Recaps

While Yingqi remained under martial law, Guan Tong sent Shadow to investigate the sealed Falling Cherry Official Residence and discovered a vast prison hidden beneath it. He found tortured prisoners and private ninja guards, then concealed Shadow nearby to await their superior.

• Guan Tong infiltrated the empty Falling Cherry Official Residence with Shadow to search for evidence about the Divine Child’s assassination.
• Guan Tong detected a faint tremor beneath the ground and sent Shadow through the soil, discovering an underground prison.
• Guan Tong saw a Serpent Servant repeatedly smashing its head against a cell wall and found many prisoners, including former Andai State citizens.
• Guan Tong recognized Suzuki among the tortured prisoners and learned that the cells were guarded by the Divine Child’s or Yuze Family’s private troops.
• Guan Tong chose not to attack the guards and hid Shadow near the prison entrance to wait for their superior.

After learning that her mother, Shangyuan Mitsumi, had been taken by the Yuze Family, Shangyuan Zi joined Guan Tong in a raid on its underground prison. Guan Tong incapacitated Xin, Lord Divine Child’s invisible personal guard, leaving the pair poised to search for Shangyuan Zi’s mother.

• Shangyuan Zi received Mask’s file revealing that her parents had abandoned her because she was born out of wedlock and that the Yuze Family had taken Shangyuan Mitsumi as leverage.
• Guan Tong told Shangyuan Zi that he had been watching the Yuze Family’s underground prison, and she decided to search it for her mother.
• After waiting for Lord Divine Child’s personal guard Xin to enter the prison, Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi launched their attack.
• Guan Tong killed the ninja guards and countered Xin’s invisibility, teleportation attempt, and swift attack.
• Guan Tong used a time-stopping item, a small-space attack, and an illusion to defeat Xin and leave him unconscious.

Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi discovered that the Yuze Family had imprisoned witnesses and researchers who opposed the Divine Son’s Gene Hybrid Experiment. After exposing the experiment’s purpose, Guan Tong began gathering allies to eliminate the Yuze Family, and Shangyuan Zi vowed to help.

• Guan Tong captured Xin, treated his wounds, and used items to prevent him from escaping or sending a warning.
• Guan Tong recorded the prison as evidence, freed Suzuki, and asked her to testify against the Divine Son and the Yuze Family.
• Shangyuan Zi learned that imprisoned scholars had refused to help the Divine Son mass-produce Serpent Servants through genetic experiments.
• Guan Tong declared that he would eliminate the Yuze Family and asked locals to help; Suzuki agreed to join him.
• Shangyuan Zi also pledged to take part, saying the plan had begun after she demonstrated her ability to create Serpent Servants.

Guan Tong contacted the Countermeasure Research Institute after rescuing prisoners from the Yuze Family’s secret prison and exposed its Gene Hybrid Experiment. Gao Liangwei agreed to shelter the survivors and proposed Guan Tong lead a joint investigation, while Guan Tong’s captured guard remained a source of potential intelligence.

• Guan Tong, Shangyuan Zi, and Suzuki tried to question Xin, but Xin bit off his tongue and Guan Tong knocked him unconscious.
• A Countermeasure Research Institute employee alerted Zhang Minglu that Shadow had requested a confidential discussion with the authorities.
• Guan Tong told Gao Liangwei and the other officials that he had rescued people from the Yuze Family’s secret prison and explained the family’s arrests and Gene Hybrid Experiment.
• Guan Tong asked the authorities to shelter the rescued prisoners and send Ascenders with interrogation abilities or items to question Xin.
• Gao Liangwei agreed to receive the survivors, expose the evidence at an emergency UHC meeting, and seek action against the Yuze Family.
• Gao Liangwei offered to nominate Guan Tong as the leader of a joint investigation team.

Gao Liangwei challenged Yingqi over its human genetic experiments at a UHC meeting and secured approval for an external investigation. As the Yuze Family moved to conceal its crimes, Yuze Chun ordered the experiment halted and its core members hidden, leaving lesser relatives and servants exposed.

• Gao Liangwei presented evidence of Yingqi’s underground prison and proposed a UHC joint investigation, but several commissioners prioritized their countries’ spore parasite crises.
• Mary criticized North Star for taking the high ground while other countries struggled, and the Yingqi commissioner renewed the demand for a warrant against Shadow.
• Gao Liangwei acknowledged the other countries’ urgent problems but declared that North Star would investigate Yingqi, then rebuked Yingqi for breaking its promise to protect the Andai people.
• The Yingqi commissioner backed down after the other commissioners refused to support him and agreed to discuss the investigation after the meeting.
• The Yuze Family destroyed the hidden prison and prepared to move the laboratory’s materials after learning its secrets had been exposed.
• Yuze Chun ordered the experiment suspended and told the family’s core members to hide, leaving less important relatives and servants behind as decoys.

Lu Cheng hid his Alien Spore parasitism from Dean Zhou Qinfeng after learning that outstanding graduates could join the Countermeasure Research Institute, and resolved to keep his condition secret so he could qualify. At the institute, a hypnotized ninja guard named Xin claimed that Yuze Chun was immortal.

• Lu Cheng woke from recurring dreams of spirits inviting him to join their family and recognized that his spore parasitism was worsening.
• Lu Cheng went to Dean Zhou Qinfeng for help but, after hearing about graduate placements at the Countermeasure Research Institute, lied that he wanted to change dormitories because he studied late.
• Zhou Qinfeng offered Lu Cheng a study classroom key, and Lu Cheng left determined to hide his parasitism and pursue a placement at the institute.
• At the Countermeasure Research Institute, Zhang Minglu arranged for Li Liang to hypnotize Xin, Yuze Chun's ninja guard, and question him.
• Xin said Yuze Chun was not dead and declared that the Divine Child was immortal.

Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi learned that Yuze Chun was alive and that Shangyuan Mitsumi had been sent to the Yuze Family’s Serpent Den laboratory. North Star established an investigation team led by Guan Tong, which planned to investigate the laboratory as Rule End approached.

• Guan Tong learned from the institute that the lockdown had been lifted and that the interrogation of Yuze Chun’s guard had ended.
• Zhang Minglu revealed that Yuze Chun was alive, had eight heads, and could survive unless all of them were destroyed.
• Zhang Minglu told Shangyuan Zi that Shangyuan Mitsumi had been sent to the Serpent Den for the Yuze Family’s gene hybrid experiments.
• Guan Tong learned that the UHC had rejected a joint investigation team but that North Star would form its own team and investigate the Serpent Den.
• Guan Tong agreed to work with Silver Fox and Chen Na, while the institute provided remote support and Guan Tong promised future help after Rule End.

As the Parasite from Beyond the Stars rule neared its end, Zhang Minglu and Longhun observed a quarantine zone where the most heavily parasitized people had suddenly grown quiet. One young man appeared to recover his reason, but after the authorities left, he revealed that he was still devoted to the Diffusion Movement and intended to deceive them.

• Zhang Minglu and Longhun brought North Star’s newly established Research Institute Mobile Team to Quarantine Zone No. 3 to monitor the parasites as the rule ended.
• The quarantine-zone manager reported that the most violent, heavily parasitized people had become unnaturally quiet, and Zhang Minglu decided to stay overnight rather than order preemptive purification.
• A young man collapsed in his room, then woke speaking coherently and apologizing for his earlier violence.
• After the young man ate, Zhang Minglu questioned him, and he gave reasonable answers that suggested he had returned to normal.
• Alone in his room, the young man thought about deceiving the authorities and preserving his body for the Diffusion Movement.

After the Fourteenth Apocalypse Rule ended, Zhang Minglu realized that the deeply parasitized people had become disguised entities whose consciousness had been replaced by Alien Spores. When they charged the quarantine zone’s leaders, soldiers and Ascendants fought to stop them, while the meaning of their cry to “Spread!” remained unclear.

• The Fourteenth Apocalypse Rule ended, and the deeply parasitized people on the football field appeared human and protested their detention.
• Zhang Minglu suspected the people’s consciousness had been replaced by the spores and warned Gao Liangwei to keep deeply parasitized detainees confined across the country.
• The crowd fell silent, then shouted “Spread!” and charged the platform.
• Soldiers opened fire, but many parasitic entities kept advancing, forcing Zhang Minglu to send the mobile unit into the fight.
• The parasitic entities overwhelmed an elite Ascendant, so Longhun joined the battle as Zhang Minglu wondered how the spores could keep spreading after the rule ended.

After passing the Fourteenth Apocalypse Rule, Guan Tong reunited with Silver Fox and Chen Na and set out with them and Shangyuan Zi and Suzuki to investigate the Serpent Den laboratory in Banzhen City. On the way, Guan Tong reviewed his increased Mind Power and opened his reward chest, which contained a Silver Clone Talisman.

• Guan Tong, Shangyuan Zi, and Suzuki confirmed that they had passed the Fourteenth Apocalypse Rule, then met Silver Fox and Chen Na near the river.
• Silver Fox explained that the five investigators had to obtain permits from Yingqi's Public Security Headquarters before visiting the Serpent Den laboratory in Banzhen City.
• Guan Tong and Silver Fox agreed not to share their investigation intelligence with Yingqi's authorities, whom they believed might pass it to Yuze Chun.
• Guan Tong checked his panel and found that his Mind Power had risen to 965 while his Reserve Mind Power had fallen by tens of thousands from frequent use of Shadow Domain.
• Guan Tong opened his Silver Grade Survival Chest and received a single-use Silver Clone Talisman that created a fifteen-minute clone with one-fifth of his Mind Power.

As the investigation team traveled to Banzhen Public Security Headquarters, they learned that Alien Spore hosts remained a danger even after the Fourteenth Apocalypse Rule ended. The team discussed the threat, heard that Yelena Konia had become Xisiya’s ruler and rocket launches would resume, then decided to celebrate Guan Tong’s upcoming twentieth birthday.

• The onboard news report warned that deeply parasitized individuals had become Alien Spore hosts capable of spreading spores after the Rule ended.
• Guan Tong and the others discussed how quarantines and the slow conversion rate might limit the hosts’ danger, though they agreed the threat needed attention.
• The news announced that Yelena Konia had succeeded Gutman Konia as ruler of Xisiya, and Guan Tong wondered whether she would let him collect a debt from her brother.
• The team learned that North Star’s Dream Boat One and Xisiya’s Empire Pioneer were scheduled to launch on January 12, before the next Rule began.
• Chen Na reminded Guan Tong that his twentieth birthday was January 6 and persuaded him to celebrate with birthday wishes or a card.

Guan Tong and his team found the Yuze Family’s laboratory abandoned and used Suzuki’s Profiling ability to uncover clues about its evacuation. They concluded that the family had moved the laboratory onto a large ship, giving them a lead to pursue.

• Guan Tong rejected the director’s offers of assistance, collected the team’s investigation credentials, and Silver Fox used a Shielding Artifact to block their suspected trackers.
• Guan Tong’s team searched the abandoned industrial district and found the empty experimental zone, signs of moved equipment, burned evidence, and a floor covered in victims’ blood.
• Suzuki used Profiling to reconstruct the laboratory’s evacuation and recorded fragments of conversations about moving equipment, the sea, and setting a fire.
• Silver Fox and Guan Tong inferred from Suzuki’s clues that the Yuze Family had transported the laboratory and its occupants onto a large ship.

After parasites seized the Black Flag Nation, the UHC discussed rescuing the survivors, and North Star and Suoloma agreed to prepare a joint operation. Gao Liangwei assigned Zhang Minglu’s Ascenders and Mobile Teams to support the mission while North Star continued investigating the Yuze Family’s laboratory.

• Parasites took control of the Black Flag Nation, leaving surviving non-parasites under siege as its leaders fled abroad.
• Mary and Gao Liangwei proposed a rescue operation, and Mary agreed to seek Suoloma’s support in sending troops.
• Zhang Minglu reported that Mobile Team casualties exceeded half and that escaped parasites were hiding among the population.
• Gao Liangwei ordered Zhang Minglu to prepare battlefield support for a joint North Star and Suoloma operation in the Black Flag Nation.
• Zhang Minglu chose Bai Xuewu’s group and four Research Institute Mobile Teams, totaling two hundred personnel, for the mission.
• Zhang Minglu told Gao Liangwei that Shadow believed the Yuze Family’s laboratory had been moved onto a ship, and intelligence teams were searching satellite surveillance.

After [Parasite from Beyond the Stars] ended, fear of parasites dominated the Ascendant's Home Forum as people debated how to identify them. Lu Cheng discovered that his Spore Addiction had persisted and concluded that he needed to find parasites for spores.

• Netizens debated the Yuze Family crimes and Shadow's assassinations as public faith in procedural justice declined.
• Academy Students celebrated Yelena's selection as Xisiya Nation's New Consul and speculated that Guan Tong had tutored her specially.
• Authorities' reports that parasites could retain human appearances and memories sparked widespread panic and online attempts to find ways to identify them.
• Lu Cheng rejoiced when Fire Thief announced [Congratulations], believing he had passed the rule without help, but later found that his Spore Addiction had returned.
• Lu Cheng realized that parasites were now the only source of spores and resolved to find them.

Yuze Chun and Kurokawa Koshi planned to use their Snake Slave Army and North Star’s parasite crisis to seize power, while Guan Tong’s team identified the likely experimental ship and chose to gather evidence before requesting an official attack. The story left Guan Tong preparing to reconnoiter the Yun Jia Hao.

• Yuze Chun and Kurokawa Koshi discussed their low success rate for producing viable Snake Slave Army soldiers and their plan to wait for North Star to fall into chaos before attacking.
• Yuze Chun worried that Shangyuan Zi, whom he had renamed Orochi, might challenge his control of the Snake Slave Army, and he ordered Kurokawa Koshi to speed up the experiments.
• Yuze Chun and Kurokawa Koshi considered using parasites in North Star, along with pressure from Suoloma, to weaken the country.
• Silver Fox showed the team intelligence identifying the Yun Jia Hao as the likely ship carrying the laboratory and test subjects.
• Guan Tong proposed scouting the ship alone to confirm its purpose, then having North Star Official send warships to suppress it and rescue the victims.
• Silver Fox agreed to contact the institute, and Guan Tong prepared to find evidence that the Yun Jia Hao was the experimental vessel.

Bai Xuewu and the joint forces rescued Ascendants trapped by parasites and prepared to retake Kloma City, while Guan Tong uncovered the Yuze Family’s human experiments aboard the Yun Jia Hao. The upper command approved a strike on the experimental ship at Sakuraki Port, to coincide with the Black Flag Nation rescue operation.

• Bai Xuewu arrived in White Snow Seamless and helped Suoloma and North Star forces defeat the parasites attacking Ascendants in a mountain pass.
• The joint operation commander announced that the forces would move out to retake Kloma City and rescue its surviving humans.
• Guan Tong sent Shadow Lines aboard the Yun Jia Hao and discovered thousands of unconscious people in containers, along with Yuze Family soldiers and researchers.
• Guan Tong found Mind Power Barriers guarding key cabins, left Shadow Lines behind to monitor the ship, and gave his evidence to Silver Fox.
• Gao Liangwei informed Silver Fox that command had approved warships and air forces to seal Sakuraki Port and attack the experimental ship alongside the Black Flag Nation operation.

Gao Liangwei learned that researchers had found no reliable way to identify parasites, though their spread required people to accept parasite blood. The chapter ended with the parasites announcing that the occupied Black Flag Nation had become the Sery Divine Kingdom, prompting Gao Liangwei to vow that humanity would resist them.

• The research team told Gao Liangwei that tests, mental-control methods, and brain dissections had failed to reveal a way to identify parasites.
• The team reported that parasite brains resonated when many parasites gathered, and that parasites spread by persuading targets to accept parasite blood.
• Gao Liangwei and Zhang Minglu discussed the danger of captured humans eventually becoming parasites and the need to rescue them.
• A staff member announced that the Black Flag Nation had declared itself the Sery Divine Kingdom and would welcome parasites from around the world.
• Gao Liangwei declared that the UHC would not recognize the new kingdom and that humanity would not allow the parasites to colonize the planet.

The Beixing Nation Navy’s Flying Fire Fleet blockaded the Yun Jia Hao, trapping Yuze Chun and Kurokawa Koshi after discovering the ship’s experiments. Yuze Chun planned to use the thousands of civilians aboard as hostages, while Guan Tong and the investigation team prepared for his resistance.

• The Flying Fire Fleet ordered the Yun Jia Hao to stop all activity and await inspection, shocking the ship’s crew and researchers.
• Yuze Chun learned that communications, the port, and Teleportation Items were blocked, and Kurokawa Koshi warned that the carrier fleet could overwhelm Yingqi.
• Yuze Chun proposed using the civilians held in the ship’s containers as hostages to force North Star to negotiate.
• Aboard the Flying Fire, Shangyuan Zi and Guan Tong predicted Yuze Chun would resist, while Silver Fox recognized that he could exploit the hostages.
• Guan Tong said the team had to do what they could to save the civilians without betraying their consciences.

North Star’s assault on the Yun Jia Hao turned into a fight against Yuze Chun’s Snake Slave Army, and Yuze Chun detonated bombs hidden in the ship, causing it to sink. Chen Na sensed Yuze Chun fleeing underwater, so Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi pursued him.

• After the Yun Jia Hao threatened to kill its hostages, Guan Tong agreed to eliminate the deck guards while North Star’s soldiers stormed the ship.
• Guan Tong’s Shadow killed the guards, and Chen Na sensed the enemy forces as hundreds of Serpent People emerged to attack the soldiers.
• Silver Fox, Guan Tong, and Shangyuan Zi fought the Snake Slave Army, while Shangyuan Zi’s ability disrupted Yuze Chun’s control over one of the snake slaves.
• Yuze Chun revealed his transformed serpent body and triggered bombs aboard the ship, killing Kurokawa Koshi and setting off explosions that sent the Yun Jia Hao sinking.
• As soldiers evacuated by helicopter, Chen Na sensed someone escaping underwater, and Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi pursued Yuze Chun.

Guan Tong pursued Yuze Chun across the sea and fought him after rejecting his offer to join forces. Yuze Chun revealed the Myriad Serpent Domain, while Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi faced him until Silver Fox ordered a missile barrage that struck the serpent.

• Guided by Chen Na, Guan Tong chased Yuze Chun until he surfaced, then sent Chen Na into the shelter as Coal Ball unexpectedly swam out.
• Guan Tong attacked Yuze Chun with the small space, destroying five of his heads, but the remaining three heads attacked him with petrifying light, slime, and a mind-disrupting shriek.
• Yuze Chun used the Myriad Serpent Domain to absorb the power of more than a thousand Snake Slaves and transform into a three-headed great serpent.
• Guan Tong decided he had to defeat Yuze Chun before he could absorb more Snake Slaves, and Shangyuan Zi joined the fight.
• Silver Fox warned Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi to look up, and they retreated as the Flying Fire Fleet's missiles struck Yuze Chun.

Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi defeated Yuze Chun, whose final head Coal Ball devoured before North Star could take him alive. After the Yuze Family fell and Yingqi began arresting those involved in its experiments, Shangyuan Zi chose to live and joined Guan Tong’s new organization; Guan Tong later celebrated his birthday in Pinglu.

• The Flying Fire Fleet bombarded Yuze Chun’s serpent body, leaving his three heads alive, and Shangyuan Zi crushed one in revenge for Shangyuan Mitsumi.
• Guan Tong pierced another of Yuze Chun’s heads with Shadow Blade, and Coal Ball swallowed the last one before Silver Fox could relay the captain’s order to take him alive.
• Shangyuan Zi told Guan Tong she no longer wanted to die and accepted his invitation to join his unnamed organization.
• North Star salvaged evidence from the cargo ship as the Yuze Family collapsed and Yingqi authorities arrested people implicated in the experiments.
• Guan Tong held a small birthday party in Pinglu with Chen Na, Silver Fox, Wang Yan, Xu Xiaotian, and Shi Jingyi.

Guan Tong celebrated his twentieth birthday with friends in Pinglu City, where they discussed the dangers posed by Yuze Chun and the parasitic entities in Black Flag Nation. Guan Tong chose to rest rather than immediately join the fight against the parasitic entities, and the party continued with gifts, ending as Xu Xiaotian revealed his specially made Instant Noodles.

• Guan Tong celebrated his birthday with Shi Jingyi, Wang Yan, Xu Xiaotian, Silver Fox, and Chen Na, and Silver Fox explained that the Countermeasure Research Institute had not publicly revealed his identity as Shadow.
• Guan Tong explained his grudge against Yuze Chun and how Yuze Chun's growth-type ability and position in the Yuze Family had enabled him to become powerful.
• Silver Fox said North Star was mobilizing troops against the parasitic entities in Black Flag Nation, and she asked Guan Tong to cooperate with the institute there.
• Guan Tong said he would fight the parasitic entities but wanted time to rest before going, and Chen Na and Wang Yan supported his decision.
• Chen Na gave Guan Tong a multifunctional Mind Power Artifact watch, which he accepted happily.
• Xu Xiaotian presented Guan Tong with a box of Instant Noodles made with his newly developed ability and said they had special effects.

At his birthday gathering, Guan Tong received Xu Xiaotian’s enhanced instant noodles, Silver Fox’s alloy blade, and Shi Jingyi’s notes on Mind Martial Arts. After discussing missing, spore-addicted students and weighing his plans against the parasite threat, Guan Tong learned that Suzuki had been asking about him and agreed to meet her.

• Xu Xiaotian gave Guan Tong storable instant noodles with varied effects, and Silver Fox presented him with a human-forged alloy short blade.
• Shi Jingyi gifted Guan Tong her Mind Martial Arts notes and asked him to test her techniques; he agreed to meet her in the coming days.
• Shi Jingyi told Guan Tong that five students had disappeared, including Lu Cheng, whom she suspected had been addicted to spores; they considered that the students might have gone to the Black Flag Nation.
• After the guests left, Guan Tong returned to his valley, checked Coal Ball, and reflected on improving his combat strength while keeping his focus on investigating the rules and the Fire Thief.
• Shangyuan Zi told Guan Tong that Suzuki seemed troubled and kept asking about him, possibly because of the spores; Guan Tong agreed to meet her.

Shi Jingyi tested two newly developed Mind Martial Arts with Guan Tong, proving Shocking Pulse Collapse’s power while refining the still-unsteady Repelling Extreme Step. After helping her test both techniques for two more days, Guan Tong left Pinglu for Yingqi to meet Suzuki and investigate whether she was a parasite.

• Shi Jingyi struck Guan Tong with Shocking Pulse Collapse, breaking his Shadow Armor and Mind Power barrier before [Gilded Guard] absorbed the remaining force.
• Shi Jingyi demonstrated her movement technique, accidentally colliding with Guan Tong, and named it Repelling Extreme Step after his suggestion.
• Shi Jingyi offered to teach Guan Tong the techniques, but he declined to stay in Pinglu because he had other matters to handle.
• Guan Tong told Shi Jingyi about the organization he had founded with Shangyuan Zi to investigate the Fire Thief and the Apocalypse Rules, and she supported his plan.
• Guan Tong helped Shi Jingyi test and adjust her martial arts for two more days, then left for Yingqi on the tenth to meet Suzuki and investigate her.

Lu Cheng fled North Star with fellow Spore Addiction sufferers and killed them to obtain spores after realizing some were parasites. In Yingqi, Guan Tong met Shangyuan Zi, discussed the parasite threat and her changing scales, and founded the Source Tracing Brigade with her.

• Lu Cheng crossed the border with several academy runaways who planned to reach the Sery Divine Kingdom, while he privately focused on finding spores.
• When Lu Cheng suspected one of the runaways was a parasite, he attacked and killed the group, then fed on the parasites’ spores to ease his withdrawal.
• Guan Tong arrived in Yingqi and learned from Shangyuan Zi that North Star had placed the city under military control and reorganized its security forces.
• Guan Tong told Shangyuan Zi he would destroy Suzuki if she had become a parasite, and he offered to seek Yuze Family records that might explain Shangyuan Zi’s rapidly spreading scales.
• Guan Tong named their organization the Source Tracing Brigade, and Shangyuan Zi joined as its first member.