Chapter Summaries

Zhang Heng explored a casino in Monaco and watched a young couple win a forty-thousand-euro Royal Flush after the husband returned from a brief absence. Casino staff suspected the win had been rigged, but an inspection found no tampering with the machine’s memory chip.

• Zhang Heng surveyed the crowded casino, identified it as being in Monaco, and searched for other players.
• Zhang Heng noticed a young married couple watching and playing video poker beside a Spanish gambler.
• The husband left after drawing cards, while his wife guarded the machine until he returned seven minutes later.
• The husband tapped the machine’s button and won a Royal Flush worth forty thousand euros.
• Casino staff examined the machine’s circuit board and memory chip, but found no evidence of tampering.

Lucky Fingers won another Royal Flush, but the casino apologized and let them leave rather than risk damaging its reputation. Outside, Plaid Shirt and the woman argued over how to split their winnings, and he revealed that his companions had handled the technical work.

• The casino employee connected Lucky Fingers to suspicious Royal Flush wins at four casinos and watched them closely.
• After Lucky Fingers won again, the casino found no evidence that anyone had tampered with the video poker machine.
• The employee gave the couple a bottle of wine as an apology and allowed them to leave with their winnings.
• Outside the casino, Plaid Shirt complained that the woman had insisted on playing one more casino.
• The woman demanded half the fee, and Plaid Shirt argued that she had only pretended to be his wife while he and his companions did the technical work.

A woman demanded a larger share of the casino scam’s profits from Plaid Shirt, but casino enforcers arrived to take them away. A masked man intervened and defeated the four men, leaving Plaid Shirt and the woman with an unexpected chance to escape.

• The scantily clad woman demanded half of the money she and Plaid Shirt had made, threatening to expose his group to the casinos.
• A Black Buick van arrived, and Baldy invited Plaid Shirt and the woman to see Monaco’s night view while four burly men got out.
• Plaid Shirt prepared to run as the woman weighed whether to betray his group, but a hooded masked man dropped onto the van.
• The masked man knocked down one of the burly men with a knee strike and defeated the other three without causing fatal injuries.

Zhang Heng followed Plaid Shirt and his wife after casino staff tracked them down, then defeated the casino men sent to capture them. He used Baldy's phone to locate the pair and offered the casino a deal to end the pursuit.

• Zhang Heng followed Plaid Shirt and his wife across Monaco's rooftops after they fled the casino.
• Zhang Heng saw casino men approach the pair in a black Buick and jumped in to help them escape.
• Zhang Heng defeated the four men accompanying Baldy and the driver after they confronted him.
• Zhang Heng forced Baldy to reveal his phone password and used the phone to find Plaid Shirt and his wife.
• Zhang Heng told the casino to stop investigating in exchange for his promise not to target Monaco casinos or share the cheating technique.

After rescuing Philip and Justina from casino enforcers, Zhang Heng found a tracker hidden in their wine bottle and ordered them to take him to their hotel. Waldo had prepared to leave for Nice, but discovered Zhang Heng was already standing behind him.

• Philip called Waldo in a panic and said a masked man dressed like Green Arrow had helped him and Justina escape the casino thugs.
• Zhang Heng smashed Justina’s wine bottle, found a hidden tracker, and threw it and Baldy’s phone into a trash can.
• Zhang Heng told Philip to lead him to the Harbour Palace Hotel, and Philip reluctantly agreed after Zhang Heng said he had no choice.
• Philip and Justina brought Zhang Heng to their room, where Waldo had packed their things and rented a car to drive to Nice.
• Philip told Waldo they had another passenger, then warned him that Zhang Heng was standing behind him.

Zhang Heng left the hotel with Waldo and Philip after knocking Justina unconscious and leaving her the agreed share of the money. On the drive toward Nice, he asked the two geeks why they had tried to cheat a Monaco casino, and Waldo began explaining how slot-machine payout ratios worked.

• Zhang Heng introduced himself to Waldo and learned that he and Philip had hacked the hotel’s surveillance system.
• Zhang Heng said Justina would not be leaving with them, explaining that he had knocked her unconscious and left her forty 500-euro notes.
• Waldo and Philip left the hotel with Zhang Heng in a rented Mercedes-Benz, heading toward Nice.
• Zhang Heng asked Waldo and Philip why they had targeted the casino and how they had cheated it.
• Waldo explained that casinos set slot-machine payout ratios to maintain profits, which would be impossible if every result were truly random.

Waldo explained how he and Philip used a program to predict video poker outcomes, while Zhang Heng questioned them about their team and Edward. Zhang Heng asked to join their organization, and Philip said he and Waldo needed to consult the others first.

• Waldo explained the pseudorandom number generator and how he and Philip developed a program to predict when a Royal Flush would appear.
• Philip apologized for the trouble at the casinos, and Waldo reassured him that his precise button-pressing had been essential.
• Zhang Heng asked whether Waldo and Philip had other companions, but they refused to reveal anything about their team.
• Philip offered Zhang Heng their casino winnings and prediction program, but Zhang Heng said he was not interested and asked if they knew Edward.
• Zhang Heng said he wanted to join their team, and Philip replied that he and Waldo needed to ask the others first.

After checking his updated Character Panel in Nice, Zhang Heng learned that Philip and Waldo’s group would accept him if he rescued a captured friend in Rodez. He kept Philip and Waldo close overnight, then prepared to travel with them the next day.

• Zhang Heng checked his Character Panel, noted his new Astronautics Level 2 skill and updated player evaluation, and worried that supernatural beings were paying more attention to him.
• Philip told Zhang Heng that their group would let him join if he rescued a captured friend in Rodez.
• Zhang Heng agreed to help, and Philip booked rooms for them at a nearby hotel.
• Zhang Heng insisted that he, Philip, and Waldo share the suite so neither man could slip away unnoticed.
• Waldo slept on the sofa and woke with an aching back and waist.

Zhang Heng went to Nice Star to buy Lego parts, but Philip and Waldo’s team ambushed him with mall security and plainclothes officers. As the escalator malfunctioned and trapped shoppers in chaos, Zhang Heng prepared a weapon while Philip and Waldo fled toward an emergency exit.

• Zhang Heng asked Philip for the nearest shopping district, then went with Philip and Waldo to Nice Star and bought five Lego sets.
• Zhang Heng noticed the mall security guards targeting him and realized Philip and Waldo were keeping their distance, so he handed Philip four boxes and warned him not to do anything foolish.
• Zhang Heng dodged the guards and broke out of their encirclement, but the escalator suddenly stopped and reversed, scattering passengers and blocking his escape route.
• Zhang Heng inferred that Waldo’s team had prepared the ambush in advance and could control electrical equipment in the mall.
• Zhang Heng assembled an electric shock device with Infinite Blocks while Philip and Waldo took advantage of the confusion to run toward the emergency exit.

Zhang Heng regrouped with Philip and Waldo at Mary's Cafe and confronted the loose organization that had helped them escape. Its oldest member explained how they had framed Zhang Heng as an online fugitive, and revealed that the group consisted of geeks with different specialties.

• Philip and Waldo fled the department store, then received Zhang Heng's order to meet at Mary's Cafe.
• Zhang Heng tracked down Little Boy and forced her to contact Waldo after Philip and Waldo escaped him.
• Zhang Heng met Philip, Waldo, and their associates at Mary's Cafe and questioned their ponytailed spokesman.
• The ponytailed man admitted the group had impersonated the police to make mall staff believe Zhang Heng was a wanted fugitive.
• The ponytailed man identified the loosely organized group as geeks and said Little Boy specialized in communications.

Zhang Heng learned from Philip, Waldo, and Ponytail Man how Edward joined their hacker forum and later escaped with documents about CTOS. The group explained that CTOS would connect city infrastructure while secretly collecting citizens’ personal data and rating their dangerousness.

• Philip explained that the 01 Guerrilla Team welcomed anyone who shared its spirit and discussed technology on a private forum.
• Waldo and Philip described how Edward repeatedly hacked their forum, left a tiny pixel-art Pac-Man, and eventually revealed that he worked alone for a powerful organization.
• Philip said Edward contacted him a month earlier, worried about his work, then later announced he had escaped with something important and sent a document.
• Philip told Zhang Heng that CTOS would connect public facilities to a central system that could coordinate resources and improve city services.
• Waldo and Ponytail Man warned that CTOS would also collect citizens’ private data and could label people as dangerous based on undisclosed algorithms.

Zhang Heng learned why the 01 Guerrilla Team opposed Black Nest and considered which faction to join. The team explained its plan to help Edward expose CTOS, and Zhang Heng offered to show his sincerity as they prepared to work together.

• Ponytail Man and Philip explained that Black Nest had powerful backing and apologized for the team's earlier treatment of Zhang Heng.
• Waldo admitted that the team trusted Zhang Heng partly because Little Boy was in his custody, while Philip said they opposed Black Nest's surveillance and wanted to protect their members.
• Little Boy warned that Black Nest might be using them to find Edward, as Zhang Heng considered the game's faction-choice rules and the strength of each side.
• Ponytail Man described Edward's plan to release evidence about CTOS and the team's mission to help him evade Black Nest.
• Waldo admitted that the team's story about a captured friend was partly a lie meant to get rid of Zhang Heng, though they did have a friend in trouble elsewhere.
• Zhang Heng acknowledged their lack of trust and said he would show his sincerity first.

Waldo and Zhang Heng met the full 01 Guerrilla Team aboard a flight to Grenoble, where Zhang Heng demonstrated that he could fill the team's lack of a field operative. The team began planning to rescue Edward's younger sister before Black Nest could target her.

• Waldo flew to Grenoble to record casino video poker machines for 01's operation.
• Ponytail Man introduced Semi-prime, a cryptography expert with albinism, and explained that another 01 member would join later.
• Little Boy objected to Zhang Heng joining without the team's approval, but Zhang Heng demonstrated his skills and she reluctantly shook his hand.
• Ponytail Man showed Zhang Heng a photo of Edward's younger sister and explained that Black Nest had targeted her, so 01 planned to rescue her first.

Zhang Heng proposed impersonating Leah’s online friend Gaspard to rescue her from Black Nest’s surveillance, and planned to prepare for the role in a parallel instance. After landing in Grenoble, he tried to connect with the hostile little boy over a game of Tetris.

• Ponytail Man explained that Leah did not know about Edward’s conflict with Black Nest and that contacting her online would alert her watchers.
• Waldo gave Zhang Heng a USB drive containing Leah’s online information, which Zhang Heng studied during the flight.
• Zhang Heng suggested posing as Gaspard, Leah’s close online friend, and volunteered to play the role despite knowing little about French pop music.
• Zhang Heng planned to use the upcoming parallel instance to learn enough about France and music before meeting Leah.
• After the group landed at Grenoble Airport, Zhang Heng asked the little boy to let him try his modified, high-speed Tetris game.

Zhang Heng discovered that high scores in Tetris earned him large amounts of Game Points, then joined Ponytail Man’s team as they headed toward their hotel. On the highway, a red Ford tried to force their car into a collision before racing off with a Citroën in pursuit, revealing that other players were also targeting Leah.

• Zhang Heng borrowed the little boy’s handheld console and quickly improved his Tetris score, earning 143 Game Points in twenty minutes.
• Zhang Heng explained that his Lego training had improved his speed and demonstrated how he could assemble a panda in one minute.
• Ponytail Man outlined the team’s plan to reach the hotel, prepare for their operation, and evacuate with Leah afterward.
• A red Ford tried to provoke a collision with the team’s Renault, but Zhang Heng steadied the steering wheel and prevented a crash.
• Zhang Heng recognized that the red Ford and the pursuing Citroën were likely connected to other players competing for Leah.

Zhang Heng drove the 01 Guerrilla Team after the people pursuing Leah so Ponytail Man could photograph them. They witnessed the red Ford’s driver leap from a bridge into the river, leaving Zhang Heng to suspect he was trying to escape rather than kill himself.

• Zhang Heng learned that Edward might have contacted other people to target Leah, and he decided to investigate both the Ford’s occupants and Black Nest’s people.
• Zhang Heng took the wheel and drove the Renault Scenic through a dangerous highway crash scene to catch up with the vehicles.
• Ponytail Man photographed the Citroën’s driver and part of the Ford’s driver before Black Nest’s people noticed a reflection and Zhang Heng hid behind a pickup truck.
• The red Ford pulled over on a bridge, and its driver climbed over the guardrail and jumped into the river as four armed people emerged from the Citroën.
• Zhang Heng told the 01 Guerrilla Team that the jump looked like suicide in theory, but he suspected the Ford’s driver was trying to escape.

Zhang Heng kept the 01 Guerrilla Team committed after the Ford driver's apparent suicide and learned that Vincent Naselli led Black Nest's Secret Operations Group Two. He went to Green Frog to observe Leah, where she unexpectedly kissed the band's drummer onstage.

• Zhang Heng gave the 01 Guerrilla Team a chance to back out, but the members agreed to continue helping Edward.
• Ponytail Man identified the hooked-nosed man as Vincent Naselli, and Waldo discovered that he led Black Nest's Secret Operations Group Two.
• The little boy agreed to track Vincent through his phone, while Zhang Heng said he would first observe how Black Nest was controlling Leah.
• Zhang Heng went alone to Green Frog, where Leah and her Suffocation Band arrived to perform.
• Leah walked up to the microphone, then turned and kissed the blonde woman playing drums.

Zhang Heng identified Earring Man as another person trying to rescue Leah from Black Nest and proposed that they cooperate. They agreed to divide the work and exchange intelligence, leaving the task assignments and their next moves undecided.

• Zhang Heng observed Black Nest operatives monitoring Leah and noticed that the bar’s surveillance cameras were under their control.
• Zhang Heng recognized Earring Man from a street-racing photo and approached him in the Green Frog.
• Earring Man dismissed his temporary translator and told Zhang Heng that Black Nest had killed his friend, a dismissed cop investigating its connection to CTOS.
• Zhang Heng and Earring Man agreed to divide the work, let Earring Man choose his task first, and exchange intelligence by taking turns asking questions.

Zhang Heng and Earring Man discussed their investigation into Black Nest and Edward, but a highway camera photo exposed Earring Man to Black Nest informants at the Green Frog bar. They fled into the restroom and began escaping through its ventilation duct as pursuers closed in.

• Zhang Heng and Earring Man compared what they knew about Black Nest, Leah, and Edward, and Earring Man asked how they could contact each other afterward.
• Zhang Heng received a message from the little boy warning that Earring Man had been identified in a highway camera photo and that Black Nest could reach the bar within seconds.
• Zhang Heng and Earring Man tried to leave, but Leah's nightly singalong trapped them in the crowd, so Zhang Heng spotted the restroom and led them inside.
• Black Nest informants recognized Earring Man from Vincent's photo and searched the Green Frog while Zhang Heng and Earring Man removed the restroom's exhaust fan.
• Earring Man drew his handgun and told Zhang Heng to climb into the ventilation duct first, and Zhang Heng used him as a step to enter it.

Zhang Heng escaped Black Nest’s pursuit after Earring Man helped draw them away, then returned to the hotel and proposed luring Leah to a ski resort to prepare a home-field operation. The group realized that Black Nest was monitoring Leah’s communications, leaving them with no clear way to get her to come.

• Zhang Heng and Earring Man fled the Green Frog as Black Nest’s men surrounded it, then split up to evade their pursuers.
• Earring Man drew Black Nest’s men toward himself and escaped by jumping into the Izer River, while Zhang Heng lost his pursuers and boarded a subway.
• The little boy told Zhang Heng that Waldo had replaced his photo and identity information in the hotel system.
• Back at the hotel, Zhang Heng proposed using a ski resort near Grenoble as their home field and letting Leah come to them.
• Waldo pointed out that Black Nest monitored Leah’s communications and that Leah rarely went skiing, making it difficult to lure her to the resort.