Chapter Summaries

Han Dong learned from the Clock Master that the Black Tower monitored Destiny Worlds and served as their central transfer station, and that his Black Vortex Mark identified him as a participant who had killed an Uncontrolled One. After entering the Toad Gate, Han Dong was drawn alone toward the Black Tower and landed in the center of a black plaza.

• The chapter explained how the clown escaped Black Tower custody, infected a locust, and was ultimately killed by Han Dong in Derry Town.
• A month earlier, Han Dong visited the Clock Master to ask about the Black Vortex Mark he had gained after killing the clown.
• The Clock Master told Han Dong that the mark would not make him an Uncontrolled One and that it granted him access to the Black Tower.
• The Clock Master described the Black Tower as a supervisory world that monitored Destiny Worlds and provided a transfer station for trades, upgrades, missions, and travel.
• Han Dong asked whether the Clock Master was a Black Tower Employee, and the Clock Master confirmed that he was.
• In the present, Han Dong passed through the Toad Gate, became separated from his team, and followed the Black Vortex to the center of a black plaza.

Han Dong arrived at a vast Black Tower plaza and discovered that its Participants came from many different worlds and species, prompting him to rethink the origins of the Gates of Destiny and the Old Kings’ awakening. He left the chapter contemplating whether humanity was only one part of a much larger Black Tower system.

• A sealing force stripped Han Dong of his spatial and disguise abilities, revealing his true form, while his destiny-granted abilities and Earl’s consciousness remained intact.
• Han Dong showed Earl the plaza, and Earl was stunned by the Black Tower and its unfamiliar surroundings.
• Han Dong saw Participants from other worlds, including a Starlight Race being, a Cyclops, and a Carapace Insect-like trader, and realized humans were only one of many species in Destiny Space.
• Han Dong reasoned that the Gates of Destiny might have awakened the Old Kings, rather than the First World War awakening them, and wondered whether the Black Tower was the true center of the world’s upheaval.

After learning the Black Tower’s basic rules, Han Dong collected a reward for killing Pennywise and received an intern employee pass. He then asked to check on Inside Derry Town and a Destiny servant, learning that both had changed significantly.

• Han Dong learned that the Black Tower’s public area sealed non-Destiny abilities, prohibited attacks, and let him stay for 36 hours.
• A staff member at the Supervision Department confirmed that Han Dong had killed Pennywise and awarded him 200 points, Black Tower access, and an Intern Employee Pass.
• The system explained that the pass let Han Dong browse low-level fugitive records and earn rewards for capturing or killing Uncontrolled Ones.
• Han Dong asked to look up Inside Derry Town and a Destiny servant, and the system directed him to the Connection Room after detecting major changes in both.

Han Dong entered the Yin Yang Road world through Consciousness Access to check on Chen Li, whose abnormal Yin Yang State kept her from leaving. Trapped in a beggar’s weak body, he witnessed a terrifying delivery and drew the attention of the old man carrying it.

• Han Dong learned that Chen Li was stuck in the Yin Yang State and would have to be retrieved by completing the world’s main event himself.
• Han Dong arranged Consciousness Access and chose an eligible Derry Town resident to accompany him.
• Han Dong’s consciousness entered the body of a sickly beggar, leaving him with severely limited strength and two hours to act.
• Han Dong saw thugs attack an old man carrying a leather bag and cut off several of his fingers.
• Black hair from the bag dragged all five thugs inside, and the old man restored his fingers before noticing Han Dong.

Han Dong and Miss Jian captured the supernatural cargo from the leather bag and questioned her about the Yin Yang State and Chen Li. The cargo began answering Han Dong’s questions, leaving him seeking clues to Chen Li’s whereabouts.

• The old man attacked Han Dong, who used Death Sand and overturned trash bins while trying to escape with the leather bag.
• Han Dong found Miss Jian’s body in the garbage and used her corpse-explosion witchcraft to destroy the old man.
• Miss Jian sealed the leather bag, and she and Han Dong passed through a wall into a household, where Han Dong washed, changed clothes, and ate to recover.
• Han Dong opened the bag and found a woman folded inside, along with the thug who had been dragged in by her hair.
• Han Dong asked the woman what a Yin Yang State was and whether she knew Chen Li.

Han Dong learned how Yin Yang Road worked and what was required to enter the legendary Yin Yang State, then agreed to deliver the dismembered woman to Dragon Grandma. When they reached Ghost Festival Street, they found Dragon Grandma dead and saw the street sign change to Yin Yang Road as a Woman in Red Robe appeared on the rooftop.

• Han Dong questioned the dismembered woman, who explained how Yin Yang Road descended and how surviving its yang paths could allow someone to become a spirit.
• The woman described the requirements for entering the Yin Yang State: choosing the yang path eighteen times, then enduring unavoidable yin paths without dying until Yin Yang Road offered a deadly bargain.
• Han Dong asked about Chen Li, and the woman said Dragon Grandma might know her and was receiving underworld visitors on July 14th.
• Han Dong and Miss Jian forced the woman to guide them toward Dragon Grandma's residence, with Miss Jian disguised as a disabled person in a wheelchair.
• The group reached Ghost Festival Street, where the braziers were overturned, the candles were out, and Dragon Grandma's body fell from above.
• The dismembered woman identified the corpse as Dragon Grandma, and Han Dong saw the street sign change to Yin Yang Road and a Woman in Red Robe floating on the rooftop.

Han Dong escaped Yin Yang Road after witnessing a red-robed apparition emerge from Dragon Grandma’s corpse and spread through her apartment building. Back in the Black Tower, he suspected the apparition might be Chen Li and planned to explore the plaza before reuniting with his teammates.

• Han Dong fled toward the Yin Yang Road exit with Miss Jian after the system warned him not to interfere with the world’s causal threads.
• A red-robed arm emerged from Dragon Grandma’s corpse, while other red-robed women appeared throughout her apartment building and watched Han Dong leave.
• The woman in the leather bag explained that Dragon Grandma was likely the Yin Medium responsible for Yin Yang Road and that her death would disrupt the Nine Dragon Society.
• Han Dong said goodbye to Miss Jian, left the leather-bag spirit near a telephone booth, and used its phone to return his consciousness to the Black Tower.
• The red-robed arm attacked the spirit and struck the telephone booth as Han Dong departed, leading him to suspect Chen Li might be breaking free of Yin Yang Road.
• Han Dong decided to search the plaza for bargains and learn more about the world before reuniting with his teammates.

Han Dong explored the Black Tower plaza, bought a Water Repelling Bead for Lord Maritis, and discovered that the Exchange Area could sell aberrant demons as servants. After spending his remaining points and resting, he prepared to rejoin his teammates and begin the Destiny Journey disguised as a toad.

• Han Dong decided to save his points rather than buy costly equipment at the plaza.
• Han Dong bought a Water Repelling Bead from a one-eyed girl, intending it to strengthen Lord Maritis and help the squad survive dry environments.
• Han Dong and the Earl argued over the gift, and Han Dong promised to give the Earl something after he regained a physical body.
• Han Dong searched the Black Tower Exchange Area and discovered that he could buy aberrant demons, including Nascent Body creatures, through the system.
• Han Dong spent his remaining points on a special Black Tower-exclusive item, rested, and prepared to return to his teammates as a toad.

Han Dong led Lord Maritis through the rain-soaked transfer station to the video store, where he revealed a Destiny Card and proposed something big. The chapter ended before he explained his plan.

• Han Dong found his exhausted teammates a place to rest while Lord Maritis went outside into the torrential rain.
• Han Dong used the Demon Eye’s senses to locate the video store and guided Lord Maritis there.
• Lord Maritis questioned how Han Dong had learned the Demon Eye, and its vision could not see through the gray mist around his head.
• At the video store, Han Dong startled Lord Maritis, showed her a Destiny Card he had bought in the Black Tower, and asked if she was interested in pulling off something big.

Han Dong persuaded Maritis to join him in seeking an item that could weaken the Toad Ancestor’s Mythical Restriction, then used the True Destiny Card to reveal keywords for possible worlds. After studying them for ten hours, he selected a disc marked “scales,” and a strange resonance began in his head.

• Maritis rejected Han Dong’s proposal to enter a large-scale world, doubting that they could find a way to remove the Toad Ancestor’s Mythical Restriction.
• Han Dong revealed his Yellow Envoy identity and the Blood Necklace, persuading Maritis that he could help find an item to weaken myth.
• Maritis agreed to join Han Dong in the search, provided she could personally present any discovery to the Toad Ancestor.
• Han Dong used the True Destiny Card, which revealed cryptic keywords on the available books and discs, while Maritis fell asleep to recover.
• Han Dong spent ten hours comparing the keywords, chose the disc marked “scales,” and heard a strange electromagnetic resonance in his head.

Han Dong selected the Prometheus Destiny World, a dangerous medium-large event with possible Mythical Aura, and entered it with his teammates and Lord Maritis. Aboard the Hyperion near the target planet, he mastered the ship’s systems and prepared to land, expecting the world’s ancient ruins to offer a chance to find mythical relics.

• Han Dong told his teammates that his Destiny Card had selected a high-risk world, and asked Demps to advise him on critical decisions.
• Lord Maritis awoke recovered and agreed with Han Dong’s choice, while Demps teased him about her obedience.
• The disc became a portal to Prometheus, a high-disturbance Destiny World requiring the team to explore a planet with the potential for severe dangers.
• Han Dong received the captain’s memories aboard the Hyperion and quickly learned how to operate the spacecraft.
• As the crew awoke near the destination, Han Dong set the ship’s deceleration and landing parameters for a river basin.

After recovering from hibernation, Han Dong discovered that Hyperion had made Maritis its secret bio-augmented weapon and ordered him to eliminate rival exploration teams. He released Maritis from her pod as other companies began exploring the planet, including Torgue's team from Megalanri.

• Han Dong and his teammates recovered from hibernation and learned their assigned roles and implanted memories, including that Mia and Abel were bio-augmented humans.
• Han Dong used the ship's systems to find Maritis restrained in a separate hibernation pod and learned that Hyperion had created her as a top-secret weapon.
• Hyperion's delayed warning told Captain Nicholas that its Toad Body Plan had been leaked and ordered him to avoid other companies' fleets and eliminate rival exploration squads.
• Han Dong released the unconscious Maritis, who slipped into his arms; Demps saw them, misunderstood the scene, and locked the laboratory door before offering to handle the landing.
• Three rival exploration teams had landed while a fourth ship remained delayed by solar-flare damage; Torgue's team from Sam Nation examined its ship's technology on the planet.

Han Dong's squad landed on Libra-233 and began adapting to the planet while other teams also arrived. As the group explored the jungle, Mia suffered a sudden, severe attack from an unseen assailant.

• Doctor Novikov's squad landed on Libra-233 and planned to meet Tesla while searching for an alien divine relic.
• A bald monk from the Jakobs team meditated on a snowy mountain and judged the realm beyond the domain to be extremely dangerous.
• Han Dong helped Maritis awaken, and she explained how she retained human genes for covert infiltration and asked him to call her Mary.
• Han Dong and Mary joined their teammates aboard the Hyperion, which landed safely in a jungle after they confirmed no other spacecraft were nearby.
• Han Dong and the others removed their head coverings to adapt to the atmosphere, but an unseen attacker severed Mia's arm and slashed deeply into her neck.

A black lifeform attacked Mia and infected her with a substance that rapidly assimilated her cells, prompting Han Dong to remove a newly formed Xenomorph larva. When Mia’s severed arms transformed into predatory creatures, Han Dong realized that preventing black liquid infections would be essential to surviving the Destiny Event.

• A black lifeform ambushed Mia, injured her, and fled as Lord Maritis pursued it.
• Han Dong detected a foreign substance inside Mia and transferred her consciousness into a Little Spider before taking her to the Hyperion.
• Han Dong used Opening Eye to discover that the substance was combining with an egg in Mia’s body, then removed and froze the larva with Demps’s help.
• Mia returned to her body after Han Dong repaired her wounds, but he delayed reattaching her arms to examine them for infection.
• Mia’s severed arms transformed into arm Facehuggers and attacked Han Dong, who destroyed them with death-scarabs.
• Han Dong concluded that the group needed to prevent black liquid from invading their bodies, since an untreated infection could mean certain death.

After an ambush left Mia injured and a hostile creature escaped Maritis, Han Dong investigated the Black Water virus and tested it against the G-Virus. Black Water overwhelmed the G-Virus and formed a dangerous lifeform with “divinity,” which Han Dong destroyed before beginning a deeper analysis of the substance.

• Mia began regenerating her severed arms, while Maritis reported that the black-shelled attacker had escaped by self-destructing and spraying corrosive fluids.
• Han Dong explained that Black Water could mutate organisms and limbs, then took the frozen Facehugger to the laboratory to study it alone.
• Han Dong’s analysis revealed that the Facehugger had inherited Mia’s speed and web-weaving abilities and carried Black Water.
• Han Dong cultivated the G-Virus and Black Water in separate human-cell samples, then combined them to observe how the viruses interacted.
• Black Water rapidly consumed the G-Virus and formed a tumor-like mass covered in eyes, which Han Dong destroyed with Death Magic after his Brain Laboratory warned that it possessed divinity.
• Han Dong placed the remaining Black Water in a test tube and agreed to a deeper analysis, despite the risk of dizziness and impaired thinking.

After analyzing Black Water, Han Dong and his team explored the alien forest along their attacker’s escape route, finding increasingly dense Fungal Sacs that released infectious spores. They reached a dark cultivation area filled with enormous sacs and spotted a house ahead, which might lead them to the planet’s inhabitants or a major quest.

• Han Dong learned that Black Water was a highly mutagenic RNA virus whose divinity could help refine his plague system and produce a Perfect Body.
• Han Dong explained how the team might resist Black Water’s divinity, and Mia agreed to stay close to him if her witchcraft failed.
• Han Dong warned the team that Prometheus could be extremely dangerous, then led them out in combat spacesuits along the attacker’s escape route.
• Han Dong examined Fungal Sacs and realized their growing numbers suggested someone had deliberately placed them throughout the forest.
• Han Dong led the team across a river into a gloomy cultivation area filled with giant, writhing Fungal Sacs.
• Han Dong spotted a house about a thousand meters away through the Black Water spores.

Han Dong's squad chose to avoid the forest's thousands of fungal sacs and investigate a stone structure in a clearing. There, they met a human-looking guide who spoke Ancient Egyptian and invited them inside for an Imperial Audience, leaving Han Dong wondering whether the man had been brought from ancient Earth.

• Han Dong considered destroying the fungal sacs, sneaking toward the clearing, or retreating, and chose to advance stealthily.
• Maritis agreed, saying the toads sensed something dangerous in the forest and that reckless killing could exhaust the squad.
• Han Dong's squad concealed their auras and reached a stone structure surrounded by containers of black water.
• A robed man embedded with black crystals invited the squad inside and spoke Ancient Egyptian, which Han Dong understood as an invitation to an Imperial Audience.
• Han Dong speculated that alien lifeforms might have brought ancient Egyptians to the planet, then followed the guide into the structure.

Han Dong accepted the Egyptian descendant’s invitation to undergo the Saint’s Trial and drank the Liquid of Creation, despite his companions’ alarm. As a new lifeform emerged from his ruptured body, its bald head left its nature uncertain.

• The Egyptian descendant led Han Dong and his companions into the divine hall and activated a stone statue with his blood and shattered skull.
• He offered them high-quality black water, hoping to incubate superior Aliens and earn qualification to enter the divine capital.
• Han Dong agreed to drink the Liquid of Creation, surprising his companions and the Egyptian descendant.
• Black streaks spread across Han Dong’s convulsing body before his abdomen burst open and a bald-headed lifeform crawled out.

Han Dong staged Togu’s emergence as a divinely gifted creation to fool the Egyptian descendant and strike from within his Round Valley Bag. Togu destroyed the man’s head and black-water crystal, but the body kept moving, leaving Han Dong to face a foe that seemed far beyond human.

• Han Dong revealed Togu’s transformed Hell Monk abilities and explained that he had kept him hidden as a trump card.
• Han Dong pretended to drink the Egyptian descendant’s low-purity black water, secretly storing it in his Brain Laboratory while mimicking a reaction to it.
• Han Dong used his Black Vortex Torso to break his ribs and let Togu emerge, convincing the other creations that Togu possessed divinity.
• The Egyptian descendant celebrated Togu as his qualification to enter the Divine Capital, but Togu pierced his forehead and smashed his head.
• The headless body continued moving as its embedded black crystals activated, and Han Dong turned his attention to the three remaining bottles of black water.

Han Dong’s group killed the master of a cultivation area and unlocked the prerequisite storyline granting qualification to enter the Divine City. Togu took control of the area, and the group searched the dead master’s office for information and a route to the city.

• Han Dong stopped Maritis from attacking so the creations would not turn against them, and let Togu fight the local master.
• Togu tore open the master’s body and forced three bottles of blackwater brew inside, killing him as the blackwater assimilated him.
• A system prompt revealed the Divine City storyline and required the squad to reach the city within one week to avoid failure and possible erasure.
• Mary stored the mysterious embryonic egg in her body, while Togu became the new master of the cultivation area.
• Han Dong led the group to the former master’s office, where they found a planetary map marking the Divine City.