Chapter Summaries

Fang Zheng tested a new fighting style combining time manipulation and shadow clones against Hecate, but she exposed its weaknesses. He decided to keep developing the technique and considered using a tavern mathematics engine to solve its problems.

• Fang Zheng fought Hecate with shadow clones, but she tracked his spellcasting and defeated the clones before Tilia stopped the sparring.
• Fang Zheng asked Hecate where his technique had failed, and she explained that his magical fluctuations revealed his real body whenever he cast a spell.
• Fang Zheng reflected on how he used Shadow Dragon powers to create timeline-based clones and identified their high mental cost and lack of defenses.
• Fang Zheng considered ways to hide his casting and manage the technique, then decided to try a tavern mathematics engine.

Fang Zheng spent his days at the Heavenly Dao Palace developing a swordsmanship based on timeline duplicates and considering what weapons he needed to complete it. After enjoying coffee at Chino’s shop, he set out to travel to a new world.

• Fang Zheng heard that the Astrologer had graduated and received her invitation to the Holy Kingdom, but he decided not to visit yet.
• Fang Zheng designed three sword forms using timeline duplicates, with the first two established and the third still incomplete.
• Fang Zheng identified a need for more powerful weapons and planned to seek suitable weapons in future worlds.
• Fang Zheng discussed coffee preferences with Chino in her shop and enjoyed a cup of her coffee.
• Fang Zheng left the coffee shop and prepared to head to a new world.

Fang Zheng arrived in a ruined part of Tokyo, then found a bustling city whose people carried a dark, corrupt aura. He rescued a cat-eared girl from a hostile crowd and fled with her, leaving the nature of the world unexplained.

• Fang Zheng recognized the ruined city as likely being on the outskirts of Tokyo and headed toward a nearby human settlement.
• Fang Zheng entered a lively city and sensed a cold, dark aura coming from its people.
• Fang Zheng found a crowd throwing stones at a frightened, silver-haired cat-eared girl and stepped in to protect her.
• Fang Zheng shattered the stones, then used the Forbidden Whip to knock the attackers down when one threw another stone.
• Fang Zheng picked up the girl and vanished into the streets before the crowd could call the police.

Fang Zheng rescued Fuse Midori, a Cursed Child, and offered to help her and the other children find food and warm clothes. After learning about the Gastrea threat and the Cursed Children, he waited while Fuse Midori chose clothes, and she emerged to ask whether they looked good.

• Fang Zheng carried Fuse Midori away from a hostile crowd and learned she was searching for food for the Cursed Children.
• Fang Zheng comforted Fuse Midori, gave her a witch’s hat to hide her cat ears, and learned her name.
• Fang Zheng offered to help the children and took Fuse Midori to find clothes.
• Fang Zheng read about Gastrea, the Cursed Children, and the danger of their infection progressing.
• Fuse Midori emerged from the shop in her chosen clothes and asked Fang Zheng if they looked good.

Fang Zheng learned how Cursed Children were rejected and mistreated, then witnessed soldiers attack a group of them and went to intervene. He left the soldiers frozen in terror as he approached them.

• Fang Zheng bought Fuse Midori a discounted outfit and let her keep her witch's hat.
• Fang Zheng learned that Cursed Children were barred from public places and often survived by scavenging in the ruins.
• Fang Zheng and Fuse Midori found soldiers bombing a sewer, forcing injured Cursed Children to emerge before shooting them with anesthetic rounds.
• Fang Zheng stopped Fuse Midori from rushing toward the children and promised to save her friends.
• Fang Zheng approached the soldiers, whose minds went blank with terror when he confronted them.

Fang Zheng rescued the Cursed Children from IISO soldiers and a fire in the sewers, saving the trapped Xia Shi just before the tunnel collapsed. After reuniting the group, he turned toward the injured soldiers, suspecting they had come with ill intentions.

• Fang Zheng defeated the soldiers who attacked the Cursed Children and checked on the children with Fuse Cui.
• The girls revealed that Xia Shi was still in the smoky sewer, so Fang Zheng went underground while Fuse Cui stayed to protect the others.
• Fang Zheng found Xia Shi trapped beneath concrete in a burning shelter, freed her, and carried her out as the sewer collapsed.
• Fang Zheng returned with Xia Shi, and the reunited Cursed Children confirmed that everyone was safe.
• Fang Zheng noticed Xia Shi's severe injuries had healed rapidly, then approached the soldiers sprawled on the ground.

After rescuing the Cursed Children from soldiers, Fang Zheng brought them to Heavenly Dao Palace and offered them a place to live and work. He left them with Hecate and Tilia, then set out with Nymph for the Iron-Blooded World to investigate the Gastrea Virus.

• Fang Zheng learned that the soldiers intended to use the Cursed Children as battlefield attackers and relied on Suppressors to slow their transformation into Gastrea.
• Fang Zheng decided to take the children away before the soldiers’ reinforcements arrived, and brought them to Heavenly Dao Palace.
• Fang Zheng assured the children they could live there if they studied and worked for him, and they eagerly agreed.
• Tilia suggested Hecate train the children, and Fang Zheng assigned them an apartment building and left them in the two women’s care.
• Fang Zheng took Nymph to the Iron-Blooded World to investigate the Gastrea Virus.

Fang Zheng learned that the Gastrea Virus had been artificially created and continued rescuing Cursed Children, while officials in the Tokyo Area debated the mysterious Heavenly Dao Palace. The chapter left the Holy Ruler with news that one of its members was in her territory.

• Milune told Fang Zheng that the Gastrea Virus contained an unnatural structure, and he arranged to bring back living Gastrea for study.
• Fang Zheng reflected on the cruelty Cursed Children endured and the growing number he had rescued for the Heavenly Dao Palace.
• An old official warned the Holy Ruler that the Heavenly Dao Palace was gathering Cursed Children across the world and could threaten human settlements.
• The old official showed the Holy Ruler a photograph and said a Heavenly Dao Palace member was likely in the Tokyo Area.

Fang Zheng struggled with the suffering he had witnessed while rescuing Cursed Children, as Fuse Cui asked to help save the others. He decided to gather everyone and explain a possible treatment for their worsening Gastrea Virus corrosion, though it could leave them with monstrous mutations.

• Fang Zheng reflected on how saving more Cursed Children only made him more aware of those still suffering.
• Fuse Cui told Fang Zheng that she and the other girls wanted to help rescue Cursed Children.
• Fang Zheng considered the danger of sending the girls into a world where they might have to fight to secure Heavenly Dao Palace’s influence.
• Fang Zheng recalled Milune’s proposed treatment: push the girls’ corrosion rates past fifty percent and use Zerg cells to help them control a second-stage fusion with the virus.
• Fang Zheng decided to call everyone together so he could explain the treatment and its risks.

Fang Zheng told the Cursed Children that the Gastrea Virus could be cured through an experimental treatment that might cause mutations, and several girls volunteered. He selected six subjects and prepared to take them through a Teleportation Gate to the experiment site, leaving them unsure where they were going.

• Fang Zheng explained the experimental treatment and asked the Cursed Children for volunteers.
• Senju Kayo, Fuse Midori, Kurotsuchi Hotaru, Tina Sprout, and other girls volunteered, and the crowd grew eager after Tina asked Fang Zheng to care for her if the experiment failed.
• Fang Zheng selected Tina Sprout, Fuse Midori, Senju Kayo, Mibu Asahi, Kurotsuchi Hotaru, and Aihara Enju as the first experimental subjects.
• Senju Kayo reaffirmed her resolve, and Fang Zheng opened a Teleportation Gate to take the girls to the experiment site.

Fang Zheng brought the Cursed Children to a Zerg planet to begin modifying them so they could resist and be cured of the Gastrea Virus. Xia Shi underwent the first procedure, and Fang Zheng successfully fused Zerg genes with her Gastrea-infected genes before starting reconstruction.

• Fang Zheng brought the girls through the Teleportation Gate to an alien planet and reassured them that the Zerg were not Gastrea.
• Fang Zheng led the group to the Incubation Pool, where Milune was waiting to conduct the modifications.
• Xia Shi volunteered to go first, entered the Incubation Pool, and fell asleep inside an Egg.
• Fang Zheng and Milune used the Swarm's Mind Link to introduce Zerg genes into Xia Shi's Gene Map and contain the spreading Gastrea Virus.
• Fang Zheng accelerated a secondary fusion, and the Zerg genes absorbed the Gastrea Virus before he began Xia Shi's reconstruction.

Fang Zheng tested Xia Shi after her adjustment, discovering that the fusion of her Gastrea Virus and Zerg genes had granted her powerful Psionic abilities and enhanced regeneration. With Xia Shi’s treatment deemed successful, he prepared to adjust the other girls next.

• Xia Shi emerged from the Egg and told Fang Zheng and the other children that she felt fine.
• Fang Zheng and Milune discovered that Xia Shi’s released Psionic power reached Level 9, rising to Level 10 at full power.
• Xia Shi demonstrated extraordinary speed and unleashed a Psionic Storm before collapsing from exhaustion.
• Fang Zheng’s tests showed that Xia Shi’s intelligence, physical abilities, and regeneration had greatly increased, with her regeneration reaching Stage Three at full power.
• Fang Zheng turned to the other eager girls and prepared to begin the second adjustment.

Fang Zheng reviewed the varied powers of the newly adjusted Cursed Children, renamed them Adjusters, and began recruiting more while reserving judgment until they had combat data. As Taurus approached the Tokyo Area, the Holy Ruler invited Fang Zheng to the Holy Residence, and he agreed to go.

• Fang Zheng classified the Adjusters by their mutations and abilities, noting that insect-factor holders gained powerful physical traits but had the lowest Psionic levels.
• After confirming the first batch showed no harmful changes, Fang Zheng brought them to Heavenly Dao Palace, where other Cursed Children saw their abilities and began signing up for adjustments.
• Fang Zheng decided to gather combat data by having the Adjusters fight Gastrea rather than immediately adjusting everyone.
• A television report announced that Taurus, a Stage V Zodiac Gastrea, was advancing toward the Tokyo Area.
• A messenger delivered an invitation from the Holy Ruler, and Fang Zheng agreed to go to the Holy Residence.

Fang Zheng confronted the Holy Ruler over the Civil Security system and gave her footage exposing ordinary citizens torturing Cursed Children. After watching it, the shaken Holy Ruler returned to Fang Zheng, who asked whether those citizens deserved protection.

• Fang Zheng met the Holy Ruler at the Holy Residence, where she praised his work sheltering Cursed Children and raised the Civil Security system.
• Fang Zheng rejected the system, arguing that pairing Cursed Children with criminals would expose them to further abuse.
• Fang Zheng gave the Holy Ruler a memory card and told her to watch its contents in private.
• The footage showed ordinary citizens brutally torturing Cursed Children while claiming vengeance for losses caused by Gastrea.
• The Holy Ruler vomited after watching the footage, then returned to Fang Zheng, who asked whether those citizens deserved protection.

Fang Zheng rejected the Holy Ruler’s appeals to protect Tokyo, condemned an official who hated the Cursed Children, and agreed to help only if she pursued legal protections for them. He left her with a proposed Cursed Children Protection Act and promised Heavenly Dao Palace would enforce it within the law.

• The Holy Ruler could not answer Fang Zheng’s challenge after seeing footage of the Cursed Children’s treatment, and he reaffirmed that he would not let them be used in Tokyo’s politics.
• An old man declared that his family had died in the Gastrea War and demanded that the Cursed Children die too, so Fang Zheng called him a coward and forced him to his knees with pressure.
• The Holy Ruler persuaded Fang Zheng to hear her decision, then asked him and the Cursed Children to help protect Tokyo and its citizens.
• Fang Zheng demanded that the Holy Ruler pass a Cursed Children Protection Act that criminalized mistreatment and assigned offenders to work at the Monolith front line.
• The Holy Ruler warned that the act would be difficult to pass and enforce, but Fang Zheng said Heavenly Dao Palace would handle enforcement, and she accepted.

Fang Zheng wrestled with whether to take control of the Pitch-Black World so he could save its Cursed Children, realizing that removing them alone was impossible. After Fuse Midori expressed her gratitude and affection, he began to consider making changes.

• Fang Zheng weighed whether to conquer the world, concluding that saving its hundreds of thousands of Cursed Children would require controlling the entire world.
• Fuse Midori entered the bathroom after Tilia had instructed the children to serve as maids and offered to help Fang Zheng bathe.
• Fang Zheng gently agreed to let Fuse Midori scrub his back and promised to wash her afterward.
• Fuse Midori thanked Fang Zheng for saving her and giving her a life she had only dreamed of, then told him she liked him most.
• Fang Zheng closed his eyes and considered changing his approach for the sake of Fuse Midori's words.

Fang Zheng took the Adjusters to the junction of Monuments No. 12 and No. 13 to demonstrate their combat ability to the Diet and fight a Gastrea horde. After learning the enemy numbers were higher than reported, he assigned Xia Shi to command the battle as the team deployed.

• Fang Zheng recalled that the Diet would consider his proposal only after witnessing the Cursed Children prove they could defeat Gastrea.
• Nymph detected roughly fifteen hundred Gastrea at the junction, more than the reported number, and Fang Zheng suspected the officials had concealed the true count.
• Fang Zheng put Xia Shi in command and assigned Cui, Mibu Asahi, and Aihara Enju to the main assault, with Tina providing sniper support and suppressing dangerous enemies.
• Mibu Asahi jumped from the helicopter, and Tina kissed Fang Zheng before heading out and asking him to reward her when she returned.
• Xia Shi sent the Adjusters a telepathic message requesting that they all receive kisses from Fang Zheng after the battle.

Fang Zheng’s team launched a nighttime operation in the jungle, where the Adjusters rapidly slaughtered hundreds of Gastrea. As the battle continued smoothly, Fang Zheng suspected the Diet’s old men were beginning to grow restless.

• Xia Shi sensed the Gastrea around the team and directed Mibu Asahi, Enju, Tina, and Fuse Cui as they attacked.
• Mibu Asahi split a Gastrea’s head with Kagutsuchi, while Enju kicked another into the air and crushed it.
• Tina used her rifle to shoot Gastrea, drawing more creatures toward the gunfire.
• Fuse Cui emerged from black mist after dismembering dozens of Gastrea with her shadow-like Psionic ability.
• Nymph reported that the operation had eliminated 348 Gastrea, and Fang Zheng reflected on the girls’ training before suspecting the Diet was growing impatient.

The councilors watched seven Cursed Children kill nearly four hundred Gastrea in under ten minutes during Heavenly Dao Palace’s combat assessment. The Holy Ruler pushed for the Cursed Children Protection Act, but councilors opposed it and proposed explosive collars, leaving the vote unresolved.

• The councilors and Holy Ruler watched radar signals show seven Cursed Children eliminating nearly four hundred Gastrea in under ten minutes.
• A councilor opposed protecting the Cursed Children and called for their immediate expulsion, warning that they might threaten ordinary citizens or be controlled by Taurus.
• Another councilor proposed making the Cursed Children wear explosive collars, and others supported the plan.
• The Holy Ruler rejected the proposal and warned that Heavenly Dao Palace might refuse to help if the Tokyo Area treated the Cursed Children that way.
• The Holy Ruler asked the councilors to vote on the Cursed Children Protection Act.

Fang Zheng used the Cursed Children Protection Act’s special clause to announce rewards for evidence of discrimination and for police arrests, while also offering Cursed Children shelter in a new city. He told the Holy Ruler that the city would not be built inside the Tokyo Area, leaving the legislators unable to stop his plan through the act.

• The Holy Ruler told Fang Zheng that the Diet had passed the Cursed Children Protection Act and his request for Heavenly Dao Palace to assist with its administration.
• Fang Zheng watched citizens protest the act and waited for Heavenly Dao Palace to issue an announcement.
• Heavenly Dao Palace offered rewards for evidence of violations and for police officers who arrested offenders, and announced plans for a city where Cursed Children and their families could seek shelter.
• The announcement alarmed the Holy Ruler and legislators, who realized the rewards could encourage citizens and police to enforce the act.
• The Holy Ruler asked Fang Zheng why he had not discussed building a city with them, and Fang Zheng clarified that it would be outside the Tokyo Area.