Chapter Summaries

Song Xiaozhu synthesized Black Ox meat from Polluted Beast meat and antidote, then prepared more supplies for Liu Family Village’s defenders. As the Guard Team fought off a beast wave, Liu Huli returned with armor and equipment Song Xiaozhu had made, leaving Xiao Yunjie eager to hear what else she had said.

• Song Xiaozhu synthesized Black Ox meat with one portion of antidote and stored the fresh meat, then used three portions of antidote to process the remaining beast meat.
• Song Xiaozhu took Luo Liuzi to the kitchen after he asked where the beast meat had gone.
• Xiao Yunjie's traps stopped the first wave of Polluted Beasts, and the Guard Team killed the trapped beasts while relying on Song Xiaozhu's weapons and medicines.
• The Guard Team suffered only ten severe injuries in the latest beast tide, compared with over fifty percent casualties during the previous one.
• Liu Huli returned with helmets, armor, and gloves made by Song Xiaozhu, and Xiao Yunjie praised the armor after learning it came from Polluted Beast hides.
• Liu Huli told Xiao Yunjie that Song Xiaozhu had identified the Polluted Beasts at a glance, and Xiao Yunjie asked what else Song Xiaozhu had said.

Xiao Yunjie learned that Song Xiaozhu could make Awakening Stones from fragments gathered from pollution beasts, and the news drove the guards to fight with renewed enthusiasm. Meanwhile, Song Xiaozhu and her companions cooked a large supply of pollution-beast meat, then struggled to find containers for it.

• Liu Huli told Xiao Yunjie that Song Xiaozhu had found Awakening Stone Fragments in pollution beasts and supplied special gloves for gathering them.
• Xiao Yunjie ordered Liu Huli to recruit ten people solely to transport pollution beasts and sent helmets and armor to the village chief for distribution.
• Liu Xuangang told the guards that pollution beasts could yield Awakening Stones, spurring them to charge into battle in their new gear.
• Song Xiaozhu cooked more than three hundred jin of processed pollution-beast meat while Tian Man asked to practice purifying some.
• After cooking through the night, Song Xiaozhu and the others tried to work out how to pack the meat, and Song Xiaozhu realized she could put away the simple meals to free their wooden buckets.

Song Xiaozhu cooked polluted beast meat into delicious meals, then arranged for the village to process more beasts and supply protective gear to the front line. Liu Huli reported the Hunters’ gratitude, and Song Xiaozhu prepared to accompany him back with supplies.

• Song Xiaozhu discovered that cooked meat could not be stored in her storage chest, so she and the others sealed it in wooden barrels and ate a meal together.
• Luo Liuzi wept as he tasted the boiled meat, while Song Xiaozhu noticed that the black beef was chewier and the black pork more tender.
• Liu Huli returned with a squad and more polluted beasts, telling Chen Quanquan that she had put him in charge of transport.
• Liu Huli reported the front line’s delight at receiving leather armor, Awakening Stone fragments, weapons, and medicine.
• Song Xiaozhu told Luo Liuzi to hire villagers to skin, butcher, and debone the beasts, and said she would leave the hearts for making gloves.
• Song Xiaozhu told Liu Huli to load the meat barrels onto handcarts while she fetched supplies and prepared to go to the front line with him.

Song Xiaozhu brought boiled Polluted Beast meat to the front line, where Xiao Yunjie pledged to follow her after receiving a bowl. The pledge earned Song Xiaozhu 1,000 Leadership Value, and she began wondering how the value was gained.

• Song Xiaozhu went with Qiu Shuyu and Liu Huli's squad to the front line, intending to replace the Hunters' protective gear and kill Polluted Beasts.
• Song Xiaozhu met Er Ying's returning squad and offered boiled Polluted Beast meat to the Hunters.
• Xiao Yunjie tasted the meat, pledged to follow Song Xiaozhu unto death, and bowed to her.
• Song Xiaozhu received 1,000 Leadership Value, enough to raise her leadership level by one, and considered whether new employees could increase it.

Song Xiaozhu realized that Xiao Yunjie’s gratitude had earned her Leadership Value and learned that the Synthesizer had an Awakening Stone recipe. As Liu Family Village’s defenders dealt with a smaller beast tide, they worried about how the community beneath Garbage Mountain was faring.

• Song Xiaozhu concluded that providing meat and helping the villagers had made Xiao Yunjie recognize her as a leader, earning her Leadership Value.
• Song Xiaozhu questioned the Synthesizer and confirmed that it had independent consciousness and a recipe for Awakening Stones.
• Song Xiaozhu decided to favor Growth Quest B and guide the Synthesizer toward order and harmony rather than chaos and slaughter.
• Xiao Yunjie reported that traps had caught nearly a thousand Polluted Beasts while Xuangang and Xiaotong led teams to clear large beasts around the perimeter.
• Song Xiaozhu learned that the beast tide was smaller because it had spread out, and she and Xiao Yunjie worried about the community beneath Garbage Mountain.

Song Xiaozhu fed the Hunters in camp fresh meat made from Polluted Beasts and explained that her new medicine could neutralize their poison. The meal earned her fifty thousand Leadership Value points, while the beast tide’s threat to the Fortress remained unresolved.

• Song Xiaozhu and Xiao Yunjie discussed whether the beast tide would reach the Fortress and why Fan Cang might want its walls to fall.
• Xiao Yunjie gathered the Hunters in camp as Liu Huli and the others opened the barrels of meat Song Xiaozhu had brought.
• Song Xiaozhu told the Hunters the meat was safe, and Liu Huli revealed that she had used her Force to make it from Polluted Beasts.
• Song Xiaozhu explained that a medicine she had extracted from Polluted Beast organs could neutralize their poison, and the Hunters eagerly ate the meat.
• Song Xiaozhu promised to make more meat for the Hunters, then checked her Workbench and discovered that the meal had earned her fifty thousand Leadership Value points.

Song Xiaozhu gained Quantum Coins from the Hunters’ Leadership Value, spent some on upgraded storage and Quantum Arrowheads, then went with Qiu Shuyu and Er Ying to observe the Polluted Beasts attacking Liu Family Village. Seeing the beast tide up close, she worried that stronger threats such as the Acidic Crawler—or flying beasts—could overwhelm the village.

• Song Xiaozhu exchanged the Hunters’ Leadership Value for 500 Quantum Coins and became eager to fight Polluted Beasts and level up the Synthesizer.
• Song Xiaozhu synthesized a sturdy storage chest and 18 Quantum Arrowheads, accepting that she had failed twice during the process.
• Song Xiaozhu told Xiao Yunjie she planned to study Polluted Beasts up close, and Xiao Yunjie gave her another 200 Leadership Value.
• Er Ying joined Song Xiaozhu and Qiu Shuyu as they went to observe the battle at Liu Family Village’s entrance.
• Song Xiaozhu saw the Hunters fight Black Pig Beasts and Black Ox Beasts behind the village’s terrain and defenses, and feared what stronger or flying Polluted Beasts might do.

Song Xiaozhu went to inspect the trapped Polluted Beasts so she could advance her Synthesizer, but discovered that her weak physique could not pierce a Black Pig Beast. She killed it another way and headed with Qiu Shuyu and Er Ying to check the next trap.

• Song Xiaozhu asked Er Ying to take her to the trapped Polluted Beasts so she could complete the research needed to upgrade her Synthesizer.
• At a pit where Hunters were struggling to kill an impaled Black Pig Beast, Song Xiaozhu handed out spears and tried to stab it, but her thrust failed to pierce its hide.
• Song Xiaozhu moved her storage chest above the pit and killed the Black Pig Beast with a method that stunned Qiu Shuyu, Er Ying, and the Hunters.
• Song Xiaozhu received quest progress of 1/10, thanked the Hunters for cleaning up, and went with Qiu Shuyu and Er Ying to inspect the next trap.

Song Xiaozhu used her steel blade stockpile to kill Polluted Beasts and completed a growth quest, upgrading the Synthesizer to level 3 and unlocking four new functions. She took Awakening Stone Fragments from Xiao Yunjie to study and urged the village to strengthen its patrols, leaving the threat of flying Polluted Beasts unresolved.

• Song Xiaozhu filled nine pits with steel blades, killing the Polluted Beasts trapped in them and letting the Hunters recover the blades and beasts.
• Song Xiaozhu completed growth quest 6, spent twenty Quantum Coins to shorten the repair time, and upgraded the Synthesizer to level 3.
• The Synthesizer unlocked Batch Synthesis, Automatic Synthesis, Formula Research and Development, and Employee Recipe.
• Xiao Yunjie reported extracting ten Awakening Stone Fragments from twenty-eight Polluted Beasts and gave them to Song Xiaozhu to study.
• Song Xiaozhu told Xiao Yunjie she had ideas for making Awakening Stones but needed to experiment, then recommended increasing village patrols against possible flying Polluted Beasts.

As the beast tide approached, Song Xiaozhu equipped patrol teams with Quantum Arrows and tested how her rewards and exchange rates worked. She then studied the upgraded level 3 Workbench, preparing to learn recipes and stockpile gear before the danger arrived.

• Song Xiaozhu gave Xiao Yunjie ten Quantum Arrows to distribute among the patrol teams in case flying Polluted Beasts appeared.
• Xiao Yunjie sent Yi Ying and Liu Huli back to the village with Quantum Arrows, bows, and arrows, and Song Xiaozhu received Leadership Value when they accepted the weapons.
• After Song Xiaozhu considered giving Quantum Arrows to more villagers for rewards, the Synthesizer raised the exchange rate from 100 to 200 Transaction Value per Quantum Coin.
• Song Xiaozhu exchanged her accumulated value for Quantum Coins and went to inspect the level 3 Workbench while Qiu Shuyu guarded her.
• Song Xiaozhu explored the Workbench’s touchscreen sections and found that killing Polluted Beasts had raised her Slaughter Value to ten.

Song Xiaozhu explored the level 3 recipes and discovered that higher-level crafting required far more Quantum Coins. She unlocked recipes for Cloth Raw Material, Energy Stone, and Enhancement Stone, then began unlocking a new weapon recipe despite the steep cost.

• Song Xiaozhu reviewed the level 3 recipe categories and found upgraded tools, food, medicine, weapons, and several new recipes awaiting unlock.
• Song Xiaozhu unlocked Cloth Raw Material for 10 Quantum Coins, learning that it required beast hide and crude oil.
• Song Xiaozhu unlocked the Energy Stone recipe, which combined ten Energy Stone Fragments into one Energy Stone.
• Song Xiaozhu unlocked Enhancement Stone, which required ten Energy Stones and 100 Quantum Coins, and saw her balance fall to 490.
• Song Xiaozhu confirmed that upgrading and unlocking level 3 recipes cost ten times more than at level 2, then agreed to spend 100 Quantum Coins on a locked weapon recipe.

Song Xiaozhu unlocked recipes for gunpowder, grenades, a repeating crossbow, and Energy Armor, while realizing the Synthesizer was becoming self-aware and naming it Xiao He. She left herself with 90 Quantum Coins and decided to wait for more cloth before crafting armor.

• Song Xiaozhu saw that the gunpowder recipe required yellow [Medicinal Raw Material] and suspected it was sulfur; the notification voice confirmed sulfur could be used to make gunpowder.
• Song Xiaozhu asked whether the Synthesizer wanted a name and began calling them Xiao He, who accepted.
• Song Xiaozhu concluded that the Synthesizer was self-aware and growing more capable as it recovered, so she decided to get along with them.
• Song Xiaozhu spent Quantum Coins to unlock the Grenade, Repeating Crossbow, and Energy Armor recipes.
• Song Xiaozhu considered crafting Energy Armor but postponed it because she lacked enough [Cloth Raw Material], leaving herself with 90 Quantum Coins.

Song Xiaozhu upgraded the Synthesizer and made advanced anti-inflammatory medicine while struggling with shortages of materials and coins. She explored the new research and employee functions and selected the raw wood material recipe for an employee slot.

• Song Xiaozhu chose to upgrade anti-inflammatory medicine, hemostatic medicine, and a professional axe, but found the recipes required 100 units of each item and an energy fragment.
• Song Xiaozhu synthesized ten advanced anti-inflammatory capsules and read their effects, while leaving the hemostatic powder and advanced axe for later because she lacked materials.
• Song Xiaozhu inspected the Synthesizer’s research and development module and learned that inserting a finished product could produce its recipe, though researching high-level items had a 99% failure rate.
• Song Xiaozhu opened the Employees module, clicked a recipe slot, and selected the raw wood material recipe.

Song Xiaozhu unlocked an employee recipe for Tian Man but learned that using it required an employee backpack. At the beast tide front, Xiao Tong was badly injured after seeing a mysterious figure atop a massive Polluted Beast, while Song Xiaozhu realized the village would have to find a way to leave and gather scarce materials.

• Song Xiaozhu selected Tian Man and generated the [Raw Wood Material] employee recipe, then learned an employee backpack was also required and that its recipe remained locked.
• Xiao Tong led Hunters against the Polluted Beasts, but a blow sent him flying after he glimpsed a tall, thin figure standing atop a massive beast.
• The Hunters carried unconscious Xiao Tong back to the village, where Xiao Yunjie learned his injuries were severe and sent him to Master Bai at the temple.
• Song Xiaozhu assessed the village's dwindling supplies of raw materials and realized they needed to leave the village to gather more.

Song Xiaozhu gave the severely injured Xiao Tong her newly upgraded anti-inflammatory medicine, and its powerful effect triggered rapid healing and intense itching. Xiao Tong recovered enough to wake, while the Hunters witnessed the medicine’s astonishing results.

• Song Xiaozhu stopped Xiao Tong’s squad from moving him and gave Xiao Yunjie an advanced anti-inflammatory capsule for him to swallow.
• Xiao Yunjie fed Xiao Tong the capsule and prepared to take him to the Earth Temple with more medicine for the doctor.
• Xiao Tong abruptly woke in pain, punched through the cart, and began tearing at his bandages as his chest wound rapidly healed.
• Xiao He explained that the medicine caused intense discomfort in beings with strong self-healing abilities, and Song Xiaozhu reassured the onlookers.
• Xiao Yunjie restrained Xiao Tong as he scratched her hand, then told him that Song Xiaozhu’s medicine had saved his life.

Song Xiaozhu explained the advanced anti-inflammatory medicine’s effects before Xiao Tong revealed that he had seen a young woman riding a gigantic Polluted Beast. In Ink City, Fan Cang stood trial for destroying the Three Temples, then broke free and turned his sword on his father, Fan Houzhang.

• Song Xiaozhu explained that the medicine suppressed bacteria and that Xiao Tong’s constitution helped him recover, while the villagers remained awed by it.
• Xiao Tong thanked Song Xiaozhu, then told her and Xiao Yunjie that he had seen a young woman standing on a gigantic Polluted Beast.
• At his trial, Fan Cang told Fan Houzhang that he had destroyed the Three Temples to save Ink City’s people.
• Fan Cang challenged the gallery’s faith in Ink City and called the city lord a puppet and its citizens penned livestock.
• Fan Cang released white mist that felled the Warriors guarding him, broke his shackles, and pointed a longsword at Fan Houzhang’s throat.

Fan Cang learned that another person had been chosen by the maker and that only one Creator could survive, then abandoned the Fortress after uncovering the truth about Ink City. Meanwhile, Xiao Tong told Xiao Yunjie and Song Xiaozhu that he had seen humans beyond the isolation belt and asked whether they were good or bad.

• Fan Cang stabbed Fan Houzhang, whose body vanished as a white mist immobilized the courtroom and revealed a mysterious projection.
• The projection told Fan Cang that another chosen person, already level three, would have to kill him or be killed, then vanished after giving him the surname Li.
• Fan Cang left the courtroom, saw through the Fortress’s lie about Eden, and departed Ink City with his black-clad followers as the Dictator.
• Xiao Tong told Xiao Yunjie and Song Xiaozhu that he had seen humans beyond the isolation belt while in beast form.
• Song Xiaozhu reasoned that humans must live beyond the belt, and Xiao Tong asked whether they were good people or bad people.

After the beast tide receded, Liu Family Village celebrated surviving the attack with no deaths, while Song Xiaozhu caught a glimpse of Fan Cang and prepared a victory feast. The chapter ended with her inviting the villagers to come to the shop for free meat.

• Song Xiaozhu reassured Xiao Tong that Hunters might tame Polluted Beasts, but cautioned him to wait until they could ask outsiders about it.
• Er Ying reported that the beast tide had receded, and Song Xiaozhu and the others went to the front of the village.
• Liu Xuangang declared victory as the Hunters celebrated holding the line and surviving the beast tide.
• Song Xiaozhu spotted Fan Cang in the distance, but avoided his gaze; Fan Cang wondered whether she had survived before turning to other business.
• The elders reported fifteen serious injuries and zero deaths, while Song Xiaozhu organized a victory feast using synthesized fresh meat.
• Song Xiaozhu told a child that the meat was not for sale and invited the villagers to bring bowls to the shop for free servings.

After Liu Xuangang praised Song Xiaozhu for making Polluted Beast meat safe to eat, the villagers celebrated her and shared the meat at a victory feast. Song Xiaozhu converted the Leadership Value she earned into Quantum Coins, while some villagers went without meat because there was not enough antidote.

• Liu Xuangang praised Song Xiaozhu's Force and told the villagers that she had made the Polluted Beast meat delicious and safe to eat.
• The villagers gathered around Song Xiaozhu, and their respect for her grew as they received and ate the meat.
• The children enjoyed the meat and declared that they wanted to become Hunters and catch Polluted Beasts.
• Tian Man and Luo Liuzi acknowledged how extraordinary Song Xiaozhu was and affirmed their loyalty to her.
• Song Xiaozhu handed out the meat until the victory feast ended, converted her Leadership Value into Quantum Coins, and began tallying her earnings.

Song Xiaozhu explored the Synthesizer’s recipe categories and discovered how to obtain an Employee Backpack and the permits needed for employee recipes. She assigned Tian Man and Luo Liuzi to gather different raw materials, leaving her ready to pursue the backpack materials.

• Song Xiaozhu exchanged Leadership Value for 300 Quantum Coins and estimated that Liu Family Village’s residents could provide many more points.
• She asked Xiao He which category contained the Employee Backpack, but Xiao He did not know.
• Song Xiaozhu unlocked an Infrastructure recipe and discovered it was the Employee Backpack, which required a Basic Raw Material Permit.
• She learned that permits could be generated through the Employee Recipe module and decided to adjust Tian Man and Luo Liuzi’s assignments.
• Song Xiaozhu assigned Tian Man to [Medicinal Raw Material] and Luo Liuzi to [Raw Wood Material], then generated new Employee Recipe Cards and their permits.