Recaps

Jiang Yan Hai reported that he needed a nuclear-powered submarine to destroy the enemy fleet, then said goodbye to Dai Yuan before returning home to Li Ruo Bai. He was preparing to deploy to Africa, leaving Dai Yuan in safety and promising to visit when he could.

• Jiang Yan Hai told his superiors that a nuclear-powered submarine could destroy the enemy fleet before winter while the Red Mad Wolves were kept occupied in the East.
• Jiang Yan Hai visited Dai Yuan, who was studying, and explained that he had to leave to protect people in his own world.
• Dai Yuan asked Jiang Yan Hai to visit her once or twice a year, and he promised to come when military duties allowed.
• Dai Yuan said she would study hard and hoped to join the army like Tong Li.
• Jiang Yan Hai returned home to Li Ruo Bai, knowing he might soon deploy to Africa as Dark Blade's highest commander.

Li Ruo Bai's parents visited Jiang Yan Hai and Li Ruo Bai to discuss their hopes of having a child and the risks posed by Jiang Yan Hai's military career. The chapter ended with Jiang Yan Hai refusing IVF because he did not want Li Ruo Bai to endure its physical toll.

• Li Yun Feng and Li Ruo Bai's mother visited the couple to share a meal and ask after Jiang Yan Hai's health.
• Li Ruo Bai told her mother that Jiang Yan Hai's training had improved her health and relieved her menstrual cramps.
• Li Ruo Bai's mother suggested preserving Jiang Yan Hai's sperm because his dangerous profession could keep the couple apart or put him at risk.
• Li Yun Feng asked Jiang Yan Hai about their difficulty conceiving, and Jiang Yan Hai insisted both of them were healthy and that less than a year of marriage was not unusual.
• Li Yun Feng explained that a child could support Li Ruo Bai if Jiang Yan Hai died, then said Li Ruo Bai wanted to try IVF.
• Jiang Yan Hai rejected IVF because he did not want Li Ruo Bai to suffer, and he promised Li Yun Feng he would talk with her.

Jiang Yan Hai found Li Ruo Bai researching ways to increase her chances of getting pregnant and reassured her that they should let nature take its course. He promised they would grow old together, travel after his retirement, and live long enough to become a pair of “thousand-year-old turtles,” ending with a kiss.

• After dinner, Jiang Yan Hai carried Li Ruo Bai to the sofa and teased her for focusing on her phone instead of him.
• Jiang Yan Hai learned that Li Ruo Bai had been researching ways to improve her chances of getting pregnant and comforted her about not rushing.
• Jiang Yan Hai promised Li Ruo Bai he would stay safe and described plans to retire at sixty-five and travel with her.
• Li Ruo Bai worried that she would lose her beauty and asked what Jiang Yan Hai would do if one of them died first.
• Jiang Yan Hai and Li Ruo Bai agreed to try to live to a hundred and joked that they would become a pair of thousand-year-old turtles before kissing.

Jiang Yan Hai secretly arranged for Er Dan to preserve an encrypted letter, then awoke inside the third scenario of the Illusion Simulation Combat System as the captain of an advanced submarine. He took command after reports that enemy sonar might have detected them and asked whether the vessel could switch to All-Electric Propulsion.

• Jiang Yan Hai told Er Dan to create a hidden, self-replicating subprogram that would encrypt his files and later deliver a letter he planned to write.
• After returning to bed, Jiang Yan Hai fell asleep beside Li Ruo Bai and awoke in the Illusion Simulation Combat System aboard a submarine.
• Jiang Yan Hai identified himself as the submarine’s colonel captain and learned that enemy search sonar might have targeted them in Combat Zone Three.
• Jiang Yan Hai learned the submarine was at a depth of 625 meters and asked whether it could switch from normal propulsion to All-Electric Propulsion.

Jiang Yan Hai took the submarine to maximum depth while trying to evade enemy detection, relying on its silent propulsion and passive sonar. After half an hour at 800 meters, a series of impacts damaged the hull and set off an alarm, leaving the crew in immediate danger.

• Jiang Yan Hai ordered the submarine to switch off its nuclear reactor and use All-Electric Propulsion, then checked its status and sonar readings.
• Jiang Yan Hai ordered the submarine to descend to 800 meters and continue forward slowly while sonar stayed alert.
• After about half an hour, a massive impact struck the submarine, throwing crew members against equipment and producing the sound of crushing metal.
• Jiang Yan Hai checked that the crew were safe as they feared a deep-sea accident.
• Another impact hit the submarine sideways, followed by more hull creaking and a piercing alarm.

After reliving a slow, agonizing death beneath the sea, Jiang Yan Hai found comfort in Li Ruo Bai’s presence before returning to duty. He joined the Nanchang fleet as the situation in Africa grew urgent and reassured Gao Yun about the cost of their missile use.

• Jiang Yan Hai woke early after dying underwater and remembered the terrified deaths of his soldiers at the bottom of the sea.
• Jiang Yan Hai wondered whether repeated deaths would make him more accustomed to death and considered how difficult it would be to choose a quick death underwater.
• Jiang Yan Hai realized Li Ruo Bai’s familiar scent and presence comforted him, then lay beside her instead of training.
• After spending a little over a week at home, Jiang Yan Hai returned to the fleet as the situation in Africa worsened.
• Gao Yun warned Jiang Yan Hai that firing large numbers of Yingji-18 missiles cost a great deal, and Jiang Yan Hai said investments had already earned back the expense.

Jiang Yan Hai and Gao Yun discussed the fleet’s future command and support as it sailed toward the Republic of Evia. After arriving, Jiang Yan Hai saw thousands of Chinese workers already rebuilding the port and reflected on the importance of protecting them.

• Jiang Yan Hai told Gao Yun that other fleets would later support the operation and that Gao Yun’s side should be ready to support the unified fleet.
• Gao Yun agreed to follow Jiang Yan Hai’s orders, while Jiang Yan Hai considered but rejected calling ahead about acquiring a nuclear reactor.
• Jiang Yan Hai continued dying daily in submarine-warfare simulations and struggled with the emotional weight of imagining real comrades dying in battle.
• Jiang Yan Hai’s fleet reached the Republic of Evia’s port and found no visible signs of war.
• Jiang Yan Hai saw several thousand workers already beginning construction and recognized that their work deserved protection.

Jiang Yan Hai left Gao Yun in charge at the port and returned to the Blood Wolf base in the Republic of Evia. There, Black Lion and Balek reported that Leng Feng and the Chinese team had adapted quickly and changed how the other mercenaries viewed their work.

• Jiang Yan Hai discussed the unrest across Africa with Gao Yun and hoped their arrival would bring peace to the region.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Gao Yun to contact him or their home country if urgent problems arose, then left the port.
• Jiang Yan Hai drove back to the Blood Wolf base, where the Republic of Evia’s forces were struggling to restore order with too few personnel.
• Black Lion told Jiang Yan Hai that Leng Feng and the eleven other Chinese team members had adapted quickly to mercenary life and battlefield conditions.
• Balek said the Chinese team’s influence had made Blood Wolf less tolerant of arrogant mercenaries.

Jiang Yan Hai discussed the mercenaries’ undisciplined habits and the example set by Leng and his comrades before accepting an emergency mission to rescue a Republic of Goa official held hostage aboard a cargo ship. He chose a five-person team and began preparing while awaiting further intelligence.

• Black Lion and Balek told Jiang Yan Hai that Leng and his comrades trained constantly, even while on leave, and Jiang explained that such discipline came from their military service.
• Black Lion asked Jiang Yan Hai to recruit more of Leng’s retired comrades, but Jiang doubted that any would come.
• Jiang Yan Hai received an emergency request from the Republic of Evia to rescue an important Republic of Goa figure held hostage aboard a cargo ship, with a $3 million payment and a limit of five personnel.
• Jiang Yan Hai selected himself, Black Lion, Balek, Leng Feng, and Shao Bing for the mission, while the others headed to the armory.
• Leng Feng and Shao Bing joined Jiang Yan Hai as he prepared weapons and learned that they were awaiting detailed intelligence.

Jiang Yan Hai and his team prepared for a close-quarters rescue mission, then flew from the Republic of Evia to a destroyer waiting offshore. As Li Bing led them aboard, Jiang Yan Hai considered whether special Energy Ore and Star Gates might spread across Africa and resolved to look for more energy.

• Jiang Yan Hai assigned the team pistols, assault rifles, flashbang grenades, and shaped charges for the mission.
• A helicopter from the Republic of Evia arrived, and Jiang Yan Hai noticed its paint had been altered to disguise its Zhi-20 appearance.
• The helicopter carried Jiang Yan Hai and the others over the sea to a massive destroyer, surprising Black Lion and Balek.
• Jiang Yan Hai suspected the Republic of Goa might be the next target because special Energy Ore could be appearing there, and he considered the danger posed by the still-open Star Gates.
• Jiang Yan Hai decided to use the Advanced Scanning Program to search for ores and the Alpha 3 Type Invasive Star Gate and to gather energy; Li Bing met the group and escorted them aboard.

Jiang Yan Hai and the Blood Wolf Mercenary Group accepted a mission from Gao Yun to rescue Ovid, a hostage aboard a hijacked freighter, and promised to do everything possible to save him. After reviewing the freighter’s layout and the storm forecast, they prepared their nighttime equipment and waited aboard the Nanchang for the operation.

• Gao Yun briefed Jiang Yan Hai, Black Lion, and Balek on the mission to rescue Ovid, an aide to the President of the Republic of Goa, from terrorists holding him on a hijacked freighter.
• Black Lion asked whether they could kill Ovid if rescue proved impossible, but Gao Yun insisted they bring their friend back safely.
• Jiang Yan Hai warned that combat below deck could make Ovid’s survival impossible to guarantee, then promised to do everything in his power to save him.
• Gao Yun provided the freighter’s layout and planned a nighttime approach during a storm, while Jiang Yan Hai requested night-vision goggles and protective masks.
• Jiang Yan Hai and the others collected their equipment and waited aboard the Nanchang as the escort fleet approached the freighter.

Jiang Yan Hai and his team launched from a warship in a storm to retake a cargo ship held by terrorists. After fast-roping onto the bow, they began a coordinated attack and silently killed six guards on deck.

• Black Lion, Balek, Leng Feng, and Shao Bing trusted Jiang Yan Hai to lead them through the mission.
• Jiang Yan Hai and his team took off from the warship at night despite the stormy weather.
• Sea Monster guided the helicopter to the cargo ship, and Jiang Yan Hai's team fast-roped onto its bow.
• Jiang Yan Hai split the five men into two teams and ordered them to leave no one alive.
• Jiang Yan Hai's team killed two sentries, then Leng Feng's team joined them in simultaneously shooting four more guards.

Jiang Yan Hai and his team fought through the ship to reach the hostage, using coordinated fire and grenades to overcome the terrorists. They reached the hostage room, and Jiang Yan Hai advanced toward it while his teammates fought the remaining enemies.

• Jiang Yan Hai and Leng Feng led the team in killing three terrorists on the third floor.
• Jiang Yan Hai, Black Lion, and Leng Feng threw flashbangs into a compartment and attacked the terrorists inside.
• After the enemies discovered them, Jiang Yan Hai ordered the team to push forward through the ship.
• Jiang Yan Hai shot the two guards outside the hostage's room while Black Lion, Balek, and Shao Bing engaged the other terrorists.
• Jiang Yan Hai stopped a terrorist from reaching the hostage room, then kicked another enemy out from behind cover.

Jiang Yan Hai and Leng Feng rescued Ovid from the terrorists, but Ovid warned that explosives had been planted beneath the ship and hidden enemies remained aboard. The team fled toward the deck as the terrorists prepared to escape by inflatable boat, and Jiang Yan Hai ordered them to jump into the sea.

• Jiang Yan Hai kicked a thrown grenade back at the terrorists, killing several enemies when it exploded.
• Jiang Yan Hai and Leng Feng joined Black Lion and the others in wiping out the terrorists near the hostage room.
• Jiang Yan Hai identified the bound hostage as Ovid, and Leng Feng freed him.
• Ovid warned that explosives were beneath the ship and hidden terrorists might detonate them, so Jiang Yan Hai ordered the team to retreat and Shao Bing to contact the fleet.
• Jiang Yan Hai carried Ovid as the team ran to the deck and found terrorists climbing into an inflatable boat.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Leng Feng to take Ovid and ordered the team to jump into the sea, while Ovid admitted he could swim only a little.

Jiang Yan Hai and Leng Feng’s group escaped the terrorists and abandoned ship by jumping into the stormy sea, then regrouped aboard an inflatable boat. They rowed away from the sinking freighter and activated their rescue signals while waiting for the fleet.

• Jiang Yan Hai warned Leng Feng and the others how to dive, then shot the three terrorists and disabled the inflatable boat’s propeller.
• Leng Feng and the others jumped into the sea, and Leng Feng helped Ovid reach the surface.
• Jiang Yan Hai swam to the inflatable boat and brought it back to the group as the explosives tore open the freighter’s hull.
• Jiang Yan Hai, Black Lion, and the others boarded the inflatable boat, bailed out seawater, and rowed away from the sinking ship.
• Shao Bing said the fleet had promised a rescue, and Jiang Yan Hai told him to activate the emergency rescue light.

Jiang Yan Hai and his companions survived the storm after escaping the sinking cargo ship, then waited on an inflatable boat as a submarine approached to rescue them. The Type 095 surfaced beneath their boat, and the group climbed aboard.

• Jiang Yan Hai and the others rowed away from the sinking cargo ship and collapsed onto their inflatable boat once it vanished beneath the waves.
• Ovid thanked Jiang Yan Hai and the others for rescuing him, and Black Lion explained that Ovid’s friends had arranged their passage aboard the warship.
• Er Dan alerted Jiang Yan Hai that Dark Blade’s Type 095 Attack Nuclear Submarine was rising beneath them to conduct a rescue.
• Jiang Yan Hai assured Balek that help was coming, and the submarine surfaced beneath their inflatable boat during a flash of lightning.
• The sailors called out to the group, and Jiang Yan Hai and the others hurried toward the open hatch to board the submarine.

Jiang Yan Hai and the others boarded a Chinese submarine after it rescued them, and a chief petty officer escorted them to their cramped berths. Their companions praised Leng Feng’s country for sending a submarine to save them, while Black Lion doubted the Americans would have risked one for mercenaries.

• Jiang Yan Hai and the others entered the submarine, which sealed its hatch and sank beneath the waves.
• A chief petty officer showed the six men to two eight-man compartments and told them not to move around unless invited.
• Jiang Yan Hai used the Advanced Scanning System to assess the submarine and reflected on the harsh, confined lives of its crew.
• Leng Feng, Balek, and Black Lion joined Jiang Yan Hai and the others in their adjoining compartments.
• Balek praised Leng Feng’s country for sending a submarine, and Black Lion said the Americans would not have risked one to rescue mercenaries.

After rescuing Ovid, Jiang Yan Hai and the others were treated to scallion noodles by the submarine’s Kitchen Squad. Their meal deepened Black Lion and Balek’s appreciation for the Chinese soldiers, and Ovid rejoined them after having his wounds treated.

• Balek asked Leng Feng whether it was easy to become a Chinese citizen, and Black Lion explained that Chinese citizenship was difficult to obtain.
• The master chief took Ovid to have his wounds examined while Jiang Yan Hai and the others waited in their cabin.
• The Kitchen Squad brought everyone bowls of scallion noodles, and Black Lion and Balek thanked the cooks with heartfelt salutes.
• Balek praised the noodles and the squad leader’s kindness, then asked for more after finishing his bowl.
• Jiang Yan Hai requested another serving, and a soldier brought over a large basin of noodles for the group.
• Ovid returned after his wounds were treated and joined the others for noodles.

Leng Feng told Balek and the others about the variety of Chinese food, and they talked about visiting China someday. Ovid envied the powerful homeland that let Leng Feng and the others imagine returning home, while he could not picture a future for his own homeland.

• Balek asked Leng Feng whether China had many delicious foods, and said he would join China’s military if they would have him.
• Ovid said many Africans wanted to go to China because the Chinese treated them as friends, and shared his wish for his homeland to become peaceful.
• Leng Feng told the others about a foreigner who spent years eating through Sichuan Province, and described the many kinds of noodles and flour-based foods in China.
• Jiang Yan Hai said China’s long, unbroken civilization had preserved a vast food culture.
• Balek decided he would visit China someday, and Leng Feng promised to host him and the others on a food tour.
• Ovid watched the group make plans and envied their powerful motherland, while wondering when his own homeland could determine its future.

Jiang Yan Hai returned to the Nanchang and learned that the Rebel Army in the Republic of Goa had acquired a special ore and planned to make it into a bomb with Sandstorm's support. He ordered China to be informed and called for a blockade and faster construction of an airport, leaving open the possibility of Blood Wolf establishing a stronghold in the Republic of Goa.

• Jiang Yan Hai and the others transferred from the submarine to an inflatable raft, boarded a helicopter, and returned to the Nanchang.
• Captain Gao Yun summoned Jiang Yan Hai to the command center, where Gao Yun and Tian Gang saluted him and briefed him on two special ores in the Republic of Goa.
• Gao Yun told Jiang Yan Hai that the Rebel Army had obtained an ore and kidnapped energy scientists, while Sandstorm was likely backing the rebels and preparing to deliver equipment.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Gao Yun to report his recommendation to China and said they should cooperate to prevent Sandstorm from delivering the equipment.
• Jiang Yan Hai ordered Gao Yun to speed up construction of an airport runway and said Blood Wolf could establish a stronghold in the Republic of Goa if needed.

Jiang Yan Hai briefed Blood Wolf on a possible mission in the Republic of Goa to stop rebels from making weapons of mass destruction, then set out to seek intelligence about Sandstorm. He flew to Dubai under another identity to meet someone connected to the intelligence network.

• Jiang Yan Hai gathered Black Lion, Balek, Leng Feng, Shao Bing, Inov, and the other returning members at Blood Wolf’s base and explained the potential mission in the Republic of Goa.
• Black Lion agreed to lead the team, which would establish a foothold while Jiang Yan Hai gathered intelligence and later rejoin them for the final battle.
• Jiang Yan Hai decided to seek information about Sandstorm through Eagle Eye rather than buy it online, so he would not expose his trail.
• Jiang Yan Hai left Blood Wolf’s affairs with Black Lion, used another passport, and flew to Dubai to visit a nearby contact.

Jiang Yan Hai tracked down CIA officer Jacques Fraser in Dubai and confronted him at home. He demanded intelligence on Eagle Eye, leaving Jacques shaken by the request.

• Jiang Yan Hai arrived in Dubai and booked an ordinary hotel before seeking out Jacques Fraser.
• Jacques Fraser returned home, checked his security measures, and found Jiang Yan Hai waiting in his living room with a silenced pistol.
• Jiang Yan Hai identified Jacques's hidden guns and emergency alert buttons, then warned him not to try anything during their conversation.
• Jacques agreed to help Jiang Yan Hai obtain intelligence, assuming he wanted information from the CIA.
• Jiang Yan Hai said he wanted intelligence on Eagle Eye, and Jacques trembled at the name.

Jiang Yan Hai pressured Jacques Fraser into revealing intelligence about Sandstorm’s plans and the stolen nuclear launch codes. He learned that Molo was bringing the codes to Dubai for Kurt Hendricks, while CIA agent Ethan Hunt investigated her.

• Jiang Yan Hai revealed that he knew Jacques Fraser’s secret identity and demanded information in exchange for keeping it hidden.
• Jacques told Jiang Yan Hai that Molo, a female assassin hired by Sandstorm, was coming to Dubai to make a deal.
• Jacques explained that Molo had killed a CIA agent in Budapest and stolen nuclear launch codes connected to the Republic of Ukraine and Polar Bear Country.
• Jacques said Molo planned to sell the codes to Kurt Hendricks, who had stolen an old nuclear launch device from the Kremlin and intended to launch nuclear weapons.
• Jacques revealed that Ethan Hunt, working for the CIA’s secret Ghost Department, was investigating Molo.

Jiang Yan Hai obtained intelligence files from Jacques and warned him about the CIA watching Ethan Hunt and his associates. After leaving Jacques’s apartment, Jiang Yan Hai contacted authorities back home about the Kremlin situation and received an emergency support code.

• Jacques copied Molo’s, Ethan Hunt’s, and the others’ files for Jiang Yan Hai and warned him the CIA would secretly watch them.
• Jiang Yan Hai gave Jacques a contact number and left by jumping from the apartment balcony.
• Jiang Yan Hai relied on Er Dan’s hidden subprograms to evade surveillance across Dubai.
• Jiang Yan Hai contacted authorities back home about the Kremlin, and they stayed on alert while giving him an emergency support code.

Jiang Yan Hai entered Ethan Hunt’s hotel suite ahead of the team and hid in an adjacent bedroom. When Ethan and his team arrived, Benji discovered that the hotel’s military-grade security made their planned access to the server room difficult, leaving the team searching for another way to reach the 130th floor.

• Jiang Yan Hai used the hotel’s systems and a keycard to enter Ethan Hunt’s suite, bypassing the detector by connecting to its internal system.
• Jiang Yan Hai hid in the adjacent bedroom before Ethan Hunt and his team reached the suite.
• Ethan Hunt’s team checked their door detector, secured the suite, and unpacked their equipment with thirty-four minutes remaining.
• Benji found that the hotel firewall would take too long to hack and said the team needed to enter the server room from outside.
• Ethan Hunt suggested the ventilation ducts and elevator shaft, but Benji and Brandt ruled them out because of sensors and the lack of time.