Chapter Summaries

Qu Jianlei confronted the Norton Family convoy over its attacks and its knowledge of Xiao Hu, rejecting a billion-credit offer as the ship’s power failed. As the Young Master tried to force his crew to act, Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu watched for their next move.

• The Norton Family captain requested surrender, and the middle-aged A-rank offered one billion credits to settle the conflict.
• Qu Jianlei accused the convoy of delaying his launch at Blue Elf Star Port and pursuing his ship, while its power output continued to drop.
• The Young Master denied that they had met before, then invoked the Norton Family’s Supreme and his status as heir, but Qu Jianlei refused to spare them.
• The middle-aged A-rank revealed that Qu Jianlei was secretly researching artificial intelligence, hoping the information might make the convoy’s crew resist or escape.
• The Young Master ordered the crew to obey a signal, and when one crew member fled, he shot him in the back.
• Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu watched the scene, and Qu Jianlei told Xiao Hu to keep watch for tricks.

Qu Jianlei destroyed a Heavy Armed Merchant Ship after its crew began self-destructing it, then learned the Norton Family was searching for the 8384 Ship. He left Godley Star determined to wait for the Norton Family rather than make preparations or end his security contract.

• Qu Jianlei rejected Xiao Hu’s wish to salvage the Heavy Armed Merchant Ship and ordered it to withdraw its intrusion traces and destroy the vessel after its crew triggered self-destruction.
• The merchant ship exploded, and Qu Jianlei ordered Xiao Hu to eliminate the escaping middle-aged A-rank; he captured another damaged Attack Ship and returned to his base.
• Qu Jianlei went to Godley Star, where Li Ang said the Sail Consortium had not identified who hired Sigwa and asked whether the Supreme had arrived.
• Two months later, Wanmi Mining delivered the inspection-exempt pass and warned that the Norton Family was searching for the 8384 Ship and might send people to Lan Yun.
• Qu Jianlei asked whether Sail might ally with Norton, then said he would keep his security contract and wait for the Norton Family to come find him.

Qu Jianlei sold the Attack Ship to Lan Yun Market after rebuffing its supervisor’s schemes, then flew toward Blue Elf to test his inspection-exempt pass. The chapter ended with anti-smuggling ships ordering him to stop, despite his displaying the pass.

• Qu Jianlei circled Godley to check for Norton Family ambushers, then repaired his Attack Ship and took it to Lan Yun Market.
• Lan Yun Market offered twenty-five million for the Attack Ship, but Qu Jianlei refused because it was Norton Family war booty.
• After discovering the market had withheld information and tried to bargain, Qu Jianlei raised his price to thirty-five million and sold the ship to the deputy supervisor.
• Qu Jianlei left Lan Yun after checking the storage device and circling Azure Cloud, then headed toward Blue Elf to test his inspection-exempt pass.
• Two anti-smuggling ships ordered Qu Jianlei to stop, and he showed his pass and warned them to leave.

Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu fled into the Asteroid Belt while two retired warships posing as Customs Enforcement Ships pursued them. After Xiao Hu exposed their deception, the 8384 fought back and gained the upper hand, leaving one enemy ship's secondary cannon destroyed.

• Qu Jianlei ordered Xiao Hu to fire interference rounds and retreat into the Asteroid Belt as the two Customs Enforcement Ships chased the 8384.
• Xiao Hu broke into the pursuing ships' systems and discovered they were retired warships hired as Labor Dispatch Personnel, not regular Anti-Smuggling Department vessels.
• Qu Jianlei ordered the 8384 to deploy its Attack Ships, and Xiao Hu faced four enemy Attack Ships while avoiding detection by the department's artificial intelligence.
• Two heavy Cargo Starships approached the battle and realized the battered 8384 was fighting the retired warships and holding its own.
• Xiao Hu's controlled Attack Ship struck a Customs Enforcement Ship's secondary cannon port during its reload, destroying the cannon and disrupting the ship's energy circulation.

Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu routed the Anti-Smuggling Department’s fleet, then disabled a Customs Enforcement Ship without destroying it so they could capture it. During the battle, Qu Jianlei realized he had predicted a firing opportunity through a mysterious Seventh Sense, and the chapter ended with Xiao Hu asking whether they should pursue the fleeing Attack Ships.

• Qu Jianlei impulsively directed Xiao Hu to fire at specific coordinates, destroying a Customs Enforcement Ship with a shot neither of them could explain.
• Xiao Hu destroyed another Attack Ship as the Anti-Smuggling Team Members fled, leaving the remaining Customs Enforcement Ship isolated.
• Qu Jianlei ordered Xiao Hu to disable the Customs Enforcement Ship rather than blow it up, hoping to claim it for himself.
• Qu Jianlei speculated that his inexplicable prediction had come from a Seventh Sense, while Xiao Hu continued attacking the enemy ship.
• Xiao Hu disabled the Customs Enforcement Ship’s power transmission system and found two crew members stranded aboard in Spacesuits.
• Xiao Hu asked whether to pursue the two fleeing Attack Ships, but Qu Jianlei noted their own ships were low on Energy Blocks.

Qu Jianlei captured the Customs Enforcement Ship after defeating the Anti-Smuggling Team, then withdrew into the Asteroid Belt while explaining that he intended to make a show of force. The battered team members began heading home in the damaged Attack Ship and blamed the Norton Family for concealing that a Supreme was involved.

• Qu Jianlei ordered another attack on a fleeing Attack Ship, disabled it, and seized it with 8384’s Mechanical Arm.
• Qu Jianlei captured the Customs Enforcement Ship, left the Anti-Smuggling Team members the damaged Attack Ship, and warned them to tell the Norton Family and their superiors that the matter was not over.
• Qu Jianlei returned to 8384 and explained to Xiao Hu and Big Head Butterfly that he had come to make a show of force and needed time for the involved forces to react.
• Xiao Hu told Qu Jianlei that 3344 was following them from more than four hundred thousand kilometers away as they headed deeper into the Asteroid Belt.
• The stranded Anti-Smuggling Team members crowded into the damaged Attack Ship and blamed the Norton Family for provoking 8384 and hiding that Qu Jianlei was a Supreme.

Qu Jianlei returned to Godley after repairing the captured Customs Enforcement Ship and learned that the Empire might investigate his clash with the Anti-Smuggling Department. Li Ang confirmed Wanmi Mining would honor its agreement and stay out of the dispute, leaving Qu Jianlei determined to wait at the mine for whoever came after him.

• Qu Jianlei and Xiao Hu disabled the customs enforcement Smart Terminal, then spent ten days repairing the captured ship.
• Qu Jianlei arrived at Godley with High Imitation Warship 3344 following at a distance and found Li Ang waiting for him.
• Li Ang told Qu Jianlei that the Anti-Smuggling Team Members had been found after their Attack Ship malfunctioned and that the Skyblade Government intended to investigate.
• Qu Jianlei explained that the Norton Family had prompted the inspection, and Li Ang agreed that the temporary Anti-Smuggling Team Members had deserved a response.
• Li Ang confirmed that Wanmi Mining would continue its agreement with Qu Jianlei and would not get involved if the Anti-Smuggling Department came after him.
• Qu Jianlei decided to stay at the mine and wait for his pursuers, though three months remained before his next leave.

Qu Jianlei waited for the Imperial fleet’s response, then confronted unmarked military and Anti-Smuggling Department warships that arrived at Godley with Gotel. The visitors claimed they had come to resolve the aftermath of the battle, but the military demanded an explanation for his attack on the Anti-Smuggling Department fleet near Blue Elf Star.

• After a month without an attack, Qu Jianlei received word that two military warships and a Wanmi Mining merchant ship were approaching Godley, so he readied the 8384 Ship and the Attack Ship.
• Qu Jianlei warned Li Ang to remember his promise, and Li Ang assured him that the incoming ships meant no harm, but Qu Jianlei kept his warships ready.
• The three ships landed, and Gotel said Wanmi Mining was only there as a witness after Qu Jianlei challenged them for arriving unannounced.
• Qu Jianlei rebuked the military A-rank and challenged Sheriff, the Anti-Smuggling Department Supreme, to a fight to the death; Sheriff did not accept.
• The military A-rank said the military had come to support the Anti-Smuggling Department and asked how Qu Jianlei’s force should answer for attacking its fleet near Blue Elf Star.

Qu Jianlei and Sheriff clashed over the Anti-Smuggling Department’s captured warship and the casualties from the Transit Star incident. Their first round of negotiations ended without agreement, while Gotel tried to keep the dispute from disrupting Wanmi Mining’s cooperation.

• Qu Jianlei rejected Sheriff’s claim that his side had attacked legitimate anti-smuggling personnel, and Gotel backed him by questioning whether temporary hires could inspect an inspection-exempt ship.
• Qu Jianlei refused to discuss compensation for casualties and told Sheriff to pursue the Norton Family instead.
• Sheriff insisted that the Anti-Smuggling Department’s captured warship had to be returned, while Qu Jianlei called it spoil of war and threatened to keep it.
• The military A-rank suggested destroying the warship, but Sheriff rejected that option and Qu Jianlei proposed returning it only in exchange for a fifty-million repair fee or the people involved in the incident.
• Sheriff and Qu Jianlei stood and traded accusations before Gotel declared the first round of negotiations over.

Qu Jianlei and Sheriff resumed negotiations after their forces nearly clashed, with Gotel and Li Ang helping them find a compromise. They agreed that Qu Jianlei would provide a video showing the retired warship being destroyed, but Qu Jianlei questioned whether the Anti-Smuggling Department could trust the video without someone challenging it.

• Gotel ended the heated meeting and Li Ang assured Qu Jianlei that Wanmi Mining would help protect his interests.
• Qu Jianlei returned to his battered merchant ship and kept his vessels ready to respond quickly if a fight broke out.
• Gotel, Li Ang, Sheriff, and a military A-ranker discussed how the Anti-Smuggling Department had provoked the conflict and whether the retired warship should be returned or destroyed.
• Sheriff dropped his demand for the warship's return and asked Qu Jianlei to destroy it, record a video, and keep the video from being leaked.
• Qu Jianlei asked Sheriff what would happen if someone exposed the video as fake, and Sheriff reconsidered whether his subordinates could cause trouble again.

Qu Jianlei and Sheriff settled their dispute over the Anti-Smuggling Department warships, then Qu Jianlei completed a convincing video of their destruction and obtained approval to land on Blue Elf Star. He left without meeting Sheriff that time, but returned three months later and contacted him after landing without trouble.

• Qu Jianlei and Sheriff argued over the warships’ destruction until Gotel agreed to accompany the process and Wanmi accepted joint liability.
• At a banquet, Sheriff praised Hongjingtian’s combat ability and Qu Jianlei toasted him after Sheriff acknowledged that Qu Jianlei had honored their agreement.
• The military A-rank asked whether Qu Jianlei had another warship nearby, and Qu Jianlei avoided confirming its origins as both sides departed amicably.
• Two months later, Qu Jianlei finished the fabricated destruction video with Xiao Hu’s help and took it to Blue Elf Star with Gotel.
• After the Anti-Smuggling Department approved the video, Qu Jianlei refused to land and left, promising to buy Sheriff a drink another time.
• Three months later, Qu Jianlei landed 8384 on Blue Elf Star without trouble and sent a message to Sheriff’s Wristwatch.

Qu Jianlei met Sheriff at Elf Home, where Sheriff sought his favor and shared the Anti-Smuggling Department’s plans against the Norton Family. Sheriff also revealed that the Norton Family successor Qu Jianlei had killed had an unusually powerful Master, introducing Qu Jianlei to the Primal Warriors’ Master-Disciple System.

• Sheriff drove Qu Jianlei to Elf Home, complained about the fallout from their previous negotiations, and asked him to bring him along when he next met Rhine.
• Sheriff said he had arranged for the Anti-Smuggling Department to deal with the B-rank Ice Attribute who attacked Qu Jianlei and had listed the Norton Family for strict investigation.
• Qu Jianlei recounted how he had encountered and killed the Norton Family successor, and Sheriff explained that the man had been B-rank at thirty and was being groomed by his family.
• Sheriff revealed that the Norton Family successor had an Above Supreme Master who was only half a step from Above Supreme.
• Sheriff explained that the Master-Disciple System came from the Primal Warriors, though the Empire discouraged Awakened Ones from forming such factions.

Qu Jianlei left the Transit Star after preparing his hidden base, then ended his long guard contract at Godley and departed for the Iron Scraps Star System. He arrived at Titan territory, where its guards asked whether he would be allowed to land.

• Qu Jianlei learned that Jia Shuiqing was rumored to be the master of someone nearly at Above Supreme, and told Sheriff he would handle the matter if it involved her.
• Qu Jianlei finished securing and furnishing his underground base, rested, and left for Godley while strange black soil continued moving upward beneath the site.
• Qu Jianlei told Li Ang he wanted to leave the mine, and Gotel later agreed to arrange a replacement while keeping Qu Jianlei's ship hangar available for his visits.
• An Armed Merchant Ship arrived to take over the mine, and Qu Jianlei immediately launched the 8384 Ship; nearby mines reacted with relief at his departure.
• Qu Jianlei traveled to the Iron Scraps Star System, where Titan's guards recognized the 8384 Ship and asked whether they would be prevented from landing.

Qu Jianlei negotiated with Titan over the Norton Family’s withdrawn shares and received the share transfer agreements. He then traveled to Tianbing Star, where he stopped a fast-moving attacker with Gravity Art, but the assailant fled and threatened him.

• Kelvin told Qu Jianlei that the Norton Family had quietly withdrawn its investment from Titan and that the other shareholders had bought its shares at a discount.
• Qu Jianlei agreed not to pursue Titan’s shareholders over the discounted purchase, and Titan’s Supremes approved sending him the relevant share transfer agreements.
• Qu Jianlei received the documents, warned Titan to maintain a clean break, and left Iron Scraps Star System aboard the 8384 Ship.
• Qu Jianlei stored the 8384 Ship at Transit Star, traveled through Skyblade, and arrived at Tianbing Star.
• A thin attacker charged at Qu Jianlei outside the starport, but Qu Jianlei used Gravity Art to slam him to the ground.
• The attacker recovered when the force lifted and fled, then turned back to threaten Qu Jianlei.

Qu Jianlei settled into Tianbing Star under the alias Tiantian, hired Chenchen as his guide, and learned that the Norton Family was seeking to restore its baronet title and obtain official protection. After days of shopping and waiting, he spotted a peak B-rank woman and told Chenchen to bring her over, claiming he had once pulled off her skirt.

• Qu Jianlei ignored a youth’s threats, hired Chenchen as his guide, and arranged lodging and shopping under the alias Tiantian.
• Qu Jianlei checked his room for surveillance and learned that Rhine’s Wristwatch could not be located and the Norton Family had applied to restore its baronet title.
• Qu Jianlei rejected Xiao Hu’s suggestion to use Rhine’s connections and decided to wait while the Norton Family’s plans became clearer.
• Qu Jianlei spent several days shopping and dining with Chenchen, who asked him to invest in her, but he said investing in himself was better.
• Qu Jianlei spotted a peak B-rank woman and told Chenchen to invite her over, saying he had once pulled off her skirt.

Qu Jianlei reunited with Xiang Xue on Tianbing Star and learned that the Divine Script Society was hunting Panda and investigating improved cultivation techniques, including ones linked to the Garbage Star. After hearing that the Norton Family had harmed someone connected to him, he went to Changxiang Technology to take revenge, arriving in armor as the chapter ended.

• Qu Jianlei learned that Aunt Liu had been badly injured by the Divine Script Society after Xiang Xue shared the cultivation technique he had given her with two people.
• Xiang Xue told Qu Jianlei that the Divine Script Society had three Supremes in the Hope Star Region and was investigating Panda and other providers of improved techniques.
• Qu Jianlei learned that the Norton Family had donated a treasure related to the Primal Warrior and that someone connected to him had been wronged by them.
• Qu Jianlei told Xiang Xue he was going on a killing spree and headed to Changxiang Technology, a Norton Family factory.
• A helmeted Qu Jianlei arrived outside the factory, formed a hand seal, and put on red Ion Purification Armor.

Qu Jianlei destroyed two Norton Family factories in separate attacks, first posing as a Fire Attribute Supreme and then as an Earth Attribute Supreme. As the Norton Family gathered to plan its response, they learned the imperial honors ceremony would be held on the Capital Star.

• Qu Jianlei warned the Changxiang Factory workers to leave, then used Meteor Fire Rain to destroy the factory and its power hub.
• The Norton Family delayed sending investigators because it feared an Earth Attribute Supreme might be lying in ambush.
• Qu Jianlei destroyed another Norton Family factory with meteors and Earth Spikes, while its guards and workers escaped without casualties.
• The Norton Family strengthened defenses on Tianbing Star and gathered family members into three castles.
• Qianfeng Norton questioned the elders about how to respond to the attacks, but their discussion turned into an argument over the family’s business strategy.
• A middle-aged man arrived and announced that the imperial honors ceremony would be held on the Capital Star, shocking the gathered elders.

Qu Jianlei learned that the Norton Family would have to travel to Capital Star for its investiture ceremony, giving him a chance to strike at them. He left Tianbing Star for his territory to recover, where activating the Gathering Spirit Array made the space tremble.

• Qu Jianlei learned from Xiang Xue that the imperial investiture ceremony would take place on Capital Star in half a year, and realized the Norton Family would have to travel there.
• Qu Jianlei warned Xiang Xue not to investigate further and declined to stay on Tianbing Star waiting for the Norton Family.
• Qu Jianlei left for Transit Star, then traveled to Blue Elf and returned to his seaside cave to recover.
• Qu Jianlei searched the cave for three days after sensing something wrong, then activated the Gathering Spirit Array, which made the space tremble.

Qu Jianlei returned to the Garbage Star after recovering and traveling through jump space, using a repaired Anti-Smuggling Warship alongside the 3344 Ship. The chapter ended with him recognizing the Hong-character Settlement Area and sensing the radiation there.

• Qu Jianlei left the cavern, settled his docking fees, and flew the 8384 Ship back to the Abandoned Mining Planet.
• Qu Jianlei encountered Iron Filings' Ship Team, kept his identity as an Ice Attribute Supreme, and learned that Titan had cut ties with the Norton Family.
• Qu Jianlei jumped through space with the Anti-Smuggling Warship and arrived in the Hope Star Region.
• Qu Jianlei stopped two Bida Freight ships and obtained a star map that included the restricted Garbage Star.
• Qu Jianlei approached the Garbage Star, had Xiao Hu check for surveillance, and ordered the warship to land near the thick haze.
• Qu Jianlei flew out of the ship, recognized the Hong-character Settlement Area, and sensed that its radiation affected his Mental Strength.

Qu Jianlei searched Garbage Star for Bentley, Hua Xiezhi, and other clues, finding little in the settlement areas before reaching the Tian-character District. There, he discovered a large group of unusually strong young Awakened Ones and found that his former estate had been exposed, leaving Bentley and the others’ whereabouts uncertain.

• Qu Jianlei landed in the hills, hid the 3344 Ship in a Ship Hangar, and searched the Hong-character Settlement Area and nearby mountains in a Space Mech.
• Qu Jianlei found no trace of Cindy or Claire while searching the Zhou-character and Yu-character Settlement Areas.
• Qu Jianlei rested in a cave in the Xuan-character Settlement Area, then used an Autocannon to repel attacking Mutated Beasts and left their carcasses for a nearby hunting team.
• Qu Jianlei crossed into the Tian-character District and recognized a large group of young, powerful Awakened Ones as likely members of the Divine Script Society.
• Qu Jianlei found that his former estate beside Tai Du had been discovered and abandoned, but he could not determine where Bentley and Hua Xiezhi were hiding.