Chapter Summaries

Ronan used Ink and his Soul Body to investigate the blue business van while Rock Blast tailed it in a military-modified vehicle. The van’s occupants detected the surveillance, and Yan Yongbo sent a Metal Beetle toward their pursuers.

• Ink entered Rock Blast’s vehicle, and Ronan explained that he could share senses with the crow.
• Ronan declined to attack the blue business van immediately, saying he wanted to investigate a complicated case from more than ten years ago.
• Ronan’s Soul Body scanned the van but encountered interference from its unusual shell.
• Yan Yongbo and his bodyguard detected a possible supernatural scan and identified Rock Blast’s vehicle as a likely tail.
• Yan Yongbo transformed a metal needle into a tiny Metal Beetle and flicked it toward the pursuing vehicle, which then slowed down.

Ronan sensed a mechanical bug seize control of Rock Blast’s vehicle, forcing it down into Xia City’s Recycling Layer while Rock Blast sent Ink ahead to investigate. The vehicle entered the dangerous slum, where gangs on modified motorcycles began pursuing it.

• Ronan sensed a tiny beetle-like object jump onto the Raging Tiger off-road vehicle, and its Smart Brain took control of the windows, speed, and route.
• Rock Blast concluded that someone had discovered them and was remotely controlling the vehicle.
• Rock Blast smashed a window and threw Ink out, ordering it to follow their targets while he stayed aboard.
• Ronan chose to pursue Rock Blast rather than the blue business vehicle carrying Yan Yongbo, worried about the mechanical bug and Rock Blast’s danger.
• The Raging Tiger descended into the Recycling Layer, where gangs on modified motorcycles spotted it and began chasing it.

Rock Blast fought off the Black Gang members pursuing the Raging Tiger and continued through the Recycling Layer while Ronan scouted from a distance. As Ronan noticed an enormous object approaching on the road ahead, Rock Blast asked him to find a way to stop the vehicle.

• Rock Blast drove the Raging Tiger through the Recycling Layer and taunted the Black Gang members who surrounded it.
• Rock Blast sent an attacker flying with a chain, then knocked the motorcycle riders off their bikes after one shot him with a shotgun.
• Rock Blast rode alongside the Raging Tiger and dodged a sniper's shot, while Ronan revealed that the Human-Faced Spider's Siege Hammer had taken out the sniper.
• Ronan used his Soul Body's broad sensory range to scout the area and recognized how effectively his abilities worked in the dangerous surroundings.
• Rock Blast asked Ronan to scout ahead and find a moving obstacle to stop the vehicle, and Ronan sensed an enormous object approaching on the road.

Ronan and Rock Blast were ambushed by armed Black Gang members driving a modified road roller, and the Raging Tiger off-road vehicle was crushed in a head-on collision. The man immune to Ronan’s Siege Hammer escaped the blast and attacked Rock Blast, leaving Ronan focused on the machinery-like red glow in his eyes.

• Ronan spotted a massive modified road roller approaching while Rock Blast’s Raging Tiger continued straight toward it under Smart Brain control.
• Ronan attacked the Black Gang members with Siege Hammers, but one gunman with glowing red eyes resisted the attack and fired at him.
• Rock Blast dodged the gunfire, leaped onto the road roller, and knocked its driver and other armed men from the cab.
• Ronan warned Rock Blast to get out just before a Black Gang member detonated a grenade, and another attacker struck Rock Blast and sent him flying.
• The Raging Tiger collided with the road roller and was pushed beneath its vibration drum as the red-eyed attacker jumped onto it.

Ronan watched a Modified Human retrieve a tiny Metal Beetle from Yan Yongbo’s wrecked vehicle, suspecting it was connected to the vehicle’s loss of control. The man swallowed the beetle, introduced himself as Jack, and declared that he was Black Jack, the biggest figure there.

• Ronan identified the scarred, mechanically modified man and discussed his unusual presence in the Recycling Layer with Rock Blast.
• Rock Blast found his motorcycle and returned to challenge the Modified Human.
• Ronan watched the Modified Human search the off-road vehicle’s Central Control Console for the Metal Beetle.
• The Modified Human retrieved the rice-sized Metal Beetle and examined it while Ronan tried to scan its structure.
• Rock Blast confronted the man and asked his name, and the Modified Human swallowed the Metal Beetle before calling himself Black Jack.

Ronan used Ink and the Human-Faced Spider to establish a mental network and control the Black Gang members, then contacted Rock Blast, who had lost Jack during the chase. Ronan offered to share the intelligence he had gathered and asked where Rock Blast was.

• Jack stole a motorcycle and escaped, while Rock Blast pursued him and left Ronan and Ink behind.
• Ronan used Ink to frighten the Black Gang, then had the Human-Faced Spider draw the gang members into the Gestalt and place them under his control.
• Ronan observed how the Human-Faced Spider controlled the Black Gang and recognized that he had established an Area Network through the mental connection.
• Rock Blast contacted Ronan and said Jack had escaped through the alleys after shooting at him.
• Rock Blast offered to help Ronan buy a faster bird, and Ronan agreed before asking where Rock Blast was.

Ronan and Rock Blast searched De Shang Mansion for Jack, learning about its hidden Black Gang tunnels and underground fighting arena as Ronan’s psychic perception guided them through the Recycling Layer. They reached a dead end, while Rock Blast warned Ronan about Cat’s Eye’s extraordinary perception.

• Ronan flew with Ink and the Human-Faced Spider through the Recycling Layer, sensing its chaotic Emotional Turbid Current and realizing the spider had outgrown its former food.
• Rock Blast showed Ronan an entrance to De Shang Mansion and explained the building’s guarded Isolation Zone and the Black Gang tunnels beyond it.
• Ronan shared intelligence that Jack hosted and refereed an underground fighting arena at De Shang Mansion, apparently restricted to minors.
• Ronan used his panoramic perception to guide Rock Blast through the Black Gang passages, prompting Rock Blast to compare his ability with Cat’s Eye’s long-range Soul Sense.
• Rock Blast warned Ronan not to offend Cat’s Eye, and the two reached a dead end blocked by a steel-reinforced wall.

Ronan and Rock Blast infiltrated the Underground Fighting Arena to find Jack, discovering a hidden passage and a lounge where a lone young fighter watched a clip of Jack refereeing a match. The fighter’s calm reaction stirred the Human-Faced Spider, leaving Ronan wary of what might happen next.

• Ronan explained that Jack controlled the gray area linking the Isolation Zone to gamblers and the Underground Fighting Arena.
• Ronan used hypnosis to make someone inside open the emergency passage, and Rock Blast helped conceal the unconscious man and enter.
• Rock Blast saw highlights of children fighting viciously and reacted with disgust at their brutality.
• Ronan and Rock Blast hid in a lounge, where they spotted Jack in a recorded match clip.
• A pale young fighter watched the clip without reacting to Rock Blast, and the Human-Faced Spider began to stir restlessly.

Ronan and Rock Blast watched Jack execute both contestants after declaring their match false, and Rock Blast prepared to attack the Fighting Arena. They met Raven, the adolescent scheduled for the next match, while the Human-Faced Spider became intensely interested in him.

• Jack declared the match between the two boys false, crushed them to death, and called it a draw.
• Rock Blast smashed the display and started toward the Fighting Arena, but Ronan warned him that Jack might escape.
• Raven noticed Rock Blast speaking to the crow and asked to speak with Mr. Crow.
• Raven introduced himself as the Plunderer, said his next match would be his hundredth and last, and asked Ink for a blessing.
• The Human-Faced Spider sensed a pure, bright seed in Raven and found him delicious.

Ronan and Rock Blast learned that Raven’s hundredth victory would earn her the chance to face the Path of Judgment, though Rock Blast recognized it as a trap designed to keep the fighters from escaping alive. Raven entered the ring for her final battle, determined to fight her own way out and honoring the memory of her brother.

• The Human-Faced Spider fixated on Spiritual Seeds, but Ronan restrained it with the Dark Heavy Chains.
• Rock Blast knocked unconscious the man who came to summon Raven for her hundredth match.
• Raven explained that reaching one hundred matches let her choose the Path of Judgment, and Rock Blast warned her the arena would never let her leave alive.
• Raven refused Rock Blast’s offer to escape with him, saying she would fight her way out as she and her brother intended.
• The crowd jeered at Raven as she stepped into the ring, while Rock Blast started toward her and stopped when she turned her clear gaze on him.

Raven defeated the much larger Gunpowder Barrel in seconds, then shocked the Fighting Arena by choosing the Path of Judgment. The crowd erupted as the arena revealed that Jack, the referee who killed Raven’s brother, would face her in the final stage.

• Ronan searched the Fighting Arena for Jack but could not locate him, while Rock Blast worried about Raven’s upcoming fight.
• Raven broke Gunpowder Barrel’s shin with a kick and knocked him unconscious with a second strike, winning the match quickly.
• Raven rejected the referee’s attempt to announce her victory and declared that she chose the Path of Judgment.
• The Fighting Arena’s projectors showed the three stages of the Path of Judgment and identified Jack as the final judge.
• The projectors displayed Jack killing Raven’s brother and other contestants, and the crowd roared for judgment.

Ronan tracked Jack through a call about Raven’s challenge and discovered Jack undergoing electrical training high above the Fighting Arena. Jack seemed able to detect Ronan’s Soul Body, leaving the two wary and facing one another in silence.

• Ronan sensed the anxious contact in a VIP box and followed his call with Jack, learning that Raven was challenging the Path of Judgment.
• Raven killed De Rong with a close-range attack, saying it was for the seventy percent who had been eliminated.
• Jack ordered the ring’s protective walls raised and arranged a Beast King Battle, planning to send Raven against Mr. Ma’s collection.
• Ronan traced Jack to a private training room on the 141st floor of De Shang Mansion, where Jack was connected to equipment delivering powerful electric currents.
• Jack detected Ronan’s Soul Body as a vague shadow, and both of them watched each other warily without making a move.

Ronan and Jack negotiated while Jack used a machine to channel electricity through his body, but Ronan cut the power after realizing the machine was keeping Jack occupied. Ronan refused to continue talking unless Jack provided information, leaving their standoff unresolved.

• Jack offered to compensate Ronan and tried to persuade him to negotiate, while Ronan struggled to communicate through his usual networks.
• Ronan examined Jack's machine and realized the electricity seemed to benefit Jack rather than harm him.
• Jack explained that a transceiver in his body could convert Ronan's spirit waves into speech, and they began communicating directly.
• Jack tried to entice Ronan with information about Yan Yongbo, Quantum Corporation, Prototype Format, the first Burner, and the Deep Blue World, but Ronan demanded to hear about the Metal Beetle instead.
• Ronan used hypnosis and the Human-Faced Spider's Fishing Method to get a property manager to cut power to the floor, shutting down Jack's machine.
• Ronan told Jack he wanted information and refused to keep communicating, while Jack raged in the darkness.

Ronan used the Human-Faced Spider to investigate Jack and discovered a filament linked to a Metal Beetle running through Jack’s brain, apparently resembling External Neurons. Jack erupted in dark flame and trapped Ronan in a distorted field, leaving Ronan to recognize the power as Format Fire from Burners.

• Ronan sent the Human-Faced Spider into Jack, which found that Jack’s emotions were simulated by a mechanical core in his brain.
• The Human-Faced Spider discovered a filament transformed from Yan Yongbo’s Metal Beetle, with electrical branches spreading through Jack’s brain.
• Jack sensed the intrusion and erupted in dark flame, blasting the Human-Faced Spider out of his body.
• Ronan tried to teleport away, but Jack’s invisible magnetic field distorted space and left him trapped nearby.
• Ronan recognized Jack’s power as Format Fire used by Burners.

Jack pursued Ronan through De Shang Mansion, using his Deep Sea Magnetic Field and powerful attacks to corner him. Ronan’s escape became more difficult after the Human-Faced Spider was injured, while Jack remained focused on him despite the building’s security system activating.

• Jack broke through the training room wall and revealed his control of the Deep Sea Magnetic Field, which weighed heavily on Ronan’s Soul Body.
• Jack questioned Ronan about keeping a Darkside Creature, then pursued him as Ronan fled through the floor slab.
• Ronan escaped down another floor, but Jack fired powerful rounds through the floors and followed, weakening Ronan further.
• Ronan realized the injured Human-Faced Spider could no longer supply enough energy to sustain his Soul Body.
• The building’s alarms and defense robot activated, but Jack’s instructions silenced them before the robot could fire.

Ronan questioned Jack about his control over machines and connected Jack’s abilities to the External Neuron, the Burners, and the Metal Beetle. As Jack’s magnetic field intensified, Ronan concluded that Jack and the Deep Sea IV Type core unit were linked to Quantum Corporation.

• Jack froze the building’s security systems and told Ronan that he could control machines while Ronan could control Darkside Creatures.
• Ronan reflected on the External Neuron in his brain and the connections among Jack, Yan Yongbo, the Burners, and the person who had sent it to him.
• Ronan challenged Jack’s claim to control machines and inferred that the Metal Beetle had given him abilities similar to a Burner.
• Ronan identified the Metal Beetle as a Deep Sea IV Type core unit that Yan Yongbo had used to control the off-road vehicle and offer Jack as payment.
• Ronan reasoned that the core unit and Jack’s abilities pointed to Quantum Corporation, while Jack’s magnetic field continued to intensify.

Ronan provoked Jack while trying to understand his connection to Quantum Corporation, but Jack attempted to capture Ronan with the Deep Sea Magnetic Field. The Human-Faced Spider freed Ronan, and they escaped through the building’s outer wall into the night sky while Jack watched from the edge.

• Ronan questioned Jack about Yan Yongbo, Quantum Corporation, and Jack’s status as a Modified Human, provoking Jack’s anger.
• Jack used the Deep Sea Magnetic Field to compress Ronan’s Soul Body and began closing in to capture him alive.
• The Human-Faced Spider burst into the magnetic field and disrupted it, allowing Ronan to escape its control.
• Ronan rode the Human-Faced Spider through the building’s outer wall and into the night sky as Jack pursued them.
• Jack crashed into a floor-to-ceiling window, stopped at the building’s edge, and watched Ronan and the Human-Faced Spider disappear without firing.

Ronan tracked Jack from a safe distance while the injured Human-Faced Spider recovered by feeding on the Underground Fighting Arena’s negative emotions. When Ronan checked the arena, he found the wealthy spectators acting out of control, prompting him to suspect the Spider’s influence had created a strange ritual-like frenzy.

• Ronan followed Jack with his soul perception while keeping the Human-Faced Spider nearby.
• Ronan sensed that the Spider had recovered some of its lost mass by feeding on polluted emotions, but its foundation had become unstable.
• Rock Blast contacted Ronan and said Raven looked listless, while Ronan wondered if Jack’s Deep Sea Magnetic Field had interfered with their communication.
• Ronan surveyed the Underground Fighting Arena and saw Raven alone on the platform as the wealthy spectators gambled, flirted, and acted recklessly.
• Ronan recognized that the Human-Faced Spider had been drawing out the spectators’ emotions in a subtler way than he had expected.

Ronan discovered that the Human-Faced Spider had turned the Fighting Arena into an altar by draining the spectators and staff, then watched Raven appear to perceive the creature. Jack headed for the arena after making a brief call, while the Human-Faced Spider defied Ronan’s order and charged Raven.

• Ronan realized the Human-Faced Spider had drained the Fighting Arena’s wealthy spectators and staff, leaving them vulnerable to a Fire Cloud of Negative Emotions and hollowed vitality.
• The Human-Faced Spider demonstrated how it filtered the Fire Cloud, and Ronan left it in the arena to stabilize its foundations.
• Raven stared at the Human-Faced Spider, tracking it even when Ronan ordered it away, and then looked toward the sky in the direction of Ronan’s real body.
• Jack made a brief call, changed into a Fighting Arena referee’s uniform, and headed for the arena after giving Ronan a cold, provocative glance.
• Ronan warned Rock Blast that Jack was coming, but the Human-Faced Spider disobeyed his command and charged Raven in a cloud of burning Negative Emotions.

Ronan examined the Human-Faced Spider’s memories and witnessed Jack igniting his Format Fire, then saw the process connect with his Contemplation Graphic. As Ronan watched, the freed spider approached Raven and a circle began forming around her.

• Ronan restrained the Human-Faced Spider after it suddenly broke control and tried to pounce at Raven.
• Ronan studied the spider’s memories and saw Jack’s body coordinate its energy to ignite the Format Fire.
• The spider’s replay revealed a framework and then a tetrahedron with inscribed and circumscribed spheres that matched Ronan’s Contemplation Graphic.
• Ronan became absorbed in the connection and let the Human-Faced Spider approach Raven.
• Raven and the spider reacted to her shining Spiritual Seed, and Ronan saw a circle slowly form around her.