Chapter Summaries

Ronan met Zhang Yingying to discuss her cultivation path and asked her to develop Fantasy Configuration while keeping White Rainbow’s dangers in mind. After the Martial Emperor agreed to the change, Ronan returned to his dreams, where Wildfire’s memories and the shadow of the Six Heavens God Calamity continued to overwhelm him.

• Ronan told Zhang Yingying he might be unavailable and asked her to help manage Blood Intent Ring Fortress and public opinion around Jin Buhuan.
• Ronan suggested Zhang Yingying shift from the Talent Stream to the System Stream and build a foundation in Fantasy Configuration before returning to White Rainbow.
• Zhang Yingying agreed to discuss changing paths with the Martial Emperor, who soon replied that Boss agreed.
• Ronan reflected that he had concealed White Rainbow’s origins from Zhang Yingying and suspected the Martial Emperor understood his intentions.
• Ronan continued experiencing Wildfire’s dream memories, struggling under their emotional weight and the pervasive threat of the Six Heavens God Calamity.

Ronan used the Great Sun Chains and other forces to destroy the Six Heavens God Calamity’s imprints in Wildfire’s dream, then projected himself through the Gate of Rebirth. He emerged in an unfamiliar place beneath a Bright Moon and looked down into a seemingly bottomless pit.

• Ronan left Xia City and traveled to the Relay Station in the Fog Maze to carry out his plan.
• Ronan manifested the Mist Hall and overlapped it with Wildfire’s dream, drawing out the Six Heavens God Calamity’s shadows.
• The Great Sun Chains, the Dark Red Sun Wheel, and the phantom Balance of Truth tore apart and consumed the shadows.
• Wildfire accepted the Great Sun Chains in place of the Six Heavens God Calamity and resumed praying to them.
• Ronan combined the dream and the manifested forces into a projection that passed through the Gate of Rebirth.
• Ronan awoke in a dark tunnel, emerged onto a ring-shaped Mountain Road, and saw the Bright Moon above a vast black pit.

Ronan completed his soul transfer into a lizard on an Earth-like world that lacked an Abyssal Spirit Net, then watched an armed force pursue two fugitives into an abandoned gold mine. As a major operation gathered around the five-kilometer-deep pit, Ronan remained unnoticed and began observing this unfamiliar world.

• Ronan confirmed that he had awakened from his dream and successfully transferred part of his soul into the lizard, while New Wildfire's dream concealed his presence.
• Ronan assessed the surrounding spacetime and concluded that the area was an undeveloped isolated star system, with no Abyssal Spirit Net and no ladder for most living creatures.
• Ronan watched a helicopter attack an off-road vehicle near the pit, killing two of its occupants while two others escaped into concealed underground passages.
• The pursuers deployed Exoskeleton Armor troops and machines, then established a forward command headquarters to destroy the fugitives' lair.
• Ronan learned that the enormous pit had been excavated by the Reclamation Corps to extract gold and that unusual minerals had recently emerged from unstable spacetime below.

Ronan withdrew from New Wildfire after briefly controlling his body, and New Wildfire resumed his plan to exploit the Riot Squad’s raid in the Abandoned Mining Area. Disguised as Lao Shi, he intercepted two fleeing smugglers and forced them into the High Temperature Zone, where the pursuit grew more dangerous.

• Ronan recognized the Abandoned Mining Area as the Southwest Volcano Area of Spring City and withdrew his Soul Power from New Wildfire.
• New Wildfire awakened, caught up with two fleeing smugglers, and disguised himself as their veteran teammate, Lao Shi.
• Lao Shi learned the pair had been fleeing toward their factory and ordered them toward the High Temperature Zone instead.
• When one smuggler refused to continue through the lethal heat, Lao Shi shot him and ordered the other onward.
• The surviving smuggler escaped into a side passage as strange machinery approached, while Lao Shi continued along his planned route and chaos spread through the mining area.

Lao Shi lured the Riot Squad into a clash with the Resistance Army, while Tang Li sacrificed frontline officers to protect his own promotion prospects. Ronan’s attention then shifted toward the Fugitives who crossed the Isolation Zone, leading him and the Demon Rune toward a tense battlefield hospital.

• Lao Shi led the Riot Squad deep into the Abandoned Mining Area, where the squad discovered a hidden passage and a Resistance Army stronghold.
• Tang Li ordered the trapped Riot Squad members to hold the Resistance Army while arranging for Giant Tree Conglomerate’s security unit to arrive later, prioritizing his own merit and promotion.
• Lao Shi escaped the Magma Chamber in lizard form after setting the confrontation in motion, intending to draw the Solar System Reclamation Corps into the conflict.
• Ronan noticed that his plans resembled New Wildfire’s strategy and decided to keep observing him rather than interfere with his behavior.
• After learning from New Wildfire’s memories about Fugitives who crossed the Isolation Zone, Ronan redirected himself and the Demon Rune toward the Resistance Army’s main force.
• Ronan used the Demon Rune to perceive a tense battlefield hospital that appeared unable to move.

Ronan observed Aka Ge directing a Resistance Army field hospital’s emergency surgeries and evacuation, while investigating the Abyss Zone surveillance and a nearby Transfer Point. As the group fled, Aka Ge learned that Lao Bao had escaped through Channel Two carrying a Black Box and needed to get back into the city before inspection.

• Ronan recognized the field hospital as a human-modification facility and watched Aka Ge coordinate surgeons and machinery across several operating compartments.
• Ronan identified Aka Ge as a deeply modified Fugitive and observed him use the Abyss Zone’s turbulence to support the surgeries.
• Ronan detected surveillance signals triggered by Aka Ge’s interference and drove toward a nearby Transfer Point to investigate it.
• Aka Ge stabilized the patients, ordered the group to evacuate with critical equipment, and explained that the Resistance Army’s Enhancement Stream remained an imperfect imitation of the colonists’ modification methods.
• Lao Pi told Aka Ge that A Tie and Xiao Geng were unlikely to survive and that Lao Bao had escaped through Channel Two with the Black Box.
• Aka Ge worried that Lao Bao, badly injured after surgery, would have to pass the regular inspection to prove the Resistance Army had mastered the pseudo-government’s hardware and software update technology.

Ronan secretly salvaged and examined the destroyed Transfer Point while tracking Lao Bao, who escaped the evacuation route by disguising himself as a Security Team member. The chapter left Lao Bao heading toward the city center to register for isolation, with the results of Ronan’s analysis still pending.

• Aka Ge injected a substance into the sealed Transfer Point box and destroyed it in the magma chamber before rejoining the evacuation party with Lao Pi.
• Ronan sent his lizard into the magma to retrieve the box’s remains, and its miniature factory began analyzing them.
• Ronan shifted his attention to Lao Bao, who slipped away from the refugees and avoided the blocked underground river route by hiding in a fissure.
• Lao Bao changed into a Security Team uniform and used his equipment to blend into the countercharging forces, then slipped away after staging an injury.
• Lao Bao stole a motorcycle, returned home, treated his wound, and set out in civilian clothes for the city center to register for isolation.

Lao Bao rode a bus through the violent outskirts of East 725 District to his required cybernetic inspection, while Ronan watched the city through Lao Bao’s perspective. The bus passed beneath the Blood Moon Hook, a Reclamation Corps device that could monitor the Abyss Zone and become a weapon against resistance forces.

• Lao Bao headed toward his Regular Inspection, carrying a backpack after undergoing an exhausting illegal modification the previous night.
• Lao Bao chatted with Security Team colleagues on the bus, then pretended to sleep while Ronan watched the ruined districts outside.
• A firefight and explosion erupted near the bus, but the Security Team members avoided getting involved and continued toward the city center.
• The bus passed beneath the Blood Moon Hook, which Ronan recognized as Reclamation Corps equipment and a feared target of New Wildfire.
• The bus neared the subway station beneath the Blood Moon Hook.

Lao Bao and Chang Xin traveled to the Intelligence Management Center, where Lao Bao’s fresh wound helped conceal the surgery he had undergone for the Resistance Army. After Chang Xin betrayed him in the Isolation Zone, Lao Bao was captured, and Chang Xin left with his allegiance revealed.

• Lao Bao was cut by a homeless bag snatcher in the subway passage, and the thief escaped with his uniform and backpack.
• Lao Bao and Chang Xin reported the incident to the Joint Defense Team before continuing to the Intelligence Management Center.
• Lao Bao passed the physical examination because his recorded wound matched the injury from the robbery, concealing his recent modification surgery.
• Chang Xin accompanied Lao Bao to his Isolation Zone room, where Lao Bao collapsed and was restrained by a mechanical spider as armed figures waited inside.
• Chang Xin thanked Lao Bao for helping his civil service interview and said they should devote themselves to things that had hope.
• Chang Xin left the room, while the Demon Rune watched him depart and then vanished.

Lao Bao’s capture exposed the weakness of the resistance, while Tang Li used a furious public outburst to mask his plans as he prepared to move to the High-Energy Center. The chapter ended with Tang Li’s body altering his implants and features in the mirror without his awareness.

• Investigators transferred Lao Bao and reported that his capture had helped collapse much of the resistance network in East 725 District.
• Tang Li berated his subordinates over the Intelligence Management Center’s handling of the investigation and questioned why a promising young recruit had chosen to work there instead of in his own departments.
• Tang Li told his brother-in-law that he had accepted a transfer to the High-Energy Center and saw the coming High-Energy Tide as an opportunity to advance.
• After speaking with his sister, Tang Li watched his reflection shift through several expressions as his body silently restructured his implants, before his appearance returned to normal.

Tang Li reviewed classified records to study the High-Energy Tide and its history, while keeping his position steady as he prepared for a possible transfer. He left the day having settled two bureau matters with Liu Xuezhi and recognizing that Liu had come seeking a favor.

• Tang Li arrived at the Internal Affairs Bureau and found that rumors about his promotion and transfer had spread among its staff.
• Tang Li studied the High-Energy Tide, charted its six officially recognized occurrences, and considered how its cycles affected people and the environment.
• Liu Xuezhi told Tang Li that Jiang Yi had agreed to mediation after demanding compensation worth eight hundred thousand in gold, and Tang Li agreed to discuss a settlement at the next meeting.
• Liu Xuezhi raised an afternoon city government meeting about bureau contributions, and Tang Li agreed to have Deputy Director Yue detour back from the Intelligence Management Center.
• Tang Li chatted with Liu Xuezhi and inferred that he had come to demonstrate his usefulness and earn a favor.

Tang Li questioned Liu Xuezhi about the recent operation, mutant suspects, and High-Energy Tides, then mapped major events across six tides to investigate a possible connection between Inner and Outer Earth. His timeline raised questions about when the two Earths separated and who concealed them, but he found no answers and turned to the second tide.

• Tang Li directed Liu Xuezhi to deepen interrogations of the suspects arrested in the Abandoned Mining Area operation, especially high-energy-enhanced mutants and those with illegal modifications.
• Liu Xuezhi reviewed the twenty-seven mutants involved in the operation and discussed how repeated High-Energy Tides and illegal modifications could increase their strength.
• After their conversation, Tang Li marked major events from both Earths on a timeline of the six recognized High-Energy Tides.
• Tang Li noticed that turmoil on Inner Earth coincided with the tides on Outer Earth and wondered whether the two Earths had once been one before separating in 2059.
• Tang Li considered how a Tattered Divine Cloak might have hidden Earth, the Fog Maze, and the Deep Blue World, but could not identify who had wielded it.
• With the mystery unresolved, Tang Li turned his attention to the date of the second High-Energy Tide.

Tang Li connected Sun Jiayi’s unusual Life Year Rings and the Martial Emperor’s possible rebirth to Earth’s 2059 split, while acknowledging that his theory remained speculative. He then found that suspected High-Energy Tide signs repeatedly coincided with major events in Ronan’s past, leaving him with a growing list of links to investigate.

• Tang Li reasoned that the Martial Emperor might have crossed a Gate of Rebirth to reach Inner Earth, with Sun Jiayi possibly helping her and showing the effects of Outer Earth’s rules.
• Tang Li searched Outer Earth’s resident records for Sun Jiayi and several other people but found no information, then returned to his timeline notes.
• Tang Li reviewed reports of suspected High-Energy Tide signs and noted that the events were collected and analyzed by the High-Energy Affairs Management Center.
• Tang Li found that signs near Lake City, the Great Golden Triangle, Ha City, and Xia City coincided with events involving Ronan, Raven, Li Wei, and An Weng.
• Tang Li identified further matches for the Daydream Nightmare, the Second Extreme Domain Light, and the Human-Faced Spider Incident.

Ronan pieced together how the Tattered Divine Cloak linked Inner and Outer Earth, and considered how the Gate of Rebirth might cause High-Energy Tides. As he planned to investigate the Rebirth Divine Artifact and use New Wildfire as cover, Liu Xuezhi called to report that Jiang Yi had died.

• Ronan concluded that major disturbances in the Three Cats Under the Cloak could affect Outer Earth through the Sun Wheel Absolute Prison and the Tattered Divine Cloak.
• Ronan reasoned that the Martial Emperor and Liang Lu might have cooperated in splitting Earth and using the Gate of Rebirth, but he still lacked direct evidence.
• Ronan identified the Rebirth Divine Artifact as a key objective and considered whether past High-Energy Tides and An Weng's sacrifice were connected to the Gate of Rebirth.
• Tang Li reflected that his covert entry through the Dreamscape had succeeded and that he could manipulate High-Energy Tides, though doing so carried great risks.
• Tang Li decided to keep a low profile and let New Wildfire take the lead, then answered Liu Xuezhi's call reporting that Jiang Yi was dead.

After Jiang Yi died in a violent clash at a Logistics Park, Tang Li rushed to the scene and learned that the Intelligence Management Center had uncovered a smuggling route tied to the Resistance Army. The investigation threatened Councilor Guo’s interests and implicated Tang Li, leaving him facing consequences from powerful factions and the Reclamation Corps.

• Deputy Director Liu Xuezhi told Tang Li that Jiang Yi had been killed in crossfire and that Jiang Ke was already heading to the scene.
• Tang Li sent Liu Xuezhi to investigate, contacted his brother-in-law, and then joined Liu aboard a skimmer after learning the Intelligence Management Center had restricted the Logistics Park.
• At the scene, Tang Li learned from his brother-in-law that the Intelligence Management Center’s investigation might target a smuggling route connected to Councilor Guo and the Wu Family.
• Liu Xuezhi informed Tang Li that the Intelligence Management Center had taken Lao Bao into custody and was using his intelligence to raid Resistance Army strongholds.
• Tang Li learned the Resistance Army had used a mole to divert Cybernetics equipment and chips through the route for nearly two years, putting Councilor Guo and Tang Li at risk.

Tang Li challenged the Intelligence Management Center’s control of the investigation into Jiang Yi’s death, despite pressure from its deputy and Jiang Ke. He began turning the case into a procedural dispute that could expose the bureau’s earlier mishandling of smuggling arrests.

• Tang Li realized Deputy Director Pang Tieshan’s presence at the scene could be part of a move against him over the coveted Intelligence Management Center post and Councilor Guo’s smuggling route.
• Tang Li stopped the transfer of Jiang Yi’s body and offered condolences to Jiang Ke, but Jiang Ke rejected his greeting and prepared to leave with the bodies.
• Tang Li questioned whether the Internal Affairs Bureau had followed procedure and pressed Liu Xuezhi and the North City Branch Bureau officer about evidence preservation and access to the investigation.
• Tang Li pointed out that the dead man had previously been involved in a wrongful-arrest dispute over smuggling suspects and questioned whether two related incidents were too much of a coincidence.
• Tang Li ordered the North City Branch Bureau officer to summon the Intelligence Management Center’s person in charge, prompting Liu Xuezhi to realize Tang Li was escalating the dispute.

Tang Li forced the North City Branch Bureau to preserve Jiang Yi’s body and summon the Intelligence Management Center, while keeping Jiang Ke from escalating their confrontation. After Jiang Ke consulted Colonel Tang Yu, the powerful parties in East 725 District agreed to withdraw for the day, and Tang Yu ordered Jiang Ke to find Pawa and make Tang Li explain his source of information.

• Tang Li opened Jiang Yi’s Body Bag, examined his mouth, and ordered the North City Branch Bureau to summon the Intelligence Management Center’s person in charge.
• Jiang Ke aimed a pistol at Tang Li, but Tang Li calmly took it, made it safe, and returned it to him.
• Tang Li ordered the corpse handlers and forensic doctor to protect Jiang Yi’s body and preserve evidence, while Dai Fucheng brought plainclothes officers to watch the scene.
• Jiang Ke called Colonel Tang Yu and explained Tang Li’s actions and his suspicion that someone had supplied Tang Li with intelligence.
• Colonel Tang Yu coordinated with other powerful figures, and the parties agreed to stop the confrontation and withdraw.
• Colonel Tang Yu ordered Jiang Ke to find Pawa, straighten Tang Li out, and discover who had given him the information.

After the Logistics Park confrontation, Tang Li learned he had become a scapegoat in a political struggle and might lose his promotion to the High-Energy Center. He responded by launching a sudden Thunder Operation across East 725 District, plunging the outlying areas into chaos.

• Du Shicai warned Tang Li that he had offended Tang Yu and Fang Weixian, advised him to stay at the bureau overnight, and said his promotion might be affected.
• Tang Li questioned Liu Xuezhi about Deputy Director Yue’s absence and blamed the Public Security Department’s sluggishness for the disaster.
• Tang Li ordered a meeting and assembled the Riot Squad, Public Security Department, Joint Defense Team, and anti-smuggling forces for a new Thunder Operation.
• Tang Li treated the operation as a continuation of the earlier Frontline Command Department operation and launched it without waiting for a new report or additional instructions.
• Security forces swept through East 725 District, catching gangs and black-market merchants off guard as the operation’s disorder created opportunities for people to exploit the chaos.
• Jiang Ke, who had stayed in the city to deal with Tang Li, was stunned by the unfolding operation.

Jiang Ke learned that Tang Li’s sweeping crackdown had destabilized the Public Security Department, while Pawa prepared to intercept Tang Li on Lao Gang Street. Tang Li continued coordinating the operation and assured City Hall that urban forces were protecting its departments.

• Jiang Ke’s Internal Affairs Bureau source explained that Tang Li’s teams were detaining officials who had released gang leaders and other suspects, and warned that North City Branch Bureau chief Zhu Peng had been taken down.
• Jiang Ke warned Pawa that Tang Li might remain at the office, but the source soon reported that Tang Li had left for Lao Gang Street; Pawa accepted the chance to attack him there.
• Jiang Ke considered whether Tang Li’s operation followed a deliberate plan, then ordered his men to move closer to the city center.
• Jiang Ke’s convoy passed three vehicles heading toward the outskirts, including a police vehicle and two vehicles associated with the Intelligence Management Center.
• Inside an armored sedan, Tang Li coordinated intelligence while Liu Xuezhi watched, and Tang Li told a City Hall deputy director that the crackdown was addressing gang-related unrest while urban forces protected City Hall.
• Tang Li called Uncle Guo and said Deputy Mayor You had complained, then thanked Uncle Guo for his guidance.

Tang Li managed calls with Councilor Guo and Minister Wei while waiting for the Intelligence Management Center to join him at the standoff on Lao Gang Street. He remained inside his armored sedan until Deputy Director Yue Cunzhi and the arriving team came into view, then prepared to greet them.

• Tang Li told Councilor Guo that North City Branch Bureau would be temporarily controlled and learned that Pang Tieshan and the Intelligence Management Center were joining the operation.
• Tang Li described the Lao Gang Street confrontation to Minister Wei as a decisive response to Security Team and Joint Defense Team members’ ties to gang members, while Liu Xuezhi worried that Tang Li’s evasive conduct could provoke a backlash.
• Liu Xuezhi contacted Deputy Director Yue Cunzhi, who said he would arrive in seven or eight minutes.
• Tang Li kept the armored sedan at the edge of the crowd and explained that Lao Gang Street’s gang members had ensnared the Joint Defense Team, making the area too dangerous for them to enter alone.
• When Yue Cunzhi and the Intelligence Management Center arrived in a minibus with police lights, Tang Li closed the Virtual Work Area and had Lao Xiang move the sedan forward to greet them.