Chapter Summaries

James and the soldiers aboard a helicopter heard the Dragon speak telepathically, then watched Fang Zheng’s forces drive the MUTO into the sea. Fang Zheng intimidated the carrier crew while claiming the name Neltharion, and flew off after warning them to stay away.

• The Dragon spoke into James’s and the soldiers’ minds, ordered them to leave, and the helicopter retreated to the carrier.
• The wounded MUTO escaped into the sea, so Fang Zheng ordered Kraken to pursue it while he and the Mutalisks took to the air.
• James warned the General not to provoke the Dragon, but the General dismissed the telepathic contact and launched fighter jets to follow it.
• Fang Zheng landed on the carrier, used Dragon Might to terrify the crew, and introduced himself as Neltharion, Guardian of the Earth.
• Fang Zheng warned the mortals to stay away and flew into the clouds, pleased that his deception had frightened them.

After the battle in Hawaii, Fang Zheng and his Dragons became a global sensation, and world leaders discussed what the Dragon Neltharion wanted. James persuaded the President that Neltharion could be an ally against the monsters, and the President tasked Monarch with contacting him, while Fang Zheng listened in and considered using their assumptions to his advantage.

• Footage of Fang Zheng and his Dragons spread worldwide, sparking public fascination and speculation about whether other mythical beings existed.
• The President questioned James about the Dragon’s telepathic warning, and James said its name was Neltharion and it called itself a Guardian of the Earth.
• James argued that Neltharion’s duty was to eliminate Kaikju, Godzilla, and MUTO, and that humanity could cooperate with it against the monsters.
• The President assigned Monarch to find Neltharion and establish contact with him.
• Fang Zheng listened to the infiltrated network and considered letting the humans’ assumptions help him.

Fang Zheng chose to give Mutalisks MUTO genes so they could release EMP, then turned his attention to the Kaikju and humans’ Mecha. As Hec and Chuck intercepted a monster at sea, they discovered that the creature they had attacked was not the Kaikju they were hunting.

• Fang Zheng rejected adding MUTOs directly to the Swarm or giving their genes to Banelings, and chose to upgrade Mutalisks with EMP abilities.
• Fang Zheng decided to seek out the Alien Race behind the Kaikju and planned to show the humans what he considered truly unscientific nonsense.
• The Monarch Organization informed Fang Zheng that Godzilla had encountered a Kaikju and a Mecha hunter instead of following its expected route.
• Hec and Chuck piloted the Eureka Striker to intercept a Kaikju, but the monster knocked out their communications equipment and disappeared from their radar.
• Chuck spotted a dark shape in the storm, and the pilots attacked it with the Mecha’s Sting-Blades.
• Hec and Chuck realized the creature they had struck was a gigantic, unfamiliar monster rather than the Kaikju they had been pursuing.

Godzilla attacked Striker Mecha, but a Kaikju interrupted before it could finish the pilots. When Fang Zheng arrived as a Dragon, Godzilla tried to flee, but Fang Zheng used Meteor Barrage and Plundering Breath, leaving the sea calm and the pilots alive.

• Godzilla seized Striker Mecha, smashed it into the sea, and broke its left leg before a Kaikju ambushed it.
• The Striker pilots retreated while Godzilla fought the Kaikju underwater, overpowering it despite its skill in the sea.
• Fang Zheng arrived in Dragon form, and Godzilla abandoned the nearly defeated Kaikju and tried to escape.
• Fang Zheng used Resonant Amplification and Meteor Barrage, destroying the Kaikju and engulfing Godzilla in the attack.
• Fang Zheng used Plundering Breath to absorb Godzilla, and the pilots saw only a calm sea beneath the Dragon atop the Sky Dome.

After Fang Zheng destroyed the Kaikju and Godzilla with Meteor Barrage, James approached him and persuaded him to communicate with humanity. Fang Zheng agreed to visit the human base and judge their resolve.

• James arrived by fighter jet and witnessed Fang Zheng destroy the Kaikju and Godzilla with Meteor Barrage.
• James ordered the pilot to approach Fang Zheng so he could communicate with him.
• Fang Zheng used telepathy to rebuff James and mock humanity’s weakness.
• James declared that humanity shared Fang Zheng’s goal of fighting the monsters and insisted humans had the strength and right to protect the planet.
• Fang Zheng agreed to see humanity’s courage, and James guided him toward the base while ordering preparations for their arrival.

Fang Zheng arrived at the Hong Kong base and intimidated its leaders and soldiers while maintaining his distance from humanity. When James asked about the monsters, Fang Zheng warned the gathered representatives that humanity was marching toward extinction and asked if they truly wanted to know the truth.

• Fang Zheng refused to take human form and told Commander Pandakous that he had come only to watch humanity's resistance fail.
• Pandakous complained about Fang Zheng, but James warned him that the Dragon was powerful and might provide valuable information.
• Representatives from countries around the world gathered at the base to meet Fang Zheng.
• When soldiers aimed their guns at Fang Zheng after a scholar fainted, Fang Zheng's roar incapacitated them, and James ordered the soldiers to withdraw.
• James asked Fang Zheng why the monsters had appeared and attacked humanity, and Fang Zheng warned that humanity was marching toward extinction before asking whether they were ready to hear the truth.

Fang Zheng told James and the others a dramatic tale about the First Flame fading, then used Fūka to show them the ruined city of Lothric. The humans left convinced the story held a hidden truth, and their scholars later interpreted it as an account of the universe’s creation and the return of ancient monsters.

• James asked Fang Zheng to tell them what he knew, and Fang Zheng described the Age of Fire and the First Flame’s decline.
• Fang Zheng used Fūka to transport everyone to a ruined city in the clouds, which he called Lothric, and warned that darkness had returned.
• Fang Zheng told the humans they were Ashen Ones and urged them to struggle, then watched them leave in silence.
• The humans assembled experts, who theorized that the First Flame was the Big Bang and that the Lords of Cinder were ancient gods whose power had faded.
• The scholars concluded that monsters once driven away by the First Flame would awaken, and that humanity would have to face them alone.
• Fang Zheng hacked into the internet, read the scholars’ report, and marveled at how far their imagination had taken his fabricated story.

Fang Zheng watched world leaders accept an elaborate false history he had invented, while James warned that humanity could not reignite the First Flame or count on an alliance with the Dragon. With supernatural power ruled out as a path forward, Fang Zheng turned to a Zerg strategy for reaching the Kaikju through their wormhole.

• A report built from scholarly research explained the world's history as three eras shaped by the First Flame, and Fang Zheng was astonished by how convincingly it developed his fabrication.
• The president asked James whether humanity could relight the First Flame, but James said they did not know what it was or where it could be and feared it might require people to sacrifice themselves.
• The president asked whether the nations could ally with the Dragon, and James said they had little to offer and might have to face the coming darkness on their own.
• Fang Zheng approved of James's conclusions, noting that he had wanted to prevent humanity from pursuing nonexistent supernatural powers.
• Fang Zheng decided to use a Zerg base-swap strategy to get past the small, restricted wormhole connecting the Kaikju to their home planet.

After the truth about the gods spread, people formed a Dragon God Cult around Fang Zheng, who ignored their offerings and focused on the returning invaders. Fang Zheng and Kraken captured a Kaikju, discovered its creators’ plan to transform Earth, and Fang Zheng seized their world’s coordinates.

• The report about the dead gods leaked, leaving some believers despairing and others searching for new gods to worship.
• People founded the Dragon God Cult and held ceremonies across the river from Fang Zheng, while its followers argued over how to win his favor.
• Fang Zheng ignored the offerings and decided to eliminate the alien invaders before leaving.
• Kraken ambushed and restrained a Kaikju emerging from the undersea wormhole, allowing Fang Zheng to enter its mind through the Hive network.
• Fang Zheng learned that the Kaikju’s creators lived on a poisonous world and intended to transform Earth, then overwhelmed a hostile psychic presence and obtained their coordinates.

Fang Zheng expanded the Pacific wormhole and sent his Swarm forces through it to attack whatever lay beyond. The wormhole collapsed after he followed, leaving Commander Pandakous and the base personnel stunned as a tsunami surged toward the southeastern coast.

• Fang Zheng flew to the Pacific wormhole while fighter jets from the Hong Kong base followed him.
• Fang Zheng struck the wormhole with a lightning spear, expanded it, and stabilized the passage with Psionic power.
• A satellite detected a colossal life-form in Earth's orbit, from which hundreds of Mutalisks descended.
• Fang Zheng ordered the Mutalisks and Leviathan through the wormhole, then flew in after them.
• The wormhole collapsed after Fang Zheng entered, and the resulting surge sent a tsunami across the southeastern coast.
• Commander Pandakous received confirmation that the wormhole's signal had disappeared and stared in disbelief.

Fang Zheng led the Swarm through a Teleportation Gate and launched an assault on the aliens’ Kaikju factory world. Back at Heavenly Dao Palace, Nymph thanked Tilia for her advice about Fang Zheng, and the two grew closer as they discussed Nymph’s experience.

• Fang Zheng arrived on the alien planet, used Dragon Might to overwhelm the aliens, and incinerated nearby enemies with Firestorm.
• Fang Zheng ordered the Swarm to attack, and its forces swept into the alien base against the aliens’ biological army.
• Tilia invited Nymph to coffee and asked why Nymph had invited her to Rabbit House.
• Nymph thanked Tilia for her advice, telling her that she and Fang Zheng had slept together and that he had been gentle.
• Tilia asked Nymph about the experience and concluded that they were now allies against Hecate.

Fang Zheng returned to Heavenly Dao Palace after exterminating the Kaikju Alien Race and strengthening the Swarm, then inspected a new communication device created by Nymph. He found nearly everyone listed in its contacts and wondered why it felt like a selection board.

• Fang Zheng returned from the monster world after defeating the Kaikju Alien Race and chose not to make that world a Free World.
• Fang Zheng arrived home and greeted the little kitten and Little Fire Dragon, then asked Iona for an update.
• Iona told Fang Zheng that Nymph had finished the device he requested and that Tilia wanted to discuss media with him.
• Fang Zheng tried Nymph's wristband, which projected a virtual screen and let him access a unified communication system.
• Fang Zheng opened the contact list, saw names including Nymph, Tilia, and Hecate, and felt as if he were looking at a selection board.

Fang Zheng explored Heavenly Dao Palace’s new wristband network and found its forum and livestreams had brought the community online. He watched Aihara Enju stream an outing with Fuse Cui to Zone Three, pleased to see the girls adventuring and connecting with viewers.

• Fang Zheng logged into the new network and explored its holographic map and forums, where the Cursed Children chatted and shared photos.
• Fang Zheng opened the Tease the Cat icon and discovered it was a livestream program featuring Aihara Enju.
• Iona explained that Nymph had authorized several people to livestream activities outside Heavenly Dao Palace and that Enju’s show was popular.
• Fang Zheng watched Enju describe plans to revisit Zone Three with an exploration team and bring Fuse Cui along.
• Enju pulled Cui into the stream, and viewers sent encouraging comments as the girls prepared to explore.

Fang Zheng realized the Cursed Children needed meaningful activities and decided Heavenly Dao Palace should develop its media and spiritual life. Unable to find a suitable media leader or obtain an AI, he chose to study how to create one himself.

• Fang Zheng watched Enju, Xia Shi, and Tina's livestreams and recognized that the Cursed Children wanted to prove their worth through activities they enjoyed.
• Fang Zheng decided Heavenly Dao Palace needed to develop its spiritual civilization because the livestream section had almost no content beyond the three girls' programs.
• Fang Zheng concluded that media leadership required someone he deeply trusted who could guide public opinion, but Tilia was overburdened and Hecate disliked public-facing work.
• Fang Zheng learned that Nymph was forbidden from creating artificial intelligence and rejected the idea of taking an AI from another world without understanding its code.
• Fang Zheng decided to study the technology he had gathered and try to create an AI himself.

Fang Zheng enjoyed his quiet routine at Heavenly Dao Palace and unlocked several new leisure facilities through the Dimensional Codex. At Rabbit House, Chino met her new coworker Rize Tendo, whose unusual manner left Chino frightened and Fang Zheng amused.

• Fang Zheng relaxed at Rabbit House and wondered whether Chino could manage the busy cafe alone.
• Fang Zheng unlocked Hanabishi Planetarium, Konohanatei, and Invention Workshop, while postponing Count D's Pet Shop and Amagi Brilliant Park.
• Chino rushed from the back room and asked Fang Zheng to help because she had found a naked girl pointing a gun at her.
• Rize Tendo explained that her father had introduced her for a part-time job and declared Chino her superior.
• Rize memorized the menu and began learning latte art from a nervous Chino while Fang Zheng stayed to watch.

Fang Zheng visited the neglected Hanabishi Planetarium and met its robot guide, Hoshino Yumemi. When the projector failed to start, he called Tilia to bring her students over and help repair it.

• Fang Zheng visited the dusty, apparently abandoned Hanabishi Planetarium to inspect the shop he had opened.
• Hoshino Yumemi greeted Fang Zheng as the planetarium’s first guest in 29 years and gave him a makeshift commemorative bouquet.
• Fang Zheng sat through Hoshino Yumemi’s introduction and waited for the planetarium projection to begin.
• The Astral Sign projector failed to work, and Hoshino Yumemi explained that she could not diagnose it because the director and staff had been away for years.
• Fang Zheng told Hoshino Yumemi that he owned the planetarium and contacted Tilia to bring her students over to help.

Fang Zheng inspected the Hanabishi Planetarium and discovered that it needed extensive repairs, then visited Franker Workshop to learn what its expensive facilities could do. The chapter ended with him asking Nanoka Franker to maintain the sleeping guide girl.

• Fang Zheng found the Hanabishi Planetarium filthy, with failing power and wiring, and told Tilia that it needed a complete overhaul.
• The guide girl asked Fang Zheng to repair her malfunctioning program and neglected body before entering sleep mode; Fang Zheng removed her 128 EB memory card.
• Fang Zheng left Tilia to handle the planetarium and went to inspect Franker Workshop.
• Fang Zheng met Nanoka Franker and her talking dog, Stoka, and learned that Stoka was a robot.
• Fang Zheng asked Nanoka to maintain the guide girl.

Fang Zheng analyzed Hoshino Yumemi’s programming and considered how human emotional projection could make artificial intelligence seem alive, even when it only followed preset instructions. He remained uncertain about how to create AI without falling into that trap, but began modifying the code anyway.

• Fang Zheng entrusted the ten-year-old girl with maintaining Hoshino Yumemi’s body and returned to his room to analyze her programming.
• Fang Zheng found the Three Laws of Robotics in Hoshino Yumemi’s code and concluded that her behavior was governed by preset instructions rather than genuine feelings.
• Fang Zheng reasoned that people treated interactive AI differently from ordinary tools because they projected emotions onto it and interpreted its responses as personal feelings.
• Fang Zheng concluded that humans could mistake programmed behavior for AI betrayal, even though humans themselves had created the instructions behind it.
• Fang Zheng worried that creating an AI as a little girl might lead him to grant it freedom through emotional attachment and later feel betrayed by its unexpected actions.
• Fang Zheng sighed, reconsidered his approach to AI creation, and placed his hands on the keyboard to continue working on the code.

After resolving Hoshino Yumemi’s situation at the planetarium, Fang Zheng overheard several Cursed Children arguing over what they should do in the world of Tina’s ghost story. Their debate escalated when someone compared the villagers’ customs to the discrimination the Cursed Children had faced, and asked why Fang Zheng had saved them.

• Fang Zheng repaired Hoshino Yumemi’s memories of the planetarium staff, then learned that a young girl had helped fix her.
• Fang Zheng headed toward Konohanatei and found two Cursed Children arguing while a winged girl tried to calm them.
• The winged girl explained that the argument began after Tina told a ghost story about a village where lovers ate one another at their wedding.
• The Cursed Children disagreed over whether to rescue the story’s young man alone or interfere with the village’s custom.
• A forum commenter compared accepting the village’s custom to accepting the discrimination Cursed Children had suffered, asking why Fang Zheng had saved them.

Fang Zheng learned that the Cursed Children were divided over whether outsiders should intervene in another world's customs, and realized their debate raised a larger question about Heavenly Dao Palace's future approach to other civilizations. He summoned his companions to hear their views but ended the chapter without deciding on a policy.

• The Cursed Children argued on the forum about whether to reform a village whose customs they considered barbaric or leave its people to their own choices.
• Fang Zheng added three girls as friends, then returned home and summoned his companions to discuss the forum dispute.
• Tina admitted she had shared the story because she found it romantic, while Nymph, Hecate, Tilia, and Kayo deferred to Fang Zheng.
• Enju argued that they should stop the villagers from turning people into human meat cans, while Cui said they should intervene only if the villagers wanted help.
• Fang Zheng recognized that the argument concerned Heavenly Dao Palace's future policy toward civilizations with different values, and concluded that public opinion and social values needed attention.