Recaps

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.

After Gwendolen was shot, he and Qu Jianlei argued over whether Qu had released a recording that might expose the Stahl Family’s retaliation. Gwendolen fainted, and his sister Glady took charge, ordering his guard to offer Qu a refund for the recording.

• Qu Jianlei denied fabricating the recording and taunted Gwendolen that releasing it could make him safer, enraging Gwendolen until he fainted.
• Glady arrived at the hospital and demanded a list of suspects, then questioned the guard about Panda and the recording.
• After learning Panda had defeated Smiling Face and was not easily intimidated, Glady ordered the guard to offer him a refund in exchange for the recording.
• The guard hesitated because Gwendolen never refunded money, but Glady ordered him to deduct it from Gwendolen’s account and said she would handle any complaint.

Qu Jianlei met with Glady, Gwendolen’s older sister, who came to buy his recording for five hundred thousand credits. Their discussion turned to the Stahl Family and information Qu Jianlei had about possible threats, but he kept the details to himself and suggested Glady investigate who had been asking about the family.

• Qu Jianlei refused repeated calls about the recording until Glady arrived at the library with two B-rank guards and offered to buy it.
• Glady ordered the C-rank guard to pay Qu Jianlei five hundred thousand credits from Gwendolen’s account, while refusing to lend her brother any money.
• Qu Jianlei agreed to provide the recording only after receiving payment, then warned Glady that the Stahl Family had connections across star regions and was dangerous to provoke.
• Glady pressed Qu Jianlei for more information, but he withheld what he knew because he did not trust her or want the information to leak.
• Qu Jianlei suggested Glady investigate who had recently been asking about the families, and she agreed to look into it.

Qu Jianlei took the assassins’ proposed attack on the city seriously and captured them before they could act. In the underground chamber, he questioned the surviving woman, who realized that the intelligence behind their mission had badly underestimated him.

• Glady paid Qu Jianlei five hundred thousand in cash for the recording and asked him to deal with the assassins, while Gwendolen fainted after hearing about the money.
• Qu Jianlei went to the resort hotel and overheard the assassins discussing plans to cause a Fire Explosion before heading to the academy.
• After the assassins fell asleep, Qu Jianlei used repeated Mental Attacks to incapacitate the man and knock out the woman.
• The woman woke in an underground chamber with her cultivation sealed and learned that Qu Jianlei had captured her and removed her belongings.
• Qu Jianlei refused to spare the woman, then revealed that he was No Attribute and could use both fire and electricity as well as powerful Mental Spells.

Qu Jianlei learned how the two assassins had been hired and why the Stahl Family’s lack of local support had pushed them toward a hardline plan. After questioning the female counselor, he killed her, destroyed the scene, and left with a few unusual instruments.

• The female counselor explained her background, her partnership with the male assassin, and how the Stahl Family’s limited cooperation had led them to favor killing their opponents.
• Qu Jianlei realized the Stahl Family had withheld the local context the assassins needed, though he mistakenly believed they had deliberately chosen to eliminate him and other families.
• The counselor confirmed that the middle-aged assassin was dead and described how the pair found assignments through intermediaries connecting legitimate clients to the Black Market.
• She revealed the Black Market’s location and the intermediary’s name, hoping the information would help her survive, but Qu Jianlei killed her and destroyed the scene.
• Qu Jianlei left with little money or useful equipment, but took several rare instruments from the counselor’s Item-Storing Talisman.

Qu Jianlei stayed out of the investigation after eliminating the two assassins, while their disappearance exposed the Stahl Family’s plot and prompted pressure from the authorities. The Stahl Family began sending younger members away, but Heltman’s men blocked their departure, leaving the family increasingly cornered.

• Qu Jianlei decided not to tell Glady about the assassins and continued watching events unfold rather than risking harm to ordinary people.
• The Stahl Family, Pollyanna, and the Ye Family learned of the two assassins’ disappearance, and clues linking them to Gwendolen’s attack made them suspects.
• Glady informed Heltman, who had a trusted subordinate contact the people from the Skybow Star Region; their coded reply convinced the Stahl Family that the assassins had lost control of their fate.
• The Stahl Family tightened security and faced accusations of breaking its agreement, then began planning to disperse its members and send younger relatives to another star region.
• The Stahl Family sent four children and two adults away under the guise of tourism, but Heltman’s men stopped a later group of eight at the port over incomplete paperwork.

The Stahl Family collapsed after the death of Rommel and a crackdown ordered by the Second One, while Qu Jianlei watched without intervening. Glady questioned him about the missing Psychological Counselors, and the Engineering Academy approved and began work on the library renovation.

• Glady alerted her husband after the Stahl Family tried to flee Fourth Star, and the guard captain restricted their departure; the family then announced that Robin Han had killed himself.
• Rommel refused Pollyanna’s demand that he confess and proposed seeking the Third Boss’s protection, but an intruder killed him in his room.
• The Fourth Boss ordered an investigation, and the Second One had patrol guards arrest Stahl Family members; the family’s assets were divided among rivals, leaving Qu Jianlei to watch its collapse.
• Glady asked Qu Jianlei whether he had been responsible for the missing Psychological Counselors, but he denied understanding her question; she offered him a favor before leaving.
• Halik approved the library rectification proposal, and staff finalized a renovation plan that the academy approved using the library’s own funds.
• Halik brought a construction crew to the library and ordered work to begin the following day.

Qu Jianlei spent his days reading while the library was renovated, then went shopping with Xiang Xue, Aunt Liu, and Zi Jiuxian to buy materials for his Defense Array. After cooking dinner for them, he revealed that he suspected military personnel had been watching their group.

• Qu Jianlei refused Halk's request to supervise the library renovations and borrowed books to read in his dormitory.
• Qu Jianlei went shopping with Xiang Xue, Aunt Liu, and Zi Jiuxian after the Stahl Family's collapse eased the danger of leaving the academy.
• Qu Jianlei searched for scarce array materials, and Xiang Xue offered to provide whatever he still needed for free.
• Aunt Liu urged the group to return to the academy before dark because unrest had worsened Abundance's public security.
• Qu Jianlei cooked dinner for the three women, who nearly finished all four dishes and the soup.
• Qu Jianlei told Aunt Liu that he thought military personnel had been watching them, while Zi Jiuxian said the military often communicated with the academy.

Qu Jianlei and Xiang Xue tested a Defense Array at Green Water Academy, where a Wood Attribute officer confronted them and tried to recruit them for military research. After they refused, he reported their work to a military research leader, who ordered him to bring a miniature camera on his next visit.

• Qu Jianlei spent several nights testing the Defense Array while Xiang Xue bought materials and kept curious onlookers away.
• A Wood Attribute officer recognized the array and challenged Xiang Xue about researching it without military authorization.
• Xiang Xue invoked Green Water Academy’s Old Dean, and Qu Jianlei refused the officer’s offer to join a military research institute.
• The Wood Attribute officer called a military research leader and described the array as an outdated defensive mechanism being researched by two teachers.
• The research leader ordered the officer to recruit Qu Jianlei and Xiang Xue, even forcibly if necessary, and told him to bring a Glimmer miniature camera next time.
• The officer warned that Qu Jianlei was B-rank and that a confrontation could draw the Engineering Academy’s A-rank members.

Qu Jianlei and Xiang Xue were attacked by a Wood Attribute A-rank soldier who had previously shot at Xiang Xue. Qu Jianlei resisted the soldier’s Mental Attack and kept him from escaping, until Cheng Qingshan arrived.

• Xiang Xue caught Yi Suo watching Qu Jianlei set up formations with a Low-Light Camera, and the School Protection Team checked his identity before he stopped coming.
• A different soldier confronted Qu Jianlei and Xiang Xue, and Qu Jianlei recognized him as the Wood Attribute Warrior who had shot at Xiang Xue.
• The Wood Attribute Warrior’s Mental Attack failed against Qu Jianlei, while Qu Jianlei’s improvised defense drained much of the attacker’s Mental Strength.
• Xiang Xue fired a Three Stars Arrow as Qu Jianlei used his dagger and positioning to keep the Wood Attribute Warrior under pressure, and Aunt Liu arrived to protect Xiang Xue with Wood Armor.
• The Wood Attribute Warrior drew a Laser Pistol but could not create an opening as Qu Jianlei struck him again, and Cheng Qingshan arrived.

Cheng Qingshan intervened when an A-rank Wood Attribute Warrior attacked Xiang Xue and fought Qu Jianlei and a Water Attribute teacher at the academy. After capturing the attacker and ordering an investigation, he accompanied Qu Jianlei to put away his experimental materials and ask him about his work.

• Cheng Qingshan watched Qu Jianlei and the Water Attribute teacher suppress the Wood Attribute Warrior before firing a tracking Golden Arrow to stop the fight.
• The Wood Attribute Warrior released a cloud of smoke and tried to escape, but Cheng Qingshan tracked him down and wounded him until he surrendered.
• Xiang Xue told Cheng Qingshan that the attacker was not a soldier and admitted she intended to kill him later because he had tried to assassinate her twice.
• Cheng Qingshan sealed the Wood Attribute Warrior's cultivation and ordered the School Guard to take him away carefully, while Xiang Xue warned against healing him.
• Cheng Qingshan told Qu Jianlei to make a statement, then agreed to accompany him to put away his experimental materials and ask about his experiment.

Cheng Qingshan questioned the captured A-rank Warrior about his attack on Xiang Xue and learned that her family’s Supreme had killed one of the Warrior’s relatives. After investigating Qu Jianlei’s connections, Cheng Qingshan discovered that Jia Shuiqing was Zi Jiuxian’s great-grandmother and wondered who the other notable people connected to her were.

• Cheng Qingshan spoke with Qu Jianlei about his array and Mental Attribute armor, then asked Xiang Xue why the A-rank Warrior had attacked her.
• The A-rank Warrior admitted that Xiang Xue’s family’s Supreme had killed one of his relatives, but he refused to identify the Supreme.
• Cheng Qingshan learned that the A-rank Warrior knew Qu Jianlei only as an administrator at the Old Town District Library and that Xiang Xue had been recognized from a previous battle recording.
• Cheng Qingshan called to buy information about Jia Shuiqing’s current connections and received an encrypted file two hours later.
• Cheng Qingshan discovered that Jia Shuiqing was Zi Jiuxian’s great-grandmother and noted that four people in the file were remarkable.

Xiang Xue refused to let military officers take her away without showing authorization, and Cheng Qingshan arrived to challenge their demand. The confrontation ended with Military Discipline Officer Gavin asking whether Cheng Qingshan was obstructing a military operation.

• Xiang Xue said she would not let the suspect go unpunished, while Qu Jianlei continued developing a Defense Array that could withstand multiple Rank B attacks.
• Cheng Qingshan told an array expert about Qu Jianlei's work, prompting the expert to seek an introduction and an intelligence broker to ask about the Engineering Academy.
• That night, two military armored vehicles arrived at the wasteland, and Aunt Liu covered Xiang Xue, herself, and Qu Jianlei with Wood Armor.
• Gavin demanded that Xiang Xue come with the military for questioning, but she refused and demanded to see his authorization.
• Cheng Qingshan arrived and urged Gavin to question Xiang Xue there; Gavin accused him of obstructing a military operation.

Gavin came to question Xiang Xue about the disappearance of Jettell, an A-rank penitent who had tried to assassinate her, but Cheng Qingshan warned him that powerful Supremes stood behind the academy staff. Gavin learned the circumstances of Jettell’s disappearance but found no evidence connecting Xiang Xue’s family to it, leaving her uncertain whether her father had acted.

• Cheng Qingshan warned Gavin that Xiang Xue and the other academy staff had formidable backing, and Gavin agreed to question them without escalating matters.
• Gavin revealed that the military was investigating the disappearance of an A-rank warrior, and Zi Jiuxian and Cheng Qingshan recognized the missing man as Jettell.
• Gavin explained that Jettell had disappeared near a hospital after leaving his belongings in storage, leading the military to suspect he had not fled voluntarily.
• Xiang Xue said she had remained at the academy and refused to answer whether her family’s Supreme was involved, since Gavin had no evidence against them.
• Gavin asked whether Xiang Xue feared Jettell might harm her if he had escaped, and she said he had failed to kill her twice before.
• Xiang Xue decided to ask her family that night whether they had acted, while suspecting her father might have ensured Jettell would not survive.

Gavin failed to investigate Xiang Xue and Panda, while the military began courting them over their array research. Hals visited Qu Jianlei regularly, and his mention of an incoming delegation from the Planet Three War Zone left Qu Jianlei startled.

• Gavin confronted Xiang Xue and Cheng Qingshan about Jettell’s disappearance, but left without getting answers from them or Panda.
• Gavin learned that Xiang Xue and Panda had been researching arrays, then told the deputy commander that the investigation was blocked by the Academy Faction.
• The deputy commander discovered that Xiang Xue and Panda were visiting instructors and learned that they had helped suppress Jettell.
• Hals visited Qu Jianlei and Xiang Xue to offer military support for their array research, but Qu Jianlei refused to share details or accept recruitment.
• Hals continued visiting Qu Jianlei over the next five days, then mentioned that a delegation from the Planet Three War Zone was arriving, startling Qu Jianlei.

Qu Jianlei learned that the Empire’s war zones inspected one another’s arsenals and asked Zi Jiuxian to gather information about the Third War Zone. After studying details about Kushnier’s loyalist Wei Shile and several rare-attribute warriors, Qu Jianlei spotted a potential lead in the name Tesla.

• Hals explained that the Great War Zones regularly exchanged information and inspected one another’s arsenals, while Qu Jianlei questioned the system’s critics.
• Qu Jianlei asked Zi Jiuxian to discreetly gather general military information with a focus on the Third War Zone, and she sought help from her great-grandmother, Old Lady Jia.
• Old Lady Jia sent Qu Jianlei information on the Third War Zone’s leaders, including Supreme Deng Xisi and Rank A Wei Shile, a loyal former assistant to Kushnier.
• Qu Jianlei considered how to target Wei Shile without harming innocents or alerting Kushnier, but he could not devise a suitable plan.
• Qu Jianlei noticed Tesla’s name in the information and became interested in the Stone Attribute Rank B.