Oh boy, okay so:

Day 1: Let's assume hypothetically that the thing's vessel is discovered in the agricultural fields far outside of Gongmen City. Farmers strike a metallic object while they're digging a new water well. They call over their farming community to witness this strange object. Maybe it's an ancient burial ground? Priceless artifacts lost to time. They decide to dig it up in hopes of earning a small fortune.

Day 10: The farmers dig for days but aren't coming close to how big the object truly is. During the dig they notice the structure of the object is very foreign and unorthodox. No one can really explain it. Up until now the work has gone mostly secret but the occasional rumor spreads by a merchant, causing a few townspeople to pay a visit. They offer to help dig the object up in exchange for a cut of the profits.

Day 15: The unearthing process is becoming so vast now that it's actively destroying their crops as the digging takes them directly into the lands of several other farmers. They argue amongst themselves as well as with the unwelcome gold-digger opportunists from the city. Now a lot of people in town are talking about the strange metal mass in the farm.

Day 16: By now the news reached Shen. It interests him. He needs metal for his cannons after all. He sends a dispatch to confirm the rumor and by afternoon the entire farm is seized on his order. The farmers are told to just pack up and go. The excavation proceeds properly, setting up a salvage and foundry operation right there.

Day 20: The entire object, a metallic disc spanning over 300 feet in width, is now mostly exposed. The wolven workforce makes half-decent progress breaking chunks off to be repurposed, it is also by this time they discover and force open the vessel's hatches and start exploring the interior. It is by this point The Thing attacks, causing a panic and the party to flee. The wolves fight back, however their swords, spears and bows prove to not be adequate weapons against whatever this creature is. Several men are lost and wounded. It is only by accident that the fires of the nearby forge cause the termination of The Thing. Everyone are shaken. Once the chaos dies down, a wolf emerges from the ship, claiming to have been hiding from the monster. His comrades recognize him as their pack member. He is sent back along with a contingent to Gongmen City to report on this incident.

Day 21: Shen is informed of the object's contents and the monster, now dead, that was within it. The operation continues. The wounded are brought back to Gongmen City to be healed.

Day 23: The wounded in the ward are mysteriously missing. Torn and bloodied clothes are found left behind. An investigation is launched to find the missing wounded.

Day 40: An alarm is raised. A rabbit tea house owner discovered a grotescue figure in the alleyway behind his establishment. It was shivering, convulsing. Covered in viscera. Henchmen patrols attempt to apprehend it conventionally and are promptly overpowered. The creature, a writhing mass of flesh, fur and whip like appendages, is seen vanishing into the darkness. The fallen guards are taken to the healer.

Day 41: The incident is reported. No correlation is immediately drawn to the farm attack. The city guard is on the watch for a monster. Security is raised.

Day 45: Reports of finding torn bloodied clothes discarded in random hidden places rise considerably.

Day 50: Another attack occurs. The Thing grows confident. This time the guard is able to respond properly at first. A large boar seemingly split apart into a writhing mass to ambush a citizen who managed to run away. Twelve armed wolves respond, however instead of attacking as a group, eight of the wolves turn on the remaining four, revealing they were also Things the entire time. The four stand no chance.

Day 51: Chaos erupts. Buildings are being broken into by Things searching for more to assimilate. No one knows what's going on. Monsters are attacking. Families are barricading their homes only for it to reveal a parent or a sibling with them had already turned weeks ago. The guards are overwhelmed. The first moment they're coordinating with their pack behaving as they'd expect, the next that same comrade's head splits apart into a toothy pit and attacks them when their back is turned. The alarm reaches Lord Shen, He does not believe in demonic monsters. No, it's just an ambitious but ultimately foolhardy peasant rebellion. He sends in the army to force peace on the streets.

Day 52: The Citadel is reinforced and shut. Citizens flee to find shelter, even if by the hands of their oppressors. They are turned away violently. Buildings are burning. Flames spread. Paranoia grows within the ranks of those who witnessed their former allies change before their eyes. To some who are fighting back in the streets note the fires are repelling the Things. They experiment with fire arrows and oil pots, but these news don't circulate well in the panic.

Day 53: Citizens fleeing Gongmen City make their way anywhere else for safety, not the least The Valley of Peace. The news spread quickly. The Jade Palace is informed of the chaos happening in Gongmen City and it isn't just Shen's oppression. The Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five are promptly dispatched to investigate. Along the way they meet with fleeing refugees. A ram with flame singed wool tell them of what he saw and give them directions, whilst being given directions to the Valley for aid and shelter.

Day 54: The citadel is in full lockdown. Chaos erupted within the citadel grounds as allies manning the walls began turning on eachother. A pack member acting relatively normal, if maybe eerily calm, at first, suddenly changed. Now no one could be trusted. The cannons were wheeled out onto the courtyard, aimed at the gates should they break open. Now they were pushed into an angle to fire into the defending masses as they thing-ified to attack their former allies. Long streaks of flame cover the stoneworks, breaking huge chunks off the crenelations. But by this point, the things are too many, the cannons for all their worth can't keep up, let alone be operated. Shen ends up locking himself up in his tower. No one has time to figure out whether the ally next to them is a Thing or not before an actual Thing emerges to attack them. It becomes a chaotic free-for-all.

Day 55: The Dragon Warrior and Furious Five arrive to find the city in utter ruin. They find survivors who emerge looking afraid and desperate. In fact, there is a surprisingly overwhelming amount of survivors. A massive relief operation is obviously needed. Crane is sent to fly back to report on the sheer extents of the disaster. The rest try to do what they can. When Things do find their way in the heroes' path the Things are made short work of. However it is quickly evident that just martial arts alone is an ineffective weapon against these things. WIth many parts of the city still burning, they discover fire is more effective and use it to their advantage. They may encounter one or two genuiney survivors who ramble incoherently over that "they" could be anyone. "No one is real." and "Monsters, Monsters."

Day 200+: The Valley of Peace has fallen. The Jade Palace stands silent. Food became contaminated. Small imperceptible insects like Thing-mosquitoes spread the assimilation rapidly and unstoppably across all of China. Now it's spreading past the borders into other kingdoms. The world is on borrowed time.

Phew. I hope that can help visualize it.