Chapter Summaries

Xiu’s fleet returned to the Vita Defense Line after Mew revealed that the Three-Eyed Empire had joined the Human Federation, and Lin Fan took command of the combined forces. Alba learned that the four Tier 3 Queen Bugs were dead and discovered that the enemy was humanity.

• Xiu halted the withdrawal to the Capital Sphere after receiving a communication from Mew, then led the 110 billion Three-Eyed Empire warships back to the Vita Defense Line.
• Xiu met Lin Fan and learned that the Three-Eyed Empire had joined the Human Federation and that Lin Fan commanded the Federal Fleet.
• Lin Fan took command of the Vita Defense Line and began rebuilding its defenses with five billion Federal warships and over 110 billion Three-Eyed Empire warships.
• Alba reconnected to the bug race’s mental network, discovered that Rida and the other three Tier 3 Queen Bugs were dead, and demanded an explanation from Hainiyeh.
• Alba entered Hainiyeh’s mind to inspect the enemy’s appearance and recognized the emblem on its warship as humanity’s.

Alba warned Hainiyeh that the Human Federation was too powerful to defeat with numbers alone and asked Aliya to join him in a second Zerg holy war. Aliya agreed to help, while Alba prepared to breed Imperial Guard Bugs and Hainiyeh mobilized the Mels Star Cluster.

• Alba ordered Hainiyeh to gather Zerg across the Mels Star Cluster and hold the Human Federation back, placing his Tier 1 Guard Bugs under her command.
• Alba severed the mental connection and contacted Aliya, who discovered that he had evolved into a Bug Emperor.
• Aliya rejoiced because she believed two Bug Emperors could produce offspring capable of evolving without racial limits.
• Alba asked Aliya to join him in a second Zerg holy war against a civilization as powerful as the Holy Victory Empire.
• Aliya agreed to help, even if another eighty percent of their kin had to die.

Aliya recalled the Holy Victory Empire’s devastating war with the Zerg and ordered Emil and Gayasi to join Bug Emperor Alba in a new holy war. As Zerg forces converged on the Galactic System, Lin Fan suspected they were buying time for a Bug Emperor to arrive and ordered the Federation to speed up the Three-Eyed Empire’s migration.

• Aliya remembered how the Holy Victory Empire’s Zero-Point Bombs destroyed much of the Viers Supercluster before the empire mysteriously vanished.
• Aliya ordered Emil and Gayasi to bring their broods to the Mels Star Cluster and follow Bug Emperor Alba’s command, declaring a new holy war.
• Emil and Gayasi were stunned to learn that Alba had become a Bug Emperor, but they began preparing to depart.
• Liang Xue reported that Zerg across the Mels Star Cluster were gathering at the Galactic System in numbers far exceeding the Milky Way’s scale.
• Lin Fan concluded that the Zerg were likely waiting for a Bug Emperor capable of opposing the Federation and ordered headquarters to accelerate the Three-Eyed Empire’s migration.

Lin Fan chaired a combat meeting as the bugs continued their month-long assault on the Vita Defense Line, and he and his officers concluded that the endless attacks were meant to pin them down while the enemy prepared a greater threat. Lin Fan suspected that the Bug Emperor was the opportunity the unseen Tier 1 Queen Bug was waiting for, and he began to reveal his plan.

• Lin Fan reported that bug swarms filled the space ahead of the Vita Defense Line, while the Federation kept them from approaching and helped the Three-Eyed Empire speed up its evacuation.
• Li Cangqiong argued that the bugs' endless suicidal attacks were suspicious and likely served a hidden purpose.
• Mu reasoned that a Tier 1 Queen Bug was using ordinary swarms to pin down the defenders while waiting for reinforcements or another chance to win.
• Lin Fan agreed with Mu and said the opportunity was likely the Bug Emperor.
• Lin Fan stood before the officers and began to reveal his plan.

Lin Fan ordered Li Cangqiong to lead the First Cluster behind the bug army and attack the Tier 1 Queen Bug, with Li Lizhi joining to provide technical support and pursue clues about the mastermind. As the fleet departed, Alba summoned other powerful bugs to her system, while Hainiyeh noticed that the human warships at the Vita Defense Line had decreased.

• Lin Fan explained that the Federation needed to strike the bugs before they completed their preparations and ordered Li Cangqiong to take the First Cluster behind enemy lines.
• Lin Fan assigned Li Lizhi to accompany Li Cangqiong, and Li Cangqiong accepted the order without objection.
• Three days later, Li Cangqiong led the fleet aboard the Yinglong away from the Vita Defense Line.
• Alba told Hainiyeh that Emil and Gayasi's advance forces would arrive in three months and Aliya would arrive in half a year.
• Alba ordered Hainiyeh to continue gathering bugs and to leave her undisturbed while she cultivated Imperial Guards.
• Hainiyeh watched the Vita Defense Line through the frontline bugs and realized that the number of human warships had decreased.

Li Cangqiong found that Hainiyeh’s insect surveillance network threatened his covert mission to eliminate Alba, so he asked Lin Fan to help conceal the fleet’s movements. The plan began as Hainiyeh saw three Federation warships leave the Vita Defense Line, while Li Cangqiong prepared to move before the insects discovered his fleet.

• Li Cangqiong discovered that Hainiyeh had filled nearby surveillance blind spots with battle insects, putting his fleet’s covert route at risk.
• Li Cangqiong asked Lin Fan to use Spatial Illusion Technology to make the insects believe three warships left the Vita Defense Line each day, and Lin Fan agreed.
• Hainiyeh detected the vanished human fleet appearing again with five billion warships and briefly wondered whether she had overreacted.
• Hainiyeh saw three Federation warships enter Hyperspace Windows and head toward the insect-occupied region, but did not treat the departures as a serious threat.
• As the insects neared Li Cangqiong’s position, he ordered the fleet to begin moving according to Plan One.

Hainiyeh discovered three human reconnaissance warships in different regions and concluded they were scouting insect troop deployments, unaware that a billion-ship fleet had arrived behind her lines. Aboard the Yinglong, Li Lizhi completed an exhausted analysis before Li Cangqiong sent her to rest and ordered the fleet to continue its planned hyperspace movements.

• Hainiyeh detected a human warship through her combat insects, watched it scan the area, and saw it destroy the insects with a Spatial Tear attack.
• Hainiyeh discovered a second human warship scanning its surroundings, and it fled through a Hyperspace Window after detecting the combat insects.
• Hainiyeh found a third warship scanning ahead and watched it leave through a Hyperspace Window without noticing the insects behind it.
• Hainiyeh concluded that the three ships were reconnaissance vessels scouting the insect forces, while a fleet of one billion warships arrived in the region where the first ship had destroyed the combat insects.
• Li Lizhi finished analyzing data aboard the Yinglong, and Li Cangqiong ordered her to rest before directing his staff to plan the fleet's next Hyperspace Navigation.
• The lead warship opened a Hyperspace Window and departed again.

Emil warned Garcia to respect Emperor Alba, explaining that Queen Aliya’s willingness to fight for Alba made disrespect dangerous. Meanwhile, Li Lizhi detected two powerful Queen Bug signatures, but Li Cangqiong ordered the fleet to continue scouting rather than risk exposing itself.

• Garcia complained that Alba had left him and Emil waiting, and Emil reprimanded him for addressing the Emperor by name.
• Emil reminded Garcia that Queen Aliya had launched the Second Zerg Holy War for Alba despite the danger, and suggested she might sacrifice anyone who disrespected him.
• Li Lizhi detected two massive biological energy signatures 17,000 light-years away that were likely from Tier 1 or Tier 2 Queen Bugs.
• Li Cangqiong ordered the fleet to record the location and continue its survey, postponing an attack until the scouting was complete.
• Emil and Garcia remained unaware that their location had been detected and that the fleet had chosen not to attack them yet.

Li Lizhi discovered that the Zerg may have concealed space in the S7216 Area, which had appeared to contain no energy signatures. Li Cangqiong weighed this lead against two likely Tier 1 Queen Bugs as he prepared to choose the fleet’s target.

• After the fleet’s search found no further targets, Li Cangqiong ordered Li Lizhi to return to the Vita Defense Line while the commanders planned the operation.
• On the shuttle, Li Lizhi realized the bug-free S7216 Area might hide something and ordered the pilot to take her back to the Yinglong.
• Li Lizhi reviewed the data and told Li Cangqiong that the Zerg could have concealed space in S7216, hiding stars, planets, or something more important.
• Li Cangqiong considered whether to attack the two likely Tier 1 Queen Bugs or investigate the suspicious S7216 Area.

Lin Fan redirected the fleet’s operation to investigate the suspicious S7216 Area instead of pursuing the two previously selected targets. Li Lizhi agreed to join the mission after Li Cangqiong imposed a condition, and she began explaining how to gather intelligence there.

• Lin Fan ordered Li Cangqiong to abandon the previous targets and uncover what the bugs were hiding in the S7216 Area.
• Li Cangqiong assembled the ten Legion Commanders in the Virtual Combat Room, where Li Lizhi explained why the area was suspicious.
• The Legion Commanders questioned how they could plan an operation without intelligence, and Li Lizhi said she could investigate if she accompanied the fleet.
• Li Cangqiong initially forbade Li Lizhi from joining, but agreed after she challenged him and he required her to leave immediately if danger arose.
• Li Lizhi accepted the condition and began outlining how they could learn what was inside the S7216 Area.

Alba learned that a human fleet had discovered the Spatial Fault concealing his Imperial Guard bugs, while Li Cangqiong and Li Lizhi worked out how to inspect the hidden area. After Farn warned Alba of the danger and vanished, Alba ordered Emil and Garcia to bring their main Zerg swarms to him within twelve hours.

• Alba continued cultivating the Imperial Guard bugs, unaware that a human fleet had arrived less than a light-year away.
• Li Lizhi found the Spatial Fault around the S7216 Area and explained two ways to investigate it; Li Cangqiong chose her plan to use Spatial Resonators to see inside without damaging the fault.
• Farn appeared before Alba, warned him that the humans had found the Spatial Fault and could break it, then disappeared.
• Alba grew furious that Hainiyeh had not warned him about the approaching fleet and realized he had no soldiers nearby to defend his cultivation site.
• Alba contacted Hainiyeh and ordered him to summon Emil and Garcia with their main Zerg swarms within twelve hours.

Emil convinced an enraged Garcia to obey Hainiyeh’s order and lead their guard bugs to a designated location, while Li Lizhi’s team opened a brief view into the Spatial Fault and scanned its inhabitants. The scan revealed a trillion bugs and individuals with unprecedented biological energy, leaving Li Cangqiong to conclude that the situation was serious.

• Garcia grew furious after Hainiyeh ordered it and Emil to bring their guard bugs to a designated location within twelve hours, but Emil persuaded it to go.
• Emil opened a Bug Nest Channel and began preparing to move the guard swarm.
• Li Lizhi deployed ten Spatial Resonators around the Spatial Fault and synchronized them at 97.3%.
• Li Lizhi’s Spatial Resonance field briefly revealed a distant planet inside the fault, allowing the command team to complete its scans before the field collapsed.
• Li Cangqiong and the others reviewed the data, which showed a trillion bugs and individuals with biological energy up to ten thousand times that of a Tier 3 Queen Bug.

Li Lizhi took first-priority command of Li Cangqiong’s cluster after discovering that the deployment had a secret mission to investigate an advanced civilization’s hidden mastermind. She explained that Marshal Lin Fan had authorized her to redirect the fleet if it found traces of that mastermind, leaving the commanders stunned.

• Li Cangqiong ordered the legion commanders to prepare for a redeployment after the energy analyzer detected a being far more powerful than their Queen Bug estimates allowed.
• Li Lizhi identified something in the data and used the console to transfer first-priority command authority to herself.
• Li Cangqiong and the ten Legion Commanders joined Li Lizhi in the Virtual Combat Room and demanded an explanation.
• Li Lizhi revealed that the deployment had a secret mission to find traces of the advanced civilization mastermind behind several Federation incidents.
• Li Lizhi explained that Lin Fan’s authorization let her take command and abandon the public mission if the fleet found evidence of the mastermind.

Li Lizhi explained the threat behind several Federation incidents, while Lin Hong confronted Farn over his actions against humanity. Lin Hong sealed Farn with himself in the Outer Dimension Space, leaving both of them nearly out of energy and unable to escape.

• Li Cangqiong asked Li Lizhi what she needed him to do after learning the threat to the Federation was more serious than he had known.
• Alba discovered a billion human warships near his position but stayed put because his Imperial Guard bugs were still months from being ready.
• Farn sensed Li Lizhi’s presence and mocked humanity as a creation of the Council.
• Lin Hong confronted Farn for targeting humanity and used his energy to seize and seal him.
• Lin Hong and Farn’s energies nearly annihilated each other as they entered the Outer Dimension Space, leaving Farn too weak to break through its barrier.

Lin Hong realized Farn’s abandoned creatures could threaten the universe, while Li Lizhi directed the Federation fleet toward the energy collision site. After the fleet broke through the Spatial Fault and headed for the target, Alba was left trembling as two Spatial Rifts appeared nearby.

• Farn warned Lin Hong that his creatures would act on instinct without his control and could escape into the main universe.
• Li Lizhi identified the collision site from the remaining energy traces and persuaded Li Cangqiong that the mission mattered to all humanity.
• Li Cangqiong ordered the five billion warships to fire three volleys at the Spatial Fault, breaking it open.
• Li Cangqiong sent the fleet through Hyperspace toward Li Lizhi’s target and ordered a defensive perimeter around the Yinglong.
• Alba trembled in terror at the energy collision, then saw two Spatial Rifts open nearby.

Alba ordered Emil and Garcia to attack the humans and seize the unusual energy, then opened a massive Spatial Rift to lead them there. At the collision site, Li Cangqiong prepared the fleet to defend Li Lizhi and ordered an all-out attack as a vast sea of Zerg emerged.

• Alba sensed unusual energy a thousand light-years away and ordered Emil and Garcia to guard it and block the humans.
• Alba spotted the human fleet near the energy and commanded the Queen Bugs to destroy it before the humans could claim it.
• Alba opened a huge Spatial Rift, and Emil and Garcia followed it toward the battle.
• Li Cangqiong arranged the fleet into defensive formations around the Yinglong and confirmed that the marshal had authorized all five hundred Zero-Point Missiles.
• The fleet detected two enormous Bug Nest Channels, while Targets Nos. 1 through 3 remained hidden inside them.
• Li Cangqiong saw a vast sea of Zerg emerge and ordered the fleet to attack the channel exits with all weapons.

Li Cangqiong’s fleet used overwhelming firepower and two volleys of Zero-Point Missiles to keep the bug swarm pinned at the Bug Nest Channel, while Alba prepared his own counterattack. After more than ten minutes of fighting, Alba ordered Emil and Garcia to deploy their Queen Bug guards as a second Bug Nest Channel opened behind the Federal Fleet’s defensive perimeter.

• Emil and Garcia panicked at the Federal Fleet’s attacks until Alba rallied them and told them to overwhelm the enemy with numbers.
• Alba learned that Hainiyeh would arrive in about ten minutes and left the frontal battle to Emil and Garcia.
• As bugs broke past the channel entrance, Li Cangqiong ordered eight Zero-Point Missiles, which destroyed 99.93% of the dispersed swarm.
• Emil and Garcia recognized the missiles as a weapon used by the Holy Victory Empire, but Alba ordered them to keep sending bugs forward and prepare their Tier 1 guard units.
• Li Cangqiong fired a second volley of seven Zero-Point Missiles to drive the swarm back, while Alba ordered the Queen Bug guards deployed.
• A new Bug Nest Channel opened on the other side of the Federal Fleet’s defensive perimeter.

Li Lizhi and the Yinglong crew met Lin Hong, a living energy being from the Alphart Civilization, and brought Lin Fan into the conversation. Lin Hong revealed that his appearance was only a fragment of his true self, and as his energy began to fade, he prepared to discuss serious matters.

• Lin Hong appeared on the Yinglong’s bridge and introduced himself to Li Lizhi, prompting Li Cangqiong and the guards to surround him with weapons.
• Li Lizhi told the guards their weapons could not hurt Lin Hong, who explained that he had sent only a small fragment of his true body to talk with them.
• Li Cangqiong connected the bridge to Lin Fan, who ordered everyone to lower their weapons and recognized the Alphart Civilization as the universe’s only Level 12 Civilization.
• Lin Hong told Lin Fan that he should have died long ago, and Lin Fan replied that he had returned to life.
• Lin Hong’s energy began to dissipate, so he solemnly announced that it was time to discuss serious matters.

Lin Hong explained that a God-tier Civilization was needed to defend the universe from the Black Radiance Universe, and that humanity was the Alphart Civilization’s final hope for creating one. He revealed why the Alphart could not advance further and identified Farn, but Lin Fan’s question about humanity’s connection to the Alphart was left unanswered.

• Lin Hong told Lin Fan that the Black Radiance Universe had created a God-tier Civilization and conquered more than thirty universes, leaving only one universe between it and theirs.
• Lin Hong said the Alphart Civilization had launched a God-Making Plan and that humanity was its final hope.
• Lin Hong explained that the Alphart had become beings of pure energy, closing off its path to further technological advancement, while the universe’s other Super Civilizations could not progress beyond their current tier.
• Lin Hong identified the troublemaking Alphart as Farn, an exiled chief scientist, and said his true body had trapped Farn in Outer Dimension Space for at least three to five thousand years.
• Lin Hong said he had little time left and would not meet Lin Fan again for at least three to five thousand years; when Lin Fan asked about humanity’s relationship with the Alphart, Lin Hong smiled without answering.

Lin Hong revealed that humanity was ancient Alphart and the universe’s last hope of reaching God-tier Civilization before his projection vanished. Lin Fan concluded that the Federation had to advance quickly before the Black Radiance Universe’s threat arrived, then ordered the fleet to draw out the bugs from a new Bug Nest Channel and retreat toward the Vita Defense Line.

• Lin Hong explained that humans were the original Alphart, while the Angels, elves, and Three-Eyed Race descended from genetically modified Alphart, and warned that the Black Radiance Universe might arrive within ten thousand years.
• Lin Hong’s projection dissipated before he could finish, and Li Lizhi failed to find any trace of him.
• Lin Fan concluded that humanity would have to face future threats alone while Lin Hong remained trapped in Outer Dimension Space, and decided to accelerate the Federation’s wars to gain System Points and territory.
• A second Bug Nest Channel appeared near the Third Legion, and Lin Fan ordered the fleet to hold its defensive perimeter, draw out the bugs, use its remaining Zero-Point Missiles, and return to the Vita Defense Line.
• Li Cangqiong ordered the fleets with firing angles on the new channel to engage the unfamiliar bugs at full firepower.