Chapter Summaries

He Ao easily defeated the Special Appointed Researchers in the first round, leaving Fighter stunned by his skill and the mystery of his KFC paper bag. After the competition shifted to shooting, He Ao said he knew the basics, while Zhang Anxia quietly realized the bag had never been taped on.

• He Ao threw successive challengers, including Feng Ling, out of the ring or made them concede, while Fighter watched closely.
• Fighter challenged He Ao but froze before making a move, then knelt and asked how He Ao kept the paper bag on his head.
• He Ao said he had used transparent tape, leaving Fighter and the onlookers embarrassed by their elaborate theories.
• Zhang Anxia praised He Ao's first-round performance and asked about his gun skills before the shooting round.
• He Ao answered that he knew some basics, and Zhang Anxia realized from He Ao's reply that the paper bag had not been taped on.

He Ao dominated the shooting competition, hitting all five moving bottle caps with a five-round magazine, while the other candidates struggled to score. As the group moved on to the anti-contamination test, a Martial Arts-clad youth knelt outside and begged He Ao to teach him a breakthrough method, convinced that He Ao was testing his resolve.

• He Ao scored a perfect ten-shot result in the indoor pistol round, and Zhang Anxia guessed that his talent was Mercenary.
• He Ao used five shots to hit the centers of all five moving bottle caps, leaving the other candidates stunned and Feng Ling hiding behind a chair.
• Feng Ling used wind to bring the drones together and scored six points, the highest score among the remaining candidates.
• The candidates headed to the anti-contamination test, while the burly man who He Ao had knocked unconscious kept himself at the back of the group.
• A Martial Arts-clad youth knelt at the venue entrance and asked He Ao to teach him how to break through, but He Ao denied being qualified and went inside.
• Feng Ling tried to pull the youth up, but he insisted that He Ao was testing him because the Law was not to be lightly transmitted.

He Ao won the selection and learned more about the dangers of the ruins, then spent the day preparing and arranging a hotel property trade with Liu Nan. In the rain, he returned to find the Youth in training clothes still kneeling and asked him to show a set of punches.

• He Ao reached the center of the pollution test hall, took Zhang Anxia’s mithril box, and won full marks in all three selection rounds.
• Zhang Anxia warned He Ao about the ruins and explained that the Research Institute would protect his identity as a researcher.
• He Ao left to practice with Main World firearms while Feng Ling stayed with the Youth in training clothes, who continued kneeling at the entrance.
• Liu Nan told He Ao that her father would trade a city-center hotel property worth around twenty million for the villa, and He Ao agreed to handle the transfer the next day.
• After a day of firearm practice, He Ao returned in the rain and held an umbrella over the Youth in training clothes.
• He Ao asked the Youth in training clothes to show him a set of punches.

He Ao corrected a youth’s Five Beasts Fist, revealing flaws and helping him perform it more naturally. The youth begged to become He Ao’s disciple, and He Ao asked him to leave a phone number.

• The youth demonstrated his inherited Five Beasts Fist to He Ao in the rain.
• He Ao corrected the youth’s stance and movements, and the youth’s punches became more natural and his body felt lighter.
• Feng Ling asked He Ao whether she had martial arts talent, and he told her she did not.
• The youth begged He Ao to accept him as a disciple, and Feng Ling knelt to support his plea.
• He Ao told them to get up and asked the youth to leave a phone number, which Feng Ling wrote down and handed to him.

He Ao tested the Youth’s martial arts comprehension, character, and aptitude, then decided to assess his loyalty over time. After handling school and acquiring Wutong Hotel, He Ao mastered the Five Beasts Fist and began a new life simulation as High School Student Joey.

• He Ao gave the Youth an umbrella and his phone number, offering him a chance to train while withholding a decision on taking him as a disciple.
• He Ao reflected on the three tests he had put the Youth through and planned to judge his loyalty through future tasks and rewards.
• He Ao visited Grandpa Fang, attended class with Liu Nan and Yuan Nan Nan, and arranged two days of leave with Liu Nan.
• He Ao completed the procedures to acquire Wutong Hotel and its equity from Liu Zhengyun, with a professional agency handling the remaining transfers.
• He Ao practiced and mastered the Five Beasts Fist, then received a new Life Simulation Game character: High School Student Joey.

He Ao woke as Joey after the boy’s blood ritual and learned that Joey had begged for help investigating his parents’ deaths at Anvis Mechanical Factory. Weak from blood loss, He Ao heard a friend’s message and then received a gang’s demand for fifty thousand Federal currency.

• He Ao woke in Joey’s home, bleeding from a wrist wound inside a blood-drawn six-pointed star.
• He Ao read Joey’s plea to investigate the factory accident and realized Joey had used the ritual to seek help from Roy.
• He Ao treated his wound and checked a missed voice message from Jessie, who urged him to call her back.
• A gang member called He Ao, demanded fifty thousand Federal currency by six, and threatened to visit Joey’s home if he did not pay.

He Ao confronted the gang member who had lured Joey to Aston District and forced him to lead the way to his boss. The gang ambushed He Ao in a dark street, but he escaped their gunfire and plunged them into darkness, leaving the fight unresolved.

• He Ao bought milk, chocolate bars, a folding knife, and playing cards, then headed toward the meeting place in Aston District.
• A Mohawk Head tried to rob He Ao, but He Ao incapacitated him and demanded to know who had revealed Joey’s information.
• He Ao forced the Mohawk Head to take him to his boss, then followed him through the deserted streets as night fell.
• The Mohawk Head led He Ao into a prepared ambush, and armed gang members fired at him for dozens of seconds.
• He Ao took cover in an alley, threw the small knife to break the streetlight, and left the gang in darkness as someone choked nearby.

He Ao slaughtered the Hyena Gang members who had been surveilling and threatening him, then confronted their local leader. The leader revealed that an unknown Black Market client had ordered the surveillance, and He Ao pressed him to name the intermediary.

• He Ao killed the Hyena Gang members in the darkness, including Mohawk Head, as they fired wildly at him.
• He Ao cornered the surviving gaunt man and learned that he led the Hyena Gang in the area.
• The gaunt man said someone on the Black Market had commissioned the gang to surveil He Ao.
• He Ao pointed out that the gang had added extortion and death threats to the job, and the leader admitted they had offered extra service.
• The gaunt man said Black Market rules kept the client’s identity secret, so He Ao demanded to know who had acted as the intermediary.

He Ao killed the Gaunt Man after taking the Corpse Flowers, which could restore his weakened soul. He then returned to Roy's apartment and opened the door with its unchanged code.

• The Gaunt Man revealed that Noahd from Avis Bar had sent his group to collect Corpse Flowers, then tried to shoot He Ao and was killed by He Ao's knife.
• He Ao carried the frozen Corpse Flowers away and stored them in a mall locker after his overuse of Super Memory left him weakened.
• He Ao heard Professor Serle explain that Mayor Vent could resign and have Vice Mayor Evenson pardon his crimes to avoid conviction.
• He Ao went to Roy's dusty apartment and opened its door using the unchanged keypad code.

He Ao returned to Roy’s home, retrieved the Short Sword and Butcher Pistol, and reopened the secret room. He put on Roy’s father’s heavy Combat Suit and found a Hooded Cloak hidden behind it.

• He Ao found a silver strand of hair at the door and entered the tidied room where the Short Sword and Butcher Pistol had been left.
• He Ao inspected the Short Sword and reflected on Regit’s fortunes and misfortunes, then reset the secret room’s security system using its original password.
• He Ao entered new iris and palm-print data and retrieved the Combat Suit from the secret room.
• He Ao activated the Combat Suit’s emergency assistance system and connected it to his Smart Bracelet, which showed that about thirty minutes of assistance remained.
• He Ao noticed a pitch-black Hooded Cloak hidden behind the Combat Suit.

He Ao left the secret room equipped with weapons and supplies, then bought a strange smiling mask from a street vendor. Naomi walked through the night reflecting on Roy, while He Ao disappeared into the streets carrying his purchase.

• He Ao put on his Combat Suit and cape, gathered weapons and supplies, and locked the secret room behind him.
• Naomi left Inor Restaurant, joked about her business talent, and told Roy he could rest easy.
• He Ao startled Naomi with a quiet reply while buying a toy from a late-night street stall.
• He Ao bargained with the stall owner for a half-black, half-white smiling mask and the toy, then paid five Federal currency.
• He Ao took the bag and disappeared into the night.

He Ao tested Corpse Flower solutions to restore the soul and prepared concentrated doses to replenish the energy spent using Hyperthymesia. When Jessie came to check on Joey, He Ao hid the disturbing scene and cleaned up the bloodstains after she left.

• He Ao tested Corpse Flower petals at different concentrations and found that concentrated powder could drain vitality while restoring soul power.
• He Ao prepared five mithril test tubes of concentrated Corpse Flower solution, each of which could restore thirty seconds of Hyperthymesia use.
• He Ao stored the five remaining Corpse Flowers in the refrigerator as Jessie rang the doorbell and called for Joey.
• Jessie said Joey had missed school for seven days and urged him to recover, then left without seeing inside.
• He Ao looked at the words “I have nothing left” in the blood-drawn six-pointed star and began cleaning the bloodstains.

He Ao disguised himself as a Hyena Gang courier and brought a Laser Grenade to Avis Bar to confront Noahd. After revealing the empty suitcase’s hidden weapon, he asked Noahd if they could discuss business, with his hand on the grenade’s pin.

• He Ao packed his gear, concealed his Combat Suit under loose clothes, and left to investigate the cause of Joey’s parents’ deaths.
• He Ao arrived at Avis Bar and claimed he had come from the Hyena Gang to deliver a job to Noahd.
• A Tall Man escorted He Ao inside, while Noahd privately ordered him to make the courier and goods disappear.
• Noahd introduced himself and gathered the bar workers to convince He Ao of his identity.
• He Ao opened the suitcase, revealed a Laser Grenade, restrained Noahd, and asked to discuss business as he reached for the pin.

He Ao threatened Noahd into revealing that Slanka had commissioned the job against him and bought the Corpse Flower. After tricking Noahd with a candy-filled toy grenade, He Ao threw a real Laser Grenade at him and escaped into an alley.

• He Ao confronted Noahd with what appeared to be a Laser Grenade and demanded the identity of the person who wanted him dead.
• Noahd revealed that Slanka, a former Anvis Electric Power Group Security Forces officer, had commissioned the job and bought the Corpse Flower.
• He Ao tossed the toy grenade and fled with the box while Noahd and his men took cover.
• Noahd discovered the grenade was filled with candy and ordered his men to search nearby blocks for He Ao.
• Noahd’s men spotted a real Laser Grenade at his feet, and He Ao walked deeper into a nearby alley as it exploded.

He Ao went to Slanka’s luxury apartment building to deliver Corpse Flowers under a false identity, expecting resistance or a chance to infiltrate. Slanka admitted him without suspicion, then mistook his visit for something intimate and told him to shower and change into a revealing outfit.

• He Ao crossed Crown District’s wealthy streets and reached Slanka’s apartment building on Thirty-Seventh Street.
• He Ao told the Front Desk attendants he was delivering something to Mr. Slanka, and they gave him access to the seventeenth floor.
• He Ao rode the elevator up, rang Slanka’s doorbell, and presented the case when Slanka answered.
• Slanka said He Ao was half an hour early, commented that he liked his eyes, and invited him inside.
• Slanka told He Ao to shower and change into an outfit with little fabric, then opened a decorative drawer.

He Ao ambushed Slanka, using gunfire and Mental Interference to overpower the injured D-Rank extraordinary being. He left Slanka alive to question him, introducing himself as Joey.

• He Ao noticed Slanka's grip suggested he was reaching for a gun and ducked behind a sofa as Slanka opened fire.
• Slanka tried to reload, but He Ao used Mental Interference to make him freeze, then shot him and crippled his hands.
• He Ao deduced that Slanka was a powerful, injured extraordinary being who had been buying Corpse Flowers to restore his soul.
• Slanka dug bullets from his wrists and gathered flames, but He Ao circled behind him and pressed an Extraordinary Pistol to his head.
• He Ao told Slanka he wanted information and introduced himself as Joey.

He Ao forced Slanka to access an offline computer containing surveillance files, then killed him when Slanka attacked. While investigating the records for clues about Anvis Mechanical Factory, He Ao found information about Viktor as a thin man in a white suit arrived at the building.

• He Ao questioned Slanka about his parents' deaths and Anvis Mechanical Factory, then made him lead the way to the files on his offline computer.
• Slanka showed He Ao a file on Joey marked for surveillance and elimination, then attacked him with flames.
• He Ao stabbed Slanka with his Short Sword and searched the computer's files for information about Anvis Mechanical Factory.
• He Ao found Viktor's file, which noted his suspected ties to Smith and Christos and warned that he had likely advanced to C-Rank.
• A thin man in a white suit entered the building, used the temporary security code in Elevator No. 2, and selected floor 17.

He Ao searched Slanka’s files and found a possible connection between Joey’s parents’ old job at Anvis Mechanical Factory and their predecessor, Jack. After a visitor tied to Flying Big Bird left, He Ao answered Slanka’s ringing landline and heard a man ask about contacting an assassin before realizing He Ao was not Slanka.

• He Ao found no record linking Slanka to Joey’s parents’ deaths but memorized information about people connected to Anvis Mechanical Factory.
• He Ao noticed that Jack, a former i-27 Mechanical Arm Operator B, had left Anvis Mechanical Factory two years earlier and suspected Jack knew something important.
• He Ao checked Slanka’s planned elimination targets, then heard the doorbell and approached the security door with a Submachine Gun.
• A man in a white suit said he had been referred by Flying Big Bird, then left after calling the bar to ask about Slanka.
• He Ao answered Slanka’s landline, and a man asked about contacting an assassin before asking, “You’re not Slanka?”

He Ao took evidence and more than twenty Corpse Flowers from Slanka’s apartment, then escaped through a shattered window after sabotaging the Bald Man’s cybernetic Laser Cannon. He glided into the neon-lit city with Slanka’s corpse, whose Talent Sequence was beginning to precipitate, and headed toward someone who might know how to collect it.

• He Ao ended a call with Slanka’s contact, who ordered someone to investigate Slanka’s death.
• He Ao searched Slanka’s apartment, packed away more than twenty Corpse Flowers and ten mithril test tubes, and found Christos’s name in a computer file.
• He Ao tied Slanka’s corpse and a portable freezer to himself, then fired through the apartment’s window as the Bald Man and two underlings entered.
• He Ao shot the Bald Man’s Laser Cannon through its open palm, triggering an explosion as he fell from the apartment.
• He Ao deployed his Combat Suit’s glider wing and rode the wind away with Slanka’s corpse as its Talent Sequence began to precipitate.

He Ao deduced that Slanka had hired a D-Rank Assassin to target Christos and traveled to Kville Avenue, where Christos was giving a speech near Anvis Mechanical Factory. The chapter ended with Christos addressing a crowd of workers and speaking about Dawn City's founding.

• He Ao reviewed Slanka’s final phone call and concluded that a D-Rank Assassin had likely been hired to kill Christos.
• He Ao saw a news report about an explosion at Slanka’s residence, where two burned corpses and a damaged cyborg body had been found.
• He Ao arrived at Anvis Mechanical Factory but continued on to Kville Avenue, where Christos was speaking to a crowd of workers.
• Christos joked that the crowd had gathered for the free Bread Flour beside the stage, then began speaking about Dawn City’s history.