Chapter Summaries

Ronan tested using Demon Summoning to bring the Rotten-Mouth Ape’s arms into the normal world, then returned to Sea Sky Cloud Capital and practiced the Dripping Water Sword while recovering from his injuries. After training and recording his results, he joined Qin Yikun for a morning run toward Zhi Xing Institute.

• Ronan tested the ape arms’ combat ability in Marsh Lake and estimated he could sustain them for one or two minutes.
• Ronan withdrew the arms, named his captive Rotten-Mouth Ape Yuan Yi, and hurried back to Sea Sky Cloud Capital before dawn.
• Ronan struggled to calm his mind during morning practice, then used the Dripping Water Sword to focus and uncover lingering injuries.
• Ronan recorded his Dripping Water Sword practice and produced 122 complete swords, sending them into the troposphere to test their stability.
• Ronan met Qin Yikun outside their hotel rooms, confirmed the Green Oxygen Track at Zhi Xing Institute was ready, and began morning training with him.

Ronan completed his morning training while running around Zhi Xing Institute, then discovered he had arrived on a Saturday when students across the city were preparing a march for government transparency. After breakfast and a call with Xie Junping, he headed to the Gear Building, where he sensed something peculiar in the air.

• Ronan and Qin Yikun ran around campus as Ronan tested the Dripping Water Swords until only ten remained, then Ronan recovered his energy and demonstrated his improving control of Soul Power.
• Ronan and Qin Yikun saw students gathering for a citywide march, and Ronan realized it was Saturday and he had no classes.
• Ronan invited Qin Yikun and the security team to breakfast, but Qin Yikun chose to bring food back to the others and keep them separate in public.
• Ronan walked through the campus toward the Great Auditorium and spoke with Xie Junping, who said he had visited the Welfare Institute and wanted to meet at Gear.
• Ronan asked Xie Junping to pause the interior renovation project, then crossed the river and approached the Gear Building, where he sensed a peculiar aura.

Ronan returned to Gear to erase traces of the Rotten-Mouth Ape and refined the structures of his Dripping Water Swords through resonance with his External Neuron. Xie Junping told him Gear’s ownership would soon be decided, and Ronan said he would confront whoever took control while preparing for war.

• Ronan sensed traces of the Rotten-Mouth Ape around the marsh lake and used his Soul Power to disperse its lingering aura and erase evidence beneath the lake.
• Ronan connected ten Dripping Water Swords to his External Neuron, letting their Configurations resonate and improve the External Neuron’s structure as the swords collapsed.
• Xie Junping arrived and told Ronan that Gear’s ownership would enter the final bidding stage the next day, with the result possibly announced at the start of the week.
• Ronan said he would not choose between the Construction Club and LRCF, but would communicate with whichever side took control by any means necessary.
• Ronan left to deal with his many unfinished matters while Xie Junping stayed at the bar, hoping to rest before the coming events.

Ronan reflected on how Xie Junping’s transformation had earned him a chance to lead a company, then used Xie’s advice about small achievements to decide to tackle a manageable problem. He chose to work overtime on the Three Gates Security job and investigate the escalating Aberrant Species threat in Xia City.

• Ronan considered Xie Junping’s potential and his involvement with both Format Theory and Wan Ta’s Creation Law, while Xie praised Wan Ta’s coordination lessons.
• Xie Junping told Ronan that he had become CMO of a Tianjing Bio pharmaceutical R&D subsidiary valued at five billion, crediting his recent changes for earning his father’s renewed confidence.
• Xie Junping explained that small successes could bring further encouragement, prompting Ronan to sort his troubles into major pressures, ongoing efforts, and solvable tasks.
• Ronan decided to clear away manageable problems, left Gear, and chose to work overtime on the Three Gates Security job to earn money toward Devil Fish.
• Ronan reviewed the team’s search data and learned that Aberrant Species infiltration might have progressed to Phase Two, while the Xia City Government continued suppressing the news.

Ronan contacted Peony through Ink and found her drunk and wandering through the Recycling Layer after slipping out of a blocked doorway. Peony joined a University Day parade, where she rallied the students and crowd as Ronan watched.

• Ronan used Ink to contact Peony and found her sitting in a dark alley in the Recycling Layer.
• Peony said someone had blocked her door and that she was taking the day off for World University Day.
• Peony put on her high heels and walked out of the alley, chanting Buddhist verses as she went.
• A young man followed and harassed Peony, but she knocked him unconscious with a kick.
• Peony reached the street and joined the University Day parade, leading the crowd in cheers of “Unity,” “Honor,” “Youth,” and “Victory.”

Peony led a spirited parade through the city while Ronan dealt with his aunt’s anger over Mo Ya’s behavior and tried to contact his missing sister. The chapter ended when Mo Ya finally answered Ronan’s call.

• Peony whipped students and citizens into a cheering parade as Ronan followed and watched.
• Ronan received a call from Luo Shuqing, who demanded to know where he had stayed and criticized him for giving Mo Ya access to Blue Bay Community.
• Luo Shuqing ordered Ronan to revoke Mo Ya’s access privileges and warned that Ronan and Mo Peng would also answer for enabling her.
• After the call, Ronan tried twice to reach Mo Ya and considered asking Bamboo Pole to track her down.
• Mo Ya answered Ronan’s call and asked whether he had been looking for her.

Ronan learned that Mo Ya had called him to take the blame, then discovered she was rehearsing for a performance at City Hall Square. There, Peony explained that the parade and evening crowds could provide a vast sample pool for Ronan to detect Aberrant Infected before a biohazard crisis spread through Xia City.

• Mo Ya told Ronan to meet her at City Hall Square around noon and said her group was rehearsing for a performance.
• Ronan headed to City Government Square and used Ink to follow Peony, who had left the parade crowd.
• Peony told Ronan that Native Aberrant Species might have appeared in Xia City after contamination from the Aberrant invasion.
• Peony explained that hundreds of thousands of people would gather near City Hall Square, creating a large sample pool for their search.
• Peony proposed that Ronan use his sensing ability to locate and contain infected targets before the festivities ended, allowing them to trace and destroy the infection chain.

Ronan struggled to identify potential Aberration Infection targets among the dense crowds gathering for the university student march. At a bookstore overlooking City Hall Square, he recognized Yue Qin and was approached by her companion, Bai Yu.

• Ronan watched the marchers and tried to distinguish infected people from the crowd, but the sheer density and lack of experience made it difficult.
• Ronan recognized Yue Qin at a nearby table and overheard her companion teasing her about him.
• Ronan checked the bookstore reservation schedule and realized he would have to give up his window seat at six in the evening.
• Bai Yu approached Ronan, introduced herself as Yue Qin's friend, and offered him her hand.

Ronan met Bai Yu, a member of the girl group Bobblehead Doll, while waiting for Mo Ya's treat, then unexpectedly recognized her stern companion, Hai Jing. The chapter left Ronan and Hai Jing reuniting after recognizing each other.

• Ronan introduced himself to Bai Yu and learned she was the youngest member of Bobblehead Doll, a group scheduled to perform that night.
• Bai Yu explained that her company had rented a floor in the building for the performers to rehearse before the show.
• Hai Jing found Bai Yu chatting with Ronan and mistakenly asked whether they were dating.
• Bai Yu called Yue Qin over and claimed Ronan was her best friend's husband, while Hai Jing scrutinized the pair.
• Ronan asked Yue Qin to sit and learned the stern man was Hai Jing, an agent from Ming Tang Culture.
• Hai Jing recognized Ronan as Nan Zi, and Ronan recognized Hai Jing in return.

Ronan met Hai Jing, Mountain Stream Band’s former lead singer and current manager, and learned the band had signed with Bright Hall and was preparing for a major performance. He reunited with Cat's Eye, whose connection to him remained complicated, and the group headed upstairs so Ronan and Yue Qin could receive temporary staff identities.

• Ronan recognized Hai Jing as Mo Ya’s former bandmate and learned Mountain Stream had signed a two-year contract with Bright Hall.
• Hai Jing invited Ronan and his companions to visit Mo Ya’s rehearsal and arranged permissions for them to enter.
• Cat's Eye arrived, greeted Ronan as her boss, and explained that she had lost a bet to him while practicing dance.
• Cat's Eye and Bai Yu received permission to enter, while Hai Jing arranged temporary staff contracts for Ronan and Yue Qin.
• The group boarded the private elevator and headed toward the rehearsal floors.

Ronan accompanied Hai Jing to the practice rooms, where Mo Ya’s band argued over how to adapt its music after signing with Ming Tang Culture. After Hai Jing left him to find a room, Ronan accidentally witnessed two people having sex, then ran into Bai Yu outside BHD’s practice room.

• Ronan and Hai Jing listened outside as Mo Ya’s band argued about its performance and its transition into mainstream music.
• Hai Jing told Ronan that Ming Tang Culture was facing a change in share ownership, then received an urgent message and sent Ronan to Room 5627.
• Ronan used his psychic perception to discover two artists having sex in Room 5627, watched briefly, and hurried away without entering.
• Bai Yu opened the door to Room 5621, told Ronan that his girlfriend was inside, and warned him not to let Hai Jing hear that she had lied about Turner.
• Ronan noticed Bai Yu’s revealing dance outfit and struggled to look away after his unexpected discovery in Room 5627.

Ronan was sent to pick up morning tea for Xi Wei and became an unexpected errand runner for the bhd Group. As the girls began placing orders, Cat's Eye called him “Boss,” and Ronan demanded to know what she meant.

• Ronan and Bai Yu saw Xi Wei and Director Wu arrive with their entourage, and Bai Yu explained that Xi Wei was Ming Tang Culture’s top star.
• Bai Yu found gossip claiming Xi Wei had been caught meeting a new lover, but Ronan spotted someone approaching and sent her into the practice room.
• Director Wu ordered Ronan to take off his badge and collect a reserved morning tea set from Rui Feng Restaurant for Xi Wei’s group.
• Bai Yu invited the bhd members to place food orders with Ronan, and Xue Yuan greeted him while Clara nicknamed him “Shredded Radish.”
• Cat's Eye interrupted Ronan and Xue Yuan’s handshake, called Ronan “Boss,” and proposed that everyone add their orders to his errand.

Ronan delivered the BHD girls’ food orders while preparing to search City Hall Square for Aberrant Species. After returning with a mountain of food, he found Yue Qin waiting to help him carry it upstairs.

• Ronan exchanged contact numbers with the BHD girls, then left to buy food from Rui Feng Restaurant while Cat's Eye teased him and Yue Qin offered to go with him.
• Ronan passed Room 5627 and startled the illicit lovers inside, then declined Hai Jing’s offer to send someone else on the errand.
• Ronan rode across City Hall Square and discussed the search with Peony, who explained that they should focus on First Phase infection sources and Third Phase native aberration targets rather than Second Phase Infected.
• Ronan returned to the office building with the BHD orders and discovered that Clara had also ordered lunch for seniors in the building.
• Yue Qin came downstairs to help Ronan manage the food boxes while he went to find a luggage cart.

Ronan and Yue Qin brought tea snacks to Ming Tang Culture, where Director Sha accused them of sneaking in as sasaeng fans and demanded they leave. The chapter ended with Sha appealing to Young Master He while Ronan remained in the elevator, facing a growing confrontation.

• Yue Qin apologized to Ronan for pressing him to confirm something, and he accepted her apology.
• Ronan and Yue Qin carried food boxes into the dedicated elevator, where a group led by Young Master He nearly knocked one over.
• A concealed Ability User reacted with sudden C+ level power, prompting Ronan to shield Yue Qin before the stranger recognized him and bowed.
• Yue Qin explained that they were delivering tea snacks for Sister Weiwei on Director Wu's instructions, and Ronan and Yue Qin showed Director Sha their badges.
• Director Sha accused Ronan and Yue Qin of being sasaeng fans, photographed them, and ordered them to leave the snacks behind and carry out the rest.
• Director Sha turned deferentially toward Young Master He, then angrily demanded that Ronan and Yue Qin get out.

Director Sha tried to impress Young Master He by throwing Ronan and Yue Qin out of the elevator and claiming Xi Wei's tea snacks. He realized Ronan was Xi Wei's lover and Young Master He's brother-in-law, and the chapter ended with Director Sha humiliated and fearing the consequences.

• Director Sha confiscated Ronan and Yue Qin's badges, locked the elevator floor, and called security to remove them.
• Director Sha searched the scattered food boxes for Xi Wei's tea snacks and found three identical custom boxes, leaving him unsure which one was hers.
• Director Sha ordered security to restrain Ronan and Yue Qin, then bent down to collect the boxes as Young Master He mocked him.
• Young Master He called Ronan Boss Ronan and revealed that he had sneaked out behind his sister's back, making Director Sha realize Ronan was Xi Wei's lover.
• Young Master He said Ronan could order his sister around, and Director Sha left the elevator terrified after the doors closed behind him.

Ronan and Yue Qin met He Donglou in the elevator, where He Donglou learned about Ronan’s cousin’s band and proposed a business partnership. After leaving Ronan, He Donglou learned that the military and Xia City government had upgraded Ronan’s threat assessments.

• Ronan introduced Yue Qin to He Donglou as his classmate while they rode the elevator to the fifty-sixth floor.
• He Donglou learned that Ronan’s cousin’s band, Mountain Stream, had signed with Ming Tang Culture and warned that the company was controlled by Castle Conglomerate and the Blood Flame Order.
• He Donglou met the members of BHD outside the elevator and proposed that Ronan help him judge when to invest in Ming Tang for a twenty-percent share.
• He Donglou left with his entourage, then privately joked about pursuing Ronan’s sister before learning from Lao Si that Ronan had been rated an A-level military threat and classified as red by Xia City’s government.
• Lao Si explained that Ronan’s mobility, destructive potential, and psychic perception made him dangerous throughout Xia City and advised He Donglou to maintain proper boundaries.

He Donglou visited Xi Wei and struggled to keep his associates from revealing a sensitive matter, while Ronan’s presence made him wary. Ronan then used Bai Yu’s curiosity to mislead Director Sha, leaving the director exposed as he secretly watched them.

• He Donglou discussed Ronan’s Flying Devil Fish and the Xia City Branch’s support for him with Lao Si before visiting Xi Wei.
• He Donglou sent his lackeys away and told Lao Si to keep them from discussing the secret event he had arranged.
• Ronan and Bai Yu encountered He Donglou’s departing group, and Yue Qin inferred that He Donglou was connected to the He family and the military.
• Bai Yu seized Ronan’s food boxes and demanded gossip about Xi Wei’s boyfriend, while Ronan noticed Director Sha secretly watching nearby.
• Ronan told Bai Yu that Yue Qin obeyed him because her brother had offended him, and Bai Yu spotted Director Sha, who froze at the corner.

Bai Yu and Clara found Ronan confronting Director Sha in the corridor, where Sha mistook Ronan’s explanations and behavior for the games of a dangerous womanizer. Ronan then exposed a Ming Tang Culture idol harassing Clara, while Sha decided Clara’s reaction was another hint about Ronan’s tastes.

• Bai Yu returned to the guard station and learned that Clara had run into Director Sha while carrying food to the seniors.
• Clara saw Ronan standing with Director Sha, then texted Bai Yu that Ronan was facing the wall and reflecting on his mistakes.
• Director Sha panicked over having offended Ronan and convinced himself that Ronan was using a false persona to toy with people.
• Ronan noticed activity in Room 5605 and learned that Lan Lin, a Ming Tang Culture idol, was flirting with Clara.
• Clara fled Room 5605, and Director Sha took her flustered reaction as a hint about Ronan’s interests.

Ronan used Director Sha’s mistaken assumptions to pass the authorization check and obtain an invitation, then secretly tested his ability to influence Sha’s mind and memory. He returned to Room 5621 while Sha was left confused, and Ronan sensed he could manipulate the information in another person’s mind.

• Director Sha praised the girl group and offered Ronan an invitation authorization code, hoping to make amends.
• Ronan discussed Mountain Stream and Madam Harold with Director Sha, then touched wristbands with him and passed the authorization check.
• Ronan returned to Room 5621 and told Bai Yu that Director Sha had only chatted with him.
• Ronan studied Director Sha’s Life Sketch and considered how the mental impact had affected his memory and brain.
• Ronan guided the dazed Director Sha around a corner so Lao Si would not notice him, leaving Sha confused about what had happened.
• Ronan examined his hand and sensed that he could manipulate another person’s consciousness, memory, and emotions.

Ronan investigated Director Sha and He Donglou’s lackeys, studying ordinary people’s memories and emotions as potential test subjects. Cat's Eye interrupted his research with a provocative test of her own, leaving Ronan flustered and demanding to know what she was doing.

• Ronan monitored Director Sha and used Six Ears to record He Donglou’s lackeys as they talked after leaving Tonghui Building.
• Bai Yu kicked a shoe toward Ronan during a scuffle with Xue Yuan and Clara, but he caught it before she retrieved it.
• Cat's Eye returned and made the BHD Group rehearse for Ronan, then asked him to observe the performance as an audience member.
• Ronan watched the BHD Group dance and sing, becoming visibly affected by their performance.
• Cat's Eye whispered in Ronan’s ear to test how he would react, and he angrily asked what she was doing.