Chapter Summaries

Engineering Academy and the Patrol disputed who would investigate after Smiling Face’s group attacked the academy’s guests. The footage confirmed that Schleek’s side had started the fight and been decisively defeated, leaving the Patrol unable to contest the evidence.

• Three Hover Cars brought Engineering Academy’s Di Yinyuan and Cheng Qingshan, along with Patrol Deputy Chief Buzzi, to the scene.
• Buzzi kicked Gao Telo and demanded custody of the attackers, but Cheng Qingshan insisted that the academy’s Guard Team handle the investigation.
• Buzzi failed to secure the victims or challenge the investigation, and he sent a female B-rank Patrol officer to attend to Smiling Face.
• The Patrol officer obtained dashcam footage showing Schleek make the first hostile gesture before the academy’s four fighters defeated his group.
• The officer recognized that Panda had the skill to confront a B-rank directly and learned that park surveillance footage had also been recovered.

After the Guard Team ruled that Zi Jiuxian’s group had been targeted, Engineering Academy ordered Robin Han to transfer but avoided harsher action. Qu Jianlei learned that Schleek was tied to a large family on Hope Star, while patrol officers watched footage of the battles and were stunned by the fight involving two unfamiliar combatants.

• The Guard Team concluded that Zi Jiuxian’s group were victims and let them leave after they defended their retaliation.
• Engineering Academy ordered Robin Han to transfer schools, and Zi Jiuxian explained that his family connections had influenced the decision.
• Qu Jianlei asked about Schleek, and Xiang Xue learned that he had turned himself in to protect his large family on Hope Star.
• Green Water Academy’s visiting teachers pressured the authorities to keep Smiling Face and Schleek in custody while patrol officers reviewed battle footage.
• Patrol officers watched footage of the two battles, focused on Schleek’s fight, and wondered what made the two opposing combatants so capable.

Fengrao City's patrol guards reviewed footage of Qu Jianlei fighting Schleek and debated whether his unusual combat style could be learned. Buzzi ordered patrol guards to attend a study session, while one guard reacted strangely to seeing Aunt Liu in the video.

• The patrol guards replayed the footage and noticed Schleek briefly relax during the pincer attack, prompting Buzzi to question what had happened.
• Cripple warned the guards not to record Qu Jianlei's technique and implied that it could be learned through training, startling them.
• Cripple left the decision about sharing the video with more patrol guards to Buzzi, who realized that either choice could offend powerful groups.
• Buzzi ordered patrol guards C-rank and above to come to city headquarters to study the footage, and more than two hundred C-rank and over a dozen B-rank guards arrived that night.
• One C-rank patrol guard changed expression when he saw Aunt Liu in the video.

The patrol guards investigated the attack on Panda, but the academy refused to cooperate, and Qu Jianlei and Zi Jiuxian questioned Smiling Face and Schleek. Cheng Qingshan suspected Schleek knew more than he revealed, while Ye Xiangkong later told Qu Jianlei that Robin Han had arranged retaliation and his father wanted to discuss it.

• The academy refused the patrol guards access to its people, though the guards questioned Smiling Face and Schleek; Schleek said he had sensed things would go badly when Panda attacked him.
• After learning the guards had asked Schleek about the attack, Cheng Qingshan reviewed the vehicle footage and told the Guard Team to watch for Greenwater visitors.
• Qu Jianlei and Zi Jiuxian visited Smiling Face and Schleek, and Schleek said the group had acted with restraint and promised not to cause trouble or reveal what he should not.
• Cheng Qingshan decided not to interrogate Schleek again and told the Guard Team to treat the Greenwater group politely.
• Ye Xiangkong told Qu Jianlei that Robin Han had arranged retaliation and that his father wanted to speak with him.

After learning Robin Han’s family had powerful military and business connections, Qu Jianlei grew disillusioned with the academy’s response and considered leaving. Bella Ni then visited him with a proposal to take down Robin Han’s family, asking whether he could provide five hundred thousand.

• Ye Xiangkong told his family about Robin Han’s attack, and his father offered help after learning Robin Han had hired a Patrol Captain and another Rank B.
• Qu Jianlei declined the Ye Family’s dinner invitation, while Zi Jiuxian and the others learned that Robin Han’s cousin controlled a major military supplier and had powerful connections.
• Sally told Qu Jianlei that curator Halk had shelved his rectification proposals because he thought they caused trouble, prompting Qu Jianlei to consider leaving the academy.
• Bella Ni visited Qu Jianlei and asked whether he could provide five hundred thousand to help take down Robin Han’s family.

Bella Ni persuaded Qu Jianlei to consider funding a plan to bring down the family behind the attack on Green Water Academy, and arranged a meeting with Mosman’s father, Gwendolen. Qu Jianlei met Gwendolen at a faculty tea house, where they began discussing the proposal.

• Bella Ni told Qu Jianlei that five hundred thousand was the upfront cost of a plan backed by a student’s family connected to the Fourth Star’s Second Boss.
• Bella Ni explained that the student had raised the matter after his father heard about the academy’s troubles, and that Zi Jiuxian had declined because she had no money.
• Qu Jianlei agreed to meet the student’s parent before committing, and Bella Ni arranged the meeting.
• Bella Ni brought Qu Jianlei to a faculty tea house, where they met Gwendolen and his Rank C Warrior guard.
• Gwendolen recognized Qu Jianlei as the one who had injured Schleek, and the four sat in a pavilion to talk.

Qu Jianlei and Bella Ni negotiated with Gwendolen, whose powerful family connections made him a potential ally against their enemies. Gwendolen demanded a large fee to ruin the target family’s businesses, and Qu Jianlei proposed turning the job into a showcase for attracting future clients.

• Bella Ni introduced Gwendolen and explained his connection to Guard captain Heltman, a powerful ally of First Deputy Planetary Governor Hoyer.
• Gwendolen explained that political scrutiny prevented him from earning much through his businesses, so he needed money and offered to devastate the target family’s businesses for an initial five hundred thousand and at least two million more afterward.
• Qu Jianlei questioned why Gwendolen had chosen their target, and Gwendolen admitted he wanted to help them while gaining control of the family’s businesses.
• Bella Ni objected to Gwendolen’s fee, while Qu Jianlei agreed that the price was high but said they would pay for useful help.
• Qu Jianlei suggested that Gwendolen treat the job as advertising and use it to attract other people seeking help.

Qu Jianlei and Bella Ni negotiated with Gwendolen to target the people responsible for the trouble with Qu Jianlei, and Gwendolen began taking action against Robinson's family. As Bella Ni returned with news of another incident, Qu Jianlei followed her out of the library to find out what had happened.

• Qu Jianlei and Bella Ni bargained with Gwendolen, agreeing to pay him fifty thousand Silver Coins upfront for his help.
• Gwendolen promised results within two days, and Smiling Face and Schleek were taken away by patrol guards and paid compensation to Zi Jiuxian and the others.
• Bella Ni reported that the Integrity Department had taken Rommel, a civil affairs official and Robinson's relative, into custody; Mosman had said his father was responsible.
• Qu Jianlei asked Bella Ni to confirm Gwendolen's next target, while Xiang Xue and Aunt Liu voiced doubts about Gwendolen's character and offered to help if he betrayed them.
• Bella Ni hurried into the library the next morning, told Qu Jianlei that something had happened, and led him outside.

Qu Jianlei and Bella Ni refused to provide more money to Gwendolen after he demanded another two hundred thousand, and Rommel was soon released from the Integrity Department. The group waited for the Rommel Family’s next move, but Xiang Xue warned that the school might not deter them, and the following morning brought a declaration of war.

• Bella Ni told Qu Jianlei that Gwendolen had demanded another two hundred thousand to keep Rommel detained, and Qu Jianlei refused to pay more.
• Qu Jianlei considered whether to punish Mosman but decided to wait and see what Gwendolen would do next.
• Ye Xiangkong warned Qu Jianlei that Rommel had been released, and Qu Jianlei suspected Gwendolen had allowed it to pressure their group.
• Zi Jiuxian and Qu Jianlei agreed to wait before taking action, while Xiang Xue urged everyone to be cautious.
• The next morning, the group heard the Rommel Family's declaration of war.

After Rommel threatened revenge, he and his allies escalated their pressure against people connected to the Ye Family, including targeting Pollyanna. Zi Jiuxian warned Qu Jianlei that Rommel had become unpredictable, and Qu Jianlei decided that waiting indefinitely was no longer a solution.

• Rommel publicly vowed revenge after leaving the Integrity Department, and Qu Jianlei chose to wait rather than respond immediately.
• Ye Xiangkong warned Qu Jianlei that people who had helped the Ye Family pressure Rommel were being targeted.
• Bella Ni reprimanded Mosman, prompting Gwendolen to confront her and threaten to transfer his child to another school.
• Bella Ni and the others considered whether Rommel's family had Supreme support, and Aunt Liu urged them to wait and see what happened.
• Rommel's allies accused Pollyanna of corruption and challenged her to a Life and Death Stage fight, leading the Ye Family to warn Zi Jiuxian that the retaliation was aimed at them.
• Zi Jiuxian told Qu Jianlei that Rommel's actions were escalating, and Qu Jianlei said that waiting forever was not a solution.

Donatas went to Zhongxiang Garden as bait, relying on his guards to protect him, but a sniper shot him and his mysterious A-rank guard through a wall. The guards found both men dead, leaving Donatas’s mining-rights crisis unresolved.

• Donatas considered the threat to his mines and agreed to act as bait in exchange for a chance to renew their rights.
• Donatas left his fortified estate and went to Zhongxiang Garden with a convoy and armed guards.
• Donatas watched a fight, then moved to the Show Hall and stayed late, drinking with four women.
• Donatas’s A-rank guard warned him to stop, but Donatas trusted the guard’s senses to detect any ambush.
• A sniper shot Donatas and his guard through the private room’s wall, and the guards found both men with fatal head wounds.

After Donasta and Blackwood Guest were killed by a sniper at Zhongxiang Garden, the venue’s Rank A manager tried to contain the fallout while investigating who was behind the attack. The authorities learned of the deaths before dawn, and Zhongxiang Garden’s manager realized the incident was tied to a dangerous conflict involving Pollyanna.

• Zhongxiang Garden’s Rank A manager examined Donasta and Blackwood Guest’s bodies, identified Blackwood Guest as a Wood Attribute Rank A, and ordered the news sealed.
• Donasta’s guards demanded permission to contact their families and prepared for a fight, but the manager eventually allowed them to report home under surveillance.
• The manager told Zhongxiang Garden’s boss that Blackwood Guest had been killed through a wall with a Type Three anti-materiel Laser Sniper Rifle, and the boss learned that Donasta had recently provoked Pollyanna.
• Zhongxiang Garden’s boss warned that Donasta had been a pawn and suggested someone might be exploiting the conflict, while the manager agreed to handle matters as usual.
• The authorities noticed the Rank A’s flight into Fengrao City and began investigating, forcing Zhongxiang Garden to cooperate and allowing news of Donasta’s death to spread before dawn.

Rommel learned that Pollyanna’s allies had killed Donasta and a Blackwood Guest, while Pollyanna’s colleagues suspected her. Cheng Qingshan rejected the patrol guards’ demand to investigate the academy’s instructors, and Qu Jianlei admitted to Xiang Xue and Zi Jiuxian that he had carried out the sniper attack, then hinted that he still had a plan involving the fifty thousand Silver Coins.

• Rommel blamed Pollyanna and the Ye Family for the attack, while his wife wondered whether Cheng Qingshan or the Academy Faction could be involved.
• Pollyanna learned that Donasta had been shot through a wall and realized her colleagues had suspected her of killing him.
• The patrol guards sent the Engineering Academy a notice demanding to investigate four Green Water Academy instructors, but Cheng Qingshan refused to accept it.
• Zi Jiuxian visited Qu Jianlei, who confirmed he had killed Donasta and the Blackwood Guest without leaving traces.
• Xiang Xue questioned Qu Jianlei’s choice of target, and he said he was still thinking about the fifty thousand Silver Coins Gwendolen had taken.

After Rommel retaliated against Pollyanna’s associates by sealing their shops, Pollyanna arranged a violent response, and Rommel’s son and daughter-in-law were killed by a sniper. The conflict escalated further when masked gunmen attacked a bar linked to Robin Han’s uncle, leaving several patrons dead or injured.

• Ye's father concluded that Zi Jiuxian's group had killed Donasta to draw Gwendolen and Heltman into the conflict, while the Ye Family chose to wait and watch.
• Rommel ordered seven or eight shops connected to the Ye Family or Pollyanna sealed over alleged tax evasion, despite objections from his family.
• After learning that her friends’ and relatives’ shops had been targeted, Pollyanna told Tyson to begin carrying out her plan.
• Rommel's third son and his wife were shot dead on the street, and Ye's father advised the Ye Family not to intervene.
• Three masked gunmen attacked a bar in which Robin Han's uncle held shares, killing three patrons and seriously injuring seven or eight before fleeing as others returned fire.

After a gunman attacked the Rommel Family, the Ye and Stahl families were drawn into escalating violence, including the bombing of a Stahl-owned gas station. The families agreed to stop open retaliation, but the Stahl Family remained on guard, and Ye's father considered contacting the people from Greenwater, whom he knew were the true masterminds.

• Patrol officers identified the gunman as a wanted criminal, while Ye's father concluded that Pollyanna had not arranged the attack and suspected an enemy of the Rommel Family.
• Ye's father and Ye's mother decided that the Ye Family would enter the conflict rather than remain under suspicion.
• Rommel urged the Stahl Family to retaliate, but his relatives restrained him and decided to withdraw, protect their members, and investigate the attacks.
• A Stahl Family gas station caught fire and exploded, injuring several people and forcing the family to suspend operations at its other stations.
• A mediator arranged talks, and the Stahl, Ye, and Pollyanna families signaled that they were willing to stop escalating the conflict, though all kept their younger members home.
• As tensions persisted, Ye's father asked Ye's mother whether they should contact the people from Greenwater, whom he knew were behind the events.

Primo and Snakehead plotted to avenge Donasta by attacking the Stahl Family, hoping the ensuing chaos would help Primo claim an inheritance share. Their Autocannon attack in Central City escalated the feud into a major political crisis, which investigators traced back to Gwendolen and Panda, and they sought help from Green Water Academy to persuade Qu Jianlei to let the matter go.

• Primo rejected Snakehead’s proposal to target Pollyanna and agreed to attack the Stahl Family instead, hoping to avenge Donasta and strengthen his claim to the estate.
• Primo’s Mining Escort Team remotely fired an Autocannon at two Stahl Family vehicles, killing three people and seriously wounding five.
• The Ye Family and Pollyanna gathered their relatives under guard, while the Stahl Family threatened retaliation and Fourth Star’s authorities demanded an explanation.
• Investigators traced the conflict to Gwendolen, who admitted that Panda had paid him to arrange Rommel’s entry into the Integrity Department.
• After learning the Stahl Family had provoked the other side, the investigators asked a Vice Dean from the Engineering Academy to persuade Panda to let the matter go with Qu Jianlei.

Qu Jianlei rejected the Engineering Academy’s attempt to settle the conflict with the Stahl Family and refused to pay Gwendolen the rest of his fee, using a recording to pressure him into continuing the attack. Gwendolen left plotting to extort Qu Jianlei, while a pair of Psychological Counselors arrived on Fourth Star to begin an unspecified job.

• Qu Jianlei refused the Vice Dean’s request to accept the Stahl Family’s settlement, though he agreed to stay inside the academy for safety.
• Gwendolen demanded the remaining payment, but Qu Jianlei challenged his claims about damaging the Stahl Family and refused to pay without proof.
• Qu Jianlei revealed that he had recorded Gwendolen and threatened to send the evidence to the Stahl Family unless Gwendolen continued trying to ruin them.
• Gwendolen left the academy and told his Rank C Warrior driver that he intended to squeeze money from Qu Jianlei rather than kill him.
• A middle-aged couple arrived on Fourth Star, presented themselves as Psychological Counselors, and complained about the planet’s air as they prepared to finish their job.

Two Psychological Counselors from the Skybow Star Region made contact with the Stahl Family and began investigating local forces while planning discreet retaliation. Their surveillance brought them to the Engineering Academy, where Qu Jianlei noticed them watching him and grew suspicious.

• Two counselors hired by Feiyang Materials Group arrived near the Stahl Family residence, and a surveillance team identified them as Psychological Counselors after detecting a brief sensor fluctuation.
• After the surveillance team withdrew, the counselors met Stahl Family members at a mecha training ground and agreed to investigate the truth while arranging retaliation.
• The counselors spent three days investigating local forces and focused their observations on Panda at the Engineering Academy.
• Qu Jianlei noticed the counselors watching him at noon and became more suspicious when they appeared again that afternoon wearing added coats.

Qu Jianlei suspected that a powerful stranger was investigating him and secretly tracked the man and woman to their hotel, where he concluded the man was an assassin. Meanwhile, an unknown sniper wounded Gwendolen, who blamed Panda and tried to call him, leaving Qu Jianlei unaware of the attack as he continued investigating the pair.

• Qu Jianlei sensed a subtle fluctuation from a middle-aged man and suspected the man was a powerful expert targeting him.
• The middle-aged man and woman discussed the strange presence they had sensed, then decided to deal with their first target and observe the reaction.
• A remotely operated sniper shot Gwendolen outside a restaurant, and his guards failed to catch the assassin.
• On the way to the hospital, Gwendolen named Panda as his likely attacker and insisted Panda had known about the shooting in advance when his call went unanswered.
• Qu Jianlei paid Bella Ni to drive him after the pair, tracked them to an upscale hotel, and concluded the man was an assassin, possibly connected to the Stahl Family.

Qu Jianlei followed two Stahl Family killers as they watched and shot Gwendolen, then suspected their larger plan might also endanger Zi Jiuxian and others. The chapter left him fielding questions from Gwendolen’s guard, who revealed that Gwendolen had survived a sniper attack.

• Qu Jianlei overheard the killers plan to wound Gwendolen rather than kill him, and suspected they intended to target others before leaving Fourth Star.
• Qu Jianlei watched the killers set up a sniper rifle and follow Gwendolen, who was later shot after leaving the restaurant.
• Qu Jianlei followed the killers to a resort hotel and overheard them confirm that no unknown people were searching for them.
• The next morning, Gwendolen’s guard called Qu Jianlei to ask where he had been, then told him Gwendolen had been attacked by a sniper.
• Qu Jianlei denied involvement and mocked the guard, noting that Gwendolen seemed to have survived.