Chapter Summaries

Qing Shihao and Qing Zhixun discussed Ye Zhenwei’s altered abilities and their plans for the coming battles. At Haian Fortress, Xie Changkui reorganized the defenses and assigned Qing Shihao to draw Ye Zhenwei’s attention in the first battle.

• Qing Zhixun warned Qing Shihao that Ye Zhenwei had likely been modified and could use Qin Hongjun’s backup AI Brain to make rapid battle judgments.
• Qing Shihao and Qing Zhixun discussed the situations at Haian and Liuning, then agreed to meet again on Gaia after victory.
• After hearing Qing Wenxu’s report, Xie Changkui convened Haian’s generals and spent the night revising the fortress’s defenses against Ye Zhenwei.
• Xie Changkui concluded that Ye Zhenwei was likely acting independently and that Qin Hongjun might send captured warriors’ consciousnesses to command forces against the Alliance.
• Xie Changkui assigned Qing Shihao to lead the first battle and keep Ye Zhenwei focused on him.

Qing Shihao realized Xie Changkui intended to use him to draw Ye Zhenwei’s attention, while Ye Zhenwei prepared her robot forces near Haian Fortress and used her system to study its defenses. After infiltrating Jingsu’s Star Net, she learned that Boranlan had taken control of the Ye Family’s remaining forces and vowed not to let her keep them.

• Qing Shihao understood that Xie Changkui wanted him to draw Ye Zhenwei’s fire, and he reflected on the Ye Family’s mistaken beliefs about his family.
• Ye Zhenwei activated the black-shelled robots aboard her starship and sent them to their assigned stations.
• Ye Zhenwei’s system failed to breach Haian Fortress’s defenses, so she requested a predicted deployment map based on Xie Changkui’s past tactics.
• Yuan Chuhong contacted Ye Zhenwei, who told him her new condition matched or exceeded his predictions and learned no further news from him.
• Ye Zhenwei infiltrated Jingsu’s Star Net and discovered her father was imprisoned, the Ye Family’s power had been divided, and Boranlan had taken over its remaining forces.
• Ye Zhenwei decided she would not spare Boranlan or allow her to keep the Ye Family’s remaining power.

Ye Zhenwei attacked Haian Fortress’s First Defense Line while the system revealed that Jingsu had secretly mined energy planets in Tianwei. Qing Shihao anticipated her tactics and held the line, leaving Ye Zhenwei waiting for an opening until he struck her Starship.

• Ye Zhenwei attacked Haian Fortress’s First Defense Line, and the system told her Jingsu personnel had nearly exhausted energy planets in Tianwei.
• Ye Zhenwei ordered the system to find more energy and spent heavily on repeated attacks, while Qing Shihao used exposed flaws to draw her fire without losing Haian’s order.
• Ye Zhenwei learned that Qing Shihao was commanding the defense and mistakenly believed Haian would be easier to take because Xie Changkui was not in command.
• After Ye Zhenwei’s attacks failed, she reviewed Qing Shihao’s information and waited for the other side to act.
• When Ye Zhenwei hesitated, Qing Shihao fired and hit her Starship.

Ye Zhenwei’s system struggled against Haian Fortress’s new defenses while Qin Hongjun ordered it to prioritize taking Haian at any cost. As losses mounted, Ye Zhenwei ignored the system’s warning and flew into battle herself without backing up her consciousness.

• Ye Zhenwei’s system failed to intercept Haian’s shells, discovered the fortress was using an unfamiliar algorithm, and informed Qin Hongjun, who ordered it to adapt and seize Haian at any cost.
• The system secretly changed the starships’ deployments, and Ye Zhenwei watched dozens of ships get destroyed before it found a way to intercept the shells.
• Qing Shihao grieved for the soldiers killed in the battle, while Li Wangshu comforted him and Song Huiyong told him not to blame himself for Ye Zhenwei’s actions.
• Ye Zhenwei sent robots to attack Haian’s Medical Robots, then decided to enter the battle herself after her robots gained no advantage.
• The system warned Ye Zhenwei that Haian’s fighters could kill her and urged her to back up her consciousness, but she refused and piloted a fighter craft into space with her mech, weapons, and robots.

Qing Shihao led Hai'an's forces against Ye Zhenwei and her fighters while rescue robots evacuated the wounded. Ye Zhenwei was isolated and battled Qing Shihao, unaware that the system in her mind was only a backup with historical data.

• Before Ye Zhenwei left the Starship, the system secretly backed up its data and replaced her system with the backup.
• Qing Shihao organized the defense, sent robots to help rescue the wounded, and led his Guard Team into battle.
• After Ye Zhenwei left, the system took command of the fleet, changed its orders, and reported Hai'an's worsening position to Qin Hongjun.
• Qing Shihao's forces scattered Ye Zhenwei's team, and his fighter intercepted her black fighter.
• Ye Zhenwei evaded Qing Shihao's attacks with her Mental Power as her backup system struggled to keep her fighter fighting.

Ye Zhenwei fought Qing Shihao in space but struggled against his skill and the system’s control of her Mental Power. She withdrew to her Starship, while Qing Shihao’s Mini Robots secretly entered her fighter.

• Qing Shihao evaded Ye Zhenwei’s attacks and began targeting weaknesses in her fighter.
• Ye Zhenwei unleashed her Mental Power despite the system warning that her body was deteriorating, so the system cut off her access to it.
• Ye Zhenwei broke free of the system’s control but learned that removing it could kill her because Yuan Chuhong’s surgery had permanently connected it to her brain.
• Ye Zhenwei accepted that she could not defeat Qing Shihao that day and let the system pilot her fighter back to the Starship.
• Qing Shihao’s Mini Robots entered Ye Zhenwei’s fighter undetected as it returned.

Ye Zhenwei returned from the battlefield, cut off her connection to the system, and struggled with the realization that others had used her. Qing Shihao’s hidden robots gathered information aboard her starship as she withdrew to reconsider her future.

• Qin Hongjun refused to rescue Ye Zhenwei, while the system returned to him and left instructions for her backup system.
• Ye Zhenwei severed her connection to the system, reflected on how Yuan Chuhong and the Elder Council had used her, and decided she could trust only Xilo.
• Xilo checked on Ye Zhenwei, but she withheld the truth about the system and told him Qing Shihao had struck her several times.
• Qing Shihao’s undetected robots collected information about Ye Zhenwei’s forces, and he sent their data to the Elder Council.
• Ye Zhenwei ordered her starship to withdraw slightly from the battlefield so she could sort out her affairs.

Ye Zhenwei planned to hide her intentions and find a way to recover her Mental Power while the system directed its fleet toward Hai'an's defenses. Qing Shihao and Xie Changkui prepared a trap for Ye Zhenwei as the system unleashed powerful Bio-constructs against the Third Defense Line.

• Ye Zhenwei blamed the Qing Family, Tang Yongyu, and Yuan Chuhong for her downfall, then decided to lie low and use Qin Hongjun's medical technology to restore or replace her body.
• The system redirected its fleet toward a weak point at Hai'an's First Defense Line, while Xie Changkui's forces waited to spring traps on the Bio-constructs.
• Qing Shihao's Mini Robot returned with data showing that Ye Zhenwei was not truly in command, and he reported the discovery to Xie Changkui.
• Qing Shihao destroyed the Eternal Robots at the First Defense Line and joined Xie Changkui in preparing a trap for Ye Zhenwei's retreat.
• The system released starving, heavily armored Bio-constructs at the Third Defense Line, where Hai'an's soldiers fought them in rotating groups.

At Liuning Fortress, Xi Xiu and her team fought Qin Hongjun’s forces, led by the resurrected legendary general Urnos and Li Zhengfeng’s backup consciousness, M9. Li Zhengfeng warned Xi Xiu about his backup and left her to command as the space battle continued.

• Xi Xiu’s team identified the enemy commander as Urnos, a legendary general whose consciousness Qin Hongjun had turned into a weapon.
• Li Zhengfeng realized that his backup consciousness was aboard the enemy Starship and suspected Qin Hongjun wanted it to infiltrate Xi Xiu’s circle.
• After Urnos’s forces were driven back, M9 took command and connected to the Starship’s intelligent system.
• Xi Xiu recognized the enemy’s tactics as resembling Li Zhengfeng’s, and he told her to command the battle and try to capture his backup alive.
• Xi Xiu adjusted the defense plan while Li Zhengfeng watched from his room as both sides’ Starships exchanged fire.

Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun disrupted Li Zhengfeng’s forces, while Urnos’s reckless charge isolated his fleet and forced him to unleash dangerous Bio-constructs. A Xian’s forces destroyed the creatures as the battle turned against both Urnos and M9, leaving Xi Xiu confident that Liuning had nearly won.

• Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun attacked and pursued Urnos’s forces, while Li Zhengfeng’s Consciousness Backup took command.
• Urnos ignored M9’s orders, charged with his fleet, and was surrounded after A Xian repositioned her forces.
• Urnos released Bio-constructs to attack Liuning’s Starships, but the creatures attacked their own side as well.
• A Xian’s fleet gathered samples and then destroyed the Bio-constructs with full firepower, while Urnos’s fleet struggled to contain them.
• M9 ordered Urnos to return and threatened to activate the destruction device, but Urnos could no longer escape his fight.
• Xi Xiu recognized that the battle was nearly over and reflected that she and Qing Zhixun had prepared for Li Zhengfeng’s command tactics.

Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun defeated M9’s fleet and captured its remaining consciousness for study, but it revealed no location for Qin Hongjun’s base. After Liuning Fortress celebrated victory, Li Zhengfeng and Wan Youlin left to support other star systems while Xi Xiu prepared her team for more fighting.

• M9’s fleet was surrounded, and Xi Xiu and Qing Zhixun destroyed its ships while launching a capture device to preserve M9’s consciousness.
• Xi Xiu sent Ebony to retrieve the device, and the laboratory extracted M9’s consciousness but found no information locating Qin Hongjun’s base.
• Li Zhengfeng learned that M9’s memories had been erased, leaving it as an empty shell that possessed his skills.
• After nearly two days, the battle at Liuning ended in victory, and Li Zhengfeng and Wan Youlin left to support other star systems.
• Xi Xiu ordered her team into closed-door training, while Arivik gave the Western District soldiers only six hours of rest each day.

Xi Xiu and A Xian considered how Qin Hongjun might be creating powerful human soldiers, while the Alliance prepared for new attacks. Xi Xiu found a moment of peace in the Virtual Network, and Qing Zhixun joined her as they discussed the latest news from Nine Stars.

• Xi Xiu and A Xian speculated that Qin Hongjun had found a way to control the virus, possibly through Ye Zhenwei, and might be creating human soldiers.
• Xi Xiu sat beneath a virtual starry sky, and the Central Brain promised to give her a gift after the war.
• Qing Zhixun quietly kept his distance while Xi Xiu rested, having spent months uncovering Parasites hidden among Liuning's soldiers.
• Qing Zhixun apologized for being too busy to meet Xi Xiu, but she redirected their conversation to military matters.
• Xi Xiu told Qing Zhixun that Aura had held for now, the Hanhai People were preparing another attack, and the Alliance could detect the enemy's rapid Teleportation Channel.

Ten years into the war, the Jingsu Alliance struggled to defend its star systems against Qin Hongjun’s forces, biological swarms, and dwindling manpower. At Mingning Fortress, General Xi Xiu prepared for a major battle, expecting Qin Hongjun’s hidden combat machines to appear.

• The enemy attacked nineteen Alliance star systems, and the Alliance deployed disposable combat robots, trained new military academy students, and recruited civilians to meet its manpower shortage.
• In the fifth year of the war, Xi Xiu became a General and took command of Mingning Fortress, while A Xian became a Major General and stayed at her side.
• Xi Xiu and her companions fought at Mingning for five years, while Qin Hongjun’s forces continued to appear and the Alliance failed to locate his bases.
• Xi Xiu prepared her soldiers to fight in groups because she feared Qin Hongjun’s hidden combat machines would join the coming battle.
• A Xian shared her fear that capturing Qin Hongjun would come at a terrible cost, while Su Jinbao vowed to make him repay the harm he had caused.

Xi Xiu reflected on the approaching final battle and the threats Qin Hongjun had left in Jingsu as she led Mingning Fortress’s forces toward the Third Defense Line. There, she welcomed Wei Honglian, formerly W06, as a new recruit who would train under her.

• Xi Xiu recalled how the Central Brain had neutralized Huovian and how Qin Hongjun had destroyed the Homeworlds of Hanhai, Musar, Inkuila, and Samuel.
• Arivik’s Dark Department learned that soldiers from the four star systems were joining forces to find Qin Hongjun’s lair and tracked down his location.
• Xi Xiu led Mingning Fortress’s forces to halt outside the Third Defense Line as Qin Hongjun’s vanguard approached within three light-years.
• Xi Xiu discovered that Wei Honglian, formerly W06, was among the new recruits assigned to Mingning Fortress.
• Xi Xiu welcomed Wei Honglian, introduced her to the others, and kept her at her side to teach her personally.

Xi Xiu learned from Wei Lanshan that Qin Hongjun had created new Talent Warriors using Ye Zhenwei’s genetic information and prepared for the coming battle at Mingning Fortress. As enemy forces reached the First Defense Line, their leader, 59, found the small number of visible Starships puzzling.

• Wei Honglian trained with Xi Xiu while Wei Lanshan and Xu Jiusong remained on the battlefield among the stars.
• Wei Lanshan warned Xi Xiu that Qin Hongjun had captured Ye Zhenwei and used her genetic information to create accelerated-growth Talent Warriors.
• Wei Lanshan sent Xi Xiu data on the new Talent Warriors and urged her to be careful.
• Xi Xiu uploaded the enemy data for others to consult and told Arivik and the others to observe before acting.
• Qin Hongjun’s forces advanced to the First Defense Line, where 59 was puzzled by Mingning Fortress’s sparse visible Starships.

Qin Hongjun’s forces attacked Mingning with Ultimate Soldiers, while Wang Zichun’s stealth fleet and Xi Xiu helped Arivik defend the First Defense Line. The enemy’s merged Mental Power nearly destroyed Arivik’s Starships, leaving him shaken as the attack continued.

• 59 ordered Qin Hongjun’s fighters to attack Mingning after the fortress’s Starships remained motionless.
• Wang Zichun used Xue Fanhui’s latest coating technology to keep his fleet hidden from 59’s scans.
• Arivik collected data on the Ultimate Soldiers as they rammed his Starships, revealing their resemblance to Ye Zhenwei and their unusual combat abilities.
• Wang Zichun warned Arivik that the Ultimate Soldiers were gathering their Mental Power, and Xi Xiu told Arivik to reinforce his Starships with layered shields.
• The soldiers struck Arivik’s shields with immense force, and Arivik broke out in a cold sweat.

Xi Xiu assessed the experimental subjects’ attack and prepared Mingning Fortress’s defenses while Qin Hongjun watched the assault and reflected on his plans for Jingsu. At the first line of defense, Wang Zichun and Arivik drew 59’s forces into separate battles to give a hidden rescue team room to act.

• Xi Xiu ordered A Xian to watch the second line of defense and had Su Jinbao, Liang Jingxian, and Han Fenglin model the attack, which showed that a mothership could withstand only five strikes with its defenses fully deployed.
• Qin Hongjun watched Mingning Fortress and resolved to eliminate Xi Xiu, Qing Zhixun, the Anvile People, and Aura's Star Lord, while Qin Jian quietly considered his own plans.
• Wang Zichun revealed himself at the first line of defense to rescue Arivik, and 59 sent replicas equipped with long-arm rotary cutters to attack them.
• 59 split her forces to separate Wang Zichun from Arivik, but Wang Zichun used new launching equipment to send rescue soldiers to Arivik.
• Wang Zichun and Arivik let 59 divide them into two battlefields and used themselves as bait, giving the concealed rescue team an opportunity to act.

59 used her clones’ Mental Power to launch a devastating assault on Mingning Fortress’s First Defense Line, forcing Arivik and Wang Zichun to abandon their Starships. Xi Xiu ordered them to evade the attack while the commanders recognized the irreversible cost Qin Hongjun’s soldiers were paying.

• 59 struggled to take the First Defense Line as Xi Xiu’s preparations and Nine Stars’ technical support countered her attacks.
• 59 recalled her clones to the Starship, where metal tentacles extracted their Mental Power and fed it into storage units.
• 59 drove her Starships at Arivik and Wang Zichun with the clones’ Mental Power, smashing through their Protective Shields and damaging their hulls.
• Arivik and Wang Zichun abandoned their damaged Starships and switched to fighters, but Xi Xiu told them to maneuver behind the enemy and avoid attacking head-on.
• Xi Xiu shared the clones’ Mental Power readings, and Arivik and Wang Zichun lamented that the soldiers’ strength came at the cost of their lives.

Xi Xiu’s forces used an Energy Absorption Shield to halt 59’s advance at the second defensive line, turning the enemy fleet’s attacks against it. Trapped under fire from both sides, 59 ordered new clones to be produced as a source of Mental Power.

• Wang Zichun followed 59’s starship while Xi Xiu prepared the second defensive line to delay the enemy.
• A Xian’s weapons failed to damage 59’s starships, so Xi Xiu ordered her to activate the Energy Absorption Shield.
• 59’s fleet collided with the shield, which drained its Mental Power and redirected the ships’ attack energy back at them.
• Xi Xiu sent Arivik and Wang Zichun to attack 59’s fleet from behind, surrounding it at the barrier.
• 59 ordered the biologists aboard her starships to produce more clones to supply Mental Power.
• Arivik, Wang Zichun, and A Xian attacked as the clones’ defenses weakened, tearing gashes into several enemy starships.

As 59 launched another assault on the Second Defense Line, A Xian and Xi Xiu coordinated their defenses while new clones reinforced the enemy fleet. Xi Xiu moved to the Third Defense Line to help intercept 59, as the battle continued with the Alliance facing a formidable enemy.

• Xi Xiu approved A Xian’s plan to increase firepower and ordered Arivik to attack the enemy from the rear.
• After 59’s Starship was damaged, she went to its laboratory and oversaw the production of a new batch of clones.
• 59 shut down Gao Shenyi and the other clone-producing robots, while Gao Shenyi briefly recalled his past before his program stopped.
• 59 ordered the new clones into position and had malfunctioning older clones captured and destroyed.
• 59 sent hundreds of Starships through A Xian’s Mental Power extraction devices, and A Xian relied on thermal weapons rather than risk a direct collision.
• Xi Xiu arrived at the edge of the Third Defense Line to help A Xian intercept 59.