Chapter Summaries

Li Lizhi received approval to proceed with her research, while the Federation began establishing its first foothold in the Andromeda Galaxy on Worton. Aimeni asked Lin Yu for help because the Brilliant Empire could not meet its next tribute and faced destruction in seven years.

• Bai Zixuan defended Li Lizhi's scientific work, and Lin Yu accepted the order approving her experiment.
• Aimeni ordered Worton evacuated and transferred to the Federation, compensating residents who relocated.
• Federation ships and robots began building cities on Worton II and a vast space research complex designed by Li Lizhi.
• Aimeni visited Lin Yu aboard the Pangu and pleaded for the Federation to save the Brilliant Empire from extermination when its tribute came due in seven years.

Lin Yu enlisted Aimeni and the Brilliant Empire to gather asteroids for the Federation’s plan to counter the Neutron Battle Star. The empire began mobilizing its people and affiliated civilizations, and half a year later Li Lizhi’s Neutron Degenerate Matter production base at Wodun was completed.

• Lin Yu told Aimeni that the Federation would protect the Brilliant Empire and asked it to help prepare to deal with the Neutron Battle Star.
• Lin Yu tasked the Brilliant Empire with collecting at least a billion asteroids and delivering them to Wodun; Aimeni promised to finish within two years.
• Aimeni ordered the empire and its affiliated civilizations to devote their resources to capturing asteroids, then explained the threat to the ministers, who unanimously supported him.
• The Brilliant Empire redirected factories, soldiers, citizens, and affiliated civilizations toward asteroid collection, and spacecraft began hauling asteroids to Wodun.
• Half a year later, Li Lizhi’s Neutron Degenerate Matter production base at the edge of Wodun was completed.

Hei Sha ordered the destruction of the Crimson Federation for failing to pay tribute and chose the Brilliant Empire as the fleet’s next target. Meanwhile, Li Lizhi’s Neutron Degenerate Matter production base began manufacturing massive, ultra-dense spheres.

• Hei Sha received confirmation that his fleet had exterminated every survivor in the Crimson Federation’s Capital Sphere for its unpaid tribute.
• Hei Sha learned that the Brilliant Empire, the Black Sea Alliance, and the Nalan Federation were likely to fail their tribute quotas, and he chose to attack the Brilliant Empire first.
• Hei Sha’s fleet set out for the front spiral arm, beginning a journey of nearly two hundred thousand light-years that would take about eight years.
• Li Lizhi’s production base at the edge of Walton began processing asteroids into Neutron Degenerate Matter spheres, each with the mass of tens of thousands of battleships.
• Li Lizhi planned to manufacture one hundred million of the spheres.

Lin Yu prepared an ambush in the Lan Feng star region to lure out the Purple Cloud Empire’s Neutron Battle Star, and his fleet attacked the empire’s tribute collection fleet as it emerged from the wormhole. The chapter ended as General Hei Sha saw the signals of many warships on the fleet’s right suddenly disappear.

• Li Lizhi warned Lin Yu that the planned operation would create a small black hole, so Lin Yu chose the lifeless Lan Feng star region instead of Haise Star Domain.
• Aimeni reported that the Purple Cloud Empire’s tribute collection fleet was heading toward the wormhole, and Lin Yu ordered his fleet to prepare for deployment.
• General Hei Sha ordered the six-billion-vessel tribute collection fleet to pass through the wormhole without sending scouts ahead.
• Lin Yu’s fleet waited near the wormhole exit with three Warp Interference Devices deployed, then identified the enemy flagship as a non-attack target.
• After the enemy fleet finished emerging, Lin Yu began the attack, and Hei Sha saw the signals of many warships on the fleet’s right vanish.

Hei Sha’s Purple Cloud Empire fleet came under invisible attacks from Lin Yu’s forces and could neither locate nor reach the enemy. Hei Sha ordered a retreat through the wormhole, while Lin Yu directed his fleet to keep attacking with Spatial Pierce until the tribute fleet had withdrawn.

• Hei Sha ordered maximum-range detection and discovered roughly ten million suspicious warships 10 AU away that showed no signs of firing.
• Hei Sha sent the Third and Fourth Formations to engage, but a Warp Interruption Device prevented them from warping toward the enemy.
• Hei Sha deployed Strategic Reconnaissance Ships and ordered the fleet to retreat toward the rear spiral arm; Lin Yu’s Space Radar detected the stealth ships.
• Lin Yu ordered his fleet to mark the reconnaissance ships as non-attackable and continue using Spatial Pierce rather than Spatial Tear.
• Hei Sha ordered the fleet to enter the wormhole, and Lin Yu told his forces to maintain their attacks until the entire tribute fleet had withdrawn.

After an unknown force devastated Hei Sha’s tribute-collection fleet, Emperor Bourne summoned the Purple Cloud Empire’s marshals and generals to decide how to respond. Hei Sha was stripped of his Imperial Fleet positions and sent home to retire, and the meeting turned to the threat posed by the unknown enemy.

• Hei Sha learned that 52 million warships had been destroyed and 19 million severely damaged by attacks that either destroyed ships or left them badly damaged.
• Emperor Bourne summoned the two marshals and eight generals to a virtual meeting to review Hei Sha’s report and battlefield data.
• The marshals and generals discovered that the enemy had only ten million warships, attacked from beyond 10 AU, and could not be detected or stopped by Spatial Shields.
• Blue River argued that Hei Sha had handled the attack well and should be treated leniently, but Bourne insisted someone had to take responsibility for the defeat.
• Bourne stripped Hei Sha of all his Imperial Fleet positions and sent him home to retire, then asked the council how to respond to the unknown force.

Emperor Bern ordered a massive punitive force to attack the unknown civilization while keeping the Neutron Battle Star on standby unless losses grew excessive. In the Forearm Spiral, Lin Yu’s fleet used modified reconnaissance ships to lure Purple Cloud Empire scouts toward an illusory star system, where the scouts arrived.

• Red Lion analyzed the unknown civilization’s long-range weapons and proposed either a costly fleet encirclement or annihilation by the Neutron Battle Star.
• Bern ordered 32 billion warships under Red Lion and sent Blue River with the Neutron Battle Star, which could join the battle if casualties became excessive.
• Lin Yu’s modified reconnaissance ships departed the wormhole wreckage using Warp Drive Engines, and Purple Cloud Empire scouts pursued them toward their suspected destination.
• At the former Crimson Federation Capital Sphere, Lin Yu’s forces activated the Spatial Illusion System, making the region appear prosperous and hiding the Neutron Degenerate Spheres.
• Hei Sha’s reconnaissance ships arrived at the former Crimson Federation Capital Sphere.

Lin Yu’s fleet used a Spatial Illusion System to trick Purple Cloud Empire scouts, then destroyed twenty-seven of their twenty-eight reconnaissance ships. Bai Lang sent his findings to Chi Shi and escaped punishment, while Marshal Lan He arrived at an outpost to inspect a battle star preparing to sortie.

• Lin Yu ordered his fleet to wait before destroying every reconnaissance ship except the command ship.
• Bai Lang’s team discovered the enemy base in Saka and reported its facilities and population before the enemy attacked.
• Bai Lang escaped with his command ship and learned that the other twenty-seven reconnaissance ships were presumed destroyed.
• Bai Lang sent his reconnaissance data to Chi Shi, who praised the findings and excused the ship losses.
• Lan He arrived at an outpost in the Lier Star System and asked about preparations for the battle star’s sortie.
• Lan He’s party reached a hollow at the center of the outpost, enclosed by a deep blue barrier.

Lan He revealed that the Purple Cloud Empire could use the Neutron Battle Star only while its outpost and energy reserves remained, and Chi Shi assembled the imperial forces to seize the Federation’s weapons technology. Lin Yu concluded that the Neutron Battle Star was being held in reserve and prepared to exploit the coming fleet battle.

• Lan He learned that the outpost had only six reserve crystals, enough for about a thousand years, and ordered officials to notify him when the Neutron Battle Star was ready to deploy.
• Chi Shi gathered the Empire’s fleets at the Lancer Corridor and told Nantian, Lei Yu, Bai Yang, and Lin Long that obtaining Federation technology was the operation’s priority and that damaging key facilities was forbidden.
• Chi Shi presented a Star Chart of Saka, marking production lines and suspected research sites as primary targets.
• Lin Yu told his adjutant that the Purple Cloud Empire had likely dispatched the Neutron Battle Star as insurance while conventional fleets attempted to encircle the Federation and seize its technology.
• Lin Yu explained that he had used Spatial Illusion Technology to populate Saka with misleading facilities, laying groundwork to ambush the Neutron Battle Star and weaken the imperial forces.

Marshal Lan He’s Neutron Battle Star neared its target while Chi Shi led the Purple Cloud Empire’s fleet through the wormhole into the forward spiral arm. The enemy had anticipated Chi Shi’s every move and reactivated the Spatial Illusion System to make ruined Saka appear prosperous and bustling.

• Lan He learned that the Neutron Battle Star was one hyperspace voyage away from its target, though its communications could not be used to revise plans mid-mission.
• Chi Shi sent Strategic Reconnaissance Ships to check the area within twenty AU of the wormhole exit for enemy ships and Warp Interruption Devices.
• The reconnaissance formation reported no threats, so Chi Shi ordered the fleet to pass through the wormhole.
• All 22 billion warships crossed into the forward spiral arm and assembled without encountering abnormalities.
• The enemy learned that Chi Shi’s fleet had arrived, and its commander ordered the Spatial Illusion System fully activated, restoring the appearance of prosperous Saka.

Marshal Chi Shi led an invasion of Saka, believing its defenses were absent, but the fleet’s apparent targets proved to be illusions. As devastating attacks tore through his forces, he realized the Neutron Battle Star might have arrived.

• Marshal Chi Shi ordered his legions to attack Saka’s spaceports, seize its facilities, and land on its Life Planets while avoiding damage to non-military sites.
• Nantian and Lei Yu attacked an apparently undefended spaceport cluster, while Bai Yang and Lin Long began raiding facilities and landing operations without resistance.
• Marshal Chi Shi noticed that civilian ships across the star system showed no reaction to the battles and suspected the targets were illusions.
• The four generals reported that their targets were false illusions, and Marshal Chi Shi ordered every fleet to withdraw immediately.
• Attacks from across several AU destroyed tens of thousands of warships, and Marshal Chi Shi feared the Neutron Battle Star had arrived.

Lin Yu’s forces annihilated Chi Shi’s fleet at Saka, prompting the Purple Cloud Empire to realize it faced a far more advanced enemy and prepare for the Neutron Battle Star’s arrival. Two days later, Lin Yu detected a Hyperspace Window opening within Saka and ordered Li Lizhi to begin the next phase of the trap.

• Chi Shi realized that the civilization attacking Saka was likely Level 6 or Level 7, then died as his fleet was destroyed.
• Lin Yu ordered his fleets to withdraw beyond 10 AU from Saka and monitor for Hyperspace Windows.
• Bern received Chi Shi’s report and ordered Bai Zheng and Niu Xi to defend the Lancer Corridor, Xing Fei to protect the imperial capital, and Wei Bao to take charge of the Seed Plan.
• Bern considered the Blazing Fire Civilization as a backup plan while hoping Lan He and the Neutron Battle Star could save the Empire.
• Lin Yu detected a Hyperspace Window forming within Saka and told his forces to notify Li Lizhi that the prey had entered the trap.

Li Lizhi’s Super Gravity Counteraction System trapped the Neutron Battle Star in Saka, where Lan He discovered the wreckage and realized his fleet had entered a trap. As more than a hundred million Neutron Degenerate Matter spheres approached, Li Lizhi’s team confirmed they were being drawn toward the battle star.

• On Worton, Li Lizhi’s team activated the Super Gravity Counteraction System to disrupt the Neutron Battle Star’s gravity control.
• Lan He’s adjutant reported that Saka contained no expected targets and held billions of Purple Cloud Empire warship wrecks, leading Lan He to suspect a trap.
• Lan He ordered the Neutron Battle Star to retreat, but it failed to open a Hyperspace Window and could not travel at sub-light speed.
• A radar officer reported more than a hundred million unidentified spheres approaching the Neutron Battle Star, though their mass and structure could not be analyzed.
• A researcher told Li Lizhi that the Neutron Battle Star and the Neutron Degenerate Matter spheres attracted each other, and Li Lizhi ordered the team to keep recording data.

Lan He realized that the Mass Spheres were meant to increase the Neutron Battle Star’s mass until it became a black hole, while his immobilized crew faced the failing Gravity Barrier. Li Lizhi watched the fusion reach its critical moment and declared that the Neutron Battle Star would become a black hole.

• Lan He learned that the technicians could not repair the Neutron Battle Star, which had become immobilized as the Mass Spheres approached.
• The Mass Spheres entered the absolute kill zone without being destroyed, and Lan He suspected they were designed to turn the Neutron Battle Star into a black hole.
• Three hours later, the Mass Spheres engulfed the Neutron Battle Star, overwhelming its Gravity Barrier and rapidly draining its energy.
• Li Lizhi learned that the Neutron Battle Star would reach its mass Critical Point in twenty-nine minutes as it fused with the Mass Spheres.
• After twenty-nine minutes, the shrinking body jolted and stopped, and Li Lizhi announced that it was time for the Neutron Battle Star to become a black hole.

Farn and Lin Hong watched as the Neutron Battle Star collapsed into a black hole, while arguing over their conflicting plans for humanity. After the researchers celebrated the experiment’s success, Li Lizhi noticed two energy readings that had remained unaffected near the black hole and suspected an advanced civilization had been watching them.

• Farn appeared near the Neutron Battle Star and criticized humanity for failing to use its full power.
• Lin Hong confronted Farn, who defended his methods and questioned whether humanity could achieve a God-tier Civilization.
• The Neutron Battle Star reached the Critical Point and collapsed, creating a black hole that devoured nearby wreckage and celestial bodies.
• Farn and Lin Hong left after observing the black hole’s formation.
• Li Lizhi noticed two energy readings near the black hole that had remained unchanged and asked Yuan Ling whether an advanced civilization might have been surveilling them.

After the Human Federation destroyed the Neutron Battle Star, Lin Fan learned that two energy lifeforms from a Transcendent Civilization had witnessed the battle and began investigating humanity’s origins. Across Andromeda, the news brought civilizations into turmoil, while Bern faced a mysterious red energy being that claimed the Purple Cloud Empire still had a chance.

• Aimeni confirmed that Lin Yu’s forces had destroyed the Neutron Battle Star and formed a black hole where Saka had been, delighting Aimeni.
• Lin Fan praised Li Lizhi’s research, then learned from the system that the two energy bodies were immortal lifeforms from a Transcendent Civilization and wondered why they had targeted humanity.
• Aimeni shared the battle report with Andromeda’s overlord civilizations, which verified Saka’s destruction and grew alarmed.
• Rear-spiral-arm civilizations reported that Purple Cloud Empire legions had abandoned their garrisons and rushed back to imperial territory.
• Aimeni announced the Federation’s origins and its policy toward subordinate civilizations, revealing that the Brilliant Empire had joined the Federation.
• Bern read the intelligence and feared the Purple Cloud Empire faced destruction until a mass of red energy appeared and told him there was still a chance.

Bern met Farn, a former chief scientist of the Level 12 Alphart Civilization, who modified the Purple Cloud Empire’s remaining Neutron Battle Star and revealed the locations of three Level 7 Planet-class Warships. After Farn vanished, Bern learned that the Blazing Fire Neutron Battle Star had been transformed and its energy reserves replenished, and he sent Carter the coordinates of the warships to secure the empire’s survival.

• Farn introduced himself to Bern, revealed that the Alphart Civilization had created the Neutron Battle Stars, and offered to make the remaining one resistant to destruction.
• Farn explained that he wanted to challenge humanity’s future because an old friend believed in it, and Bern mistakenly suspected he intended to use the Purple Cloud Empire as a whetstone.
• Farn vanished after revealing that three Level 7 Planet-class Warships were sealed in the star system and giving Bern their coordinates and highest control authority.
• Carter contacted Bern to report that the Blazing Fire Neutron Battle Star’s command room had been rebuilt and that one hundred Energy Crystals had appeared at the outpost.
• Bern recognized Farn’s work, ordered Carter to stop investigating, and sent him the warship coordinates, saying the mission concerned the Purple Cloud Empire’s survival.

Carter discovered that the coordinates Bern had given him concealed a Level 7 Civilization base holding three enormous warships. Bern used his authority over the base to reveal it, leaving Carter and his fleet staring at the vessels.

• Carter found nothing at the coordinates until footage of his Positron Cannon revealed metallic structures hidden by ripples in space.
• The base's central AI warned Bern that Carter's fleet had attacked it and asked whether to retaliate.
• Bern ordered the AI not to retaliate, realized Carter had reached the coordinates, and explained that he controlled the base.
• Bern ordered the base to deactivate its stealth status and Phase Shield, revealing a vast spaceport and three enormous warships to Carter's fleet.

After Li Lizhi detected a possible Neutron Battle Star in Blazing Fire Civilization territory, Lin Yu sent Woston and a hundred warships to investigate. Woston found a mysterious Space Base and then watched three planet-sized ships emerge from Hyperspace Windows, each resembling the Dark Star.

• Li Lizhi's new detection device found an anomaly resembling a Neutron Battle Star near the Blazing Fire Civilization, and Lin Yu ordered Woston to investigate.
• Woston led a hundred warships to the coordinates and found a futuristic Space Base with a blue barrier surrounding a sphere the size of the Purple Cloud Empire's Neutron Battle Star.
• Woston ordered the fleet to combat readiness after detecting three enormous Hyperspace Windows forming nearby.
• Three planet-sized warships emerged, and Woston recognized them as resembling the Dark Star stored in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Woston’s fleet faced three Planet-class Warships, and he ordered a feigned surrender to buy time for the Hyperspace Engine to charge. The enemy deployed a Warp Interruption Device to prevent their escape, convincing Woston that they were only a low-level civilization using stolen Level 7 ships.

• Woston ordered his fleet to withdraw and send its data to Commander Lin Yu, but a spatial attack destroyed three warships before they could escape.
• Woston realized the enemy might want to capture the fleet for interrogation, so he ordered his ships to stow their weapons and pretend to surrender while the Hyperspace Engine charged.
• Karte mistook the fleet’s apparent surrender for proof of weakness and ordered his forces to capture the Federation ships and crew.
• Woston learned that the enemy had deployed a Warp Interruption Device and concluded that they were a low-level civilization that had obtained Level 7 warships.