Chapter Summaries

Liu Di chose an unconventional set of forces for China’s war exercise, while Leip believed Di Wu’s restrictions would leave the European generals with an easy victory. As the two-hour preparation period began, Liu Di carried China’s flag toward the battlefield on foot, leaving Mr. Song impressed by his presence.

• Mr. Song told Liu Di and Mo Jiuli to compete amicably and direct any grievances toward the European Nation.
• Liu Di selected light fighters, an empty airfield, mobile infantry, engineers, a few noisy missile bases, and no long-range strike aircraft or armored troops.
• Leip told Eagle Eye and Roman to fight without restraint, then worried that Di Wu might retaliate against him after the exercise.
• Mr. Song announced that the battle would begin in two hours, and the commanders set out for their bases.
• Mo Jiuli folded the Chinese flag and boarded a vehicle, while Liu Di carried the flag on his shoulder and walked toward the distant battlefield.

Liu Di inspected the Chinese forces and took command of their exercise while General Norman used satellite surveillance to identify their air-defense blind spots. The exercise began with Norman preparing to use his space-based intelligence to defeat China quickly.

• Liu Di toured the Chinese deployment zone, saluted by soldiers whose determination to win moved him.
• Liu Di returned to headquarters, planted the Chinese flag in his command room, and declined Han Licheng’s offer to explain the command system.
• Liu Di surveyed the coastal battlefield and recognized that the sea, desert, and terrain left China few options besides direct confrontation.
• The exercise began as Song and Leip watched the battlefield from the observation center.
• General Norman revealed that the European Nation had deployed twelve weather satellites and five military satellites to map Chinese air-defense blind spots.
• Norman prepared to recreate his Gulf War strategy and predicted that the exercise would end within twenty minutes.

Norman sent a European Nation fleet to destroy China's command center, but the Mohist School deployed Rakshasa Star and its cloaking and electronic-warfare devices disabled the attackers. The European pilots lost navigation and communications deep inside China, with no safe route back.

• Norman launched four electronic warfare aircraft and ten B-2 bombers toward China's command center.
• Liu Di told Han Licheng to watch, while Mo Jiuli ordered the Mohist School to activate Rakshasa Star.
• A hidden aircraft marked Ink rose from the ground and released small devices that attached to and cloaked the European Nation planes.
• Norman lost the fleet's radar signals and could not locate the bombers even with satellite images.
• The devices disabled the pilots' radar, communications, and missile targeting systems, so the fleet captain ordered a retreat.
• The European pilots discovered they could not navigate back and risked being shot down if they flew low over China.

Liu Di trapped the European Nation flight group in a cloud of smoke until its aircraft were nearly out of fuel, then revealed that he had an unused airport. Mo Jiuli realized Liu Shizi may have anticipated the crisis from the start.

• Liu Di ordered Smoke Ghost missiles fired into the desert and had J-24 fighters keep the European Nation flight group trapped in the black fog without attacking.
• The European Nation pilots lost their bearings and discovered their fuel would last only a short time because General Norman had reduced their fuel loads.
• The flight group captain tried to contact China for help over the emergency frequency, but received no answer at first.
• Liu Di told the European Nation pilots he had an unused airport, then dismissed their thanks.
• Mo Jiuli recalled Liu Shizi's earlier request for an empty airport and suspected Liu Di had planned for the situation in advance.

Liu Di welcomed European Nation bombers onto the Chinese airfield, then had their pilots captured and demanded access to the aircraft. A Chinese mechanic revealed detailed knowledge of the B-2A and said he could theoretically fly it.

• Leip protested that Liu Di had tampered with European Nation aircraft, but referees reported that Liu Di had used no special ability.
• Liu Di left the command post with technical staff and watched the European Nation B-2s land safely at the Chinese airport.
• Liu Di had Chinese soldiers tie up the European Nation pilots, explaining that an exercise was battle.
• Liu Di asked a Chinese pilot whether he could fly a B-2, but the pilot said he lacked experience with its systems.
• When the European Nation captain refused to share information, Liu Di threatened to beat the pilots until they talked.
• A Chinese mechanic listed the B-2A's engines, navigation systems, and radar, then said he could theoretically operate the aircraft.

Liu Di persuaded Qin Guang and the other China pilots to fly the captured B-2, then told his technical staff to take a lunch break. Meanwhile, European Nation’s hidden fleet reached Ningya Bay under cover of a cyberattack, leaving the next move poised at sea.

• Liu Di asked Qin Guang whether he would board the B-2, and Qin Guang agreed, determined to surpass European Nation’s technology.
• Liu Di rallied the China pilots and promised to protect Qin Guang and advance his career; the pilots volunteered to join the flight.
• Han Licheng ordered the captured European Nation pilots fed and cared for until the exercise ended.
• Liu Di explained that unconventional tactics could overcome China’s technological disadvantage, then ordered the technical team to eat and rest.
• General Norman brooded over the missing aircraft while General Hawkeye revealed that his forces had concealed European Nation’s naval movements by hacking China’s surveillance systems.
• Two Ticonderoga-class cruisers, four Perry-class frigates, and six Barracuda submarines gathered in Ningya Bay, with the submarines protecting the ships’ seaward approach.

Mo Jiuli ordered the Mohist School to deploy four enormous rotor-covered aircraft against the European Nation fleet. The spherical aircraft created a controlled wind as the fleet prepared to fire, leaving the confrontation poised to escalate.

• Eagle Eye explained that the European Nation fleet would use its missiles to destroy China's command headquarters, while General Norman believed China's hacked surveillance system left it doomed.
• Mo Jiuli told the Mohist School to release four Symbols, and four huge, unusual aircraft emerged from underground gates at Liu Di's command center.
• The four aircraft flew hundreds of kilometers and lined up above the European Nation fleet, where Eagle Eye ordered surface-to-air missiles to target them.
• Mo Jiuli called for the Wind Symbol, and the spherical aircraft fired hot and cold blasts that formed a wind, which its rotors then controlled and spun at high speed.
• Mo Jiuli called for the Cloud Symbol.

Mo Jiuli used the Mohist School’s Four Symbols to unleash a storm against the European Nation’s fleet, but the fleet tried to flee rather than surrender. Liu Di showed Mo Jiuli how to combine the aircraft into a sea vortex, leaving the warships and submarines stranded in Ningya Bay.

• Mo Jiuli used the Four Symbols to create storm clouds and lightning, then demanded that the European Nation’s fleet surrender.
• Leip accused Mr. Song of hiding a weather weapon, while the fleet used the exercise restrictions to retreat toward the open sea.
• Liu Di told Mo Jiuli how to use the Four Symbols to generate a powerful vortex, and the aircraft spread out across a thirty-kilometer square.
• The Four Symbols stirred and drained the waters of Ningya Bay, rapidly lowering the bay’s water level.
• The European Nation’s cruisers ran aground on reefs, while its submarines were tossed into shallow waters and became trapped.

China’s navy captured the stranded European Nation fleet after the Mohist School’s Four Symbols Weather Weapon created a whirlpool, while Mr. Song celebrated the victory. General Hawkeye and General Norman then joined forces to attack Jianmen Pass with ground troops.

• Chinese warships emerged at Yaning Bay, surrounded the stranded European Nation fleet, and demanded its surrender.
• The European Nation sailors raised white flags, and Chinese soldiers boarded the ships and took the crews prisoner without firing a shot.
• Mr. Song teased Leip Tongguo about the fleet’s capture and praised the Mohist School’s use of the Four Symbols Weather Weapon.
• General Hawkeye learned that all his vessels had been captured, and General Norman reminded him that China had long concealed its capabilities.
• General Hawkeye and General Norman decided to jointly command the ground forces and strike Jianmen Pass.

Mo Jiuli and the Mohist School set out to seize Jianmen Pass using their Wooden Sparrow and airborne Square Box tanks, while Leip sent European Nation forces racing there by road. Liu Di joined the advance by off-road vehicle and left Han Licheng to worry about how far behind they seemed.

• Mo Jiuli told Liu Di that the Mohist School would capture Jianmen Pass, then flew toward it aboard the Wooden Sparrow.
• Leip sent twenty thousand European Nation mobile troops toward Jianmen Pass, planning to arrive first and defend the pass.
• Liu Di explained that the Mohist School’s Square Box tanks were catapult stones as hidden launch tracks hurled them into the sky toward Jianmen Pass.
• Liu Di asked whether the soldiers were ready, then rode with Han Licheng toward Jianmen Pass in an off-road vehicle.
• Han Licheng worried that the vehicle was falling behind as waves of airborne tanks passed overhead, and Liu Di told him to remove “I feel like.”

Mo Jiuli used the Mohist School’s mechanical technology to transform Jianmen Pass into a metal fortress, then installed an enormous ancient-style seismograph at its center. Han Licheng arrived to find the fortress nearly complete as China prepared for the approaching European forces.

• Mo Jiuli used a sensor glove to command Square Box tanks to assemble into an airtight metal wall around Jianmen Pass.
• Leaders watching from the observation center saw the tanks build a towering fortress, while Leip grew increasingly uneasy about his distant forces.
• Forty minutes later, Han Licheng arrived and found Jianmen Pass transformed into a forty-meter-tall metal fortress.
• Chinese forces launched a huge metal box toward the fortress, and it landed precisely atop the wall.
• The box opened to reveal an enormous brass seismograph, leaving Han Licheng stunned.

Mo Jiuli completed the Mohist Mechanical City around Jianmen Pass, turning it into a heavily armed fortress, while Liu Di secretly tested his metal-control ability against its Engraved Stone. The city held against Liu Di’s restrained force, and Mo Jiuli declared that the Mohist School had occupied the pass.

• Mo Jiuli finished assembling the Mohist Mechanical City around Jianmen Pass and revealed its concealed cannons.
• Magic Child identified the walls’ black adhesive as an unrefined substance resembling Fluid Metal, and Mo Jiuli explained that the Mohist School called it Engraved Stone Powder.
• Liu Di used his metal-control ability on the fortress, making its walls crack until Mo Jiuli reinforced them with his glove.
• Liu Di withdrew his hand and claimed the fortress was impregnable, though he knew he could dismantle it if he used his full strength.
• Mo Jiuli planted a national flag atop the seismograph and declared that the Mohist School occupied Jianmen Pass, ordering that anyone approaching be executed.

The Mohist School used an ancient seismograph and a new energy weapon to detect and disable a European Nation advance squad, leaving Han Licheng and General Hawkeye stunned. Liu Di understood Mo Jiuli’s traditional commands and used them to prevent the weapon from targeting his own soldiers, while Mr. Song concluded that the Mohist School had gained the upper hand.

• Leip recognized the device atop Jianmen Pass as a seismograph and accused Mr. Song of mocking him, but a bronze ball dropped into the toad’s mouth.
• Mo Jiuli gave a command using the western mansions and a solar term, and the Mohist Mechanical City aimed its cannons and fired linked energy spheres toward a forest.
• The energy spheres passed through the trees and short-circuited the European Nation squad’s electronics and MILES systems, making its life-radar dots disappear.
• Han Licheng received word that the European Nation squad had been wiped out and was astonished by the Mohist School’s unfamiliar methods.
• Liu Di understood Mo Jiuli’s commands, warned him not to fire toward three directions where his soldiers were passing, and Mo Jiuli caught and reset the falling bronze ball.
• Mr. Song told Leip that the seismograph could expose an approaching armored division, then privately celebrated the Mohist School’s advantage.

Liu Di sent nearly ten thousand Chinese infantrymen from Jianmen Pass on a covert, high-speed march toward the European Nation’s command headquarters, relying on their fighting spirit rather than special equipment. As the soldiers eliminated reconnaissance teams and advanced toward Tong Pass, Eagle Eye panicked and ordered the mech division to defend the pass.

• Liu Di sent Chinese reconnaissance companies, special forces, Marine Corps, and engineering troops out of Jianmen Pass to attack the European Nation’s command headquarters.
• Mo Jiuli questioned how the soldiers could run two hundred kilometers and break through Tong Pass, but Liu Di told him to witness China’s edge.
• Eagle Eye learned that nearly ten thousand Chinese infantry had left Jianmen Pass and ordered a reconnaissance team to locate them, but the team vanished.
• The Chinese soldiers ran through the forest and wiped out European Nation reconnaissance teams as they advanced, leaving Mr. Song excited and Leip silent.
• Eagle Eye realized that conventional surveillance could not track the Chinese units and ordered the mech division to withdraw to Tong Pass and guard the valley.

Chinese soldiers crossed a sheer cliff to reach Tong Pass while Chinese pilots used captured B-2 bombers to disable the European Nation’s heavy mech division. The chapter ended with the division declared destroyed in the exercise.

• Nearly ten thousand Chinese soldiers reached the cliff near Tong Pass after marching 180 kilometers through mountainous terrain.
• More than two thousand Engineer Soldiers secured ropes along the cliff, and Chinese troops descended and climbed across without hesitation.
• Hawkeye and Norman ordered the European Nation’s heavy mechs to attack the Chinese soldiers as they emerged from the cliff.
• Hawkeye realized the returning aircraft had been tampered with and warned the forces at Tong Pass of an impending air raid.
• Chinese pilot Qin Guang ordered the B-2 crews to fire their weapons, disabling the European Nation’s heavy mech division in less than twenty minutes.

Liu Di tried to persuade Mo Jiuli to join the final assault, arguing that China’s soldiers deserved a chance to demonstrate their fighting spirit. As Chinese and European Nation troops prepared to settle the contest hand-to-hand at Tong Pass, Mr. Song realized Liu Di had maneuvered him into choosing between the army’s morale and the Mohist School.

• Liu Di explained the Mohist School’s defensive principles to Mo Jiuli and urged him to help China establish its might.
• Liu Di told Mo Jiuli that Chinese soldiers’ resentment and fighting spirit would drive their surprise assault on the European Nation’s command headquarters.
• Mo Jiuli declined to leave Jianmen Pass, while Liu Di headed for the final assault at Tong Pass.
• Eagle Eye ordered the surviving European Nation troops to abandon their vehicles and gather at Tong Pass as nearly seven thousand Chinese infantry approached.
• The Chinese commander challenged the European Nation commander to hand-to-hand combat, and both sides discarded their guns.
• Mr. Song realized Liu Di had forced him to choose between supporting the Chinese military spirit and honoring the Mohist School’s service, while Leip pointed out that his twelve thousand troops outnumbered the Chinese seven thousand.

Chinese forces routed the European infantry at Tong Pass through fierce hand-to-hand combat, then Chinese Engineer Soldiers overwhelmed the elite Vampires reconnaissance company after its Captain planned an ambush with concealed bayonets. In the observation center, Mr. Song taunted the stunned Leip as the European assault collapsed.

• The Chinese infantry commander knocked the European infantry commander unconscious with one punch, and the two armies began a massive close-quarters battle at Tong Pass.
• Chinese soldiers fought with greater resolve and pushed back the European troops, while a thousand-strong unit of the Vampires reconnaissance company circled around the flank.
• The Vampires Captain ordered his troops to keep their Triangular Bayonets covered and strike Chinese soldiers below the left ribs, but a Chinese Engineer Soldier knocked him out with an iron shovel.
• More than two thousand Chinese Engineer Soldiers climbed up from the cliffs and routed the Vampires with wrenches and iron shovels.
• Leip watched the European forces collapse and accused the Engineer Soldiers of being disguised special forces, while Mr. Song mocked him for the Vampires' dirty tactics.

After the European Nation forces surrendered at Jianmen Pass, Leip revealed a secret force of nearly a thousand metal-fused Bio-Soldiers to stop the Chinese advance. He challenged Mr. Song to send out China’s modified humans, leaving the battle’s outcome undecided.

• Nearly two thousand European Nation infantrymen were knocked down, and the rest surrendered as Mo Jiuli and Liu Di received reports at Jianmen Pass.
• Eagle Eye told General Norman that Leip Tongguo had secretly arranged a trump card, while the Chinese force advanced toward the European Nation command headquarters.
• The Chinese soldiers halted before a four-kilometer minefield, which their engineers warned would take hours to clear.
• Leip opened the base gates and revealed nearly a thousand Bio-Soldiers whose metal-fused bodies could withstand standard bullets and explosions.
• Leip challenged Mr. Song to send China’s modified humans against the Bio-Soldiers, boasting that his troops would seize Jianmen Pass and break through Chinese lines.

Liu Di revealed a force of superhuman paratroopers who survived parachute-free drops and overwhelmed the European Nation’s command base. Their arrival left the Chinese commanders shocked and an old general moved to tears.

• Liu Di dismissed Mo Jiuli’s offer to send the Mohist School forces and revealed that another Chinese force was still coming.
• Leip deployed the Angels, weapons designed to tangle parachutes, against the incoming Chinese transport plane’s paratroopers.
• The paratroopers jumped without parachutes, passed through the Angels, and landed unharmed despite their thousand-meter falls.
• The superhuman soldiers crushed European Nation bio-humans, damaged the command center and tanks, and turned the battle in China’s favor.
• An old general rose in the observation center, clenching his fist as the words “Live as a hero among men; die as a noble ghost” echoed in his ears.

The Huaxia Paratroopers and Chinese infantry overwhelmed the European Nation forces and captured their command headquarters, prompting Eagle Eye and General Norman to surrender. Leip refused to accept the result, accusing Liu Di of cheating, and Mr. Song proposed confronting Liu Di directly.

• The 283 Huaxia Paratroopers crushed the European Nation Bio-Soldiers as Mr. Song recognized their faces as those of the martyrs whose medals he had awarded.
• The Chinese infantry crossed the minefield at the cost of more than 2,000 soldiers and reached the European Nation command headquarters within thirty minutes.
• Eagle Eye and General Norman surrendered after the Huaxia Paratroopers surrounded them inside the headquarters.
• Chinese infantry raised their red flag over the headquarters, confirming the European Nation command had fallen.
• Leip accused Liu Di of using private forces and declared that he would not acknowledge the result.
• Mr. Song and Leip agreed to confront Liu Di in person.