Chapter Summaries

Yuan Wuwei followed the aftermath of Joker’s clash with the Justice Cult and learned that a strange mark had appeared around the ritual tent. Tu Ge identified the mark as a Harbinger Bird and ordered Yuan Wuwei out of the car.

• Songkan told Yuan Wuwei that Joker had stormed the Justice Cult’s ritual, and High Priest Lanier had halted it after the confrontation.
• Yuan Wuwei watched Joker approach Raven, who had apparently fought Nick, and warned Songkan that Joker and Nick might still pose a danger nearby.
• Songkan shared photos of a new mark on the ritual’s silver-white halo and said Cat’s Eye thought it resembled a wing projected from the Mental Ocean.
• Tu Ge looked at the photo, identified the mark as a Harbinger Bird, and told Yuan Wuwei to get out of the car.

Yuan Wuwei was stranded in a poisonous wilderness after Tu Ge drove away, so he sought help and received temporary satellite access from Lieutenant General Joseph. Ronan then arranged for Harald to pick him up, leaving Yuan Wuwei to choose whether to wait at a safer experiment field or go with her.

• Yuan Wuwei sent a distress signal and messages to Songkan and Lieutenant General Joseph while surveying the dangerous riverside.
• Lieutenant General Joseph sent Yuan Wuwei a link that granted him temporary authority over military satellite signals.
• Lieutenant General Joseph instructed Yuan Wuwei to contact someone, and Ronan answered with urgent information about the Service Demon Scroll and Format Fire.
• Ronan told Yuan Wuwei that Harald was coming to collect him and offered him the choice of waiting at the Thunder Pool Experiment Field or following her to Ronan.

Yuan Wuwei chose to enter the Thunder Pool Experiment Field, while Songkan and Cat's Eye dealt with the aftermath of the clash beneath the engineering camp. The camp remained unstable, and Ronan's friends debated the mysterious Service Demon Scroll in their group chat.

• Yuan Wuwei told Songkan he would stay in the Thunder Pool Experiment Field and ended the video call.
• Lang Zhihe reported that an underground blast had caused widespread damage and likely involved Raven stopping Nick's attack.
• Cat's Eye reassured Lang Zhihe that the attack had been thwarted, while he suspected Nick had targeted High Priest Lanier.
• Ronan's friends discussed the projection over the Sacred Space and asked what the Service Demon Scroll was.
• Bamboo Pole explained that the Service Demon Scroll was one of the Four Methods Diagram, and Octopus complained that its explanation was incomprehensible.

Ronan explained that his Harbinger Bird was a blueprint for Virtual-Real Conversion and described his goal of improving Earth’s cultivation environment. He left the group by asking Red Fox for more information about Lake City.

• Octopus complained about Ronan’s work, then the friends group discovered Ronan was the one discussing a potentially dangerous method.
• Ronan identified his Service Demon design as the Harbinger Bird, a blueprint for Virtual-Real Conversion, and compared it to Dumb Sand.
• Ronan explained that the Harbinger Bird was not yet alive and that he planned to reverse-engineer it and test whether it could work on the Material Layer.
• Ronan said Earth’s low-energy environment made cultivation difficult and outlined his aim of establishing a High-Energy Environment.
• Ronan proposed starting with the Great Golden Triangle on the North Shore and asked Red Fox to send him more information on Lake City.

Ronan discussed his plans for changing the environment around the Great Golden Triangle and asked Red Fox to gather information about evil cults and human experiments. The conversation was interrupted when a tiltrotor exploded, and Madam Harold appeared to confront Tian Bang.

• Ronan said he wanted to find stable fulcrums to change the environment around the Great Golden Triangle and dismissed concerns about Joseph's Recruitment Order.
• Ronan asked Red Fox to send him information about evil cults, human experiments, and Blood Sacrifice clues.
• The tiltrotor carrying Liu Jia and Tian Bang exploded, and Liu Jia escaped into the air.
• Madam Harold appeared and sent a dark-red line of fire across the jungle, forcing Tian Bang to shift back from its path.
• Ronan identified Madam Harold as having taken leave to settle a score, while the group watched the scene through the Blood Intent Ring Fortress.

Yuan Wuwei explored Ronan’s Time-Space Bubble structure aboard a cargo ship and watched events in the Wilderness unfold inside its layers. He noticed that Tian Bang, Liu Jia, and the Deep Blue Cluster were surrounded by indistinct bubbles separating them from the real scenes, while Madam Harold appeared unusually vivid.

• Yuan Wuwei struggled to stop worrying about Lieutenant General Joseph’s Recruitment Order and its implications for Li Wei and Ronan.
• Madam Harold brought Yuan Wuwei aboard the cargo ship, warned him not to go ashore, and gave him access to Ronan’s Game Interface for viewing Time-Space Bubble structures.
• Yuan Wuwei recognized Wilderness locations in the bubbles, including areas the Deep Blue Cluster had surveyed or altered and regions where Mountain Lord would later work.
• Yuan Wuwei watched Madam Harold create a ten-kilometer wall of fire, Tian Bang withstand a rotorcraft blast, and Liu Jia move away from the conflict.
• Yuan Wuwei saw indistinct bubbles forming around Tian Bang, Liu Jia, and the Deep Blue Cluster, while Madam Harold remained vividly distinct from the scene.

Yuan Wuwei studied the changing Time-Space Bubbles on the Game Interface and discovered that it let him observe Extraordinary Species without their knowledge. As a vast shadow passed over the bubbles and a lonely deep-water sound echoed, he connected it to Tu Ge’s words and named it the Harbinger Bird.

• Yuan Wuwei observed Time-Space Bubbles breaking away and vanishing near the riverbank while new scenarios replenished the Grape Bunch.
• Yuan Wuwei used the Game Interface to inspect Tu Ge, realizing that a murky bubble surrounded him and that the interface offered more than a simple projection.
• Yuan Wuwei examined other Extraordinary Species, including Black Lion, Li Bozhou, Shakaer, Monroe, Gao Wenfu, Raven, and Mountain Lord, and noticed that the murky bubbles surrounded the extraordinary figures but not Long Qi.
• A huge gray shadow swept across the Time-Space Bubbles three times as Yuan Wuwei heard a lonely sound like deep-ocean water.
• Yuan Wuwei recalled Tu Ge’s description of a fish longing to fly to the Styx and identified the passing shadow as the Harbinger Bird.

Yuan Wuwei observed the Harbinger Bird’s shadow sweeping through the Time-Space Bubbles and compared the reactions of the Extraordinary Species scattered across the region. He identified Joker, Nick, and Tu Ge as possible people who sensed it, then heard another person ask whether something had just flown past.

• Yuan Wuwei recalled Tu Ge identifying the Harbinger Bird and compared its shadow with marks in a photo of Joker and High Priest Lanier’s Sacred Space collision.
• Yuan Wuwei watched Joker react after the Harbinger Bird swept through his Time-Space Bubble, though Joker searched in the wrong direction.
• Yuan Wuwei surveyed numerous Extraordinary Species, including Romanus, Koni, Connie, Star Witch, Martial Emperor, Blood Demon, and Nick, and found most unaware of the shadow.
• Yuan Wuwei saw Tu Ge react to the Harbinger Bird’s passage and began comparing him with Joker and Nick.
• An unidentified person asked whether something had just flown past.

Long Qi piloted the shuttle through the strange phenomenon called “Knitting Sweater” while managing a troubled livestream, until Mountain Lord ordered the feed cut and spoke with Gao Wenfu. Their conversation ended with Mountain Lord asking whether Gao meant “that person” when he referred to those who were not with them.

• Long Qi flew low through the Wilderness as Mountain Lord searched the skies and the strange “Knitting Sweater” phenomenon continued to affect the area.
• Long Qi calmed viewers after Raven’s feed from Lieutenant General Joseph’s ship was cut, then ended the livestream when Mountain Lord ordered him to.
• Gao Wenfu projected into the shuttle and reminded Mountain Lord to sign an authorization letter.
• Mountain Lord and Gao Wenfu discussed their business interests, market value, and their differences over people who were not with them.
• Mountain Lord asked Gao Wenfu whether he meant “that person.”

Long Qi piloted a shuttle through the hills while Mountain Lord discussed his desire to change paths and the resources needed to sustain his power. Mountain Lord explained that his roots had been damaged and wondered whether a method existed to let one person absorb power without vast resources.

• Mountain Lord told Long Qi that Gao Wenfu's plan might still work and speculated that Boss Luo could lead his troops toward Lake City.
• Long Qi maneuvered the shuttle through hilly terrain as Mountain Lord spoke about the importance of foundations and quoted the Dao De Jing.
• Mountain Lord explained that he still relied on the Great Golden Triangle and Super Golden Triangle because he had no better way to gather and wield the resources his power required.
• Mountain Lord said he wanted to turn his luck around and described how the Skull Demon King had drained his blood, ruined his prospects, and damaged his ability to absorb resources.
• Mountain Lord wondered whether some practical method could let a person draw power from the world without depending on enormous amounts of wealth and resources.

Long Qi and Mountain Lord discussed whether Li Wei and the Deep Blue World had found a way to address Mountain Lord’s situation while a rapidly approaching off-road vehicle pursued their shuttle. The driver, Tu Ge, veered away after Standard Bearer enabled equipment sharing, leaving Mountain Lord silently rubbing his hands together.

• Long Qi questioned Mountain Lord about whether Li Wei and the Deep Blue World had devised a plan for him, and Mountain Lord said an earlier attempt had succeeded in a way he had not expected.
• The shuttle’s Smart Brain detected an off-road vehicle converging on its route, and Long Qi identified its driver as Tu Ge.
• Mountain Lord warned that the off-road vehicle could fly, and Long Qi watched Tu Ge’s vehicle race over the rough terrain at more than three hundred kilometers per hour.
• Long Qi changed the shuttle’s heading, but Tu Ge matched its route and drew alongside it as Mountain Lord remained silent.
• Standard Bearer enabled equipment sharing, after which Tu Ge abruptly turned away and the vehicles separated.
• Long Qi recovered from the encounter and heard Mountain Lord vigorously rubbing his hands and joints together.

On a private jet to Jin City, Gao Wenfu recovered from a strange reaction and discussed the Great Golden Triangle’s new game with Blood Demon, while Wen Huilan investigated. Blood Demon’s post revealed that Extraordinary Species were sharing auras and real-time information, and Gao Wenfu sent Wen Huilan to meet the person behind it in Lake City and discover his intentions.

• Gao Wenfu recovered from a choking, trembling spell as Extraordinary Species, including Monroe, Flying Carpet, and Blood Demon, repeatedly tried to contact him.
• Gao Wenfu accepted Blood Demon's call, and the two exchanged the precise locations of several Extraordinary Species across the Great Golden Triangle.
• Gao Wenfu told Blood Demon that Wen Huilan would return to Lake City to receive Mister Luo while he settled matters in Jin City.
• Wen Huilan found Blood Demon's forum post describing a game that connected the auras and shared the information of around twenty Extraordinary Species, including Nick.
• Gao Wenfu instructed Wen Huilan to study Blood Demon's post and determine what the person heading to Lake City intended, while speculating that the game might involve the Symbiotic Chain.

Yuan Wuwei watched Ronan dismantle and reconstruct the Thunder Pool Experiment Field’s Time-Space Bubbles, and Madam Harold explained that the process was likely a simulation using the real world to correct their structures. The bubbles then fused into a single Great Time-Space Bubble covering the Great Golden Triangle, where dozens of Extraordinary Species and Aberrant Nests appeared as bright points.

• Yuan Wuwei struggled to follow Ronan’s chaotic Segmentation and reconstruction of the Time-Space Bubbles while the Harbinger Bird’s humming persisted.
• Madam Harold questioned Yuan Wuwei about the Harbinger Bird, and he shared what Tu Ge had told him.
• Madam Harold explained that Ronan was likely using the Experiment Field to analyze and correct the relationships between Time-Space Bubbles, and suggested the work might have direct significance beyond calculation.
• Madam Harold examined Yuan Wuwei’s spatial-temporal perception ability and questioned him about its origins and development.
• Yuan Wuwei and Madam Harold saw the separate Time-Space Bubbles fuse into a complete Great Time-Space Bubble depicting Huai City, Lake City, Jin City, and the Wilderness, with dozens of bright points inside.

Yuan Wuwei explored the newly integrated Great Time-Space Bubble and learned that Ronan was verifying its limits and preparing to integrate the Extraordinary Domains within it. He watched smoke-like fish form and collapse around Joker, while one formed around Big-Mouthed Koni and transformed into a bird flying toward the foulest cloud layer.

• Yuan Wuwei used the Great Time-Space Bubble to see himself, Madam Harold, and the dangerous ruins containing the Blood Soul Temple.
• Madam Harold explained that Ronan was clarifying the boundaries and load of time-space before continuing the integration, which might include the Extraordinary Domains.
• Yuan Wuwei searched for Tu Ge, then found Joker and watched a Smoke Fish repeatedly form from smoke drawn out of Joker before collapsing.
• Yuan Wuwei saw a more complete Smoke Fish emerge from Big-Mouthed Koni’s domain and transform into a bird that flew toward the heaviest gray cloud layer.

Yuan Wuwei realized that Ronan was drawing Gray Substance from the Extraordinary Species and Aberrant Nests throughout the Great Golden Triangle, possibly revealing that the world had long been contaminated. As Gray Substance gathered into creatures, they began colliding with one another and attacking the domains, and Madam Harold said Ronan was verifying whether they could exist between separate Extraordinary Domains.

• Yuan Wuwei watched Smoke Fish and Mist Sparrows form from gray smoke and learned from Madam Harold that Ronan was combining Gray Substance, officially called Category Three Pollutants.
• Yuan Wuwei realized Gray Substance appeared throughout the Extraordinary Species and Aberrant Nests, and Madam Harold guessed that the world had been contaminated long before the recent leak became dangerous.
• Yuan Wuwei wondered whether Ronan’s extraction method could damage the carriers and whether ordinary people had also been affected.
• Blisters in the cloud layer burst, releasing bird-like aberrations that swarmed toward the Extraordinary Species.
• Smoke Fish also began leaving their domains and crossing great distances, colliding with other Extraordinary Species and Aberrant Nests as Madam Harold described the activity as a test of whether they could exist between separate domains.

Yuan Wuwei and Madam Harold discussed how the Extraordinary Species’ collisions formed a perception network, while the true source of the strange pressure remained hidden from those caught in it. The network spread across the Great Golden Triangle, and Yuan Wuwei was left wondering whether Ronan had a larger goal and whether anyone would confront him directly.

• Yuan Wuwei watched the Extraordinary Species react to the collisions without recognizing that the cloud layer was their main source.
• Madam Harold explained that the Smoke Fish and Mist Sparrows carried fragments of rules that collided at the level of Self Logic.
• Yuan Wuwei proposed that the forms carried by Gray Substance, such as the Harbinger Bird and Service Demon Scroll, mattered more than the substance itself.
• The Extraordinary Species’ repeated exchanges formed a bright Perception Chain Network that linked and bound them across the Great Golden Triangle.
• Yuan Wuwei wondered whether Ronan had goals beyond stabilizing Gray Substance, but Madam Harold offered no answer and went into the cabin.
• Yuan Wuwei considered whether someone might confront Ronan directly to uncover his plans.

The Deep Blue Cluster rested while its soldiers maintained their equipment, and Ronan’s hands-on work and conversation eased some of the Burners’ hostility toward him. As night fell, Ronan chose to head for the Lake City Close Defense Force’s Forward Base rather than camp near Hundred Peaks Monarch.

• The Deep Blue Cluster destroyed an expanding underground fungal colony likely connected to Hundred Peaks Monarch, then stopped to rest and maintain its Deep Blue Walker units.
• Ronan joined Zhao Xi and the mechanics in servicing the exoskeletons, while Fris questioned him about Machine Cores, soldiers, and the prospects for future war.
• Ronan said he would personally test whether anyone could learn the Heavenly Human Demon Subduing Diagram, and his conversation helped ease tension among the Burners.
• As darkness and cold swept over the mountains, Meng Tu advised against camping near Hundred Peaks Monarch and described routes to Guang Lin or a Lake City Forward Base.
• Ronan learned that the Lake City Close Defense Force had offered barracks and agreed to follow its arrangements.

The Deep Blue Cluster reached the Forward Base near Lake City, where Ronan and Fris discussed the region’s routes and the history of Hundred Peaks Monarch. Ronan’s questions left the base officer awkwardly frozen, until a communication from his Senior Sister interrupted the conversation.

• The Deep Blue Cluster crossed the mountain route and arrived at the Forward Base as Meng Tu handled incoming calls and base arrangements.
• Fris, Zhao Xi, Banner, and Ronan discussed the crowded base, its river berths, and the dangers of traveling near Hundred Peaks Monarch.
• Meng Tu asked Ronan for instructions, but Ronan instead questioned Fris about distances, old routes, and the Great Golden Triangle’s history.
• Fris explained that Hundred Peaks Monarch was an extraordinary Aberrant Nest whose influence could make mountains, water, and living things deadly.
• Ronan accepted a communication request from his Senior Sister and greeted her.

Ronan discussed Liu Jia’s Experiment Field access and explained his research into the Heavenly Human Demon Subduing Diagram and Gray Substance. He revealed that the Gray Substance’s source was linked to the Mist Labyrinth and asked Mora for her opinion of Hundred Peaks Monarch near Lake City.

• Mora asked Ronan whether Liu Jia could still enter the Experiment Field, and Ronan confirmed that he could.
• Ronan told Mora he wanted to gather data from Extraordinary Species to investigate cultivation bottlenecks and Gray Substance.
• Ronan explained that Gray Substance could damage living organisms, was widespread, and might have leaked from the Mist Labyrinth through the underground cave with the Justice Cult involved.
• Ronan said he had already shared the information with President Ouyang and the Martial Emperor, and urged Mora to trade it for valuable information.
• Ronan asked Mora what she thought of Hundred Peaks Monarch beside Lake City, then suggested that she had misjudged matters by staying away from the Great Golden Triangle.

Ronan discussed the Information Chain Network with Mora, who agreed to verify the matter of Hundred Peaks Monarch and seek information worth trading for. At the Forward Base, Ronan told Meng Tu to wait for Mountain Lord and Long Qi to arrive before deciding the next day’s plans, while an uncanny rain curtain formed around the riverbank.

• Ronan explained the Information Chain Network to Mora and urged her to study the connections between Extraordinary Species.
• Ronan told Mora that Extraordinary Species might need to look beyond their assumed kind, and Mora promised to investigate Hundred Peaks Monarch and contact him later.
• Meng Tu found Ronan meditating above the river and asked about the next day’s itinerary.
• Ronan said Mountain Lord and Long Qi would arrive later that night and suggested Meng Tu might be able to visit Lake City the next morning.
• Meng Tu noticed that rain mist had formed a restraining curtain around the riverbank and hurried away as the water’s sounds seemed to shake him.