Chapter Summaries

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.

Huang Ji advanced Old Wang’s position in the Louis Family gang and gave him a token to plant in Louis’s safe. At Veronica’s castle, Little Seven learned that Death God Adams might be tied to someone in the Arona Family, but Veronica insisted that Adams belonged to her, so Little Seven planned to capture him alive.

• Huang Ji explained how Louis’s distrust of outsiders had helped Old Wang rise quickly in the Louis Family gang.
• Huang Ji gave Old Wang a golden Arona Family token and told him to place it in Louis’s safe.
• Little Seven and Johnny arrived at Veronica’s castle, where Little Seven identified Death God Adams as the assassin hired to kill Veronica.
• Little Three told Little Seven that Jones’s last words suggested Adams had connections within the Arona Family and that Veronica wanted Adams to fall in love with her.
• Veronica named her sister Temelo as the person who most wanted her dead, but insisted Adams was hers when Little Seven suggested he might be Temelo’s man.
• Little Seven arranged to lure Adams back by having Veronica appear in public, with Johnny ready to help capture him alive.

Huang Ji manipulated Louis into defending his mansion while a staged attack made it appear that Cat's Eye was trying to destroy him. After the attackers retreated, Louis asked Huang Ji to help him destroy Cat's Eye.

• Huang Ji sent Adams away and warned Louis that Veronica's Dessert Party could be a trap that left the Louis Family vulnerable to attack.
• Huang Ji persuaded Louis to send his elite gunmen to ambush Veronica's castle and told him to prepare for an attack on his mansion.
• A group disguised as Cat's Eye's gunmen approached Louis's mansion, and Huang Ji advised Louis to fake a surrender to identify their leader.
• Old Wang shot Evil Dragon, who pretended to be dead, and Louis displayed Veronica's fake head to convince the attackers that Cat's Eye's base had fallen.
• Seth and Hawk argued, and the disguised attackers retreated; Louis then asked Huang Ji to help destroy Cat's Eye.

Veronica tried to lure Death God Adams into meeting her, but Adams used a trap and a disguise to reach her during the gathering. He was captured alive after killing several of Veronica’s guards, leaving Little Seven to consider how to interrogate him while Veronica embraced him.

• Veronica ordered Little Seven to withdraw the gunmen, then answered a call from Adams, who claimed he had disabled the guards in the towers and tried to lure her to a window.
• Little Seven pulled Veronica away from an arrow fired by a remote-controlled crossbow and realized Adams had timed the call to expose her to the trap.
• After Adams mentioned the cucumber juice in her Mango Ice Cream, Veronica understood he was among the guests and secretly searched the crowd for him.
• Adams revealed himself to Veronica and attacked her, but Johnny knocked him away and disarmed him before Adams took Veronica hostage.
• Johnny freed Veronica and threw Adams aside; Adams killed No. 1, No. 2, Little Three, and the other gunmen before Johnny knocked him down.
• Veronica embraced the apparently unconscious Adams, while Little Seven lamented the losses and planned to question him without using torture or Truth Serum.

Little Seven interrogated Adams after Veronica captured him, then recruited him into Veronica’s circle. Adams revealed that Louis had secretly paid him to target Veronica and supplied information about Jones, leading Little Seven to suspect Louis had gained a powerful backer.

• Little Seven searched Adams’s belongings, questioned him, and concluded Adams knew Louis but had no connection to Temelo.
• Little Seven showed Adams evidence that Louis had canceled the online commission and offered him a thirty-million-dollar signing bonus, which Adams accepted.
• Adams revealed that Louis had secretly paid him ten million dollars and provided target information, including Jones’s supposed weakness.
• Little Seven reviewed Adams’s bank records and learned Louis had posted the one-million-dollar bounty after transferring the secret payment.
• Little Seven concluded Louis had deliberately concealed the assassination from elite assassins and suspected he had found a powerful backer.

Little Seven uncovered that Temelo had orchestrated the attacks on Cat’s Eye and arranged Adams’s assassination attempt on Veronica. Veronica ordered a counterattack and decided to join Adams on the operation, leaving Little Seven to prepare a force Louis could not withstand.

• Little Seven recognized the value of Adams’s Nameless Body Technique and decided to conceal it while he considered how to profit from turning it in.
• Masked gunmen ambushed gang leaders outside the castle, then Louis and eight gangs attacked Cat’s Eye’s strongholds and stole cash and weapons.
• Little Seven used the police to arrest the gang leaders and learned that Louis had acted on information supplied by Temelo’s forces.
• Little Seven identified Temelo’s bodyguard Old Eight as the one who had attacked Louis’s family and traced the conspiracy back to Temelo’s attempt to kill Veronica.
• Veronica ordered Little Seven to show no mercy and chose to accompany Adams on the operation against Louis, while Johnny agreed to protect her.