Chapter Summaries

You You warned Qu Jianlei about the coming counterattack, while Qu Jianlei uncovered why the Core Area had gone on alert and learned that a Space Pirate Rank A was missing. Three days later, Spirit Fox and Fang Cao arrived at the Field Hospital, where Fang Cao asked Qu Jianlei to join the planned counterattack.

• You You told Qu Jianlei she could not bring herself to kill Fourth Boss and offered to help him if he ran into trouble during the counterattack.
• Alarms sounded across the Core Area, and Qu Jianlei left the construction site before the lockdown began.
• Qu Jianlei abducted Space Pirates and learned that the captain of Fourth Squad, a Metal Attribute Rank A, had been surrounded and gone missing.
• Qu Jianlei killed Boerteni, then spoke with Pan Yifu about the imminent Pioneer counterattack and Pan's willingness to cooperate.
• Spirit Fox and Fang Cao arrived at the Field Hospital, where Fang Cao thanked Qu Jianlei for the Limb Regeneration Potion and invited him to join the counterattack.

Fang Cao, Spirit Fox, and Qu Jianlei discussed the Pioneering Group’s assault plan with Pan Yifu, who agreed to stay and considered teaming up with Qu Jianlei. The group’s real objective was to send an emergency distress signal from the Relay Signal Center, but Pan Yifu questioned whether their plan could withstand the Space Pirates’ defenses.

• Qu Jianlei agreed to contact Pan Yifu while Fang Cao explained that she and Spirit Fox would act as an unexpected force in the assault.
• Qu Jianlei reached Pan Yifu, who arrived three hours later and agreed not to leave before the offensive began.
• Fang Cao explained that the Pioneering Group intended to send an emergency call code rather than occupy the Control Center, and Pan Yifu asked Qu Jianlei to partner with him.
• Pan Yifu challenged the plan to hijack the signal, warning that the Space Pirates could attack the expert doing it or destroy the reserved data packet.
• Spirit Fox revealed that the data packet had been upgraded with protective features and that the Control Center held four sets of Black Boxes, leaving Pan Yifu astonished at the resources available.

Qu Jianlei planned to infiltrate the Core Area ahead of the coming General Offensive, while Pan Yifu sought his help with a military secret involving four Black Boxes. After getting their locations, Qu Jianlei decided to investigate the boxes before supporting the attack.

• Pan Yifu said the Black Boxes held a military secret, and Red Cloud confirmed that Pan might know about it because of his work on Garbage Star.
• Fang Cao and Spirit Fox learned the locations of the four Black Boxes and passed them to Pan Yifu.
• Pan Yifu asked Qu Jianlei to work with him, but Qu Jianlei refused to discuss the secret and instead announced he would infiltrate the Core Area.
• Spirit Fox supported Qu Jianlei's plan, and Baldy approved the infiltration while forbidding Spirit Fox from joining him.
• Spirit Fox guessed that Qu Jianlei might be looking for the Black Boxes, and Qu Jianlei decided to locate them before rescuing prisoners and aiding the offensive.

Qu Jianlei used a breakdown he had secretly caused to disguise himself as a Gardening Department mechanic and move freely around the Core Area. After surveying key locations without drawing suspicion, he changed clothes and arrived at Starry Night Bar.

• Qu Jianlei posed as a mechanic and persuaded the workers repairing a Gardening Department vehicle to tow it to their shop.
• After the vehicle was repaired, Qu Jianlei took it on a test drive and used the Gardening Department’s reputation to travel around the Core Area, including near the Prisoner of War Camp and Control Center.
• Qu Jianlei saw You You on patrol, and she recognized him but concealed her reaction from her companions.
• Qu Jianlei delayed the vehicle’s return by pointing out genuine and fabricated faults, then left the shop and heard the mechanics decide not to contact him directly.
• After nightfall, Qu Jianlei changed clothes, followed the crowds, and reached Starry Night Bar.

Qu Jianlei used You You’s safe house at Kaixuan Street Number 13 and arranged for her to shelter there during the coming battle. As the Pioneering Group prepared a counterattack, Qu Jianlei remained hidden in the Core Area while the assault was set to begin within half an hour.

• Qu Jianlei entered Number 13, contacted You You, and urged her to return there each night for the next three days to stay safe.
• You You explained that Number 13 belonged to the Fourth Boss, who had placed her under his protection, and allowed Qu Jianlei to use it.
• Qu Jianlei stayed at Number 13 while making arrangements, then received Pan Yifu’s warning to remain in the Core Area.
• Pan Yifu and Fang Cao argued over whether the Pioneering Group should conceal its plans from Qu Jianlei.
• Baldy announced that the units were positioned for an ambush and that the direct assault would begin in half an hour.

The Pioneering Group launched its general offensive, and Qu Jianlei crippled a West Side power hub while reasoning that realms beyond Supreme likely existed. His attack drew the Space Pirates toward him, and Pan Yifu arrived under cover only to be mistaken for the Rank A attacker.

• Pan Yifu relayed the attack plan to Qu Jianlei, who agreed to disable the West Side’s electronic systems five minutes after the offensive began.
• The Pioneering Group attacked the Core Area, where its Ability Warriors spread chaos and kept the Space Pirates from organizing a counterattack.
• Qu Jianlei struck a protected Power Supply Hub with a Flame Meteor, then used two Thunder Dragons to disable it and plunged much of the West Side into darkness.
• As Space Pirates converged on Black Sky, Qu Jianlei struck the damaged hub with another Flame Meteor and destroyed it.
• The Space Pirates mistook the attack for Pan Yifu’s, and Pan Yifu—who had slipped inside with Spirit Fox and Fang Cao—reacted in confusion.

Qu Jianlei teamed up reluctantly with Eight Claw Vine to attack another Power Supply Hub after Mu Guoguo asked for his help. Eight Claw Vine weakened the hub’s defenses with Root Seeking, allowing Qu Jianlei to destroy it with a Thunder Dragon as the battle shifted toward the defending pirates.

• Qu Jianlei met Eight Claw Vine of Quantum, proved his identity with Electric Arcs, and learned that the Joint Command wanted him to destroy more Power Supply Hubs.
• Mu Guoguo asked Qu Jianlei to help despite the attack being held back, and Qu Jianlei agreed to destroy another hub.
• Qu Jianlei and Eight Claw Vine reached a guarded Power Supply Hub, where Qu Jianlei told Eight Claw Vine to attack its grounding with Root Seeking.
• Eight Claw Vine’s Root Seeking shook the hub but failed to break through its protective shield, drawing the Space Pirates toward him.
• Qu Jianlei struck the hub with a Thunder Dragon while the pirates redirected their pursuit, shutting down the hub and darkening another section of the Core Area.

Qu Jianlei and Pan Yifu helped destroy another Power Supply Hub while Spirit Fox and Fang Cao supported them, and White Robe attacked a third hub to weaken the space pirates’ hold on the Core Area. Pan Yifu suggested rescuing prisoners next, but Qu Jianlei warned that the Prisoner of War Camp was heavily guarded; Eight Claw Vine later admitted he had lost track of Black Sky.

• Qu Jianlei destroyed a Power Supply Hub with Falling Thunder Art, then went to support Pan Yifu at another hub.
• Spirit Fox concealed his strength and cleared space pirate guards while Fang Cao overturned mechs and Pan Yifu drained the hub’s shield; Qu Jianlei finished the attack with a Thunder Dragon.
• The four-person surprise force split up, and Qu Jianlei and Pan Yifu decided to let the Pioneering Group draw enemy fire before choosing their next target.
• White Robe attacked another Power Supply Hub with Ice Arrow Technique, prompting Baldy to offer help that White Robe refused.
• Pan Yifu proposed attacking the Prisoner of War Camp, but Qu Jianlei warned that its defenses were tight and declined to accompany him.
• Eight Claw Vine arrived at the hub and told White Robe that he had lost Black Sky, surprising him.

Qu Jianlei and Pan Yifu infiltrated the Gardening Department to steal its intelligence archives, using the district-wide blackout to slip past its defenses. After Qu Jianlei took the documents and they began fighting back, he prepared another Electromagnetic Storm against the department’s mechs and weapons.

• Eight Claw Vine and the other attackers destroyed the fourth Power Supply Hub, while White Robe wondered whether Qu Jianlei used an electromagnetic-exclusive movement technique.
• Qu Jianlei persuaded Pan Yifu to target the Gardening Department for its intelligence and archives, and they infiltrated its guarded grounds after Qu Jianlei cut power with Silver Snake Dance.
• Qu Jianlei and Pan Yifu silently killed space pirates and reached the Archive Room, where Qu Jianlei broke the sensor-locked door and took the documents.
• Pan Yifu attacked with Fire Rain as space pirates discovered the Archive Room raid, and Qu Jianlei escaped through a window and struck the mechs with Silver Snake Dance.
• Qu Jianlei warned Pan Yifu to seal away the Handheld Transceiver, then began another Electromagnetic Storm against the Gardening Department’s electronic defenses.

Qu Jianlei and Pan Yifu raided the Gardening Department, stole its archives, and escaped under fire after learning too late how valuable its records were. They mounted an Intelligence Division motorcycle and continued fleeing, with Qu Jianlei assigning Pan Yifu to disrupt their pursuers.

• Qu Jianlei maintained an Electromagnetic Storm while he and Pan Yifu overwhelmed the Gardening Department, and Qu Jianlei killed a Water Attribute Rank B with his knife.
• The pair escaped after looting the Archive Room, prompting the Space Pirates to realize Black Sky was likely an Empire agent and to order experts to capture him.
• As they fled through the city, Qu Jianlei and Pan Yifu received mysterious golden armor, then fought past an ambush of two mechs and a Wood Attribute Rank B.
• Qu Jianlei revealed that he had taken an Intelligence Division motorcycle from the Gardening Department, and Pan Yifu climbed into its sidecar.
• Qu Jianlei drove away and told Pan Yifu to disrupt the enemy as they continued supporting the Pioneering Group's attack.

Qu Jianlei and Pan Yifu sabotaged the Space Pirates’ power supply and fought off enemies while the Pioneering Group’s assault on the Control Center grew increasingly desperate. As the battle turned against the attackers, Spirit Fox asked Qu Jianlei to strike Diamond’s leader, Grelier, with lightning.

• Qu Jianlei guided Pan Yifu around the outskirts, where Pan destroyed an Energy Block warehouse and Qu’s allies disabled five Power Supply Hubs.
• Qu Jianlei and Pan Yifu hid in an empty house to recover as the Pioneering Group intensified its attack and its A-ranks entered the fight.
• Qu Jianlei shot a Rank B warrior and destroyed three close-combat mechas when they approached the house.
• Pan Yifu moved next door to recover after Qu refused to find them another hiding place.
• Scarlet’s Old Ghost and the Space Pirates’ Second Boss joined the A-rank battle, and the Pioneering Group’s forces neared collapse.
• Spirit Fox asked Qu Jianlei to strike an A-rank with lightning, and Qu chose Grelier, Diamond’s leader.

Qu Jianlei attacked the Space Pirates at the Control Center, helping Spirit Fox and the pioneers bring down Grelier and wound the Second Boss. As the Fourth Boss arrived to pull the Second Boss away, another Golden Wheel Slash threatened the Space Pirates.

• Qu Jianlei used Falling Thunder Art twice to paralyze Grelier and break his defenses, while Spirit Fox's Golden Wheel Slash cut through the Second Boss's Rock Cannon and wounded him.
• Pan Yifu struck the paralyzed Grelier with a Flame Meteor, leaving his fate unknown.
• Vines and Red Cloud's binding spell pressured the Second Boss, but the Fourth Boss used Instant Flash to grab him and call for a retreat.
• Another Golden Wheel Slash spun toward the Space Pirates as they reacted in surprise to the Fourth Boss's order.

Spirit Fox, White Robe, Qu Jianlei, and the other pioneers turned the battle against the space pirates, forcing the bosses to retreat and killing Diamond and Grelier. As the pirates fell back, Qu Jianlei argued that he and Pan Yifu should keep helping to limit the pioneers’ casualties.

• The Second Boss and Fourth Boss ordered the space pirates to retreat after Spirit Fox’s Golden Wheel Slash and Qu Jianlei’s Thunder Dragon crippled the Second Boss.
• White Robe and Spirit Fox trapped Diamond, but the space pirates killed him with lasers before he could surrender and reveal top-secret intelligence.
• White Robe found Grelier barely alive, and Qu Jianlei shot him three times with a Laser Sniper Rifle, killing him.
• The pioneers pressed the retreating space pirates while their attempts to reach the warehouses and Prisoner of War Camp were stymied by heavy defenses.
• Pan Yifu questioned why Qu Jianlei was concerned about the retreating pirates, and Qu Jianlei replied that without their help, more pioneers would die.

Qu Jianlei and Pan Yifu recovered before infiltrating the Control Center to reach its Black Box. After they eliminated the guards and entered the equipment room, a powerful presence appeared outside as the fighting elsewhere intensified.

• Qu Jianlei refused to help at the Prisoner of War Camp, and he and Pan Yifu rested in a hidden basement while Qu Jianlei recovered with a Rank A Crystal.
• After eating Nutrient Solution, Qu Jianlei and Pan Yifu entered the Control Center and changed targets when pioneers were working near the first Black Box.
• Qu Jianlei and Pan Yifu killed two Space Pirates and disabled two mechs guarding another equipment room.
• Qu Jianlei disconnected the room's alarm and unlocked its door, but a chilling presence rose behind them and they rushed inside.
• A sinister voice threatened them as someone outside urged the fighters to hold on for ten more minutes, and a blast plunged the Control Center further into darkness.

Qu Jianlei and Pan Yifu tried to transmit information from the Control Center, but a Supreme's attack destroyed their Black Box and wounded Pan Yifu. Qu Jianlei joined Spirit Fox to reach the tower's heavily protected Self-Destruct Device and began cracking its password.

• Pan Yifu worked on the Black Box while Qu Jianlei hid from the Supreme's attacks, but a Flame Arrow destroyed the box and injured Pan Yifu.
• Qu Jianlei asked Pan Yifu whether destroying the relay tower would help, then left to search for a way to bring it down.
• Qu Jianlei found Spirit Fox near the tower, and Spirit Fox led him to the concealed entrance to the Self-Destruct Device.
• Spirit Fox revealed a cable for bypassing the password, and Qu Jianlei connected his equipment and began cracking the ternary lock.

Qu Jianlei and Spirit Fox worked to breach the tower’s sealed chambers and prepare explosives for a controlled detonation. After Qu Jianlei opened the third door and Spirit Fox cut through the alloy wall, they began assembling bombs, hoping to escape before the people outside ran out of time.

• Qu Jianlei used an artificial intelligence and a Rank A Crystal to crack the second door’s password, then opened it while Spirit Fox recovered his strength.
• Spirit Fox cut a metal section beneath the third door’s keypad, and Qu Jianlei spent five minutes opening the door.
• Spirit Fox explained that they needed to dig four and a half meters into the alloy wall and place explosives near the Self-Destruct Device without triggering it.
• Qu Jianlei brought out a modified Violet Light Cutter, which cut a one-square-meter section from the wall while consuming fifteen Energy Blocks.
• Spirit Fox used his Metal Attribute to sever the remaining connection in the wall section, then warned that the chamber was too small for the explosives and Energy Blocks.
• Qu Jianlei explained that they could place the explosives outside the breach and use the three doors as layers of enclosure, so Spirit Fox agreed to assemble the bombs.

Qu Jianlei and Spirit Fox used explosives to draw the Fire Attribute Supreme’s attention while Black Sky’s strike triggered a bomb that destroyed the tower. The blast stunned the Space Pirates and left Pan Yifu watching in disbelief as the plan succeeded.

• Qu Jianlei finished assembling a bomb in the tower and set its timer for two and a half minutes before escaping with Spirit Fox.
• Spirit Fox accepted Qi Recovery Pills from Qu Jianlei, then threw electromagnetic interference bombs at the signal dish while fleeing the Fire Attribute Supreme.
• The Fire Attribute Supreme struck Spirit Fox with Mental Strength, leaving him on the ground as two Rank A Space Pirates moved in to capture him.
• Black Sky struck the tower with an electric arc, and the timed bomb detonated, setting off a massive explosion.
• Baldy fled his fight, the Fourth Boss recognized the blast as a triggered Self-Destruct Device, and Pan Yifu watched in shock.

Qu Jianlei chose to rescue Fang Cao as the relay tower self-destructed, then risked his remaining Inner Breath to save Red Cloud as well. He disguised himself as a Gardening Department member before a Supreme and was ordered to take the two injured fighters to the Prisoner of War Camp.

• Qu Jianlei weighed whether to rescue Pan Yifu, Red Cloud, or Fang Cao and chose Fang Cao, partly because he had already used a Regeneration Potion on her once.
• Explosives destroyed the relay tower from its base, and the collapsing structure filled the battlefield with smoke and flames.
• Qu Jianlei reached Fang Cao through the smoke and saved her from heavy machine-gun fire; she asked him to rescue Red Cloud, citing his military connections.
• Qu Jianlei entered the smoke, killed the Water Attribute Rank B Space Pirate guarding Red Cloud, and carried both Red Cloud and Fang Cao away.
• A Supreme confronted Qu Jianlei, who claimed to be from the Gardening Department, and ordered him to take the two fighters to the Prisoner of War Camp.

Qu Jianlei rescued Red Cloud and Fang Cao from the Core Area and escaped the space pirates after the relay Signal Tower collapsed. They reached the Security Zone, where Red Cloud asked him to check on Captain Baldy, and Qu Jianlei agreed to wait until night despite Red Cloud's claim that the Supreme's absence made daylight safe.

• Fang Cao and Red Cloud directed Qu Jianlei through Tin Skin Alley to a vehicle on Pioneer Road No. 8, and he drove them out of the Core Area.
• Qu Jianlei used Mental Influence to deter pursuing space pirates, then refused Fang Cao's request to contact Joint Command because he did not trust the Handheld Transceiver procedures.
• Red Cloud learned that Qu Jianlei, Spirit Fox, and Pan Yifu had destroyed the relay Signal Tower, while Fang Cao revealed she had used a Bottom of the Box Chess Piece to secure the vehicle.
• Qu Jianlei drove to the Security Zone, destroyed the vehicle, and carried Red Cloud and Fang Cao nearly fifty kilometers to evade the space pirates' Supreme.
• Red Cloud asked Qu Jianlei about Spirit Fox, Pan Yifu, and Captain Baldy; Qu Jianlei said Baldy had fled when the relay tower collapsed and agreed to check on him that night.

Qu Jianlei searched the Security Zone for news of Baldy and Pan Yifu, then found the injured Spirit Fox hiding at Number Thirteen, Triumphant Return Road. Spirit Fox revealed that Baldy had been taken by a Space Pirate Supreme, while Pan Yifu’s whereabouts remained unknown.

• Qu Jianlei treated Red Cloud and Fang Cao at a Secret Camp, recovered some Inner Breath, and left to gather information.
• Qu Jianlei entered the core district disguised as a Space Pirate and found no trace of Baldy, Spirit Fox, or Pan Yifu near the Prisoner of War Camp.
• Qu Jianlei searched the district, avoided contacting anyone through a Handheld Transceiver, and went to Number Thirteen, Triumphant Return Road.
• Qu Jianlei sensed Spirit Fox hiding in the bathroom and offered him a safer hiding place in the underground chamber.
• Spirit Fox told Qu Jianlei that Baldy had been taken by a Space Pirate Supreme and that he did not know what had happened to Pan Yifu.