Chapter Summaries

He Ao entered Jess’s parents’ apartment to search for clues about his father’s hidden knowledge and the Mysterious Man. He concluded that Jess’s parents had resisted the Mysterious Man to the end, then used Super Memory to inspect the study for anything Jess had missed.

• He Ao evaded the sentries watching Jess’s parents’ apartment and entered using Jess’s face and fingerprints.
• He recalled how Jess’s parents had built their modest home and how their generosity had shaped Jess’s charitable habits.
• He Ao reasoned that Jess’s Father had withheld knowledge about stabilizing the magic array, and that the Mysterious Man may have pursued Jess’s mother to obtain it.
• He Ao stood where Jess’s mother had died and considered how she had supported her husband despite their hopeless situation.
• He Ao activated Super Memory and saw shadowy tentacles spread across the bookshelves as he searched for clues.

He Ao searched Jess's childhood bedroom and uncovered hidden files on a virtual ticket card, including videos of Jess's family and travel plans made just before Jess's Father met with trouble. The chapter left him with evidence that Jess's Father had hidden important knowledge inside the card, though its contents were not yet revealed.

• He Ao examined the shadowy tentacles watching the bookshelf and realized they had been placed in Jess's home to spy on his parents and anyone searching for hidden knowledge.
• He Ao found nothing concealed in the bookshelf and moved on to Jess's childhood bedroom, where he discovered a Virtual Ticket Storage Card tucked inside a book.
• He Ao inspected the card's contact scratches and realized they showed it had been inserted into a device with a shallow slot, such as his Trison Group bracelet.
• He Ao asked Eve to read the card as a storage device, revealing a hidden folder containing family videos and travel files.
• He Ao found two airship tickets to Dawn City and a hotel reservation for Jess and Jess's mother, all created twelve years earlier on the morning before Jess's Father met with trouble.

He Ao discovered that Jess's Father had hidden crucial knowledge inside the shadowy tentacles watching the house and reconstructed how he had prepared for the Mysterious Man's attack. As tentacles closed in and his divine consciousness dwindled, He Ao used the newly recovered fragments to begin drawing a ritual array on the Wooden Box.

• He Ao coated the Bone Axe with divine consciousness and severed a shadowy tentacle, provoking a fierce assault from the Hidden Existence.
• He Ao touched the severed tentacle with soul power and found a fragment of complex-pattern knowledge hidden within it.
• He Ao deduced that Jess's Father had hidden the knowledge inside the tentacles, arranged an escape for his family, and been killed after the Mysterious Man discovered the plans.
• He Ao destroyed more tentacles to recover additional fragments, but worried about conserving his remaining divine consciousness for the Mysterious Man and the Hidden Existence.
• He Ao brought the Wooden Box to the study entrance, cut his finger, and began drawing a ritual array in blood using the knowledge he had recovered.

He Ao fought the invisible tentacles filling Jess's home while completing and modifying the Ritual Array on the Wooden Box. He opened the now-stabilized box to destroy the tentacles and drive the Hidden Existence back into slumber, then cleaned the house.

• He Ao used Hyperthymesia and his Bone Axe to track and cut through the invisible tentacles as he moved from the living room into the Master Bedroom.
• He Ao drew the final blood patterns on the Wooden Box, activating Jess's Father's hidden Ritual Array throughout the house and understanding how it redirected the tentacles' power.
• He Ao added a stabilizing Ritual Array to the Wooden Box, using the knowledge he had acquired from Jess's Father's work.
• He Ao opened the Wooden Box, unleashing power that made the tentacles take physical form and shatter, while the Hidden Existence sank back into slumber.
• He Ao saw a vision of Jess's Father by the bedside, closed the box, and carefully cleaned the house.

He Ao listened as a taxi driver explained how consortiums controlled elections, drawing on his own abandoned attempt to become a politician. While heading to meet Hai Xi, He Ao sensed familiar auras and realized she had stopped responding after sending him an address in the Plant District.

• He Ao watched a late-night report on the Senate election and asked the taxi driver whether he planned to vote.
• The driver said consortiums funded candidates and dictated their priorities, then described giving up his own political ambitions rather than backing anti-worker policies.
• He Ao shared memories of his mother and activated Super Memory, sensing familiar auras in an undercurrent beneath the city.
• He Ao checked Hai Xi's messages and saw that she had first promised to meet him in the Zarot Street District at one in the morning.
• Hai Xi later sent the address 15 Vincent Street in the Plant District, then stopped replying to He Ao's messages and calls.

He Ao tracked Hai Xi through an abandoned building and pieced together how she and her companions had been hunted by a powerful pursuer. He found Hai Xi hiding with a bodyguard, but the pursuer discovered their hiding place as someone outside addressed him.

• He Ao arrived at the signal-jammed building and used Super Memory to find Hai Xi’s metal-thread marks, blood, and the footprints of her group and pursuer.
• He Ao reconstructed Hai Xi’s fight with a rapier-wielding superhuman and followed the fleeing group deeper into the building.
• He Ao found Hai Xi’s smashed wristband, signs of her fierce battle on the fire stairs, and several bodyguards killed after trying to surrender.
• He Ao concluded the pursuer had been tormenting Hai Xi and her companions, then searched for Hai Xi among the rooms.
• Hai Xi hid with a middle-aged bodyguard in a cabinet while the pursuer passed by, then the pursuer hung upside down over the cabinet and peered inside.
• A gentle voice asked the person lying on top of the cabinet not to stick his rear end up so high.

He Ao confronted Vede, who revealed that he had betrayed Professor Moke and helped the Mysterious Man obtain the Gene Serum research. Vede injected himself with an apparent B-Rank Gene Serum and attacked He Ao, leaving their fight underway.

• Hai Xi and DeSanke escaped the kitchen while He Ao confronted Vede, who admitted he had lured He Ao there.
• Vede revealed that, as Professor Moke's student, he had stolen the Gene Serum research data for the Mysterious Man and accepted that his betrayal led to Moke's death.
• He Ao connected Vede's betrayal to the chain of events that killed Roy's father, forced Vianna to flee, and brought the Witchcraft Church into Dawn City.
• After Hai Xi and DeSanke escaped, Vede injected himself with a purple reagent that He Ao identified as a possible B-Rank Gene Serum.
• Vede and He Ao began fighting when Vede's rapier clashed with He Ao's Bone Axe.

He Ao fought Vede, who used a mutated Gene Serum and a dream that drew He Ao into a vision of his family, while He Ao’s soul and strength weakened. He Ao killed Vede, but the power from the Wooden Box attacked him, and the chapter ended with Hai Xi running toward him in the darkness.

• He Ao clashed with Vede, whose Gene Serum transformed him into a monster and whose ability created phantoms and read thoughts.
• Vede drew He Ao into a dream of Jess’s parents and wife, but He Ao recognized the illusion and fought to resist it.
• He Ao confronted Vede over the deaths of good people and overwhelmed him despite his weakening body.
• Vede summoned a Hidden Existence, but He Ao opened the Wooden Box and killed him with the Bone Axe.
• The Wooden Box’s power tore through He Ao, his dream shattered, and Hai Xi ran toward him as he grasped his pendant.

After He Ao defeated Vede, he joined Hai Xi and DeSanke as they discussed Hai Xi’s campaign to help scavengers and DeSanke’s challenge against Nide. The group headed toward Hai Xi’s arriving allies, and He Ao asked to review the evidence against Nide.

• He Ao confirmed Vede was dead, accepted Hai Xi’s data chip, and agreed to return with her to a safehouse for a medical check.
• DeSanke recognized that Vede’s attack had been an assassination attempt, while Hai Xi explained that she was gathering information on Nide to support DeSanke’s campaign for scavengers’ citizenship.
• Hai Xi told He Ao that Christos’s reform had inspired her to risk her life fighting for scavengers, and DeSanke asked whether Vede might have become a scientist under different circumstances.
• DeSanke revealed that Stars Pharmaceutical had initially backed his campaign against Nide, while the Huier Mei Medical Consortium had responded by funding Nide’s campaign.
• DeSanke said he planned to release the damaging information Hai Xi had gathered on Nide, and Hai Xi handed He Ao a backup chip containing the evidence.

He Ao escorted Hai Xi and DeSanke toward the Zarot Street District while discussing the Mysterious Man’s failed attacks. Hai Xi recounted how she became the scavengers’ priest, and He Ao ended the journey by killing a sniper targeting DeSanke and declaring his intention to retaliate against those responsible.

• He Ao reasoned that the Mysterious Man had become cautious after repeated failed attacks, but stayed alert for threats against DeSanke as they traveled with Hai Xi.
• Hai Xi thanked He Ao, then told him how her parents’ deaths left her homeless, how a gang leader blinded her, and how the scavengers’ priest rescued and raised her.
• Hai Xi explained that she inherited the priest’s Talent Sequence after his assassination and built influence in the West District; she also revealed that she had later blinded and crippled the gang leader who attacked her.
• He Ao asked Hai Xi to borrow her gun and tell the lead vehicle to turn left, then shot a sniper who had been aiming at DeSanke.
• He Ao told Hai Xi that the person behind the attacks had taken his family from him and now wanted him dead, and said he intended to take revenge.

He Ao, Hai Xi, and DeSanke reviewed evidence of Senator Nide’s corruption and the Huier Mei Charity Foundation’s crimes, then planned how to use Stars Pharmaceutical to challenge him. He Ao secretly gave DeSanke information about the Mysterious Man’s Gene Serum project and kept a second chip that could lead to the project’s laboratory.

• Hai Xi explained that Nide’s former mistress had supplied documents detailing the charity foundation’s fraud, child trafficking, illegal lending, and Nide’s personal corruption.
• DeSanke and Hai Xi discussed how their limited media and political connections would struggle to expose Nide, who was protected by his senatorial office and the Huier Mei Medical Consortium.
• He Ao proposed pressuring Stars Pharmaceutical by revealing evidence that the Huier Mei Medical Consortium was developing Gene Serum, a project that could threaten Stars Pharmaceutical’s position.
• He Ao copied information about the Mysterious Man’s laboratory and Gene Serum into a Storage Chip, then instructed DeSanke to give it to Stars Pharmaceutical as an anonymous whistleblower’s evidence.
• He Ao kept another Storage Chip containing Gene Serum supply routes that might reveal the Second Laboratory, while he continued trying to confirm the Mysterious Man’s identity and purpose.

He Ao and DeSanke discussed using Stars Pharmaceutical against Nide, while DeSanke reflected on how Christos and “K” had influenced his political ideals. He Ao then set out with Laine to follow a gang gathering materials for the Mysterious Man’s Second Laboratory, and they waited near the day’s transaction site as off-road vehicles approached.

• He Ao urged DeSanke and Hai Xi to rest after their exhausting meeting, then walked with DeSanke and heard how Christos and “K” had inspired him to keep pursuing political change.
• He Ao learned that Vetland’s elections used the Phoenix System and considered how DeSanke might gain wider exposure without relying on expensive advertising.
• He Ao reviewed Hai Xi’s information about a gang collecting materials and prepared to follow its members toward the Mysterious Man’s Second Laboratory.
• Hai Xi introduced Laine, a trusted local with a strong memory for routes, to drive He Ao through West District.
• He Ao and Laine reached the transaction site and waited in their modified sedan as several large off-road vehicles approached.

He Ao tracked the smuggled Gene Serum ingredients to a hidden laboratory at Huier Mei Vitran Hospital and recruited Vianna to help investigate the Mysterious Man. He and Lai En discovered a Laser Cannon guarding the laboratory, and He Ao planned to report the suspected smuggling to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

• Vianna learned that Jess had contacted her, recognized him as her grandfather Moke Professor’s old friend, and accepted his friend request after confirming his identity.
• He Ao explained his history and asked Vianna to hack a system connected to the Mysterious Man, and she agreed to help.
• He Ao and Lai En followed the gang’s off-road vehicles to a warehouse and deduced that the goods were being transferred through a back-to-back apartment.
• He Ao and Lai En followed a van carrying the goods to the Huier Mei Biological Innovation Laboratory near Huier Mei Vitran Hospital.
• He Ao stopped Lai En before he entered the laboratory’s Laser Cannon range and told him to contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the smuggling.

He Ao and Lai En brought FBI Detective Hu En and rookie agent Swit to investigate a suspected smuggling laboratory. While Hu En questioned the laboratory director, He Ao connected Eve to the lab’s intranet, and a watcher dismissed his attempt to breach the Firewall.

• He Ao and Lai En waited near the laboratory, monitored its entrance, and met Hu En after Lai En’s report brought the detective there.
• Hu En introduced Swit and joined He Ao and Lai En in investigating the laboratory, where they found blood smells, armed Laser Cannons, and the van they had tracked.
• The laboratory director let the group inside and tried to show Hu En records, while Swit privately warned Hu En that the informants and laboratory seemed suspicious.
• Hu En detained the director and kept him focused on the accounts as He Ao slipped away to the reading room.
• He Ao connected his bracelet to a computer and called on Eve to access the intranet, while a figure watching the surveillance feed mocked his attempt to break the Firewall.

He Ao infiltrated the Second Laboratory’s network and discovered the hidden underground laboratory, while the Gaunt Man prepared to stop him. He Ao forced his way into the underground facility and fought researchers as the Gaunt Man tried to keep him from reaching the data.

• The Gaunt Man connected himself to the laboratory system and promised the officer ten minutes to stop the intruders while the data was transferred.
• Hu En and Swit inspected the laboratory’s accounts and surveillance feeds, then left with the director for the warehouse as He Ao’s breach went unnoticed.
• He Ao explained that Jess’s trusted hacker had actually worked for the Mysterious Man, while Eve and Vianna worked to break into the laboratory network.
• Eve took control of the Core Server, found the hidden Second Laboratory behind the reception room, and began analyzing its access code.
• He Ao tore open the elevator doors and entered the shaft, where he found a reinforced gate and several researchers waiting for him.
• He Ao killed the attacking researchers as the Gaunt Man told the officer that his people would hold He Ao back and promised not to fall for the same trap twice.

He Ao and Vianna outmaneuvered the Hacker’s defenses, and He Ao found the Smart Switch linking the hidden laboratory to the external network. As Eve worked to reopen the port, He Ao faced three powerful Gene Serum users who had been sent to kill him.

• Vianna explained how she tricked the Hacker into weakening the Core Server’s defenses, allowing Eve to seize it before he closed the connection to the hidden laboratory.
• He Ao killed the last two researchers when they tried to stab him, then dug through the Elevator Shaft wall to reach the Emergency Passage.
• He Ao found the concealed Smart Switch and connected his wristband so Eve could reopen the port between the laboratories.
• Three opponents confronted He Ao: a Warrior, a Fire Master, and a Glory Knight, each of whom named their Talent Sequence and revealed that the Mysterious Man had promised them secret potions for killing him.
• Vianna asked whether something strange had happened as the Fire Master attacked, and He Ao turned off his microphone while Eve reported that the port would reopen in ten seconds.

He Ao defeated the three attackers in the Emergency Passage while Eve and Vianna worked to break into the hidden laboratory’s mainframe. Vianna’s plan drew the opposing Hacker toward a trap as He Ao reached a sealed alloy door at the bottom of the stairs.

• The warrior ambushed He Ao with a giant hammer, but He Ao severed his right arm and threw his Bone Axe at the Fire Master, killing her and plunging the passage into darkness.
• He Ao killed the Glory Knight with his own sword, then cut down the one-armed warrior after dodging another hammer attack.
• Eve connected to the hidden laboratory’s intranet, and Vianna proposed a plan to expose a decoy port and attack the mainframe while the Hacker focused on it.
• He Ao approved Vianna’s plan and continued down the Emergency Passage toward the deepest level.
• Vianna reported that the Hacker had found her trap as He Ao reached a sealed alloy door.

He Ao broke into the Core Mainframe control room, where the officer killed the Gaunt Man and confronted him. He Ao learned that the Mysterious Man’s Gene Serum used a ritual to make others pay its cost, then faced the officer’s electric attack as he suspected it was Miracle Magic.

• Vianna helped He Ao take control of the Core Mainframe and begin copying its data, while Eve started breaking through the Gaunt Man’s prosthetic firewall.
• The Gaunt Man’s overloaded prosthetic system trapped him in the cables, and the officer killed him before ordering a switch to local backups.
• He Ao tore the Alloy Door out of its reinforced wall and hurled it into the officer, who had injected himself with B-Rank Gene Serum.
• He Ao recognized that the ritual beyond the glass curtain wall let the Mysterious Man’s Gene Serum draw its price from others instead of its users.
• The officer identified his Gene Serum’s Talent Sequence as Dream Weaver and attacked He Ao with an electrically charged scythe.
• He Ao closed in and swung his Bone Axe, but an electric arc spread across his body and made him stiffen as he suspected the attack was Miracle Magic.

He Ao defeated the officer-uniformed man by exploiting the weakness in his electric field, then used the Wooden Box to absorb the mist sustaining the Mysterious Man’s ritual array and free the trapped souls. As the dream faded, He Ao shared a final quiet moment with his mother.

• He Ao identified the officer-uniformed man as a Magic Warrior and used feints and thrown axe attacks to study his abilities while fighting against the dream’s weakening effects.
• He Ao baited the officer-uniformed man into striking him beside the Alloy Door, which conducted the man’s electric field and briefly paralyzed him.
• He Ao struck the officer-uniformed man’s Energy Convergence Points with the Bone Axe and scythe, killing him.
• He Ao studied the ritual array beyond the glass wall and used the Wooden Box to absorb its purple mist, collapsing the array and freeing the trapped souls.
• As the dream dissolved, He Ao’s mother straightened his collar and smiled at him.

He Ao restored the laboratory network, uncovered the mass killing of homeless drifters, and arranged an understanding with Hu En to expose Huier Mei Medical Consortium. After leaving, He Ao told Vianna that Christos had helped him find her, while a remote watcher learned that He Ao expected them to meet again.

• He Ao reconnected the laboratory’s network, restored its systems, and moved through the research floors while the researchers cooperated with him.
• He Ao showed Hu En the corpses in the deep pit and explained that Huier Mei Medical Consortium was behind the laboratory; Hu En agreed to help expose the truth.
• He Ao gave Hu En processed data, while Eve removed key Gene Serum knowledge and He Ao destroyed the specialized production equipment.
• He Ao explained to Lai En that Hu En was cooperating based on their shared goals, not trust, then Vianna thanked He Ao for bringing her into the mission.
• He Ao told Vianna that Christos had helped him find her, then silently mouthed “Soon, we will meet again” to a surveillance camera.
• An unseen person watched the footage, read He Ao’s words through the lip-reading system, and switched off the screen.