Recaps

Heinrich discovered that Adams’s hard drive contained advanced Ion Thruster designs from Messiah and learned that the organization was committed to spaceflight. When a rebellion drew away the guards, Heinrich chose to defect and asked Adams to escape with him.

• Heinrich examined the Ion Thruster files on Adams’s hard drive and found that its performance far exceeded the Illuminati’s technology, though the manufacturing process for its Five-Colored Stone propellant was missing.
• Heinrich questioned Adams, who said Messiah had sold him the hard drive and was investing everything in building an interstellar spaceship.
• Heinrich began considering joining Messiah, but hesitated until Adams revealed that he had recognized Heinrich’s thoughts and could introduce him to Kaluo.
• An assistant told Heinrich that a rebellion had broken out in the Military Zone and the Security Department personnel had been transferred away.
• Heinrich deleted and destroyed the recording of his conversation, then told Adams to come with him.

Musa uncovered that the rebellion’s real objective was stealing the Black Wand, not defecting, and identified Heinrich and Adams as the key figures carrying it out. He rushed to the Experiment Building, where the conspirators were escaping with the weapon.

• Musa confronted the Control Room defenses, killed five supervisors who attacked him, and forced the survivor to identify the new Instructor as the rebellion’s mastermind.
• Musa discovered that the Black Wand’s surveillance feed had been looped and that the weapon was missing, then killed the surviving supervisor after realizing he had concealed the theft.
• Musa traced the Black Wand to the Experiment Building and recognized Adams as the test subject brought there by Marco, while surveillance showed Heinrich and Adams preparing to leave in Nano-Lubricant Armor.
• Musa concluded that the Military Zone rebellion was a decoy and that Heinrich and Adams were central to a plan backed by a hidden faction within the Illuminati.
• Musa raced toward the Experiment Building, fearing that the stolen Black Wand could kill him.

Heinrich and Adams tried to escape Base X13 with stolen research equipment, but returning guards trapped them inside. Adams injected Ascension No. 1, gained control over hormones and pheromones, and prepared to help Heinrich escape as the guards left the building understaffed again.

• Heinrich and Adams loaded the Molecular Material Synthesizer onto a truck, but guards returned and forced them to hide inside the Experiment Building.
• Heinrich prepared Ascension No. 1 for himself, but Adams volunteered to inject it instead, and Heinrich handed him the dose.
• Adams endured ten minutes of agony and evolved the ability to control hormone secretion and release pheromones that shaped the atmosphere around him.
• Heinrich explained the dangers of hormone manipulation, while Adams quickly learned to control his new ability and put on the Nano Armor.
• Heinrich spotted that most of the guards had left the building again and urged Adams to deal with the guards by the truck so they could escape.

Adams killed two guards and used his confidence-manipulating power to make Musa flee, allowing him and Heinrich to escape the base. Heinrich drove them toward the gate, where Adams killed a guard with a grenade, and they got away.

• Adams snapped the necks of two B-Rank Guards, took a combat uniform, and called Heinrich to the vehicle.
• Musa arrived, and Adams approached him while projecting a powerful aura and pretending he could wield the Black Wand.
• Musa mistook Adams's bluff for a threat from the Black Wand and fled from the base while Adams escaped in a vehicle with Heinrich.
• Heinrich drove toward the gate, but Adams stopped him when a guard prepared to fire a rocket launcher.
• Adams tricked the guard into catching a grenade, killing him, and then he and Heinrich drove out of the base.

Mishu recovered after Huang Ji left him badly injured, while Musa ordered the hunt for Heinrich, Adams, and Marco. Beelzebub continued holding the trainees back until Musa fled from Dragon, then returned to the base after realizing Dragon had not fired the Black Wand.

• Mishu woke with a crushed nose and injured hands, pulled the Shattered Leaf Blade from his palm, and treated his wounds.
• Mishu found Gus and Carter dead in the burning Training Ground and heard Musa order his men to kill Heinrich, Adams, and Marco.
• Yam found Seth and the injured trainees struggling against Beelzebub, who kept knocking down anyone who stood while they refused to abandon their wounded.
• Musa raced past the square and fled the base, leading Seth to realize that Instructor Dragon had confronted him.
• Musa waited for Dragon to fire the Black Wand, realized Dragon had not released its safety, and ordered the hunt for Heinrich, Adams, and Marco.
• Musa dismissed Dragon as a bystander and ran back into the base.

Huang Ji held Beelzebub back long enough for the wounded trainees to escape, then tricked Musa into letting him fire the Black Wand at close range. After killing Musa with its plasma beam, Huang Ji escaped with Seth and Hawk, while Marco found and took the Eye of Horus necklace left behind.

• Huang Ji emerged from the passageway after defeating the guards, then fought Beelzebub while ordering the trainees to evacuate.
• Huang Ji incapacitated Beelzebub with the Black Wand and fled with Seth and Hawk as Musa arrived and severely wounded Seth.
• Huang Ji convinced Musa that the Black Wand was fake and challenged him to stand in front of it.
• Huang Ji activated the Black Wand and vaporized most of Musa with a plasma beam, then escaped over the wall with Seth and Hawk.
• Huang Ji discarded the Eye of Horus necklace, which Marco later found and hung at his waist before entering the base.

Musa died after entrusting Marco with his information-filled glasses and leaving the character “Luo” as a clue, while Luo Yan tried to reach Marco through the still-connected earpiece. Marco then fought Beelzebub and Mishu, and his claim that he had killed Dragon left Mishu stunned.

• Musa used his emergency channel to warn Luo Yan about a mole, a hidden faction, and the wand before passing his glasses to Marco and writing “Luo” in blood.
• Luo Yan urged Marco to answer the earpiece, but Marco could not hear him and struggled to understand whom he could trust with Musa’s glasses.
• Beelzebub mistook Marco for Dragon because Marco wore Mishu’s necklace, attacked him, and was killed by Marco’s Supersonic Mouth Cannon.
• Mishu arrived, saw Marco kill Beelzebub, and attacked Marco in rage.
• Mishu recognized Marco’s name and his own necklace, then asked where Dragon was; Marco said he had already killed Dragon, shocking Mishu.

Marco escaped Morning Light Academy after Mishu recognized him as the man who had attacked him before, while Messiah operatives helped him evade pursuit. Brando’s investigation team took control of the base and ordered the uprising blamed on Messiah, but Mishu’s account revealed that the rescuers had already used the same false claim.

• Mishu mistook Marco for the mastermind behind Dragon’s death and charged him, but Marco recognized Mishu as the attacker from the alley after noticing his shield and wounded palm.
• Mishu called for help, and the arriving guards joined him against Marco; Marco fled when he saw how many powerful fighters were closing in.
• Evil Dragon and Nuoqila, acting on Huang Ji’s request, helped Marco escape while Alan’s sniper fire delayed his pursuers and Nuoqila announced that Messiah was taking the trainees.
• Mishu and the others lost the rescuers after a long chase, then Brando arrived with a special investigation team and placed the base under lockdown.
• Brando ordered everyone to tell outsiders that Messiah had caused the uprising, and Mishu told him that the rescuers had already claimed to represent Messiah.

While Huang Ji rested after treating the wounded, Nuoqila and the others arranged to evacuate Messiah and its machines from New York. Nuoqila rejected Bob’s plan to kill Hua Xu and decided Bob had to be eliminated before he could endanger Hua Xu’s plan.

• Huang Ji finished treating the wounded, gave Lin Li instructions, and fell asleep as Nuoqila, Evil Dragon, and Alan arrived.
• Nuoqila tried to include Seth and the Sentinel rebels in planning, but Seth refused to cooperate until Instructor woke up.
• Old Wang proposed stealing a prison vehicle to move the machines while everyone else escaped in smaller groups, and Nuoqila sent Old Wang and Saiwen to get one.
• Bob warned Nuoqila that Hua Xu had gained too much influence and suggested abandoning him during the evacuation so the Illuminati could kill him.
• Nuoqila concealed his support for Hua Xu, concluded Bob might expose the plan, and decided Bob could not be allowed to live.

Nuoqila led the Messiah convoy through an Illuminati blockade while Bob tried to betray the group and was killed by Nuoqila’s hidden bomb. A storm gave the fugitives cover, and Nuoqila directed everyone toward it as Huang Ji slept through the escape.

• Old Wang reported that Illuminati checkpoints and gang roadblocks prevented the equipment from leaving the city, so Nuoqila ordered the group to break through the back roads.
• Evil Dragon and the Sentinels fought their way past a roadblock, but Alan spotted an enemy sniper and the convoy fled before Illuminati combat squads arrived.
• Bob mistook Nuoqila’s grenade and empty passenger seat as part of a plan to kill Hua Xu, then jumped from his car when helicopters approached.
• Nuoqila left Bob behind, and Bob discovered that Nuoqila had planted a Sticky Bomb on him; it exploded before the Illuminati helicopters could capture him.
• Alan killed one helicopter’s pilot, while the remaining helicopter tracked the convoy and Nuoqila considered splitting the group to escape.
• A storm approached, so Nuoqila led the convoy toward it instead of dividing the group, while Lin Li covered the sleeping Huang Ji with a raincoat.

Messiah split its forces to evade the Illuminati’s encirclement, but Brando tracked down the smaller group and overwhelmed them. As Brando moved to attack Lin Li, Lin Li stepped forward with a black baton and said he had been waiting for him.

• Brando ordered Brandy to clear the storm, and the Illuminati used missiles to intensify the rain and hail while searching for Messiah’s convoy.
• Nuoqila kept most of the vehicles as a decoy and led a smaller group carrying the 3D printer and Electric Arc Furnace toward the mountains.
• After the storm weakened, Brando spotted the group’s lone car and went to investigate it himself.
• Brando ambushed the group in Cedar Forest, injured Evil Dragon and Seth, and drove the sentinels into panic with his strength.
• Nuoqila used an Illuminati secret phrase in an attempt to stop Brando, but Brando attacked him more fiercely, prompting Nuoqila to flee to Lin Li.
• Lin Li stepped between Brando and Sophia, holding a short black baton and telling Brando he had been waiting for him.

Brando investigated the rebels, mistook Huang Ji’s sleep for a hidden combat ability, and escaped after planting Tracking Spores on fourteen people. The group fled to a mountain town, where Huang Ji woke and operated on the gravely wounded Evil Dragon.

• Brando approached the rebels with the Black Wand, but Lin Li’s challenge and Huang Ji’s apparent sleep convinced him that the group concealed dangerous experts.
• Brando escaped using his rocket-powered Iron Umbrella and told Brandy he had planted Tracking Spores on fourteen people so they could track the rebels.
• Brando learned that Adams and Heinrich had escaped, that Luo Yan had issued Marco’s transfer order, and that Luo Yan had come to New York seeking answers.
• Messiah withdrew with its wounded, and Nuoqila concluded that Huang Ji had deliberately pretended to sleep to conceal his ties to the Illuminati and the Rebirth in Fire plan.
• The group reached a mountain town, where Huang Ji woke, operated on Evil Dragon’s ruptured spleen, and called for Yam to give him a transfusion.

After Messiah escaped, Huang Ji explained Nuoqila’s dangerous position within the Illuminati and the consequences of admitting Messiah’s role in the operation. At a manor where the group hid, Huang Ji’s church bells and hymn interrupted Denver as he nearly killed his wife, and Denver left town only to meet Adams.

• Huang Ji praised Nuoqila for eliminating Bob and explained that Luo Yan might target him because he had openly claimed responsibility for Messiah’s operation.
• Huang Ji arranged for Yam to give Evil Dragon a blood transfusion while Old Wang and the others hid at the manor and prepared to withdraw unnoticed.
• Denver returned to the manor, discovered his wife with her lover, and fired at the man as he fled.
• Huang Ji rang the church bells and played a hymn, causing Denver to release his wife; Denver then set his house on fire and left town.
• Denver spoke with a mysterious voice in the church confessional, drove east, and met Adams half an hour later.

Adams and Heinrich abandoned their wrecked car but got another vehicle from Denver, whom Adams drew into a conversation about starting over. Meanwhile, Huang Ji’s group chose Detroit as their base and discovered that tracking spores had kept the Illuminati following them; Huang Ji planned to transfer the spores to migratory birds and send the pursuers astray.

• Adams and Heinrich decided to leave their damaged car and the Molecular Synthesizer behind, but a car arrived before they could set off on foot.
• Adams tried to trick Denver into giving them a ride, but Denver saw through him and handed over his car; Adams then offered to talk with Denver about his wish to start over.
• Huang Ji’s group chose Detroit as a base after Nuoqila and Sophia explained its industrial resources and lack of Illuminati presence.
• After reaching Lake Erie, Huang Ji revealed that tracking spores inside the group had been reporting their location to the Illuminati.
• Huang Ji removed more than a dozen spores and proposed attaching them to migratory birds so the Illuminati would follow the birds instead.

Huang Ji brought Messiah to Detroit and explained why the abandoned industrial district would let them secretly build a base. He revealed that the Buddha Bone contained a removable Antimatter Battery that could power it, leaving the group ready to use the alien energy source.

• Huang Ji told Seth and the others that Coyote had helped lead their rebellion, and admitted that he had deliberately lured them out as well.
• Huang Ji and Messiah reached Detroit and chose an abandoned assembly plant as the site for their base.
• Huang Ji explained that Detroit's lax oversight and nearby resources would let them build a concealed base without relying on official water and power supplies.
• Huang Ji revealed that the Buddha Bone contained an Antimatter Battery and demonstrated that he could remove it and operate the artifact's force-field shield.
• Huang Ji smashed the battery against the floor to demonstrate its durability, then explained that its energy could be drawn off without damaging the Buddha Bone.

Nuoqila established Messiah’s underground base in Detroit, while Huang Ji explained how to power their equipment with the Antimatter Battery. After Adams warned him about Detroit’s powerful Illuminati leader Veronica Arona, Huang Ji decided to subdue her and asked Adams to help.

• Nuoqila used funds Huang Ji secretly transferred to secure a former automobile plant and rapidly prepare it as Messiah’s base.
• More than a hundred members moved into the renovated dormitory, and the team began setting up equipment in the warehouse.
• Huang Ji explained the Antimatter Battery’s operation, then gave Sophia a mathematical model to help her build an energy receiver.
• Adams called Huang Ji and warned him that Veronica Arona controlled Detroit and had powerful family protection.
• Huang Ji said he planned to subdue Veronica so she could conceal Messiah’s base, and Adams agreed to come to Detroit the next day.

Brando pursued Lin Li and the rebels through remote Canadian lake districts, then decided they were hiding in the water and using migratory birds to evade satellite surveillance. When Luo Yan arrived with Nuoqila’s file, Brando interpreted it as proof that Luo Yan and the Ambition Faction were behind the rebellion, while Luo Yan concluded that Brando was framing Marco for Musa’s murder and resolved to find Marco first.

• Brando followed the rebels into Quebec and reasoned that they had hidden their heavy equipment and were using lakes and migratory birds to conceal themselves from satellites.
• Luo Yan arrived with Nuoqila’s file and asked Brando to share information about the investigation, but Brando refused and took the documents.
• After reading Nuoqila’s file, Brando decided that Nuoqila was an Illuminati agent planted to make the Messiah a scapegoat and suspected Luo Yan was involved in the scheme.
• Brando admitted meeting Nuoqila but claimed he had no reason to investigate him, then said Marco had killed Musa and Beelzebub and led the rebellion.
• Luo Yan concluded that Brando was falsely framing Marco and decided to find and protect him before the investigators could seize him.

Luo Yan secretly pursued the rebels to learn what they knew, while Brando suspected him of sabotaging the operation and concealing his connection to Marco. The rebels were gone, and Brando resolved to investigate both Luo Yan and the possibility that his spores had been transferred to birds.

• Luo Yan concealed his suspicions about Brando and Musa’s death, then inferred that Brando was tracking rebels who were fleeing north among migratory birds.
• Luo Yan and Royia flew ahead of Brando, and Luo Yan used a modified radar to follow the signals of Brando’s Radio Spores.
• Luo Yan and Royia found no rebels at the signal’s location, but Luo Yan captured migratory birds carrying the spores before Brando arrived.
• Brando accused Luo Yan of transplanting the spores onto the birds, while Luo Yan denied it and left with Royia.
• Brando inspected the birds and said he would investigate both whether Luo Yan had switched the spores and whether the rebels had escaped by another route.
• Brando told Brandy that Luo Yan’s reaction to Marco’s name made him suspect Luo Yan wanted to protect Marco, then briefly demonstrated how he could conceal his aura.

Adams explained Detroit’s gang structure and warned Nuoqila that the gang controlling his factory site would demand jobs for its members’ families. The group discovered that Veronica Arona, leader of Cat’s Eye, belonged to one of the Illuminati’s eleven Sword-Keeping Families, and Adams asked Hua Xu how he planned to bring her under control.

• Adams described how Detroit’s gangs controlled neighborhoods and maintained order through violence, while downtown suffered frequent crime.
• Adams warned Nuoqila that the Apache gang would likely demand that his factory hire workers from its members’ families, threatening trouble if he refused.
• Nuoqila explained that many Detroit gang leaders had ties to the Illuminati, and Adams identified Veronica Arona as the leader of the powerful Cat’s Eye gang.
• Evil Dragon explained that eleven families controlled the Illuminati’s Sword-Keeper seats, that only nine Sword-Keepers remained, and that outsiders could become Sword-Bearers through marriage into a family.
• Adams asked Hua Xu how he intended to bring Veronica under his control.

Huang Ji persuaded Adams to become close to Veronica so Messiah could use her as a secure base in Detroit. Adams agreed after Huang Ji promised that the group would fight alongside him if the plan failed, but he was alarmed when Huang Ji told him to begin by trying to assassinate her.

• Adams described Veronica's pattern of seducing men before tormenting them and explained that he had once accepted a contract to kill her.
• Huang Ji proposed keeping Veronica in love with Adams and using the relationship to control her, while replacing her powerful subordinates with Messiah's people.
• Adams resisted because Veronica was dangerous, but Huang Ji said he could not guarantee success and promised the whole group would fight with him if the plan failed.
• Nuoqila backed the plan, and Adams agreed to proceed after hearing that they could abandon the base if necessary.
• Huang Ji outlined plans to eliminate Veronica's subordinates, then told Adams to resume his old trade and try to assassinate her.

The Louis Family attacked the Apache Gang, but Cat's Eye forces led by Evil Dragon intervened and drove them off. Huang Ji revealed that he had used the clash to leave the factory's surrounding territory unclaimed, then ordered Adams to assassinate Louis.

• The Louis Family launched a surprise attack on the Apache Gang, and Cato fought back as his gang suffered heavy casualties.
• A masked Cat's Eye fighter, a sniper, and five gunmen with Gatlings struck the Louis Family, forcing its survivors to retreat.
• Cato offered to join Cat's Eye, but the masked man rejected him, so Cato advised his remaining people to leave Detroit temporarily.
• Evil Dragon told Huang Ji that the Apache Gang had left, and Huang Ji explained that the rival gangs would avoid claiming the vacant territory around their factory.
• Huang Ji told Adams to assassinate Louis, explaining that Louis would play matchmaker for him.

Adams infiltrated Louis's mansion, killed his men, and cornered Louis, who paid him to accept a new contract to kill Veronica. Adams left with Louis's money after agreeing to wait for the contract on the Assassin Group website.

• Louis rejected the eagle-tattooed informant's warning and prepared to attack Veronica, but Adams killed the informant with an arrow.
• Adams disguised himself as a guard, killed three Louis Family bosses, and hunted Louis through the mansion.
• Adams wounded Louis with a hatchet and demanded five hundred thousand dollars for Veronica's private contract.
• Louis offered Adams four times the fee, then urged him to kill Veronica instead and promised him three million dollars and a ten-million-dollar card.
• Adams agreed to accept an official contract through the Assassin Group website, took the cash cases and card, and left the mansion.

At Veronica’s ball, a wealthy young man pursued her despite rumors that her former lovers had all met ruin, until an assassin attacked the castle. Huang Ji and Adams revealed they had staged the assault, and Huang Ji fought Jones, leaving the battle unresolved when Jones was hurled through a window.

• Veronica danced, served homemade ice cream, and agreed to go on a date with a wealthy young man who defended her against rumors about her past relationships.
• A gunshot and reports of bodies triggered panic at the ball, and Jones organized the bodyguards while the young man stayed beside Veronica and promised to protect her.
• Adams and Huang Ji watched from inside the castle, with Huang Ji explaining that Adams should leave an impression on Veronica while he dealt with Jones.
• Huang Ji leaped through a window and used arrows to incapacitate eight bodyguards before engaging Jones with knives.
• Jones drove Huang Ji back into the castle, but Jones was soon thrown through a window and crashed into the wealthy young man.

Huang Ji defeated Jones while Adams attacked Veronica, who became enthralled by the sensation of being wounded by a man she thought she loved. Adams fled when Veronica’s remaining bodyguards arrived, leaving her gravely wounded.

• Jones used Super Jump to dive at Huang Ji, but Huang Ji anticipated the attack and struck Jones with a bicycle kick that left him helpless.
• Huang Ji signaled Adams to finish off the remaining bodyguards, and Adams shot them with a bow.
• Adams cut Jones’s throat and stabbed Veronica in the chest while she stared at him in blissful excitement.
• A marksman among Veronica’s three arriving bodyguards fired at Adams, who escaped into the night.
• Veronica collapsed from her wound, still longing for Adams, while her bodyguards rushed to save her.

Veronica survived Adams’s assassination attempt and became fixated on finding the blond assassin, while Louis prepared for a possible conflict with Cat's Eye. Old Wang proposed spreading rumors about Veronica’s death to provoke Cat's Eye, and Louis authorized him to recruit more men.

• The Doctor treated Veronica, while Little Three and the other bodyguards learned from the barely living Jones that Adams knew his ability and might be connected to the Arona Family.
• Veronica wounded the rich young man with a feathered arrow after he called Adams a piece of trash, then ordered her guards not to hurt the assassin and to find the blond man.
• The rich young man and his family left Detroit after the bodyguards treated his wound and forced him out of town.
• Old Wang told Louis that Veronica had survived, and Louis ordered his men to prepare for an attack from Cat's Eye.
• Old Wang suggested spreading rumors that Veronica was dead to stir up other gangs, and Louis approved the plan and gave him authority to recruit.