract Awakening Stone Fragments from Polluted Beasts and successfully removed one from a Black Ox Beast. She put the fragment away and told Liu Huli to take the harvested goods back so the village chief could decide how to distribute them.

• Song Xiaozhu asked Liu Huli to have Madam Xiao bring back as many Polluted Beast carcasses as possible, then made leather gloves that improved gathering efficiency and success rate.
• While Qiu Shuyu and the others butchered the Black Ox Beast, Song Xiaozhu crafted leather armor and other gear.
• Song Xiaozhu wore her new gloves and successfully gathered an Awakening Stone Fragment from the Black Ox Beast's heart.
• Song Xiaozhu discovered that the fragment had an undiscovered synthesis recipe and told everyone she would try crafting Awakening Stones after gathering more fragments.
• Song Xiaozhu put away the fragment and asked Liu Huli to take the goods back for the village chief to distribute, leaving Liu Huli and the Guard Team staring in shock.

Song Xiaozhu equipped the Guard Team and other villagers with protective gear before investigating the Black Pig Beast’s stomach for medicinal raw materials. Her attempt to synthesize the stomach’s contents failed, leaving the mystery of the material unresolved.

• Song Xiaozhu gave Liu Huli Gathering Gloves and protective gear for the Guard Team, then distributed armor to Qiu Shuyu, Tian Man, Luo Liuzi, and Old Chen's family.
• Liu Huli left for the front line, struggling not to look back at Chen Quanquan, but later glanced toward the village.
• Song Xiaozhu and the others opened the Black Pig Beast’s stomach to search for plants from beyond the isolation zone.
• Song Xiaozhu placed unidentified matter from the stomach on the Workbench and attempted to synthesize it as [Medicinal Raw Material].
• The synthesis failed.

Song Xiaozhu synthesized medicinal raw material and an antidote, completing the second Repair Quest objective while investigating the Synthesizer. After her companions cleaned up the Polluted Beasts, she prepared to test the antidote on their meat.

• Song Xiaozhu repeatedly synthesized unidentified matter until she obtained one [Medicinal Raw Material].
• Song Xiaozhu used the ingredient and one Quantum Coin to make ten doses of antidote, unlocking all level-two recipes and advancing the Repair Quest to 2/3.
• Song Xiaozhu realized the final quest objective required 200 Repair Points, which meant killing ten Polluted Beasts on the front lines.
• Song Xiaozhu stopped Qiu Shuyu from cutting open the second beast, and Qiu Shuyu, Tian Man, and Luo Liuzi cleaned up the butchered Polluted Beasts.
• After everyone bathed, Song Xiaozhu put beast meat on the Workbench and took out a dose of antidote to test whether it could make the meat safe.