Chapter Summaries

Kang De rejected Otto II’s plan to kill his children and argued that the emperor could eventually become an ordinary man again after handing over the Empire. After leaving, Kang De returned to introduce Otto II to computer games, and the two began playing together.

• Otto II urged Kang De to kill the emperor’s children and explained his ruthless approach to ruling, while warning Kang De not to reveal his principles or goodwill to the Mortal World.
• Kang De reminded Otto II about the land sale, summit, and threat posed by the emperor’s eldest son, then refused to meet or kill the emperor’s children.
• Kang De promised Otto II that he would take over the Empire and that the emperor would eventually lose his imperial instincts and regain an ordinary person’s feelings and family ties.
• After Kang De left, he returned through a Phase Door and proposed electronic game therapy for Otto II, setting up a computer and explaining that the emperor could play as a ruler.
• Otto II sat down and began learning to play as Kang De patiently guided him.

After the Distant Harbor Legion’s victory, the Mortal World waited for Kang De to declare his intentions while Distant Harbor issued restrained statements and new internal rules. On Earth, Malegith confessed her fear that the Star Palace could destroy them, and Kang De promised he had come to spend time with her.

• Reports of the Distant Harbor Legion’s victory spread through the Mortal World, and other powers awaited Kang De’s response.
• Distant Harbor named him Consul Kang De and encouraged its officials and military to address one another as comrades.
• Kang De visited Malegith on Earth, and they teased each other about their past and her gaming.
• Malegith kissed Kang De and suggested they spend time together before the Star Palace destroyed the world.
• Kang De told Malegith he had planned a month-long vacation with her, and she admitted that the Star Palace’s return had revived her fear and painful memories.
• Malegith worried that the Star Palace knew Kang De was the Fire Thief and wondered whether they could defeat the enemy that had once driven Li Manyue to despair.

Kang De and Malegith discussed Earth’s vulnerability to supernatural warfare, then joked about his virginity and his absurd plans to make his first time fair to all his partners. Malegith accepted that he would return to the Mortal World but urged him to flee danger so she would not have to die protecting him.

• Malegith and Parrot warned Kang De that Earth’s military and institutions had no defenses against supernatural threats.
• Malegith confessed that she had come to love Kang De and teased him about his virginity and his other partners.
• Kang De proposed using his control over time to have his first time with everyone simultaneously, but Malegith rejected his convoluted plans.
• Kang De declined Malegith’s suggestion to abandon the Mortal World and said he would decide later whether to spend thirty years on Earth.
• Malegith asked Kang De to value his life and run from danger, warning that she would otherwise die protecting him.

Kang De warned Malegith that he would prepare Earth for a possible Star Palace attack by staging an Abyssal Rift in Australia and influencing the American election, then left her to check on Xiaoman after her nightmare. He returned to Lake Huron and called A Chuan to begin dealing with the Titan and the coming plans.

• Malegith warned Kang De not to assume he would always have time to protect everyone, and Kang De agreed to focus on Earth once the immediate crisis was settled.
• Kang De told Parrot he would create an Abyssal Rift in Australia's interior, use controlled monsters to draw the world's military resources there, and interfere in the American presidential election.
• Kang De and Parrot discussed leaving the American Empire Titan research base in place, then Kang De and Malegith spent four hours together before he reached Lake Huron.
• Kang De received Xiaoman's message about a frightening nightmare, opened a Phase Door, and went to examine her for signs of curses or foreign influence.
• Kang De found Xiaoman healthy, promised to find her a calming amulet, declined her dinner invitation, and returned to Lake Huron.
• Kang De called A Chuan shortly after five in the morning, and A Chuan answered impatiently.

Kang De pressured President A Chuan to accept a joint plan for dealing with Titan, but Mark Esper intervened and revealed that powerful political and military interests were pushing A Chuan aside. Humiliated and politically cornered, A Chuan considered an unexpected path forward inspired by his uncle.

• Kang De called A Chuan to demand an answer on the Titan treaty and proposed that China contribute Kang De himself as leverage.
• Mark Esper took A Chuan's phone and assured Kang De that secret negotiations would proceed without the president's involvement.
• Kang De asked whether A Chuan had been kidnapped, and A Chuan tried to shout for help before his bodyguards covered his mouth.
• Mark Esper warned A Chuan that he could not expose the Titan incident or dismiss him without being removed from office, then left him alone.
• A Chuan recognized that the political establishment had united against him and began considering a path inspired by his uncle.

A Chuan realized that powerful old-money factions planned to remove him and feared for his and his family’s safety. He decided Kang De might protect him, and began devising a way to signal that he wanted an alliance without alerting his watchers.

• A Chuan concluded that the old-money elites had united the Donkey and Elephant parties to defeat him and restore their control over the country.
• A Chuan searched for allies and decided Kang De, rather than the Chinese government, could offer him sanctuary and protection.
• A Chuan reviewed Kang De’s actions in Comora-Gambia and suspected that his large-scale transformation of the country concealed a secret.
• A Chuan decided not to investigate Kang De’s secret and instead planned to offer help in exchange for a favor, including returning the runestone taken near Lake Huron.
• A Chuan worried that his watchers would expose any direct contact with Kang De, so he erased his notes and began planning a discreet approach.

Kang De received a proposal from Secretary Esper, who said Amerikkka’s hidden leadership would support his plans and even join China if he wanted a unified China. Kang De then called A Chuan, who believed they were secretly exchanging information, while Apophis prepared to activate a resonance in the Star Palace.

• Kang De tried to call A Chuan, learned from Secretary Esper that Amerikkka’s hidden leaders wanted an alliance, and heard Esper offer concessions and support for Kang De’s plans.
• Kang De asked what Amerikkka would do if he wanted only one China in the world, and Esper said they would become part of China if Kang De guided them.
• Kang De read A Chuan’s tweets warning about Vietnam and supposed communist influence, but he did not recognize them as hints about his work in Comora and Distant Harbor.
• Kang De called A Chuan after the call blockade ended, and A Chuan mistook Kang De’s teasing questions about being kidnapped for a covert attempt to communicate.
• At the Star Palace, Apophis worried that no new orders had arrived after Phaethon’s sacrifice and decided to activate the resonance.

Kang De and A Chuan mistook each other’s intentions during a phone call, but A Chuan seized on Kang De’s offer of protection and declared himself a Chinese secret agent. After officials confirmed A Chuan was not one of theirs, Kang De decided to play along and sent him protective equipment, leaving A Chuan listening to a song about longing for his homeland.

• A Chuan interpreted Kang De’s strange insults and offer to bring him back to China as a hint that Kang De would protect him if he worked for the Republic.
• A Chuan declared himself a secret agent of the Republic, and Kang De was so surprised that he called Qin Mengjin to ask whether A Chuan was one of their people.
• Qin Mengjin played the call for officials, who confirmed that Donald Trump had no connection to the Republic’s secret front and suspected that a threat had caused his abnormal behavior.
• Kang De told Qin Mengjin that the Republic should take advantage of A Chuan’s predicament, while A Chuan used Kang De’s promise of protection to threaten Mark Esper and demand a second term.
• Kang De called A Chuan again, promised to send him personal protective equipment, and asked him to record a song as voice recognition.
• A Chuan opened the song Kang De sent and heard lyrics about yearning for his motherland.

Ivanka delivered a mysterious business card to A Chuan, who mistook its words for his secret codename and activated a box of supernatural equipment sent by Kang De. He accepted the gear and its song-based requirements while privately intending to use Kang De’s protection to remain president and safeguard his family.

• Ivanka told A Chuan that a strange card had appeared and explained that it read “Miss Bao,” meaning an unmarried woman surnamed Bao.
• A Chuan concluded that Miss Bao was his clandestine codename and used a drop of blood to activate the card, summoning a sack and cardboard box.
• Kang De explained that the sack and box were protective treasures and introduced the equipment inside, which included a vest, a brooch, and other unusual items.
• Kang De said A Chuan needed red faith and songs to use the equipment, and A Chuan agreed to learn the songs and follow the instructions.
• A Chuan privately resolved to use Kang De’s protection to stay in power, then recited “Serve the people!” and returned the box to the card.