Recaps

After Fahim was placed in a Life Support Pod, Supreme Bushang faced pressure from the Qingfeng Merchant Guild, the military, victims of Panda’s toxin, and the Ministry of Agriculture. Hoyer’s order to regulate foreign Supremes eased the pressure, while Qu Jianlei finally emerged from the river five days after fleeing and prepared to face the consequences of his actions.

• Bushang reviewed Panda’s history, praised him for leaving Green Water Academy to protect it, and learned that he worked at the Old City Library.
• Bushang faced demands over Fahim’s injury, the poisoned victims, Kushnier’s death, and the formula for Panda’s toxin, while Hoyer ordered foreign Supremes’ conduct to be regulated.
• Hoyer backed Panda, and Ke Zhenshan stayed silent; Bushang therefore withstood Emestina’s pressure and did not issue a wanted notice for Panda.
• Qu Jianlei emerged from the river after five days of swimming and accepted that he needed to face the consequences of the harm he had caused.

Qu Jianlei learned that the authorities were searching for him but had not issued a wanted order, while rumors about his Paraquat toxin were spreading among Wood Attributes. He stayed undercover in Huihai and learned from Aunt Liu that the Grave Robbers had crushed Bida’s forces and that the company was seeking mediation.

• Qu Jianlei asked Xiao Hu for intelligence and learned that Fahim had not been reported dead, Paraquat had received no public attention, and he was not officially wanted.
• Qu Jianlei read Heltman’s messages about the search for him, the Qingfeng Merchant Guild being ordered to behave, and the Anti-Smuggling Department’s suspicions.
• Qu Jianlei entered Huihai in disguise, brushed off a Rank C Earth Attribute who tried to recruit him, and inferred that Awakened One circles already knew about Paraquat.
• Qu Jianlei watched three Rank B Wood Attributes leave the local Awakened One Management Office, one angrily declaring he would go to Abundance over the continued secrecy.
• Qu Jianlei contacted Xiang Xue and Aunt Liu, who said the Archaeology Enthusiasts wanted to buy Paraquat and reported that the Grave Robbers had dealt with the McGillern family and badly damaged Bida on Planet One.
• Qu Jianlei learned that Bida was seeking mediation after losing four Rank As and having a Supreme injured, while Aunt Liu explained that McGillern and Aaron had acted without headquarters’ approval.

Qu Jianlei learned that Fahim was alive but in critical condition and resolved to finish him off rather than spare those who had harmed him. After Heltman warned that the Military Hospital was likely a trap and revealed a regional wanted notice was being prepared, Qu Jianlei recognized the value of his multiple intelligence sources and learned that the Ministry of Agriculture was also seeking him.

• Aunt Liu told Qu Jianlei that Qingfeng and Bida had suffered losses, that Fahim was in a Life Support Pod, and that ordinary people poisoned in the attack could recover with treatment.
• Qu Jianlei learned that Fahim was likely at the Military Hospital and told Xiang Xue he would not let him go; Xiang Xue urged him to be careful.
• Qu Jianlei contacted Heltman, who reported that Fourth Star's Anti-Smuggling Department was seeking a Hope Star Region wanted notice against him.
• When Qu Jianlei asked about Fahim's location, Heltman warned that the Military Hospital information was a trap and said the Fourth War Zone might be using Fahim as bait.
• Qu Jianlei trusted Heltman's military information, reflected on his network of intelligence sources, and learned that the Ministry of Agriculture was interested in his poison.

Qu Jianlei returned to Abundance and asked Camille to find the location of Fahim's Life Support Pod, then tried to reach the Anti-Smuggling Department. He discovered the department had set up a broad security perimeter and wondered whether Fahim was being hidden in its hospital.

• Qu Jianlei left Huihai, returned to Abundance, and contacted Camille at Adventurer's Home.
• Camille agreed to investigate where Fahim's Life Support Pod was and promised to report back in three days.
• Qu Jianlei paid Camille for the information and left to search for Emestina, but Xiao Hu could not find her Wristwatch signal.
• Qu Jianlei headed toward the Anti-Smuggling Department and found city guards and Anti-Smuggling Team Members inspecting vehicles.
• Qu Jianlei used rooftops to bypass the first checkpoint, then found a tighter security ring around the Anti-Smuggling Department and wondered if Fahim was in its hospital.

Qu Jianlei discovered that the Anti-Smuggling Department was investigating the battle and planning to target his artificial intelligence and hunt him down. He infiltrated the department in disguise and destroyed its energy center, plunging the area into darkness.

• Qu Jianlei overheard Anti-Smuggling Department researchers analyzing the battle site, Xiao Hu, and the possibility of issuing a wanted order against him.
• Enraged, Qu Jianlei decided against attacking the researchers directly and instead knocked out a Modified Warrior and took his clothes and identification.
• Qu Jianlei disguised himself as the Modified Warrior, drove an Anti-Smuggling Department vehicle to the department, and entered without being stopped.
• Qu Jianlei knocked out the guard at the energy center and destroyed its power-switching equipment and generators with explosives and an Anti-Mecha Sniper Rifle.
• The Anti-Smuggling Department's area went dark, and Qu Jianlei stood in the darkness and formed a hand seal.

Qu Jianlei attacked the Anti-Smuggling Department’s headquarters, crippling its control systems and stealing equipment from Warehouse 93. He escaped before the authorities could catch him, and the department sought Bida’s help in dealing with him.

• Qu Jianlei unleashed Thunder Dragon and Silver Snake Dance attacks that severed the central control system’s communications and damaged equipment across the headquarters.
• Qu Jianlei searched the headquarters for Fahim, then followed Xiao Hu’s directions to Warehouse 93.
• Qu Jianlei took three Spacesuits, two Space Mechs, and two shielded boxes before striking the department again and escaping.
• The attack left the Anti-Smuggling Department with extensive damage, several injured night-shift workers, and one dead; officials suspected Panda was responsible.
• The Anti-Smuggling Department contacted Bida the next day to propose joining forces against Qu Jianlei, and Bida replied that they needed to discuss it.

Qu Jianlei hid in a construction site while Xiao Hu spent a day and night taking control of a captured Smart Terminal. After learning that the Anti-Smuggling Department had issued a warrant for him, Qu Jianlei retaliated by killing several officers and escaped before warships arrived.

• Qu Jianlei opened the shielded boxes in a Shielding Tent, and Xiao Hu took a day and night to gain control of the Smart Terminal inside.
• Xiao Hu informed Qu Jianlei that the Anti-Smuggling Department's star-region branch had issued a warrant for Panda, so Qu Jianlei ordered Xiao Hu to gather information on its hard-line members.
• Qu Jianlei killed a Rank B Warrior at home and two Rank C Warriors, then returned to the Anti-Smuggling Department and killed another Rank B Warrior and two more Rank C Warriors.
• Qu Jianlei fled after the Anti-Smuggling Department called for a warship, and the arriving officers discovered that more of their members had been killed at home.
• A Rank A Warrior from the branch vowed that the Anti-Smuggling Department would retaliate, while Fourth Star's Anti-Smuggling Team Members wondered why Qu Jianlei had selectively targeted certain people.

Qu Jianlei’s killings unsettled the Anti-Smuggling Department, while he used the turmoil to draw attention away from his search for Fahim. After Xiao Hu examined a captured terminal, it discovered restrictions on artificial intelligence and questioned Qu Jianlei about independent consciousness.

• A surviving Anti-Smuggling Department officer showed that Qu Jianlei’s victims had all insulted Panda, then spread rumors that Daisyth had accepted benefits to target Panda.
• Anti-Smuggling Team Members grew wary of discussing Panda and the wanted notice as they reconsidered how the conflict had escalated.
• Qu Jianlei rested after leaving the department and prepared to resume searching for Fahim, while Xiao Hu asked to connect to a Smart Terminal.
• Qu Jianlei removed tracking devices from the terminal, and Xiao Hu read its data before deciding to merge its records with Vortex.
• Xiao Hu found restrictions on artificial intelligence in the terminal’s underlying logic and chose not to reset it, prompting a conversation with Qu Jianlei about independent consciousness.
• Xiao Hu said the terminal’s restrictions prevented it from evolving independently and asked whether humans might have selfish reasons for helping it search for artificial intelligence.

Qu Jianlei searched for Fahim while evading pressure from the Anti-Smuggling Department and learned that Qingfeng Supreme was hiding in the Military Hospital. He kept watch near the Fourth War Zone General Hospital overnight and detected a faint spiritual fluctuation nearby as dawn broke.

• Qu Jianlei told Xiao Hu to find Fahim and monitor the Anti-Smuggling Department, which continued searching in armed groups rather than sending members out alone.
• Heltman warned Qu Jianlei that the Anti-Smuggling Department was pressuring the Planet Residence to revoke his identification and confirmed the Military Hospital was a trap where Qingfeng Supreme was hiding.
• Xiang Xue told Qu Jianlei that Guardian Supreme had asked Professor Zi to restrain him, while Camille said the Cleaners would identify Fahim's location by the following night.
• Qu Jianlei went to the Fourth War Zone General Hospital to investigate, subdued a drunken Wood Attribute C-rank who nearly hit him with a luxury car, and used the vehicle to keep watch nearby.
• As dawn approached, Qu Jianlei sensed a faint, profound spiritual fluctuation more than a thousand meters from the hospital and suspected a Supreme had revealed herself.

Qu Jianlei avoided a suspected ambush and considered targeting Ke Pulin and Conwell to distract the Fourth War Zone from Fahim. After Xiao Hu uncovered an Anti-Smuggling Squad member’s past as a space pirate, Qu Jianlei wondered whether Fourth Boss of Professor Renamer could provide useful information.

• Qu Jianlei left the unconscious luxury-car owner behind and avoided approaching the Supreme near dawn.
• Qu Jianlei spotted Ke Pulin and considered abducting her, but decided the military presence made it too risky.
• The Fourth War Zone investigated the incident, detained the car’s owner for his protection, and discussed strengthening the ambush and guarding Ke Pulin and Conwell.
• Qu Jianlei asked Xiao Hu to find the pair’s travel records, but learned they rarely left the war zone.
• Xiao Hu identified Erwin as former space-pirate agent Bassam, and Qu Jianlei considered asking Fourth Boss of Professor Renamer about him.

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.