Chapter Summaries

Wen Jing joined the Operations Department team to search for the relocating mural wall and discovered that the wind-born beasts were a trial that summoned it. The team reached the wall after every member earned a kill, and they prepared to investigate the trace of civilization.

• Wen Jing and the team defeated a hyena and a vulture that dissolved into the wind, then Brown woke and thanked her for saving him.
• Ji Shuang, Eve, He Pingyun, and Brown agreed that Wen Jing should keep using Mental Link when needed, and the team set out to find the moving stone wall.
• When a gray-brown wolf appeared in the wind, Wen Jing killed it repeatedly and arranged for each teammate, including Brown, to deliver a finishing blow.
• After Brown's kill, the wind vanished and the stone wall appeared nearby.
• Wen Jing explained that the beasts were a trial, and the team realized every member had to pass it before the wall could appear.

Wen Jing and her teammates discovered that the murals concealed an entrance to a rope-net trial, where movement was restricted to the ropes. Inside, the team noticed that Wen Jing’s command affected them differently from her usual Mental Link, leaving the nature of her power newly in question.

• Wen Jing reasoned that the murals and surrounding bones pointed to a trial, but the team could not damage the stone wall or decipher the beast-filled images.
• Brown noticed that Eve had vanished, and Wen Jing spotted a human figure in the mural whose position revealed where Eve was.
• Wen Jing touched the mural and disappeared into it; Ji Shuang, He Pingyun, and Brown followed, joining the figures depicted on the wall.
• The five arrived in a vast rope-net maze, where Wen Jing freed Eve from living ropes and realized they had to move along the ropes rather than jump or fly.
• Ji Shuang, He Pingyun, Brown, and Eve noticed that Wen Jing’s command to stop had not struck their minds as her Mental Link usually did.

Wen Jing led her team through a vanishing rope maze where knots triggered wilderness battles and dropped strange seashells. She chose a path marked by two large knots, and as the team fought two black bears, Wen Jing seemed to defeat one of them.

• Wen Jing discovered that her mental power could compel her teammates to obey commands, and the team continued exploring the rope maze.
• The team reunited with Eve and watched their route disappear, leaving them to follow Wen Jing through the maze.
• Wen Jing warned the team before they entered a knot that shifted them into a wilderness, where they killed three cheetahs and collected white seashells.
• Wen Jing interpreted the knots as records of events and chose the left path after spotting golden wheat on a farther knot.
• Two large knots led the team into a wilderness where two enormous black bears attacked, and Wen Jing charged one while her teammates fought the other.

Wen Jing arrived in time to save her teammates and defeat the black bear, then tested how her mental-link commands affected them. The group returned to the knot maze with a clearer understanding of her ability, while Brown asked her to command him freely in future fights.

• Wen Jing ordered the others to retreat, then wounded the black bear and helped the team defeat it; she took the larger pink shell while they kept the two earlier shells.
• Eve asked how Wen Jing's mental link controlled them, and Ji Shuang explained that commands could move them if they did not resist.
• Wen Jing tested commands and found that only simple, instinctive actions within a teammate's abilities took effect; complex or impossible instructions failed.
• The wind died down, and Wen Jing, Ji Shuang, Eve, He Yunping, and Brown returned to a knot in the maze.
• The Operations Department members recognized Wen Jing's potential as a team commander, and Brown asked her to command him whenever necessary.

Wen Jing and her team entered a knot that brought golden grains raining down, and they discovered the grains were a rare treasure that healed injuries and raised attributes. As her teammates grew too full to continue, Wen Jing kept eating at incredible speed while the rain began to fade.

• Wen Jing and the others stepped onto the golden wheat-ear knot and found themselves in a wasteland beneath a radiant sun.
• Golden grains began falling from the sky and vanished when they touched the ground or most other materials, but Wen Jing caught some in the shells on her back.
• Brown ate a grain and saw his injury heal, so Wen Jing told the others to eat; the team discovered the grains restored wounds and improved their bodies.
• Eve, He Yunping, Ji Shuang, and Brown used shells and their abilities to gather and eat the grains before they could disappear.
• Brown and the others grew too full to keep eating and watched as Wen Jing darted through the falling grains, consuming them rapidly and gaining attributes with every bite.

Wen Jing led her team through the Knotted Rope Maze, where they gained strength from a rain of grain and fought through several combat knots before returning safely to the material universe. Their report revealed the maze’s value to the Student Council, which raised the project’s rating and began discussing future explorations.

• Wen Jing and her teammates watched the rain of grain vanish when they returned to the knotted rope, but their bodies had grown stronger from eating it.
• Wen Jing chose a path through combat knots, and the team fought through four successive battles while collecting shells.
• As sunset approached, Wen Jing selected a moderately difficult path and told the team to prepare to return; they defeated their enemies and used the remaining wind to escape.
• Song Zhi welcomed the team at the Student Council and heard how Wen Jing had helped the operation succeed.
• At the post-operation meeting, the team reported the grain rain, prompting the Student Council to raise the project’s rating from D to S and discuss expanding future explorations.

After the Student Council sidelined Wen Jing from future team explorations, she returned to the research institute to help Xie Ming study her Wilderness Body and then entered the Knotted Rope Maze alone. She reappeared at the knot where she had last returned, ready to explore without hiding her strength.

• Song Zhi steered Brown toward separate training, while Ji Shuang and Eve recognized that Wen Jing might be excluded from the next team exploration.
• Wen Jing realized the Student Council controlled exploration opportunities and agreed to cooperate again only for extra payment, though she preferred temporary partnerships to joining the organization.
• Xie Ming examined Wen Jing’s changing insect Wilderness Body and explained that he was seeking research materials from an independent scientist for his project.
• Wen Jing entered the Ancient Wilderness alone, using the five shells from her previous exploration to choose the Knotted Rope Maze.
• Wen Jing appeared at her previous stopping point in the maze and prepared to explore alone, free to use her full strength.

Wen Jing used Gravity Silk to scout deeper into the Knotted Rope Maze and entered a wasteland where she fought a saber-toothed tiger with a powerful shock-wave ability. She killed it at great cost, then began eating it and decided to evolve a trait for faster bodily repair.

• Wen Jing briefly flew above the Knotted Rope Maze to survey its paths, then reached a rope knot entwined with a beast's fang.
• Wen Jing encountered a saber-toothed tiger whose shock wave broke her shield and steadily drained her HP.
• Wen Jing bit into the tiger and used stealth, Energy Pulse, and her other abilities to turn the encounter into a hunt.
• Wen Jing defeated the wounded tiger but lost part of her mouthparts and two legs during the fight.
• Wen Jing ate the tiger to recover HP and energy, then determined to evolve a trait that could rapidly repair her body.

Wen Jing reached the labyrinth’s shell shop, paid for rare treasures, and discovered that the green grass granted skill points when eaten. The chapter ended with her consuming one leaf and seeing her skill points rise from 82 to 87.

• Wen Jing’s injuries healed through her newly acquired Basic Rapid Recovery trait, and she raised her life and strength attributes by eating the saber-toothed tiger before the wind returned her to the knot.
• Wen Jing collected shells, passed through two ordinary knots, and entered a cavern containing a shop with three rare treasures.
• Wen Jing tried to take the white fruit without paying, but the shop’s stone platforms attacked her, so she paid the required shells and ate the fruit, increasing her attributes.
• Wen Jing paid three pink shells for the weightless green grass, which floated above her head after she touched it.
• Wen Jing entered the strange mental plane, ate one leaf of the grass, and saw her skill points increase from 82 to 87.

Wen Jing used the green phantom’s guidance to find a second shop, returned to the material universe with ore and shells, and learned the ore could be used to make Pseudo-Wilderness Weapons. The chapter ended when a badly wounded Xie Ming crashed into the institute corridor and Dean Bai rushed to save him.

• Wen Jing used her last shell to buy grain and discovered that the green phantom’s leaves guided her along the ropes toward destinations.
• Wen Jing followed the guidance to a second shop, bought beast meat and ore, then used her last leaf to seek the Ancient Wilderness’s center and received a blood-red direction.
• Wen Jing returned to the registration center with the ore, sold it for 70 points, and learned from Dean Bai that Ancient Wilderness ore could be used to make Pseudo-Wilderness Weapons.
• Wen Jing kept her white shells for her next expedition and said goodbye to Dean Bai in the institute corridor.
• Xie Ming suddenly crashed into the corridor with a severe wound, and Dean Bai gave him an item that slowed his bleeding.

Wen Jing and a Student Council team entered the Knotted Rope Maze, where the team discovered that the maze had changed since their previous exploration. Following the red guidance, Wen Jing chose an ordinary knot and arrived in a wasteland where the beast bones began to move.

• An emergency medical robot revived Xie Ming, and Dean Bai confirmed that he was safe after his dangerous trip into the Ancient Wilderness.
• Wen Jing met Brown and the Student Council team at the registration center, then entered the Ancient Wilderness with them at six o'clock.
• The five-person team completed the stone wall trial, entered the knotted rope space, and collected five white shells in two battles.
• Jiang Zhi realized the maze's rope knots had changed and leaped from the path to spot a knot with a shell hanging from it.
• Wen Jing followed the red guidance to an ordinary rope knot despite a golden wheat ear knot nearby, and arrived in a bone-filled wasteland.
• The beast bones around Wen Jing began clacking and shifting before she could inspect them.

Wen Jing fought a regenerating giant made from beast bones and discovered that Mental Shock could reveal something hidden in her mental vision. After evolving membranous wings, she flew toward the giant’s head to pursue the clue of a white bone.

• A beast giant assembled from bones attacked Wen Jing, whose attacks struggled against its massless body and regenerating limbs.
• Wen Jing used Mental Shock while dodging a snake’s bite and noticed a fleeting grayish-white presence in her mental vision.
• Wen Jing climbed the giant’s arm, then spent points to evolve transparent membranous wings with flight and instantaneous direction change.
• Wen Jing’s second Mental Shock revealed what seemed to be a piece of white bone, and she flew toward the giant’s head.

Wen Jing defeated the beast giant in the Ancient Wilderness, gained the Howl of the Hunt trait, and returned to the material universe. The next day, the academy’s Mission Department summoned her and other students to investigate a forced return during a team exploration.

• Wen Jing used aerial maneuvers, attacks, and her mental power to distract the beast giant while the insect in her mental vision devoured a bone whistle.
• The beast giant vanished, and Wen Jing gained the convertible Howl of the Hunt trait, a mental attack ability, along with skill points.
• Jiang Zhi warned her team not to touch treasures at a shell knot, but two conglomerate scions grabbed them and were injured by the platform’s mysterious mouths.
• A strange shattering sound expelled Wen Jing and the five-person team from the Ancient Wilderness; Wen Jing noticed the injured scions at the registration center but left without questioning them.
• The Mission Department summoned Wen Jing, Ji Shuang, Song Zhi, and others to discuss the forced return during the Student Council’s last team exploration.

Wen Jing concealed her theory about the shells during the academy’s investigation into the Ancient Wilderness collapse, and Gao Shi kept her off the suspect list. She resumed exploring the giant tree and found a powerful white poisonous frog, which she began feeding so she could raise it before eating it.

• Zhuo Rong and Gao Shi questioned Wen Jing and the other students about their explorations and the forced return from the Ancient Wilderness.
• Wen Jing claimed she had lost her shells and revealed that she had suspected they were tickets to a transferred space.
• Gao Shi dismissed Wen Jing’s unusually high behavioral deviation score, and Zhuo Rong removed her from consideration as a suspect.
• The investigation team compiled its findings into a top-secret report and sent it to the Federation Parliament on Mystic Radiance Star.
• Wen Jing returned to the giant tree, discovered a wary white poisonous frog, and left it prey to eat so she could fatten it up.

Wen Jing tested her new mental technique, then spent the day devouring the giant tree to raise her attributes. After attending the spring-class welcome party as the First in the Grade, she reassured the nervous new students, and the chapter ended with her chatting with Eve.

• Wen Jing used Howl of the Hunt to kill six red-and-white birds with a mental attack.
• Wen Jing evolved her mouthparts and digestion, then began devouring the giant tree and raised her attributes through the day.
• Wen Jing finished her Ancient Wilderness course and agreed to attend the spring-class welcome party.
• The new spring-class students feared a cruel welcome tradition, but Wen Jing told them to eat, drink, and have fun.
• Wen Jing and Eve chatted at the welcome party, where Eve oversaw the event for the Student Council's Operations Department.

Wen Jing agreed to investigate the disappearance of the independent scientist connected to her joint insect research project with Xie Ming. She reached the scientist’s apartment in Xinpu City, forced her way inside, and found it empty and disordered.

• Eve told Wen Jing that the Student Council president wanted to know whether she would join future Operations Department explorations, and Wen Jing deferred the decision until after the league.
• Wen Jing visited the injured Xie Ming at the academy medical center, learned that an independent scientist had gone missing, and agreed to check the scientist’s contact address.
• Wen Jing collected the address from Xie Ming’s office and traveled to Xinpu City, where she ran past a speeding modified sports car on her way to the destination.
• Wen Jing reached the scientist’s shabby apartment, forced open its locked door, and entered the empty, messy interior to look for clues.

Wen Jing tracked Xu Yin to the Jackal Gang after discovering a robotic insect in Xu Yin’s apartment and questioning the gang members who attacked her. She and a girl in a fake Red Earth Academy uniform crashed into the gang’s prison, where Wen Jing prepared to force her way in before the girl could pick the lock.

• Wen Jing found a hidden robotic insect in Xu Yin’s apartment, disabled its self-destruct mechanism, and defeated two men who attacked her in the hallway.
• Wen Jing confronted a girl wearing a fake Red Earth Academy uniform and learned that the Jackal Gang had taken Xu Yin.
• Wen Jing brought the girl along, woke the gang members she had captured, and forced them to reveal Xu Yin’s exact location while the girl warned that Jackal might kill her.
• Wen Jing drove the gang’s armored vehicle through the Jackal Gang’s front gate and reached the locked entrance to the cells.
• The girl began preparing tools to pick the cell door, but Wen Jing said they had no time and moved to force it open.

Wen Jing and Little Ye broke into the Jackal Gang’s cell block to rescue Xu Yin and the other prisoners. After freeing them from the guards, Wen Jing identified herself to Xu Yin as the buyer of her research materials and began dealing with the emergency confinement system.

• Wen Jing burned a passage through an alloy door and entered the Jackal Gang’s base with Little Ye.
• Xu Yin asked the middle-aged man to protect Little Ye if his organization encountered her, while the guards’ alarm activated the cell block’s defenses.
• The guards fired at Wen Jing, but their bullets fell harmlessly, and she tore off an alloy door and knocked them down.
• Little Ye reunited with Xu Yin, and Wen Jing confirmed that she had controlled her strength so nobody was dead.
• Wen Jing pulled Purple Hair out from behind storage cabinets, then released him after the middle-aged man confirmed he was undercover.
• Wen Jing told Xu Yin that she was the buyer and examined the automatic emergency system locking the prisoners in.

Wen Jing freed the prisoners from the Jackal Gang’s cells and confronted Jackal, who mistook her for a Red Dragon Gang attacker. Their fight revealed that her strength and resistances could overcome even a fully awakened opponent’s signature techniques, and the chapter ended as Jackal tried to retreat and Wen Jing used Mental Link on him.

• Wen Jing broke open the cell doors while her Invisible Wind Blades disabled the cells’ device modules, then the prisoners escaped in armored transport vehicles.
• Jackal arrived, learned that only two people had raided his base, and assumed the Red Dragon Gang was responsible.
• Wen Jing challenged Jackal and attacked him before he could finish questioning her, beginning a fierce fight watched by the gang members and rescued prisoners.
• Jackal used Instant Flash, True Rending, and corrosive poison, but Wen Jing withstood his attacks and charged back at him.
• Jackal tried to retreat after Wen Jing continued pressing him, but she used Mental Link on him.

Wen Jing rescued Xu Yin, Little Ye, and several other captives from Jackal, an Ocher Soil alumnus who had seized them over debts. After separating from the other rescued group, Wen Jing collected the information she had come to obtain and paid Xu Yin before preparing to leave Xinpu City.

• Wen Jing used her command to stop Jackal, then forced him to explain that the captives had been taken over debts.
• Wen Jing took Xu Yin and Little Ye with her and released the other captives to travel separately.
• The undercover group’s vehicle came under attack after Wen Jing left, and its leader noted Little Ye’s talent and interest in adopting her.
• Xu Yin told Wen Jing that Little Ye had returned from School District Planet in fifth grade because Xu Yin could not afford gene supplements.
• Xu Yin gave Wen Jing the information on a storage device, and Wen Jing pressed a crystal card into her hand as payment before saying she would soon leave Xinpu City.