Chapter Summaries

Ronan used the Flowing Scenery and the shipyard’s growing panic to prepare for an attack by the Yilan Family’s people. As a hostile presence boarded the airship and approached, Nemesis warned him that he had a backpacker with him.

• Ronan circled the shipyard to test whether he was being watched, and Nemesis concluded that his pursuers were still tracking him and likely had Abyssal Spirit Net authority.
• Nemesis warned Ronan that communications were being restricted and that the attackers were moving, then showed him the locations of usable equipment aboard the Flowing Scenery.
• Ronan reset the airship’s Authority Wall and started its engines, setting off alarms and stirring panic among shipyard workers and officials.
• As Ronan ignored calls from the Command Platform, the workers’ fear grew while a blade-like hostile presence boarded the Flowing Scenery and moved through its first deck.
• Ronan shared the increasingly strong tug at his shoulders and neck with Nemesis, which identified the approaching threat as a backpacker.

A Shadow Domain assassin known as "Backpack" pursued Lao Pu after Lao Pu escaped the airship and revealed strength far beyond the intelligence report. Lao Pu armored himself, knocked down security personnel, and fled from the Sky-Air Shipyard as "Backpack" gave chase.

• "Backpack" entered the Flowing Scenery cockpit and tried to reach Wei Su Yi's Private Deck after the technicians seized the airship's authorization systems.
• "Backpack" smashed through the Private Deck's canopy, but Lao Pu dodged the attack and escaped through the shipyard shadows.
• "Backpack" identified Lao Pu as a powerful veteran and tried to lock onto his Qi Mechanism, but Lao Pu used a burst of speed to break the connection.
• The technicians reported that Lao Pu had knocked down security personnel and armored up.
• Lao Pu accelerated again, sprinted out of the Sky-Air Shipyard, and leaped down while "Backpack" pursued him.

Backpack pursued the exhausted driver after he escaped the Sky-Air Shipyard, while the Abyssal Spirit Net and police began closing in. Backpack broke off and landed in a forest ahead of him, leaving the pursuit unresolved.

• The driver used stolen Exoskeleton Armor to leap from the Sky-Air Shipyard and glide away, prompting the employer to order Backpack to kill him.
• Backpack pursued the driver while avoiding a conspicuous use of his Celestial powers, and the technician warned that they were nearing the edge of their authorized interference range.
• The driver called for help, and the police arranged for him to rendezvous with a Self-Patrol Mechanical Team as the Abyssal Spirit Net's watchers began to stir.
• Backpack infiltrated the driver's Form and Spirit Framework more deeply as the driver weakened, then changed direction and landed ahead of him in a forest.
• Backpack used the forest to hinder the Abyssal Spirit Net's inspection and looked toward the sky around Phonetic City.

“Backpack” attacked the exoskeleton driver and began replacing his body, only to discover that the man was a “Pitfall Fire Hell” leader in disguise. As “Backpack” tried to seize the man’s Fire Seed, he sensed a mysterious white circular radiance and his transformation stalled.

• “Backpack” used the “Shadow Tree” system to ambush the exoskeleton driver, knocking him unconscious and crashing him into the forest.
• “Backpack” severed the employer’s “Perception Sharing” link and began dissolving and replacing the driver’s body.
• “Backpack” discovered that the driver’s apparent human body was a shell and identified him as a “Pitfall Fire Hell” leader hiding beside Wei Su Yi.
• “Backpack” analyzed the man’s withered Fire Seed and began taking control of it while using the driver’s flesh and blood to strengthen it.
• “Backpack” sensed a pure white circular radiance beside the “Abyss Sun Wheel,” causing his thoughts and the body-merging process to stall.

Ronan used the Round Light’s Visualization Spacetime to defeat Backpack, who was consumed by the River of Time before he could warn anyone. After Lao Pu’s apparent attack threw Wei Su Yi’s team into disarray, Ronan faced Nemesis’s doubts and blamed the incident on Backpack being too hungry.

• Backpack recognized the Round Light as a passage in Ritual Ancient Script that opened Visualization Spacetime, and realized Lao Pu was sustaining it.
• The River of Time exposed flaws in Backpack’s Form and Spirit Framework, while his connection with Lao Pu let the Round Light’s Plant resist its pull.
• Backpack’s framework collapsed, and his innate ability began dissolving and replacing him as he lost control of the Exoskeleton back armor.
• The employer’s renewed Shared Perception connection briefly helped Backpack, but Ronan told him to shut down the Shared Connection before Backpack’s consciousness collapsed.
• News of Lao Pu’s apparent assassination attempt caused turmoil in Wei Su Yi’s team, while Ronan answered Nemesis’s doubts by saying Backpack was probably too hungry.

Ronan recovered in the hospital after absorbing Backpack and questioned Nemesis about the Abyss and the Shadow Tree. The team planned to leave Plane Six for the Main Star System, and Ronan prepared to leave with them.

• Ronan asked Nemesis about the huge fireball he had seen in the Abyss, and Nemesis identified it as the Abyss Sun Wheel, visible after reaching the Celestial stage.
• Ronan asked about the Shadow Tree, but Nemesis refused to explain and advised him to ask Lao Huo and listen to her songs.
• Zhi Chuan told Ronan that Lady Hametz planned to take the team from Plane Six to the Main Star System and asked whether he would stay for treatment.
• Ronan chose to leave with the team and decided to discharge himself rather than risk staying in the hospital.
• Wei Su Yi called Lao Pu, confirmed he was ready to leave, and said the team would pick him up in about twenty minutes.

Ronan rode with Wei Su Yi’s team after leaving the hospital, while the lingering effects of the faith-power Dyeing Agent helped him identify her companion as a stand-in. The ride ended with Wei Su Yi’s stand-in thanking Lao Pu for taking the disaster meant for her, as Ronan remained wary of the awkward attempt to bring them closer.

• Ronan boarded the vehicle with Zhi Chuan and noticed Hametz and Fei Sai were absent, while Po Man drove and Fei Ang rode in front.
• Ronan sensed traces of Yellow Moss still lingering among the passengers and inferred that Wei Su Yi’s companion was still a stand-in.
• Po Man explained that Hametz had gone to the spaceport to arrange a Shuttle, and Wei Su Yi’s stand-in told Ronan he looked well.
• Fei Ang praised Lao Pu for escaping a Celestial-level enemy, and Wei Su Yi’s stand-in apologized for the disaster he had taken in her place.
• Ronan asked Nemesis about the stand-in’s behavior and reflected that he had reached an unregistered Celestial tier while reserving part of Backpack’s framework.

Ronan and his companions boarded a crowded Shuttle out of Plane Six while Wei Su Yi’s bodyguard worried about the separated security arrangements. During the flight, Wei Su Yi’s double quietly told Ronan that the Shadow Tree had changed the Fire Seed inside him into something more like a plant seed.

• Ronan brought Little Fear, Lao Pu, Backpack, and the others to the transfer platform to board their Shuttles.
• Fei Ang considered using his Heavenly Human Privilege to switch places with Lao Pu, but the team’s Boss told him to leave the arrangements unchanged.
• Lao Pu boarded beside Wei Su Yi’s double while Wei Su Yi’s Real Body appeared to take a seat in the first row.
• Wei Su Yi’s double asked Ronan about the Shadow Tree and told him it had altered the Fire Seed inside his body.

Ronan and Wei Su Yi discussed how the Shadow Tree’s cultivation network differed from the Abyssal Spirit Net and pointed toward Six Heavens God Calamity. On the departing Shuttle, Ronan reconnected with Yilan Shang through the Broken Ice, but refused his demand to attack Wei Su Yi.

• Wei Su Yi explained that Abyss Cults cultivated interconnected seeds that formed a network pointing toward the Abyss, and Ronan compared it to the Abyssal Spirit Net.
• Ronan and Wei Su Yi discussed the Shadow Tree’s ultimate destination, Six Heavens God Calamity, while acknowledging that its full nature was difficult to perceive.
• As the Shuttle prepared to depart, Wei Su Yi opened Guang Shu and Ronan used the Broken Ice to restore Yilan Shang’s Perception Sharing connection.
• Yilan Shang urged Ronan to cut off Wei Su Yi’s head and wanted to livestream the attack, but Ronan refused.

Ronan refused Yilan Shang’s demand to kill Wei Su Yi and discussed the dangerous information from Backpack’s memory with her during their Shuttle journey. As they arrived at Thousand Threads in the Boundary Curtain region, Wei Su Yi advised Ronan to deal with Yilan Shang for now and turn against him if necessary.

• Ronan refused to kill Wei Su Yi, explaining that the Shuttle Transit Airport was under surveillance and that Yilan Shang had paid for Wei Su Yi’s life, not his.
• Ronan noticed a new development in Wei Su Yi’s response, cut off his connection with Yilan Shang, and warned him to keep the matter confidential.
• Ronan told Wei Su Yi about the employer in Backpack’s memory, and she identified him as Yilan Shang of the Yilan Family.
• Ronan and Wei Su Yi traveled by Shuttle into the Main Star System of the Boundary Curtain region and approached the Thousand Threads space shipping hub.
• Wei Su Yi told Ronan to deal with Yilan Shang for now and turn against him if he could no longer manage him.

Ronan and Wei Su Yi arrived at the Thousand Threads hub and discussed her allies, the forces involved in the conflict over Luande Retirement, and how to respond. Wei Su Yi decided they needed to do something outrageous, though she had not yet chosen what.

• Ronan asked whether Wei Su Yi had cultivated all her allies, and she explained that she assessed old friends and cultivated new ones after waking.
• Ronan asked if the Lord of Silent Extinction had been her ally; Wei Su Yi said the Lord was older than her and had inspired her to rely on her own habits.
• Ronan and Wei Su Yi arrived at the Thousand Threads hub, and Ronan contacted Hametz, who reported that the trip's secrecy measures had worked.
• Wei Su Yi explained that the Fei Family had tipped them off and that the Yilan Family's influence was unstable despite its reputation.
• Wei Su Yi said she intended to increase the commotion around herself to overshadow attention on Luande Retirement, then suggested doing something outrageous without settling on a plan.

After arriving at Gouchen Star, Wei Su Yi resisted her manager’s attempt to separate Lao Pu from her and asked him to accompany her to visit the imprisoned Shi Fan. The chapter ended with Nemesis refusing to go because Shi Fan was an Uploader in the Abyss.

• Hametz arranged for the group to return to Gouchen Star and suggested sending the injured Lao Pu to a sanatorium on Bai Suo.
• Wei Su Yi asked Lao Pu what reward he wanted, then confirmed he had experience using a Machine Core.
• Wei Su Yi told Hametz to file reports with the Myriad Gods Hall and Police Headquarters of the World Screen Major Region.
• Wei Su Yi named Shi Fan as the person she wanted to visit and ordered Lao Pu to accompany her in a Flying Shuttle.
• Hametz warned that Shi Fan was a major Star Alliance criminal under residential surveillance, while Nemesis loudly refused to go.

Ronan and Wei Su Yi traveled by Flying Shuttle to Gouchen Star, where Ronan saw how the planet’s natural landscape concealed a rigid system of authority and captivity. Wei Su Yi explained Gouchen Star’s history and warned that completing official visitation procedures could have exposed Ronan as a Pitfall Fire Hell spy and sent him to an Abyss Prison.

• Nemesis disabled the Flying Shuttle’s surveillance devices while protesting the trip to Gouchen Star.
• Ronan observed Gouchen Star’s low buildings and natural scenery, while Wei Su Yi explained how Authority Walls divided the planet into Manors and Fortresses.
• Wei Su Yi recounted how Gouchen Star had been devastated after the Tian Yuan Empire collapsed, left to recover naturally, and later made the Star Alliance’s nominal capital.
• Ronan asked whether artifacts from expeditions could become valuable collectibles, and Wei Su Yi confirmed that aristocratic clans prized items with lasting value.
• Ronan noted Lady Hametz’s opposition to their trip, and Wei Su Yi warned that completing the visitation procedures could have led authorities to identify him as a Pitfall Fire Hell spy and imprison him.

Wei Suyi explained that she and Ronan needed to act quickly and make his connection to her seem intimate to forestall investigations into Lao Pu and his backpack. They diverted to Gray Blue Eye’s Demi-Plane, where she planned to shop with him and strengthen their cover.

• Wei Suyi told Ronan that they had to move faster than the Star Alliance’s procedures and raise the stakes before authorities investigated Lao Pu.
• Ronan and Wei Suyi dismissed the mocking Guang Shu posts about their relationship, while Wei Suyi explained that the gossip was likely a signal from people investigating him.
• Wei Suyi proposed giving Ronan a plausible reason to be closely bound to her and planned to ask Shi Fan for help through Chang Yi Zhen.
• The Flying Shuttle received authorization to make a temporary stop at Gray Blue Eye’s Demi-Plane.
• Wei Suyi said they would shop and dress up together to support their appearance of intimacy as the shuttle prepared to land.

Wei Su Yi brought Ronan to Gray Blue Eye, a Demi-Plane trading district known for illicit deals and dangerous exploration. As they surveyed its patched-together structure and busy crowds, Ronan identified many of the residents as Clones, and Wei Su Yi offered to buy him a full set of gear.

• Ronan safely piloted the Flying Shuttle through the Space-Time Barrier and parked it in Gray Blue Eye, where Wei Su Yi caught Nemesis's Avatar Carrier and led him onward.
• Wei Su Yi explained that Gray Blue Eye hosted off-directory transactions and drew explorers seeking traces of Abyssal Sky Overlord's experiments and Great Monarch legacies.
• Ronan examined the damaged berths and elevator, then inferred that they were inside a slowly rotating giant structure.
• Wei Su Yi and Ronan rode the elevator to a bright mountain-valley trading district, where Ronan judged the Demi-Plane to be a patched-together engineering Creation.
• Ronan recognized that many people in the district were Clones, and Wei Su Yi explained that they were used for exploration before offering to buy him gear.

Wei Su Yi took Ronan to a United Power store to choose temporary combat equipment while his custom Exoskeleton Armor and Machine Core were prepared. Ronan settled on an explosive, hit-and-run configuration and began fitting it, with Wei Su Yi suggesting they leave room for weapons from Gray Blue Eye.

• Wei Su Yi led Ronan through a promotional display featuring United Power spokesperson Zhuo Da and explained that the store could provide a foundation for his equipment.
• Wei Su Yi said a temporary setup would improve Ronan's combat power, help explain his gains in strength, and give others a face-saving account of earlier loopholes.
• Ronan assessed United Power's equipment and chose an explosive combat approach that could end fights quickly or help him escape while concealing his abilities.
• Wei Su Yi asked Ronan to leave room for mounted weapons because Gray Blue Eye specialized in weapon design.
• Ronan began a fitting process with the store's sales guide and mechanics while learning about the Star Alliance's varied combat vehicle systems.

Ronan and Wei Su Yi finished outfitting Ronan at United Power, then crossed to Gray Blue Design to look for weapons. As Ronan browsed the unusual models, a group led by a towering man who watched Wei Su Yi followed them in, and Ronan found a weapon listing that required many natural materials.

• Ronan completed two hours of armor fitting and tests at United Power but chose not to buy weapons there.
• Ronan noticed that the United Power saleswoman was a clone, and Wei Su Yi said clones could serve as nodes for Perception Sharing or as Intervention Bodies.
• Ronan and Wei Su Yi crossed to Gray Blue Design, where a group of seven people followed them from United Power.
• The group's towering leader kept watching Wei Su Yi, who said she only vaguely remembered him and ignored his attention.
• Wei Su Yi helped Ronan search Gray Blue Design's weapon listings, and Ronan was surprised by how many natural materials one option required.

Ronan and Wei Su Yi browsed Shi Fan’s unusual weapons, with Zuo Qi helping them find a multi-shot weapon related to a bomb made from Fire Rock Squid tentacles. They inspected the bomb at the armory, where the attendant introduced the second weapon as the Chaos Cannon.

• Wei Su Yi explained that buying Shi Fan’s designs could help Ronan arrange a meeting with her.
• Zuo Qi introduced himself to Wei Su Yi and later returned to recommend a hand cannon with area-control effects.
• Ronan selected a bomb made from the short tentacles of a Fire Rock Squid and went with Wei Su Yi and Zuo Qi to the armory.
• The clone attendant explained the bomb’s risks and effects, then asked Ronan whether he wanted a field test.
• Ronan asked to see the other weapon first, and the attendant named it the Chaos Cannon.

Ronan tested the Chaos Hand Cannon at Gray Blue Design and triggered its chaos effect with his first shot. He and Wei Su Yi returned to United Power to complete his loadout, where Zuo Qi continued advising them at the firing range.

• Ronan examined Gray Blue Design’s crude Chaos Hand Cannon, learned how it worked, and connected it to his Exoskeleton Armor.
• Ronan fired an energy beam that destroyed the target and triggered the cannon’s chaos effect on the first shot, so he decided to buy it.
• Gray Blue Design added three Explosive Bombs to Ronan’s purchase, bringing his total to eight.
• Ronan and Wei Su Yi returned to United Power to assemble a complementary loadout, prioritizing rapid-fire physical ammunition.
• Zuo Qi followed them to United Power’s firing range and urged Wei Su Yi to test the weapons against different combat situations.

Ronan passed Zuo Qi’s staged ambush by disrupting the defensive field and rescuing Wei Su Yi, who then continued their trip through the Gray Blue Eye Demi-Plane. Wei Su Yi explained how the drill related to identity verification and the wider system governing clones, while Ronan questioned the purpose of the encounter.

• Zuo Qi summoned armored attackers and staged an ambush to test Ronan’s bodyguard response.
• Ronan used the Chaos Cannon to disrupt the defensive field, charged through the gap, and carried Wei Su Yi away from Zuo Qi.
• Wei Su Yi praised Ronan’s performance, dismissed Zuo Qi, and left the firing range with him.
• Wei Su Yi explained that the encounter had become part of deep identity verification and that the opposing circles were using them as a point of friction.
• Ronan asked whether the Target Range Camp fighters were clones, and Wei Su Yi confirmed they were.
• Wei Su Yi described the clone system as a gray area tolerated under the Abyssal Spirit Net and joked that Ronan’s Chaos Cannon had made her acting seem overdone.