Chapter Summaries

Peng Yang learned that the masked killer had passed him before killing three people, while officials argued over responsibility and the killer’s motives. Mei Zhu warned that the killer might strike again soon, with no restraint once he crossed his own psychological bottom line.

• An Internal Affairs Bureau officer questioned Peng Yang about the Iron Head Man, and Peng Yang vomited after hearing how close the killer had been to him.
• Dai Jue criticized the agencies for failing to notice the killer and reproached Tang Li for being absent from the investigation meeting.
• Lu Yang and Yan Baishan discussed the killer’s enhanced abilities and whether the High-Energy Center should take charge of the case.
• The frontline officer reported that the killer had followed Gao Gui of the Piao Gang to the scene, prompting officials to consider whether the attack was a vendetta.
• Ang Tun and Mei Zhu analyzed the killings, and Mei Zhu warned that the killer might soon commit further crimes after testing his psychological limits.

Ronan learned that the meeting about the Decapitation Case had focused too much on him and too little on the clues, and he planned to guide the investigation toward the Virtue Association. After receiving the Martial Emperor’s message that she was returning, he arranged to drive with Snake Tongue from East 725 District to East 824 District to meet her.

• Ronan acknowledged that his brutal methods had drawn attention away from the clues behind the Decapitation Case, and he said he would guide investigators toward the Virtue Association.
• The Martial Emperor sent Ronan a flight number and said she was returning from Inner Earth.
• Snake Tongue found that the Martial Emperor’s flight would land in East 824 District, but warned that Ronan’s identity chip could not safely get him through airport security.
• Ronan decided that he and Snake Tongue would drive to East 824 District, despite the checkpoints, conflict zone, and tight schedule.
• Snake Tongue agreed to prepare the trip and remarked that Ronan had seemed unusually happy lately.

Ronan and Snake Tongue drove to East 824 District’s air harbor to welcome the Martial Emperor, but they arrived amid a sudden security alert about a dangerous passenger. The Martial Emperor finally emerged, looking exactly as she did on the Inner Earth.

• Ronan and Snake Tongue completed their long journey to the air harbor and prepared a sign reading “Martial Emperor.”
• At the pickup passage, Ronan sensed High-Threat Targets rapidly gathering nearby, while Snake Tongue learned that airport security had received unexpected news.
• Snake Tongue discovered that the Twelve Great Districts had been warned that a dangerous individual had arrived on their flight, and Ronan agreed to contact the Martial Emperor through the Inner Earth.
• Snake Tongue announced that the Martial Emperor had come out, and Ronan recognized her face as soon as he saw her.

Martial Emperor arrived in Outer Earth and reunited with Ronan, using the meeting to conceal her identity and explain that she had assumed the name of a Rebellious Executive Officer’s descendant. She left Ronan wondering how she had crossed between Inner and Outer Earth and what her new identity would let her do.

• Martial Emperor embraced Ronan across the arrivals railing, and Snake Tongue’s phone call revealed that Wang Yong’s perceptions had registered more lethal threats against him.
• Martial Emperor stepped over the railing and led Ronan toward the exit as Snake Tongue followed, still listening to reprimands about her Shan Chuan identity.
• Ronan asked Martial Emperor what identity she was using, and she said she was posing as a descendant of the Third District’s Rebellious Executive Officer and a member of the Resistance Army.
• Martial Emperor explained that the identity would let her challenge the Reclamation Corps’ limits while appearing dangerous but controllable.

The Martial Emperor explained that she had deliberately exposed her identity and framed her arrival as a hunt for revenge against a senior Outer Earth official. As the group left the terminal under heavy military and police surveillance, they prepared to test the response and see whether Li Wei would learn of their presence.

• Ronan asked whether Li Wei would find out about the Martial Emperor and Wang Yong appearing openly on Outer Earth, and the Martial Emperor said it was a chance to verify.
• Ronan, the Martial Emperor, and Snake Tongue left the terminal as armed forces surrounded the plaza and Snake Tongue reported that reinforcements were being deployed.
• Ronan told Snake Tongue to have the driver surrender, while she chose to stay with him and the Martial Emperor to test her Unranked Divine Power and the military response.
• Snake Tongue asked whether the Martial Emperor had leaked the news, and the Martial Emperor confirmed that she had arranged for Seventh District to reveal her identity before landing.
• The Martial Emperor explained that she had presented herself as a descendant of the Rebellious Executive Officer seeking revenge on Fang Weixian for his role in suppressing the Third District rebellion.

Ronan, the Martial Emperor, and Snake Tongue discussed the Reclamation Corps’ forces and the danger of escalating their confrontation while crossing an airport plaza under surveillance. They reached a line of police cars, and Ronan took one to drive into the city and find someone.

• Ronan recalled how Fang Weixian had obstructed Tang Li’s transfer to the Intelligence Management Center and said he did not care how the Martial Emperor dealt with him.
• Snake Tongue reasoned that Fang Weixian’s personal stake could make him escalate the conflict within his sphere of influence, while the Martial Emperor praised her analysis.
• Drones and helicopters tracked Ronan, the Martial Emperor, and Snake Tongue as the women discussed the divided authority and limited forces available to the Reclamation Corps.
• The Martial Emperor explained that First Generation Executive Officers relied on regional authority and that the Reclamation Corps had so far deployed forces around Sky Ladder levels one through three.
• Ronan led the group across the plaza to the airport police cars, pulled open a car door, and told Snake Tongue to drive them into the city.

Executive Officer Wu Xiude arrived at the Intelligence Management Center’s Command Department, where Zuo Tai and Fang Weixian discussed the failed pursuit of the Datong fugitive and his accomplices. Wu Xiude sensed that Zuo Tai’s renewed sharpness meant his promised opportunity was becoming real, while Director Zou remained away on training and ascension.

• Wu Xiude’s convoy crossed the city and brought him to the Intelligence Management Center, where he entered the Command Center alone.
• The Command Center’s displays showed the wrecked Orange Palace Guard vehicles, the smoky mountain terrain, Madam Shan Chuan in interrogation, and an empty courtyard.
• Wu Xiude joined Zuo Tai and Fang Weixian, who discussed how more than thirty Orange Palace Guard personnel had crashed in the mountains without encountering the fugitive.
• Wu Xiude asked Zuo Tai about Madam Shan Chuan, and Zuo Tai warned that clues suggested the fugitives might have reached the South Shore.
• Wu Xiude recognized Zuo Tai’s barbed remarks as a sign that his promised opportunity was becoming tangible, then asked about Director Zou, who Fang Weixian said had been away for a month training and ascending.

Fang Weixian urged Wu Xiude and Zuo Tai to manually classify Wu Yi and her companion as a Super Class A threat, enabling the Silver White Sword Tower to attack or summon the Reclamation Corps. Wu Xiude weighed the proposal against the risk that outside intervention would expose the Twelve Great Districts’ broken power structure, leaving him to decide whether to act after years of waiting.

• Fang Weixian told Wu Xiude that Wu Yi was coming for him and urged him to seek help from the Silver White Sword Tower because their forces could not stop her.
• Fang Weixian said Wu Yi and her companion had Super Class A-level destructive power and proposed manually revising their threat classification so the Reclamation Corps could respond.
• Wu Xiude and Zuo Tai exchanged glances as Fang Weixian explained that district leaders could vote to upgrade targets and activate the Silver White Sword Tower.
• Wu Xiude considered how activating the tower could drive away the attackers but trigger a review that exposed the district’s divided authority and dysfunction.
• Wu Xiude recalled that he had endured the broken system rather than risk the Reclamation Corps recommending that Lady Zuo Ju consolidate power, and he had waited until this moment.

Wu Xiude and Zuo Tai agreed to support Fang Weixian’s plan to mobilize the Silver White Sword Tower against the wanted Rebellious Executive Officer. As they began voting, the fugitive appeared at the Intelligence Management Center’s main entrance.

• Wu Xiude decided to trust Fang Weixian’s judgment and cast his half-vote in favor of the plan.
• Zuo Tai set aside her vow not to use her half-vote and agreed to support Fang Weixian.
• Fang Weixian urged Wu Xiude and Zuo Tai to vote quickly so the Silver White Sword Tower could hunt the wanted criminal.
• The Sword Tower scanned the three officials before their vote, and Artificial Intelligence Twelve sounded an alarm.
• Artificial Intelligence Twelve announced that the Rebellious Executive Officer had entered District C, and Wu Xiude saw her smiling at a surveillance camera.

During the attack on the Command Center, Wu Xiude tried to complete the vote to elevate the Rebellious Executive Officer to Super Class A, but the Voting Chair rejected him over abnormal mental fluctuations. As the chairs began to move and Twelve warned that his cybernetics authorization would be revoked, Wu Xiude lunged at Fang Weixian for an explanation.

• The Rebellious Executive Officer appeared outside the Command Center and evaded security as Wu Xiude and Zuo Tai realized the report about her companion was likely a decoy.
• Fang Weixian urged Wu Xiude and Zuo Tai to remain in their Voting Chairs and finish the vote, claiming the Silver White Sword Tower would suppress the attacker once they elevated her threat status.
• Twelve detected abnormal mental fluctuations in Wu Xiude and denied him voting eligibility, prompting Fang Weixian and Zuo Tai to exchange glances.
• Fang Weixian claimed Wu Xiude might be affected by Mental Pollution and told him to sit back down, while Wu Xiude noticed his chair curling toward him.
• Wu Xiude saw Fang Weixian's chair begin to curl as well, then reached for Fang Weixian while Twelve warned that his cybernetics authorization would be revoked.

Wu Xiude killed Fang Weixian during a struggle inside the Voting Chair, then died when its mechanical parts pierced him. Twelve read Zuo Tai’s consciousness and identified Wu Zhao as a Super Class A target, triggering an out-of-control assault throughout the Intelligence Management Center.

• Wu Xiude seized Fang Weixian by the throat as the Voting Chair sealed Fang inside, but its blades killed Wu Xiude.
• Zuo Tai discovered that Fang Weixian had died from the broken neck and spinal injuries Wu Xiude had inflicted.
• Twelve announced that the deaths had paralyzed provisional decision-making and classified the incident as Super Class A as the Silver White Sword Tower lit up.
• Twelve sealed Zuo Tai into her Voting Chair and read her consciousness.
• The Command Center’s screens flashed through scenes before Twelve designated Wu Zhao as “Wu Zhao One” and ordered the target eliminated.
• Weapons throughout the Intelligence Management Center seized control and fired indiscriminately, filling the building with explosions.

The Martial Emperor and Ronan brought down the Silver White Sword Tower, throwing East 824 District’s administration into chaos. As they watched disorder spread through the city, the Martial Emperor reflected that humanity’s desire for eternity only led to a cage.

• The Rebellious Executive Officer escaped the Intelligence Management Center as its defenders and the High-Energy Center’s platforms attacked her.
• Wang Yong struck the Silver White Sword Tower’s energy node, disrupting its operations and causing the tower to collapse into the nearby centers.
• Twelve identified Wang Yong as a Super Class A Target and requested escalation after its mission to eliminate him was interrupted.
• Ronan and the Martial Emperor met on a rooftop at midnight and watched unrest spread through East 824 District.
• Ronan asked whether Outer Earth was always like this, and the Martial Emperor compared humanity to dandelions and declared that eternity was an eternal cage.

Ronan helped Snake Tongue escape Madam Shan Chuan’s body while leaving a Soul Attachment Clone behind as bait, then discussed the Reclamation Corps and Inner Earth with the Martial Emperor. They left the city by sea as fires and destruction continued, while Ronan pressed the Martial Emperor to explain why she thought he had a Savior Complex.

• Snake Tongue asked whether to let Madam Shan Chuan die or keep her alive, and Ronan told her to leave a Soul Attachment Clone as bait.
• Ronan used the Mirror of Appraisal and Gate of Rebirth (Experiment) to help Snake Tongue’s soul escape across the Space-Time Barrier.
• Ronan and the Martial Emperor discussed the Artificial Intelligence’s knowledge of Inner Earth and agreed to watch how the Reclamation Corps responded.
• The Martial Emperor said they should leave the city before The Other Side took extreme measures, and she led Ronan southeast toward the sea.
• As they traveled past the fires and destruction, Ronan asked the Martial Emperor to explain her claim that he had a Savior Complex.

Ronan and the Martial Emperor discussed how extraordinary individuals could become estranged from the people they sought to lead, and she warned that Ronan’s plans to save Earth might repeat a historical failure. The Martial Emperor gave him an account of the Dream Divine Abomination events and challenged him to race to shore for the right to make a request.

• The Martial Emperor compared a powerful individual among ordinary people to a mutated dandelion and questioned whether guiding others toward evolution could truly save them.
• Ronan admitted that he had not passed the Law Deployment Tribulation, and the Martial Emperor said Earth might not need saving from him and cited the Zhan Family as a negative example.
• The Martial Emperor tossed Ronan two sheets outlining the Dream Divine Abomination events, which she said she had learned about from Liang Lu.
• The Martial Emperor raced ahead and told Ronan that whoever reached shore first could make one request, while Ronan wondered whether her warning referred to Zhan He, Zhan Ming, or Netherworld Highness.

Ronan read the Martial Emperor’s terse notes and followed her to the coast, where she used a request for a speedboat to expose his instinctive moral restraint. She explained how morality shaped him and compared his potential with his family’s and the Zhan family’s Dominators before Ronan asked for a fuller comparison.

• Ronan suspected the Martial Emperor’s notes were translated from Ceremonial Ancient Script and hurried after her to the coast.
• The Martial Emperor asked Ronan to fetch a speedboat, then revealed she had made the request to show him his moral instincts.
• The Martial Emperor said Ronan identified with humanity’s moral standards despite his family’s self-centered Format Theory, and discussed how his Grandfather and Father were constrained by their circumstances.
• The Martial Emperor judged Zhan He and Zhan Ming as well as Ronan, prompting him to ask her to compare all four men with himself.
• A meteor broke apart over the sea into a dim green Meteor Shower.

Ronan and Martial Emperor discussed the choices of past rulers and how Li Wei had tried to limit Ronan’s growth and bind him to human society. The chapter ended with Ronan asking what Li Wei’s plan could achieve now that he had found Outer Earth.

• Martial Emperor and Ronan watched a meteor-like object strike above the city, unleashing green light and shockwaves that stirred the city into turmoil.
• Martial Emperor told Ronan that people seeking to become what they wished could not be judged by morality, but had to accept the consequences of their choices.
• Martial Emperor compared Zhan He and Zhan Ming’s histories, explaining that Zhan Ming had nearly escaped the Han Guang Star System by using Spirit Roaming before she was set up.
• Martial Emperor warned Ronan that Li Wei had sealed off the Deep Blue World and entangled him in human society to keep him from growing freely.
• Ronan replied that he had found Outer Earth and asked what Li Wei’s strategy could accomplish now.

Ronan and the Martial Emperor watched the Reclamation Corps interfere with the Abyss Zone Monitoring Network, then narrowly escaped a nuclear strike on the coast. The chapter ended with a radioactive storm pursuing them.

• The Martial Emperor told Ronan that his choices and habits mattered, and Ronan reflected that her proposed path seemed the only feasible one.
• A blackout swept through much of the Central Urban Area as the Temporary Equipment used Abyss Turbulence to interfere with the monitoring network.
• Ronan and the Martial Emperor suspected the Reclamation Corps might be targeting her, but a sudden danger from above interrupted their discussion.
• The Martial Emperor used Wang Yong's body to teleport herself and Ronan away from the coast, escaping the network's blockade only by a short distance.
• A nuclear bomb struck the coast, and its blast hurled Wang Yong and the Martial Emperor into a storm of steam, seawater, and mud.

After a five-thousand-ton tactical nuclear bomb struck offshore, Ronan and the Martial Emperor escaped the blast and fled as an Elite Enforcement Team pursued them. The Martial Emperor suspected the Reclamation Corps had acted hastily without its main forces, leaving the conflict between Inner and Outer Earth poised to escalate.

• A nuclear blast devastated the coast and set the nearby city ablaze, while the Martial Emperor identified the weapon as a five-thousand-ton tactical nuclear bomb.
• The Martial Emperor suggested they retreat farther, and Ronan spotted an Elite Enforcement Team descending toward the blast site.
• Ronan and the Martial Emperor fled across the sea after detection waves found them, with the enforcement team in pursuit.
• The Martial Emperor explained that the Reclamation Corps might be testing her response and reacting to Wang Yong's defection, but noted that its main forces were absent from Outer Earth.
• The Martial Emperor argued that the Corps had acted impatiently instead of negotiating and warned that its attack could bring Inner and Outer Earth closer together.

Ronan and the Martial Emperor fled across the sea after a nuclear strike, while the Martial Emperor explained that Li Wei might blame Ronan for the attack and target him to prevent his influence in the Outer Earth. As the Elite Enforcement Team escalated its pursuit with electromagnetic cannons and an anti-air missile, Ronan called for two standard loads of Segmenters.

• The Martial Emperor told Ronan that Li Wei could connect his presence in the Outer Earth to events in the Thirteenth District and might use a catastrophic strike to deter him.
• Ronan and the Martial Emperor reasoned that their decision to flee could make Li Wei view Ronan as the mastermind behind the attack on the Twelve Great Districts.
• An electromagnetic cannon round narrowly missed Ronan and the Martial Emperor as they raced over the sea.
• The Elite Enforcement Team exploited their growing distance from the city and used the Abyss Zone Monitoring Network to guide long-range attacks.
• Ronan spotted an anti-air missile approaching and called for two standard loads of Segmenters.

Ronan used the Martial Emperor’s help to turn ice pellets into Segmenters, destroy the Elite Enforcement Team’s missiles, and incapacitate its members. Afterward, he wondered whether the crisis presented an opportunity, while the threat to the coast and the need to choose their next move remained.

• The Martial Emperor formed ice pellets with Segmenter structures, and Ronan used blazing white light to gain basic control over them.
• Ronan sent ice-pellet Segmenters toward the Anti-Air Missiles, mimicking heat signatures and triggering the missiles to explode.
• Ronan charged through the fireballs, evaded the Elite Enforcement Team’s electromagnetic rounds, and destroyed another missile before reaching the team.
• Ronan used a sound attack and Segmenters to disable the Elite Enforcers, who fell into the sea.
• The Martial Emperor said organizational hierarchies inevitably distort leaders’ intentions, and Ronan asked whether the situation was an opportunity.
• Ronan noted that they had moved far enough from the coast to limit the danger to the city, but recognized that defeating the Elite Enforcement Team had not resolved the crisis.