Chapter Summaries

Chen Fan learned that the Lamsi Empire had repeatedly invaded the Zhaoyuan starfield before withdrawing, while the Bulei Civilization prepared to exterminate the Zhaoyuan Civilization. As Chen Fan formed a plan amid the approaching fleets, the Zhaoyuan Council Speaker ordered the Patrol Fleet to prepare for battle and revealed that the Hemu Plan had already begun.

• Anbu Er told Chen Fan that the Lamsi Empire had attacked the Zhaoyuan starfield four times, winning each time before withdrawing after breaking through the defenses.
• Yi reported that the Free Trade Market had decided to make an example of Aolaya and Baloka by exterminating the Zhaoyuan Civilization, so Chen Fan ordered the Four-Pointed Star transport fleet to head for the Zhaoyuan Star System.
• Yi warned Chen Fan that the transport fleet's weapons could not match warships, and Chen Fan studied the Star Chart as a new plan took shape.
• Several days later, Nabi told the Council Speaker that Bulei warships were approaching the Zhaoyuan Star System and had ignored the Patrol Fleet's warning.
• The Council Speaker ordered Nabi to prepare the Patrol Fleet for battle and said the Hemu Plan had already been successfully launched.

The Bulei Civilization declared an extermination order against the Zhaoyuan Civilization and began destroying its fleet. As Zhaoyuan ships faltered, the Council Speaker took command of the flagship and ordered the fleet to charge.

• The Bulei fleet revealed the captured ships carrying Captain Aolaya and Council Speaker Baloka, then announced that a Civilization Extinction Order against Zhaoyuan had taken effect.
• Aolaya warned the Zhaoyuan People to run, but a Bulei drone shocked him before he could finish.
• Baloka urged the Zhaoyuan People to fire on him, but a Bulei drone struck him and the communication was cut off.
• The Bulei warships launched a devastating attack that shattered Zhaoyuan shields and triggered explosions across the fleet.
• The Zhaoyuan flagship dodged a Space Rift and charged forward as the Council Speaker ordered the Zhaoyuan Fleet to attack.

Ke Luke and the Zhaoyuan Fleet launched a desperate charge against the Bulei Fleet, but the Bulei warships overwhelmed them with space rifts and crippled the Zhaoyuan flagship. Before the Bulei could destroy the fleet, the Lamsi Empire Fleet arrived and unleashed a Black Storm against them.

• Ke Luke joined the Zhaoyuan Fleet's charge after the Council Speaker ordered all units to attack.
• The Bulei Fleet disrupted Zhaoyuan warships' curvature travel, ignored their attacks, and struck them with space rifts.
• Space rifts split the Zhaoyuan flagship into three sections, throwing the fleet into chaos as Ke Luke feared its destruction.
• The Bulei Fleet regrouped behind crimson barriers, apparently responding to an approaching enemy.
• A Bulei Four-Pointed Star Fleet and a silver-white planet with thousands of warships emerged, and the planet's spacetime attack forced the Bulei ships out of curvature travel.
• The silver-white planet generated a Black Storm that swept toward the Bulei Fleet, and Ke Luke recognized it as the Lamsi Empire Fleet.

The Lamsi Empire Fleet attacked the Bulei fleet with swarms of nanometer black worms, devastating its ships despite the Bulei’s powerful weapons. Dan Er learned that the Bulei had attacked first and recognized the Four-Pointed Star transport fleet that had led the Lamsi forces to them; the chapter then revealed that the transport fleet had lured the Lamsi fleet into pursuing it.

• Dan Er ordered the Bulei warships to identify themselves and raise their shields, but the Lamsi Empire Fleet’s black insects overwhelmed them.
• Dan Er used a spatial-collapse weapon to destroy the first swarm, but more insects returned and crippled over half the Bulei fleet.
• Dan Er asked why the Lamsi Empire had attacked, and the Lamsi replied that the Bulei had attacked first and that no non-aggression pact existed.
• Dan Er recognized the LT49373 Transport Fleet of No. 943 Free Trade Market in the battle record before his warship was destroyed.
• Two days earlier, the Four-Pointed Star transport fleet entered a wormhole and appeared before the Lamsi Empire Fleet near the Bulei Galaxy.
• The transport fleet attacked the Lamsi fleet with weak Space Rifts and vanished, prompting the Lamsi Planetary Fortress to pursue it through a wormhole.

Chen Fan received Wang Jing's analysis of the Thought Synchronization Devices and learned that the Bulei Civilization had used them to harvest brain-repairing Activation Factors for Star Sand. Wang Jing warned that Star Sand could increase brain activity, but on Chen Fan's side it also triggered dangerous High-Dimensional Resonance and severe brain abnormalities.

• Yi told Chen Fan that the Dangerous Technology Administration had sent a communication signal, and Chen Fan connected to Wang Jing.
• Wang Jing explained that Thought Synchronization caused Information Shock through both resonating thoughts and streams of complex data that forcibly raised brain utilization.
• Wang Jing distinguished the devices' effects from High-Dimensional Resonance and described how brain utilization varied with civilization development.
• Wang Jing revealed that the Bulei Civilization used the Thought Synchronization Console to force organisms to produce Activation Factors, the active ingredients in Star Sand.
• Wang Jing confirmed that Star Sand could promote brain development but warned that heightened brain activity could cause High-Dimensional Resonance and severe brain abnormalities.

Chen Fan learned that Wang Jing would help deal with a Level 8 Civilization while relying on his High-Dimensional Resonance to investigate the Broadcast Civilization. After the Lamsi Empire unleashed its Black Storm, Chen Fan concluded that the Lamsi Empire had used Nanites to control the Bulei Civilization for centuries and staged its war against it.

• Wang Jing told Chen Fan that the Bulei Civilization would be punished for its use of prohibited technology, and promised to handle the Level 8 Civilization in exchange for his help with two experiments.
• Chen Fan and Isa lamented that they had made no progress investigating the Nanomachines and Thought Imprint, while Chen Fan speculated that the Loka Civilization might be involved.
• Chen Fan assured Anbu Er that the Zhaoyuan Civilization would likely be safe after reviewing the LT49373 Transport Fleet's ambush of the Lamsi Empire Fleet.
• Yi detected large-scale Nanomachines released by the Lamsi Empire, and the Four-Pointed Star Fleet's feed showed the Black Storm engulfing the Bulei Fleet.
• Chen Fan connected the Black Storm to the Loka Civilization and concluded that the Lamsi Empire had controlled the Bulei royal family and civilization for more than three hundred years, staging the war as a false invasion.

Chen Fan concluded that the Lamsi Empire had used war, nanomachines, and star sand to control the Bulei Galaxy, making the Bulei Civilization a victim rather than the mastermind. After the Lamsi fleet destroyed the Bulei Fleet and spared the Zhaoyuan Fleet, Chen Fan ordered Yi to search Turbine’s Central Mainframe for records about the empire.

• Chen Fan explained that the Lamsi Empire’s invasion had driven civilizations to join the Bulei Alliance and helped spread star sand throughout the galaxy.
• Ke Luke watched the Lamsi Empire Fleet destroy the Bulei Fleet, then saw the Black Storm return to the Planetary Fortress as the fleet departed without attacking the Zhaoyuan Fleet.
• Ke Luke learned that the Zhaoyuan flagship had been scrapped, the Council Speaker had died, and only Zhaoyuan ships remained among the survivors, so he ordered the fleet to return home.
• Chen Fan told Isa that the Lamsi Empire had likely controlled the Bulei Civilization and used its alliance as a tool, leaving the Bulei Civilization to face future judgment from the Human Federation.
• Chen Fan ordered Yi to activate the backdoor program and secretly search Turbine’s Central Mainframe for records related to the Lamsi Empire.

Chen Fan discovered that the Lamsi Empire had used the Thought Synchronization Console to identify intelligent beings whose thought and Consciousness Bodies reached a certain strength, then sent them to a mysterious place called Olivier. The chapter left Chen Fan and Isa uneasy that the operation resembled the Goddess’s past actions, though Yi believed the resemblance was likely coincidental.

• Yi infiltrated Turbine's central database but found no information about the Lamsi Empire, so Chen Fan ordered a search for Star Sand and the Thought Synchronization Console.
• Chen Fan filtered Turbine's records and found that individuals who passed the Console's test were labeled “Qualified Individuals” and sent to Olivier.
• Nikas recalled that one Zhaoyuan senior passed the test, was taken away by drones, and was promised freedom, but never returned.
• Yi found no coordinates for Olivier, and Anbu Er explained that the name referred to a paradise in Bulei Civilization legends.
• Chen Fan and Isa suspected the Lamsi Empire's operation resembled the Goddess's methods, while Yi said the resemblance was probably a coincidence.

Chen Fan used Yi to falsify thought-strength test records for himself, Isa, and Gao Yuan, prompting the Bulei People to arrange their transport to Olivier. The Bulei central control center confirmed all three were qualified and assigned Ya Qi to deliver them under Transport Plan No. 9117.

• Chen Fan proposed having the Bulei People help find Olivier by making them believe the group met Turbine's thought-strength standard.
• Yi manipulated Turbine's system, and Chen Fan, Isa, and Gao Yuan each received confirmation that they had regained their freedom and would be transported home.
• The three left the Zhaoyuan Production Factory and returned to Turbine C Area under a Bulei drone's escort.
• At the Bulei central control center, an officer verified that three Qualified Individuals had appeared in the Zhaoyuan 091 Production Factory.
• The officer activated Transport Plan No. 9117 and ordered Ya Qi to take the three safely to Olivier.

Chen Fan and his companions were escorted through the Turbine and sent aboard a Bulei transport ship carrying intelligent beings from many civilizations. As the ship left the Bulei Galaxy, Chen Fan suspected that Olivier was the wormhole opened by the Lamsi Empire.

• Chen Fan, Isa, and Gao Yuan waited in Turbine C Area until Ya Qi and Naji arrived and escorted them away.
• Ya Qi and Naji brought the three to the inner port, where Chen Fan saw a transport ship loading intelligent beings from several civilizations.
• Naji mentioned that he and Ya Qi were heading to Olivier and said the Bulei royal family alone knew its coordinates.
• Chen Fan and his companions boarded the transport ship, which began its journey without hibernation pods or ecological cabins.
• Chen Fan used Yi to track the ship as it entered superluminal cruise and headed out of the Bulei Galaxy.
• Chen Fan wondered whether Olivier was the wormhole opened by the Lamsi Empire.

At the Central Academy of Sciences, Chief Lu and Lin Yang investigated the Ghost Fleet’s unexplained nature while Song Ziliang reported on his investigation. After learning that Chen Fan had uncovered a vast captivity and experimentation scheme tied to a suspected Level 8 Civilization, Chief Lu decided Chen Fan must be protected.

• Lin Yang’s attempt to replicate the Ghost Fleet failed, and he explained that gravitational effects and spacetime fluctuations could not be blocked.
• Chief Lu arrived and heard Lin Yang’s theory that a wormhole collapse might have reconstructed fragmented information into the Ghost Fleet.
• Song Ziliang reported that his search found only a 63.7% architectural similarity between the Ghost Fleet and a recently joined Level 1 Civilization.
• Zero informed Song Ziliang that Wang Jing had sent news of Chen Fan’s latest discovery: a civilization was raising populations in captivity, increasing their brain utilization, and extracting Activation Factors.
• Lin Yang and Chief Lu reviewed Chen Fan’s record and recognized his links to several major incidents, including High-Dimensional Resonance and the Broadcast Civilization.
• Chief Lu ordered Song Ziliang to protect Chen Fan, believing the investigator might be the key to breaking the deadlock.

Chief Lu and the researchers realized the Broadcast Civilization was transmitting fragments of Level III artificial intelligence source code, raising fears of rogue AIs across the universe. Meanwhile, Chen Fan emerged from superluminal cruise near a Lamsi Empire fleet and ordered One to track the wormhole to the empire’s headquarters.

• Chief Lu theorized that the Ghost Fleet was an incomplete information projection from a distant starfield and said the Broadcast Civilization might be able to manipulate matter through information.
• Zero reported that the Sociology Branch had translated a frequently repeated fragment of Level III artificial intelligence source code from the broadcasts.
• Song Ziliang warned that the broadcasts could have enabled rogue artificial intelligences throughout the EL13697101 Universe, and Chief Lu ordered him to prepare to support Chen Fan while dispatching a fleet.
• Chen Fan spotted a silver-white Planetary Fortress and accompanying warships, identified them as the Lamsi Empire Fleet, and ordered One to locate the empire’s headquarters through the wormhole.

Chen Fan traveled aboard a Bulei transport ship into Lamsi Empire territory while Song Ziliang warned him that the empire might possess complete Level Eight artificial intelligence technology. Chen Fan revealed that he had already arranged a backup force in the Star Gate Universe, leaving Song Ziliang to seek safeguards as the confrontation became difficult to avoid.

• Chen Fan watched the Lamsi Empire's Planetary Fortress open a wormhole and entered it aboard the Bulei transport ship.
• Song Ziliang contacted Chen Fan and explained that the Broadcast Civilization was publishing the source code for Level III artificial intelligence, which could make runaway AIs common in the universe.
• Song Ziliang warned Chen Fan that the Lamsi Empire might possess complete Level Eight technology and urged him to avoid provoking it.
• Chen Fan told Song Ziliang that he was already aboard a transport ship carrying selected intelligent beings into Lamsi Empire territory.
• Chen Fan revealed that investigators were standing by in the Star Gate Universe and joked that he would show the Lamsi Empire the Human Federation's strength.
• Song Ziliang cursed at Chen Fan and resolved to arrange safeguards for him and the other investigators.

Chen Fan discovered Broadcast Civilization writing on a patrol ship as his transport entered the Lamsi Empire’s vast artificial star system. Unsure whether the empire understood the writing or merely used it as decoration, he cut communication and prepared to investigate in secret as the vessel descended toward a planet.

• Chen Fan reassured Song Ziliang that he would investigate the Broadcast Civilization without alerting it, then spotted strange writing outside the transport vessel.
• Chen Fan and Song Ziliang saw Broadcast Civilization characters engraved on an escort ship in the Lamsi Empire’s artificially constructed star system.
• Song Ziliang failed to decipher the characters, and Chen Fan reasoned that either the dictionary was incomplete or the Lamsi Empire treated the writing as decoration.
• Yi warned that the transport vessel was descending, and Chen Fan ended his call with Song Ziliang and ordered Yi into silent mode.
• Chen Fan prepared to investigate the Lamsi Empire covertly while the Varrela headed toward the Galaxy Group’s central region.

Chen Fan, Isa, and Gao Yuan saw the pollution and corpses surrounding the steel towers before their transport ship landed inside one. Ya Qi revealed that the ship had reached Olivier, where Naji saw a vast platform and a giant cable system carrying capsule compartments down the tower.

• Chen Fan and his companions saw that the planet's atmosphere was dangerously polluted and its surface was covered in corpses and waste discharged from the towers.
• The transport ship entered a tower and landed inside it as Chen Fan condemned the people responsible for the corpse dump.
• Naji asked Ya Qi when they would reach Olivier, and she told him they had already arrived.
• The ship landed on a vast platform beside a massive cable and spiral mechanism that carried capsule compartments down the tower.
• Ya Qi confirmed to Naji that the platform and cable system were Olivier.

Ya Qi revealed that the Bulei Civilization was serving the Lamsi Empire and delivering intelligent individuals to its master. Meanwhile, Chen Fan and his companions were taken to a tower filled with capsule chambers, where the Synchronization Devices began operating after he disabled his thought-protection protocol.

• Ya Qi’s disguise fell away as she attacked Naji with the Black Tide, and Naji recognized the Lamsi Empire.
• Ya Qi reported to the mechanical sphere that the Bulei Civilization had delivered 120,001 qualified intelligent individuals ahead of schedule.
• The mechanical sphere ordered the Bulei Civilization to prepare its next shipment and announced that the Imperial Fleet would increase its attacks.
• Bulei drones issued Synchronization Devices to Chen Fan, Isa, Gao Yuan, and the other captives, but Chen Fan’s thought-protection protocol blocked the device.
• Chen Fan instructed Yi to deactivate the protocol, allowing the Synchronization Device to enter working mode.
• Robots led Chen Fan and the other intelligent lifeforms into the tower, where Chen Fan saw countless capsule chambers holding apparently sleeping beings.

Chen Fan entered a Lamsi Empire Synchronization Pod and concluded that the empire might be an enemy of the Loka Civilization and the civilization behind the 42-Second Signal. The pod’s thought scan proved unexpectedly mild, but it then began feeding him Star Sand.

• Chen Fan suspected the Lamsi Empire imprisoned intelligent lifeforms to scan their brains and considered that it might be an enemy of the Loka Civilization.
• Chen Fan warned Isa and Gao Yuan not to act rashly, then entered his Synchronization Pod as ordered.
• Yi interfered with the pod’s assessment, making it register Chen Fan’s thought intensity as weak, and robots carried him and his companions toward the central cable pillar in separate pods.
• The pods were connected to the pillar and carried upward while the Synchronization Device scanned Chen Fan’s thoughts.
• Chen Fan found the scan less harmful than expected, but a hose began delivering glowing Star Sand into his pod.

Chen Fan drank the Lamsi Empire’s star sand and was linked to a pillar inside the tower, where its effects plunged him into a vivid scene of a summer street and a bookstore. He found the missing black cat beside a silver-haired girl, while the young bookstore woman and the setting felt strangely familiar.

• Chen Fan decided against secretly storing the star sand and drank it after Yi assessed its risks as controllable.
• His Synchronization Pod rose through the tower, docked in an empty slot on a giant pillar, and connected to cables and tubes as his consciousness faded.
• Chen Fan awoke in a hot street scene and spoke with a young woman outside a bookstore who recognized him as Detective Fan.
• Inside the bookstore, Chen Fan noticed a silver-haired girl and recognized the black cat he had been searching for by a silvery-white marking on its back.

Chen Fan found the Black Cat at a bookstore, but strange visions and missing memories suggested the commission was not ordinary. After waking into a repeating version of the same day, he realized he had been trapped in a loop and saw a giant mechanical sphere in the sky.

• Chen Fan collected the Black Cat from a bookstore where he met a Silver-haired Girl with a Mechanical Eye and a High Ponytail Woman.
• At his office, Chen Fan could not find any client information and saw a vision of a tower after meeting the Black Cat’s gaze, so he threw the cat outside.
• The next day, Chen Fan awoke beneath a tree and returned to the bookstore, where he recognized the repeated scene and heard the Black Cat’s warning again.
• Chen Fan recalled countless repetitions of the day and fled the bookstore as a cyan-and-red glow replaced the sunlight.
• Chen Fan saw a giant mechanical sphere in the sky, and the Black Cat revealed that its voice had warned him he was in a Deep Resonance state.

Chen Fan realized the illusion was built from his memories and learned that the Lamsi Empire had turned its planet into a high-dimensional signal amplifier to scan and model intelligent minds. As the Empire moved his overloaded Synchronization Pod toward the tower’s strongest signal source, Chen Fan decided to disable his thought shielding and overload the Empire’s Control Hub with high-dimensional information.

• Chen Fan recognized Isa and Xu Huai as figures formed from his memories, while Black Cat was actually his Intelligent Terminal, and Yi explained that he was trapped in a Deep Resonance illusion.
• Yi revealed that megastructures and towers had transformed the planet into a signal amplifier, letting the Lamsi Empire expose intelligent life to a high-dimensional broadcast and scan their Thought Models.
• Yi explained that repeated illusions strengthened the scanning process, but the intense resonance had overloaded the Synchronization Pod and allowed it to reestablish communication with Chen Fan.
• Yi warned that the Lamsi Empire had noticed the anomaly and was transferring Chen Fan’s pod toward the top of the tower, where signal amplification was strongest.
• Chen Fan ordered Yi to disable thought shielding so the high-dimensional information would overwhelm the Lamsi Empire’s Control Hub.