Chapter Summaries

Dong Xuebin discovered that Xu Yan's ex-husband, Wang Sen, had beaten her and became quietly furious as he treated her injuries. After Xu Yan finished washing the dishes, Dong Xuebin left without telling her, and she hurried downstairs after him.

• Dong Xuebin examined Xu Yan's bruised mouth and learned that Wang Sen had hit her.
• Xu Yan revealed a deep, partly healed bruise on her stomach, and Dong Xuebin carefully applied medicine to it.
• Xu Yan told Dong Xuebin that Wang Sen was a director in a subordinate department of the Municipal State Security Bureau.
• Dong Xuebin quietly finished breakfast with Xu Yan, then left with his bag and shoes while she washed the dishes.
• Xu Yan discovered Dong Xuebin was gone and rushed downstairs, calling after him.

Dong Xuebin learned that Xu Yan had been beaten and went to confront those responsible at the Municipal State Security Bureau, where a major meeting was due to take place. He reached the compound and spotted Tan Limei and his former superior Zhen Anguo, while ignoring Xu Yan’s repeated calls.

• Dong Xuebin called Tan Limei for the Municipal State Security Bureau’s address, and she texted it to him despite worrying about his anger.
• Tan Limei told her husband Sun Zhuang what had happened, then called Xu Yan for help; Xu Yan realized Dong Xuebin was heading to the bureau.
• Dong Xuebin took a taxi to the bureau and recalled that Jiang Song was its director and Wang Sen’s backer.
• Dong Xuebin arrived at the compound as officials gathered for a meeting and spotted Tan Limei and Zhen Anguo.
• Dong Xuebin stopped Tan Limei from approaching and hung up on Xu Yan, determined to avenge her.

Dong Xuebin went to the Municipal State Security Bureau to confront Wang Sen over Xu Yan’s injuries, but the guards blocked his entry. Xu Yan warned Wang Sen to leave before Dong arrived, and Wang Sen dismissed the threat.

• Dong Xuebin waited outside the Municipal Bureau, where Tan Limei and Zhen Anguo recognized him and watched with concern.
• Dong Xuebin asked the guards for Wang Sen, learned Wang was inside, and tried to enter without identification.
• The guards blocked Dong Xuebin, and he insisted they move aside while staff and Chengxi Branch Bureau officials watched.
• Xu Yan called Wang Sen and warned that Dong Xuebin was coming to settle accounts over her injuries.
• Wang Sen mocked Xu Yan’s warning, insisted he was safe inside the Municipal Bureau, and hung up.

Dong Xuebin forced his way toward the Municipal State Security Bureau after Wang Sen dismissed Xu Yan’s warning that someone was coming to confront him. Dong incapacitated all four guards and dismantled a gun, leaving the gathered officials stunned as he continued toward Wang Sen.

• Wang Sen and his wife dismissed Xu Yan’s warning and discussed the upcoming meeting, unaware of what was happening at the compound gate.
• Dong Xuebin ignored the guards’ orders to leave and walked toward the side gate as staff and officials watched.
• Dong Xuebin knocked out the first guard with a quick strike and continued forward.
• Dong Xuebin used one guard’s baton to knock out two more guards, then disarmed and knocked out the veteran guard who drew a gun.
• Dong Xuebin caught the falling gun, dismantled it, and flicked out its bullets while the onlookers stared in shock.

Dong Xuebin forced his way into the Municipal State Security Bureau compound to find someone and defeated the guards. When more than twenty officials and State Security personnel tried to stop him, he quickly knocked down over ten of them, leaving the crowd stunned.

• Dong Xuebin entered the compound after incapacitating its guards, while onlookers wondered at his skill despite his injuries.
• Municipal State Security Bureau officials and personnel blocked Dong Xuebin, but he warned them he only wanted to find someone and asked them to stay out of his way.
• A bureau leader ordered the group to take Dong Xuebin down, while Tan Limei called Xu Yan for help and learned Xu Yan was stuck in traffic.
• The personnel advanced on Dong Xuebin, who calmly waited for them and began striking them down with blows to their throats.
• Dong Xuebin defeated more than ten attackers in moments, and the remaining personnel fell silent, realizing they could not stop him without guns.

Dong Xuebin forced his way through the Municipal State Security Bureau and entered the Office Building to confront Wang Sen. The chapter ended with Dong Xuebin kicking down Wang Sen’s office door while the stunned director realized no one could stop him.

• The bureau’s staff called for guns and reinforcements, but no one dared challenge Dong Xuebin after he knocked down more than twenty people.
• Zhen Anguo and the Chengxi Branch Bureau staff stayed out of Dong Xuebin’s way as he entered the Office Building and asked a clerk where Wang Sen’s office was.
• Dong Xuebin went upstairs while staff followed at a distance to make sure he did not approach classified documents.
• Wang Sen ignored warnings from Xu Yan and insisted that he would wait for Dong Xuebin in his office.
• Dong Xuebin kicked Wang Sen’s locked office door open and introduced himself as someone who had come for a chat.
• Wang Sen shouted for his staff, but the silent corridor left him with a growing sense of alarm.

Dong Xuebin confronted Wang Sen at the Municipal State Security Bureau over Wang Sen’s assault on Xu Yan. After beating him in the office, Dong dragged him outside and repeatedly struck him in front of the gathered crowd.

• Dong Xuebin ignored Xu Yan’s pleas to stop and demanded that Wang Sen kneel and apologize to her over the phone.
• Wang Sen refused and attacked Dong Xuebin, who dodged his blows, slapped him, and kicked him in the stomach.
• Dong Xuebin knocked Wang Sen unconscious with a kick to the throat and dragged him through the building toward the courtyard.
• Dong Xuebin threw Wang Sen into the courtyard, then repeatedly woke and knocked him out with kicks and slaps before the assembled onlookers.

Dong Xuebin continued beating Wang Sen outside the Municipal Bureau, refusing to stop even when officials surrounded him with guns. He left the armed officers stunned and gave no explanation beyond saying he disliked Wang Sen.

• Dong Xuebin revived the unconscious Wang Sen with cold water and kicked him again, while the State Security officers shouted at him from a distance.
• Xu Yan rushed out, attacked Dong Xuebin, and fell when he blocked her; others held her back as she tried to go after him again.
• More than a dozen State Security officers arrived with guns and surrounded Dong Xuebin, ordering him to surrender.
• Dong Xuebin ignored the guns and slapped Wang Sen, knocking out more of his teeth.
• Dong Xuebin approached a gun barrel and dared the officers to shoot him, then said he had beaten Wang Sen simply because he disliked him.

Dong Xuebin held off the Municipal State Security Bureau after beating Wang Sen and dozens of others, while its leaders tried to identify him. The chapter ended with officials discovering that his internal file did not exist.

• Dong Xuebin ignored the armed officers surrounding him as they treated Wang Sen, who told Xu Yan that he did not know his attacker.
• Jiang Song arrived and heard how Dong Xuebin had stormed the compound and beaten the bureau personnel despite being badly injured.
• Zhen Anguo identified the intruder as Dong Xuebin, a former Chengxi Branch Bureau employee who had since moved to a local administrative post.
• Tan Limei called Xu Yan and learned he was still stuck in traffic, while Dong Xuebin continued waiting calmly at the compound.
• Jiang Song ordered a search of Dong Xuebin's personnel records, and the investigator reported that his internal file had no match.

Jiang Song investigated Dong Xuebin’s missing records and discovered that both State Security and the military had encrypted his file at the highest Level One. Shocked that even his own clearance could not access it, Jiang Song was left wondering what Dong Xuebin had done to warrant such protection.

• Jiang Song ordered his subordinates to keep Dong Xuebin under watch and put their guns on safe while he went to the Archives.
• Jiang Song searched for Dong Xuebin using his own clearance, but the system revealed that both State Security and military records were encrypted at Level One.
• Jiang Song realized that his clearance could not access the file and struggled to understand why a young, junior official had the Republic’s highest filing protection.
• Jiang Song noticed that Dong Xuebin’s wife was Xie Huilan and that her family members were missing from the records, but he could not recall why the name seemed familiar.

After Dong Xuebin stormed the Municipal State Security Bureau and injured several people, Jiang Song learned that Dong’s file had the highest security clearance and called his former superior, Minister Lü. Minister Lü arrived and ordered the bureau to stop threatening Dong, leaving the confrontation unresolved as Dong prepared to make a phone call.

• Jiang Song consulted Minister Lü after learning that Dong Xuebin’s file was top-secret, and Minister Lü said he would come to the bureau.
• Doctors took Wang Sen and treated the other injured personnel while Dong remained surrounded by armed officers.
• Dong Xuebin asked the officers to step back so he could make a phone call, but they tightened the circle around him.
• Minister Lü arrived, told Jiang Song to let Dong make his call, and ordered the officers to put away their guns and stop surrounding him.
• Minister Lü warned Jiang Song that force would not stop Dong if he decided to leave.

Dong Xuebin called Han Jing for help after assaulting Wang Sen at the Municipal State Security Bureau, then faced Minister Lü and the bureau leaders. When they tried to arrest him, Dong Xuebin resisted and challenged them to make him move.

• Minister Lü ordered the bureau personnel to put away their guns and return to work, allowing Dong Xuebin to call someone.
• Dong Xuebin told Han Jing that he had beaten Wang Sen for attacking Director Xu, and Han Jing said she would come help.
• Dong Xuebin recognized Minister Lü, whom he had once saved, but Minister Lü demanded an explanation and ordered him to come back with them.
• Jiang Song’s subordinates prepared to handcuff Dong Xuebin, but Dong Xuebin twisted one Civil Servant’s wrist and shoved him to the ground.
• Dong Xuebin refused to move and dared the bureau leaders to arrest him.

Dong Xuebin refused to back down after beating Wang Sen, arguing with Municipal State Security Bureau officials and daring them to arrest or shoot him. Xu Yan arrived and scolded him, briefly bringing him to heel, but the confrontation remained unresolved when Jiang Song challenged her apology.

• Dong Xuebin insisted that his fight with Wang Sen was a private matter and that the police should handle any responsibility.
• Jiang Song ordered his subordinates to take Dong Xuebin down, and one of them aimed a gun at Dong Xuebin's head.
• Minister Lü ordered the subordinate to lower his gun, fearing that a shooting would only provoke Dong Xuebin.
• Xu Yan drove into the courtyard and scolded Dong Xuebin, who became embarrassed and listened to her.
• Xu Yan brought Dong Xuebin to Minister Lü and apologized, but Jiang Song rejected the apology, prompting Dong Xuebin to warn him about his tone.

Dong Xuebin confronted Jiang Song at the Municipal State Security Bureau and nearly came to blows before Xu Yan stopped him. As the State Security officials prepared to keep him from leaving, Han Jing arrived in Secretary Xie's car and revealed her connection to Dong Xuebin.

• Dong Xuebin grabbed Jiang Song's finger after Jiang Song pointed at him, but released him when Xu Yan pulled him away.
• Dong Xuebin tried to leave with Xu Yan, but Jiang Song ordered the guards to block them.
• An Audi bearing the Municipal Party Committee No. 1 plate arrived, and Han Jing stepped out.
• Minister Lü greeted Han Jing, while Jiang Song grew uneasy after recalling Dong Xuebin's wife, Xie Huilan.
• Han Jing called Dong Xuebin over, and he addressed her as "Mom," shocking everyone present.

Han Jing arrived at the Municipal State Security Bureau and revealed that Dong Xuebin was her son-in-law, securing his release after his fight with Wang Sen. She took him home, where she defended him to Xie Guobang and promised to lecture him herself.

• Dong Xuebin called Han Jing Mom, and she introduced him to Minister Lü as her son-in-law.
• Han Jing described the incident as a private fight, offered to pay the medical expenses, and took Dong Xuebin away from the bureau.
• Minister Lü ended the matter, told Jiang Song to be tolerant of Dong Xuebin, and asked him to arrange lunch with Xu Yan.
• In the car, Dong Xuebin admitted he had been wrong, then joked that he should have waited outside to beat Wang Sen instead.
• Han Jing told Xie Guobang that Dong Xuebin had been bullied first, and Xie Guobang asked whether Dong Xuebin's injuries had healed.

After Han Jing intervened to contain the fallout from Dong Xuebin’s clash at the Municipal State Security Bureau, he checked in with Tan Limei and Xu Yan. Xie Hao and Xie Jing then visited Han Jing’s villa for lunch, where the family teased Dong about his fight and Han Jing urged Xie Hao to focus on his studies.

• Dong Xuebin spoke with Tan Limei, who reported that Wang Sen had suffered multiple fractures and a mild concussion and that the municipal bureau had resumed its meeting.
• Dong Xuebin called Xu Yan, learned she was driving to meet Minister Lü for lunch, and arranged to see her that evening.
• Xie Hao arrived at Han Jing’s villa with Xie Jing, who explained that he had tricked her into driving him there to see Dong Xuebin.
• Han Jing welcomed Xie Jing and Xie Hao inside, and the family shared a lunch she had prepared.
• Xie Hao praised Dong Xuebin for fighting his way through the Municipal State Security Bureau, while Han Jing told him to mind his language and study hard.

Dong Xuebin spoke with Xie Jing about Sun Kai’s new teaching job and left for home. Xu Yan visited him, thanked him for standing up for her, and gave him several outfits she had sewn herself.

• Xie Jing told Dong Xuebin that Sun Kai had come to the Capital City for a school outing and was settling into his teaching job.
• Dong Xuebin reassured Xie Jing that he had not meddled further in her parents’ stance toward Sun Kai, then took a cab home.
• Xu Yan visited Dong Xuebin and explained that she had skipped picking up Chao Chao because she did not know how to tell him about his father.
• Xu Yan thanked Dong Xuebin for confronting Wang Sen, while warning him not to take such risks again.
• Xu Yan gave Dong Xuebin several outfits she had made herself and asked him to try them on.

Xu Yan gave Dong Xuebin several sets of clothes she had sewn for him, and they spent a warm afternoon together at the old house. While cooking, she told him Minister Lü had offered her a Deputy Department Director position at the State Security Department in his province, and she had accepted.

• Xu Yan watched Dong Xuebin try on the clothes she had made and adjusted their fit.
• Dong Xuebin thanked Xu Yan for the clothes, and they held hands briefly before preparing dinner together.
• Xu Yan told Dong Xuebin that Minister Lü had asked her at lunch whether she wanted to move to his province's State Security Department.
• Xu Yan said she had accepted the Deputy Department Director position and expected the transfer order within days, possibly allowing her to return with Dong Xuebin.

Dong Xuebin and Xu Yan celebrated the possibility of her transfer and promotion, and Xu Yan explained that Minister Lü may have arranged it partly to repay Dong Xuebin and partly to keep him in check. Before Xu Yan left to visit relatives, they became intimate at Dong Xuebin’s home.

• Dong Xuebin celebrated Xu Yan’s possible promotion and transfer, while Xu Yan said the decision was not yet official.
• Xu Yan explained that Minister Lü may have offered her the transfer to repay Dong Xuebin for saving his life and to help keep Dong Xuebin from causing further trouble.
• Xu Yan warned Dong Xuebin that the authorities might not keep tolerating his actions, and he said he understood.
• Xu Yan decided to leave that night to visit her uncle, relatives, and old friends before a possible move.
• Dong Xuebin and Xu Yan undressed and became intimate before she was due to leave.

Dong Xuebin recovered his fractures with Reverse, spent the day studying medical books, and discovered that saying “slower” activated a new ability that slowed everything around him. He began testing the power as his remaining ability time ticked down.

• Dong Xuebin learned from Yao Cui that County Chief Jiang might want him to attend next month's Standing Committee meeting about the central government allocation, and he agreed to return if his health allowed.
• Dong Xuebin used Reverse to heal his fractures while leaving his visible wounds intact.
• Dong Xuebin bought medical books, read through them at home, and focused on Western medicine after finding traditional Chinese medicine too complicated.
• While reading a surgical text aloud, Dong Xuebin said “slower” and noticed that his remaining ability time began counting down.
• Dong Xuebin watched a dropped cigarette and the curtains move in slow motion, realizing he had gained a command that slowed time.