Chapter Summaries

Ronan and Liang Lu traveled to inspect a suspected fault near Zhan Xiao’s station, while Liang Lu explained the imperial naming customs and their old friendship. When the patrol system detected a possible living threat, Ronan followed military procedure and recommended isolating the suspected area and waiting for reinforcements.

• Liang Lu told Ronan they were using a spot inspection as an excuse to visit Zhan Xiao, his old friend and a fellow admirer of Su Yi.
• Liang Lu explained that Zhan Xiao’s surname was the imperial family name, so people addressed him by his given name, Xiao Field Officer.
• The patrol detection system sounded an alarm near the observation station, and Ronan deployed four Detection Orbs to scan the suspected area.
• Ronan’s scan found no visible damage, but the command center confirmed there had been no recent combat or shockwaves in the area.
• Liang Lu warned that the alarm could indicate a low-level Parasitic Phantom Spirit or Karmic Poison Living Entity that might already have a host.
• Ronan said they should treat the threat as Evil Poison, partition the suspected parasitic area, and hold the position until reinforcements arrived.

Ronan and Liang Lu investigated a suspected leak in the Relay Station, with Ronan using Segmentation while Liang Lu provided support. As Ronan controlled hundreds of mechanical ants with startling precision, he reflected on Evil Poison and its possible origins in the ruins of a primordial war.

• Liang Lu questioned Ronan for using Segmentation instead of Lighthouse, then advised him to use Lighthouse for protection and support when working alone.
• Ronan chose Segmentation, transferred control of the Detection Orbs to Liang Lu, and scattered hundreds of Segmentation Devices across the ground.
• Liang Lu formed a Lighthouse Safe Zone and linked their frameworks through a Standard Array to support Ronan.
• Ronan transformed the devices into mechanical ants and directed them into orderly formations around the suspected leak, impressing Liang Lu with his control.
• Ronan reflected on Evil Poison as a space-time-bounded toxin born from the remnants of powerful beings and a war over the Sky Abyss Spirit Network.

Ronan studied the Han Guang Star System’s methods for dealing with Evil Poison while guiding 528 Segmenters through a suspected contamination zone in Pipe B542. He detected the target and began the approved cleansing operation with extraordinary precision, as the Xuan Crystal Array’s power synchronized with him and Liang Lu.

• Liang Lu warned Ronan that a Karmic Poison Living Entity’s “living” nature was not the main concern and monitored his control of the Segmenters.
• Ronan applied the military manual’s principles, treating Evil Poison as distortions of spacetime environments and rules rather than as a toxin or germ.
• Ronan’s Segmenters detected a suspected contaminated area between Worker Bee Cells 3321 and 3328 in Pipe B542.
• Ronan reported that 528 Segmenters were in position and began segmentation after Auntie Kui approved the application.
• Liang Lu noticed the Standard Array had eliminated its margin of error in an exceptionally short time as the Xuan Crystal Array’s power swept over both soldiers.

After Ronan helped contain the Karmic Poison contamination, Liang Lu questioned how he had selected the Segmenter configuration so quickly. A new warning about Zhan Xiao and a call from Field Officer Sheng sent them back to the scene for a debriefing.

• Ronan and Liang Lu underwent questioning after the professional backup department sealed the contaminated area.
• Liang Lu discovered Ronan had selected a Segmenter configuration in record time and pressed him to explain how he had done it.
• Liang Lu received orders to place Zhan Xiao in sealed standby after suspected contamination appeared near his Work Area.
• Liang Lu and Ronan left the scene, and Ronan began studying the Segmenter manual while Liang Lu asked him for guidance.
• Field Officer Sheng called Liang Lu and requested that they return to the scene for a debriefing.

Liang Lu and Ronan reached the contaminated area for their debriefing and learned that several powerful figures might attend, turning the inquiry into a politically sensitive matter. There, they encountered Zhan Xiao, who greeted Liang Lu as he arrived.

• Liang Lu hurried to prepare concise work records for Field Officer Sheng Zhan, while Ronan returned with him to the incident site.
• Liang Lu reunited with his senior, Lu Ande, and introduced Ronan before they proceeded through Pipe B542 toward the contaminated area.
• Liang Lu explained that Lu Ande's presence might bring Shiyuan Baronet and other senior figures, including Tang Tong Star Baronet, Changyi Hui Baronet, and Zhan Xiao.
• Liang Lu and Ronan reached the contaminated area, where they saw a young field officer wearing a silver armband marked with a half-closed eye.
• Liang Lu recognized the field officer as Zhan Xiao, who greeted him and remarked on his frequent inspections.

Liang Lu introduced Ronan to Zhan Xiao, then explained how Lu Ande had survived catastrophic injuries from the Ancestral Domain Defense War and rebuilt his cultivation. The story left off as Lu Ande arrived and reacted to Liang Lu’s praise.

• Liang Lu and Zhan Xiao traded insults across the Tranquil Underworld Bureau’s safety boundary while Ronan learned that they were close.
• Zhan Xiao mocked Liang Lu for repeating himself, and Liang Lu retorted by reminding him of his past failures in judging Lu Ande.
• Liang Lu told Ronan that Lu Ande was only two years older than him and had earned the Empire’s Combat Hero title during the Ancestral Domain Defense War.
• Liang Lu described Lu Ande’s devastating injuries, his research into cultivation, and how he used implanted Machine Cores to rebuild his Furnace and return to the ranks.
• Lu Ande laughed and remarked that his rotten reputation had spread all the way to Two Beehive.

Ronan sensed that something was wrong with the Tranquil Underworld Bureau’s assessment of the contamination, and Field Officer Sheng Zhan rejected its conclusions. Sheng Zhan revealed a timer showing 0.2136 seconds, and the base’s alarms blared as the review reached a crisis.

• Shiyuan and Chang Yihui arrived with their subordinates to review the incident, while Liang Lu and Ronan stood by under orders.
• Shiyuan mocked the logistics department’s psychological treatment, and Ronan grew distracted by an unsettling sensation from the isolated incident site.
• The Tranquil Underworld Bureau reported that Zhan Xiao was likely responsible for low-intensity contamination caused by the new Space-Time Fortress framework, with further incidents possible.
• Ronan’s Segmenter activated and scratched his palm, sharpening his suspicion that the report was wrong.
• Sheng Zhan rejected the Bureau’s assessment, displayed complex projections, and checked a timer that read 0.2136 seconds.
• Blinding red lights and alarm sirens erupted.

Ronan concluded that the recurring Karmic Poison contamination came from the Xuan Crystal Array rather than his and Liang Lu’s segmentation work. After Sheng Zhan and the two dukes recognized a larger threat, Zhan Xiao explained that someone had connected a sewage pipe to the drinking water pipe, leaving the team to face a dangerous situation in the coming days.

• A low-intensity Karmic Poison alarm sounded again in the Worker Bee Cell 3321 to 3328 area, though Sheng Zhan confirmed that Liang Lu and Ronan’s earlier operation had followed procedure.
• Sheng Zhan’s real-time models showed the contamination would recur every two to three minutes and was linked to the New Type Time-Space Fortress architecture.
• Chang Yihui said he would report the situation to Duke Tang and called for a meeting with Shi Yuan to decide how to respond.
• Ronan reasoned that his work had been correct and identified the Xuan Crystal Array’s reinforcement measures as the likely source of the contamination.
• Zhan Xiao told Ronan and Liang Lu that someone had twisted a sewage pipe together with a drinking water pipe, warning that the next few days would be terrible.

After the Relay Station declared an emergency response, it reassigned logistics personnel and left maintenance teams to cover far larger areas in a moderate contamination zone. Liang Lu and Ronan adapted to the lax new procedures as they discussed the dangers of Evil Poison, then encountered insect-like bionic equipment in a pipeline tunnel.

• The Relay Station announced a Level Two Pollution Response and reassigned logistics workers, greatly expanding the maintenance teams' coverage areas.
• Liang Lu ordered Ronan to ignore low-level contamination alarms and focus on maintaining pipelines and equipment.
• Liang Lu explained that residents of the Han Guang Star System had learned to endure Evil Poison contamination and its long-term consequences.
• Ronan compared the danger with what Liang Lu had faced in the Ancestral Domain Defense War, and Liang Lu approved of his attitude.
• The Repair Vehicle slowed after detecting a large, insect-like piece of bionic equipment lying in the pipeline tunnel.

Liang Lu and Ronan’s Repair Vehicle was thrown off course by a shockwave as they approached the Soil Layer Voyager, but Ronan and Officer Gou Ye helped prevent a disastrous collision. The chapter ended with Gou Ye warning Ronan that his emergency controls had nearly crossed the line into illegal mental interference.

• Liang Lu and Ronan saw that the Soil Layer Voyager’s maintenance stations were overwhelmed by a huge backlog of damaged robots.
• Liang Lu proposed a repair competition as their vehicle approached the Voyager, but a sudden shockwave severed its magnetic restraint and sent it crashing through the entrance.
• Ronan’s rapid manual commands helped the vehicle recover, while Liang Lu’s attempt to take control failed because the Smart Brain prioritized Ronan’s actions.
• Liang Lu and Ronan met their superior, Officer Gou Ye, who was trapped between parked vehicles and had lost all four limbs.
• Officer Gou Ye explained that he had sacrificed his remaining leg to adjust the magnetic track and warned Ronan that otherwise he would have needed enough operations to constitute illegal mental interference.

Ronan and Liang Lu reported to Lieutenant Gou Ye, who reprimanded them and showed them how the frontline maintenance team operated aboard the Soil Layer Voyager. He assigned them a shared workstation and sent them to repair the damaged magnetic rail line and repair vehicle first.

• Gou Ye scolded Ronan and Liang Lu for their mistakes, and Ronan retrieved Gou Ye’s detached prosthetic leg.
• Gou Ye demonstrated how he used his prosthesis to operate machinery through controlled mental interference with a mechanical configuration.
• Gou Ye led Ronan and Liang Lu into the Soil Layer Voyager’s cramped central control room and explained the dangers and demands of their frontline duties.
• Gou Ye assigned Ronan and Liang Lu to workstation 4-92 as a pair and told them to become capable of operating it independently.
• Gou Ye ordered Ronan and Liang Lu to repair the damaged magnetic rail line and repair vehicle before starting work.

Ronan and Liang Lu continued repairing equipment at their workstation aboard the Soil Layer Voyager, which ranked first among the active lower-level workstations. During an inspection, Lieutenant Gou Ye praised their efficiency and asked Ronan whether their increased reuse of spare parts had affected the failure rate.

• Ronan requested two original chips and received approval to replenish their workstation's supplies.
• Liang Lu showed Ronan that their workstation ranked first, with a 2.4% spare-part loss rate and a 31% reuse rate.
• Ronan focused on reconstructing the Configuration designs of parts rather than on improving reuse statistics.
• Lieutenant Gou Ye arrived for an inspection, and Liang Lu began repairing equipment while Ronan answered the lieutenant's questions.
• Gou Ye praised their recent throughput and higher reuse rate, then asked Ronan whether their frugality had increased the failure rate.

Gou Ye paused Ronan and Liang Lu’s work to send them to training on Field Officer Sheng Zhan’s analysis of the crisis, then let them attend in turns. Ronan stayed at the workstation, where Gou Ye observed his unusual learning habits and offered to teach him techniques combining Fantasy School and Creationism School designs.

• Gou Ye reviewed Ronan and Liang Lu’s repair records, noting a 7.1 percent secondary failure rate, then paused their assignments for training.
• Gou Ye told Ronan and Liang Lu that they would study a training recording from Field Officer Sheng Zhan about the situation and the future of logistics work.
• Gou Ye changed the arrangement so they could attend training separately, and Liang Lu went first while Ronan chose to keep working.
• Ronan continued repairing equipment and used the Segmenter to study unusual cases, recording what he learned between assignments.
• Gou Ye praised Ronan’s skill, questioned his background in Configuration design, and explained the Segmenter’s ties to the Fantasy School.
• Gou Ye offered to teach Ronan imitation techniques that combined Fantasy School methods with Creationism School biomimetic designs.

Lieutenant Gou Ye reassigned Ronan from workstation 4-92 to 1-84 and introduced him to Fantasy Mimicry, which Ronan also shared with Liang Lu. Ronan reached the Military Classroom just as Sheng Zhan announced that the Relay Station could no longer hold out and that all work must support a counterattack or escape.

• Lieutenant Gou Ye reassigned Ronan to workstation 1-84, separating him from Liang Lu, and ordered him to study a training video before reporting for work.
• Ronan told Liang Lu about Fantasy Mimicry, and Liang Lu worried that Gou Ye was trying to poach him.
• Ronan sent Liang Lu an extra copy of the Fantasy Mimicry learning program before leaving the workstation.
• Ronan reflected that Liang Lu felt like a vivid, genuine person connected to reality, then headed to the First Military Classroom.
• Sheng Zhan began the training session by declaring that the Relay Station could not hold out long-term and that the crew must prepare for a counterattack or escape.

Ronan attended an interactive training session that explained the consequences of his space-time design and the urgent situation at the base. As the lesson outlined a three-week deadline and the need to modify equipment, Ronan began recalling the design that had caused the crisis.

• Ronan entered the Military Classroom and met an injured NCO who offered to watch the interactive version of the lesson with him.
• Ronan learned that the interactive training combined Sheng Zhan’s original lecture with answers to trainees’ questions.
• Sheng Zhan explained that the design had disrupted the enemy’s advantage and protected the base’s Xuan Crystal Array, but had also let Evil Poison contaminate the base.
• Sheng Zhan warned that the Relay Station’s Xuan Crystal Array could fail within four weeks and that the base had three weeks to complete deployment or receive reinforcements before preparing to break out.
• Sheng Zhan called for equipment upgrades, especially to the Machine Core, to filter and suppress Karmic Poison Contamination.
• Ronan recognized that his own design had caused the disaster, and the lesson began bringing his examination-era memories back to him.

Ronan watched Officer Sheng Zhan’s training course on the Relay Station’s wartime equipment overhaul and learned how its mass automation was shifting personnel outward. After the course froze, Ronan spoke with a non-commissioned officer who reacted violently when Ronan mentioned Qin Han’s former station, knocking over the medical robot treating him.

• Officer Sheng Zhan explained the Relay Station’s plan to mass-produce and deploy Anti-Pollution equipment while automating maintenance in Two Beehive.
• Ronan absorbed Officer Sheng Zhan’s lessons on Configuration design, though he struggled with the material on production, allocation, and Artificial Intelligence.
• The training video froze after Ronan made a sound, and a non-commissioned officer teased him before asking about his work station.
• Ronan said he was assigned to 1-95, which the non-commissioned officer recognized as Qin Han’s station, and explained that Non-Commissioned Officer Xian Zhu had gone to the front lines.
• The non-commissioned officer reacted with excitement to the assignment, then shuddered and flung his injured arm, knocking the medical robot to the floor as bloodied strips fell and twitched.

Ronan realized that Non-Commissioned Officer Xian Zhu’s treatment robot had malfunctioned because of Karmic Poison Contamination affecting Xian Zhu’s Machine Core. Officer Gou Ye ordered Xian Zhu to accept emergency care and asked Ronan whether he wanted to practice on him.

• A treatment robot injured Xian Zhu while treating his arm, and Ronan noticed the wound was worsening.
• Xian Zhu refused to go to the infirmary and asked Ronan to authorize a repair test in training slot 1-95.
• Ronan explained that Xian Zhu’s contaminated Machine Core likely caused the robot to make an erroneous operation.
• Officer Gou Ye arrived, confirmed Xian Zhu needed a Machine Core replacement, and ordered him to lie down for emergency treatment.
• Gou Ye told Ronan to learn from Xian Zhu’s acceptance of reality, then asked if Ronan wanted to practice on him.

Ronan used the Segmenter to diagnose and manually operate a damaged Emergency 5+ Battlefield Treatment Machine, revealing his exceptional control even without Cloud Core authorization. As Gou Ye approved the machine’s compensation request, violent tremors suddenly struck.

• Ronan diagnosed the treatment machine, identifying a damaged needle-knife module and a burned-out Central District chip.
• Ronan warned that Xian Zhu’s Machine Core readings met the standard for wartime treatment, and Gou Ye ordered him to prepare a treatment plan and request a Neurosurgery Module.
• Ronan used the Segmenter to remotely manipulate the machine, restoring its posture and calibrating its needle-knife arm.
• Gou Ye realized the machine was operating without approved Cloud Core compensation, while Xian Zhu watched it approach and called for it to stop.
• Gou Ye said the authorization had been approved, but violent tremors began before he could finish.

Ronan treated Xian Zhu while Gou Ye arranged for him to return to Two Beehive and encouraged Ronan’s training. As Ronan prepared to perform a Signal Blocking Technique, the Soil Layer Voyager began violently shaking and announced it was entering high-speed propulsion mode.

• Gou Ye instructed Ronan to prepare a treatment plan for Xian Zhu and explained the dangers of Karmic Poison Contamination.
• Gou Ye reported that the Cloud Core Compensation plan had been filed, then left Ronan to care for Xian Zhu and promised to make up Ronan’s training time.
• Ronan used Segmenters to block Xian Zhu’s pain during surgery, and Xian Zhu recognized the technique as something Gou Ye had taught him.
• A transport robot arrived with the module needed for Ronan to perform the Signal Blocking Technique on Xian Zhu.
• The Soil Layer Voyager was hit by a severe, sustained series of impacts, and an announcement ordered personnel to return to their posts before high-speed propulsion began.

Ronan and Xian Zhu rushed to their station during an emergency, where they prepared for the Soil Layer Voyager’s transformation and received a dangerous infrastructure repair assignment. As the Voyager approached the cracked Base-077 barrier, Xian Zhu warned Ronan and Liang Lu to focus on their work rather than speculate about the breach.

• Ronan stopped Xian Zhu from abandoning the surgery, carried the medical robot, and hurried with him toward their assigned station.
• Gou Ye placed Ronan and Liang Lu under Xian Zhu’s command as a temporary team, and the three rookies prepared for the Voyager’s transformation.
• Ronan and Xian Zhu secured themselves in the cramped station while the medical robot continued treating Xian Zhu’s wound.
• Ronan saw the Voyager’s machinery wrecked by impacts and learned that their assignment was to repair the broken Base-077 infrastructure.
• Xian Zhu warned Ronan and Liang Lu not to play savior, and they saw the Voyager approach a massive steel barrier split by a fiery-looking crack.