Chapter Summaries

Jiang Yan Hai and Li Ruo Bai met for dinner, talked, and went to a movie, where they held hands. Afterward, Li Ruo Bai invited Jiang Yan Hai to stay with her at Hongya Pavilion, and he agreed.

• Jiang Yan Hai met Li Ruo Bai at a restaurant and insisted on treating her to dinner.
• Li Ruo Bai ordered steak and other dishes for them, then described destroying her old phone and memory card to protect secrets.
• Jiang Yan Hai and Li Ruo Bai chatted over dinner and went to see a romance movie.
• Li Ruo Bai slipped her hand into Jiang Yan Hai's during the movie, and their fingers intertwined.
• Li Ruo Bai invited Jiang Yan Hai to stay at Hongya Pavilion instead of a hotel, and he agreed.

Jiang Yan Hai told Li Ruo Bai why he feared they were unsuitable, citing his dangerous work, long absences, and their young ages. Li Ruo Bai firmly defended her choice to be with him, but his warning that he might die or disappear left her stunned.

• Jiang Yan Hai noticed the extra men's slippers in Li Ruo Bai's room before they sat down to talk.
• Jiang Yan Hai said he liked Li Ruo Bai but worried that his dangerous work and months without contact would make a relationship unfair to her.
• Li Ruo Bai argued that she understood his responsibilities and was willing to wait and support him.
• Jiang Yan Hai reminded Li Ruo Bai that they were only nineteen and eighteen and said she might one day receive his photograph, will, or urn—or never learn what happened to him.
• Li Ruo Bai froze as Jiang Yan Hai directly raised the possibility that he might die or disappear.

Jiang Yan Hai explained the deadly risks of his military missions to Li Ruo Bai and said he could not accept her love because he might not survive. He stayed the night at her insistence, while Li Ruo Bai retrieved the only photograph she had kept of them.

• Jiang Yan Hai told Li Ruo Bai about the bandits, gunfire, explosives, and landmines he faced on missions, and said future missions could be even more dangerous.
• Jiang Yan Hai said he could not accept Li Ruo Bai's love because his work meant he might die, then tried to leave.
• Li Ruo Bai stopped Jiang Yan Hai by reminding him he had promised to stay and still owed her meals, and he agreed to sleep on the living room floor.
• Li Ruo Bai prepared quilts and a pillow for Jiang Yan Hai, who washed up and went to sleep in the living room.
• Li Ruo Bai opened a hidden vault and took out the only photograph she had kept of herself and Jiang Yan Hai.

Li Ruo Bai and Jiang Yan Hai shared a quiet night together before he left, carrying her note and photograph with him. Her parents watched him go and decided to let their grown daughter choose her own path.

• Li Ruo Bai joined Jiang Yan Hai on the living-room floor and fell asleep in his arms.
• Jiang Yan Hai woke to Li Ruo Bai’s note, which described how safe she had felt and reminded him that he owed her nine meals.
• Li Ruo Bai explained that the photograph showed her on her seventeenth birthday, when she had wished to find a love that would last a lifetime.
• Jiang Yan Hai pocketed the note and photograph, then left while Li Ruo Bai cried behind her bedroom door.
• Li Ruo Bai’s parents watched Jiang Yan Hai leave and agreed to support their daughter’s choices.

Jiang Yan Hai returned to the Wolf Fang base and challenged five Red Cell soldiers to combat training. He fought them until all six men were exhausted and bruised.

• Jiang Yan Hai returned to the base, leaving Fan Tian Lei to wonder where he had spent the night.
• Jiang Yan Hai dragged He Chen Guang and the other Red Cell soldiers onto the training field and challenged them to fight him.
• Jiang Yan Hai taunted the group until Song Kai Fei and the others agreed to fight, with He Chen Guang and Xu Tian Long leading the attack.
• Jiang Yan Hai defended himself against He Chen Guang and Xu Tian Long, then struck Song Kai Fei and maneuvered around all five opponents.
• Jiang Yan Hai and the five Red Cell soldiers fought until they were panting and covered in bruises.

Jiang Yan Hai challenged five members of Red Cell and was pinned down and beaten after they teamed up, then agreed to do their laundry for a week. The next afternoon, he and the others arrived at a meeting that appeared to be a commendation ceremony, still bruised from their fight.

• Jiang Yan Hai taunted Song Kai Fei and the others after fighting them, so Song Kai Fei charged him and all five men tackled and beat him.
• Gong Jian interrupted the fight, told the men to go to the infirmary, and warned Jiang Yan Hai that the others should rush him together if he challenged five people again.
• Song Kai Fei demanded a meal as compensation, and Jiang Yan Hai agreed to do the group's laundry for a week instead.
• The next afternoon, Jiang Yan Hai and the others entered the meeting hall in their regular uniforms and realized they were likely there to be commended.

Jiang Yan Hai received a personal First Class Merit and was promoted to major during a ceremony honoring several Wolf Fang soldiers. Afterward, he met with the Lone Wolf Commando Unit, where they discussed bringing Zhuang Yan into the reserves, before Gong Jian called him back for a meeting with the chief of staff.

• He Zhi Jun awarded collective First Class Merit to members of the Lone Wolf Commando Unit, Fire Phoenix, and the Red Cell Special Operations Group.
• He Zhi Jun gave Jiang Yan Hai a personal First Class Merit and promoted him to major, then presented his new insignia.
• Jiang Yan Hai learned that Li Er Niu and Wang Yan Bing had also been promoted to Second Lieutenants, and his friends teased him about his new rank.
• Jiang Yan Hai spoke with Old Cannon and the Lone Wolf Commando Unit about finding a role for Zhuang Yan, and Old Gao said they planned to have him join the reserves.
• Gong Jian called Jiang Yan Hai back and reminded him to meet with the chief of staff at noon.

Jiang Yan Hai was ordered to go to South America to protect Wang Qing Shan, an undercover agent embedded with drug traffickers for ten years. Before leaving, he arranged for Chu Ying’s safety and planned to test his assault rifle designs while preparations were underway.

• Fan Tian Lei told Jiang Yan Hai that he had been promoted to major and assigned a mission in South America.
• Fan Tian Lei explained that Wang Qing Shan, Wang Yan Bing’s father, had infiltrated the Shang Ming Group, whose mercenaries were heading to South America.
• Jiang Yan Hai accepted the mission and learned he would travel under a new identity as an ordinary special forces captain.
• Jiang Yan Hai asked Fan Tian Lei to protect Chu Ying if the Chu Family came under attack, and Fan Tian Lei agreed to give her safety special attention.
• Jiang Yan Hai left to visit his newly completed lab and test his assault rifle designs.

Jiang Yan Hai took over and tested his new laboratory equipment, then became absorbed in designing rifle components. After Red Cell pulled him away for dinner, Gong Jian briefed the team on their upcoming training at Warrior School in Argentina.

• Jiang Yan Hai inspected, started up, and accepted the laboratory equipment, which the state had provided as compensation for his classified engineering plastics formula.
• Jiang Yan Hai began making rifle components based on his own designs and worked until evening without assembling a complete rifle.
• Gong Jian and Red Cell found Jiang Yan Hai at the laboratory and took him to dinner after he apologized for missing their invitation.
• Gong Jian told Red Cell that they would represent China at Warrior School and warned them to maintain their training and uphold the country's image.
• Jiang Yan Hai learned that Warrior School was in Argentina and that trainees had to sign a waiver accepting that the school would not be responsible for deaths during training.

Jiang Yan Hai reflected on how his old world had begun to feel distant before entering the Illusion Simulation Combat System again. He evaded and destroyed several Man-Portable Air-Defense Missiles, then dove toward the forest with the remaining missiles pursuing him.

• Jiang Yan Hai returned to the barracks after a lively evening, washed up, and lay awake reflecting on how much more real his current world felt than his former one.
• Jiang Yan Hai woke inside the Illusion Simulation Combat System and took off immediately when the base ordered him to launch.
• Jiang Yan Hai dodged an RPG fired from beside the airfield and destroyed its launch point with a rocket before flying toward the frontline.
• Jiang Yan Hai anticipated the ten Man-Portable Air-Defense Missiles and evaded the first attack, then shot one missile down with his 25mm cannon.
• Jiang Yan Hai released infrared decoys to draw away five missiles, used their explosion to conceal his movement, and dove toward the forest as the remaining missiles reacquired him.

Jiang Yan Hai escaped pursuing missiles by flying through a forest, then answered a call for help at the front line and attacked the monsters assaulting the troops. After destroying a massive Mechanical crab, he continued firing on the enemy forces.

• Jiang Yan Hai evaded the missiles by weaving through the rainforest, blasting a path through the trees, and escaping above the canopy.
• The Control Tower directed Jiang Yan Hai to the front line, where soldiers asked him to destroy a large enemy unit behind a hill.
• Jiang Yan Hai crossed the ridgeline and saw a battlefield crowded with wrecked vehicles and more than a thousand monsters in Protective armor.
• A Mechanical crab fired an energy sphere at Jiang Yan Hai, who dodged it and attacked the machine with rockets and Air-to-ground missiles.
• After the Mechanical crab exploded, Jiang Yan Hai acknowledged the soldiers’ thanks and began firing on the attacking armored monsters.

Jiang Yan Hai’s helicopter was shot down while he was fighting the enemy, and a rescue squad reached him under fire. As they retreated through a field of miniature tracking mines, he took up a rifle and destroyed one of the pursuing mines.

• Jiang Yan Hai used the helicopter’s autocannon to kill dozens of enemies before a pale blue beam destroyed its rotor and forced him to crash-land.
• Jiang Yan Hai stayed inside the cockpit until soldiers in exoskeleton armor arrived to rescue him.
• A second blue beam struck the cockpit, but Jiang Yan Hai jumped clear as the soldiers fired back and began withdrawing with him.
• A miniature tracking mine exploded beneath a soldier who tried to pin it down, and more mines began activating nearby.
• Jiang Yan Hai took an Assault Rifle and destroyed a pursuing tracking mine with a precise burst of fire.

Jiang Yan Hai helped a platoon destroy the spider tracking mines, then returned to the battered airport hoping to fly again. With no helicopters available, he persuaded the Control Tower to let him try an intact Phantom fighter and was sent to Hangar 18.

• Jiang Yan Hai accurately shot down twelve distant spider tracking mines while the soldiers cleared the nearby ones.
• Jiang Yan Hai followed the platoon back to the front line, where the captain thanked him and assigned Hai Zi and Old Liu to escort him to the airport.
• Jiang Yan Hai reached the airport and learned from the Control Tower that it was being abandoned and no helicopters remained.
• Jiang Yan Hai spotted an intact Phantom in Hangar 18 and convinced the Control Tower to let him fly it to Airfield 8.
• The Control Tower ordered the airport defense troops to take Jiang Yan Hai to Hangar 18.

Jiang Yan Hai repeatedly trained in the Phantom fighter jet after his first failed takeoff, then returned to the laboratory and completed a working assault rifle prototype. The chapter leaves him continuing his weapons experiment with a heavy, metal-built rifle.

• Jiang Yan Hai changed into a flight suit and boarded Phantom after the ground crew loaded its weapons.
• Jiang Yan Hai crashed while taxiing toward the runway, died, and reappeared inside Phantom's cockpit in the Illusion Simulation Combat System.
• Jiang Yan Hai died ten times while learning to fly Phantom and resolved to keep training.
• Jiang Yan Hai exercised, ate breakfast, and returned to the laboratory to finish his experiment.
• Jiang Yan Hai completed a working 5.8-millimeter Assault Rifle prototype that weighed around thirteen kilograms.

Jiang Yan Hai tested a homemade rifle at the shooting range with the Lone Wolf Commando Unit and found that its performance suffered from strong recoil and an imbalanced design. He left after the soldiers tried it and offered suggestions.

• Jiang Yan Hai brought his newly made rifle and ammunition to the shooting range, where Old Gao and the Lone Wolf soldiers gathered to inspect it.
• Jiang Yan Hai fired single shots and a burst at a target, then judged the rifle’s recoil too strong and its overall performance unremarkable.
• Old Cannon tested the rifle, struggled with its recoil at first, and then improved his aim with successive shots.
• Jiang Yan Hai invited the Lone Wolf soldiers to try the rifle and give him suggestions.
• The Lone Wolf soldiers each tested a magazine and shared their feedback, after which Jiang Yan Hai grabbed the rifle and left.

Jiang Yan Hai beat the Red Cell men at cards to win their help in his laboratory. The chapter left them operating machinery and hauling materials for his project, while Song Kai Fei wondered if he had been tricked.

• Old Cannon praised Jiang Yan Hai’s record and his improvements to the Type 10 Sniper Rifle as the soldiers returned to training.
• Jiang Yan Hai challenged the Red Cell men to Fight the Landlord and agreed to call Landlord every round.
• Jiang Yan Hai won enough rounds to clear his seven-day laundry debt, using his memory and observations to predict the others’ cards.
• Jiang Yan Hai proposed another bet, and the Red Cell men agreed to help him in his laboratory if he won.
• Jiang Yan Hai brought the men to operate machinery and move raw materials, prompting Song Kai Fei to complain that he had been scammed.

Jiang Yan Hai continued designing advanced firearms while his comrades helped him, despite their complaints about losing their vacation. He began producing a modular rifle blueprint that could adapt to different ammunition and roles, including use as a designated marksman rifle.

• Wang Yan Bing, He Chen Guang, and Song Kai Fei complained that Jiang Yan Hai had made them work on his weapons during their vacation, while Jiang Yan Hai argued that his research would help them survive and earn promotions.
• Song Kai Fei questioned why Jiang Yan Hai's weapon designs kept changing, and Jiang Yan Hai's comrades recalled how he had completed a 1,300-piece jigsaw puzzle after studying its picture for just over thirty seconds.
• Jiang Yan Hai's comrades recognized that he was using the designs to test ideas and build technology for a future with powered exoskeletons, where weapon weight would matter less.
• Jiang Yan Hai began making a difficult blueprint that required some alloys to be smelted by hand, so he had asked his comrades to help.
• Jiang Yan Hai designed a modular 5.8-millimeter rifle that could use different ammunition, accept a scope, and serve as a designated marksman rifle, with an effective range of up to eight hundred meters and performance he rated about 80% above the Type 95 rifle.

Jiang Yan Hai assembled a new assault rifle that impressed He Chen Guang and the others with its design and handling. While they tested it, he began wondering whether the Phantom’s blueprints could also be reproduced in reality, then awkwardly claimed he had been thinking about shooting down a fighter jet with a gun.

• Jiang Yan Hai assembled the assault rifle from its manufactured components, and He Chen Guang and the others admired its design.
• Song Kai Fei handled the unloaded rifle and praised its feel, magazine placement, and other features.
• Jiang Yan Hai considered whether the Illusion Simulation Combat System’s Phantom blueprints could be built in reality.
• He Chen Guang called Jiang Yan Hai back to test the rifle’s shooting performance, but Jiang Yan Hai said he had been thinking about a fighter jet.
• Jiang Yan Hai claimed he had wondered whether a gun could shoot down a fighter jet, leaving He Chen Guang and the others dumbfounded.

Jiang Yan Hai brought a new rifle to the shooting range, where its low recoil and strong accuracy impressed the Lone Wolf team. After testing it, he wondered whether its blueprint had come from the first Illusion Simulation Combat System, and the chapter left him facing his comrades’ questions about how he had designed it.

• Jiang Yan Hai arrived at the shooting range with He Chen Guang and the others and showed the Lone Wolf team his new rifle.
• Jiang Yan Hai tested the rifle’s controlled bursts and sustained fire, finding its recoil low and its handling easy to control.
• Jiang Yan Hai mounted a Sniper Scope and hit a target at six hundred meters, then confirmed the rifle remained accurate at eight hundred meters.
• Jiang Yan Hai considered whether the rifle’s blueprint had been a hidden reward in the first Illusion Simulation Combat System and wondered what the laboratory might have contained.
• Song Kai Fei and the others tested the rifle while Old Gao praised its performance and Jiang Yan Hai said he had designed it by summarizing his experience using firearms.

Jiang Yan Hai’s new assault rifle impressed Fan Tian Lei and passed extensive firing and field tests, leading Fan Tian Lei to prepare a confidential report on it. The rifle’s production remained uncertain because Jiang Yan Hai lacked manufacturing capacity and the Li Family’s military-industrial applications had not yet been approved.

• Fan Tian Lei tested Jiang Yan Hai’s rifle and ordered further trials while keeping the project confidential.
• Jiang Yan Hai fired tens of thousands of rounds through test barrels, finding the rifling nearly worn away at 15,000 rounds and completely smooth by about 20,000.
• Jiang Yan Hai produced sixty rifles, and Fan Tian Lei sent them to classified special operations teams for testing.
• Soldiers across the teams praised the rifle’s practical design and requested that the Type 95 be replaced.
• Fan Tian Lei prepared to submit a report and noted that the Li Family had applied to establish several high-end military-industrial enterprises.