Chapter Summaries

Ronan discussed An Shunji and the nature of the Inner and Outer Earth with the Martial Emperor, who reminded him of their earlier theory that Earth’s underlying rules and reality could be stripped away or replaced. Ronan revisited the possibility that the Dream God Abomination was manipulating both spacetimes, leaving him facing a suspected truth he had been afraid to examine.

• Ronan asked whether An Shunji could help solve the problem and whether he had traveled between the Inner and Outer Earth, and the Martial Emperor said he could not but was close to achieving the reality he desired.
• The Martial Emperor questioned Ronan about his sources and challenged him for focusing on the Inner Earth rather than his earlier, more audacious theory.
• The Martial Emperor reminded Ronan that they had discussed the possible stripping, replacement, or annihilation of Earth’s underlying rules, and that she had called him afraid.
• Ronan recalled how the Tattered Divine Cloak could have divided the Inner and Outer Earth and concealed the Fog Maze and Deep Blue World.
• Ronan considered that the Dream God Abomination might be hidden within Earth’s spacetime and capable of turning the entire shared reality into a dream.

Ronan discussed his fear of the threats to Earth’s spacetime with the Martial Emperor and tried to understand An Shunji’s intended sacrifice to the Balance of Truth. He suspected the Martial Emperor had used the artifact to escape the Inner Earth, but she answered his question with a teasing offer to share Tiny’s contact information.

• Ronan admitted that he feared both the Six Heavens God Calamity and the Dream Divine Abomination’s possible influence on Earth’s underlying rules.
• The Martial Emperor asked whether Ronan believed An Shunji had wanted to save the world or uncover its secrets, and Ronan rejected both possibilities.
• Ronan realized An Shunji might have sought to exchange himself out of the seemingly illusory world for his own benefit.
• Ronan wondered whether the Martial Emperor had used the Balance of Truth to escape the Inner Earth, then asked if she had done so.
• The Martial Emperor offered to give Ronan Tiny’s private contact information, leaving him taken aback.

Ronan considered whether the Martial Emperor’s offer to arrange an exchange through the Justice Cult was also a way to investigate his use of the Cloak app, but agreed to meet the Justice Chief Priest and asked about the price. He left weighing the Martial Emperor’s warning about the cost against comparing the Balance of Truth with other exchange methods.

• Ronan suspected the Martial Emperor wanted to observe the effects of the Cloak app, but recognized that her offer also gave him a genuine route to Individual Transcendence.
• Ronan agreed to let the Martial Emperor introduce him to the Justice Chief Priest and asked what sacrifice an exchange would require.
• The Martial Emperor explained that the cost would depend on Ronan’s request and warned that fees could leave him with only a tiny share of the value exchanged.
• Ronan compared the Balance of Truth, the Cloak app, and the Altar Spiderweb, and concluded that the Altar Spiderweb’s exchange rules were unusually favorable to him.
• The Martial Emperor warned that exchanging even a few strands of her hair would cost more than Ronan and President Ouyang could afford, and Ronan resolved to compare his options.

Ronan discussed with the Martial Emperor whether to reveal information about Inner and Outer Earth and how to verify an exchange with the Justice Chief Priest. The Martial Emperor arranged an in-person meeting with the priest, leaving Ronan half an hour to prepare and go alone.

• Ronan asked how to verify that an exchange through the Balance of Truth would succeed, and the Martial Emperor challenged him to confirm it first.
• Ronan asked whether to share information about Inner and Outer Earth and the Central Star Region; the Martial Emperor said he could decide but warned that widespread Negative Emotions could help Li Wei.
• Ronan asked the Martial Emperor to contact Tiny, and she reached the Justice Chief Priest, who agreed to discuss business with him.
• The Martial Emperor sent meeting coordinates to Ronan's Six Ears and told him to meet the Justice Chief Priest in person without her.

Ronan delayed visiting the Justice Chief Priest until he could gather intelligence and prepare a plan to transfer Magneto-Optical Mica to Outer Earth. He learned that a second major Tide Surge had struck the Circum-Indian Ocean region and began gathering information about the crisis and the Justice Cult.

• Ronan returned to his bedroom, considered the risks of rushing to meet the Justice Chief Priest, and decided to prepare before approaching her.
• Ronan reviewed Wen Huilan’s draft speech for the Peak Conference and called her for information about the Justice Cult.
• Wen Huilan told Ronan that aberrations had overwhelmed Fan City and Xi City and that a second large-scale Tide Surge had formed around the Indian Ocean.
• Ronan confirmed that the crisis was near Mo City and asked Wen Huilan to send intelligence on the Justice Chief Priest and prepare for a long business trip.
• Ronan asked He Yueyin for intelligence on regional aberrations, Tide Surges, and the Justice Cult, then contacted An Dongsheng to ask about Liu Jia’s situation in Xi City.

Ronan compared the Cloak app, the Balance of Truth, and the Altar Spiderweb, weighing their powers, costs, and limitations without reaching a conclusion. He reviewed Justice Cult intelligence and teleported toward his meeting with the Justice Chief Priest, where Liu Jia’s interrupted call left him amid roaring waves and giant beasts.

• Ronan reviewed the Cloak app’s messages and compared its exchange system with the Balance of Truth and the Altar Spiderweb.
• Ronan reasoned that the Altar Spiderweb seemed more efficient but had a narrower range, while the other methods carried uncertain costs.
• Ronan concluded that he needed to learn the Balance of Truth’s price and reviewed intelligence about the Justice Cult, the Justice Chief Priest, and the Circum-Indian Ocean Tide Surge.
• Ronan changed clothes, went outside, and teleported nearly eight thousand kilometers toward his meeting with the Justice Chief Priest.
• Ronan saw Liu Jia’s call on his wristband after arriving in a stormy Near Sea Area, but the teleportation had cut off the signal.

Ronan arrived above a toxic Tide Surge near Mo City and tried to locate Lady Adelaide while contacting Liu Jia for information about the Circum-Indian Ocean’s aberrations. He learned Liu Jia would send him a recent research report, but his meeting with Adelaide was still unresolved.

• Ronan found himself hovering over a bay crowded with sea snakes and other aberrant marine creatures, whose toxic mist corroded his clothes.
• Ronan surveyed the cliffs and spotted Deep Blue Walkers using Format Fire to block the Tide Surge as radar swept toward him.
• Ronan waved at the cliffside radar installation and told its operators he was on the phone, prompting them to redirect the radar waves.
• Ronan called Liu Jia to ask about aberrations and Tide Surges across the Circum-Indian Ocean region.
• Liu Jia agreed to send Ronan a research report completed the previous night and said he was available to meet that day or the next.

Ronan learned that Water Tank’s injury had triggered an extraordinary Tide Surge near Mo City, then unleashed Magneto-Optical Mica to destroy the attacking aberrant swarms. He stood atop the resulting mound of flesh and called for Lady Adelaide to receive him.

• Liu Jia told Ronan that the injured Water Tank had come ashore nearby and that his toxic constitution had driven aberrant marine creatures into a massive surge.
• Liu Jia warned Ronan that Serpent's Nest and Arrow Rain, along with an unidentified extraordinary threat, had gathered in the area.
• Ronan spotted Arrow Rain closing in and spread the Magneto-Optical Mica Soul Cape across the bay and surrounding sea.
• Ronan's magnetic light and lightning killed the Arrow Rain and Serpent's Nest, forming a huge Bone Mountain Flesh Mound and nearly sweeping military personnel off the cliffs.
• Ronan climbed onto the mound and announced his arrival to Lady Adelaide, asking her to grant him an audience.

Ronan left his call with Liu Jia to answer the Justice Chief Priest’s signal and helped contain the Marine Aberrant Species around the bay before joining Adelaide underwater. He began negotiating whether the costs of a preliminary experiment could be waived, and Adelaide agreed.

• Ronan ended his call with Liu Jia after noticing the Justice Chief Priest’s black-and-white signal moving out to sea.
• Ronan used the Magneto-Optical Mica to divide part of the Bone Mountain Flesh Mound into grotesque giants that fought the sea snakes and headed inland.
• Ronan followed the signal underwater and found Adelaide and her allies pursuing an unknown Extraordinary Aberrant Species.
• Ronan greeted Adelaide and asked whether the expenses for a small experiment involving their exchange could be waived.
• Adelaide agreed to waive the experiment’s expenses.

Ronan agreed to help the Justice Chief Priest locate Water Tank and block his route inland, using his puppets to lead a search. As the underwater pursuit continued, the Justice Chief Priest identified its target as Fei Niu, a usually mild marine Extraordinary Aberrant Species whose behavior had suddenly changed.

• Ronan learned that the Justice Cult wanted help keeping Water Tank from reaching populated inland areas, and he agreed to assist.
• Ronan used his real-time monitoring network to estimate Water Tank's location and sent more than a hundred puppets to search for him.
• Ronan set a Flesh Puppet alight with Format Fire so the burning puppets would be easy for the Justice Cult's forces to follow, and the Justice Chief Priest arranged for Weismann to join the search.
• The underwater chase moved beyond the continental shelf into deep water, where darkness, pressure, and strong currents hampered the pursuers.
• Ronan asked about another target, and the Justice Chief Priest explained that they were pursuing Fei Niu, a normally mild sea cow that had recently behaved abnormally.

Ronan helped stabilize the Tide Surge crisis around Mo City and learned that Fei Niu, a normally sociable Aberrant Species, had gone berserk, possibly because it was poisoned. He left the Justice Chief Priest to investigate Fei Niu and went to examine the Water Tank, then answered Weismann’s call.

• The Justice Chief Priest explained that Fei Niu had suddenly gone berserk and that she wanted to discover the cause and save it.
• Ronan realized the Justice Chief Priest might have arranged for him to avoid the battlefield, then discussed how the Water Tank’s unclear motives could involve Nick and Li Wei.
• The Justice Chief Priest suggested Ronan might see the Water Tank’s situation more clearly and said Weismann would contact him.
• Ronan crossed the bay and confirmed that the Flesh Puppets had cleared the remaining Aberrant Species, leaving military personnel frightened by the grotesque giants.
• Weismann called Ronan, who answered and greeted him.

Ronan compared intelligence with Weismann and learned that Water Tank had split into at least nine pieces, several of which were heading toward Mo City or entering its drainage system. Ronan brought the Bone Mountain Flesh Mound into the city with a violent storm and waited to meet Weismann above streets and pipelines seeded with Manipulation Threads.

• Ronan told Weismann that Water Tank had split into at least nine pieces, with some attached to Aberrant Species or humans and others moving through the wilderness.
• Weismann reported that the Justice Cult had detected six pieces and lost track of one, while Ronan explained that two Burning Puppet groups had gone down the drains.
• Ronan warned that Water Tank might have split covertly and parasitized powerful targets, then arranged to meet Weismann so their methods would not conflict.
• Ronan caused a violent storm to strip flesh and bone from the Bone Mountain Flesh Mound and carry it from the Coastline toward Mo City.
• A torrential downpour swept into Mo City, carrying assembling flesh through its streets and underground pipelines as Ronan watched from a high-rise covered by Manipulation Threads.

Weismann and Sahan saw Ronan’s burning puppets form a vast cage around Mo City as Ronan prepared to imprison Water Tank. Ronan also considered using Water Tank’s Symbiotic Chain to track down the wanted criminal Nick.

• Sahan told Weismann that Mo City officials had activated an emergency plan and sought outside aid through Chairman Bai Hao.
• Weismann and Sahan saw Ronan’s flesh-and-bone puppets spread across the battlefield, linking their Formatted Spaces into a cage while their remains rained toward Mo City.
• Ronan considered how to confine Water Tank, whose avatars could split without limit and could not be killed.
• Ronan recalled An Dongsheng’s account of Luo Yuan ambushing Gray Traveler and suspected Water Tank had targeted other Extraordinary Aberrant Species for their toxins.
• Ronan decided that imprisoning Water Tank might let him follow its Symbiotic Chain to the wanted criminal Nick.

Ronan discussed Water Tank’s arrival and injuries with Weismann, suspecting that Water Tank’s extreme self-division might be connected to the creation of Uploaders. He resolved to capture Water Tank and investigate his memories, while recognizing that the Justice Cult was reluctant to risk an open conflict with Li Wei.

• Ronan concluded that Nick had disappeared into the Deep Blue World after Water Tank appeared, and wondered whether Water Tank might know valuable intelligence for Li Wei.
• Weismann arrived and reported that all seven of Ronan’s Burning Puppet teams had caught Water Tank’s avatars, which destroyed themselves with dangerous Poison Bombs.
• Weismann said intelligence agencies inferred that Water Tank was injured because Nick hurried into the Deep Blue World when Water Tank landed, though the landing itself appeared accidental.
• Ronan suspected Water Tank’s extreme division might point to an Uploader process, but decided that capturing him and tracing his memories was the best way to learn more.
• Ronan learned that Water Tank had landed three and a half hours earlier and recognized from Weismann’s silence that the Justice Cult did not want to provoke Li Wei into open conflict.

Ronan used his expanded perception of Mo City to locate the last two Lysis Clones hidden in Aberrant Sea Serpents. He left the story with the Manipulation Threads attacking the serpents in the sewers.

• Ronan considered Luo Yuan's ties to the Balance of Truth and the Martial Emperor, and resolved to seek answers from the Martial Emperor through Lady Adelaide's Water Tank bargain.
• Ronan used the Soul Cape, flesh and bone fragments, and Manipulation Threads to perceive Mo City as a vast, living system.
• Ronan's citywide perception revealed two remaining Lysis Clones, bringing the total he had identified to nine.
• The Manipulation Threads and Flesh Puppets attacked the two Aberrant Sea Serpents hiding in the sewers, tearing into their bodies.

Ronan confirmed that the Water Tank’s clones needed to feed on Ability Users and Aberrant Species, then began a citywide search to identify them. When one clone attacked the Mo City branch, Ronan put the area to sleep and entered the clone’s dream with Weismann, where the killer continued hunting.

• Ronan told Weismann that the Water Tank’s energy needs forced it to parasitize Ability Users and Aberrant Species, and said they had found two more clones but not all of them.
• Ronan began a comprehensive physical examination of Mo City’s Ability Users, Aberrant Species, and Burners, while Weismann took a call from Fahd reporting a widespread attack by Demon clones.
• Ronan warned Fahd to keep people apart and watch for Ability Users approaching voluntarily, then identified a stress response at the Mo City branch as the tenth clone.
• Ronan raised a Bright Moon over the branch, subdued the attack, and put those inside to sleep.
• Ronan shared the branch’s dream with Weismann, showing the clone continuing to hunt and devour people there, and said he looked forward to what happened next.

Ronan contained Water Tank’s avatar by stretching its ruined body across the floor with living tissue, exposing the parasitic Gray-Black Flesh Bag. The avatar remained trapped and unable to die as Weismann witnessed Ronan’s control over the grotesque display.

• Weismann followed Ronan into the Mo City branch and found Fahd and the other Ability Users unconscious while a ruined body convulsed in silence.
• Ronan’s Blocks of flesh and bone fragments stretched the body apart, exposing its organs and revealing the parasitic Gray-Black Flesh Bag.
• Ronan led Weismann through the living tissue, which opened a path and moved the body’s heart and connected Blood Vessels aside.
• Weismann found the ruined body’s half-corroded head still breathing and faintly snoring.
• Weismann realized Water Tank’s avatar could not self-destruct because Ronan’s tissue had trapped it and temporarily erased death as an option.

Ronan examined Water Tank’s destroyed avatar and discovered that its recent memories suggested Water Tank had escaped whatever had forced him to keep splitting. The avatar then ruptured, revealing a refined Flesh Core that had been suppressed by Water Tank’s toxic power.

• Ronan told Weismann that he would continue investigating Water Tank despite the avatar’s apparent escape, and Weismann agreed to follow the Chief Priest’s authorization.
• Ronan used the Mirror of Appraisal to search the avatar’s fragmented memories while Weismann stood back.
• Ronan concluded that the avatar’s memories were from the last day or two and that Water Tank had shaken off the factor that had forced him to split.
• The Gray-Black Flesh Bag burst, spraying ink that decomposed in midair as Ronan’s power dispersed it.
• A refined, finger-sized Flesh Core emerged from the ruptured bag, and Ronan identified it as an enhanced core previously suppressed by Water Tank’s toxic power.

Ronan recognized the Flesh Core in Water Tank as Poseidon’s parasite and contacted Poseidon through it. Poseidon confirmed that he had targeted Water Tank because it offended him, leaving Ronan and Weismann to learn what had happened between them.

• Ronan identified the Flesh Core as a means for Poseidon to transmit his power through parasitized creatures and recalled their past cooperation.
• Ronan used Magneto-Optical Mica to locate and contact Poseidon through the Flesh Core, while Weismann sensed the surge of power.
• Ronan tore the Flesh Core from the Gray-Black Flesh Bag and fed it masses of flesh until Poseidon could speak through it.
• Ronan told Poseidon that he had found Water Tank in Mo City and recognized the parasite as Poseidon’s work.
• Poseidon confirmed that he had targeted Water Tank because it had offended him.

Ronan spoke with the entity behind the Tide Surge, learned it had spared Xia City because it considered him a friend, and kept its Flesh Core. After Ronan left to examine the wilderness near Mo City, Weismann saw signs that a violent force was forming over the sea.

• Ronan asked The Other Side whether it could still locate the man it had parasitized and whether it was responsible for the Tide Surge along the Circum-Indian Ocean Coastline.
• The Other Side said it had told them not to disturb Xia City because Ronan was its friend, and Ronan agreed to keep its Flesh Core.
• Ronan asked Weismann to investigate unusual activity involving Poseidon's Sea God and Thunder Faith in major coastal cities.
• Ronan said he would search the wilderness and desert inland from Mo City for Water Tank, while Weismann questioned whether Poseidon was involved.
• Ronan restored the Exhibition Hall's scattered human components into a body, then vanished with the Flesh Bag and Flesh Sculpture beneath moonlight.
• Weismann rushed to the rooftop and saw the distant Coastline twisting as a violent force formed over the sea.