Chapter Summaries

Qu Jianlei tried to keep a low profile at Precision, but Jingwei Factory’s escalating attacks threatened his rare peace and quiet. After his mother’s death, he arranged to leave Sky Hook Star for her funeral, with the boss helping him secure permission to depart.

• Qu Jianlei ignored an unfamiliar storage device delivered by a student, and Precision’s boss discovered Jingwei Factory had used it to offer him a high-paying job.
• Qu Jianlei rejected Jingwei’s offer, and the boss strengthened factory security after warning that the rival’s methods were despicable.
• After two technicians died in suspicious car accidents, Qu Jianlei used Mental Strength to disrupt an arson attempt and helped expose a bribed worker.
• Qu Jianlei asked the boss for a month’s leave after learning his mother had died and his family wanted him at the funeral.
• The boss arranged Qu Jianlei’s departure from Sky Hook Star by vouching for him and bribing a clerk.

Qu Jianlei boarded a cheap starship after fleeing Sky Hook, then repaired a faulty Mechanical Arm when the captain summoned him. Just as he returned to his cramped cabin, Space Pirates boarded and their leader shot a passenger.

• Qu Jianlei left Sky Hook aboard a crowded, low-cost starship and kept to himself during the journey.
• The starship announced a Mechanical Arm malfunction, and the captain sent a flight attendant to recruit Qu Jianlei to help.
• Qu Jianlei located a gas leak in the Mechanical Arm and let the ship's maintenance workers carry out the repairs.
• The captain offered Qu Jianlei business-class accommodations, but he declined and returned to his cabin.
• The starship encountered Space Pirates, who boarded after the crew announced they would not resist.
• The pirates' Rank C leader said they wanted money and shot a passenger in the thigh.

Qu Jianlei endured a space pirate raid, then was recruited for his repair skills and taken aboard their warship. He planned to reach the pirates’ base before deciding how to take the ship and seize a larger haul, and Xiao Hu identified their destination as the asteroid belt near Tianrui Star.

• Space pirates looted the passengers, and Qu Jianlei restrained his anger after they stole his money and kicked his injured foot.
• Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu noticed a woman using her Wristwatch to tell the pirates that Qu Jianlei had repair skills.
• The pirates took Qu Jianlei aboard their warship, and he quietly considered whether he and Xiao Hu could take control of it.
• A Rank B pirate called Sixth Brother welcomed Qu Jianlei as a new crew member, and the pirates verified his identity and assigned him a room.
• Three pirate warships entered warp, then dropped out near the mineral-rich asteroid belt by Tianrui Star.

Qu Jianlei settled into the Space Pirates’ asteroid base, gathered intelligence, and found a chance to get close to its energy center. Xiao Hu triggered a false emergency there, leaving the control room attendants scrambling as Qu Jianlei prepared to act.

• Qu Jianlei arrived at the Space Pirates’ hidden asteroid base and learned that nearly eighty thousand people lived in its underground city.
• Scarface assigned Qu Jianlei to the maintenance department, where he met an old technician and a guarded middle-aged man.
• Qu Jianlei learned that the Space Pirates had four or more Rank A members and a Supreme who was away from the base.
• Over five days, Qu Jianlei worked in maintenance and used his senses and Xiao Hu’s help to map the base.
• On the sixth day, Qu Jianlei was sent to repair a cooling pump near the energy center, and Xiao Hu sent faulty commands that triggered alarms warning of an imminent Fire Explosion.

Qu Jianlei sabotaged the Space Pirate stronghold, freed prisoners, looted its vault and records, and escaped with two starships. As he headed for a mined-out celestial body to regroup, he planned to frame the captured Space Pirate Second Boss for his actions.

• Qu Jianlei used the power-center explosion to infiltrate the prison, killed its guards, freed the captives, and left them weapons to cause chaos.
• Qu Jianlei broke into the vault, defeated and captured a Metal Attribute Rank A Space Pirate, then collected valuables and records before escaping the stronghold.
• Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu launched an armed starship and a Company-Class Warship, carrying two million Energy Stones and heading toward an old mining celestial body.
• Qu Jianlei asked Xiao Hu to search the stolen records while he considered how to modify the Company-Class Warship.
• The captured Rank A woke to find his cultivation sealed, and Qu Jianlei revealed he intended to make him take the blame for the escape.

Qu Jianlei interrogated Tie Ling about the Space Pirates and the Supreme backing them, then killed him after learning the Supreme was called Morse. He found seven Item-Storing Talismans on Tie Ling, while Xiao Hu urged him to check whether the loot could pay for the Large Machine.

• Qu Jianlei threatened Tie Ling's family to make him reveal what he knew about the Space Pirates.
• Tie Ling explained the gang's history and said a Supreme had likely assumed another identity and might be connected to a force mining in the Asteroid Belt.
• Xiao Hu pointed out that Tie Ling's information was already in the files, and Tie Ling begged Qu Jianlei to spare him.
• Qu Jianlei pressured Tie Ling to name the Supreme, and Tie Ling identified him as Morse.
• Qu Jianlei killed Tie Ling with a strike to the forehead and found seven Item-Storing Talismans on him.
• Xiao Hu urged Qu Jianlei to tally the loot and see whether it could buy the Large Machine.

Qu Jianlei inventoried the space pirates’ loot and found enough cash and valuables to fund his plans, though he still lacked Energy Blocks. After traveling cautiously to a mined-out celestial body, he converted a mine tunnel into a habitable hideout, using more Energy Blocks and Inner Breath.

• Qu Jianlei discovered more than a million Silver Coins, over ten tons of gold, valuable crystals, and other assets in the pirates’ treasury, but found no Energy Blocks.
• Qu Jianlei counted roughly two hundred million in unregistered banknotes and Card Coins in Tie Ling’s Item-Storing Talisman, and Xiao Hu urged him to buy a Large Machine or take more warships.
• Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu avoided a suspicious fleet and passed an enormous cargo starship while traveling under light discipline, reaching their destination after five days.
• Qu Jianlei and the Armed Merchant Ship scanned a thoroughly mined celestial body, selected a mine tunnel, and renovated it into a base.
• Qu Jianlei sealed off the tunnel, added insulation and air, and spent Energy Blocks and Inner Breath to make the space habitable.

Qu Jianlei salvaged rare materials and modified the captured warship to improve its weapons and stealth while Xiao Hu integrated the merchant ship’s control system. After completing and testing a Gathering Spirit Array, Qu Jianlei faced dwindling Energy Blocks and decided to rob someone to replenish them.

• Qu Jianlei recovered from using a Rank A Crystal, inspected the abandoned mine carts, and spent fifteen days gathering materials for the warship’s modifications.
• Qu Jianlei planned to restore the warship’s firing platforms and stealth capability while disguising it as a High-Fidelity Replica of a military warship.
• Xiao Hu integrated the Armed Merchant Ship’s control system, increasing its computing power but making it consume more energy.
• Qu Jianlei spent three months testing and completing a Gathering Spirit Array, then used it for three days and found that it worked but consumed too many Energy Blocks.
• When Xiao Hu warned that their Energy Blocks were running low, Qu Jianlei said they would finish modifying the warship and then rob someone.

Qu Jianlei took his modified warship to rob Titan Group’s Iron Scraps mine for Energy Blocks, but arrived to find other warships already attacking its defenses. The chapter ended with him realizing the mine was under assault by someone else.

• Qu Jianlei decided to rob wealthy, ruthless targets because he was running out of Energy Blocks, and he left the star system with Xiao Hu aboard their modified warship.
• Qu Jianlei chose Titan Group’s Iron Scraps asteroid as a target because its refinery, harsh weather, and weak space defenses suited his plan.
• Xiao Hu used the warship’s stealth function to approach Iron Scraps through a violent storm, but the refinery’s defenses detected them.
• Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu discovered several warships attacking the ground fortresses protecting the refinery and mine tunnels.

Qu Jianlei intervened in a battle between Titan Group’s fortresses and three Armed Merchant Ships, then helped defeat the invaders with Xiao Hu’s specialized weapons. After Titan’s People took the invaders into custody, Qu Jianlei began negotiating for the spoils of his robbery.

• Qu Jianlei announced that he had come to rob the defenders, then ordered both sides to stop fighting, but the Armed Merchant Ships continued their attack.
• After an Armed Merchant Ship launched small Attack Ships and one fortress exploded, Qu Jianlei ordered Xiao Hu to attack with specialized Electromagnetic Interference Bombs and White Lights.
• Xiao Hu destroyed two Armed Merchant Ships while Titan Group’s fortresses and Attack Ships overwhelmed the last ship and its craft.
• Titan’s People asked Qu Jianlei to stop firing after the invaders signaled surrender, and they took the surviving crews and ships into custody.
• Qu Jianlei asked Titan’s People to discuss the robbery and argued that the two downed merchant ships should count as his spoils.

Qu Jianlei negotiated a robbery of Titan's People, taking Energy Blocks and weapon systems in exchange for protecting the site while the weapons were dismantled. He secretly left his warship and infiltrated the celestial body under cover of a nighttime patrol.

• Qu Jianlei rejected Titan's People’s low valuation of the damaged merchant ships and negotiated to take their weapon systems along with the agreed payment.
• Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu settled on a demand for Energy Blocks and Unregistered Silver Notes, but Titan's People said their reserves were insufficient.
• Qu Jianlei agreed to take twenty million Energy Blocks first, with Titan's People owing additional Energy Blocks and Silver Notes.
• Titan's People offered another five million Energy Blocks if Qu Jianlei protected them, and he agreed to patrol for three days while they dismantled the weapons.
• Qu Jianlei showed a Titan repair technician how to dismantle the weapons, then took off at night and secretly infiltrated the celestial body.

Qu Jianlei stayed hidden on Iron Scraps Star System while Xiao Hu piloted the High Imitation Warship back toward the mine, where Titan Group’s Armed Merchant Ships confronted it. Qu Jianlei revealed himself as an Ice Attribute Supreme and stopped their preparations to attack, leaving Titan’s commander to warn that the group had Supremes of its own.

• Titan Group’s transport fleet delivered supplies to the mine, while two Armed Merchant Ships stayed behind for three months to protect it and hunt for the robbers.
• Ten days later, Xiao Hu returned in the High Imitation Warship after unloading its cargo and maintaining the vessel on an abandoned celestial body.
• Titan’s patrolling Armed Merchant Ship approached the High Imitation Warship as the ground Command Center ordered it to lower its shield and land.
• Xiao Hu taunted the Titan forces, and the commander ordered warning shots followed by saturation fire if the ship did not identify itself.
• Qu Jianlei unleashed his Ice Attribute Supreme power, freezing the area and the Armed Merchant Ship as the commander halted the attack.
• The commander asked Qu Jianlei’s identity, but Qu Jianlei refused to answer, and the commander warned that Titan Group also had Supremes.

Qu Jianlei collected forty million Energy Blocks from Titan Mining and returned to his abandoned celestial body to upgrade his ships and cultivate. After two months, he planned another trip to buy equipment and supplies, leaving aboard his modified Armed Merchant Ship.

• Qu Jianlei threatened Titan's Commander, who admitted fault and agreed to pay the remaining debt and thirty million Energy Blocks for the second robbery.
• Titan's transport surrendered forty million Energy Blocks and made up the previous shortfall in banknotes, and Qu Jianlei departed without a fight.
• The Commander warned Titan's People not to provoke Qu Jianlei again, since a third robbery could bring far worse consequences.
• Qu Jianlei modified the High Imitation Warship and Armed Merchant Ship, cultivated with the Gathering Spirit Array, and considered Xiao Hu's request for additional Calculation Units.
• Qu Jianlei organized a list of components, weapons, ammunition, raw materials, and Calculation Units to purchase, then left aboard the modified Armed Merchant Ship.

Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu brought their battered Armed Merchant Ship to Azure Cloud’s black market, where they paid the entry fee in Silver Coins and began seeking supplies. Their unusual ship and large cash payment drew suspicion, and Xiao Hu rejected an ammunition offer by suggesting they could get ammunition by destroying Armed Merchant Ships.

• Qu Jianlei paid the market’s entry fee in Silver Coins and stayed aboard while Xiao Hu collected gas and explored the market network.
• Qu Jianlei posted requests for weapons, ammunition, raw materials, Calculation Units, and Energy Blocks, while the market management debated whether to trade with him.
• Qu Jianlei bought selected metals and alloys from Pudding Mining for a little over two hundred thousand Silver Coins.
• Brokers and other sellers approached Qu Jianlei, who limited each seller to offering goods from one category.
• A seller offered ammunition at a thirty percent markup, but Xiao Hu refused and suggested destroying Armed Merchant Ships to obtain more.

At the grand market, Qu Jianlei bought a used starship weapons system and negotiated with Big Head Butterfly over Calculation Units. After agreeing to a seventy-million-Silver-Coin order, he learned the supplier was Sihai Creation, an official vendor from Tianbing Star, and wondered why it had come to the Asteroid Belt.

• Qu Jianlei and Big Head Butterfly noticed Pudding Mining selling supplies to other buyers, then Qu Jianlei rejected two unsuitable weapons systems offered by visitors.
• Qu Jianlei bought a mainstream starship weapons system from space junk scavengers, inspected it, and negotiated the price down to 5.01 million.
• Big Head Butterfly pushed for a more powerful Calculation Unit, but Qu Jianlei argued for a combination suited to the warships’ limited space and combat risks.
• Qu Jianlei and Big Head Butterfly settled on Calculation Units costing seventy million in total, and the seller requested a 3.5-million deposit.
• The seller identified itself as Sihai Creation, Tianbing Star’s official Calculation Unit supplier, and Qu Jianlei asked why its business had reached the Asteroid Belt.

Qu Jianlei completed a major procurement at Lan Yun Market and left with the Calculation Units and materials he needed to modify his ship. As the 8384 Merchant Ship headed into space, two ships began following it, and Xiao Hu noticed that one had an unusual structure.

• Qu Jianlei negotiated with Sihai Creation for Calculation Units and hard-to-find materials, arranging deposits, delivery dates, and a possible search for outdated weapons.
• Qu Jianlei received the first Calculation Unit set and the complete batch of materials, inspected them, paid the balance, and departed before the market deadline.
• Qu Jianlei suspected that people around the market, including Cook's associates, might target him, while Xiao Hu admitted the ship's modifications could help lure attackers.
• A message from the market reported that the prey had set off, and two radio-silent merchant ships began following the 8384 Merchant Ship.
• Xiao Hu spotted a larger pursuing merchant ship with a strange structure as Qu Jianlei conserved energy for the journey.

Qu Jianlei’s merchant ship was pursued by Cook and Three Butchers, who launched Attack Ships to rob it. After the attackers threatened him, Qu Jianlei recognized that the encounter was a robbery and was left facing their demand to surrender.

• Qu Jianlei ordered Xiao Hu to evade the pursuing merchant ships without accelerating, while Cook decided the 8384 Merchant Ship was suspicious enough to rob.
• Cook pressured Three Butchers to deploy Attack Ships, and he launched the first squad from his Aerospace Carrier.
• Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu recognized the attackers’ vessels as Assault Type Attack Ships, and Qu Jianlei accelerated as six of them caught up in two formations.
• Three Butchers claimed over the public channel that he wanted to sell Calculation Units, then warned the 8384 Merchant Ship to accept his goodwill or face consequences.
• Qu Jianlei identified the situation as a robbery, and the attackers ordered the 8384 Merchant Ship to stop and surrender in exchange for the crew’s lives.

Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu let the pirates herd the 8384 Merchant Ship while infiltrating their ships’ systems and preparing a counterattack. When the pirates’ engines, weapons, shields, and controls began failing, Cook surrendered, only to see the 8384 turn back toward them.

• Cook and Three Butchers coordinated their ships and Attack Ships to encircle Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu’s merchant ship while arguing over their losses and tactics.
• Xiao Hu reported that the pirates’ ships had been infiltrated, and Qu Jianlei ordered a scan that detected two passing starships before choosing to delay the counterattack.
• Qu Jianlei activated top-load mode to keep the 8384 Merchant Ship ahead of its pursuers, but the engines began to overheat and he ordered the ship to slow down.
• Qu Jianlei told Xiao Hu to make a move, and the pirates’ engines, control systems, weapons, shields, and Attack Ships began failing.
• Cook ordered her crew to surrender, then learned that the 8384 Merchant Ship was turning back toward them.

Qu Jianlei ordered Xiao Hu to disable and perforate the attacking fleet rather than risk boarding, then waited as the trapped crews fought over dwindling oxygen. The chapter left the ships in chaos, with survivors beginning to escape from Cook's warship in pods and Space Mechs.

• Qu Jianlei ordered Xiao Hu to fire on the fleet while avoiding important sections, despite the crews attempting to signal their surrender.
• Xiao Hu punched holes through the ships, leaving their crews trapped as air and other survival resources ran out.
• A crew member on an Assault Type attack ship detonated its Self-Destruct Device after becoming desperate over his dwindling oxygen, prompting Xiao Hu to attack every remaining ship.
• Qu Jianlei abandoned his plan to preserve two attack ships and told Xiao Hu to perforate them all.
• Internal fighting broke out across the ships as crews competed for Oxygen Supplement, and two hours later survivors manually opened the bulkhead aboard Cook's warship and fled in Escape Pods and Space Mechs.

Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu wiped out the raiders and salvaged their damaged ships, but an approaching group of starships threatened to interrupt their journey. The chapter ended as the strange group deliberately closed in on Qu Jianlei’s formation.

• Qu Jianlei ordered Xiao Hu to destroy the Escape Pods, Space Mechs, and attacking ships after the raiders refused to stop fighting.
• An Assault Ship repaired its Main Gun and fired at 8384, so Qu Jianlei ordered Xiao Hu to destroy it and leave no survivors.
• Xiao Hu cleared the remaining crews, while Cook died in her Space Mech after leaving a curse warning Qu Jianlei not to fish too often.
• The Aerospace Carrier Self-Destructed, and Qu Jianlei reflected on Cook’s warning as he and Xiao Hu counted their haul of ships and Energy Blocks.
• Qu Jianlei used 8384’s Mechanical Arm to tow one Armed Merchant Ship and six Attack Ships away from the battlefield.
• Three passing groups noticed the formation; two broke contact, but the third deliberately approached.