Chapter Summaries

Carl awakened in Meteor City as an orphan in 1984 and tried to adjust to the dangerous life of his new body. After a tense visit from Chrollo, Carl decided he needed protection, but a pumpkin seed triggered a mysterious system that began loading.

• Carl woke in a shack in Meteor City with the memories of an orphan who had died from a fever.
• Carl recognized Chrollo Lucilfer when he came to check on him, and he pretended to remember their plans to watch a videotape.
• Chrollo left after secretly crushing half a snail shell, signaling that Carl should meet him at the church in two days.
• Carl realized Chrollo suspected something was different and resolved to join the Phantom Troupe to survive.
• A pumpkin seed fell through a hole in the roof, and touching it caused a notification to announce that Mole's World Version 2.0 was loading.

After a pumpkin seed awakened Carl’s Mole Manor, she discovered its farming powers and inherited knowledge, then began cultivating explosive pomegranates to prepare for a dangerous trip across Meteor City. The chapter ended as Carl tossed a stone into the air to test how quickly she could enter and leave the manor.

• The pumpkin seed burrowed into Carl’s palm, and a purification protocol transformed the world into Mole Manor, unlocking nine farm plots.
• Carl explored the manor’s controls, watered a Qi and Blood Pumpkin, and learned it would take 72 hours to mature.
• Carl examined the original owner’s seed collection, found thirty pumpkin seeds and twelve viable Bomb Pomegranate seeds, and decided the pomegranates suited her urgent needs better.
• Carl planted eight Bomb Pomegranate seeds and watered them, seeing that they would mature in six hours and explode with a lethal radius of six meters.
• Carl planned to test the time needed to enter the manor and flicked a small stone into the air as a makeshift timer.

Carl tested the manor’s timing and safety, then returned to Meteor City disguised and carrying Bomb Pomegranates. When three thugs pursued him, he threw one grenade and killed them in a blast that brought the elders’ guards rushing to the scene.

• Carl confirmed that only a fraction of a second passed outside while he was in the manor, then brought his bedding, food, and pot inside to wait safely for the fruit to ripen.
• Carl discovered he could replenish the manor’s water, washed himself and his clothes, and later appeared back in the shack on May 11, 1984.
• Carl disguised himself with soot and dust and left the shack, carrying two Bomb Pomegranates beneath his clothes.
• Three tattooed thugs followed Carl through Meteor City, and he pulled the pin from a Bomb Pomegranate and threw it behind him as he fled.
• The Bomb Pomegranate exploded, killing the three thugs and leaving a crater and a gruesome display of blood and body parts.
• A guard captain ordered one of his guards to notify the elders about the explosion.

Carl escaped the Elders' Guard and went to the church for a screening, where she reunited with Chrollo and encountered several future Phantom Troupe members. After exchanging snacks with Machi, Carl watched as the cartoon began.

• Carl hurried to the church to get away from the Elders' Guard.
• Carl arrived at the church and saw Uvogin confronting Chrollo, but a girl sent Uvogin inside and persuaded Phinks to hand out snacks.
• Chrollo recognized Carl and convinced her to stay for the screening by promising to trade new seeds afterward.
• Carl sat beside Machi, who used her intuition to claim they were friends and persuaded Carl to share her extra snacks.
• Carl bit into a snack containing hard candy and hurt her baby tooth just as the cartoon began.

After Chrollo’s animation brought the children together, Carl clashed with Sheila over the death of his foster mother and nearly stabbed her. He left after Franklin intervened, but gave Chrollo the seeds he had promised and warned him how to use a Bomb Pomegranate if danger arose.

• Chrollo finished showing the animation, and Sarasa welcomed Uvogin as a friend as the children walked home.
• Sheila mocked Carl, and he confronted her about his foster mother dying while rescuing her from kidnappers.
• Carl drew a dagger to Sheila’s neck, but Franklin stopped him and urged him to talk things out.
• Carl rebuked Franklin and walked away, then accepted Chrollo’s promised seeds and gave him a Bomb Pomegranate with instructions for using it.
• Sheila insulted Carl again, and Sarasa tugged at her skirt until she fell silent.

Carl discovered that Chrollo’s seeds included Nen Komugi, which could awaken and increase Nen, and used the manor’s crops to secure food and prepare to expand her land. After eating a Qi and Blood Pumpkin and recovering from hunger, she waited for her newly planted Bomb Pomegranate to mature so she could upgrade the manor.

• Carl inspected Chrollo’s bundle and found thirty-seven Nen Komugi seeds and sixty-one Bomb Pomegranates.
• Carl counted that she needed seven more Bomb Pomegranates to expand the manor and planted a seed.
• After sleeping through the night, Carl harvested a Qi and Blood Pumpkin and ate a slice, easing her hunger and improving her health.
• Carl saved the remaining pumpkin slices and resolved to keep growing pumpkins so she would no longer need to scavenge for food.
• Carl planted and watered a Bomb Pomegranate seed, then waited for it to mature and allow her to expand the manor.

Chrollo and his friends chose the name Phantom Troupe while Sarasa left to seek new videotapes. Carl upgraded her estate, then went with Sarasa to join the residents cleaning the Seventh Garbage District, where they met the elder leading the group.

• Chrollo, Uvogin, Paku, Nobunaga, Feitan, and the others discussed names, and Paku and Nobunaga supported calling themselves the Phantom Troupe.
• Sarasa slipped away to search Garbage Mountain No. 7 for videotapes after realizing only three cartoon volumes remained.
• Carl harvested enough Bomb Pomegranates to upgrade her estate to level 2, gaining eighteen plots, and planted Nen Komugi in nine of them.
• Sarasa told Carl the elder would reclaim her shack if she kept skipping garbage collection, so Carl left to clean the Seventh Garbage District with her.
• Carl told Sarasa that Sheila was her enemy, then the two joined the residents gathered behind the elder.

As acid rain approached, Carl realized Sarasa had wandered into a dead grove and followed her footprints, discovering that seven criminals had taken her. He found the gang in the storm and prepared to attack, while Chrollo worried that Sarasa had not returned to the church.

• Carl noticed Sarasa had disappeared as thunder warned of the coming acid rain.
• Sarasa wandered into a dead grove searching for videotapes, where Xini and his thugs prepared to kill their workers and take their haul.
• Carl followed Sarasa's shoeprints into the grove and found adult footprints alongside hers, then spotted the criminals through the rain.
• Carl approached the gang with his Bomb Pomegranate, planning to draw their attention and strike.
• At the church, Chrollo worried that Sarasa had not come to the screening, and Shalnark offered to check on her after the rain.

Carl rescued Sarasa from a group of Meteor City thugs and escaped into the rain, but Xini, a Nen user, tracked her down. Carl vanished into her manor to evade him, while Xini searched the woods for hours before finally leaving.

• Carl realized the men searching the woods were Meteor City thugs hunting Sarasa and rushed to save her when they caught her.
• Carl killed Ken with a dagger, rescued Sarasa, and left a Bomb Pomegranate beside the corpse, which exploded and killed several thugs.
• Carl sent Sarasa running toward Garbage Mountain No. 7 while she stayed behind to draw off the pursuer.
• Xini tracked Carl with Nen and confronted her, but Carl claimed her name was Sheila and vanished into the manor.
• Xini searched the woods for hours before giving up, while Carl ate and slept safely inside the manor.

Chrollo and the Phantom Troupe learned that Sarasa had been badly injured after going to the outskirts, but they could not get past Hank to see her. They headed for the Seventh Garbage District to search for Carl, while Sarasa, still feverish and injured, persuaded Hank to take her there too.

• Hank turned Chrollo and the Phantom Troupe away, and Pakunoda explained that acid rain could severely damage Sarasa's lungs.
• Shalnark learned that Sarasa and Carl had been assigned to the main road on Seventh Garbage Mountain before the rain forced everyone to take shelter.
• Chrollo led the troupe to Carl's shack, but no one answered, so they decided to go to the Seventh Garbage District.
• Sarasa woke with a fever and recalled that Carl had returned to the garbage mountains after telling her to run to safety.
• Sarasa insisted that Hank take her to the Seventh Garbage District, and he reluctantly agreed.

Carl counted her harvested Nen crops and reflected on killing the men who had pursued her. In the woods, Chrollo chose to search for Carl despite the danger, but Sarasa arrived with news that Carl was still being chased by many people.

• Carl inventoried her remaining Qi and Blood Pumpkin slices, Bomb Pomegranates, and newly harvested Nen Komugi, then considered how she had killed the pursuers.
• Chrollo found a piece of Carl’s scorched wrapping cloth and decided to continue toward Meteor City’s forbidden outskirts to look for her.
• Feitan and Phinks volunteered to stay with Chrollo, while Nobunaga, Uvogin, and Machi headed back to check on Sarasa, and Franklin agreed to take Sheila back.
• Hank emerged carrying the injured Sarasa, who urged everyone to find Carl because many bad people were still chasing her.

Chrollo and his companions searched for Carl but found only a wrecked clearing, and Chrollo challenged the laws that allowed Meteor City’s children to be treated as refuse. As the group formed around his resolve to fight back, Carl appeared alive in the rain.

• Chrollo’s group followed Sarasa’s trail through the ruins, and Chrollo insisted that Carl might still be alive.
• Hank decided to take Sarasa back because the rain threatened her health, while Chrollo’s group reached the shattered clearing.
• Chrollo questioned who made the laws that condemned Meteor City’s children, and Nobunaga, Uvogin, Machi, Shalnark, Franklin, Feitan, and Phinks agreed to stand with him.
• Chrollo told the Phantom Troupe to leave as the rain fell, and Carl stepped out of the manor and called to him.
• Chrollo turned in shock when Carl confirmed that she was still alive.

Carl joined Chrollo and the others in forming the Phantom Troupe, then shared pumpkin from her manor and revealed an enormous ear of wheat. As Chrollo noticed her unusual ability, Carl prepared to introduce the group to Nen users.

• Chrollo invited Carl to join the troupe, and Carl accepted after asking whether they would add a name prefix.
• Paku proposed names for the organization, and Chrollo suggested Phantom Troupe, which everyone unanimously approved.
• Chrollo presented a three-year plan for training and study, while Carl shared pumpkin from her manor with the troupe.
• Phinks and the others tasted the pumpkin, and Chrollo noticed that Carl had produced it from thin air and that his fingertip wound had healed.
• Carl held up a golden ear of wheat and asked the troupe whether they had heard of Nen users.

Carl explained Nen and revealed that his Nen Komugi could safely awaken Nen Aura, though he could not teach the Phantom Troupe to develop Nen Abilities. The group planned to seek a Nen teacher in Meteor City, while Carl promised to bring his remaining healing pumpkin to Sarasa.

• Carl described four ways to awaken Nen Aura and revealed that eating a hundred stalks of his Nen Komugi could safely awaken it without side effects.
• Chrollo asked about the crop's supply, and Carl explained that he could grow nine stalks at a time, with each batch maturing every twenty-four hours in a special place.
• Carl identified the pomegranate he had given Chrollo as a Bomb Pomegranate with a six-meter lethal radius.
• Carl clarified that Nen Komugi awakened Nen Aura, not Nen Abilities, and suggested asking the priest to help them find a Nen teacher.
• Uvogin asked for healing pumpkin for Sarasa, and Carl agreed to take her his last slice; Franklin silently accepted that none was available for Sheila.

Carl restored Sarasa’s health with a Qi and Blood Pumpkin, then returned to her manor and tried to rest after days of danger and work. The Elders’ Guard continued patrolling over the child kidnappings, while Carl hoped to spend the next three months farming in peace.

• Carl left Sarasa’s home with corn cakes and passed a patrol of the Elders’ Guard led by Fyodor, who reprimanded his brother-in-law.
• Carl decided the patrols were merely a show and doubted Meteor City’s elders would truly protect its residents.
• Carl returned to her shack, entered her manor, and hoped the Phantom Troupe’s cleanup work and her request for distance would let her focus on farming.
• Carl harvested eight ripe Bomb Pomegranates, then lay down and fell asleep beneath the trees.

Three months after promising to return, Carl met the Phantom Troupe at the church and prepared to show them her Nen Komugi. She brought them into the manor, leaving them in the midst of its spatial transformation.

• Carl arrived at the church after spending three months farming, and Sarasa greeted her while Chrollo asked if she was ready.
• Chrollo showed Carl the seeds he and Paku had collected, but Carl discovered that every seed had been roasted and was unusable.
• The Phantom Troupe gathered to see Carl’s Nen Komugi, and several members remarked on how much taller she had grown.
• Franklin explained that Sheila had left the Phantom Troupe two months earlier, and Carl approved of her departure.
• Carl told the group to enter the manor, and space warped around the Phantom Troupe as the world changed.

Carl welcomed the Phantom Troupe to her manor and showed them its fertile farm and warehouse. The Troupe began eating Nen Komugi to awaken their Nen Aura, while Carl warned them to keep it contained once it awakened.

• Carl showed the Troupe her fertile soil and explained that the manor’s Bomb Pomegranate harvest had grown into a powerful weapon.
• Carl led the group past the dangerous pomegranate trees to the warehouse and warned them not to touch things in the manor at random.
• The Troupe found Bomb Pomegranates and piles of Nen Komugi in the warehouse, then counted out their required portions of wheat.
• Carl told the Troupe to eat the grains to awaken their Nen Aura and warned them that excessive use could shorten their lives.
• Nobunaga choked while swallowing the grains dry, while Uvogin continued chewing and the others lined up for water.

Carl guided the Phantom Troupe through awakening their Nen and taught them how to identify their types with Water Divination. After the group went outside to enjoy their new abilities, Chrollo and Carl rested in the clean air and hoped Meteor City might one day be like the estate.

• Carl helped the Phantom Troupe members control their newly awakened Nen Aura and announced that they had all become Nen users.
• Carl explained the six Nen types and demonstrated Water Divination with wooden cups and wheat leaves.
• Uvogin, Nobunaga, and Phinks showed Enhancement; Machi and Feitan showed Transmutation; Franklin showed Emission; and Shalnark showed Manipulation.
• Carl revealed that her water had crystallized, while Chrollo wondered whether Sarasa and Paku were Specialists because their cups had not changed.
• Carl sent the Phantom Troupe outside to experiment with Nen, then sat with Chrollo as he hoped Meteor City could someday become as clean as the estate.

Carl left the warehouse after practicing Nen Aura and found the Phantom Troupe arguing over a half cup of clean water. Remembering how scarce water was in Meteor City, Carl poured water from an inexhaustible jug, and the group ended the moment by declaring their hopes for the future.

• Carl felt Nen Aura strengthening his body and decided the group needed an experienced teacher.
• Carl found Uvogin and Nobunaga fighting over Nobunaga’s half cup of clean water while Chrollo explained that clean water in Meteor City could be worth ten lives.
• Carl poured water from his jug onto the ground, startling the others, and told Chrollo that the estate’s water would not run out.
• Carl helped Pakunoda up, and the group made hopeful declarations, including Chrollo’s promise to become a leader worthy of their hope.
• Machi took the jug to bathe with Sarasa and Pakunoda as Uvogin and Nobunaga resumed their playful fight.

Carl and Chrollo visited Old Will to learn how to find Nen users, and Chrollo discovered they could take the last bus to the Mist Forest. Back at the screening room, Chrollo began planning how the group could get a ticket and travel safely.

• Carl and Chrollo decided against selling water in Meteor City because the Phantom Troupe could not protect the profits from the gangs.
• Carl and Chrollo visited the chapel, where Will explained that he had lied to Sheila to keep her alive and mistook Carl's anger for resentment toward her.
• Chrollo questioned Will about Nen users, inferred that Ms. Lianke in the Mist Forest was one, and learned about the last bus there.
• Chrollo thanked Will and left with Carl, while Will hoped the children had enough aptitude to become Nen users.
• Back at the screening room, Chrollo told Uvogin and Nobunaga that they needed a ticket for the last bus and began laying out his plan.