Chapter Summaries

He Ao suggested that secret potions could be made by balancing Transcendent materials, prompting Yang De to share the idea with a researcher. The researcher’s experiments supported the theory, while He Ao’s search for the tower’s Central Processor remained unresolved.

• He Ao proposed that weaker or opposing Transcendent materials might balance powerful substances into an absorbable secret potion.
• Yang De said Dawn’s leader likely entered the ruins during its third or fourth opening, about ten or eight years earlier, matching the timeline of the Central Processor’s disappearance.
• Yang De called a researcher, who initially dismissed the theory because Transcendent materials could react dangerously when mixed.
• The researcher examined high-speed camera images and found brief signs of fusion between certain pairs of Transcendent materials before they formed contaminating complexes.
• Yang De credited He Ao with the idea, and the researcher said confirming it could change the Transcendent world.

After the ruins expedition, He Ao investigated how the Gravedigger had obtained the Puppet Crystal Ball and suspected it had been passed to him aboard the cruise ship from the Norlai Republic. Liu Nan helped him trace the ship’s route, leaving He Ao waiting to see what the fuel-resupply video might reveal.

• He Ao stored several Transcendent Items in the Pirate Treasure Chest and flew with Liu Nan and the other survivors toward Central Land.
• He Ao reviewed the Gravedigger’s records and deduced that the Gravedigger had acquired the Puppet Crystal Ball after leaving Central Land, likely aboard the cruise ship to the ruins passage.
• He Ao asked Liu Nan where the cruise ship had come from, and she said it had been rented from a company in the Norlai Republic.
• Liu Nan learned that the ship had refueled during its journey using a hose at a distance, with no direct contact, and showed He Ao a recording of the operation.
• He Ao asked Liu Nan to send him the recording, claiming he was curious about ships and the sea.

He Ao sent his main body back to Central Land while steering Hu Wen’s body and a former Free Sailors supply ship toward Noraal Port to investigate the suspicious fuel transfer. As the ship neared the port, a radio transmission unexpectedly claimed that the Free Sailors had a new boss backed by Dawn and demanded their surrender.

• He Ao examined Liu Nan’s video and spotted a disguised mechanical fish transferring something from the supply ship to the tugboat.
• He Ao retrieved his Five-Colored Ring from a paper boat and used it to disguise Hu Wen’s bandaged body in a Great Windbreaker.
• He Ao took control of a supply ship crewed by former Free Sailors and ordered its captain to steer toward Noraal Port.
• He Ao planned to search the port for traces of the people involved in the transfer while Yang De investigated the video.
• A radio transmission identified its speaker as the new boss of the Free Sailors and demanded that He Ao’s ship surrender.

He Ao uncovered Dawn’s deep influence within the Free Sailor and used a bluff to make Zuo Nuo reveal that he knew where one of Dawn’s members could be found. He ordered Zuo Nuo to lead him there, while the Research Institute was searching Noraal Port for Dawn.

• He Ao ordered the supply ship to approach the pirates, then killed the pirate leader who attacked him and made Zuo Nuo submit.
• Zuo Nuo explained that the pirate leader had used his connections to Dawn to claim control of the Free Sailor’s remnants, revealing Dawn’s influence within the organization.
• Yang De told He Ao that a Research Institute staff member had been recruited to deliver an item to Gravedigger, whom the investigators suspected had been planted by Dawn.
• He Ao realized Zuo Nuo had likely managed Free Sailor businesses in Noraal Port and bluffed that he knew about the casino operation.
• Zuo Nuo admitted he knew the address of a Dawn member he had worked with, and He Ao ordered him to lead the way.

After returning to Central Land, He Ao took control of Hu Wen’s body and went with Zuo Nuo to Naya Town, where Riot Soldiers were looting and attacking residents. He Ao tested the Puppet Crystal Ball’s new ability, then entered the town to fight back.

• He Ao and Liu Nan returned to West Capital after parting ways with the other ruins explorers in East Capital.
• He Ao questioned Zuo Nuo about Noding and followed him to Naya Town, which Riot Soldiers were burning and plundering.
• He Ao used the Puppet Crystal Ball to transfer his primary consciousness into Hu Wen’s body and found that his system interface and several abilities had transferred too.
• He Ao rushed into town and killed a Riot Soldier who was assaulting a girl.

He Ao unleashed his killing instinct in Naya Town, then spared Zuo Nuo and set about rebuilding the settlement while using it to draw Dawn out. He sent messengers across Alano to announce Dawn’s return and summon the former Free Sailor leaders to Naya Town.

• He Ao slaughtered the Riot Soldiers and pirates in town, then stopped himself before killing the young driver and Zuo Nuo.
• He Ao searched Mr. Noding’s abandoned residence and spared Zuo Nuo, telling him to prove his usefulness.
• He Ao accepted a flower from a girl he had rescued, and other residents began thanking him and helping clean up the town.
• He Ao ordered the pirates to bring money and establish a camp in Naya Town, then sent Zuo Nuo to deliver a note to the Coastline Defense Force’s leader.
• He Ao paid the surrendered Riot Soldiers and sent them and several pirates to spread word that Dawn had returned and summon the former Free Sailor leaders to Naya Town.

He Ao used Dawn’s banner and a calculated message to draw Dawn’s attention while keeping the Coastline Defense Force and Research Institute occupied. As his plan began to take effect, a pirate arrived to announce that a guest wanted to see him.

• He Ao reasoned that Dawn would react strongly to anyone gathering the Free Sailors under its banner, and he prepared for possible opposition from both the Research Institute and the Coastline Defense Force.
• Zuo Nuo delivered He Ao’s note to Nanke, leader of the Coastline Defense Force, who granted him businesses, factories, a trade permit, and a cargo ship while keeping him in Noraal Port.
• Nanke explained that Hu Wen’s forces were not a major concern, but Hu Wen himself was dangerous, and he sent He Ao’s note to the Research Institute.
• He Ao’s message gave Nanke reason to wait for the Research Institute while prompting the Institute to suspect a Dawn trap and gather its forces.
• A pirate entered the Town Hall Office and told He Ao that a guest requested an audience.

During an international relations lecture, He Ao learned about the Tiya Empire’s control over Alano before meeting its envoy, who offered a loan to support his plans for the Free Sailors. He Ao rejected the terms and pressured the envoy into considering a one-year, one-hundred-million-Gold-Shield mortgage deal, leaving the envoy frightened and carrying his proposal back to the Empire’s masters.

• The Old Professor explained how the Tiya Empire controlled Alano’s oil and manipulated smaller nations, while He Ao listened in class.
• A Tiya Empire envoy approached He Ao in Naya Town and offered a low-interest loan to help him reunify the Free Sailors.
• He Ao showed the envoy the Free Sailors’ assets and demanded a one-year, one-hundred-million-Gold-Shield mortgage without recourse.
• The envoy threatened He Ao and claimed the Empire could support another warlord instead.
• He Ao frightened the envoy by describing a recent killing and told him to relay the mortgage proposal to his masters, mentioning the Free Sailors’ oil fields.

He Ao pressured a Tiya Empire envoy over oil-field assets, then answered a question about Alano’s sovereignty in class. At Naya Town Hall, he met Noding, the Dawn member he had been seeking.

• He Ao threatened the Tiya Empire envoy and demanded that the proposed payment be converted into gold while the assets were transferred at fair market value.
• In class, He Ao argued that the Tiya Empire sought to control Alano’s oil and prevent its unification, and described strategic deterrence and overseas alliances as ways Alano might resist.
• The Old Professor praised He Ao’s answer and added ten points to his final grade.
• He Ao told Liu Nan that the Tiya Empire was likely involved in the attack on them, then noticed her handmade toys under the desk.
• At Naya Town Hall, He Ao greeted Noding, a Dawn member Zuo Nuo had originally brought him to find.

He Ao questioned Noding about who directed Dawn’s operations in Alano, then faced the Tiya Empire’s Berserker, who attacked him with a massive axe. As the Berserker’s power grew and He Ao kept evading, a young girl watched and refused to leave.

• He Ao pressed Noding about who stood behind him and Alano, and Noding said Dawn’s leader was responsible for its arrangements there.
• He Ao ate lunch with Noding, then went outside to meet the Berserker after the man defeated the pirates guarding the entrance.
• Noding warned He Ao that the Berserker had killed five C-Rank extraordinary beings and grew stronger as his berserk state deepened.
• The Berserker attacked He Ao with his massive axe, while He Ao dodged and the Berserker destroyed much of the Town Hall Office.
• Noding retreated and called someone on a Satellite Phone as the Berserker closed in on He Ao.
• The Little Girl watched the fight from a street corner and refused to leave with her grandfather as the Berserker’s axe neared He Ao’s neck.

He Ao killed the Berserker to prove his strength and gained an audience with Dawn’s hidden Boss, securing work as Hu Wen. He returned to his pirate ship, while his main body began a new life simulation as Apprentice Neil.

• He Ao used his main body's consciousness, Supermemory, and Mental Interference to strike the Berserker's weakness with the Nightfall Dagger and kill him.
• He Ao called the Tiya Empire's messenger on the Berserker's phone and demanded that his assets be valued at 150 million Gold Shields and exchanged for gold.
• He Ao told Noding he wanted to meet Dawn's Boss, and Noding arranged a video call with a masked man He Ao identified as Dawn's concealed third B-Rank powerhouse.
• He Ao negotiated a payment of thirty million per move and asked Dawn to settle his earlier ten-million payment in gold.
• He Ao returned to the pirate ship, while his main body started the Life Simulation Game and matched with the character Apprentice Neil.

Nell grew up in a poor family in Rock City, where her siblings and parents struggled to make ends meet. After her father died in a mining protest, her brothers and sisters were scattered or harmed by the mine, and Nell left school to work as a restaurant apprentice while caring for her mother and Second Sister.

• Nell was born into a family of six children in Rock City, where her mother worked several jobs and her father labored at a distant mine.
• Nell studied well at first, but her family could not afford supplementary courses, and she fell behind before Third Brother tutored her back to better grades.
• Nell received a scholarship and continued her education while her siblings entered factory, restaurant, or university work and Fifth Sister pursued a relationship with a mine shareholder's child.
• At age sixteen, Nell's father died during a protest against wage cuts, and the mine dismissed his death as an accident while paying the family compensation.
• Fourth Brother disappeared after confronting the mine, Third Brother was imprisoned for investigating it, Mother became bedridden, and Fifth Sister could no longer be contacted.
• Nell gave up school and became an apprentice at a luxurious restaurant, while she and Eldest Brother cared for Mother and Second Sister.

At seventeen and eighteen, Nell struggled to support his family through Rock City’s worsening winters, then received evidence of a Mining Consortium massacre from Fifth Sister and lost Mother, Second Sister, and Eldest Brother. After handing the copied evidence to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Nell was ambushed; He Ao regained consciousness in the alley and realized Nell, like Joey, had nothing unusual about him.

• Nell worked as a restaurant apprentice, befriended Yue En, and watched poverty and homelessness worsen as winter returned and Eldest Brother lost his factory job.
• Fifth Sister gave Nell a Storage Chip containing evidence of the Mining Consortium’s massacre, and Nell bought a Smart Bracelet and copied the chip.
• Second Sister and Eldest Brother disappeared, and Mother died; at the crematorium, Nell learned that all three missing siblings had been cremated as vagrants.
• Nell bought an Old Sword and gave a copy of the evidence to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, claiming it was the original.
• Nell was followed, shot while fleeing into an alley, and left bleeding on the frozen ground.
• He Ao regained consciousness in the alley, faced his pursuers, activated Hyperthymesia, and concluded that Nell was ordinary and unremarkable, like Joey.

He Ao used Super Memory and Divine Sense to kill the three men pursuing him and defeat the FBI Deputy Director who had betrayed the Bureau. He escaped deeper into the alley with the old sword broken apart, revealing its black Sword Heart.

• He Ao used the rusted sword to kill Scarface Man and his two armed companions in the alley.
• The FBI Deputy Director appeared and accused He Ao of withholding the original Storage Chip, then attacked him with a Laser Cannon.
• He Ao realized his opponent had a B-grade prosthetic body and used Divine Sense to locate the energy core inside it.
• He Ao dodged the Deputy Director's laser and struck the energy core, destroying the prosthetic body and collapsing the alley.
• He Ao deactivated Super Memory and staggered away as the old sword broke apart, exposing the black Sword Heart.

After escaping his pursuers, He Ao went to Yue En’s apartment to treat his wounds. Yue En learned from a news alert that He Ao was wanted for a deadly assault, with a reward of up to two hundred thousand Federal currency.

• He Ao escaped his pursuers, carrying the broken Old Sword, and headed to Yue En’s apartment because his home and the FBI office were unsafe.
• Yue En let the bloodied He Ao inside and gave him tools and supplies to treat his wounds.
• He Ao cauterized his wounds, removed two bullets, and prepared to sew himself up while Yue En watched.
• Yue En found an FBI news alert identifying He Ao as the suspect in an assault that killed an FBI official and three civilians.
• Yue En saw that anyone providing useful information could receive up to two hundred thousand Federal currency.

After He Ao left Yue En, he realized the Rock City FBI had identified him with suspicious speed and that powerful local forces were involved. He escaped the city by hiding in a Mining Consortium convoy, but fell into a strange dream after passing out on the journey.

• Yue En gave He Ao wound medicine and pushed him out, while He Ao concluded that senior Rock City FBI officials were involved in the hunt.
• He Ao avoided the main roads, bought supplies and a disguise, and made his way toward the North City Gate.
• He Ao saw FBI agents inspecting people leaving the city and turned away from the checkpoint.
• He Ao hid inside a Mining Consortium cargo truck, and the convoy passed the FBI checkpoint after an agent accepted a bribe.
• He Ao discovered the truck carried contraband weapons, then fell asleep with the Broken Sword as the convoy headed toward the Wilderness Wanderers Camp.
• He Ao woke to a blood-red haze and an illusory, grotesque world, realizing he had been pulled into a dream.

He Ao followed a blood-red path through a twisted Secret Realm and encountered a gigantic armored monster whose remnants tried to possess him. He woke in the carriage and realized the Broken Sword had triggered a Divine Revelation, leaving its Sword Heart glowing faintly.

• He Ao resisted the whispers in the Secret Realm and continued uphill, discovering that the realm reversed the difficulty of going up and down.
• He Ao reached a gigantic armored monster on the mountaintop and endured its information and lingering thoughts trying to erode his soul and control his body.
• He Ao glimpsed Talent Sequences from Rage Warrior through Madman before withdrawing from the connection and waking in the carriage.
• He Ao identified the experience as a Divine Revelation and saw red light spilling from the Broken Sword’s Sword Heart.

He Ao escaped from the convoy at the Wilderness Wanderers Camp and reviewed the promotion-pathway knowledge he had gained through Divine Revelation. After discovering that the camp’s potion formulas were incomplete, he headed toward the camp as the convoy departed.

• He Ao left the convoy unnoticed, using his white coat and the snowy terrain to evade a patrolling security employee.
• He Ao found several traps near a snowbank and reviewed what he had learned about a Talent Sequence pathway from Rage Warrior to Madman.
• He Ao realized the camp’s formulas for Rage Warrior, Fighter, and Martial Artist were missing ingredients and preparation steps found in the complete formulas.
• He Ao picked up the chip containing Adult Learning Material and walked toward the Wilderness Wanderers Camp as the convoy left.

He Ao traded an adult learning chip to Wick for supplies, lodging, and a motorcycle, then hunted mutated beasts in the snowfields. After returning to the camp and spending hours in his room, He Ao emerged as a Rage Warrior and rode out again, leaving the young gatekeeper wondering whether he was risking danger.

• He Ao learned the camp market was closed, but Wick invited him to show what he wanted to sell.
• He Ao traded his first-release Adult Learning Material chip to Wick for Electronic Warm Clothes, jerky, a night at the inn, and a deposit-free motorcycle rental.
• He Ao spent the night cultivating martial arts, recovered fully, and set out on the motorcycle early the next morning.
• He Ao returned with several mutated beast corpses, including a crimson wolf-like creature, and stayed in his room for over two hours.
• He Ao emerged with Talent Sequence 5: Rage Warrior, sold the beast corpses, bought the motorcycle, and rode out again at five in the afternoon.

He Ao hunted mutated beasts across the Snowy Plains while advancing through the Fighter and Martial Artist talent sequences. After returning with a Vajra Strength Monkey, he sought supplies and information from Wick to prepare for his next advancement and have his Broken Sword reforged, but Wick was startled when He Ao asked about Blood Spiders.

• He Ao reached E-Rank Fighter, increased his Physical Fitness to 129, and returned to the Snowy Plains to hunt more mutated beasts.
• He Ao dragged a huge pile of carcasses through the camp, exchanged them at the market for supplies and money, and left to search for Vajra Strength Monkeys.
• Wick told a young Wilderness Wanderer that He Ao was driven by aggro, then privately resolved to restrain himself from playing their game so often.
• He Ao returned that night with a Vajra Strength Monkey corpse, mastered the Martial Artist sequence, and raised his Physical Fitness to 278.
• He Ao gave Wick Red Moon Fruits, bought a mithril test tube, and asked about a blacksmith who could remake his Broken Sword into two short swords.
• He Ao asked Wick about Blood Spiders, and Wick sprang to his feet in alarm.