Chapter Summaries

He Ao exposed Anvis Group’s deadly factory practices in a citywide broadcast as K, urging the people of Dawn City to rise up. After collapsing, he was placed in hibernation by Roger, while Jessie watched the broadcast and recognized the evidence from her Storage Chip.

• He Ao told Roger that public anger could bring down Anvis Group, then collapsed after asking Roger to keep his death secret and scatter his ashes around the city.
• Roger treated He Ao’s wounds, placed him in a Metal Box, and activated Near-Death Mode before driving away in a black van.
• Jessie walked through Dawn City, still shaken by Morning Light Daily’s refusal to report the Anvis Group’s crimes.
• K appeared on public screens and described factory deaths, stolen inventions, and worker exploitation tied to the conglomerate.
• K presented evidence that Anvis Mechanical Factory altered machinery service-life instructions, putting workers at risk to increase profits.
• K called on the enslaved people to rise up, and the screens returned to advertisements.

After K’s revelations toppled Anvis Group and forced Mayor Vent to resign, Pierpont argued that the conglomerates were the nation. Christos found the theme for his final campaign speech in K’s question about who could represent the Federation.

• Jessie joined Ino Media’s student organization to help investigate K’s revelations about Anvis Mechanical Factory.
• K’s speech spread across the Federation, triggering boycotts, investigations, Vent’s resignation, arrests of Anvis executives, and Anvis Group’s bankruptcy and acquisition by Nord Financial Insurance Group.
• At a Nold Corporation board meeting, Pierpont warned the conglomerate representatives not to act hastily and said that the conglomerates were the nation.
• Serle told Christos about the playing cards found at Kili’s and the intelligence chief’s scenes, and Christos considered how public anger had brought Anvis Group down.
• Christos recalled K’s question, “Who can represent the Federation?” and titled his final campaign speech “The People Are the Nation.”

After earning an overall SS evaluation for the Joey mission, He Ao unlocked a player permission advancement mission and chose Talent Sequence 40: Magician as his reward. The infusion began with overwhelming pain, leaving him collapsed on the ground.

• He Ao reviewed the system’s scoring rules and concluded that completing missions independently at greater difficulty had raised his evaluations.
• The system awarded him SS overall, citing his investigation of Anvis, the destruction of Anvis Electric Power Group, and the fulfillment of Joey’s wish.
• After He Ao received his first overall SS evaluation, the system activated a player permission advancement mission with progress at 8/38.
• The system triggered a reward critical strike and offered He Ao Magician, an overclockable prosthetic body, or Primordial Qi Empowerment.
• He Ao chose Talent Sequence 40: Magician, and the infusion caused intense pain that made him collapse.

He Ao absorbed the Magician Talent Sequence, learned that it could turn mastered magic tricks into real miracles, and prepared to join Zhang Anxia for an expedition to a ruin. Zhang Anxia warned him that the ruin would open at three the next morning and that he should trust no one inside.

• He Ao absorbed the Magician's power alongside his martial arts cultivation, raising his Physical Fitness to 183 and gaining the Rank D Magician sequence.
• He Ao tested Hyperthymesia, which raised his Physical Fitness to 320, then learned that the Magician could make mastered magic tricks real at the cost of mental strength or life.
• He Ao searched for suitable magic tricks and traveled to West Capital City Third Mental Hospital to report to the Research Institute.
• Zhang Anxia met He Ao before dawn and explained that they would fly to East Capital Airport, then take a private plane to the distant ruin on the eastern high seas.
• Zhang Anxia told He Ao that the ruin would open at three the next morning and warned him not to trust any person inside.

He Ao traveled with Zhang Anxia to East Capital, carrying the Magician's Hat and Corpse Flower solution for the ruins. Zhang Anxia explained how the ruins called people to enter, and the Research Institute suspected they were drawing closer to the Main World.

• Zhang Anxia gave He Ao a Mithril Box containing the Magician's Hat and eighteen tubes of Corpse Flower solution for the ruins.
• He Ao flew with Zhang Anxia to East Capital, where he read magic books during the flight and calmly endured turbulence.
• After lunch, Zhang Anxia explained that the ruins' entrance was intangible and could be sensed as a call by those nearby.
• Zhang Anxia said the call had become audible to increasingly higher ranks, and the Research Institute suspected the ruins were drawing closer to the Main World.

He Ao flew toward Liu Zhengyun's Private Island and studied the relic, its dangers, and the creatures within it. He memorized the research materials and began looking for magic tricks before Orator tried to draw him into conversation.

• Old Zhang saw He Ao off at the boarding gate and told him to come back alive.
• He Ao boarded the Research Institute's charter plane, checked his private cabin, and read the relic guides.
• He Ao learned about the relic's regions, entry rules, supernatural creatures, and the Research Institute's policies for recovered items.
• He Ao memorized the guidebooks and searched his phone for magic tricks he could perform without professional equipment.
• Orator introduced herself from the cabin opposite He Ao's and asked to chat, but He Ao shut his door and ignored her.
• A flight attendant persuaded Orator to return to her seat after she tried to get the attendant to chat with her.

During the flight to Liu Zhengyun's Private Island, He Ao turned a coin trick into Miracle Magic that let him retrieve objects from a distance. After landing, he joined the other Special Appointed Researchers and learned about some of the masked attendees.

• He Ao declined to listen to the ruins broadcast and shut the door on the bored Orator when she tried to talk to him.
• He Ao performed a coin trick for the Orator, then used the trick to create Void Grasp, which let him retrieve objects from up to ten meters away.
• He Ao tested Void Grasp on a box of Fireworks and a marker, noting that moving larger objects cost more mental energy and that he could not move living creatures.
• The flight attendants announced the landing, and He Ao disembarked with the other Special Appointed Researchers at Liu Zhengyun's Private Island.
• The Orator told He Ao that the man wearing briefs over his head was Underpants Superman and identified a silicone-hooded girl as Gymnast.

He Ao prepared for the ruins expedition while Yang De briefed the researchers on their equipment and the rules for Life Tokens. He Ao received Life Token SR-3001, selected weapons, and ended the chapter performing another trick for Orator.

• Orator told He Ao about the other Special Appointed Researchers as they traveled to the Liu family's mansion.
• Yang De asserted his authority and explained the Combat Suits, miniature computers, weapons, and Life Token rules.
• He Ao collected his equipment, asked Yang De for a test-tube belt, and changed into his Combat Suit.
• He Ao received Life Token SR-3001, which turned milky white when he tied it to his wrist, and Orator explained how the tokens changed around living and other things.
• He Ao selected daggers, a short sword, a pistol, and ammunition, then puzzled Orator with a coin trick and gave her a rubber-band-bound matchbox to open.

He Ao demonstrated his handmade coin tricks to Orator while choosing firearms and supplies for their trip into the ruins. After completing his first Miracle Magic, he gained the ability to place objects into or retrieve them from sealed containers, with limited range and high energy cost.

• He Ao performed a coin trick for Orator and explained how his handmade props concealed the coin.
• Orator gave He Ao a three-day dry food pack and three canteens, and told him the ruins' time flowed at about one-twelfth the rate of the real world.
• He Ao tested firearms and rejected a sniper rifle as too large for wilderness use.
• He Ao performed another coin trick, making a coin vanish from a matchbox and reappear from Orator's hair.
• He Ao completed his first Miracle Magic, gaining the ability to place objects into and retrieve them from sealed containers within three meters, though the abilities could not affect living creatures.

He Ao set out for a ruin with the other researchers, carrying heavy weapons aboard a yacht. As the three groups traveled separately, the Orator explained how the thirty-four available spots had been divided.

• He Ao chose pistols, a submachine gun, blades, and an RPG with six armor-piercing shells for the expedition.
• Yang De gathered the group, explained the ruin's time ratio and supplies, and led them to a yacht.
• The Orator identified a black-clad man who knocked her down as Gravedigger, an E-rank powerhouse.
• He Ao ordered barbecue seasonings from a contact and ignored the Orator's guesses that he was the Liu family's illegitimate son or son-in-law.
• The yacht headed out to sea, and the Orator explained that the Research Institute had twenty-eight spots while the Liu family had six.

He Ao entered the ruins and found a deserted city where ancient technology still operated. A street sign from the First District and a towering black structure suggested the ruins were connected to the Copy World.

• He Ao and the others reached the platform as the passage opened early, and He Ao sensed a summons from the sky.
• Yang De and Liu Zhengyun discussed Liu Zhengyun’s daughter entering the ruins and the dangers she faced.
• He Ao arrived in the ruins beneath three artificial suns and found that extraordinary energy was easier to cultivate there.
• He Ao explored the overgrown city, watched a malfunctioning robot roll away, and noticed a street sign bearing the words Shanglin Middle Street.
• He Ao stepped into the sunlight and saw a huge black tower piercing the clouds.

He Ao explored the ruins and concluded they were connected to the Copy World's First District, though they were likely not the same place. As he headed toward a tower that drew him in, he encountered a fruit tree that trapped a small animal while a giant lizard watched.

• He Ao crossed the Iron Jungle and recognized a sign reading "Shangping Middle Street" among the ruins.
• He Ao reasoned that the ruins were connected to the Copy World's First District but were probably outside its planet or cosmic space.
• He Ao found that his Physical Fitness had risen to 187 after two hours of breathing and guiding energy through his body.
• He Ao spotted a giant lizard near an emerald-green fruit tree and hid in a broken building to watch.
• A branch from the fruit tree trapped a squirrel-like animal and fed on its blood as the lizard shot out its crimson tongue.

He Ao killed a Giant Lizard, roasted its meat, and discovered that eating creatures from the ruins let him cultivate while their madness contamination remained manageable. After gaining strength and packing food for the road, he continued toward the tower, while a long-dead Little Squirrel rose beside the fire.

• He Ao ambushed and killed a Giant Lizard with two Armor-Piercing Shells, then gathered its meat and a fallen fruit tree for a barbecue.
• He Ao roasted the lizard meat and forced a Little Squirrel to eat a piece; it played dead, then escaped unharmed.
• He Ao ate the meat, resisted its madness contamination, and cultivated Five Elements Qi, raising his Physical Fitness to 193.
• He Ao collected Red Fruits and more lizard meat, packed his supplies, and continued walking toward the distant tower.
• After He Ao left, the escaped Little Squirrel returned to the fire, where a long-dead Little Squirrel rose and crept toward it.

He Ao crossed the ruins, found a vast plaza littered with bones, and settled on a rooftop as night approached. After eating and cultivating, he considered whether to travel through the night, but a mournful cry sounded below him.

• He Ao examined the bone-strewn black plaza and chose to detour around it as darkness neared.
• He Ao passed Giant Lizard corpses, spotted hyenas, and climbed onto a tall rooftop to make camp.
• He Ao roasted Giant Lizard meat, reached Essence Refining Qi Transformation, and felt his affinity with the ruins increase.
• He Ao checked his attributes, saw his Physical Fitness had reached 201, and ate a Red Fruit he had collected earlier.
• He Ao looked out at the night sky and weighed traveling onward before a mournful cry came from beneath his feet.

He Ao was attacked by a powerful creature that controlled Giant Lizard corpses and fled after using his last Armor-Piercing Shells. He reached the Black Soil Plaza, where a colossal floating creature covered in scarlet flames appeared above him.

• He Ao spotted a powerful creature moving through the darkness and retreated into the rooftop stairwell with his Rocket Launcher ready.
• A decaying Giant Lizard attacked from the stairwell, and He Ao blasted it apart with an Armor-Piercing Shell.
• He Ao destroyed two more reanimated Giant Lizard corpses, then leaped to a neighboring rooftop as another corpse pursued him.
• After using his last shell, He Ao escaped across the buildings and descended to the street, where he saw the Giant Lizard corpses were no longer moving.
• He Ao recognized the Black Soil Plaza and looked up to see a colossal floating creature with countless scarlet flames staring down at him.

He Ao fought a flying octopus mutant that controlled the dead and summoned Giant Lizards. He resisted its mental attacks and struck back, but the battle continued as undead lizards closed in.

• He Ao dodged the octopus’s attack, discovered its physical body, and resisted the grief and despair projected by its crimson eyes.
• The octopus summoned undead Giant Lizards and lashed at He Ao with its tentacles, so he decided to attack it before the lizards could surround him.
• He Ao activated Super Memory, judged the octopus to be a powerful C-rank entity, and attacked its eyes while deflecting its tentacles.
• He Ao’s bullets bounced off the octopus’s armored eyelids, and its reopened eyes briefly stiffened him with another mental assault.
• He Ao dodged a Giant Lizard leaping from behind and cut open its body with a second Short Sword.

He Ao killed the octopus monster after identifying its weaknesses, then took its crystal and gathered meat and supplies. He realized the identical Black Soil Plaza meant the octopuses might live in groups, and as a genuine B-Rank presence approached, a small pale hand grabbed his wrist and told him to follow.

• He Ao used a shoulder-mounted flashlight to blind the octopus, then cut through its tentacles and attacked its head with qi-enhanced Short Swords.
• He Ao killed the octopus, removed a hard bone shaped like a sword, and took a purple crystal that connected his consciousness to the dead around him.
• He Ao drank Corpse Flower solution, treated his wounds, and collected meat from the octopus and Giant Lizard after his Short Swords shattered.
• He Ao recognized the Black Soil Plaza as a new but identical habitat and suspected that the octopuses were social creatures.
• Mournful cries sounded from all directions as a genuine B-Rank presence approached, and a small pale hand grabbed He Ao's wrist and told him to follow.

He Ao reunited with Liu Nan after rescuing her from the octopuses, then agreed to travel with her toward the distant tower. They tamed an Assault Beetle for Liu Nan to ride, and their journey was interrupted by an ominous cry.

• Liu Nan explained how she had learned to evade the octopuses, and He Ao revealed that he had walked more than four hundred kilometers to reach her.
• He Ao shared a meal of lizard meat with Liu Nan, cultivated another wisp of Heavenly Qi, and discussed their plans for the tower.
• He Ao persuaded Liu Nan to travel with him rather than return alone toward the Newbie Zone.
• He Ao beat a Rank D Assault Beetle into submission, and Liu Nan climbed onto its back while He Ao ran ahead to clear their path.
• He Ao killed several Rank D strange beasts along the way, then heard a pained, oppressive cry as he prepared to cook at noon.

He Ao and Liu Nan traveled through wilderness filled with strange Transcendent creatures toward the tower, surviving encounters and gathering food and items. At dawn on the second day, they reached the enormous tower and found a damaged gate beneath an inscription He Ao could only partly read.

• Liu Nan warned He Ao to hide from the mournful shadow, and they waited until it passed before leaving cover.
• He Ao and Liu Nan explored a ruined building, where He Ao found an infant skeleton in a stroller still rocked by a rusted robot.
• He Ao killed a Giant Eagle that tried to steal their roasted meat, then prepared its meat and sharpened his Bone Sword.
• He Ao and Liu Nan crossed the wilderness, fought bizarre creatures, collected two Transcendent Items, and avoided the wailing shadow.
• He Ao and Liu Nan reached the tower at dawn and found a twisted opening in its gate beneath an inscription He Ao could only partly recognize.

He Ao investigated the crack in the tower’s Iron Gate and found the bones of mutated beasts that had charged into it, then entered cautiously with Liu Nan. The tower’s hidden defenders were waiting just inside: rusty robots aimed their cannons at him.

• He Ao examined the gate’s crack and concluded that repeated impacts had opened it.
• He Ao found a buried mutated-buffalo skeleton in the stream and uncovered a field of bones, realizing the beasts had repeatedly rammed the gate.
• He Ao asked Liu Nan to show her Life Token so they could identify each other, then prepared a barbecue before entering.
• He Ao tossed a rabbit through the crack and entered the tower with Liu Nan after it disappeared safely.
• He Ao found rusty robots aiming cannon barrels at him and noticed fresh laser damage on the floor.