What actions does equality 7-2521 engage at the begging of Ch VIII? Bases on his character is this surprising or not? Why ?

After the resigned despair at the end of the previous chapter, Equality 7-2521 writes his next journal entry in an entirely different tone. His first day in the Uncharted Forest teaches him that his society's teachings about "the corruption to be found in solitude" are fabrications, and he barely thinks of his separation from the community as he explores the forest. As he journeys deeper into the wilderness, he is both physically and spiritually walking away from collectivism and the City. I think that Equality has been evolving to this moment since the beginning of the novel; he has been moving towards emancipation and self-discovery through everything he has done to change the system.