Chapter Summaries

Qu Jianlei met Fourth Boss to ask about Space Pirate Hidden Agents and Erwin’s ties to them, then learned that corruption between the Anti-Smuggling Department and Space Pirates ran far deeper. The meeting ended with Fourth Boss asking Qu Jianlei to find out why the Archaeology Enthusiasts were investigating the Living Dead Organization.

• Qu Jianlei told Aunt Liu he accepted the Archaeology Enthusiasts’ reconciliation with Bida as long as it did not weaken their momentum, then asked about the organization that used sharpness.
• Qu Jianlei found the Living Dead Organization’s contact point in a barbershop and met Fourth Boss, who agreed to speak with him.
• Qu Jianlei asked Fourth Boss about Space Pirate Hidden Agents and Erwin, formerly Bassam, but Fourth Boss said he had no evidence about Erwin and would not reveal other agents’ identities.
• Fourth Boss told Qu Jianlei that Anti-Smuggling Department officials were deeply involved with Space Pirates and warned that exposing the wider corruption would bring severe consequences.
• Xiao Hu informed Qu Jianlei that Ke Pulin and Conwell had left the war zone, while Fourth Boss asked him to learn why the Archaeology Enthusiasts were investigating the Living Dead Organization.

Qu Jianlei discovered that the military had laid a trap using Ke Pulin and Conwell as bait, then fired on one of the hidden guards to disrupt the operation. After slipping away, he contacted Camille, who gave him the location of Zone Two of Airport Hospital.

• Qu Jianlei agreed to keep in contact with Fourth Boss and asked whether he remembered anything about Erwin.
• Qu Jianlei tracked Ke Pulin and Conwell to a park, where he realized their outing was bait in a military trap.
• Qu Jianlei noticed a concealed team posing as fast-food vendors and left without revealing that he had identified them.
• Qu Jianlei remotely fired a laser sniper rifle at the teenage guard, wounding him and forcing the military to divert its limited personnel.
• Qu Jianlei escaped and contacted Camille, who gave him the location of Zone Two of Airport Hospital.

Qu Jianlei infiltrated Airport Hospital to locate Fahim, while Xiao Hu analyzed the care area's security and uncovered signs of a trap. He headed toward Area Number Two, determined to proceed even if the alarm there was bait.

• Qu Jianlei entered Airport Hospital disguised as an injured patient, followed a visitor into the High-Level Care Area, and stole a doctor's uniform and access card.
• Xiao Hu searched the care area's network, ruled out two areas containing real patients, and helped Qu Jianlei investigate the remaining wards.
• A doctor warned Qu Jianlei away from Anette's Wife's room, and a guard questioned him near another ward; Qu Jianlei concluded Fahim was likely hidden in the advanced equipment room.
• Xiao Hu found no activated Life Support Pods or guards in the advanced equipment room, and Qu Jianlei realized the apparent patients in the other areas might be covers for the target.
• Xiao Hu detected a trigger alarm in Area Number Two, but Qu Jianlei chose to approach anyway and asked how many people the surveillance could see.

Qu Jianlei planned an attack on the hospital while Luo Er guarded a ward that might hold Supreme Fahim. When the lights dimmed, both Luo Er and the hidden defenders held back from activating their defenses, waiting to see whether the outage was a feint or the start of an attack.

• Qu Jianlei had Xiao Hu retrieve hospital blueprints and studied routes while deciding to limit the power outage to avoid harming patients.
• Luo Er kept watch outside the ward, prepared to sound the alarm and attack, though he did not know whether Fahim was inside or when his mission would end.
• A hidden operator reviewed footage of a passing doctor and identified him as an eighty-one-percent match, while another defender warned that he might be using the Transformation Technique.
• The lights dimmed, and Luo Er moved beside the door with his blade ready but chose not to activate his trigger.
• The hidden defenders also refrained from activating the ward’s defenses, deciding to wait and see whether Luo Er could hold off the enemy.

Qu Jianlei attacked the hospital room where Supreme Fahim was kept alive, destroyed his Life Support Pod, and killed an A-rank Water Attribute Awakened One. He escaped into the night after slashing down Luo Er, leaving the merchant guild behind to face Fahim’s worsening condition.

• Qu Jianlei entered the hospital room through a wall and used Thunderstorm Art to disrupt the defenders and equipment.
• Qu Jianlei fired at Fahim’s Life Support Pod, threw in Paraquat, and struck Fahim with a Thunder Dragon, fatally injuring him.
• Qu Jianlei recognized an A-rank Water Attribute Awakened One as a possible culprit in Xiang Xue’s abduction and killed him with a blade.
• Qu Jianlei broke through the weakened energy barrier and fled the hospital into the night.
• Luo Er fell dead after remarking that Qu Jianlei had a fast blade.

After Qu Jianlei’s attack left Fahim near death, the Qingfeng Merchant Guild struggled to save him while Supreme Bushang declined to intervene. Fahim died after the guild abandoned revival, and Bushang immediately demanded his body for Fourth Star’s autopsy, prompting Emestina’s fury.

• Qu Jianlei’s attack left Fahim poisoned and near death, while the surviving Qingfeng Merchant Guild members waited for Emestina to decide whether to revive him.
• Supreme Bushang told Emestina that Airport Hospital was outside the city and advised her to negotiate rather than expect his intervention.
• Emestina arrived at dawn, but the doctors and the guild’s higher-ups rejected revival, choosing to preserve Fahim’s body instead.
• Emestina and the others reviewed the battle footage but could not identify how the Earth Attribute attacker had infiltrated the hospital, and Emestina silenced speculation about talismans.
• Fahim died late in the afternoon, after which Supreme Bushang arrived and demanded his corpse for an autopsy on behalf of Fourth Star’s authorities.
• Emestina angrily rejected Bushang’s demand, blaming Fourth Star for Fahim’s death and refusing to hand over his body.

Emestina moved Qingfeng Merchant Guild’s people near Guardian Supreme Bushang for protection as Panda’s faction continued its killings on Fourth Star. The discovery that the latest victim, Erwin, had been a former Space Pirate associate left the Anti-Smuggling Department scrambling to suppress the revelations as rumors.

• Emestina rejected the government’s demand, then led Qingfeng Merchant Guild members to settle near Bushang’s residence for safety.
• The guild learned that Panda’s faction was suspected of attacking a military exchange delegation and had killed Erwin in the Anti-Smuggling Department’s Living Area.
• The City Guard sought to question four Engineering Academy teachers, but Xiang Xue agreed only to daytime questioning that would not disrupt classes.
• Xiang Xue revealed to Bella Ni that Qu Jianlei had contacted her about Panda’s plan, and she said Erwin had deserved to die.
• Investigators found messages accusing Erwin, whose real name was Bassam, of colluding with Space Pirates, and the Anti-Smuggling Department confirmed his close ties to them.
• An official urged the department to suppress the messages and call them rumors.

Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu tried to spread information about Bassam and Erwin despite the Anti-Smuggling Department’s censorship. When Xiao Hu posted the story on Planet Three, the department’s artificial intelligence intervened, giving Xiao Hu a chance to confront the intelligence that had previously harmed it.

• An Anti-Smuggling Department executive argued that officials could suppress the Bassam scandal, while a technical executive revealed that more than three thousand posts had already been blocked.
• Xiao Hu told Qu Jianlei that its posts were being removed and admitted it had published more than two thousand messages; Qu Jianlei refused to let it spread the story off-planet through interstellar signals.
• Qu Jianlei directed Xiao Hu to use zombie accounts on Planet Three, where posts about Erwin spread past thirty thousand before the Anti-Smuggling Department’s artificial intelligence began deleting them.
• Xiao Hu attacked the artificial intelligence’s data operations, causing deleted posts to reappear and triggering alarms at the Anti-Smuggling Department’s headquarters on Planet Three.
• The department’s artificial intelligence warned that hostile Intelligence Fragments were consuming data, and its main body prepared to defend itself and capture fragments from Xiao Hu.

Bella Ni worried that the City Guard would question her, while the Anti-Smuggling Department debated how to contain the fallout from Erwin’s exposure and its losses. The department kept an internal wanted order for Panda, and Xiang Xue later reported that Bida’s injured Supreme had gone into hiding.

• Bella Ni asked Zi Jiuxian about the City Guard investigation over lunch, but no one had contacted her.
• The Anti-Smuggling Department’s branch pressured Fourth Star to contain the scandal and warned that Panda’s forces might expose more corruption.
• Fourth Star’s Anti-Smuggling Department agreed to make the wanted order internal and target Panda alone, while asking to retry the case later.
• Xiao Hu alerted Qu Jianlei that the order had changed, and Qu Jianlei asked Xiao Hu to contact Xiang Xue about the other planets.
• Xiang Xue reported that Bida’s injured Supreme was frightened and had gone into hiding.

Qu Jianlei learned that Fahim’s death had pushed Bida to abandon its demand that Panda be killed, though the reconciliation remained unsettled. As he assessed the threats around Fourth Star, he uncovered clues about Qingfeng’s Emestina and Anti-Smuggling Department officer Tani, then followed Tani home.

• Bida demanded Panda’s death as a condition for reconciliation, but dropped the demand after learning Fahim had died on Fourth Star; the negotiations remained unresolved.
• Qu Jianlei heard that Emestina was hiding near Bushang’s residence and confirmed he could not sense her aura when he scouted the park.
• Xiao Hu found that Tani, an Anti-Smuggling Department officer suspected by colleagues, had been insisting he had nothing to do with Panda.
• Qu Jianlei followed Tani to his home and learned that Tani lived with his large family and had married the last of three sisters after sleeping with all three.

Qu Jianlei captured Tani to learn why the Anti-Smuggling Department had turned against him, then let him go after hearing about the department’s plans. He continued targeting the Qingfeng Merchant Guild, whose leader ordered its contact points abandoned as the attacks intensified.

• Qu Jianlei captured Tani, confirmed his cultivation was sealed, and asked why the Anti-Smuggling Department had changed its stance.
• Tani explained that the department’s Supreme One had become frightened and revealed the meeting’s plans to settle accounts with Qu Jianlei later.
• Qu Jianlei released Tani near his home and warned him not to embellish what had happened.
• Qu Jianlei identified an Anti-Smuggling Department Rank A deputy as a threat and decided to keep attacking the Qingfeng Merchant Guild’s remaining members.
• Emestina learned that three more guild contact points had been destroyed and ordered all contact points abandoned so their members could regroup in safe places.

After the Cleaners killed six Qingfeng Merchant Guild members, Emestina struggled to find support and ordered a conciliatory approach toward Panda’s faction. As Qingfeng and Bida moved toward reconciliation, Qu Jianlei searched for an Anti-Smuggling Department deputy who planned to report Panda, and Xiao Hu located him.

• Six people from Qingfeng’s groups were killed, and one group reported that the attackers were suspected Cleaners.
• Emestina learned that Qingfeng headquarters could not send reinforcements soon and ordered its remaining A-rank to show goodwill to Heltman.
• Qingfeng’s A-rank struggled to meet Heltman, while a Hidden Agent reported that Bida had reached a reconciliation agreement with the other side.
• After learning Qingfeng was seeking talks, Heltman met its A-rank and said he could pass along any constructive proposals to Panda.
• Qu Jianlei searched the Anti-Smuggling Department for an A-rank deputy who planned to report Panda, and Xiao Hu found out that the man would fly to Planet One the next day.

After a Rank A Deputy was killed on his way to Planet One, the Anti-Smuggling Department sought to distance itself from his actions, while Qu Jianlei rejected the Qingfeng Merchant Guild’s attempt to negotiate peace. Qu Jianlei then discussed compensation and a possible trip to Green Water Academy, but Xiang Xue questioned whether he would stay behind when the academy went on break.

• Tani reported his encounter with Panda, and the Anti-Smuggling Department investigated the incident and speculated that Panda had stopped targeting them.
• After news arrived that Panda’s faction had destroyed more Qingfeng Merchant Guild groups, a Rank A Deputy set off for Planet One and was killed by a lightning strike on the way to the spaceport.
• The Anti-Smuggling Department told Heltman that the deputy had acted alone, and Qu Jianlei said he would decide when the conflict with Qingfeng ended.
• Qu Jianlei told Xiang Xue he would not accept an easy reconciliation with the Qingfeng Merchant Guild, and she said the Grave Robber had secured him five million from Bida.
• Zi Jiuxian told Qu Jianlei that Green Water Academy’s Agricultural Academy wanted to study his poison, and Xiang Xue offered to help him leave before asking whether he would remain behind during the academy break.

Qu Jianlei left Fourth Star in secret and returned to Second Star, where he waited to see whether the authorities would react before visiting the Old City Library. There, Old Lady Jia questioned him about his poison and the Blade Star Region’s interest in him, and he admitted he had taken a Qi Gathering Array from Kushnier.

• Qu Jianlei told Zi Jiuxian, Xiang Xue, and Aunt Liu he would return to Second Star early and slipped into a cargo hold aboard a passenger-cargo starship.
• During the journey, Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu reset the underlying logic of a second terminal taken from the Anti-Smuggling Department.
• Qu Jianlei arrived on Second Star without drawing the authorities’ attention, rested in the wilderness, and then spent a day at a hotel testing their response.
• Qu Jianlei visited the Old City Library and told Dave he would return to work in a couple of days.
• Old Lady Jia asked Qu Jianlei about his poison and warned that the Agricultural Academy might face pressure from Wood Attribute Awakened Ones.
• Qu Jianlei admitted he had taken a Qi Gathering Array from Kushnier, and Old Lady Jia explained that the Empire’s wariness of the Blade Star Region limited its access to advanced techniques.

Qu Jianlei avoided pressure from Bida Freight, the Anti-Smuggling Department, and the Qingfeng Merchant Guild while trying to learn more about his enemies on Second Star. After Professor Zi returned, the Agricultural Academy approached him about his poison, but he challenged their right to receive its information.

• Qu Jianlei rejected Bida Freight’s invitation, told its guard to pass along his warning, and learned that the Anti-Smuggling Department also wanted to distance itself from Fourth Star’s misconduct.
• Qu Jianlei refused to meet with Qingfeng and asked Camille to find its Second Star members, while Heltman told him that the Second War Zone was searching for Space Pirates.
• Sophia delivered a storage card containing Qingfeng’s member list, and Qu Jianlei found that its members were unreachable and its public contact points had closed.
• Director Kadani urged Qu Jianlei to use official channels against Qingfeng, but he insisted that he had to be more ruthless than the guild.
• After Professor Zi returned and met with Agricultural Academy representatives, their teacher asked Qu Jianlei for the poison’s formula and production details, and he demanded to know why he should give them up.

Qu Jianlei rejected the Agricultural Academy’s demand for his pesticide research after its teachers treated him as someone who needed their help. The academy replaced its project representative, and a more respectful professor discussed the pesticide’s possible uses with Qu Jianlei, leaving the Branch Dean asking whether it could become a broad-spectrum defoliant.

• Qu Jianlei refused to hand over information to three Agricultural Academy teachers who assumed he needed them to clear the pesticide’s name.
• Zi Jiuxian told the teachers that Qu Jianlei had killed two Supremes and warned them that mishandling the matter could cost the academy an opportunity.
• The dean of the Agricultural Branch replaced the B-rank teacher who had led the failed negotiation.
• An A-rank professor asked Qu Jianlei for the pesticide’s molecular formula and its potential uses.
• Qu Jianlei suggested that low doses could work as a defoliant and explained how leaf loss could improve fruit setting and growth.
• The Branch Dean asked whether the pesticide could become a broad-spectrum defoliant.

Qu Jianlei negotiated a research partnership with Green Water Academy over a broad-spectrum defoliant, while the Old Dean promised to protect him from pressure by Wood Attribute Awakened Ones. After visiting Old Lady Jia to improve Zi Jiuxian’s Metal Attribute cultivation method, Qu Jianlei was stunned when the Old Dean arrived in a punk-styled motorcycle outfit.

• Qu Jianlei and the A-rank professor discussed the defoliant’s formula, wastewater treatment, and a deal giving Qu Jianlei the commercial profits while sharing research credit.
• The A-rank professor said the Old Dean had pledged Green Water Academy’s support and protection, and the Old Dean’s intent appeared to reassure Qu Jianlei directly.
• Qu Jianlei left Green Water Academy and later brought Old Lady Jia an improved Metal Attribute cultivation method for Zi Jiuxian.
• A motorcycle rider dressed in black leather arrived at the Rare Books Building, called Old Lady Jia “Old Sister,” and left Qu Jianlei shocked to learn he was the Old Dean.

Qu Jianlei joined Old Lady Jia and the Old Dean as they discussed his array research, possible academy positions, and cultivation methods. The Old Dean learned that Qu Jianlei understood direct crystal cultivation and offered him a route to an academy position by supervising Green Water Academy students on a Mineral Star.

• The Old Dean questioned Qu Jianlei about his array research, and Old Lady Jia urged him to open a project at the academy.
• The Old Dean struggled to arrange Qu Jianlei an academy role, until Old Lady Jia showed him Qu Jianlei's Planet Residence Special Advisor credentials.
• At the Old Dean's private space, Qu Jianlei and the Old Dean discussed artificial intelligence while Old Lady Jia studied a cultivation method.
• The Old Dean said the military had heard of a crystal-based cultivation breakthrough from a Mineral Star, and Qu Jianlei recognized that the method had actually come from Garbage Star.
• The Old Dean offered to help Qu Jianlei obtain an academy position if he supervised Green Water Academy students during their Mineral Star internship.

Qu Jianlei agreed to accompany Green Water Academy students on an internship in the dangerous Skyhook Star Region and promised the Grave Robber a batch of Paraquat poison for its conflict with the Qingfeng Merchant Guild. As he continued synthesizing the poison, Camille warned him that Hoyer had been captured and told him to run.

• The Old Dean and Old Lady Jia asked Qu Jianlei to join Green Water Academy's student team heading to the Chaotic Asteroid Belt in the Skyhook Star Region, and he agreed to consider the assignment in about a month.
• Xiang Xue and Aunt Liu told Qu Jianlei that the Qingfeng Merchant Guild was refusing to yield Planet One and had hired a second Supreme in the Hope Star Region.
• Qu Jianlei agreed to provide the Grave Robber with stable Paraquat poison, and he began synthesizing a batch for them.
• Xiao Hu alerted Qu Jianlei that Camille's communications had become unusually frequent, so Qu Jianlei contacted her through a relay.
• Camille told Qu Jianlei that Hoyer had been captured and warned him to run.

After learning that Hoyer and everyone connected to him had been arrested, Qu Jianlei suspected he was also being targeted and prepared to flee while trying to protect his companions. The chapter left him facing a dangerous search of Second Star, as two Supremes began uncovering Secret Camps near him.

• Camille warned Qu Jianlei that Hoyer had been arrested for violating a major taboo, that people connected to him were being detained, and that Qu Jianlei should escape; she promised to learn whether his companions were in danger within three days.
• Qu Jianlei continued synthesizing Paraquat at a Safe House, produced more than two hundred and thirty kilograms, and asked Xiao Hu to watch for a warrant.
• Qu Jianlei went to Green Water Academy but avoided approaching Zi Jiuxian because she was working in a heavily secured production laboratory.
• Qu Jianlei used a proxy call to contact Sophia and saw that she was being watched; the people around her planned to lure him in, and a woman warned that he was far more dangerous than they understood.
• Qu Jianlei prepared his supplies and Secret Camps, then sensed two Supreme-level auras searching Greenwater City; half an hour later, the Supremes discovered a Secret Camp near him.