Recaps

After An Qingyu spent three days dissecting two Mystery corpses and repairing the ship’s damaged equipment, Jinian tried to recruit him for the Shang Xie Association. The cruise ship entered Great Xia, but its arrival was interrupted by more than a dozen gray fighter jets diving toward it.

• An Qingyu dissected two Mystery corpses on deck for three days and secretly repaired a damaged power cylinder, improving its performance.
• Jinian emerged from the Block Room, learned of An Qingyu’s work, and invited him to join the Shang Xie Association, but An Qingyu chose to remain with Nightfall.
• Jinian offered An Qingyu access to the association’s supply of Mystery corpses, and he eagerly accepted an invitation to visit Utopia.
• Lin Qiye and the Shang Xie Association members crossed Great Xia’s border and entered the Wall of Miracles, where they saw clear skies and open sea.
• The ship’s alarm sounded, and more than a dozen gray fighter jets approached and dove toward the Pixel Cruise Ship.

Lin Qiye and the Shang Xie Association returned to Great Xia through Shanhai Pass and traveled to the capital. There, Lin Qiye reunited with Baili Pangpang and Cao Yuan, who learned that Shen Qingzhu was missing in Hell Origin, while Jinian said she needed to go somewhere first.

• Lin Qiye identified the approaching Great Xia fighter jets as friendlies and marked the sky with the Nightfall Squad insignia, prompting the planes to guide the Pixel Cruise Ship toward Shanhai Pass.
• Lu Wuwei met Lin Qiye and the others at Shanhai Pass, where they left the conspicuous ship and boarded a plane Zuo Qing had prepared for their return to the capital.
• Baili Pangpang and Cao Yuan met Lin Qiye at the airport and asked where Shen Qingzhu was.
• Lin Qiye told Baili Pangpang and Cao Yuan what had happened to Shen Qingzhu, and Baili Pangpang privately reflected that his premonition had been right and the Source Dao Jade might protect him for now.
• Lin Qiye said his group would report to headquarters, while Jinian said she needed to go somewhere first.

Lin Qiye learned that the search for the Lovecraftian Divine Kingdom and Shen Qingzhu had failed, then discussed finding Zhou Ping with Zuo Qing. At the cemetery, Lin Qiye met Jinian mourning Ye Fan and asked whether she knew Zhou Ping.

• Zuo Qing told Lin Qiye that the Heavenly Court and Lu Wuwei had been unable to locate the Lovecraftian Divine Kingdom or Shen Qingzhu.
• Lin Qiye told Zuo Qing about the clues to Zhou Ping and suggested asking the Shang Xie Association for information.
• Zuo Qing explained that Jinian had returned to mourn Ye Fan, who had once saved and mentored her before she left Great Xia.
• Zuo Qing asked Lin Qiye to coordinate with the Shang Xie Association and bring Zhou Ping back, and Lin Qiye asked for Shen Qingzhu's home address.
• Jinian mourned Ye Fan at the Night Watchmen Cemetery, where Lin Qiye joined her and asked if she knew Zhou Ping; she paused at the question.

Lin Qiye learned that Zhou Ping had gone to help Nyx in Olympus and arranged to seek more information with Jinian. While he and his companions prepared to visit Shen Qingzhu’s family in Linjiang City, Jinian arrived at Abstinence Hall to free Leng Xuan.

• Jinian told Lin Qiye that Zhou Ping had visited Utopia and gone to Olympus to help Nyx, whose faction was now struggling against the Zeus Faction.
• Lin Qiye arranged to meet Jinian in Shangjing in three days and told his companions they would first visit Shen Qingzhu’s hometown, Linjiang City.
• After his companions left the Night Watchmen Headquarters, Lin Qiye withdrew a year’s salary and deposited it into a card.
• Jinian arrived at Abstinence Hall, where Dr. Li led her to the cafeteria to find Leng Xuan.
• Jinian told Leng Xuan that she had come to get him out.

Lin Qiye and his companions traveled to Linjiang City to visit Shen Qingzhu’s recorded residence, despite Baili Pangpang sensing unusually heavy yin energy. They found that the address was Hanshan Orphanage, where an old man recognized Shen Qingzhu’s name and let them inside.

• Baili Pangpang arranged a Lincoln through the Baili Family’s local branch and remarked that Linjiang City felt unusually heavy with yin energy.
• Lin Qiye and the others went to the address in Shen Qingzhu’s file, only to learn the residents had mostly left because the area was slated for demolition.
• Lin Qiye confirmed with the Night Watchmen archives that Shen Qingzhu had been an orphan and that the orphanage was his listed residence.
• A little girl mistook Cao Yuan and the others for hooligans, and an old man confronted them at the gate with an iron rod.
• Lin Qiye explained that they were Shen Qingzhu’s comrades, and the old man softened before letting them enter Hanshan Orphanage.

Lin Qiye and his companions visited Hanshan Orphanage, where Director Liu told them Shen Qingzhu had once lived there and that the orphanage was being harassed over a real estate project. As Director Liu went out to buy dinner, Baili Pangpang called Lin Qiye outside, while Cao Yuan stayed behind and met the gaze of the quiet boy in the corner.

• Director Liu welcomed Lin Qiye and his companions to Hanshan Orphanage and spoke about Shen Qingzhu, who had been found by the riverside twenty years earlier.
• Director Liu explained that the Li Group wanted the orphanage’s land and had sent thugs to cause trouble, while the children praised Shen Qingzhu for protecting them.
• Lin Qiye understood that Director Liu was withholding something, and Baili Pangpang left to make a phone call.
• Director Liu went out to buy vegetables as rain began, leaving Lin Qiye, Cao Yuan, and An Qingyu with the children.
• Baili Pangpang called Lin Qiye over from outside, while the children fled from Cao Yuan and An Qingyu went to comfort them.
• Cao Yuan remained in the room and met the gaze of the boy who had stayed in the corner.

At the orphanage, Cao Yuan and An Qingyu discovered that Wu Quan had drawn a black umbrella sheltering Shen Qingzhu’s name on the children’s dream wall. Lin Qiye learned that acquiring the Li Group’s land could take a year, then noticed that Old Man Liu had returned from shopping injured.

• Cao Yuan spoke with fifteen-year-old Wu Quan, who asked whether Shen Qingzhu was really on a secret mission.
• An Qingyu showed Cao Yuan the children’s career dream wall, where Wu Quan had drawn a black umbrella over Shen Qingzhu’s name.
• Baili Pangpang told Lin Qiye that taking over the Li Group could require a year, while negotiations over the orphanage’s riverside land were unlikely to succeed quickly.
• Old Man Liu returned soaked and muddy with groceries, welcomed the children, and offered Lin Qiye and the others beds for the night.
• Lin Qiye noticed that Old Man Liu was injured.

Lin Qiye used Black Pupil to learn that Old Man Liu had been beaten while protecting Hanshan Orphanage from a group of thugs. He tracked the men to a drinking spot and began interrogating them by force.

• Lin Qiye noticed Old Man Liu was injured and used Black Pupil to review what had happened on the nearby road.
• Lin Qiye saw the thugs attack Old Man Liu after he ran to divert them from Hanshan Orphanage.
• Lin Qiye followed the thugs to a rain-soaked shed where they discussed the Li family’s payment and plans to drive the orphanage out.
• Lin Qiye confronted the five men, severed the Scarred Man’s arm and another thug’s foot, and ordered them to answer his questions.

Lin Qiye and the others shared dinner at Hanshan Orphanage, where the children recalled Shen Qingzhu and Wu Quan saving them from a fire. After learning that Li Group was behind the attacks on Director Liu but had acted within the law, Lin Qiye sent his companions to bed and secretly slipped out into the rainy night.

• Lin Qiye joined the orphanage residents for dinner and told the children about Shen Qingzhu's undercover operation against the Believers.
• Old Man Liu and the children recounted how Shen Qingzhu and Wu Quan had rescued them from a fire four years earlier, while Wu Quan remained withdrawn.
• After dinner, Lin Qiye told his companions that Li Group had hired the thugs who attacked Director Liu, but its legal permits and reasonable relocation compensation made ordinary legal action ineffective.
• Lin Qiye said he would find a way to handle Li Group and told the others they would leave for the capital in the morning.
• After the others left, Lin Qiye waited until night and vanished into the darkness outside.

Lin Qiye infiltrated Li Group’s estate and abducted its chairman, Li Jianbai, to confront him over the threats against Hanshan Orphanage. He left Li Jianbai trapped in a dark wine cellar, where the terrified chairman demanded to know who he was.

• Old Man Liu told Wu Quan that the orphanage would move because Li Group’s threats were escalating, but Wu Quan insisted they stay.
• Lin Qiye decided to act alone to protect Hanshan Orphanage, put on the Monkey King Mask, and flew into Li Group’s estate.
• At Li Jianbai’s cocktail party, Lin Qiye located the chairman and dragged him through a spatial rift.
• Lin Qiye threw Li Jianbai into an underground wine cellar, where Li Jianbai asked who had taken him.

Lin Qiye warned Li Jianbai to leave the Old District alone and stop using thugs against residents, but masked figures also beat and threatened Li Jianbai. As Li Jianbai tried to call the police, a ghostly woman emerged from his phone and warned him again about the Old District.

• Lin Qiye threatened Li Jianbai with Zhanbai and made him promise to abandon the Old District and stop attacking families who refused to relocate.
• After Lin Qiye left, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing ambushed Li Jianbai, beat him, and warned him not to send anyone to the Old District.
• Li Jianbai cursed the attackers and tried to call Director Han to report them.
• The estate lights went out, and a ghostly woman emerged from Li Jianbai's phone to warn him not to lay hands on the Old District.

After Li Jianbai fainted, Lin Qiye and his companions prepared to leave the old district, where Old Man Liu planned to move the children for their safety. Their journey back to the capital stopped at the private airport when two figures in dark crimson cloaks appeared in the rain.

• A girl spoke through Li Jianbai's phone, said she had erased Li Group's old district project records, and let him remain unconscious.
• Lin Qiye and Cao Yuan ate breakfast with Old Man Liu and the children, and Lin Qiye said Li Group had abandoned its development plans.
• Lin Qiye tried to give Old Man Liu a bank card for the children, but after he refused, Lin Qiye secretly slipped it under the office door.
• Lin Qiye and his companions said goodbye and drove toward Linjiang Airport, while Old Man Liu found five bank cards outside his office.
• The rain grew heavier as Lin Qiye and the others dozed in the car, which stopped at the private airport entrance before two figures in dark crimson cloaks.

Lin Qiye learned that the Li family estate had been massacred after he visited it, but denied that Nightfall Squad was responsible. Zuo Qing cleared the squad and ordered them to investigate the killings and the strange activity in Linjiang City.

• Shi Wenxuan stopped Lin Qiye and Nightfall Squad and brought Lin Qiye to the Linjiang City Night Watchman headquarters after confirming he had visited the Li estate.
• Shi Wenxuan showed Lin Qiye photographs revealing that more than fifty guests and the Li Group's executives had been killed, including Li Jianbai.
• Lin Qiye denied carrying out the massacre and insisted that none of his squad members would have done it; he also learned that the estate's surveillance cameras had failed.
• Zuo Qing told Lin Qiye he trusted the squad, instructed them to investigate the massacre and Linjiang's strange activity, and said Shi Wenxuan would provide details.
• Lin Qiye asked Shi Wenxuan for the local Night Watchman squad's help, and Shi Wenxuan agreed.

Lin Qiye and the Nightfall Squad investigated the Li family's extermination, using the scene and Lin Qiye's power to reconstruct the attack. They discovered the killer had descended through the roof and left enormous three-toed footprints, suggesting it was a heavy, possibly flying nonhuman creature.

• Lin Qiye learned that he, An Qingyu, Jiang Er, Baili Pangpang, and Cao Yuan had all visited Li Jianbai the previous night, and An Qingyu estimated the Li family was killed around two or three in the morning.
• Shi Wenxuan led the Nightfall Squad into the sealed Li estate, where An Qingyu deduced that the slash through the mansion's roof had come from above.
• Lin Qiye used Black Pupil's Eye of Secret Peering to rewind the scene and trace the night's events through the movements of objects and footprints.
• Lin Qiye saw the killer descend through the roof and leave enormous three-toed footprints before slashing through the mansion and killing the people inside.

Lin Qiye concluded that a flying Mystery had targeted Li Jianbai, raising suspicions that someone was behind the massacre, and went to investigate Hanshan Orphanage. There, Wu Quan learned Li Group had disappeared but became alarmed when Old Man Liu wondered whether something had happened to Shen Qing Zhu.

• Lin Qiye used the Black Pupil to learn that a three-toed flying Mystery killed the Li family, searched for Li Jianbai, killed him, and flew away.
• Shi Wenxuan revealed that no Mystery had appeared in Linjiang City for nearly four years, a period that matched the fire at Hanshan Orphanage.
• Lin Qiye suspected the Mystery had deliberately targeted Li Jianbai and the Li estate, asked An Qingyu to search the city with the Rat Tide, and headed to Hanshan Orphanage.
• Wu Quan told Old Man Liu that Li Group had disappeared and they could stay at the orphanage until Shen Qing Zhu returned.
• After Old Man Liu wondered whether something had happened to Shen Qing Zhu, Wu Quan reacted with shock and insisted that his brother would be fine.

Wu Quan reacted to news about Shen Qingzhu by running into the rain, where he encountered Lin Qiye and secretly sent monsters to read his memories. At Hanshan Orphanage, Old Man Liu explained how Shen had rescued Wu Quan from human traffickers, leaving Lin Qiye to learn the story of their past.

• Wu Quan fled Old Man Liu’s home in the rain after hearing Shen Qingzhu mentioned, recalling how Shen had saved him and promised he could become his umbrella someday.
• Wu Quan crossed paths with Lin Qiye but chose not to ask him what had happened to Shen Qingzhu.
• Wu Quan summoned a group of monsters and ordered them to read Lin Qiye’s memories without harming him.
• Lin Qiye returned to Hanshan Orphanage and asked Old Man Liu why Wu Quan had run off.
• Old Man Liu told Lin Qiye that traffickers had abducted Wu Quan as a child and forced him to beg after breaking his arms and abusing him.
• Old Man Liu explained that Shen Qingzhu had freed Wu Quan and the other captive children, fighting their captors and carrying the unconscious Wu Quan down from the mountain.

Lin Qiye questioned Old Man Liu about the orphanage fire that Shen Qingzhu had survived, hoping to learn whether a Mystery had caused it. As he left, the Mystery responsible for the Li family massacre ambushed him, and he discovered more black figures closing in from every direction.

• Old Man Liu told Lin Qiye that Shen Qingzhu had rescued the children from a mysterious fire at the orphanage four years earlier, but investigators had found no cause and no one had seen a monster.
• Lin Qiye recalled that the fire was the last suspected Mystery case in Linjiang City and realized Wu Quan might know more about what had happened.
• Old Man Liu asked whether something had happened to Shen Qingzhu, and Lin Qiye reassured him that Shen was fine and promised to pass along his request for a letter.
• As Lin Qiye walked away through the rain, the giant Mystery that had wiped out the Li family crashed down and attacked him with blood-red cleavers.
• Lin Qiye blocked the attack with Zhanbai, then sensed black figures closing in through the surrounding alleys.

Lin Qiye fought the Mysteries attacking him and discovered that their hidden controller could also seize control of his orderlies, manipulate matter, and interfere with human bodies. He escaped several restraints and hurled Zhanbai with Miracle toward a random direction, trying to force the unseen mastermind to reveal himself.

• Lin Qiye recognized that the attacking Mysteries were being controlled by the person who had slaughtered the Li family, and sent his Green Orderlies to fight them.
• From a factory roof, Wu Quan watched Lin Qiye and swept his hands toward the distant battle, intensifying his control.
• Hong Yan, A Zhu, and other orderlies turned against Lin Qiye, while the Chaos Cube and Spider Silk tried to trap him.
• Lin Qiye returned the orderlies to the hospital and prepared to fight the Mysteries himself, but the controller immobilized him with bodily and environmental forces.
• Lin Qiye transformed into a Frost Giant Dragon to break free, then used Miracle to send Zhanbai flying in a random direction.

Lin Qiye uncovered Wu Quan as the person who had secretly subdued Mysteries in Linjiang City and killed the Li family, then subdued him and demanded he come to the Abstinence Hall. Wu Quan agreed to go with Lin Qiye after giving up his resistance, but asked to make one request.

• Lin Qiye used the Reverse Summoning Array and Tyrant's Wrath to reveal Wu Quan, who had been hidden beneath a gray plastic bag.
• Lin Qiye confronted Wu Quan about secretly subduing Mysteries and ordering the slaughter of the Li family, and Wu Quan admitted it.
• Wu Quan said he had killed the Li family to protect the orphanage and refused to leave Linjiang City with Lin Qiye.
• Lin Qiye restrained Wu Quan and warned that he would tell Director Liu the truth if Wu Quan kept resisting.
• Wu Quan stopped his attack and agreed to go with Lin Qiye, but asked to make one request.

Lin Qiye learned that Wu Quan possessed the Fourth Royal Ruin, Emperor of Domination, a powerful ability with severe limits on its wielder’s lifespan, body, and range. Zuo Qing ordered Wu Quan sent to Abstinence Hall for Li Yangguang to discipline him, while the chapter ended with an author’s notice about reducing daily updates.

• Lin Qiye told Zuo Qing about Wu Quan’s abilities, and Zuo Qing identified them as the Fourth Royal Ruin, Emperor of Domination.
• Zuo Qing explained that the Marquis of Champion Huo Qubing had wielded Emperor of Domination and described its power and three major drawbacks.
• Lin Qiye realized Wu Quan’s extraordinary strength came with a severely shortened lifespan and a physically fragile body.
• Zuo Qing ordered Wu Quan sent to Abstinence Hall so Li Yangguang could discipline him.
• Sanjiu announced that daily updates would decrease from three to two and explained the decision.

Lin Qiye prepared to escort Wu Quan to the Abstinence Hall while Wu Quan secretly left a letter for Old Man Liu. Old Man Liu discovered that Liu Xiaoyan and Qian Cheng had also vanished and rushed out to find them.

• Lin Qiye told Baili Pangpang and the others about the Emperor of Domination and explained why Wu Quan was unlikely to become a Night Watchman.
• Old Man Liu gave Wu Quan his last two hundred-yuan bills and left after Wu Quan claimed he was going out with classmates.
• Wu Quan agreed to leave with Lin Qiye and revealed that he had written Old Man Liu a letter.
• Old Man Liu returned to Hanshan Orphanage and found Liu Xiaoyan and Qian Cheng missing, with a letter explaining they had gone out into the world with Wu Quan.
• Old Man Liu realized the young people had been hiding things from him and rode away on his Electric Scooter.

Wu Quan exchanged the truth about the Calamity of Fire for Lin Qiye’s memories of Shen Qingzhu, revealing how Shen Qingzhu tried to save the children in the burning orphanage. The memory ended with Shen Qingzhu unconscious and still holding a child who had already died.

• Wu Quan offered to show Lin Qiye his memories of the fire in exchange for seeing Lin Qiye’s memories of Shen Qingzhu, and Lin Qiye agreed.
• Young Wu Quan followed Shen Qingzhu to the orphanage, where a flaming face watched over the burning dormitory and the children’s cries faded.
• Shen Qingzhu charged into the fire to save the children, but fiery tentacles and a flaming pillar knocked him down.
• Wu Quan tried to fight the flames to protect Shen Qingzhu, but Shen Qingzhu shielded him and then attacked the flaming face with an iron rod that passed through it.
• Shen Qingzhu fell into the fire, but a Vacuum Domain extinguished the flames, and he emerged carrying a child before collapsing.
• Wu Quan found that the child in Shen Qingzhu’s arms had no breath or heartbeat.

Wu Quan used his Emperor of Domination to revive Li Xiaoyan and Qian Cheng as living corpses after the fire, then controlled them for years to keep them hidden. After Lin Qiye revealed the memories behind his actions, Wu Quan learned Shen Qingzhu was alive and accepted his imprisonment while hoping they would meet again.

• Wu Quan found Li Xiaoyan and Qian Cheng dead after the fire, while Shen Qingzhu and Old Man Liu remained unconscious and two younger children survived.
• Wu Quan discovered he could control the organs in Li Xiaoyan and Qian Cheng's bodies, restoring their bodily functions and making them imitate ordinary people.
• Wu Quan controlled Li Xiaoyan and Qian Cheng for years, keeping them within his three-kilometer range so they would not revert to corpses.
• Lin Qiye connected Wu Quan's memories to the pair's behavior and asked whether he had been playing the roles of three people.
• Wu Quan confirmed that he had controlled them and, after seeing Lin Qiye's memories, relaxed with the hope that Shen Qingzhu would return.

Lin Qiye and the others were stopped by Director Liu, who confronted them about taking Wu Quan, Li Xiaoyan, and Qian Cheng away. After Lin Qiye explained that the children would be safe, Director Liu accepted their decision and let them leave for Abstinence Hall.

• Director Liu blocked the Lincoln on the road out of Linjiang, and Wu Quan, Li Xiaoyan, and Qian Cheng got out to face him.
• Director Liu demanded to know who Lin Qiye and his companions were, and Lin Qiye said they were soldiers with secret duties and promised the children would be safe.
• Director Liu spoke privately with the three children, who chose to continue with Lin Qiye and the others.
• Director Liu bowed to Lin Qiye and asked him to take care of the children, then left after Lin Qiye comforted him.
• Wu Quan returned to the car, and the group continued toward the military airport.

Lin Qiye delivered Wu Quan to the Abstinence Hall, where Dr. Li took charge of him and introduced him to Old Dog Wu. Meanwhile, Leng Xuan entered the mist alone to make preparations away from Loki’s surveillance, as Jinian learned that Lin Qiye’s group was returning to Shangjing.

• Lin Qiye and his companions brought Wu Quan to the Abstinence Hall, where Dr. Li explained that he would manage the prison and hospital and serve as Wu Quan’s caretaker.
• Dr. Li showed Wu Quan around the prison, cafeteria, and activity area, then introduced him to his patient Old Dog Wu, who recognized him as the Emperor of Domination.
• Lin Qiye and the others left for Shangjing City while Wu Quan stayed at the Abstinence Hall.
• At the northern border, Jinian offered Leng Xuan a Pill Flask for Xiao Nan, but Leng Xuan refused because he planned to enter the mist alone and avoid renewed surveillance from Loki.
• Leng Xuan vanished into the mist, and Jinian received a call that Lin Qiye and the others were returning to Shangjing, so she prepared to meet them.