Chapter Summaries

Fang Jinyu joined the others as they finished fighting the Mechs, and Qing Zhixun led the group toward open ground beyond Central City to escape the returning forces. They found the area distorted by an abnormal magnetic field that disrupted their Teleportation Devices, leaving them trapped between the unknown terrain and a wall of Mechs.

• Fang Jinyu helped Enweit, Flora, and Tarasha finish off the Mechs while Qing Zhixun and Xi Xiu cleared their own battlefield.
• Qing Zhixun learned that the main Mech force had returned and sent the group coordinates for open ground where they could use Teleportation Devices to escape.
• Xi Xiu sensed a presence in the darkness as the group approached the open ground, and Wu Mu detected abnormal radiation.
• Qing Zhixun halted everyone when the environment began changing and the Mechs stopped five meters away, watching without attacking.
• Tarasha reported that the Teleportation Devices were malfunctioning, while the returning Mechs blocked retreat and left the group facing a dangerous choice.

Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun were swept into a collapsed area during teleportation and landed together in an isolated place. As they sought shelter from an approaching storm, they discovered that both of their Space Lockets containing Nutrient Paste were missing.

• Fang Jinyu's group left safely through the Teleportation Device, then Qing Zhixun, Xi Xiu, and the others began teleporting after them.
• The teleportation data fluctuated, and Xi Xiu fell into the collapse after saving Enweit; Qing Zhixun jumped in after her.
• Xi Xiu activated her mecha's protective system and landed safely with Qing Zhixun, while the collapsed area returned to normal behind them.
• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun found that they had no communication signal and headed for shelter before the storm.
• While setting up camp, Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun discovered that both had lost the Space Lockets holding their Nutrient Paste.

After their food supply disappeared, Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun searched the lush canyon for something edible. They found giant bullfrog-like creatures and prepared them for dinner, then returned to camp with unfamiliar fruits and branches to examine and use later.

• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun realized their food was missing and agreed to search for food and water after the storm passed.
• After the rain stopped, they left their robots guarding camp and followed the sound of water to a river, where they found almost no aquatic life.
• Xi Xiu used her Mental Power to catch five enormous bullfrog-like creatures and confirmed with her food database that they were edible.
• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun skinned and cleaned the creatures, seasoned them, and carried them back toward camp.
• Xi Xiu collected unfamiliar fruits and branches on the way back, planning to check the fruits and dry the branches for fuel.

Xi Xiu prepared grilled bullfrog for Qing Zhixun, whose taste reminded him of the person he had loved and mistreated in his previous life. As they camped for the night, Xi Xiu began mapping an unfamiliar starfield.

• Xi Xiu grilled the bullfrogs with her homemade seasonings, and Qing Zhixun recognized the flavor from his previous life.
• Qing Zhixun concealed his emotions and considered how to redirect Hong Xixiu's marriage application to himself.
• Xi Xiu mistook Qing Zhixun's strange behavior for suspicion about her loyalty, but he reassured and praised her.
• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun set up camp, slept in the tent, and Xi Xiu sat up to map the unfamiliar stars.

Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun drew a Star Chart of the strange, sparsely populated planet and set out east to investigate its anomalies and find a signal channel. Qing Zhixun became convinced that Xi Xiu was the person from his previous life, while their search left them still cut off from the Alliance.

• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun discussed the planet’s unusual lack of animal species and drew a preliminary Star Chart together.
• Qing Zhixun offered to let Xi Xiu call him Ah Xun, then privately concluded that she was the person he had known in his previous life.
• Qing Zhixun revised the chart while Xi Xiu slept, and he rested close to her tent, elated by the thought that they had met again.
• The next morning, Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun packed up and headed east, where they expected to have the best chance of receiving a signal.
• As they traveled farther east, the scenery grew stranger, but Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun’s signal receiver remained blank.

Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun explored a strange planet where seasons changed abruptly across neighboring landscapes and their signal receiver had failed. After eating, they headed south to find a river and establish camp, while Qing Zhixun suspected Xi Xiu was the girl he had once fought on the Virtual Network.

• Wu Mu nestled in Xi Xiu's hair as she recorded the bizarre trees and mountains and found that she could not contact Anvile.
• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun crossed from a summer mountain into a winter desert and discovered their signal receiver was dead.
• Xi Xiu suggested finding a plain near a river to solve their water and food needs, and Qing Zhixun agreed to head south after lunch.
• As they prepared and ate a meal, Qing Zhixun connected Xi Xiu's comments to a childhood Virtual Network opponent and suspected she was Hong Xixiu.
• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun changed direction and traveled south, observing the strange terrain as they searched for a place to camp.

Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun realized the planet was likely an abandoned experimental Tractor Type artificial star and headed south to find its Underground City. They found a hill made from expensive Artificial Soil, suggesting construction had stopped abruptly, and prepared to search for an entrance.

• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun failed to match the planet’s star map to any of the artificial planets in Qing Zhixun’s database.
• Xi Xiu reasoned that the planet might be a Tractor Type artificial star, designed with separate zones for different seasons and landscapes.
• Qing Zhixun agreed with Xi Xiu’s theory and suggested they search south for the Underground City and information about the planet.
• Xi Xiu used a detector to help them search, and they found a tall hill made from expensive Artificial Soil.
• Qing Zhixun guessed construction had been halted midway, then activated his protective equipment and told Xi Xiu to put on her protective suit.

Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun explored the underground of the Artificial Star, documenting its abandoned living areas and recovering unusual robots. They found evidence that the site had been hurriedly abandoned and hoped the robots’ data would reveal who built it.

• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun uncovered the underground entrance, secured the area, and descended into the Artificial Star.
• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun explored overgrown living quarters and photographed objects that could help identify the Artificial Star’s age and owner.
• Qing Zhixun found a Fire Fox robot, and Xi Xiu explained that Fire Foxes were unique to Fox Tail Star and died if they left it.
• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun found about fifty old construction robots; Qing Zhixun removed one robot’s chip to recover its programs and blueprints.
• Xi Xiu detected an anomaly a thousand meters ahead.

Qing Zhixun and Xi Xiu followed a terrifying, decaying aura beneath the Artificial Star to a vast black swamp. A reconnaissance robot revealed that the swamp teemed with rapidly reproducing Insects that their Mental Powers could not detect.

• Wu Mu shifted into combat mode as Qing Zhixun and Xi Xiu sensed a dangerous aura underground and pressed on to investigate.
• Qing Zhixun recognized the aura as resembling the decaying presence that threatened Anvile, and he and Xi Xiu traced it to a black swamp.
• Qing Zhixun sent a reconnaissance robot toward the swamp’s center while Wu Mu reacted as if an unseen enemy were nearby.
• The robot revealed densely packed Insects that neither Qing Zhixun nor Xi Xiu could sense with Mental Power.
• Xi Xiu saw the Insects kill and devour one another, lay eggs, and hatch new adults within minutes.

Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun discovered that the giant Insects in the Artificial Star were intelligent, dangerous creatures carrying a corrupting aura, and resolved to destroy them before they could reach the Alliance. They found dormant surveillance equipment recording the Insects’ growth and prepared to test whether Xi Xiu’s powder could kill the larvae.

• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun realized the largest Insects could block Mental Power and that the creatures had consciousness.
• Xi Xiu concluded the Insects had to be destroyed, and she and Qing Zhixun discussed their weapons and the dangers of fighting over the swamp.
• Xi Xiu found surveillance devices, and Qing Zhixun discovered they had recently run out of energy after monitoring the Insects for centuries.
• Qing Zhixun copied the surveillance footage for the Alliance to study.
• Xi Xiu proposed testing powder from Wei Lanshan’s supplies on the larvae.

Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun used Wei Lanshan’s toxic powder against the swamp Insects, but the two kings reacted by gathering the colony and emerging as enormous Behemoths. As the Behemoths approached, Qing Zhixun struggled against their aura and stepped in front of Xi Xiu to protect her.

• Xi Xiu ordered the scouting robots to spread Wei Lanshan’s powder, and it slowed the Insects’ egg-laying and incubation.
• The two largest Insects called the colony toward them, and the others lifted the kings out of the swamp.
• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun saw that the Behemoths were gigantic and had energy-storing abdomens, wings, and poisonous slime.
• Qing Zhixun showed signs of distress, and Xi Xiu told him she could support his Mental Power if he began to weaken.
• The Behemoths flew toward Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun, and Qing Zhixun stepped in front of Xi Xiu to shield her.

Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun fought two Behemoths with Wu Yuan, Qing Sansui, and Wu Mu, but their attacks could not penetrate the creatures’ armor. The Behemoths seemed unable to move far from the swamp, and Xi Xiu questioned whether they could leave the threat there.

• Wu Yuan, Qing Sansui, and Wu Mu confronted the two Behemoths as Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun prepared to fight.
• Wu Mu bound the Behemoths while Wu Yuan and Qing Sansui attacked, but the creatures dodged and resisted every strike.
• Xi Xiu tested the Behemoths with her metal sphere and recorded their eyes and wingbeats, but her attacks could not pierce their skin.
• Xi Xiu called Wu Yuan back after ten failed attacks, and Qing Zhixun returned without making progress against his Behemoth.
• Qing Zhixun noted that the Behemoths seemed unable to move far from the swamp, and Xi Xiu wondered whether they could leave them there.

Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun tried to force two Behemoths back into the swamp, but their Mental Power attacks met fierce resistance and the Behemoths’ decay aura began to exhaust Qing Zhixun. Xi Xiu decided to wear the creatures down by using their own kind as bait, and Ebony brought dead Insects near them.

• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun agreed to confront the Behemoths with Mental Power, each taking one and promising to help the other if needed.
• Xi Xiu discovered that each Behemoth stored Mental Power in six chambers around its eyes, making covert attacks difficult.
• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun attacked the Behemoths, but their piercing cries and oppressive decay aura forced them to retreat.
• Xi Xiu proposed exhausting the Behemoths until they returned to the swamp to feed, while Qing Zhixun rested.
• Ebony killed Insects from the swamp and dragged their bodies near the Behemoths as bait.

Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun exploited the Behemoths’ return to the swamp to attack them with Mental Power and Atomic Light Cannons. The wounded creatures began healing, and Xi Xiu prepared poisoned metal balls as the group readied an all-out strike.

• Ebony lured the hungry Behemoths back into the swamp, where they fed on the corpses of their kind.
• Wu Yuan analyzed the foul air while Xi Xiu soothed Qing Zhixun with her Mental Power, helping him recover.
• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun attacked the Behemoths’ Mental Power while they fed, severely wounding them and trapping their wings in vines.
• Qing Zhixun and Xi Xiu fired Atomic Light Cannons at the Behemoths, damaging their eyes and wings as they tried to escape the swamp.
• Xi Xiu noticed the Behemoths healing, so she coated the metal balls with poisonous powder and prepared to attack before they recovered.

Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun killed the two Behemoths and began exterminating the remaining Insects in the swamp. With the Alliance still unreachable and the Artificial Star difficult to escape, Xi Xiu offered Qing Zhixun her stored Energy Stones.

• Xi Xiu, Qing Zhixun, Wu Yuan, and Ebony attacked the Behemoths, weakening them with powder and forcing them to expose their bodies.
• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun planted weapons in the Behemoths’ wounds, then Ebony pulled the team to safety before the weapons exploded.
• Wu Yuan and Qing Sansui cleared the decay from the air, and Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun returned to find adult Insects feeding on the Behemoths’ remains.
• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun agreed to spread the remaining powder and camp nearby until the adult Insects and eggs were dead.
• Qing Zhixun calculated that his energy supply could not power a mecha out of the Artificial Star, so Xi Xiu offered to lend him about five Space Lockets’ worth of Energy Stones.

After Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun vanished into a vortex, A Xian and the Alliance forces gathered at Yuanri’s base to search for them. Wu Jingyang joined the rescue effort, and A Xian prepared to re-enter Holy Land with Su Jinbao’s team while the soldiers secured the area.

• A Xian learned from Su Jinbao that Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun had been swept into an unknown starfield, and their signals and trackers could not be found.
• Wu Jingyang arrived at Yuanri’s starfield and agreed with Xu Jiusong to enter Holy Land and retrieve environmental data to estimate where Xi Xiu had gone.
• Xu Jiusong assigned Lin Zaiqin to command the battle at the base while Wu Jingyang prepared to follow A Xian inside.
• A Xian called Wu Jingyang, arranged to meet him inside Holy Land, and prepared to re-enter with Su Jinbao’s group.
• A Xian asked Su Jinbao about the Spatial Distortion, then reassured the guilt-ridden Enweit that they would bring Xi Xiu back.

A Xian and Wu Jingyang investigated the Spatial Collapse that had swallowed Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun, then prepared a way to follow them. They left for the unknown space while Tarasha and Flora remained behind to oversee the base.

• A Xian and her group met Wu Jingyang outside Central City, where he began studying the unusual magnetic field.
• A machine-aligned creature ordered its subordinates to accelerate their collection of consciousnesses and prepare a counterattack against the Jingsu Alliance.
• Su Jinbao and Enweit recalled that the collapse occurred thirty seconds after their Teleportation Device activated, and Flora noted that they had been the twenty-ninth squad to leave.
• Wu Jingyang reproduced the collapse on the twenty-ninth test and ran further experiments to identify where transported objects would arrive.
• After upgrading the Teleportation Device and adjusting its positioning system, Wu Jingyang led A Xian, Li Yuanting, Su Jinbao, Enweit, and his team into the device to search for Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun.
• Tarasha and Flora stayed behind to oversee the base after the warriors finished dealing with the Mechs.

Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun destroyed the swamp and its Insect eggs, then discussed the Artificial Star owner's confidence and concealment as they left the underground facility. After disinfecting themselves at dawn, the group camped on the surface to continue their journey the next day.

• Qing Zhixun fired an Atomic Light Cannon into the swamp and used incendiary bombs to burn the Insect eggs to ash while Xi Xiu and the others verified the area was clear.
• Xi Xiu worried that some Insects might survive and reproduce again, so Qing Zhixun said they would report the threat to the Alliance for biomedical research.
• As the group left the underground area, Xi Xiu questioned why the Artificial Star's owner had left the facilities so accessible and discussed how the hidden system concealed the star.
• Qing Zhixun explained that the owner had accounted for nearly everything, while Xi Xiu suggested he had also trusted that any intruder would be unable to trace the operation back to him.
• After emerging at dawn, Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun disinfected themselves inside a protective barrier, then decided to camp until the next day.

Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun camped separately after their battle underground, and Xi Xiu dreamed that Qing Zhixun appeared in a scene she had long desired. The next morning, unsettled by the dream and her feelings around him, Xi Xiu set out with Qing Zhixun to find food and continue south in search of a signal.

• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun ate, set up separate tents, and rested after their exhausting underground battle.
• Xi Xiu dreamed of a splendid spring scene, and Qing Zhixun's face appeared in it.
• Qing Zhixun watched over Xi Xiu as she slept and resolved not to let her leave him again.
• Xi Xiu woke unsettled by the dream, especially after seeing Qing Zhixun, and decided to shield her mind from dreams in the future.
• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun found an animal for a meal and then continued south, planning to leave by mech if they could not find a signal.

Wu Jingxian and her allies arrived on the Artificial Star and reunited with Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun. As they headed toward the underground swamp to show Wu Jingyang what they had found, Xi Xiu explained how they had survived and why their Nutrient Paste Space Lockets had vanished.

• Wu Jingxian, Su Jinbao, Enweit, and Wu Jingyang teleported to the Artificial Star, where Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun confirmed they were allies and emerged from hiding.
• Wu Jingxian embraced Xi Xiu in relief, while Li Yuanting apologized to Qing Zhixun for arriving late.
• Wu Jingyang began investigating the site, and Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun offered to show him and Wu Jingxian what they had discovered underground.
• Xi Xiu learned that her and Qing Zhixun's Nutrient Paste Space Lockets were made from Shulai Stone, which had been drawn to the Artificial Star's Shulai Stone deposits.
• Wu Jingxian gave Xi Xiu Nutrient Paste, and Xi Xiu reassured Enweit that saving him had been the right choice.
• Su Jinbao asked Xi Xiu to play the video of their discoveries.