Chapter Summaries

Qu Jianlei sought advice from Old Lady Jia while authorities investigated him and his associates, then contacted Xiang Xue to arrange the next contract and deliver the item they had discussed. He left Xiang Xue with a location, though she and Aunt Liu wondered whether it was being monitored.

• Qu Jianlei met Old Lady Jia at the library restaurant and learned that he should leave because the region would remain turbulent, while she intended to stay and protect the Hope Star Region.
• Old Lady Jia told Qu Jianlei that Bushang was under investigation, Xiang Xue might be implicated because of him, and her family would retaliate against anyone who harmed her.
• Qu Jianlei walked away through the rain, evading the people tracking him, while Old Lady Jia refused to answer their questions about him.
• Qu Jianlei had Xiao Hu contact Xiang Xue and said he would carry out the next contract, prompting her to ask him to think of a way to settle the remaining payment.
• Aunt Liu told Xiang Xue that Qu Jianlei was leaving and planned to give her the item they had discussed; about half an hour later, his message supplied a location that Xiang Xue worried might be monitored.

Xiang Xue and Aunt Liu retrieved Panda’s Wood Attribute toxin from hidden locations while law enforcement tried to seize it and question them. Zi Jiuxian invoked Green Water Academy’s authority to protect the evidence, and the group continued collecting supplies prepared by Qu Jianlei.

• Xiang Xue and Aunt Liu reached an abandoned courtyard and found a bucket of crystalline toxin in a safe, but a law enforcement team barged in and seized it.
• Xiang Xue challenged the B-rank officer’s claim that the toxin was evidence, while he threatened to treat her as Panda’s accomplice.
• Zi Jiuxian arrived and explained that the toxin was part of an approved Agricultural Branch pesticide project backed by Green Water Academy’s Guardian Supreme, forcing the officers to return it and leave.
• Zi Jiuxian took two kilograms of the toxin for the academy, and Xiang Xue received a new address through her Wristwatch.
• The group went to a hotel storage room, where Qu Jianlei had hidden ten more buckets and a sealed box; Xiang Xue took the box and most of the buckets.

After law enforcement officers failed to seize the items at Green Water Academy, Qu Jianlei learned that Hoyer had been arrested because of his grandmother’s hidden connection to Divine Script research. Camille warned him that the researchers had immense backing and urged him to lie low, but Qu Jianlei requested information on the Qingfeng Merchant Guild so he could strike back.

• Three law enforcement officers inspected the group’s belongings, but Professor Xinran and the women deterred them from examining the improved cultivation methods or confiscating the poison.
• Xiang Xue wondered whether Qu Jianlei had truly left after receiving the improved Water Attribute cultivation method he had promised her.
• Camille told Qu Jianlei that Hoyer had been arrested after investigators uncovered his grandmother’s past and that Divine Script researchers were behind the push.
• Camille warned Qu Jianlei that the researchers had ties to at least three digits’ worth of Supremes and advised him to leave the Hope Star Region and lie low.
• Qu Jianlei asked Camille for information on the Divine Script Research Association, but she declined and instead gave him the Qingfeng Merchant Guild’s information.

Qu Jianlei traveled to Hope Star and used Xiao Hu to investigate the Qingfeng Merchant Guild while keeping a low profile. After learning that the Merchant Guild maintained six gathering points on Planet One, he received news that its members had been attacked in Qingyu City.

• Qu Jianlei chose to travel from Second Star to Hope Star aboard a Bida Freight Company cargo starship.
• Xiao Si-take, a senior guard of Xingtuo Bank, arrived on Hope Star carrying an unknown sealed crate in his Item-Storing Talisman.
• Qu Jianlei camped at an abandoned construction site in Bailan City and drove off three armed young men who tried to threaten him.
• After two days, Xiao Hu reported that the Qingfeng Merchant Guild had six gathering points on Planet One, each protected by at least two A-ranks.
• Qu Jianlei learned that Qingfeng Merchant Guild members had been attacked in Qingyu City after eighteen people from its gathering point went out on business.

Qu Jianlei investigated the Grave Robbers’ attack on the Qingfeng Merchant Guild and discovered a hidden gathering point in Jiuchuan. After confirming the lead with Aunt Liu, he arrived at the heavily guarded compound and began considering how to act.

• Qu Jianlei concluded that the Grave Robbers had used Wood Attribute poison in a brief attack that seriously injured several Qingfeng members, but may have been intended as a warning.
• Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu discovered that the Grave Robbers had missed a Qingfeng gathering point in Jiuchuan, whose members kept their connections to other sites concealed.
• Qu Jianlei contacted Aunt Liu, who confirmed that Jiuchuan was said to have two hidden Qingfeng sites but that the second remained only a guess.
• Xiang Xue urged Aunt Liu to tell Qu Jianlei to leave Fourth Star, while Aunt Liu suspected he might still be there.
• Qu Jianlei traveled to Jiuchuan and found the Qingfeng Settlement disguised as a sports equipment research center in a high-tech industrial park.
• Qu Jianlei sensed at least three A-ranks inside the heavily fortified compound and worried about how he could make a move.

Qu Jianlei infiltrated the Qingfeng Merchant Guild’s gathering point by disguising himself as a Special City Guard and used patrols to assess its strength. He followed a group of guild members to a business meeting, but waited for a safer chance to act.

• Qu Jianlei studied the guards’ patrols, then used Xiao Hu to find an absent city guard whose vehicle he could steal and disguise.
• Qu Jianlei drove the counterfeit patrol vehicle into the High-Tech Development Zone, impersonated a Special City Guard, and avoided suspicion while observing the gathering point.
• Qu Jianlei estimated that the Qingfeng Merchant Guild’s gathering point held four or five A-ranks, around eight B-ranks, and about ten C-ranks, then decided to target its strongest members.
• Qu Jianlei watched several groups leave without attacking, then followed a four-person group to a commercial building during the rain.
• Qu Jianlei sensed that the group’s Stone Attribute B-rank led a meeting while its Water Attribute A-rank stayed quiet, but he held back because the building was too difficult to attack.

Qu Jianlei infiltrated the Qingfeng Merchant Guild by impersonating a Rank A warrior, killing three companions and deceiving their driver. After taking Baikel’s identity and entering the guild’s residence, he faced renewed scrutiny when a Rank B reported that two missing men could not be found.

• Qu Jianlei killed the Rank A warrior and the Rank B and Rank C companions, while Xiao Hu erased the surveillance footage.
• Qu Jianlei fooled the Modified Warrior into driving him through the guild’s access gate and reported that the others were dining elsewhere.
• Qu Jianlei avoided Ai Da Jin by pretending to comprehend the Water Element, then drank outside until he could act without her interference.
• Qu Jianlei killed the suspicious Baikel with a mental attack, took his identity, and read the guild’s internal messages.
• A Rank B warrior told Qu Jianlei, now posing as Baikel, that Kalunsi and another man were missing and urged a search.

Qu Jianlei infiltrated the Qingfeng Merchant Guild’s Jiuchuan base disguised as Biek, but a failed Secret Code challenge forced him to flee after killing an Ice Attribute Rank A. Later, Camille identified the dead man as a Space Pirate who had officially died more than thirty years earlier, leaving Qu Jianlei suspecting the Living Dead Organization.

• Qu Jianlei refused to wake Johnny and went to warn Kelly, then learned from the Item-Storing Talismans in her room that she outranked Johnny and Baikel in the guild.
• Qu Jianlei went to confront another Rank A, realized the base held far more people than expected, and triggered an alarm when he failed to answer a Secret Code challenge.
• Qu Jianlei used a Mental Attack to stop the Ice Attribute Rank A from escaping, killed and looted him, then fled the compound before the Special City Guard arrived.
• Xiao Hu discovered that the guild could track people with nanoscale scent and dye, while Qu Jianlei escaped into the Pearl Forest Sea and hid in a cave.
• Qu Jianlei sent Camille the dead man’s image and genetic analysis, and Camille identified him as a Space Pirate officially recorded as having died over thirty years earlier.

Qu Jianlei learned why the Qingfeng Merchant Guild’s ties to former Space Pirates could not be publicly exposed, then contacted allies and investigated the aftermath of his attack on Jiuchuan City. He discovered that the dead Ice Attribute had been identified as a Special Envoy of the Environmental Protection Department and offered the Grave Robber his genetic sequence to investigate.

• Camille explained that Blade Star’s former Space Pirates could not simply be exposed, and Qu Jianlei agreed to let her sell the information about the Qingfeng Merchant Guild.
• Qu Jianlei warned Aunt Liu about the attack on Jiuchuan City’s second head, and she gave him two Planet One contacts for faster communication.
• Qu Jianlei left the scenic area and saw patrols, rumors, and checkpoints tightening across Jiuchuan City after the previous night’s killings.
• At a tea shop, Qu Jianlei contacted the Grave Robber, who reported that the City Guard had questioned the Qingfeng Merchant Guild and that the dead Ice Attribute had been an outside collaborator.
• Qu Jianlei challenged the claim that the Ice Attribute had been a Special Envoy of the Environmental Protection Department and offered to provide his genetic sequence for investigation.

Qu Jianlei shared intelligence with the Grave Robbers about a dead enemy and learned that a Supreme was approaching Hope Star while the Qingfeng Merchant Guild and authorities might target him and the Electromagnetic Rank A. At Qingfeng’s Nine Rivers gathering point, Arindell’s people debated how many attackers had struck and whether to fight or negotiate, and Arindell backed fighting despite the existing plan.

• Qu Jianlei gave the Grave Robbers genetic characteristics and revealed that the dead man had been a Space Pirate from the Blade Star Region.
• The Grave Robbers warned Qu Jianlei that a Research Society Supreme was heading to Hope Star and that Qingfeng had two Supremes, while Qu Jianlei dismissed the threat and said they had not killed enough enemies.
• Qu Jianlei learned that the Electromagnetic Rank A was on the Hit List and ended the exchange with the Grave Robbers.
• An old man and a young Rank B discussed whether Qingfeng might change its stance, while the old man argued that the merchant guild would not stop doing business.
• At Qingfeng’s Nine Rivers gathering point, Arindell’s people reviewed the attack, argued over how many infiltrators had entered, and considered joining the authorities or negotiating.
• Arindell said he supported fighting Panda’s group but angrily insisted that the existing plan could not be changed casually.

Cohen’s arrival on Hope Star triggered a massive search for the Hoyer fugitives, forcing Qu Jianlei to evade the authorities while bounties on Panda rose. Frustrated by the pressure and the Grave Robbers’ retreat, Qu Jianlei refused to keep hiding, but a girl reported his suspicious movements to the City Guard.

• Arindell and Fobi discussed cooperating with Cohen, who arrived on Hope Star to investigate the remaining Hoyer fugitives.
• Cohen and Arindell searched Jiuchuan City, helping authorities capture hundreds of fugitives and uncover more than a hundred Secret Vaults.
• Qu Jianlei avoided detection in the Pearl Forest Sea as the search uncovered other suspects and hidden treasures.
• Companies raised the bounty on Panda to nearly five million, angering Qu Jianlei.
• Qu Jianlei learned from Aunt Liu that the Grave Robbers had gone into hiding, but he refused to retreat himself.
• A girl spotted Qu Jianlei leaving a tea shop and reported his suspicious movements to the City Guard.

Qu Jianlei retaliated against Tomorrow Company for encouraging reports about him, killing two high-ranking employees and maiming others before escaping into the rain. Six Supremes searched the area, forcing him to hide nearby and slowly work his way out of their search.

• A girl reported Qu Jianlei as a suspicious person after recognizing his grave demeanor and high-end Pioneer terminal.
• Qu Jianlei decided to retaliate against Tomorrow Company, which had funded public reports about Panda, and entered its building disguised as a public relations employee.
• Qu Jianlei killed Tomorrow Company’s A-rank and B-rank employees, maimed the others, then beheaded the public relations officer outside and fled into the rain.
• The smell of blood led nearby companies to call the police, and Cohen, Arindell, Fobi, and other Supremes joined the search for Qu Jianlei.
• With six Supremes searching a thirty-kilometer radius, Qu Jianlei used the Wood Attribute to move away from Tomorrow Building and seek a hiding place.

Qu Jianlei infiltrated Jiuchuan Academy and chose its student parking lot as a hiding place, relying on the campus’s ordinary activity to conceal him. Xiao Hu discovered that the academy had two Supremes, including a Wood Attribute Honorary Head Instructor, leaving Qu Jianlei to proceed cautiously while using weak Water Attribute techniques as cover.

• Qu Jianlei entered Jiuchuan Academy through a gap in the wall’s defenses and disguised himself as a low-rank Water Attribute Awakened One.
• Xiao Hu mapped the academy, and Qu Jianlei chose the largest student parking lot as his hiding place because its steady foot traffic would make it harder to seal off.
• Qu Jianlei found a concealed tree hole in a lightning-struck tree and prepared to hide there.
• Xiao Hu revealed that Jiuchuan Academy had two Supremes, including a Wood Attribute Honorary Head Instructor who had graduated from the academy.
• Qu Jianlei began using weak Water Attribute techniques in the rain, counting on ordinary elemental fluctuations at the academy to conceal his activity.

Qu Jianlei concealed himself in Jiuchuan Academy as investigators demanded a sweeping search for the people behind the poison and the Tomorrow Company massacre. After days of searches found nothing, Liao Donglai agreed to loosen the academy’s restrictions while allowing one final inspection of students leaving.

• Qu Jianlei used universal techniques to pose as a newly advanced C-rank and began digging a hidden underground chamber.
• Liao Donglai rejected Cohen’s demand to evacuate and inspect everyone at Jiuchuan Academy, insisting that the search follow proper procedures and obtain a warrant.
• After receiving a warrant, Cohen’s team searched the academy and surrounding area while Qu Jianlei’s group caused no further tragedies.
• Tomorrow Company learned it had been attacked because it had acted too aggressively, but it refused to withdraw its promise; several other factions gradually withdrew their reward offers.
• After four days of searching without finding the murderer, Cohen asked for three more days, and Liao Donglai agreed to resume internship instruction with a final inspection for students leaving the academy.

Qu Jianlei escaped Jiuchuan Academy by hiding beneath an internship bus, then stowed away aboard a starship bound for the Skyhook Star Region. A day into the journey, he discovered seven other stowaways preparing Life Support Pods for the coming warp.

• Qu Jianlei waited out the artificial drizzle and used a collision between two buses to slip beneath the internship bus unnoticed.
• After leaving the academy, Qu Jianlei learned the students were headed to the Skyhook Star Region and decided to travel there too.
• Qu Jianlei passed the spaceport checkpoint using his Mental Strength and hid in the cargo hold of a starship bound for the Skyhook Star Region.
• Qu Jianlei noticed seven stowaways hiding in separate cargo containers but kept his presence concealed.
• The seven stowaways emerged a day later, and their Rank C Warrior leader directed them to prepare seven Life Support Pods for the warp.

Qu Jianlei avoided getting involved with seven stowaways, then left the starship at Tianrui Star and adapted his appearance to the local customs. He ended the chapter at Wandering Bar, where the server explained that customers could stay overnight for a minimum charge.

• Qu Jianlei chose not to rob or kill the seven stowaways, and they hid in their Life Support Pods during the starship’s jump.
• Anti-Smuggling Team Members inspected the Cargo Hold, confirmed a password with the stowaways, checked the cargo, and took the seven away.
• Qu Jianlei waited until night to leave the starship on Tianrui Star, and Xiao Hu deleted footage of his escape from the spaceport’s surveillance system.
• A middle-aged woman mistook Qu Jianlei for a newcomer because of his clothing, so he bought local-style clothes, gloves, and boots.
• Qu Jianlei reached a livelier district and entered Wandering Bar, where he asked the server about closing time and learned that overnight stays required a minimum charge.

Qu Jianlei went to Gunner Valley, Tianrui Star’s unofficial talent market, to learn how its underground services worked. After discovering how Ability Warriors discreetly advertised their availability, he recognized the arrangement as strangely familiar.

• Qu Jianlei spent the night in a bar and learned about Tianrui Star’s strict temporary-residence rules.
• Qu Jianlei traveled to Gunner Valley and observed its orderly streets, shops, and roadside talent brokers.
• Qu Jianlei questioned a Modified Warrior advertising assassination jobs and challenged his claims about taking on powerful targets.
• Qu Jianlei offered the Modified Warrior twenty Card Coins for information, then briefly took them back when the man hesitated to talk.
• The Modified Warrior explained that Ability Warriors seeking jobs used drinks placed on the roofs of parked Off-road Vehicles as signals.
• Qu Jianlei paid for more information and felt that the Ability Warriors’ signaling method gave him a strong sense of déjà vu.

Qu Jianlei tested the local market by offering himself as a bodyguard, then accepted Supervisor Ford's job only after securing a temporary residence permit. At Ford's compound, he began the hiring process under the name Burst Arrow but refused to give a real name until his permit was arranged.

• Qu Jianlei rented a shop owner's off-road vehicle, placed a drink on its roof, and waited until a man approached him about bodyguard work.
• Qu Jianlei quoted ten thousand a day, refused to give out his Wristwatch number, and demanded a temporary residence permit before accepting the job.
• Qu Jianlei realized the man had arranged a broker to test him, and he told the man he hated being tested.
• The man brought Qu Jianlei to a northern-suburbs compound, where Qu Jianlei sensed hundreds of people and a Rank A inside.
• Supervisor Ford asked Lina to prepare an employment contract, and Qu Jianlei gave his name as Burst Arrow but said his real name depended on the residence permit.

Qu Jianlei joined the Luo Family’s protection detail under the alias Burst Arrow and realized that the supposed witness-guarding assignment was designed to lure enemy forces into a heavily armed industrial trap. He arrived at the site and prepared for the coming fight, claiming sniping as his specialty.

• Qu Jianlei revealed a concealed Rank B aura, asked whether killing someone had consequences, and signed a short-term bodyguard contract using a made-up name and the alias Burst Arrow.
• Lina explained that Qu Jianlei would protect a tainted witness for the Luo Family, whose guards might have been infiltrated amid a major lawsuit.
• Qu Jianlei concluded that the witness was bait and that the assignment’s real purpose was to injure invading enemies, while Lina insisted that protecting the witness remained the priority.
• Lina drove Qu Jianlei to an abandoned industrial district more than forty kilometers from the city, where surveillance, alarms, and concealed heavy weapons turned the site into a trap.
• Qu Jianlei met Rein and Shi Zhu at the industrial district, collected combat equipment, and told Rein that he specialized in sniping.

Qu Jianlei settled into his defensive post with Tycoon and Three Eyes as the Luo Family prepared for an expected attack. When enemy mechas approached and the battle escalated with artillery, Qu Jianlei destroyed two mechas with precise sniper fire, and Three Eyes promised to report his achievement.

• Qu Jianlei chose the northwest sector and kept only Tycoon and Three Eyes there, while Rein warned him to avoid conflict with Shi Zhu's team.
• After two quiet days, the Command Center reported suspicious vehicles and later warned that a mecha squad was approaching the defenses.
• Enemy mechas advanced from the south and northeast, and both sides opened fire before guided artillery escalated the battle.
• Qu Jianlei told Tycoon to hold fire and used his Anti-Mecha Sniper Rifle to destroy two enemy mechas in less than ten seconds.
• Tycoon and Three Eyes witnessed Qu Jianlei's kills, and Three Eyes said he would report the achievement.