Chapter Summaries

Ronan discussed Cat's Eye's fear that he might treat people as experimental subjects on a path to godhood, then used his research on people around him to build a hierarchy of Life Starry Sky. He woke from a meditative dream to find a woman’s face close to his, startled by a possible flaw in his newly formed divisions.

• Cat's Eye warned Ronan that his unusual nature made her fear becoming an experimental subject or sacrifice, and declared she would resist that fate.
• Ronan realized Cat's Eye's fear was connected to Director Sha's plans for BHD and his sister, then resumed studying Life Starry Sky with Cat's Eye as a reference.
• Ronan entered a meditative state and dreamed of separating Life Starry Sky into levels, using ordinary people, Xie Junping, and Zhai Gong as examples.
• Ronan noticed a possible contradiction in his hierarchy and woke to find a woman's face less than ten centimeters from his.

Ronan identified several suspected early-stage aberrant virus cases around City Hall Square and coordinated with Peony to investigate them, while attending an awkward lunch with Mo Ya, Hai Jing, and Mountain Stream Band. The chapter ended with Ronan realizing Mo Ya and Hai Jing were teasing him to ease the tense mood at the table.

• Ronan arrived at the practice room and found Xue Yuan, Clara, and Bai Yu ignoring him after he had slept through their rehearsal.
• Ronan contacted Peony about a suspected infected woman near Becky's Coffee Shop, and Peony left her date to assess the target.
• Ronan joined Mo Ya and Hai Jing for lunch after learning Shui Yi, Cat's Eye, and Yue Qin would not attend.
• Ronan shared locations of three more suspected targets with Peony, who arranged for Tianqing Security to provide emergency support near City Hall Square.
• Mo Ya and Hai Jing teased Ronan about his long phone call and his time with BHD, and Ronan suspected they were trying to lighten the tense atmosphere.

After Hai Jing exposed Ma Lou’s past, the band argued and drank until Ma Lou and Huang Xiangdong were dead drunk, leaving Ronan to guide them toward their performance. While helping an Aberration Infection investigation, Ronan encountered a stern middle-aged man who recognized Mo Ya, but his Life Sketch showed nothing.

• Ma Lou provoked Hai Jing by revealing that he had once been involved in Three Powders, and Hai Jing stormed out.
• Hai Jing returned with beer and hangover medicine, challenged the band to confront their past, and the group drank until Ma Lou and Huang Xiangdong were drunk.
• Ronan led the band through underground passageways while Peony updated him on four suspected infection cases and he asked her to surveil another possible target near City Hall Square.
• Ronan spotted a middle-aged man blocking Mo Ya’s group, and his mental scan revealed nothing in the man’s Life Sketch.

Ronan discovered that Luo Yuan had a visible body but no presence in the Life Starry Sky, and feared the stranger posed a threat to Mo Ya and his family. After Luo Yuan vanished from surveillance, Ronan’s group returned to Tonghui Building, where an impostor posing as deputy security leader Gao De joined them.

• Ronan detected Luo Yuan near Mo Ya and alerted Qin Yikun, who organized security personnel to monitor the stranger.
• Luo Yuan politely left Mo Ya’s group and boarded a flying car, but surveillance later showed no trace of him or his departure from the vehicle.
• Mo Ya and Wang Mo explained that they had met Luo Yuan at the Mancheng Music Festival, where he had spoken about wilderness treasure hunting.
• Qin Yikun led Mo Ya’s group through a reserved safety passage while security teams searched for Luo Yuan and reviewed surveillance footage.
• An impostor posing as deputy security leader Gao De entered the elevator with Ronan’s group, and neither Mo Ya nor Hai Jing recognized him.

As Mountain Stream Band prepared for its performance, Ronan noticed Shui Yi showed signs of drug use and learned that the missing Luo Yuan was a Gene Peddler who might be targeting Ronan’s genes. The investigation remained unresolved, and Ronan was left wondering why a female artist who entered the room with He Donglou seemed familiar.

• Hai Jing ordered Mountain Stream Band to sober up and rest, and Shui Yi returned after missing several calls, appearing intoxicated and showing signs of drug use.
• Ronan left the band’s practice room and asked Gao De for news about Luo Yuan, whose identity the Association had been investigating.
• Gao De identified Luo Yuan as a Wilderness Vagrant and Gene Peddler, and Cat's Eye explained why Gene Peddlers might target Ronan’s Limit Gene.
• Gao De warned that Luo Yuan’s Gene Peddler identity might be a cover and that the Association was still investigating his deeper secrets.
• He Donglou entered Room 5627 with a female artist, then hurried away after noticing Ronan, Gao De, and Cat's Eye inside.
• Ronan recognized the female artist as someone who had been with Lan Lin earlier and tried to recall what about her had seemed familiar.

Ronan weighed the risks of attending the Mancheng Music Festival while a Gene Peddler might be targeting him or Mo Ya, then prepared to meet her and the others backstage. In the corridor, he ran into Assistant Meng just as the members of BHD emerged.

• Cat's Eye warned Ronan that his presence could endanger the crowd, while Ronan considered whether Mo Ya might be the Gene Peddler's target.
• Gao De proposed splitting the security team between Ronan and Mo Ya, but Cat's Eye objected and Ronan decided that finding Luo Yuan was safest.
• Hai Jing asked Ronan to hold an elevator, and Ronan used Soul Power to press the backup elevator button from a distance.
• Ronan left the room with Gao De and encountered Assistant Meng in the corridor.
• The three members of BHD came out of Room 5621, and Bai Yu greeted Assistant Meng.

Ronan reunited with the BHD group and helped arrange an autograph request before learning that the Wilderness Explorers Association had taken over security work around City Hall Square. While waiting for the elevator with the bands, he investigated suspicious Tian Jie Community members and asked what the private Star Dream section was for, leaving the crowded group reacting suggestively.

• Bai Yu persuaded Assistant Meng to get Xi Wei’s signed glamour photo for Ronan’s cousin, Mo Peng.
• Cat’s Eye introduced Gao De as a professional security guard and warned the BHD members about possible danger.
• Peony told Ronan that the Wilderness Explorers Association had halted Three Gates Security’s surveillance work and sent him updated intelligence about five targets.
• Ronan joined Mountain Stream Band and the others at the backup elevator, where Huang Xiangdong and Ma Lou teased him and Bai Yu.
• Ronan found that the five targets were active in Tian Jie Community’s private Star Dream section, then asked the group what it was for, prompting Ma Lou to whistle suggestively.

Ronan investigated how the aberrant virus was spreading through the Star Dream Version circle while the group waited for the elevator, where He Donglou singled him out for a humiliating errand. When the elevator doors opened, a professional woman stood inside, leaving the lobby’s tense encounter unresolved.

• Ronan learned from Cat's Eye that the Star Dream Version was a semi-public hookup forum involving celebrities and their fans, then told Peony that the infected targets might be connected through an artist.
• Peony agreed to investigate Ronan’s theory and wished him luck as his partner.
• Director Wu and Director Sha arrived, shifting the elevator lobby into a tense display of company hierarchy.
• He Donglou arrived with Lao Si, winked at Shui Yi, and told Ronan to fetch unfinished pastries from Xi Wei’s room.
• The elevator arrived as Director Wu and He Donglou exchanged polite invitations to board, and its doors revealed a professional woman standing inside.

He Yueyin arrived at Ming Tang Culture’s elevator lobby and requisitioned Si Guosheng before summoning Ronan for Security Bureau business. Ronan followed her, leaving the clash between his social circle and the Inner World unresolved.

• He Yueyin’s imposing presence silenced the elevator lobby, and Si Guosheng formally identified himself before taking up a position beside her.
• He Donglou protested when He Yueyin ignored him, while she fixed her attention on Ronan and Ronan recognized that The Other Side needed his help.
• Ronan struggled with the conflict between his ordinary life and the Inner World but waited for He Yueyin to make the next move.
• He Yueyin exited the elevator, instructed Director Wu to send two company employees, and selected Director Sha and Ronan to accompany her.
• Gao De joined the group, and He Yueyin led them through the safety passage as He Donglou stormed after them.

He Yueyin separated Ronan from He Donglou and guided him into a private room, where she pressed him to focus on handling emergencies without hesitation. Ronan recognized why she had intervened and agreed to prepare himself before she opened the suitcase and told him to change.

• He Yueyin had Gao De sedate He Donglou and sent Lao Si to settle him in Xi Wei's suite.
• Cat's Eye challenged He Yueyin's decision to separate Ronan from his family, and He Yueyin explained that people needed to rely on themselves when trouble arose.
• He Yueyin had Director Sha find an empty room, then brought Ronan, Cat's Eye, Gao De, and Si Guosheng inside.
• Cat's Eye pointed out that Ronan had been separated from his sister, prompting him to reflect on how hesitation during an emergency could endanger him and Mo Ya.
• Ronan said he was ready to focus, and He Yueyin opened the suitcase and told him to change.

Ronan put on specially prepared protective equipment and activated a Spirit Wave Network defense field. He and the others then watched footage revealing that the driver who had transported Luo Yuan transformed into Luo Yuan before their eyes, though He Yueyin said the driver was likely an Ability User clone.

• Ronan put on the protective suit and equipment while He Yueyin guided him and Cat's Eye helped adjust the fit.
• He Yueyin helped Ronan tune Six Ears to a special frequency, activating a defense field powered by the Spirit Wave Network.
• Gao De explained that the silent driver from Luo Yuan's aircar was being interrogated at a nearby Police Station.
• The driver began speaking strange words, melted into an altered form, and reappeared with Luo Yuan's face.
• He Yueyin explained that the driver was probably a specially cultivated Ability User clone rather than Luo Yuan in a complete sense.

He Yueyin explained that Luo Yuan might be a rapidly proliferated Ability User clone linked to the wilderness Gene Exchange, while Ronan considered how to detect such enemies and asked why the march could not be evacuated. The chapter left Ronan probing the City Hall Square Security Center after learning that the clone itself remained at the square.

• He Yueyin assessed that a wilderness force could use Extraordinary Power to rapidly create and empower clones, possibly turning them into living weapons.
• Ronan connected the clone theory to his inability to find Luo Yuan in his Life Starry Sky and considered how to detect threats beyond his usual psychic methods.
• Ronan surveyed the enormous crowd at City Hall Square and asked why officials would not cancel the march and concert to reduce the danger.
• Cat's Eye argued that canceling the event could provoke a riot, while He Yueyin's preparations showed that Ronan was being protected as an important figure.
• Ronan learned that only cell samples had been sent to a laboratory and that the clone remained at the square, then extended his perception over the Security Center.

Ronan struggled to investigate the mindless Ability User clone until Peony’s data-analysis methods inspired him to rethink how Life Starry Sky could detect it. He identified the clone’s empty-shell state and its Body Cultivator power as possible leads, then began scanning it through bodily functions.

• Ronan tried to examine the restrained Ability User clone but found no mental characteristics to investigate.
• Peony sent Ronan her analysis of Sky Street Gossip Forum connections, including suspected links to Jingxuan Club, and planned to share the findings with Three Gates Security.
• Ronan recognized that Peony’s method of finding clues in fragmented data resembled how he had created Life Sketch and Life Starry Sky.
• Ronan reasoned that the clone was an empty physical shell driven from outside and that its Extraordinary Power should have left traces during its growth.
• Ronan used his knowledge of Body Cultivator abilities and the Vessel-Nature-Opportunity framework to begin scanning the clone’s bodily functions.

Ronan tried to examine the Ability User Clone Target remotely, then discovered a way to use the Life Starry Sky to detect similar targets across a vast area. After identifying a distinctive response, he stopped the group from leaving and encountered Ji Qiong in the elevator lobby.

• Ronan asked to inspect the Ability User Clone Target in person, and He Yueyin arranged for him to see it at the Shang Ding Building laboratory.
• He Yueyin and Cat's Eye discussed the gap between Ronan's perception and theirs while Ronan studied footage of the Clone Target fighting two security personnel.
• Ronan consulted Xue Lei, who identified the Clone Target's technique as involving concentrated energy and possible Format Fire.
• After failing to probe the Clone Target closely, Ronan used a burst of Soul Power to detect its distinctive echo among the people around it.
• Ronan spread detection waves throughout the Life Starry Sky and searched the returning signals for the target's signature.
• Ji Qiong arrived at the elevator lobby with a Ming Tang Culture employee, and Ronan invited them to ride with the group.

Ronan confronted Ji Qiong about her sexual relationships with Lan Lin and He Donglou, but the questioning turned violent when she resisted and Xiao You intervened. After Ronan shot Xiao You, Xiao You revealed an inhuman strength and fought He Yueyin before collapsing, leaving his identity and condition unresolved.

• Ronan stopped Ji Qiong in the passageway and questioned her about her relationships with Lan Lin and He Donglou.
• Ji Qiong tried to slap Ronan, but he caught her wrist and held her as she called for Director Sha to help.
• Xiao You rushed toward Ronan to stop him, and Ronan shot him through the shoulder with an electromagnetic gun.
• He Yueyin charged Xiao You and fought him in the corridor, while Cat's Eye pulled Ronan away from the dangerous aftershocks.
• Xiao You displayed powerful Body Cultivator abilities, then twisted and collapsed as his muscle tissue dissolved.

Ronan, He Yueyin, and Cat's Eye investigated the clone's connection to the Gene Exchange and left the damaged corridor with the unconscious Ji Qiong and Director Sha. A strange mass of flesh emerged from Xiao You's discarded backpack, and He Yueyin fired at it as its silver-gray mucus began changing.

• He Yueyin explained how the clone's combat ability had been weakened and shared her findings with the operation team.
• Ronan detected a faint information channel from the Extreme Domain and concluded that its source was monitoring something nearby.
• Ronan, He Yueyin, and Cat's Eye prepared to leave with Ji Qiong and Director Sha, while He Yueyin returned Ronan's handgun and advised him on when to shoot.
• After they entered the safety passage, a shadow emerged from Xiao You's discarded backpack and climbed the corridor wall.
• Ronan, He Yueyin, and Cat's Eye returned and found a convulsing mass of flesh coated in silver-gray mucus.
• He Yueyin fired a Format Fire-enhanced projectile into the mucus-covered wall, triggering a burst of fire and electricity.

He Yueyin, Ronan, and Cat's Eye discovered an artificial nest producing rats that carried genetic samples, then Gao De and a Deep Blue Walker destroyed the swarm and secured the area. Ronan realized a cosmetics bottle in Ji Qiong's bag had leaked during the chaos, suggesting their opponent had secretly transferred something, while an Extreme Domain Soul Power continued watching him.

• He Yueyin's shot triggered the slime and fungal strains, which produced a rat swarm that scattered to carry away genetic samples.
• Rats blasted through gaps in the wall, but Gao De broke in with a Deep Blue Walker and used Format Fire to destroy them and the flesh creature.
• Gao De identified the remains as a juvenile nest, and Ronan concluded that it had been artificially made.
• Ronan noticed that Ji Qiong's handbag was wet and found that a cosmetics bottle had broken, indicating that something had happened while his attention was on the rats.
• Ronan sensed the Extreme Domain Soul Power still observing him as the security personnel and logistics team arrived.

Ronan left City Hall Square for Shang Ding Building while evading a visitor from the Extreme Domain who had been watching him through clones. As the transport entered Ke Wang Communications Building, Ronan felt a new, overwhelming pressure closing in from every direction.

• Ronan realized that a visitor from the Extreme Domain was observing him through clones scattered around City Hall Square, so he chose to leave rather than risk the performance crowd becoming targets.
• Cat's Eye reported that suspected inferior genetic options had been removed from the performance lineup and that Ronan's younger brother was among the suspects; He Yueyin said the matter had been handled.
• He Yueyin directed the group toward Hangar 76 at Ke Wang Communications Building, while Cat's Eye learned that Three Gates Security had ended its contract and that Tianqing Security had requested information.
• Ronan's sense of being watched faded after the transport moved nearly a kilometer beyond the last clone-node, and he told He Yueyin and Cat's Eye that he had felt someone observing him.
• The transport entered the dedicated tunnel to Hangar 76, where Ronan's relief gave way to an intensifying, directionless pressure that felt like an enemy approaching from all sides.

An Ability User clone disguised as a Bōsōzoku pursued Ronan and the others through the tunnel, forcing He Yueyin’s team into a battle. The clone’s advanced energy-based powers overwhelmed their transport vehicle, and He Yueyin fought him as Ronan escaped the wreckage.

• Ronan sensed the approaching Bōsōzoku clone and warned that a threatening force seemed to loom behind him.
• He Yueyin ordered the team to delay the interception, while Gao De threw tactical grenades and He Yueyin donned her Deep Blue Walker exoskeleton.
• The Bōsōzoku smashed through a wall to evade the grenades and continued pursuing the transport vehicle, briefly disrupting Ronan’s mental perception with a shock.
• The Bōsōzoku burst through a wall ahead and struck the vehicle, pinning it against the tunnel wall and severely injuring the driver and co-driver.
• Gao De and Si Guosheng cut through the cab partition to help Ronan and Cat’s Eye escape as an intense heat source engulfed the vehicle.
• Ronan saw He Yueyin battling the Bōsōzoku, who used advanced energy manipulation rather than relying on physical strength.

As He Yueyin battled the Bōsōzoku, Ronan realized the clone was using a vast network of rats to absorb the costs of its attacks. With the group fleeing through the Freight Tunnel, Ronan and Cat’s Eye prepared to strike the Rat Tide from a distance, and Cat’s Eye began killing rats.

• Ronan warned Cat’s Eye that rats were entering the Freight Tunnel through its ducts and passages.
• Cat’s Eye discovered that the Bōsōzoku was linked to the rats through a network that transferred energy and damage to them.
• Ronan concluded that the rats had to be wiped out, but Gao De and Si Guosheng could not reach them effectively through the building.
• Ronan assigned Cat’s Eye to attack rats within a hundred meters while he handled the outer area.
• Cat’s Eye accepted the task and used her psychic interference to make two rats burst apart.