Chapter Summaries

He Ao bypassed the Mining Consortium’s defenses and uncovered a hidden chamber behind the Board of Directors’ conference room. There he confronted a blindfolded woman associated with the Eye of Truth, whom he identified as a wizard who had turned to worshipping another god.

• Wright confronted Eber and tried to persuade him that the Mining Consortium had never trusted him, but Eber refused to abandon his duty and prepared to fight.
• He Ao entered the conference room and found the Board of Directors frozen like living wax figures.
• He Ao read several books about gods, endured their contamination with help from the Short Sword, and learned about death-seeking wizards and the dangers faced by angels.
• He Ao identified a contamination trap in the bookshelf, then cut through it and entered the hidden space behind the conference room.
• He Ao found a blindfolded woman seated beside a blood-filled ritual pattern, and told her that some wizards who had studied death had begun worshipping another god.

He Ao confronted Ilia Ann at the Mining Consortium Building and explained how he had uncovered her role in the God of Death’s ritual. After analyzing the ritual’s energy circuits, he leaped toward its core, leaving the array’s fate unresolved.

• The maid attacked He Ao, and he wounded her leg as news reports showed chaos spreading through Rock City’s South District.
• He Ao recognized the Eye of Truth symbol and realized Ilia Ann was stalling for the God of Death’s ritual to finish.
• He Ao explained how the Old Foreman’s hints, the Mayor’s behavior, and the pattern of monster attacks led him to identify Ilia Ann and the Mining Consortium Building as the ritual’s core.
• Ilia Ann and her maid were surprised by He Ao’s blunt explanation that Ilia Ann had not looked like a good person.
• He Ao analyzed the ritual’s energy circuits and concluded that destroying its core might collapse the citywide array, then leaped forward.

He Ao fought Ilia Ann’s knight maid and undead while destroying the Ritual Array’s energy points. With the central point guarded and enemies closing in, he prepared to use a single remaining tactic to break through.

• He Ao destroyed the first energy point, provoking Ilia Ann to summon Vincent’s undead to attack him.
• The maid and Ilia Ann’s interference with He Ao’s judgment left him wounded, but he destroyed a second energy point and weakened the array.
• Ilia Ann sent Ranke’s undead to stop He Ao from reaching the triangle’s central energy point, while the maid and Vincent blocked his path.
• He Ao charged the three guards, but their coordinated attacks overwhelmed him and the maid pierced his chest as he struck her in return.
• He Ao assessed how his powers could harm the undead and prepared to counterattack, knowing he had only one chance.

He Ao killed the undead Vincent and Ranke, uncovered the limits of Ilia Ann’s choice-interference ability, and defeated Lin to reach the Ritual Array’s core. He shattered the array, but Ilia Ann summoned the Eye of Truth and began calling down the God of Death.

• He Ao used the undead Vincent’s attack to destroy the undead Ranke, then killed Vincent by striking the weak point in his soul.
• He Ao let Lin wound his shoulder and realized Ilia Ann could interfere with his choices only under certain conditions.
• He Ao used Lin’s attack to close the distance and pierce the energy point in her body, while the Ritual Array’s crimson liquid attacked him.
• Lin died after telling Ilia Ann that her eyes were beautiful, and He Ao stabbed the Short Sword into the energy point at the center of the eye pattern, shattering the Ritual Array.
• Ilia Ann summoned a massive Eye of Truth and began chanting for the God of Death as dark clouds and immense pressure descended.

After defeating Wright, Eber surrendered when Wright revealed the Mining Consortium’s involvement with an Evil God would void their contract. He Ao summoned the God of Knowledge to confront the God of Death, then realized he had to destroy Ilia Ann’s body-altar before the divine clash ended.

• The Mining Consortium’s summoning darkened the sky, and Eber confirmed his contract’s Evil God clause before surrendering to Wright; Wright then collapsed from exhaustion.
• Ilia Ann told He Ao that Eber’s cursed sword had weakened Wright and threatened to torment He Ao’s soul.
• He Ao’s hidden Heptagram Ritual Array activated, and he used it to contact the God of Knowledge and provoke it by mentioning the God of Death.
• The God of Knowledge began descending, but the God of Death’s power blocked its eye, and the two gods’ projections clashed above the Mining Consortium Building.
• He Ao concluded that Ilia Ann’s scarlet body formed the God of Death’s altar and that killing her could stop the descent.
• Ilia Ann attacked He Ao with the Scarlet Tide and challenged him to defeat her without another god’s help.

He Ao defeated Ilia Ann by borrowing the God of War’s power and destroying the Stone of Thought, ending the God of Death’s descent. As the God of War’s power consumed him, he sent Ivo away in the Hell Apostle before the system announced his mission was complete and the dark clouds cleared.

• Ilia Ann unleashed her B-Rank power and sent an army of undead after He Ao, who borrowed the God of War’s power through his twin swords.
• He Ao stabbed Ilia Ann, seized the Stone of Thought, and swallowed it to overcome her ability to modify his choices.
• He Ao lured Ilia Ann into her hidden blood-tide trap, used Mental Interference, and pierced her heart at her energy convergence point.
• The souls controlled by Ilia Ann escaped as the altar collapsed, and He Ao began losing control of his body as the gods’ powers faded.
• Ivo arrived in the Hell Apostle, but He Ao threw him into the cockpit and sent him away with his bracelet before the system declared the mission complete.
• The God of Knowledge’s gray radiance destroyed the Mining Consortium Building before losing its connection and vanishing, while Wright woke to learn that the dark clouds had cleared.

After Ivo reunited with Witt, the Evil God Descent scandal toppled Rock City officials and crippled the Mining Consortium, while Nair’s materials and the Miner's Mutual Aid Society’s resistance helped turn public opinion against it. The Mining Consortium declared bankruptcy, and Witt prepared to buy back the miners’ mines despite Ivo’s doubts about where they would get the money.

• Ivo welcomed Witt after he was released from prison, and Witt asked about their family before realizing something was wrong.
• Investigations and resignations followed the Evil God Descent incident, Wright became mayor, and Jester was appointed Rock City’s police chief.
• The Mining Consortium’s mines shut down amid a miners’ strike, and a black Hell Apostle Mecha defeated mercenaries hired to attack the Wilderness Wanderers.
• Annie and Igarie saw evidence of the Mining Consortium’s abuses and helped spread support for the Miner's Mutual Aid Society, fueling protests across the Federation.
• Witt told Ivo that Nair had helped expose the Mining Consortium and explained why creditors and potential buyers would struggle to save it.
• After Nord Financial Consortium abandoned its proposed merger under investigation, the Rock City Mining Consortium declared bankruptcy, and Witt said they would buy back the mines.

Witt used Nolan Ka Bank’s loan to buy the Mining Consortium’s mines for the Miner's Mutual Aid Society, and he donated the former headquarters land to Rock City. Two months later, a man in silver visited Nel Rot’s grave and met a young worker repairing park lights, while news of Dawn City’s reconstruction aid played nearby.

• Rock City Mining United Company bought the former Mining Consortium mines at auction for 25 percent of their market value, and the Mining Consortium flag was torn down.
• Witt watched the Mining Consortium Building being demolished and told Lina he had donated the land to Rock City to become a cemetery.
• Lina explained that Nolan Ka Bank had financed the purchase so the Miner's Mutual Aid Society could supply ore to the Nolanka Group, and she introduced Ivo to Eve.
• Witt said the new company should belong to all miners, and Lina sent him a book about how the world distributes wealth.
• Two months later, a man in silver brought flowers to Nel Rot’s grave and met a young worker repairing the cemetery’s streetlamps.
• The young worker said the people illuminated by a torch would care and could light new torches, as news reported that Dawn City Mayor Christos had arrived in Rock City with reconstruction supplies on the way.

After receiving SSS evaluations for every mission, He Ao completed his permission advancement and became an Advanced Player. He discovered that Hyperthymesia had reached C-Rank, though its advancement ritual was incomplete, and prepared to test the ability.

• He Ao received SSS evaluations for investigating the death cases, saving Rock City, establishing a new mining enterprise, and protecting Nell's hope.
• He Ao realized Third Brother Witt had shaped the new mining company around the Miner's Mutual Aid Society, while reflecting on how Ilia Ann had once posed as Nell's Priest.
• The system announced that He Ao had completed the permission advancement mission and upgraded him from Normal Player to Advanced Player.
• He Ao noticed Hyperthymesia had advanced to C-Rank after he swallowed the Stone of Thought, but its ritual remained incomplete.
• He Ao activated Hyperthymesia to investigate the changes to his ability.

He Ao partially advanced Hyperthymesia to C-Rank before its ritual, then received an SSS mission reward and used his legendary hero achievement to inspect a forged page that could steal knowledge. He chose the Forged Knowledge Book Page and Primordial Qi Empowerment, leaving him with a route toward C-Rank martial arts and a risky way to seek knowledge.

• He Ao subdued Hyperthymesia’s rampaging power and discovered that it had strengthened but had not fully fused with him because its promotion ritual remained incomplete.
• The system awarded He Ao an SSS evaluation, the legendary hero achievement, and a choice of two rewards from three C-Rank options.
• He Ao recalled martial arts fragments from Norsen’s book and determined that he had enough of a cultivation method to use Primordial Qi Empowerment.
• He Ao used his achievement’s one-time information privilege to learn that the Forged Knowledge Book Page could steal knowledge but risked destruction and pursuit after repeated use.
• He Ao selected the Forged Knowledge Book Page and Primordial Qi Empowerment.

He Ao completed the Refining Qi into Spirit advancement, reached C-Rank, and gained six strands of spiritual consciousness as his Physical Fitness rose to the human limit. He then tested a Forged Knowledge Book Page and obtained the C-Rank potion formula for his Talent Sequence, though its promotion ritual remained unknown.

• He Ao circulated and compressed Primordial Qi through his body, using Hyperthymesia to withstand the pain and form three vortices that merged into one.
• He Ao guided the merged vortex to his brain, advanced to C-Rank, and formed five strands of spiritual consciousness before dawn energy created a sixth.
• He Ao checked his Personal Attribute Panel and found that his Physical Fitness had risen to 782, with Refining Qi into Spirit listed at C-Rank.
• He Ao examined a Forged Knowledge Book Page and failed to obtain Hyperthymesia potion formulas or information about a perfect advancement.
• He Ao asked the page for his Talent Sequence's C-Rank ritual formula and received the recipe for Talent Sequence 128: Chess Player, but the promotion ritual was unreadable.

He Ao studied the Chess Player promotion ritual and the C-Rank paths available to his Magician sequence, then learned that his upgraded player permissions would trigger a system update. After returning from the Copy World to Alano, he heard the familiar faint whispers associated with C-Rank advancement.

• He Ao realized Hypermemory let him use part of his next sequence's power during a promotion ritual, despite allowing only one attempt.
• He Ao interpreted the Chess Player ritual as a concealed contest against a powerful schemer and memorized its requirements.
• He Ao learned that Magician could advance into four different C-Rank Talent Sequences and memorized their formulas.
• The system announced a 160-hour update that would add a new mission mode and evaluation system.
• He Ao returned to the pirate ship in Alano, found that only ordinary hours had passed, and heard faint, chaotic whispers as he prepared to call someone.

He Ao investigated the Arcane Mage’s sudden departure and learned he had been sent to the Tiya Empire on a secret mission, then returned to class at West Capital University. The chapter ended with Yang De asking whether He Ao had heard the same strange sound.

• He Ao called Noding to ask to meet the Arcane Mage, then learned the mage had left for the Tiya Empire on a rushed mission and might lose contact.
• He Ao inferred that the Boss had sent the Arcane Mage to investigate an unknown place connected to the Central Processor.
• At West Capital University, He Ao joined Yuan Nan Nan and Liu Nan for calculus class, where Yuan Nan Nan hurried to copy his homework.
• He Ao teased Yuan Nan Nan about being a demon lord until Liu Nan laughed and sprayed water across the desk.
• He Ao saw Yang De’s message asking whether he had heard the strange sound.

He Ao learned that strange sounds heard by C-Rank Transcendents were likely connected to the ruins, and the Research Institute asked him to help capture the mysterious Verola train. After agreeing to join the operation, he secretly prepared to leave Alano for the train’s predicted appearance on Alano Notti Island.

• He Ao met Fang Cheng outside his apartment, learned Grandpa Fang was recovering, and refused payment for the medicine he had provided.
• Yang De told He Ao that C-Ranks across the Research Institute had heard strange sounds and suspected the ruins were drawing closer to the Main World.
• Yang De showed He Ao reports linking the vanished Verola train to dangerous appearances in ruins and identified it as a possible B-Rank Contaminant.
• He Ao agreed to help the Research Institute intercept the train within the next six days, and memorized its predicted stop at Alano Notti Island.
• At midnight in Alano, He Ao put on a Five-Colored Ring and told a loyal pirate to prepare a speedboat without telling anyone.

He Ao used a disguise and a concealed aura to board the Vinola, hoping to perform Super Memory’s Promotion Ritual aboard the B-Rank train. After surviving the train’s strange tunnel passage, he searched his compartment and discovered a clock counting down in reverse.

• He Ao disguised himself with the Five-Colored Ring and used Hu Wen’s Aura Concealing Earring to weaken his life force as the Vinola approached.
• The Vinola stopped beside He Ao, and a courteous conductor invited him aboard and assigned him Compartment Three.
• An alarm warned passengers to return to their compartments before the train entered a tunnel, and He Ao went inside his room as the corridor twisted into darkness.
• He Ao searched the compartment and found a dried leaf, a blank notebook, and a clock whose hands moved counterclockwise.

He Ao tested the Vinola’s rules while waiting out the tunnel passage, then met two new passengers when the train stopped: a frightened blonde woman and Lin Chichi. As the train departed again, an alarm ordered everyone to return to their compartments, leaving He Ao to guide them through the train’s rules.

• He Ao tried to force open his compartment door, triggered the train’s hostile response, and confirmed that the compartment reset when he let go.
• He Ao tested how quickly the compartment reacted to repeated pulls on the doorknob while his real body sold cold noodles and learned that Yang De’s group planned an overseas interception of the Vinola.
• When the countdown ended, He Ao opened his compartment and met a blonde woman from the Tiya Empire who said she had boarded in the Norlai Republic and forgotten to get off at a stop.
• A new passenger, Lin Chichi, boarded from a beach, received a key card for Compartment Four, and approached He Ao for help after discovering her phone had no signal.
• He Ao told Lin Chichi and the blonde woman to follow the train’s rules, then ordered them back to their compartments when an alarm suddenly sounded.

He Ao, Lin Chichi, and Jin Ya failed to break the train’s windows and discovered that the train could hide its stops from passengers. After He Ao subdued a threatening new passenger, another passenger arrived in Compartment 6, but was nowhere to be seen.

• He Ao, Lin Chichi, and Jin Ya saw Ankewe Town outside and tried to escape by smashing the dining car windows, but the glass resisted and repaired itself.
• He Ao realized the train had stopped without the passengers noticing, then confronted a new passenger who threatened him and the women with a gun.
• He Ao disarmed and struck the man, forced him to apologize, and tested the train’s glass by firing a bullet that it later expelled.
• A passenger was assigned Compartment 6, but He Ao found the compartment empty until an unseen person angrily told him to look down.

He Ao investigated the Verola’s latest tunnel game, discovering a serial-killer mystery and a protective charm while warning Yang De that the train might flee from powerful auras. Yang De’s team waited at the predicted location, but the Verola never arrived, suggesting it was avoiding confrontation for a larger purpose.

• Luo Luo identified herself as a Research Institute D-Rank captain, and He Ao learned that she, Lin Chichi, and Jin Ya had all been lured onto the Verola.
• Before the next tunnel, He Ao saw bloodshot eyes behind Compartment One’s door; a rude passenger was then frightened by a face forming in the corridor and fled into his compartment.
• He Ao found a card announcing a serial killer among the passengers and read a diary that explained the protective array appearing on his golden mulberry leaf.
• He Ao sent Yang De a warning that the Verola might sense life force and flee from powerful auras, suggesting that the team suppress its presence.
• Yang De and two C-Rank Transcendents waited at the predicted location, but the Verola failed to arrive, leaving them to suspect it was avoiding a direct confrontation.

He Ao and the other passengers discovered the man from Compartment Five dead after the train’s eight-hour tunnel passage, while his body sank into the floor. In the dining car, they began comparing what they had learned, but the train’s rules prevented them from revealing their identities or missions; He Ao’s account left the killer unidentified.

• He Ao heard brief footsteps outside his compartment during the tunnel passage, but the door remained locked and the countdown reset before completing its first four hours.
• When the train emerged from the tunnel, He Ao found Lin Chichi beside the bloody corpse of the passenger from Compartment Five, and the body sank into the floor after Roti appeared.
• He Ao led the surviving passengers—Lin Chichi, Jin Ya, Luo Luo, and Roti—to the dining car, where he tested whether they could write information about the killer.
• Everyone’s paper showed the same required sentence, and He Ao discovered that the train’s rules also prevented him from speaking about his identity, mission, or item.
• He Ao and the others shared what they had experienced during the tunnel passage; Jin Ya and Roti both reported hearing footsteps and claimed they were good people.

He Ao and the passengers compared their clues about the murder and discovered that the train had a hidden way for them to punish a suspected killer. The revelation left everyone weighing the danger of voting, while Lin Chichi’s hunger broke the tense silence.

• Luo Luo described hearing a faint noise during the third hour in the tunnel and suspected it was the victim falling after being killed; He Ao suggested the body may have been lowered quietly.
• Jin Ya questioned why the victim from compartment five had been killed in the corridor, and Roti suggested the killer had dragged him there after a fight, casting suspicion on He Ao.
• He Ao asked the attendant to open compartment seven, revealing a vortex that the attendant said could be used to apprehend and push in anyone whom most passengers judged a bad person.
• He Ao realized the vortex gave passengers a way to kill a suspected killer, but a mistaken vote could help the real murderer; the group fell into uneasy silence.
• Lin Chichi’s stomach growled, reminding everyone that she had gone more than eight hours without food or water.