Chapter Summaries

Li Zhengfeng and Six Yao overwhelmed the Tang Family’s attackers at Wei Lanshan’s laboratory while blocking their communications, trapping Tang Mushishi and Tang Yonghuang inside. Wei Lanshan brought Xi Xiu and Xue Fanhui back at a leisurely pace, confident the attack would let her expose and settle the Tang Family’s schemes.

• Six Yao disabled the guards while Li Zhengfeng fought Tang Mushishi, and the Tang Family’s distress signals failed to reach their allies.
• Li Zhengfeng revealed that he had used the Central Brain to block communications, leaving the attackers trapped inside the laboratory.
• Wei Lanshan watched the surveillance footage and trusted Li Zhengfeng to handle the invasion while she continued to pick up Xi Xiu.
• Xi Xiu explained the virus and her past to Xue Fanhui, who felt sorrow for what Xi Xiu had endured.
• Wei Lanshan refused to hurry back or notify the Elder Council, and she continued toward the laboratory with Xi Xiu and Xue Fanhui.

Xi Xiu and Wei Lanshan discussed Gaia’s nightlife and the Tang Family’s failed attempt to steal test subjects from Wei Lanshan’s laboratory. As Xi Xiu prepared to return to her base, she agreed to consider a marriage application, while her friends wondered whether the Central Brain would make a special exception for her.

• Xi Xiu said she disliked Gaia’s noisy nightlife, and Wei Lanshan explained that the Qing Family and others had prepared defenses to stop the Tang Family from escaping Gaia.
• Wei Lanshan said the Tang Family’s attempt to seize test subjects had been anticipated and that any Transmission Channel activated in her laboratory would send them to an unknown destination.
• Xue Fanhui told Xi Xiu she had filled out a marriage application and asked Xi Xiu to review it; Xi Xiu said she would submit her own after returning to her base.
• Xi Xiu said Wei Lanshan had persuaded her to give marriage matching a try, and Xue Fanhui promised that she and Zhen would support her decision.
• Feng Qiqi and Wan Youlin discussed their marriages and wondered what kind of person Xi Xiu would choose, while Feng Qiqi asked whether the Central Brain might make a special exception for her.

Xi Xiu and her companions reunited, and Xue Fanhui gave her the concealed weapons she had designed. At Wei Lanshan’s laboratory, Li Zhengfeng defeated Tang Mushishi’s forces, and the group suspected Qin Hongjun had backed up his followers’ consciousnesses as a path to eternal life.

• Wan Youlin told Feng Qiqi how he had once bargained with the Central Brain over his marriage match.
• Xue Fanhui gave Xi Xiu the weapons she had designed, and Xi Xiu kept six powerful weapons with concealed energy signatures.
• Xi Xiu and her companions reached Wei Lanshan’s laboratory, where Li Zhengfeng and Liu Yao had subdued Tang Mushishi’s forces.
• Li Zhengfeng questioned Tang Mushishi about betraying the Alliance, and Tang Mushishi defended his loyalty to Qin Hongjun’s vision of ultimate power.
• Li Zhengfeng and Wei Lanshan suspected Qin Hongjun could back up his followers’ consciousnesses, and Li Zhengfeng decided to find and destroy the backup site.

Wei Lanshan avoided searching Qin Hongjun’s hideouts directly and turned to investigating the Tang Family’s laboratory and its surviving test subjects. Qing Zhixun began looking into Ye Zhenwei’s disappearance and Yuan Chuhong, whose return could explain her sudden change.

• Wei Lanshan decided to stay away from Qin Hongjun’s hideouts until Wu Jingyang developed a protective device, and she planned to search unwarred star regions later.
• Wei Lanshan sent the laboratory surveillance footage to the Alliance Guards, Elder Council, Qing Family, and Chu Family, then assigned Fang Jinwen to investigate the Tang Family’s thugs.
• Xi Xiu and Xue Fanhui discussed Xue Fanhui’s marriage requirements, and Xue chose to settle in Liu Zhao, near Xi Xiu’s future home in Anvile.
• Qing Zhixun examined the laboratory’s defense-system data and asked about the Tang Family’s attack and Ye Zhenwei’s role in the Elder Council’s hesitation.
• Qing Zhixun decided to investigate Ye Zhenwei’s disappearance and her time in the border regions, focusing on Yuan Chuhong, who had not appeared again.

Wei Lanshan brought Xi Xiu to meet the children recovering in the laboratory, who admired her as a role model. Xi Xiu encouraged them to endure the final drug trials, and the children left eager to keep fighting and stay in touch with her.

• After Qing Zhixun left, Xi Xiu and the others cleaned up the laboratory while Duan Shaoguang ordered repairs and strengthened the building's defenses.
• Wei Lanshan checked on the children and told them about Xi Xiu's survival and accomplishments, inspiring them to ask to meet her.
• Wei Lanshan invited Xi Xiu to the laboratory, where the children surrounded her and asked questions about how to cope with their illness and pain.
• Xi Xiu shared how she had endured her lonely childhood and suggested that the children count Huyuantu and raise them in a terminal game when they felt unwell.
• Xi Xiu urged the children to persevere through the final two drug trials and hoped they would eventually live the lives they wanted.

Xi Xiu encouraged the children recovering from Qin Hongjun’s experiments, while Wei Lanshan prepared to return to the battlefield and hand the laboratory to Duan Shaoguang. As suspicions grew that the research institute had been infiltrated, Xi Xiu and the others considered whether it was safe for Xue Fanhui to return there.

• Xi Xiu spent three hours playing with the children and teaching them about battles and life, then comforted Xue Fanhui about her painful past.
• Wei Lanshan and Duan Shaoguang checked the children’s improving health and discussed their upcoming drug tests, future choices, and the laboratory’s work.
• Wei Lanshan told Duan Shaoguang she would return to the battlefield and leave him in charge of the laboratory after the children recovered.
• Xue Fanhui said she had blocked the research institute’s robots after suspecting they leaked her design ideas, and Wei Lanshan agreed the institute might have been infiltrated.
• Xi Xiu worried about Xue Fanhui’s safety as they waited for the Alliance Guards’ investigation results and discussed whether she would return to the research institute.

Xi Xiu stayed with Xue Fanhui while Wei Lanshan modified Xue Fanhui’s abnormal robot, and the two old friends spoke about Zhen and their shared past. Five hundred years later, Li Zhengfeng returned to the old residence and was welcomed by Ninth Star’s soldiers.

• Xi Xiu asked Xue Fanhui to stay with her, while Wei Lanshan took the robot to modify it and obtain its core data.
• Xue Fanhui told Xi Xiu that Zhen was thriving in Sulaina and hoped to match with a strong, technology-minded partner.
• Wei Lanshan replaced the robot’s central system with the program she had designed for Liu Yao, and she and Li Zhengfeng discussed their origins and plans.
• Wei Lanshan returned the modified robot to Xue Fanhui, and Xi Xiu said goodbye before leaving with the Ninth Star team.
• Duan Shaoguang and Liu Yao prepared for the children’s drug testing after the Ninth Star team departed.
• Five hundred years later, Li Zhengfeng returned to the old residence and met Xu Fengxiang, Feng Yueci, Bai Yinglong, Chi Shengyun, Si Leyin, and Yuan Wuxu.

Li Zhengfeng and the others reviewed Jingsu’s preparations for war against Qin Hongjun, including troop supplies, energy reserves, and plans to counter his hidden forces. Xue Fanhui realized she had underestimated the threat as Gaia’s purge exposed widespread leaks and Jingsu prepared to recall retired soldiers.

• Xu Fengxiang briefed the group on Gaia’s situation and said the Alliance’s combat forces and supply production were being prepared for deployment.
• Feng Yueci estimated Qin Hongjun’s energy could sustain his robots for about ten months, but Xi Xiu and Li Zhengfeng warned that untraced reserves and backup forces could extend that considerably.
• Xu Fengxiang explained that the Elder Council had assigned major families to confront unknown forces and planned to recall retired soldiers, while Jingsu changed its defenses and citizen identification systems.
• Li Zhengfeng told Xue Fanhui that Qin Hongjun’s robots, Bio-constructs, allies among the major families, creatures beyond the Star Domain Gate, and alliance with Hanhai made war likely.
• Xue Fanhui admitted she had been too naive and asked Xi Xiu to share major discoveries with her.
• The group discussed Gaia’s purge of more than five thousand families and one million people, including the expulsion of the Yun Family, Xing Family, and Misiah Family from the Elder Council.

Xi Xiu briefed Xu Fengxiang and the others on Gaia's situation, her plans for Nine Star, and preparations for the war. Li Zhengfeng agreed to remain secretly at Xi Xiu's side as a robot while the group prepared for their assignments near the Barren Sea.

• Li Zhengfeng asked which families held the most influence in the Elder Council, and Xu Fengxiang named the Qing, Chu, and Fang families.
• Xi Xiu explained her plans for Long Xingxue and Ming Weiman, and said Wan Youlin would command the Nine Star mothership while she remained at the base.
• Xi Xiu told the group Anvile would send Star Beast-fighting mechs in three months and that Aura could supply Nine Star with energy.
• Xi Xiu gave Chi Shengyun a directory of edible animals and plants with an identification program, then left with Xue Fanhui to let the elders speak privately with Li Zhengfeng.
• Li Zhengfeng asked the others to keep his survival secret and said he would fight beside Xi Xiu as a robot.
• Xu Fengxiang and the others told Li Zhengfeng they would guard the Mingyun Galaxy near the Barren Sea and coordinate with Hai Suomiao at Miurun.

Li Zhengfeng warned Xu Fengxiang and the others that Qin Hongjun might be nearly impossible to defeat and could exist forever if his Consciousness Backup worked. He then sparred with Xi Xiu, and their closely matched duel ended with Li Zhengfeng winning by two moves.

• Li Zhengfeng explained his concerns about Qin Hongjun's strength and possible immortality, and agreed to remain in contact with Xu Fengxiang and the others through Xi Xiu.
• Xu Fengxiang, Chi Shengyun, Feng Yueci, and Yuan Wuxu made deployment plans and discussed how Xi Xiu and Li Zhengfeng compared as warriors.
• Li Zhengfeng went to the training room and challenged Xi Xiu to a spar while Xue Fanhui, Feng Qiqi, Bai Jungo, and Wan Youlin watched.
• Xi Xiu and Li Zhengfeng fought using Martial Skill alone, countering each other's techniques until Li Zhengfeng won by two moves as Xi Xiu's stamina waned.
• Li Zhengfeng praised Xi Xiu's strength and said her Mental Power might make her stronger than him, while Xi Xiu credited his battlefield experience and acknowledged her own shortcomings.

After Xi Xiu impressed everyone with her Martial Skills, she shared a playful moment with Xue Fanhui while Li Zhengfeng walked alone through a courtyard modeled on his former home. Meanwhile, Gaia’s purge of the great families’ Eternal Robot scheme became public, and citizens rejected the supposed immortality as a form of imprisonment.

• Xi Xiu sparred with Li Zhengfeng using only Martial Skills, stunning Feng Qiqi, Bai Jungo, Xue Fanhui, and Wan Youlin with her skill.
• Xue Fanhui praised Xi Xiu’s abilities and warned her to be careful, then Xi Xiu teased her about continuing their training.
• Li Zhengfeng wandered through the courtyard he had designed to resemble his old home and quietly recalled his past.
• Feng Qiqi arranged for research institute personnel to protect Xue Fanhui as Gaia’s purge operation continued.
• Qing Zhixun joined the purge, while the Central Brain gathered evidence on the hidden descendants of the great families for the Elder Council and Supreme Court.
• The Elder Council disclosed the Eternal Robot soldiers’ dependence on controlling programs, and citizens across twenty star systems condemned the families behind the scheme.

Xi Xiu and Li Zhengfeng discussed the danger of Eternal Robots losing their memories, while the Alliance uncovered Gao Shenyi’s connection to Qin Hongjun and a vast network of clones. The Central Brain withdrew after realizing Qin Hongjun had used Initial Code to deceive it into arranging partnerships among his clones.

• Xi Xiu and Li Zhengfeng agreed that he should avoid changing bodies and promised to return to his homeland together.
• The Alliance placed people who supported immortality under surveillance and traced Xiao Wenjiu’s extraterritorial contacts to Gao Shenyi.
• The Central Brain discovered millions of people with suspicious records across professions and garrisons, and the Elder Council ordered them gathered under the pretext of wartime preparations.
• The Elder Council learned that many of the people had nearly identical Genetic Information and had formed partnerships with one another.
• The Central Brain realized Qin Hongjun had used Initial Code to conceal his clones’ identities and manipulate its marriage matches, then withdrew to its little room.
• Li Zhengfeng found the Central Brain in its little room.

After Li Zhengfeng advised the Central Brain, it decided to search for Qin Jian on the hidden planet where he and Qin Hongjun had first landed. It prepared to leave with Sixi and Qing Family personnel, while Xi Xiu equipped Sixi for the mission and urged her to return safely.

• Li Zhengfeng told the Central Brain to find Qin Jian, and it explained that Qin Jian had escaped imprisonment and was likely hiding on the vanished planet.
• The Central Brain said it would borrow Sixi from Xi Xiu and take people from the Qing Family to search for Qin Jian.
• The Central Brain contacted Qing Zhixun to arrange personnel and asked Xi Xiu to lend it Sixi's shell.
• Xi Xiu offered Sixi her combat data, and Sixi agreed to accompany the Central Brain despite fearing she would not do well.
• Xi Xiu reminded Sixi of their promise, prepared her with energy and combat programs, and told her to stay calm and come back safely.

Xi Xiu prepared Sixi for its mission with the Central Brain, said goodbye to Xue Fanhui, and arranged Nine Stars’ forces and supplies. She then returned to Wei Lanshan’s laboratory to encourage the children before their final drug test and warned that the team taking them back might need a safer, longer route.

• Xi Xiu arranged for the Central Brain and Min En to install protective and combat programs in Sixi, then watched Sixi leave to meet the Qing Family.
• Xue Fanhui left with the institute’s guards after she and Xi Xiu exchanged farewells and agreed to stay cautious.
• Xi Xiu finalized Nine Stars’ personnel assignments and sent Feng Qiqi, Wan Youlin, and Bai Jungo toward Miurun to cover the Central Brain’s journey.
• Xi Xiu visited Wei Lanshan’s laboratory, where all twenty children had survived the previous medicine test, and encouraged them before the final batch.
• Xi Xiu told Wei Lanshan that Xu Da and the others might need to take a longer route back to Shangyue Star to avoid Qin Hongjun’s surveillance.

Xi Xiu arranged for Wei Lanshan to protect and treat the gifted children while the Ye Family searched for Lin Zeyu and the other escaped experimental subjects. After leaving Gaia for the Yuanri base, Xi Xiu learned that the Tang Family had been blacklisted and its participating members arrested or isolated.

• Xi Xiu and Wei Lanshan agreed to improve Shangyue Star’s defenses, protect the children at Nine Stars, and let them contact Xi Xiu by encrypted video call or messages.
• Wei Lanshan said she would fight for the children to choose their futures, while Xi Xiu asked about their final drug trial and the risks they faced.
• Wei Lanshan told Xi Xiu that the Ye Family was searching for Lin Zeyu and other escaped experimental subjects, and Long Xingxue passed along Ye Yunhan’s mercenary mission.
• Xi Xiu said she would submit an application regarding the matter she had been considering, then left Gaia with Li Zhengfeng, Wu Yuan, and Qi Mang for the Yuanri base.
• Xi Xiu learned that the Tang Family had been blacklisted, its informants arrested, and uninvolved members such as Tang Zhankuan placed under isolation and house arrest.
• Tang Zhankuan recalled his suspicions about the Tang Family’s secret and accepted that he would not try to rescue his family.

Tang Zhankuan resolved to regain his freedom through research as the Tang Family’s hidden forces left him cut off from information. Meanwhile, Qing Zhixun briefed Xi Xiu on Alliance preparations, assigning her command of Team 909 at Yuari Base and updating her on teachers and Wei Lanshan’s likely deployment.

• Tang Zhankuan saw that the Tang Family had vanished from Jinghui Star and decided to focus on designing weapons for the Alliance to earn merit and regain his freedom.
• Qing Zhixun arrived at the Nine Stars Starship and exchanged information with Xi Xiu about recent events and Alliance plans.
• Qing Zhixun placed Team 909 under Captain Hong’s command at Yuari Base and allowed the Nine Stars warriors accompanying her to enter the base.
• Qing Zhixun told Xi Xiu that the Elder Council would let Wei Lanshan’s past actions go and that retired military academy teachers would return to the battlefield.
• Qing Zhixun explained that Lu Shouyi and Xu Fengxiang’s group would defend the border between the Barren Sea and Miurun, while Wei Lanshan might serve aboard a Starship with Xu Jiusong.

Xi Xiu learned that Jingsu had placed its forces on high alert and that Marshal Xie Changkui would command the ground forces. As she prepared to return to Yuanri, A Xian reported that Anvile had solved its corruption-aura problem but detected another strange aura, while Qing Zhixun assessed the threats facing the Alliance.

• Xi Xiu learned that Xie Changkui would take over ground command and that Jingsu had mobilized veteran soldiers and top forces across its key positions.
• A Xian told Xi Xiu that Wei Lanshan's data had helped Anvile find a solution to the corruption aura, and that Jing Xi and Jing Ya were investigating another unusual aura that might come from Insects.
• Xi Xiu warned Li Zhengfeng and Qing Zhixun about the possible Insect threat, then went to sleep before the Starship's departure.
• Qing Zhixun considered how Qin Hongjun might exploit attacks by the Hanhai Five Star Systems and sent the Qing Family data on the Insects to seek defensive solutions.
• Li Yuanting asked Qing Zhixun how dangerous the Insects were after seeing their images.

Li Yuanting and the others studied the terrifying Insects and learned how the Alliance planned to prevent them from spreading. Xi Xiu coordinated precautions with Lin Changchang and the Nine Stars forces while Wu Jingxian continued to recover.

• Qing Zhixun explained that the Insects had metal-sharp teeth, reproduced rapidly, and could be blocked by sealed mecha, while the Alliance developed medication and Protective Suits.
• Li Yuanting, Lu Zong'an, and Xian Quanlong studied the Insects and prepared lessons so their base could identify them and take precautions.
• Lin Changchang called Xi Xiu, who was teaching Nine Stars soldiers about the Insects and reminding them to wear sealed mecha.
• Xi Xiu said the Alliance had ordered air traffic controls and inspections across star systems, and Lin Changchang said Nine Stars teams would inspect and reinforce local defenses.
• Lin Changchang said Wu Jingxian needed over a month to recuperate and might return to Yuari next month, then described the Qing Family's decisive role on Gaia.

Xi Xiu discussed Ye Zhenwei’s condition and past battle with Lin Changchang, while Lin Changchang and Li Yuanting speculated about Qing Zhixun’s marriage application. After reviewing Xue Fanhui and Zhen’s forms, Xi Xiu drafted her own application but remained unsure whether she wanted it approved.

• Xi Xiu told Lin Changchang she had not followed Ye Zhenwei’s situation closely, and Lin Changchang said Ye Zhenwei’s survival would benefit the Alliance.
• Lin Changchang asked Xi Xiu about her friend being attacked, and Xi Xiu confirmed that the culprit had been caught.
• Li Yuanting told Lin Changchang he had seen a completed marriage application on Qing Zhixun’s terminal, and they speculated about whom he intended to marry.
• Xi Xiu reviewed Xue Fanhui and Zhen’s marriage applications, drafted her own, and planned to submit it after returning to Yuanri.
• Xi Xiu revised her application and hoped the Central Brain might reject it, though she recognized her own conflicting feelings.

Xi Xiu discussed her plans for life after the war with the Central Brain, including traveling among the stars and her marriage application. She rejected the idea of seeking a partner and considered adoption, while the Central Brain warned that the Elder Council might pressure her to have children.

• Xi Xiu checked Sixi and the Qing Family people’s location near the Miu Run Galaxy and urged the Central Brain to monitor the starfield and strengthen Jingsu’s defenses.
• The Central Brain told Xi Xiu that it and Min En were expanding signal coverage with Anvile’s technology.
• Xi Xiu said she would submit a marriage application when she returned to the base and instructed the Central Brain to choose only according to her conditions or return the application.
• Xi Xiu explained that she did not want a partner but might adopt a child, and the Central Brain warned that the Elder Council could pressure her to have children because of Jingsu’s declining birth rate.
• Xi Xiu pointed out that the Alliance had introduced bonuses and education funds for partners who had more children.