Chapter Summaries

Area 51 suffered catastrophic destruction after the Energy Ore opened a Teleportation Gate and triggered a massive underground explosion. President Kamp and other officials reviewed surveillance footage, which showed water pouring through the gate before a cylindrical object appeared.

• The explosion destroyed an underground base and caused widespread collapses at Area 51, killing at least a thousand people at the scene.
• A magnitude 5.3 aftershock struck less than ten minutes after the initial tremor, while rescuers evacuated survivors from Area 51.
• The White House Chief of Staff woke Kamp and told him that Area 51 had been destroyed after Target Number 1 activated and may have connected to another world.
• Kamp ordered an emergency meeting after hearing that the blast had the force of up to 1.2 million tons of TNT.
• At the meeting, officials watched footage showing a Teleportation Gate open above the ore, spray four to five tons of water, and then produce a cylindrical object.

After a thermonuclear bomb emerged through the Teleportation Gate and destroyed Area 51, Kamp and his advisers considered the threat posed by the ore and the civilization beyond the gate. The U.S. government began rescue and security operations while preparing a public explanation, as the media questioned whether an earthquake had really caused the collapse.

• The White House chief of staff and other officials concluded that the small bomb had likely been activated deliberately by intelligent life on the other side of the gate.
• Kamp rejected taking control of the African ore deposits, warning that doing so could mean war with the entire world.
• The White House chief of staff suggested informing China about the explosion and monitoring where it researched its ore.
• Kamp ordered rescue efforts at Area 51, the requisition of nearby airports, National Guard security, and CIA surveillance of China.
• The U.S. government blamed an earthquake for Area 51's collapse, but American media questioned the explanation despite several aftershocks.

After an underground nuclear test collapsed a site in China’s Taklamakan Desert, Kamp’s aides identified it as a secret base, and Kamp arranged a cover story to spare China embarrassment. China planned a railway and highway to move supplies through the hidden world, while the United States faced immense damage and losses at Area 51.

• An aide told Kamp that the Taklamakan collapse had occurred too shallow underground to be ordinary crustal movement and showed evidence of a concealed base.
• Kamp ordered a public announcement describing the collapse as crustal movement and agreed to let China save face.
• An archaeologists’ statement proposed sending experts and military personnel to survey the site, and Kamp recognized it as a cover story.
• China’s secret base submitted plans for a railway and highway that would let trains transfer supplies through a mountain tunnel without detection.
• The collapse made rescuing the underground American base impractical, while damage across Area 51 exceeded fifty percent and losses reached hundreds of billions of dollars.

Jiang Yan Hai and his team secured the Teleportation Gate and scouted a route to a suitable coastal harbor while a cargo ship was built and sent to them. The ship arrived with supplies and construction equipment, and Jiang Yan Hai showed its captain the semi-natural harbor he had found for a basic dock.

• The cargo ship was assembled, tested, and launched, then departed fully loaded with supplies and eighty-three people aboard.
• Jiang Yan Hai prepared for a permanent presence by planning a route, leaving twelve soldiers behind, and reinforcing the Teleportation Gate with concrete and an alloy block.
• Jiang Yan Hai and his team used satellite images to find a route to a suitable coastal location, then abandoned plans for a wooden dock because they lacked the necessary tools.
• The cargo ship arrived at the bay, surveyed a shipping channel, and used amphibious tracked armored vehicles to tow supplies ashore.
• The captain told Jiang Yan Hai that the crew would survey the area and build a dock, and Jiang Yan Hai offered to show him the semi-natural harbor he had already identified.

Jiang Yan Hai established a temporary dock and left a crew behind to build a base. Research into the Great Qin world revealed unusual plants, medicines, and minerals, reinforcing his decision to keep the Teleportation Gate open.

• Jiang Yan Hai’s crew surveyed a natural harbor and began building a makeshift dock with steel columns, plates, rocks, and cement.
• After a week, Jiang Yan Hai returned to the city while more than sixty members of his group stayed behind to build a base.
• Professor Zhou and other researchers found that people in the Great Qin world had stronger immunity and that local crops could strengthen immunity in humans and animals.
• The researchers discovered medicinal herbs with powerful therapeutic effects and concluded that they could not be grown on Earth.
• Jiang Yan Hai kept the Teleportation Gate open because the new world’s unique plants and materials could benefit humanity.

Jiang Yan Hai studied the enormous rivers and mountains of this world while returning by ship, then received a report about a mysterious formation on Penglai Island and the westward migration of Red Mad Wolves. He ordered Lu Shi to accelerate negotiations and unify the warlords by summer, with Master Kang assuring him that Lu Shi’s soldiers were prepared to fight.

• Jiang Yan Hai examined satellite data showing the Yangtze River’s vast width and depth and considered the challenges of building dams and bridges.
• Bei Chen Xiang reported crater-like terrain and artificial altar-like structures on Penglai Island, along with a small number of Red Mad Wolves nearby.
• Bei Chen Xiang said tracked Red Mad Wolves were migrating west and had joined larger packs, while new packs continued to appear within Great Qin’s territory.
• Jiang Yan Hai ordered Lu Shi to speed up negotiations with other warlords and complete unification by summer, offering him absolute support.
• Master Kang told Jiang Yan Hai that Lu Shi’s former soldiers had strong convictions and were not comparable to the warlords’ troops from the Republic of China era.

Jiang Yan Hai and Kang Lei discussed military deterrence, migration, and building up their naval capabilities while Expedition 2 underwent its final tests. Jiang Yan Hai then led a squad to a suspected site on the Penglai Peninsula, where they discovered a gigantic Teleportation Gate opening onto a snow-covered world.

• Jiang Yan Hai and Kang Lei agreed to rely mainly on military deterrence and to speed up civilian affairs and construction plans.
• Kang Lei said Expedition 2 was a nuclear-powered, 9,000-ton vessel that would finish testing in about ten days, and Jiang Yan Hai planned to use it to investigate the suspicious location.
• After Expedition 2 completed its tests, Jiang Yan Hai took a combat squad by helicopter to the Penglai Peninsula and confirmed the site from the air.
• Jiang Yan Hai ordered the squad to record and recover the rusted swords and blades scattered near the cave before they advanced inside.
• Er Dan detected an Alpha 3 Type Invasive Star Gate in the cave, and Jiang Yan Hai chose not to close it.
• Jiang Yan Hai and his squad found a circular Teleportation Gate over 1,300 meters in diameter, with a snow-covered world visible beyond it, and he ordered everyone to stay alert.

Jiang Yan Hai discovered that the Teleportation Gate was blocked by an invisible barrier and called for Lu Shi to be brought over for experiments. Lu Shi arrived at the airfield, marveled at the aircraft, and reflected on the Great Qin soldiers’ respect for him.

• Jiang Yan Hai found that he could not pass through the Teleportation Gate and ordered a Yun-20 to bring Lu Shi to the site.
• Lu Shi received the urgent mission while training and rode an off-road vehicle to the restricted airfield.
• Lu Shi saw a Yun-20 up close and was astonished by its size.
• A Great Qin officer of equal rank greeted Lu Shi, who admired the soldiers’ respectful treatment of him.

Yang Rui took Lu Shi on an urgent military mission, explaining that Lu Shi would be treated as a fellow soldier. The chapter ended with Yang Rui and Lu Shi parachuting into the mountainous area where Jiang Yan Hai and the others were waiting.

• Yang Rui introduced himself to Lu Shi and asked him to join an urgent mission despite the danger.
• Lu Shi accepted the order as a soldier, and he and Yang Rui boarded a military aircraft.
• Yang Rui secured Lu Shi to himself and pushed them out of the aircraft for an airborne drop.
• Yang Rui deployed their parachute, and the pair landed in the mountains near Jiang Yan Hai's group.
• Jiang Yan Hai helped the shaken Lu Shi up and asked how the jump felt.

Jiang Yan Hai brought Lu Shi to the Teleportation Gate and confirmed that Lu Shi could pass through it while the Great Qin people could not. After a giant spider-like monster appeared beyond the gate, Jiang Yan Hai secretly ordered Er Dan to collapse it, leaving the world accessible to them alone.

• Yang Rui and Jiang Yan Hai reassured Lu Shi before Jiang Yan Hai said they had found Ghost Gate Pass and wanted him to inspect it.
• Jiang Yan Hai explained that the gate connected to another world, and Lu Shi easily reached through it and felt the cold on the other side.
• A huge spider-like monster appeared across the snowy field, and Jiang Yan Hai ordered the communications soldier to record it.
• Jiang Yan Hai secretly told Er Dan to shut down the Alpha 3 Type Invasive Star Gate, then shouted for everyone to evacuate as it began collapsing.
• Jiang Yan Hai, Lu Shi, and the others escaped the cave as the gate and mountain collapsed, and Jiang Yan Hai privately concluded that the world was now theirs.

Jiang Yan Hai and his team escaped as the Teleportation Gate closed, triggering a vast collapse and driving thousands of Red Mad Wolves out of the forest. After the wolves were put under surveillance, Jiang Yan Hai briefed the leaders on the gate and argued that its closure would not prevent the next stage of development.

• Jiang Yan Hai and the others boarded the helicopter as the mountain collapsed after the Teleportation Gate closed.
• Jiang Yan Hai ordered drones, satellites, and the base to track thousands of Red Mad Wolves fleeing southwest.
• Jiang Yan Hai returned to the warship and concluded that the gate had existed for more than seven hundred years, giving the leaders grounds to continue planning development.
• Jiang Yan Hai told the leaders that the gate was not naturally formed and that its closure could be beneficial.

Jiang Yan Hai and the Old Commander agreed to expand their operations, reorganize command, and search for more Teleportation Gates. When Jiang Yan Hai returned to base, an emergency satellite report revealed a large British fleet sailing east, and he went to the command center to investigate.

• Jiang Yan Hai argued that the closed Teleportation Gate no longer posed a threat and that the team should accelerate contact, trade, and resource development in this world.
• The Old Commander ordered Dark Blade to expand and deploy to Africa, assigned Kang Lei to oversee Great Qin, and gave Jiang Yan Hai the 10th Brigade while keeping him supreme commander.
• Jiang Yan Hai returned to base and decided to visit Dai Yuan before leaving his post, but an emergency call sent him to the command center instead.
• Bei Chen Xiang showed Jiang Yan Hai satellite images of a large fleet that had left the British Isles and appeared to be sailing east.

Jiang Yan Hai monitored a westbound fleet and learned that Red Mad Wolves were converging on the mainland while the ships followed a preplanned southern route with hidden coal supplies. After two more days, he discovered a well-equipped group leaving the mainland and ordered Bei Chen Xiang to map their route.

• Jiang Yan Hai questioned Lu Shi about western countries and learned that island nations had once sent sailing ships to the mainland.
• Bei Chen Xiang reported a battle between a settlement and a Red Mad Wolf pack, then showed Jiang Yan Hai a model indicating that wolves were migrating west in huge numbers.
• Bei Chen Xiang tracked the fleet to a small island supply cache and concluded that it was following an exploration route stocked with coal.
• Jiang Yan Hai ordered his people to keep monitoring the fleet and the mainland battlefield as the ships continued south around South America.
• Bei Chen Xiang's people spotted a large, well-supplied group with vehicles setting out from the mainland, and Jiang Yan Hai ordered them to compile its route.

Jiang Yan Hai suspected Westerners had deliberately lured Red Mad Wolves toward Great Qin, contributing to the fall of its Great Wall defenses. He ordered Lu Shi to investigate whether wolf attacks followed the Westerners’ earlier appearances, while the purpose of their repeated visits remained uncertain.

• Jiang Yan Hai asked Lu Shi whether Red Mad Wolves attacked in large numbers after Westerners arrived, and gave him one day to question the elders in his city.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Bei Chen Xiang that the Westerners might have sacrificed their own people to draw the Red Mad Wolves eastward.
• Jiang Yan Hai used Great Qin’s records and the construction of its two Great Wall rings to explain how the wolves had threatened the northeast and north.
• Jiang Yan Hai argued that the wolves were unlikely to have crossed the frigid, oxygen-poor Kunlun range and could instead have reached Great Qin via northern ice caps.
• Jiang Yan Hai noted that Great Qin’s first and second Great Wall rings fell not long after the first two recorded appearances of Westerners, and questioned why the Westerners had come.

Jiang Yan Hai and Bei Chen Xiang pieced together how the westerners had used criminals and their families to redirect Red Mad Wolf attacks, and Lu Shi confirmed the attacks had surged after the westerners arrived. The satellite-tracked group was still advancing through the Arctic Circle toward them, taking the long route because the passage near Kunlun Divine Mountain was impassable.

• Bei Chen Xiang questioned whether anyone would risk a journey of more than ten thousand kilometers, and Jiang Yan Hai asked if he would do it for his family.
• Jiang Yan Hai inferred from the group's route and their known shelters that they were moving through the Arctic Circle, where proper insulation could help them travel faster than the Red Mad Wolves.
• Jiang Yan Hai examined satellite images and concluded that the warships were meant to break winter ice and that a fleet likely controlled the mainland criminals by offering protection in exchange for food and resources.
• Lu Shi returned and reported that Red Mad Wolf attacks had increased after the westerners arrived, peaked with heavy casualties, and then gradually subsided.
• Jiang Yan Hai and Bei Chen Xiang determined that the group was heading toward them through the Arctic Circle because neither people nor Red Mad Wolves could pass near Kunlun Divine Mountain.

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.