Chapter Summaries

Two years after the Federation conquered the Andromeda Galaxy, Lin Yu reported that a strange Bug Nest Channel had appeared in the former Purple Cloud Empire’s territory. Lin Fan argued against destroying it and proposed preparing to meet any Zerg invasion at the channel’s exit.

• The Federation destroyed the Purple Cloud Empire and the Blazing Fire Empire, then relocated rear-spiral-arm civilizations to six remaining galaxies while planning further expansion.
• Lin Fan convened a high-level military meeting at Federation Interstellar Fleet Headquarters and asked Lin Yu to brief the attendees.
• Lin Yu reported that a Bug Nest Channel had appeared in the former Purple Cloud Empire’s territory, though the nearest Zerg Queen Bug was 150 million light-years away and showed no sign of approaching.
• Fujiwara Ayako asked whether the Federation could destroy the channel, and Lin Fan explained that keeping it would let the Federation prepare for a possible invasion rather than risk an undiscovered channel opening elsewhere.
• Lin Fan called on Qin Tian, who asked whether the Federation could deploy Spatial Resonators in advance.

Lin Fan explained why Spatial Resonators could not be placed in advance and announced preparations to defend the Andromeda Galaxy against the approaching Zerg. Liang Xingchen took command as a vast allied fleet departed for the assembly point, while the true nature of the enemy remained uncertain.

• Lin Fan rejected the proposal to install Spatial Resonators in advance, explaining that the Zerg could displace them and prevent the devices from synchronizing enough to destroy the Bug Nest Channel.
• Lin Fan ordered the First through Fifth Galaxy Clusters to depart for the Andromeda Galaxy in three days and recruit 100 billion allied warships through the Super Star Gate.
• Lin Fan appointed Liang Xingchen overall commander of the defensive operation and ordered other fleets to maintain Level Two combat readiness and patrol their galaxy clusters.
• Three days later, five billion Federal Fleet warships and 100 billion Civilization Allied Forces warships set out for the assembly point by spatial teleportation and Hyperspace Navigation.

Alba awakened after two and a half years and discovered that the Three-Eyed Empire was evacuating through a Bug Nest Channel, so he ordered the bugs to attack its Capital Sphere at full speed. The Empire’s defensive line was expected to fall within a month, while Liang Xingchen’s fleet prepared for something to emerge from the channel in Andromeda.

• Alba emerged from the energy mass as a Bug Emperor and learned from Hainiyeh that the bug offensive had advanced smoothly during his sleep.
• Alba detected the Three-Eyed Empire evacuating through a Bug Nest Channel and ordered the entire bug race to attack its Capital Sphere without regard for cost.
• Mew learned that the bug assault had brought more than thirty Queen Bugs to the front and that the Empire’s defensive line could hold for no more than a month.
• Mew worried that the Empire could not evacuate its planned share of the population before the defensive line fell.
• Liang Xingchen received a report of violent energy fluctuations inside the Bug Nest Channel and ordered his fleets to prepare for battle.

The Three-Eyed Empire fleet emerged from the Bug Nest Channel and faced the Human Federation, whose forces demanded they identify themselves. After hearing Wei explain her empire’s flight from the bugs, Liang Xingchen allowed its ships to arrive under strict restrictions while he contacted the Federation’s leaders.

• Wei saw the Human Federation fleet aiming its weapons at the Three-Eyed Empire ships and ordered her forces not to act rashly.
• Liang Xingchen connected with Wei, who identified herself as the Three-Eyed Empire’s chief scientist and said her people meant no harm.
• Liang Xingchen explained that the Federation had recreated the Bug Nest Channel as Space Migration and confirmed that humans had driven the bugs back.
• Wei recounted how the Three-Eyed Empire had nearly been destroyed by the bugs, including a Level 1 Queen Bug, before fleeing toward Andromeda.
• Liang Xingchen agreed to let the Three-Eyed Empire fleets arrive in a designated area without provocation while he consulted the Federation’s higher-ups, and Wei accepted.

At an emergency meeting, Lin Fan urged the Federation to recruit Wei, the Three-Eyed Empire’s young scientist, as a Strategic Scientist and consider sending a fleet to the Galactic System. Wei agreed to meet the Federation’s leaders, hoping to persuade them to send troops as the Empire’s crisis worsened.

• Liang Xingchen reported that the Federation’s forces had encountered Three-Eyed Empire refugees and that their chief scientist, Wei, had developed Space Migration technology before turning thirty.
• Lin Fan proposed confirming whether the Three-Eyed Empire could join the Federation and persuading Wei to stay, and Bai Zixuan affirmed that she qualified as a Strategic Scientist.
• Lin Zhen ordered Liang Xingchen to arrange a Virtual Meeting Room conversation with Wei.
• Lin Fan proposed sending a fleet to the Galactic System both to recruit Wei and to assess the bugs’ top combat strength.
• Wei learned that the Federation was far more technologically advanced than the Three-Eyed Empire and agreed to board Liang Xingchen’s ship for the meeting, intending to ask the Federation to send troops.

Wei, the Three-Eyed Empire’s chief scientist, met with Lin Zhen and learned that humans, Angels, and elves shared astonishing physical and genetic similarities. Lin Zhen offered the Three-Eyed Empire a choice between limited refuge and development as a Federation subordinate, and Wei was stunned by the terms of the agreement.

• Wei entered the meeting room and introduced herself to Lin Zhen and the Federation delegation.
• Lin Zhen told Wei that humans had previously encountered two other races resembling them, then showed her information about the Angels and elves.
• Lin Zhen asked Wei to undergo a physical examination with Liang Xingchen to determine whether the Three-Eyed Race shared the same genetic compatibility.
• Lin Zhen asked whether the Three-Eyed Empire wanted refuge alone or hoped to develop and advance as a civilization.
• Lin Zhen offered development under the Federation as a subordinate civilization, unless the examination showed the Three-Eyed Race could join the Federation like the Angels and elves.
• Wei read the Subordinate Civilization Agreement and questioned whether it truly made the Three-Eyed Empire a subordinate civilization.

After the Three-Eyed Race's medical tests revealed that their genes closely matched humanity's, Lin Zhen invited the Three-Eyed Empire to join the Federation. Lin Fan's theory that humans, angels, elves, and possibly the Three-Eyed Race shared a mysterious connection left the meeting unsettled, and Wei said she could decide for her empire.

• Wei considered joining the Federation but agreed to wait until the Three-Eyed Race's physical examination was complete.
• Lin Fan argued that gaps in humanity's, the angels', and the elves' evolutionary histories suggested that some existence might be manipulating events behind the scenes.
• Lin Zhen told the meeting that Wei's tests were complete, and Wei returned to the Virtual Meeting Room.
• Lin Zhen read and shared the report, which showed that the Three-Eyed Race could reproduce with humans and that human genes would usually dominate.
• Lin Zhen invited the Three-Eyed Empire to become the Federation's 236th member state, and Wei said she could make the decision on its behalf.

Wei, appointed the Three-Eyed Empire’s next leader by Mew, agreed to make the Empire the Federation’s 236th member state and asked for help protecting its citizens during their evacuation from the Galactic System. Lin Fan decided to lead five galaxy clusters to the front himself, and Wei asked to accompany him.

• Wei explained that Mew had appointed her as the Empire’s next leader, and she agreed to join the Federation.
• Wei asked the Federation to hold back the bug race while the Empire evacuated its citizens from the Galactic System.
• Lin Zhen introduced Lin Fan as commander-in-chief, and Lin Fan volunteered to lead the operation personally with five galaxy clusters.
• Wei worried that five billion warships would be too few against the bug race, but Lin Fan assured her he was confident.
• Lin Fan said the fleet would depart the next day and asked Saunders to oversee the Military Department while he was away.
• Wei asked Lin Fan if she could go with him.

The Three-Eyed Empire’s Vita Defense Line neared collapse under a relentless insect assault, while Li Lizhi and Wei traveled through hyperspace with Federation reinforcements. The Dark Star announced its arrival at the battlefield, and Li Lizhi and Wei headed to the command center.

• The adjutant warned Mew that the Empire’s exhausted reserves could not sustain the Vita Defense Line, where nearly one-third of its warships had already been lost.
• Mew chose to keep holding the line so more Imperial citizens could escape, despite doubting that Wei’s promised five billion reinforcements would arrive in time.
• Wei questioned how the Federation could possess technologies beyond a typical Level 6 civilization, and Li Lizhi explained that it had mastered some Level 7 technology for special reasons.
• The Dark Star announced its imminent arrival at the battlefield, and Li Lizhi and Wei boarded a hovering vehicle and sped toward the command center.

Alba ordered Hainiyeh to accept heavy war-bug losses while the Zerg rapidly advanced through the Galactic System, promising to help the Queen Bugs evolve after he finished cultivating the Imperial Bug Guard. At the Vita Defense Line, two Tier 3 Queen Bugs and their guards turned the battle in Zone 38 against the Three-Eyed Empire, until four Special Heavy Fleets arrived and survived the Queen Bugs’ first attack without losing a ship.

• Alba told Hainiyeh that low-tier war bugs were expendable and promised to help them evolve after the Galactic System was settled.
• Mu learned that two Queen Bugs at least Tier 3 had appeared in Defense Zone 38 and dispatched the First through Fourth Special Heavy Fleets.
• The Queen Bugs’ guards used genuine Spatial Attacks to shatter Imperial warships’ Spatial Shields, putting Zone 38 in danger.
• The Special Heavy Fleets entered corridors opened in the defense line, with two fleets assigned to each corridor.
• The Queen Bugs attacked the Special Heavy Fleets, but their strike destroyed none of the Empire’s warships.

Mu’s forces used the Special Heavy Fleet’s cycling spatial shields to launch a counteroffensive against two Tier 3 Queen Bugs. As the Queen Bugs retreated, Mu learned that pursuing them could cost at least half the fleet, leaving him to decide whether to continue the attack.

• Mu watched the Special Heavy Fleet withstand the first wave of attacks with its battleships intact, though their five spatial shields suffered losses.
• Mu ordered Defensive Zone 38’s conventional fleets to coordinate with the Special Heavy Fleet and advance on the two Tier 3 Queen Bugs.
• The Special Heavy Fleets fought through the Guard Bugs and advanced, losing more than 3,700 ships before reaching the Queen Bugs.
• Hainiyeh sent Tier 2 Guard Bugs to the front lines and then ordered the two Tier 3 Queen Bugs to retreat.
• Mu asked for the cost of pursuing the retreating Queen Bugs, and his adjutant reported that the fleet could lose at least half its battleships.

Mu recalled the fleets from Sector 38 rather than risk heavy losses, but the two Tier 3 Queen Bugs appeared again in Sector 15. As the eight Special Heavy Fleets moved to attack them, the vanguard warships were suddenly destroyed just as the Queens entered firing range.

• Mu ordered all fleets to retreat from Sector 38 and rebuild the defense line, choosing to buy time for the evacuation instead of pursuing the Queen Bugs.
• The two Tier 3 Queen Bugs reappeared in Sector 15, and Mu deployed all eight Special Heavy Fleets to eliminate them.
• The Empire's fleets in Sector 15 followed the anti-high-tier Queen Bug plan as the Special Heavy Fleets advanced toward the Queens.
• Mu ordered the Special Heavy Fleets to hold their fire until the Queens entered range, then to fire immediately without waiting for another command.
• As the Queens entered firing range, the vanguard warships of the Special Heavy Fleets abruptly vanished from the tactical display.

Mu discovered that the Special Heavy Fleet had been destroyed by area-wide spatial attacks from newly revealed Zerg bugs, later identified as Tier 2 Guard Bugs. As the fleet tried to withdraw from its deep advance, another attack struck, leaving many more warships lost.

• Mu replayed footage showing spatial distortions shattering the Special Heavy Fleet’s shields and tearing its warships apart.
• Mu noticed the Tier 3 Queen Bugs had allowed the Special Heavy Fleets to advance ahead of the main forces without ordinary bug swarms attacking them.
• Mu ordered scans of the surrounding swarms, a withdrawal by the Special Heavy Fleets, and increased pressure from the main fleets.
• The scans revealed large, powerful bugs hidden in the swarms, and Mu recognized them as likely Tier 2 Guard Bugs.
• The adjutant warned that the bugs were gathering energy to attack and that the Special Heavy Fleet could not withdraw in time.
• The attack struck, and many green signals representing Special Heavy Fleet warships turned gray.

Mu ordered the main fleets to charge while the Special Heavy Fleet retreated, but Hainiyeh’s swarms destroyed the main fleets and left only about 150 million special heavy battleships alive. The Zerg halted before Defense Zone 15, then revealed tier 3 queen bugs at multiple locations, leaving Mu facing a wider threat than he had prepared for.

• Mu ordered the main fleets to attack at full speed while the Special Heavy Fleet fled without maintaining formation.
• Hainiyeh sent ordinary bug swarms into a deadly exchange with the main fleets while her tier 2 guard bugs pursued the retreating Special Heavy Fleet.
• Mu committed the reserve fleets to rebuild the defensive line in Defense Zone 15 after the main fleets became trapped among the swarms.
• Only around 150 million special heavy battleships escaped, while all two billion main warships were lost.
• Mu ordered the surviving Special Heavy Fleet to pin down two tier 3 queen bugs near Defense Zone 15 without advancing.
• Mu received reports confirming additional tier 3 queen bugs in Defense Zone 6 and War Zone 8.

Mu faced the imminent collapse of the Vita Defense Line after Hainiyeh’s forces pinned down his Special Heavy Fleet and breached the Second Defense Sector. He ordered an evacuation and withdrawal to the Capital Sphere, but stayed behind with a covering force and became trapped inside the bug swarm.

• Mu sent 100 million warships from each defense sector to reinforce the Sixth and Eighth sectors, while the Tier 3 Queen Bugs kept their guard swarms beyond the Special Heavy Fleets’ firing range.
• The Sixth and Eighth sectors suffered mounting losses, and a concealed Tier 2 Queen Bug guard swarm tore a breach in the Second Defense Sector with Spatial Attacks.
• Mu realized the Vita Defense Line could not be saved and ordered every fleet to carry out the third evacuation plan and rebuild the final defense in the Capital Sphere.
• Mu led 20 percent of the fleets to cover the withdrawal, then became trapped deep within the bug swarm as fewer than three billion warships remained behind.

Lin Fan’s five-billion-ship fleet arrived in the Galactic System just as Mu’s War God battle star faced destruction. The chapter ended with the Federation launching its first strike against the insect forces.

• Mu learned that the fifteenth defense zone was the last remaining and ordered the War God battle star into the main battlefield.
• Hainiyeh left the battle to Tier 3 Queen Bugs as the Imperial forces were overwhelmed by insect swarms.
• Mu led the War God toward the Queen Bugs, but Hadi and Rida sent one million Tier 3 Guard Bugs to break its shields.
• As the Guard Bugs reached firing range, they suddenly disappeared, and a five-billion-ship fleet arrived behind Mu’s forces.
• Lin Fan’s fleet launched the Federation’s first strike in the Galactic System.

Lin Fan’s Federal Fleet rescued the Three-Eyed Empire’s forces with devastatingly precise attacks, forcing the Zerg to retreat. As the Empire’s fleets withdrew to safety, Lin Fan prepared a Zero-Point Missile strike against the Zerg.

• Liang Xue reported that the Dark Star’s opening attack had eliminated 99.2% of its targets, and Lin Fan ordered the Federal Fleet to clear the Zerg and protect the Empire’s forces.
• Mu recognized the Unknown Fleet as the five-billion-ship reinforcement Wei had found and ordered the surviving Empire fleets to retreat under its cover.
• The Federal Fleet opened safe corridors through the Zerg, allowing the Empire’s fleets to withdraw while its precision strikes kept the bugs at bay.
• The two Tier 3 Queen Bugs began retreating after witnessing the Federal Fleet’s strength, but Lin Fan ordered a fifth-tier destructive strike using seven Zero-Point Missiles.
• After the Empire’s fleets disengaged, Mu received a warning that a destructive strike against the Zerg would begin shortly.

Hainiyeh discovered that an Unknown Fleet was slaughtering the insect race from beyond its effective range, then watched it deploy Zero-Point Missiles against Hadi and Rida’s retreating forces. The missiles emerged from hyperspace and annihilated nearly the entire swarm, leaving Hainiyeh screaming in terror.

• Hainiyeh sensed Tier 2 Guard Bugs dying at an abnormal rate and found that an Unknown Fleet was hunting her Queen Bugs from beyond 2 AU.
• Hainiyeh checked the other battlefields and saw Hadi and Rida retreating more than 3 AU from the fleet, though she remained uneasy.
• Dark Star deployed seven Zero-Point Missiles, and Li Lizhi explained that their miniaturized Hyperspace Engines enabled tactical strikes.
• The Zero-Point Missiles emerged from hyperspace among Hadi and Rida’s retreating swarm, and Hainiyeh warned them to run.
• The seven missiles detonated in bursts of Zero-Point Energy, destroying nearly all the insects and causing Hainiyeh to cry out in terror.

The Federation used a Zero-Point Missile to nearly wipe out the bug swarm in the Fifteenth Defense Zone, astonishing the Three-Eyed Empire and prompting Lin Fan to authorize more missiles for Li Cangqiong and Fujiwara Ayako. As Li Lizhi continued investigating Lin Fan’s suspicions, Hainiyeh decided to order a full retreat, though she feared it was already too late.

• The Zero-Point Missile’s blast destroyed nearly all bugs in the Fifteenth Defense Zone, including both Tier 3 Queen Bugs, and its shockwave shook the Empire’s fleet.
• Wei asked to join research into Zero-Point Particles, and Lin Fan agreed while explaining that stronger weapons existed but were harder to control.
• Lin Fan authorized one Zero-Point Missile each for Li Cangqiong and Fujiwara Ayako to help them eliminate the remaining Queen Bugs in their defense zones.
• Lin Fan asked Li Lizhi to keep searching for clues during the Federation’s remaining year there, even though her investigation had found nothing so far.
• Hainiyeh, unable to call on Bug Emperor Alba, decided to order the front-line Queen Bugs and swarms to retreat before she lost more forces.

Li Cangqiong and Fujiwara Ayako destroyed the last two Tier 3 Queen Bugs, leaving Alba's forces without any Tier 3 Queen Bugs. Lin Fan asked Mu to recall the Empire's fleets to reinforce the Vita Defense Line as Hainiyeh ordered the Zerg in the Mels Star Cluster to converge on the Galactic System.

• Li Cangqiong and Fujiwara Ayako launched Zero-Point Missiles that killed the Tier 3 Queen Bugs in their defense zones.
• Mu boarded the Dark Star, and Wei reunited with him and introduced him to Lin Fan.
• Liang Xue reported that the final two Tier 3 Queen Bugs had been eliminated, and Lin Fan ordered the remaining bug swarms cleared from the defense line.
• Lin Fan asked Mu to recall the Imperial fleets from the Capital Sphere to help defend against a larger Zerg attack, and Mu agreed.
• Hainiyeh ordered the Zerg in the Mels Star Cluster to converge on the Galactic System.