Chapter Summaries

He Ao identified the assassin's likely sniping position and changed into his masked disguise before confronting him in a hotel room. He wounded the Assassin but lost sight of him just as a gunshot sounded beside him.

• He Ao searched the area around Christos's speech and used Hypermemory to find a suitable sniper position.
• He Ao changed into his Combat Suit, black Hooded Cloak, and black-and-white mask in a secluded alley.
• The Assassin killed a security guard, took his place, and prepared to shoot Christos with a Gauss sniper rifle.
• He Ao surprised the Assassin in the hotel room, but the Assassin recovered from Mental Interference and wounded He Ao's cheek with a near miss.
• He Ao damaged the Assassin's dagger and shot him through the chest, severely wounding him.
• The Assassin vanished from He Ao's sight, and a gunshot rang out beside He Ao's ear.

He Ao defeated an assassin whose ability made him seem invisible, then discovered a Silver Wolf Badge among the assassin’s belongings and contacted Mr. Christos. At Christos’s rally, a Security Personnel member delivered the bloodstained Walkie-Talkie to him.

• He Ao used Hyperthymesia to identify the supposedly safe figure as the assassin, then killed him with his short sword.
• He Ao recovered from the fight, searched the assassin’s belongings, and found a Silver Wolf Badge that fit a custom pocket in his Combat Suit.
• He Ao packed the corpse and the Gauss Sniper Rifle, cleaned his bloodied cloak, and used the Walkie-Talkie to ask Mr. Christos to meet him at a café.
• Christos promised the rally crowd higher wages, shorter workdays, public healthcare, and education if he became mayor.
• A Security Personnel member pushed through the crowd and handed Christos a Walkie-Talkie stained with blood.

He Ao met Christos in a café, identified Anvis Electric Power Group as the force behind an assassination attempt, and gave Christos the codename K. After He Ao left, Christos discussed the mysterious group with a silver-haired man, while He Ao arrived at Huimei Communications with three K cards.

• He Ao told Christos that Anvis Electric Power Group had targeted him and said he might ask Christos for a favor later.
• Christos described how he had fought for factory workers, retaliated against conglomerates with help from an FBI contact, and decided to keep pursuing change despite the risks.
• He Ao asked about worker death-compensation payments, then gave Christos a Spade K and said anyone could be K.
• A silver-haired man asked whether Christos thought He Ao's group would become an ally, and Christos said they observed history and sowed sparks rather than participating in it.
• He Ao rode a taxi to Aston District and arrived at Huimei Communications with three K cards.

He Ao took two corpses to Roger to extract their Talent Sequences, then returned home and reconsidered how Anvis Mechanical Factory had handled Joey’s parents’ compensation. He concluded the factory had paid nothing for the accident itself, spending money only on the legal team that opposed Joey in court.

• He Ao brought Slanka and an assassin’s corpses to Roger’s clinic and asked him to extract their Talent Sequences.
• Roger identified Slanka’s sequence as Talent Sequence 40: Magician and estimated that its extraction would finish that afternoon; he said the assassin’s Talent Sequence 56: Assassin would be ready the next morning.
• He Ao left the clinic with the Short Sword, changed clothes, and returned home to wash up and charge his Combat Suit.
• He Ao saw an illusion of Joey’s mother offering him lunch, then ate cold bread and ham instead.
• He Ao reasoned that Joey’s parents’ six hundred thousand in payments had come from mandatory accident insurance, while Anvis Mechanical Factory had paid only for the legal team that handled Joey in court.

He Ao learned from Jack that Anvis Mechanical Factory ignored dangerous failures in its i-27 mechanical arm, and that Jack had left after fearing an accident and receiving death threats. After defeating the gang members waiting outside Jack’s home, He Ao accepted Jack’s copied factory access card and headed toward the factory to investigate.

• He Ao visited Jack to learn about the mechanical accident that killed Pal and heard how Jack had reported the faulty i-27 arm before resigning under threats.
• He Ao angrily confronted Jack for failing to warn Pal, then left after Jack’s daughter offered him candy.
• A gang mob ambushed He Ao outside the apartment building, but he killed their new boss and drove the remaining gang members away.
• Jack gave He Ao a copied factory access card, and He Ao continued toward the factory.

He Ao disguised himself and headed toward the factory while Slanka’s men identified him as Joey and alerted their boss. He searched deep into the web for information about the robotic arm accident and found a report from Ankesai City blaming operator error.

• He Ao bought a duckbill cap after reviewing the access card Jack had given him, then left the alley by taxi.
• A man tracking He Ao reported his location and told his boss that He Ao had likely killed Slanka and Noahd.
• The man explained that He Ao was Joey, a worker’s child connected to the factory accident, and his boss ordered him to keep watching until they arrived.
• He Ao searched for information about the Anvis Mechanical Factory robotic arm accident and found a buried report about an explosion at its factory in Ankesai City.
• The report said the operator had been away seeking help during the explosion, and Anvis blamed the malfunction on operator error.

He Ao investigated a series of robotic arm accidents tied to Anvis Group and contacted other victims seeking evidence. As he traveled toward Christos's campaign office, the Gaunt Man's men blocked the road and prepared to confront him.

• He Ao found reports of nineteen robotic arm incidents across fifteen cities and identified five people whose relatives had died in similar accidents.
• He Ao messaged the five people to ask for their evidence and information, then noticed a black car following his taxi.
• Jia Na reported that Joey was heading toward Crown District, and the Gaunt Man used a route map to predict that he was going to Ino Media Building.
• He Ao chose to stay on the taxi's original route despite a traffic warning, while the Gaunt Man's men staged a minor accident and blocked possible detours.
• The Gaunt Man left his car after Jia Na told him the taxi had entered the congestion, saying he would meet the person who had received the accidental gift.

He Ao used a card to enter the factory while the gray-suited man and Jia Na chased a decoy. The gate accepted He Ao’s card, leaving him inside the factory without alerting the sleepy guard.

• He Ao arrived at the factory and walked toward its gate with a card.
• Jia Na’s men stopped a taxi and discovered that the Duckbill Cap-wearing boy inside was a decoy, while the real He Ao had slipped away toward the factory.
• Jia Na realized He Ao had deliberately drawn his attention away, but the gray-suited man shot Jia Na when he tried to stop him.
• The driver told the gray-suited man that the factory’s access system would detect He Ao’s cracked card, but He Ao’s card turned the gate light green and let him enter.

He Ao used Joey’s father’s work card to enter Anvis Mechanical Factory and investigate the accident, taking advantage of the turnstile’s outdated authorization system. Meanwhile, Jack took the chance He Ao created to flee Dawn City with Aisha and their daughter, leaving for Kaya City.

• He Ao used Joey’s father’s still-authorized work card to pass through the factory turnstile and headed toward I District to investigate the mechanical arm and the accident.
• He Ao had arranged to draw the intelligence agents away and had taken Jack’s blank card partly to lower their suspicion and secretly tell Jack to run.
• Armed men broke into Jack’s home, found that he had escaped, and destroyed the surveillance camera.
• Jack told Aisha they were free and boarded an airship with her and their daughter for Kaya City, where Anvis Electric Power Group had less influence.

He Ao searched the I-27 Mechanical Arm workshop for clues and learned that its manual was kept in the Archives. After stopping the Gaunt Man from reporting him to the foreman, He Ao forced him to help by giving him a supposed slow-acting poison.

• He Ao entered the I-27 Mechanical Arm operating room and pretended to be looking for Miko's lost bracelet.
• He Ao searched the room and learned from the burly worker that the mechanical arm's paper manual was kept in the Archives beside Building B.
• The Gaunt Man left the operating room and tried to message the foreman about He Ao.
• He Ao confronted the Gaunt Man with a pistol and asked how to reach the Archives.
• He Ao gave the Gaunt Man a substance he called slow-acting poison, then threatened to withhold the antidote unless he helped.
• The Gaunt Man agreed to help He Ao.

He Ao searched the Archives for evidence that the factory's mechanical arm had caused the explosion, while a gray-suited man led mercenaries to hunt him down. After escaping their attack and leaving the factory in disguise, He Ao killed a guard who had caught the Gaunt Man and answered the guard's Walkie-Talkie with “Good evening.”

• He Ao entered the Archives with Jack's card, found the TB-167A manual, and learned that the mechanical arm had not exceeded its designed service life.
• He Ao used Hypermemory to search the manual for evidence of a defect as a sound came from outside the Archives.
• The gray-suited man arrived at the factory, identified He Ao on surveillance footage, and ordered mercenaries to fire into the Archives, but He Ao had already escaped with the manual.
• He Ao left the factory in the Gaunt Man's work clothes and evaded security guards searching for him.
• A guard caught the Gaunt Man wearing He Ao's jacket and received an order to kill him; He Ao killed the guard with his Short Sword.
• He Ao picked up the guard's Walkie-Talkie, said “Good evening,” and cut the connection.

He Ao learned that Joey’s parents had been forced to keep operating faulty machinery before their fatal accident, while Jessie recognized Joey in a police suspect photo. He later visited Roger, who had finished extracting all three Magician Talent Sequences from Rank F to Rank D.

• He Ao gave the Gaunt Man an antidote, then learned that Joey’s parents’ transfer and repair requests had been denied before their accident.
• The Gaunt Man said a gray-suited deputy general manager had apparently refused to stop the faulty machine and had since left I District; He Ao sent him away to escape the factory.
• Jessie’s father showed her a surveillance photo of Joey as a suspect in the Crown District bombing, and Jessie recognized him from a photo of their gathering.
• Jessie’s father reminded her to begin her internship at the Morning Light Daily after class the next day.
• He Ao visited Roger’s clinic, where Roger showed him the completed extraction of the Magician Talent Sequences from Rank F to Rank D.

He Ao investigated the mechanical arm that killed Joey’s parents and found evidence that Anvis Group had falsified its service life to avoid costly replacements. After gathering records from two other suspected victims, he contacted Christos and said he had materials of interest.

• He Ao left the secret medicines untouched, suspecting the middle one might be Magic Apprentice but refusing to risk acting on an uncertain guess.
• He Ao studied the mechanical-arm manual and determined that the machine used by Joey’s parents had exceeded the safe service life of its critical components.
• He Ao learned from Abbott Intelligent Manufacturing Company’s customer service that its comparable NB-167 model was designed for ten years of use, then found that Anvis Holding controlled the manufacturer through Abbott’s ownership structure.
• He Ao concluded that Anvis had relabeled an old mechanical arm as a custom fifteen-year model to avoid replacement costs and increase profits, despite the risk to workers.
• He Ao obtained incident materials from two suspected victims in other cities and called Christos to share evidence he thought would interest him.

He Ao took the Spectator, Mercenary, and Assassin potions and rapidly mastered the first two before enduring the painful fusion of the Assassin potion. He learned that Assassin's Stealth distorted nearby people's cognition but drained his life if used beyond its limited free duration.

• Christos told He Ao that preparations to meet his requirements could begin that night and identified Pena as a likely Rank C head of Anvis Electric Power Group's Dawn City Security Forces.
• Roger explained that Rank C represented a transformation beyond Rank D and warned He Ao not to rush into mastering new Talent Sequences.
• He Ao drank the Spectator potion and mastered its power in less than fifteen minutes, astonishing Roger.
• He Ao took the Mercenary potion, reached a Physical Fitness of 93, and mastered its power in about an hour and a half.
• He Ao drank the Assassin potion and endured its painful fusion as his Physical Fitness rose and he sensed its connection to a universal mystery.
• He Ao learned that Assassin's Stealth hid him by distorting others' cognition and that using it beyond fifteen free seconds per day cost him life.

He Ao visited Joey’s parents’ grave and reflected on how their ordinary lives had been treated as disposable. After Jessie begged him to stop pursuing violence, he gave her a storage chip and continued deeper into the cemetery, resolved to confront those responsible.

• He Ao assessed his increased Physical Fitness and concluded he could contend with a C-rank opponent.
• He Ao visited Joey’s parents’ leased grave and left white carnations beside their photograph.
• Jessie arrived with white roses and asked He Ao to abandon his violent plans and come back.
• He Ao told Jessie that ordinary people deserved the right to choose to live and wiped away her tears.
• He Ao placed a storage chip in Jessie’s hand and walked deeper into the cemetery, intent on confronting those who had caused his parents’ deaths.

He Ao confronted Anvis Group CEO Kili over the deaths caused by faulty mechanical arms and forced him to name those involved before killing him and other executives. After confirming the list and leaving Anvis Building, He Ao reached Mayor Vent’s villa, ready to continue.

• He Ao used evidence about the mechanical-arm accidents to secure a meeting with Kili at Anvis Building.
• He Ao threatened Kili with a Laser Grenade and made him write down fifteen people involved in the incident.
• When Kili reached for a hidden pistol, He Ao killed him and crossed his name off the list with blood.
• He Ao killed the other people on the list who tried to attack him, while checking their accounts against Kili’s list.
• He Ao left Anvis Building as the authorities discovered the bodies and sealed the headquarters.
• He Ao arrived at Mayor Vent’s villa and rang the doorbell.

Jessie discovered evidence of Anvis Group’s crimes, but Morning Light Daily’s ties to the group blocked her from reporting it; after resigning, she received a lead to Ino Media. Meanwhile, He Ao rescued a girl from a villa, killed the councilman responsible, and set an explosion before heading toward the final name on his list: Pena.

• Jessie brought evidence of deaths linked to Anvis Group to Essenweier, who said he needed the Editor-in-Chief’s approval because the group held two seats on Morning Light Daily’s Board of Directors.
• Jessie resigned, and Essenweier gave her a business card for Joseph Thur, Ino Media’s Editor-in-Chief.
• Christos delivered extraordinary materials to the silver-haired girl at Ino Media and learned that her apparent streams of code had only been screen saver animations.
• He Ao rescued a girl from a villa, killed the councilman who had led the investigation into Joey’s parents’ case, and marked the man’s name off his list with a bloodied playing card.
• He Ao sent the girl home, rigged a grenade in the villa, and left as an explosion erupted behind his taxi; the final blank name on his list was Pena.

He Ao infiltrated Anvis Mechanical Factory to confront Pena, the last surviving executive linked to his parents’ deaths, and fought his way through the factory’s defenses. After wounding Pena and escaping the sixth floor, He Ao lured the mercenary squads apart and prepared to face one isolated group.

• Pena learned that ten executives had been killed and ordered his mercenaries to guard the factory while he waited for He Ao.
• He Ao entered the factory under Stealth, spotted traps at the Administration Building, destroyed its security devices, and killed the mercenary who found him.
• He Ao reached the sixth floor, evaded Pena’s ambush, and killed a machine-gunner before Pena appeared with soldiers strengthened by his Officer talent.
• He Ao stabbed one of Pena’s soldiers, jumped from a sixth-floor window, and shot Pena in the collarbone with a Transcendent Item.
• Pena sent his mercenary squads after He Ao, who separated them during the chase and drew the farthest squad into an isolated street.

He Ao whittled down Pena’s mercenaries, then lured them into a plaza and attacked Pena with a Gauss Sniper Rifle. As Pena revealed how he had exploited He Ao’s parents, He Ao appeared beside him and demanded that he continue speaking.

• He Ao killed an isolated mercenary squad and learned that Pena had gathered the remaining mercenaries outside the Administration Building.
• He Ao used Laser Grenades to disrupt the gathered mercenaries, but Pena unleashed spiritual power that exposed He Ao’s position.
• He Ao fled the factory and ambushed Pena’s forces in a plaza with a Gauss Sniper Rifle, blasting Pena with an explosive round.
• Pena hid in an alley while He Ao fired at him, and he used a loudspeaker to explain how he had exploited He Ao’s parents’ financial fears to keep them working at a dangerous machine.
• He Ao appeared beside Pena with a bloodied blade and told him to continue speaking.

He Ao defeated Pena and the fused corpse monster, then uncovered the greed and oppression behind the Anvis Mechanical Factory incident. As his mission was declared complete and his return countdown began, a masked figure appeared on a giant television screen.

• Pena coordinated with five Sergeants to attack He Ao, but He Ao studied their formation and killed them in battle.
• After Pena transformed into a monster fused with the Sergeants' corpses, He Ao used Corpse Flower powder to stun it and destroy its core, then killed the still-conscious Pena.
• Jia Na arrived, shot Pena's wounded driver, fired several shots into Pena's corpse, and ran off shouting that there had been a murder.
• He Ao emerged from hiding and concluded that the factory incident had stemmed mainly from Anvis Group's greed and its disregard for workers' lives, with Pena's management and oppression as secondary causes.
• He Ao received a mission-complete notice and a 90-second return countdown, while a black-cloaked figure in a split black-and-white smiling mask appeared on a distant television screen.