Chapter Summaries

After leaving Gaia, Xi Xiu and her companions traveled into the depths of space as Li Zhengfeng considered exploring the stars once the war ended. Li Zhengfeng hinted that Qing Zhixun had a hidden connection to Xi Xiu, while Xi Xiu dismissed the possibility and turned to arranging Nine Stars’ warriors and supplies.

• Xi Xiu rejected the Central Brain’s matchmaking discussion and insisted that any candidates meet her requirements.
• The day after the stellar defense opened, Xi Xiu’s starship followed Qing Zhixun’s as the two ships departed Gaia.
• Li Zhengfeng decided he would awaken his starship on Shangyue Star after the war and use his long life to explore distant starfields.
• Li Zhengfeng told Xi Xiu that Qing Zhixun seemed different and urged her to notice the subtle distinctions within him without intruding with Mental Power.
• Xi Xiu wondered whether Qing Zhixun could be someone from her past, then rejected the idea and began planning Nine Stars’ staffing and supply needs.

Xi Xiu bought ten barren planets around Ningkui Star after learning that a past planetary collision might have left valuable resources beneath their surfaces. Drilling confirmed that eight planets contained abundant raw Energy Stones, giving Nine Stars a major energy supply for the future.

• Xi Xiu sent Nine Stars personnel to explore the planets around Ningkui Star, where hard surfaces initially prevented them from detecting useful information.
• After discussing the risks with Xu Fengxiang and the others, Xi Xiu bought ten planets in Nine Stars' name, spending nearly all of the organization’s Star Coins.
• Li Zhengfeng confronted Xi Xiu about the gamble, and she explained that the planets’ many useful ores made the purchase worthwhile even if they lacked energy.
• Drilling teams found transparent raw energy ore about three thousand meters underground, with energy purity around sixty percent.
• Xi Xiu learned that eight of the ten planets held raw energy ore totaling roughly half of Aura's reserves, and she shared the results with Li Zhengfeng and Nine Stars' upper ranks.

Xi Xiu arranged for Ming Weiman to secretly mine and refine energy ore on Ningkui Star, then returned to the Yuanri base to inspect her team’s training. The chapter ended with her teammates suspecting that her urgent focus on training meant a serious danger was approaching.

• Xi Xiu entrusted Ming Weiman with mining the energy ore on Ningkui Star and building a refining plant, while he asked her to join him in business after retirement.
• Ming Weiman prepared personnel and equipment, reached Ningkui Star, and successfully set up the operation in secret.
• Fu Xuan and the Alliance’s medical experts failed to reunite many robot-bound consciousnesses with their bodies because their memories had been tampered with.
• Xi Xiu returned to the Yuanri base after nearly three months away and reunited with Flora, He Yinlei, Tarasha, and Su Jinbao.
• Xi Xiu immediately asked Vice Captain Qiu for a report on the team’s training, leading her teammates to suspect that a major threat was coming.

Xi Xiu returned to the Yuanri base, evaluated H909’s progress, and shared advanced training methods with the team. She then revealed that a powerful figure who created the Central Brain was preparing to reshape the Alliance, leaving H909 stunned by the threat and the creator’s apparent survival.

• Xi Xiu met H909 in the training hall, assessed their improved Martial Skills and Mental Power, and taught them new training methods.
• Xi Xiu ordered everyone to remain in their dormitories after sunset for a base announcement, then gathered Su Jinbao, Tarasha, and the others in 909’s meeting room.
• Xi Xiu told the team that an outside figure, backed by influential Alliance families, planned to change the rules and remake a star region.
• Xi Xiu confirmed that the figure had created the Central Brain and had exploited its vulnerabilities, though He Yinlei questioned how someone who died tens of thousands of years ago could still control it.

Xi Xiu warned her team that Qin Hongjun could block the Central Brain and might start a war within six to twelve months, then began preparing virtual battle simulations. The chapter left the Alliance facing the possibility that several star systems had already fallen under Qin Hongjun’s control.

• Xi Xiu explained that Qin Hongjun had survived by uploading his consciousness and could block the Central Brain using its Initial Code.
• Xi Xiu estimated that war could erupt within six to twelve months and told her team to keep training and await orders for a mission.
• Xi Xiu returned to the dormitory with Flora and He Yinlei, then messaged A Xian, Wei Lanshan, and Xue Fanhui to tell them she was safe.
• Wei Lanshan told Xi Xiu that all twenty children had survived their final drug test, while A Xian said she was recovering and wanted to go on missions together again.
• Xi Xiu showed Flora and He Yinlei data for ten virtual battle simulations she was preparing against Qin Hongjun’s forces.
• Xi Xiu said the coming crisis might involve the entire Alliance, with weaker star systems potentially erupting first and some possibly already under Qin Hongjun’s control.

Xi Xiu and the other warriors prepared for the threat posed by Qin Hongjun’s infiltrators and the rapidly reproducing Insects. After a training video exposed the Insects’ abilities, Qing Zhixun briefed the base on the situation across Jingsu and announced personnel changes and new training programs.

• Xi Xiu, Flora, and the others discussed the worst-case scenarios and hoped to survive long enough to return to ordinary lives.
• Qing Zhixun, Li Yuanting, and their colleagues prepared briefing materials, while Lu Zong'an completed models of the Insects’ larval, adult, and King Insect stages.
• Qing Zhixun held a base-wide meeting and presented Xi Xiu’s account and the biologists’ findings on identifying and defending against the Insects.
• Flora and He Yinlei learned that Xi Xiu had encountered the Insects before, and Flora urged her to share dangers with them in the future.
• The warriors studied the Insects’ feeding and reproduction, then Qing Zhixun summarized Jingsu’s situation and outlined base personnel changes and new training programs.

Xi Xiu increased 909’s training and updated Enweit on the danger facing Aura, while his family helped him secure the planet’s energy supply. With Aura’s defenses reorganized and the base’s training underway, Xi Xiu focused on preparing for what was coming.

• After learning about Jingsu’s situation, the warriors, He Yinlei, and Flora increased their training, and Xi Xiu sent the new plan to 909, including A Xian.
• During a video call, Enweit’s sisters warmly welcomed Xi Xiu and asked to test their strength against her, while Xi Xiu urged Enweit and his family to protect Aura and investigate suspicious families.
• Enweit and his siblings secretly searched Aura’s records and reassigned people with suspicious connections away from access to processed energy.
• Enweit secured Aura’s wartime energy supplies so they could not be diverted, while Li Zhengfeng continued training Wan Youlin and Xi Xiu concentrated on training at the base.

Xi Xiu submitted a marriage application after her friends encouraged her, and Qing Zhixun arranged for the Central Brain to match him with her. The results were due the next day, leaving Xi Xiu’s friends wondering whether she was delaying because she feared the match.

• A Xian, Flora, He Yinlei, Wei Lanshan, and Jing Xi encouraged Xi Xiu to submit her marriage application, and she finally did.
• Su Jinbao, Tarasha, Qiu Shaorong, and Qing Zhixun also submitted applications.
• Qing Zhixun read Xi Xiu’s extensive partner requirements and anticipated her reaction when the Central Brain matched them.
• A Xian reported Xi Xiu’s moods to Qing Zhixun while Xi Xiu trained with her team during the three-day wait.
• On the morning the results were due, Xi Xiu moved unusually slowly as Flora and He Yinlei prepared to contact their matches.

Xi Xiu discovered that the Central Brain had matched her with Qing Zhixun, while Flora and He Yinlei learned who their matches were. After Qing Zhixun assigned H909 a classified mission to Silvia in three days, Xi Xiu resolved to investigate the suspicious match and find a way to reject it.

• Flora was matched with Polk, and He Yinlei was matched with Xie Yahong, who planned to settle on Ningkui Star.
• Xi Xiu showed her match to Flora and He Yinlei, and they were stunned to see Qing Zhixun.
• Xi Xiu suspected A Xian had helped arrange the match, but a call from Qing Zhixun interrupted her questioning.
• Qing Zhixun ordered Captain Hong to prepare H909 for a classified mission to Silvia in three days, then ended the call without mentioning the match.
• Flora celebrated that Xi Xiu could meet Qing Zhixun in person, while Xi Xiu rejected the idea and suspected A Xian, Wu Jingyang, and the Central Brain had conspired to pair them.

After Qing Zhixun and Xi Xiu were matched as partners, soldiers at Yuanyuan base gossiped about them while Qing Sansui secretly fueled the discussion. Xi Xiu focused on preparing for a mission, while A Xian admitted to Qing Zhixun that Xi Xiu had guessed who was involved in arranging the match.

• News of Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun’s match spread through Yuanyuan base, and soldiers debated their strength, backgrounds, and relationship.
• Qing Sansui hacked the base network to join the gossip, while Xi Xiu’s friends defended her and Xi Xiu liked their posts.
• He Yinlei and Flora arranged virtual meetings with their matches, while Xi Xiu organized weapons and reviewed the mission files.
• A Xian visited Qing Zhixun’s office, where Qing Sansui served her food and juice as she complained about Xi Xiu’s anger.
• A Xian told Qing Zhixun that Xi Xiu had guessed she, Wu Jingyang, the Central Brain, and Qing Zhixun were involved in the match.

Qing Zhixun told A Xian why he had pushed Xi Xiu away, believing his illness meant he could not give her a future. A Xian challenged his decision, and Qing Zhixun revealed that he had mistaken Xi Xiu’s love for gratitude.

• A Xian explained that she had deduced Xi Xiu’s origins from her ability to read Li Zhengfeng’s notes and confirmed that Li Zhengfeng knew too.
• Qing Zhixun asked whether Xi Xiu had told A Xian about someone from her past, and A Xian realized he was the man who had hurt her.
• Qing Zhixun admitted he had deliberately distanced himself from Xi Xiu because he believed he had only a few years left to live and she deserved better.
• A Xian argued that Qing Zhixun could not decide for Xi Xiu whether their remaining years together would have made her happy.
• Qing Zhixun said he had thought Xi Xiu was repaying a debt of gratitude because, in their hometown, gratitude was greater than heaven.

A Xian confronted Qing Zhixun about his past choices and learned that he was hiding his illness from Xi Xiu while hoping to win her back. Meanwhile, Xi Xiu prepared the team for a mission near the Yuanri Star System's border as signs of a coming crisis mounted.

• A Xian told Qing Zhixun that his refusal to confess his feelings to Xi Xiu had been selfish, but he chose to keep his illness secret and try to win Xi Xiu back.
• A Xian decided to observe Qing Zhixun and Xi Xiu from a distance, then returned to find Xi Xiu planning their mission assignments.
• Xi Xiu assigned Qiu Shaorong and Su Jinbao to the starship's energy systems and weapons and planned more intensive training after the mission.
• A Xian told Xi Xiu that Anvile had overcome its discomfort with the unusual aura and had mobilized its forces to defend itself and support Jingsu's other star systems.
• Xi Xiu prepared a retreat plan and scheduled a team briefing, while He Yinlei and Flora returned from dates pleased with their matches.

Xi Xiu prepared her team for a mission to Yuanri’s border while considering the match result with Qing Zhixun. When they met, Qing Zhixun confessed that he liked Hong Xixiu, leaving Xi Xiu flustered and unsure how to respond.

• Xi Xiu told her team they would leave for Yuanri’s border in two days and warned them to watch for unknown IDs and traces of Insects.
• Xi Xiu sent Wei Lanshan the match results and planned to speak with Qing Zhixun before the mission.
• Xi Xiu met Qing Zhixun in the artificial garden after he prepared snacks and juice for her.
• Qing Zhixun asked Xi Xiu not to reject him too quickly, despite her concerns that Gene Engraving would not make their partnership happy.
• Qing Zhixun directly confessed that he liked Hong Xixiu, and Xi Xiu became too flustered to know what to say.

Xi Xiu struggled to reject Qing Zhixun after he insisted he would accept whatever future she chose and promised to wait for her. She agreed to consider the match, though memories of a past-life partner still troubled her as she left.

• Xi Xiu told Qing Zhixun that her plans to venture into the Starry Sea had never included a partner, but he refused to withdraw their matching application.
• Qing Zhixun promised to follow Xi Xiu's decisions about their future and explained that he had modeled his matching application on her criteria.
• Xi Xiu asked whether Qing Zhixun had confused his feelings with the affinity Anvile People felt for her, and he insisted they were different.
• Xi Xiu postponed their upcoming scenario simulation, and Qing Zhixun promised to wait as long as necessary.
• Xi Xiu said she would consider the match, then left while Qing Zhixun watched her depart with sadness.

Xi Xiu struggled with the results of her matching with Qing Zhixun because of the pain he had caused her in their past life. After agreeing to think about it until the mission was over, she wondered how others had avoided being matched.

• Xi Xiu returned to the dormitory unsettled after speaking with Qing Zhixun, and A Xian comforted her with Ebony.
• Xi Xiu told A Xian that Qing Zhixun had offered too many exaggerated compliments, while A Xian encouraged her to give the match a chance.
• Ebony used its vines to make tiny figures resembling Xi Xiu and imagined her having children, delighting A Xian and embarrassing Xi Xiu.
• Xi Xiu told A Xian she would reconsider the matter after their mission, and A Xian promised to support her decision.
• Xi Xiu wondered how Wei Lanshan and Marshal Xu Jiusong had avoided matching, and considered asking Li Zhengfeng for advice.

Xi Xiu and A Xian prepared their Starship for a covert mission to identify unknown IDs at Yuanri’s barren border. After inspecting the ship and reviewing the plan, they set out for the space base, where Xi Xiu left the story ready to depart with her team the next morning.

• Flora said Polk had treated her considerately during their simulations, while He Yinlei’s happiness showed that Xie Yahong had passed her assessment too.
• Xi Xiu checked supplies and the Starship as she prepared to lead the expedition, with A Xian joining her and Flora and He Yinlei traveling with the main force.
• Qing Zhixun watched Xi Xiu depart for the starport and resolved to support her ambitions, while Qing Sansui sought permission to upgrade its programming.
• Xi Xiu and A Xian inspected the Starship and its equipment, then reviewed the plan to travel to Yuanri’s border and pose as merchants.
• Xi Xiu learned that the mission site was barren and that the unknown invading IDs appeared identical to the local race.

Xi Xiu studied the Belka People and the gaps in their outdated records before leading a limited force to investigate their distress call. The Belka People allowed only one thousand Alliance personnel to land, leaving Xi Xiu to prepare for a cautious mission with much about the planet still unknown.

• Xi Xiu reviewed Qing Zhixun’s mission materials and noted that the Belka People’s distress request and records contained unexplained gaps.
• Xi Xiu and A Xian discussed the Belka People’s unusual beauty, formidable Mental Power, and rumored ability to grow wings under extreme conditions.
• Xi Xiu discovered that Belka had cut off contact with the Alliance after Li Zhengfeng’s death, leaving no records of the past five hundred years or its new generation.
• A Xian explained that the Belka People were generally trustworthy but usually fought for themselves, suggesting their urgent request was unusual.
• Qing Zhixun secured permission for one thousand garrison personnel to land, and Xi Xiu selected the force while assigning Wang Zichun to command the Starship’s defenses.
• Xi Xiu memorized the available records and reread Wu Jingyang’s Anvile descriptions of the Belka People.

Xi Xiu prepared her soldiers and plans for the mission to Belka, using Qing Zhixun’s historical records to study the species and its customs. As the starship reached the barren planet, she remained wary that the Belka People’s request for aid concealed something unusual.

• Qing Zhixun sent Xi Xiu records about the Jingsu aristocratic families’ views of the Belka species and its former leaders, prompting her to develop additional contingency plans.
• Xi Xiu and A Xian met with the team captains, chose the soldiers who would go to Belka’s surface, and issued precautions and backup identity data.
• Xi Xiu’s starship departed the port and headed into space toward Belka.
• Xi Xiu told A Xian she had lived in a world where humans had only reached their Homeworld’s satellite, and A Xian realized the gap between their worlds exceeded ten thousand years.
• Xi Xiu and A Xian studied Belka’s barren surface and agreed to stay vigilant until they could verify the Belka People’s account.

Xi Xiu and A Xian arrived on Belka and learned from Elisa Belsha that the planet had been isolated for five hundred years after an unknown creature began copying its people’s genes. Belsha revealed that Belka’s leader had been replaced and its communications sabotaged, leaving the source of the threat unresolved.

• Xi Xiu’s team reached Belka, and Elisa Belsha allowed only Xi Xiu and a few subordinates to land so she could verify them in person.
• Belsha tested Xi Xiu with an ore-like object that glowed green, prompting A Xian to attack Belsha before Xi Xiu calmed her.
• Belsha explained that a creature could replicate Belkans’ appearance and genetic information, forcing the population to live underground in fear.
• Xi Xiu asked why Belka had not sought Alliance support, and Belsha said the leader had tried to contact the Nine-Star Marshal about five hundred years earlier.
• Belsha revealed that the leader had already been secretly replaced and that Belka’s communications had been cut off and redirected; they discovered the deception after warriors who left for the First Military Academy never returned.

Xi Xiu learned that parasitic creatures had nearly wiped out the Belka People and that Belsha’s father had sent her and other young people to seize the starport and seek help. She began investigating the threat and planned a search of the Belka People’s former home.

• Belsha explained that her father discovered the Belka People were being replaced by creatures that copied the dead, and sent her and other gifted youths to take control of the starport and contact the garrison.
• Belsha said most surviving adults were too badly injured to fight, while the young people had been spared because they were raised in captivity and had no knowledge of the outside world.
• Xi Xiu learned the creatures could parasitize someone only after death, studied Belsha’s drawing, and found a similar species in the Alliance database that feared light.
• Xi Xiu sent the information to Qing Zhixun, Wei Lanshan, and Wu Jingyang, then dispatched robotic reconnaissance across Belka’s Northern Hemisphere.
• Xi Xiu asked Belsha to send companions with a team searching the place where the Belka People had lived before their leader moved them north five hundred years earlier.