Chapter Summaries

Ronan and the others waited at the elevator as Chen Weican’s group returned, but Chen Weican abruptly left them behind to ride with a striking woman he called Sister Fang. Xue Lei’s anger rose over the insult and Chen Xiaolin’s discomfort, until Zhang Yingying arrived and introduced herself as one of Ronan’s admirers.

• Chen Xiaolin urged Xue Lei to greet Chen Weican and the Mutual Aid Society executives, but Xue Lei hesitated while Ronan set the elevator to waiting mode.
• A tall, stern woman entered the hall with four burly men and walked straight into the elevator, prompting Chen Weican to recognize her as Sister Fang.
• Chen Weican blocked the others from entering and shut the elevator doors, leaving Chen Xiaolin, Xue Lei, and the rest behind; his arm also struck Chen Xiaolin’s chest.
• Xue Lei grew angry at Chen Weican’s conduct, while the Mutual Aid Society executives made excuses and Chen Xiaolin tried to calm her boyfriend.
• Zhang Yingying arrived and eased the tense atmosphere, then introduced herself to the group as one of Ronan’s admirers.

Zhang Yingying gave Ronan an unexpected membership assessment during the elevator ride, and Six Ears revealed a thought-input interface that reminded him of the External Neuron and his grandfather’s research. Ronan completed his profile as System Stream, while Zhang Yingying realized he could use the interface despite not having awakened.

• Chen Xiaolin and Xue Lei entered the elevator with the Mutual Aid Society’s higher-ups, and Ronan followed Zhang Yingying to the back.
• Zhang Yingying inserted Six Ears into Ronan’s ear and made the elevator ride the deadline for his professional association membership assessment.
• Ronan analyzed Six Ears with the Dark Heavy Chains and discovered that it used thought-input to display a registration interface.
• Ronan recognized the technology as a possible clue linking the External Neuron, his grandfather’s research, and Ability Users.
• Ronan selected System Stream on his profile, and Zhang Yingying grabbed him in excitement after realizing he had accessed the interface without awakening.

Zhang Yingying explained Six Ears and helped Ronan join the Spirit Wave Network, where he connected with her and uploaded his Contemplation Graphic. He accepted a request from his assigned secretary, Fang Yueyin, who contacted him in a distinctly military manner and asked for his location.

• Zhang Yingying dragged Ronan aside and explained that Six Ears was a Thought Instrument connected to the Spirit Wave Network.
• Zhang Yingying guided Ronan through adding her as a friend, and Ronan uploaded his Contemplation Graphic to his profile.
• Ronan received a friend request from 5156, whom Zhang Yingying identified as his temporary secretary from the association.
• Ronan accepted a wartime encrypted communication request, and Fang Yueyin introduced herself and asked what floor he was on and for his location.

After Ronan learned that the Association needed him to help detect dormant Darkside Species, he worried that his supposed Psychic ability was not genuine. The chapter left him preparing to practice drawing before the evaluation continued.

• Ronan challenged Zhang Yingying over the Association’s plans to keep him in the city and evaluate his Psychic abilities.
• Zhang Yingying showed Ronan an announcement describing the search for the Human-Faced Spider and infected people, and explained that Psychics were scarce in Xia City.
• Ronan considered how the Demon Rune and his Format Power might let him control the Human-Faced Spider’s power, while worrying that the Association might consider him infected.
• Zhang Yingying explained that Ronan would detect dormant Darkside Species rather than fight on the front lines, and mentioned that He Yueyin had been assigned as his secretary.
• Ronan realized his perception differed from a Psychic’s long-range ability and opened his notebook and drawing software to practice.

Ronan tried to draw something that would prove his psychic abilities, but sketching the Demon Rune alerted him to a supernatural danger around Xue Lei and Chen Xiaolin. He rushed toward them and was thrown into the elevator, where Xue Lei confronted The Visitor.

• Ronan admitted he would accept the Professional Association’s benefits and tried to draw something to reproduce his earlier psychic experience.
• Ronan unconsciously drew the Demon Rune as Xue Lei and Chen Xiaolin passed by on their way to the elevator.
• Ronan recalled a Secret Star Forum post about a couple who shared a nightmare, then shouted for Xue Lei as the Demon Rune reacted from two directions.
• Ronan saw a Burning Demon Shadow merging with Xue Lei while another attacker struck him from behind and hurled him toward the elevator.
• Xue Lei pulled Ronan into the elevator and charged The Visitor, but the shadow’s momentum threw Xue Lei into the back of the car.

Xue Lei fought the Black Suit inside a trapped elevator while Ronan discovered that their struggle had drawn two Burning Demon Shadows together into a far stronger creature. Ronan realized the fused shadow could overpower him, leaving the fight unresolved.

• The elevator dropped and locked in place, trapping Xue Lei, Ronan, Chen Xiaolin, and the Black Suit inside.
• Xue Lei traded brutal blows with the Black Suit and positioned himself between the attacker and Ronan and Chen Xiaolin.
• Chen Xiaolin tried to make the fighters stop, so Ronan hypnotized her into silence.
• Ronan saw that the Burning Demon Shadows from Xue Lei and the Black Suit had fused and were draining both fighters' Qi and Blood.
• Ronan sensed that the fused shadow had devoured at least ten mature beings and was several times stronger than his Demon Rune.

Ronan faced the Human-Faced Spider in the elevator as it fed on the fear and fighting around it, and he realized his Dark Heavy Chains might be stronger while he was outside his body. Just as he confronted the creature in his Soul Body, someone fell through the emergency hatch and struck the Black Suit.

• Ronan confronted the Human-Faced Spider, but its Fearful Roar terrified Chen Xiaolin and drained her of bloody light before she fainted.
• The Black Suit attacked Xue Lei, whose fighting and surging Qi and Blood fed the Human-Faced Spider as Ronan struggled to pierce its defenses.
• Ronan realized the Dark Heavy Chains had been strongest in his out-of-body state and used them to pull himself into a Soul Body.
• Ronan faced the Human-Faced Spider in the Mental Layer as the elevator's emergency hatch fell and a figure crashed onto the Black Suit.

Ronan and his allies drove off the Human-Faced Spider, and Ronan absorbed a piece of the creature’s chaotic information through his External Neuron. The chapter left him recovering in the elevator as an unfamiliar hand reached toward him.

• A newcomer knocked out Xue Lei and the Black Suit, cutting off the Human-Faced Spider’s supply of Qi and Blood.
• The newcomer’s Format Fire repelled the Human-Faced Spider’s Siege Hammer, while Ronan’s Dark Heavy Chains restrained the creature.
• The newcomer slashed the Human-Faced Spider, which dispersed itself to escape as Ronan’s chains tore away and devoured a piece of it.
• Ronan returned to his body, overwhelmed by exhaustion and the information contained in the piece he had absorbed.
• Ronan sent the chaotic information into the External Neuron, then saw a hand reach out before him.

Ronan met He Yueyin, his temporary secretary, after the operation and learned that the Human-Faced Spider crisis had exposed serious communication and coordination problems. He Yueyin began briefing him on emergency training as a live structural diagram of the Shuiyi Bluestone Hotel appeared on his interface.

• He Yueyin introduced herself as Ronan’s temporary secretary and helped him to his feet.
• He Yueyin explained that Xue Lei was temporarily unconscious and that the other woman might need hospitalization and psychological care.
• Ronan noticed the ground trembling, and He Yueyin explained that it came from pointless venting after the operation failed.
• Ronan asked about the assessment and the Human-Faced Spider operation, revealing that Zhang Yingying had given him little information.
• He Yueyin directed Ronan to review encrypted Six Ears messages and proposed emergency communication training for the next day.
• A structural diagram of the Shuiyi Bluestone Hotel appeared on Ronan’s interface with moving indicators.

Ronan joined He Yueyin and the Association members in conference mode as she used hotel surveillance footage to explain how the Human-Faced Spider had infiltrated their operation. The analysis left Zhang Yingying looking miserable when the elevator reached her floor.

• Ronan saw that only about fifteen Association members were covering the crowded hotel and questioned whether they could find the Human-Faced Spider.
• He Yueyin said that a small, well-coordinated group could defeat an avatar and criticized the Association's scattered deployment.
• He Yueyin showed footage of Xue Lei and Chen Xiaolin leaving the Mutual Aid Buffet while the Black Suit followed them.
• He Yueyin revealed that Black Wolf was an Association member who had become a slave of the Human-Faced Spider and said Ronan's warning had prompted the first response.
• He Yueyin credited Zhang Yingying with responding first, and Ronan found her looking dejected when the elevator reached the eighty-first floor.

He Yueyin detailed the Association team’s failures during the operation against the Human-Faced Spider and called for them to discuss better tactics. As the team began to regroup, Zhang Yingying privately questioned whether her once-praised White Rainbow Strike had lost its edge.

• He Yueyin told Ronan that Zhang Yingying had noticed Black Wolf’s abnormality but lacked the offensive power to stop him from attacking Mister Luo.
• He Yueyin criticized Zhang Yingying’s response to the elevator incident and the action team’s failure to support Ronan for seventy-four seconds.
• He Yueyin condemned the poor planning, lack of briefing, and ineffective command that had led to the mission’s failure.
• Zhang Yingying urged the silent Association members to meet and discuss tactics, prompting them to fill the conference channel with chatter.
• Zhang Yingying asked Ronan to draw her portrait, then reflected on He Yueyin’s criticism and wondered whether her White Rainbow Strike had grown dull.

Ronan and He Yueyin exchanged information about the Human-Faced Spider, its growing power, and Ronan’s chains, while Ronan realized He Yueyin had been the Deep Blue Walker who killed the Burning Demon Shadow. The meeting was interrupted as Ability Users arrived, leaving Zhang Yingying to introduce them.

• He Yueyin asked Ronan about the chains he had used to restrain the Human-Faced Spider’s avatar, and he explained that they were a format based on his grandfather’s theories.
• He Yueyin described how her comrades had destroyed a Human-Faced Spider avatar aboard the Lanshan, and Ronan recognized her as the Deep Blue Walker who had killed the Burning Demon Shadow.
• Ronan suggested that the Human-Faced Spider had grown stronger by devouring others, while He Yueyin noted its increased ability to infect and drain Black Wolf.
• He Yueyin said that intelligence on the Human-Faced Spiders was incomplete, that Quantum Corporation was withholding information, and that the military and Association leaders had returned to the Research Zone.
• Ability Users arrived, and Zhang Yingying began introducing them while Ronan noticed that the Black Shell Beetle was absent.

During the meeting, Ronan connected his drawing of a river and its fish to the Human-Faced Spider’s influence over everyone in the hotel. When Cat’s Eye described his sketch, Ronan’s Mental Layer reacted, and she suddenly collapsed bleeding from one eye.

• He Yueyin led the meeting and gathered information to map the Human-Faced Spider’s movements through the hotel.
• Ronan reflected on his intuitive psychic ability and sketched the attendees as fish caught in a river, with himself and He Yueyin anchored against the current and the Human-Faced Spider lurking below.
• Ronan realized the Human-Faced Spider had likely examined everyone before choosing Black Wolf, and that its influence connected the people in the room.
• Bamboo Pole pressed Ronan to explain the range and practical use of his psychic ability, while Zhang Yingying said he needed Old You’s guidance.
• Cat’s Eye described Ronan’s sketch to the group, then fell backward as blood seeped from the corner of her eye after Ronan’s pen and Mental Layer reacted.

Cat's Eye's attempt to trace Ronan's vital energy while he worked triggered a backlash that knocked them both unconscious as Ronan's abilities absorbed information from her Super-Distance Perception. Ronan recovered, and the External Neuron finished decoding Cat's information, leaving him to inspect the changed Imitation Paper Soft Screen.

• Cat's Eye used Peeping to trace Ronan's vital energy, and the Dark Heavy Chains pierced her and extracted information about her Super-Distance Perception.
• The Ability Users confronted Ronan, but Zhang Yingying scolded them for disturbing a spiritualist at work and defended him.
• Cat's Eye regained consciousness and admitted she had been examining Ronan's energy flow, while He Yueyin noticed that Ronan was unresponsive.
• He Yueyin tried to contact Old You and asked Zhang Yingying to reach Lao Gao and Lao Bai for help.
• Ronan woke and corrected Zhang Yingying, saying he was System Stream, then told He Yueyin he was fine.
• Ronan focused on the External Neuron as it decoded Cat's information, then saw that the Imitation Paper Soft Screen's icons had changed.

Ronan analyzed the Human-Faced Spider through his Contemplation Graphic and used Cat's Eye to help trace an event on his sketch. As the Ability Users gathered to follow his investigation, Cat's Eye realized that Ronan's drawing was draining and consuming her.

• Ronan saw that analysis of the Human-Faced Spider had begun on the Imitation Paper Soft Screen, but the progress was only 1%.
• Ronan asked Cat's Eye to look at his sketch, and she focused on a fish that reminded her of herself.
• Ronan drew lines around the fish, and Cat's Eye felt as though an invisible force was dissecting and devouring her.
• Ronan used Project 001 to ask He Yueyin for help locating a matching area on the Shuiyi Bluestone Hotel map.
• The Ability Users joined Project 001 while Cat's Eye remained by the table, losing strength and realizing she believed Ronan had set a Devil Ritual in motion.

Cat's Eye was trapped by the Human-Faced Spider but seized a strange chain that restored her strength and linked her to Ronan. Meanwhile, Ronan's diagram led the team to a KTV Club across the 16th, 17th, and 18th floors of Shuiyi Bluestone Hotel, and he suggested Cat's Eye had been there before.

• Cat's Eye became paralyzed with fear as the Human-Faced Spider approached in the Mental Layer.
• A glowing chain pierced Cat's Eye and locked around her body and soul, lifting her from the darkness and restoring her strength.
• Cat's Eye entered Project 001 but stayed silent, suspecting Ronan controlled the chain keeping her alive.
• He Yueyin overlaid Shuiyi Bluestone Hotel's floor plans and identified a six-pointed-star layout spanning a KTV Club on the west side of the 16th, 17th, and 18th floors.
• Ronan said the location was connected to the Human-Faced Spider's current state and suggested Cat's Eye had probably been there before, drawing everyone's attention to her.

Cat's Eye joined He Yueyin's team as they descended to investigate the Human-Faced Spider's growing strength, while struggling with the invisible mental chains binding her to Ronan. At a KTV, she discovered a party hosted by the Mystic Studies Society and subdued a young man who tried to grope her.

• Cat's Eye told the group she had visited the eighteenth-floor KTV but sensed no hexagram, and He Yueyin organized a coordinated descent to investigate the Human-Faced Spider.
• Thirteen people split into two groups, with Cat's Eye scouting ahead while the others stayed in communication through Six Ears.
• As she moved away from Ronan, Cat's Eye found that the invisible chains still bound her to him and seemed to tighten on the Mental Layer.
• Cat's Eye entered the KTV and reported that she had found no Ability Users, while He Yueyin told her not to disturb the scene before Mister Luo arrived.
• A young man from the Mystic Studies Society tried to grope Cat's Eye, and she knocked him unconscious.

Ronan and He Yueyin investigated a club linked to the Mystic Studies Society and found a drug-filled gathering in private room 1613. Their observations suggested that the Human-Faced Spider had appeared there.

• Cat's Eye and Bamboo Pole identified a drunk student from Zhi Xing Institute and uncovered the Mystic Studies Society's financial ties to the club.
• Ronan and He Yueyin entered the club and asked whether members of the Mysterious Society were still in room 1613.
• Octopus used a hallucinogen on the room's occupants, while Cat's Eye brought in the drunkard and Ronan's group took over the room.
• Ronan joked with Octopus and Zhang Yingying as He Yueyin examined the room's decor and central lamp stand.
• Ronan traced patterns in the floor toward the lamp stand and told He Yueyin that the Human-Faced Spider should have appeared there.

Ronan and the others investigated the Human-Faced Spider’s energy traces and learned that a Secret Cult might be involved. As He Yueyin ordered the team to withdraw, a projection revealed the cult’s identity as the Justice Cult.

• Ronan pointed out that the Human-Faced Spider fed on negative emotions and that patterns around them appeared to channel energy toward the lampstand projector.
• He Yueyin detected traces of Darkside radiation on the projector, and Zhang Yingying explained how powerful Ability Users founded dangerous Secret Cults.
• He Yueyin assessed Ronan as having partly reached or surpassed an ordinary Awakened’s level, though his abilities were severely unbalanced.
• He Yueyin said the Association had been notified and ordered the team to suspend the operation against the Human-Faced Spider and withdraw.
• The lampstand projector replaced its pink light with an image of black and white scales, and Octopus identified the group as the Justice Cult.

After the battle with the Human-Faced Spider, Ronan learned more about the Justice Cult and received warnings from He Yueyin about his physical weakness and the dangers of imbalance. As He Yueyin and Zhang Yingying argued over her advice, Ronan answered a call from his aunt asking where he was.

• He Yueyin ordered the team to retreat and warned them to stay away from Tiandu Water Village until the Association gave further instructions.
• Ronan added Octopus and Rock Blast as friends, while Cat's Eye left after responding coldly to him.
• He Yueyin explained that Ronan had infringed on Cat's Eye's free will while making the Psychic Map and advised him to communicate and apologize in similar situations.
• He Yueyin rated Ronan's mental abilities C+ or B- but his physical abilities F, warning that severe imbalance could have disastrous consequences.
• He Yueyin criticized Zhang Yingying for joking about Ronan and for describing Secret Cult leaders as powerful madmen, prompting Zhang Yingying's resentment.
• Ronan's aunt called and asked where he was after seeing that the banquet had ended.