Recaps

After authorities confirmed conventional weapons could kill Nightmare Beasts, Gao Liangwei approved an exploration mission with First Squad and Chen Na. Guan Tong prepared protective equipment and left his shelter to search for the fog’s source, but he still did not know how to track the Nightmare Beasts.

• An analyst reported that Nightmare Beasts had different traits, could not survive outside the fog, and vanished when killed, while efforts to disperse the fog had failed.
• Gao Liangwei ordered the Nightmare Beast information released and approved an exploration mission with First Squad and Chen Na as a reserve member.
• After reading the news, Guan Tong realized he would be competing with the authorities’ forces and decided to explore at his own pace.
• Guan Tong bought and equipped a Grade A Bio-hazard Full Body Suit, then prepared Shadow surveillance eyes and his Silver Hunter.
• Guan Tong stepped out of the shelter into the fog and wondered how he could follow the Nightmare Beasts’ traces to find the fog’s source.

Chen Na joined Dragon Soul Squad and an armored force heading into the mist, while Adam received a prophecy of a hidden door releasing countless monsters and decided to enter the mist himself. Inside the mist, Guan Tong followed a gigantic Nightmare Beast’s footprints in hopes of finding the source, then recognized Yu Hong’s face on a humanoid Nightmare Beast he shot.

• Chen Na rode with Dragon Soul Squad to join an elite unit and set out with a large force to investigate the mist.
• Key of the Moon divined that an open door deep in the mist led to a terrifying world from which countless monsters were pouring out.
• Adam paid Key of the Moon for her prophecy and decided to prepare for an expedition into the mist.
• Guan Tong killed a flying Nightmare Beast with a Type 2 Slug Round and then spotted a gigantic five-legged Nightmare Beast.
• Guan Tong followed the giant Nightmare Beast’s footprints, hoping they would lead him to the source of the mist.
• Guan Tong shot a humanoid Nightmare Beast and recognized Yu Hong’s face on its corroded head.

Guan Tong explored the thickening fog, discovered that it turned exposed humans into Nightmare Beasts, and retreated to his shelter to rest and share his findings. After finding bloody handprints and a face pressed against his window the next morning, he suited up and resumed following the tracks toward the fog's source.

• Guan Tong recognized Yu Hong's ruined face among the Nightmare Beasts and continued following the giant creature's footprints into denser fog.
• Guan Tong realized the Nightmare Beasts attacked to expose skin to the fog, then used Phase Shift to return to his All-Function Shelter for the night.
• Guan Tong posted information about humans turning into Nightmare Beasts and the creatures he had encountered on Ascendant's Home.
• Guan Tong ignored the Solloma Empire contact's offer of an advisory role and slept in the shelter despite Nightmare Beasts striking its walls.
• Guan Tong woke to bloody handprints and a blurry face on the window, then left the shelter after dawn to continue toward the fog's source.

Guan Tong found a floating mist door after fleeing a battle between an official armored convoy and a giant flying Nightmare Beast. He entered the door in search of the puzzle fragment, leaving Dragon Soul Squad hesitating outside.

• Chen Na sensed a giant Nightmare Beast flying near the armored convoy and detected what seemed to be humans farther away.
• Guan Tong heard artillery, discovered the convoy fighting bat-like Nightmare Beasts and a giant flying creature, and ran away from the battlefield.
• Guan Tong followed thinning mist to a floating door that he suspected was a source of the mist.
• Dragon Soul Squad confronted Guan Tong and demanded to explore the door first, but he used his Shadow abilities and Grappling Hook to race toward it.
• Guan Tong entered the mist door after concluding the puzzle fragment might be inside, while Dragon Soul Squad stopped outside and hesitated.

Guan Tong entered the Mist Gate, discovered a mural chamber and obtained a fragment documenting Qimo Star’s past. After he returned, the giant bird Nightmare Beast flew away, and Dragon Soul’s team investigated the cave he had passed through.

• Dragon Soul ordered his team to withdraw from the Mist Gate and rejoin the armored battalion, planning to guard the gate after they defeated the giant bird.
• Guan Tong explored the cave, found murals depicting creatures that resembled Nightmare Beasts, and collected Record of Qimo Star Fragment 3 after the murals vanished.
• Guan Tong learned that five fragments could be assembled into the Qimo Star Chronicle and that fragment holders could sense the other fragments’ locations.
• The armored battalion failed to defeat the giant bird, which screeched and flew away; Chen Na noticed that it had a mouth and could make sounds unlike the other Nightmare Beasts.
• Dragon Soul returned to the Mist Gate, and Black Shark entered the cave, found the empty chamber and another Mist Gate, then came back out.

Adam and others obtained scattered fragments of the Qimo Star Chronicle, while Guan Tong used his fragment’s map to plan a trip abroad after the Ninth Rule. He made progress weakening the Mind Lock and learned that the fog could turn humans into Nightmare Beasts, leaving him eager to uncover the chronicle’s full story.

• Adam returned with four women after obtaining Qimo Star Chronicle 2 and resolved to search for the remaining fragments.
• A young man who found Qimo Star Chronicle 4 was crushed by a giant foot after leaving a fog door, and the fog consumed his remains.
• A serpent-eyed woman obtained Qimo Star Chronicle 5, and the Chosen Group decided to collect the other four fragments.
• Guan Tong used Qimo Star Chronicle 3’s map to locate the other fragments abroad and planned to travel after the Ninth Rule.
• Guan Tong repeatedly used the Wordless Book’s fifth page to strike the Mind Lock, leaving its confinement close to breaking.
• Guan Tong read reports confirming that fog exposure transformed humans into Nightmare Beasts and suspected the fog had destroyed Qimo Star.

Guan Tong broke the Mind Lock with the Wordless Book, resumed Mind Power Circulation, and received the Ninth Rule’s rewards after it ended. Meanwhile, the Countermeasure Research Institute learned that the mist in Lalgan Nation had persisted, possibly because no one had taken an item from a Mist Gate there.

• Guan Tong used the Wordless Book to shatter his Mind Lock and then completed his first full-body Mind Power Circulation.
• The Ninth Apocalypse Rule ended, and Guan Tong found that his Mind Power Cap had grown to 310.
• Guan Tong received an invitation to the Second Ascendant Challenge and a Life-Saving Pendant from his rewards.
• Guan Tong visited Yu Hong and Zhao Yu’s abandoned camp and reflected on the dangers of the Apocalypse Rules.
• The Countermeasure Research Institute reported low recorded casualties and discussed the mist that remained in Lalgan Nation.
• Zhang Minglu said researchers suspected the Lalgan Nation mist persisted because no human had taken the item inside a Mist Gate.

Guan Tong crossed from Beixing Nation into Andai State to pursue a puzzle fragment, but discovered that its location had changed. In eastern Banzhen City, Basong seized a fragment from three young men after their friend Pita betrayed them, then had Pita and the three men killed.

• Guan Tong crossed the river into Andai State using Shadow Line and Phase Shift, then headed through Antu City toward Banzhen City.
• Guan Tong saw that Andai State's residents lived for the moment and avoided youths who planned to rob him.
• Guan Tong consulted his fragment's map and realized that the puzzle fragment's location had changed.
• Basong's armed men attacked three young men in a private residence and demanded their fragment.
• Pita admitted that he had sold the information to Basong, who shot Pita and ordered his men to kill the three young men.

Adam led a Solloma Empire force into Lalgan Nation to find its unmoved puzzle fragment, while Guan Tong approached the Andai State fragment holder, Basong, who prepared to ambush him and seize his fragment. The chapter left both operations underway, with Adam heading toward a reported Giant Nightmare Beast and Basong sending Mala to search for Guan Tong.

• Adam ordered Solloma Empire soldiers into Lalgan Nation’s mist to locate the Mist Gate and its puzzle fragment, then set out with his four wives after troops reported a Giant Nightmare Beast attack.
• Adam explained that Beixing Nation’s fragment had moved to Andai State, suggesting its holder was pursuing another fragment.
• Guan Tong reached Banzhen and reasoned that the Andai State fragment holder would know he was approaching and prepare for a fight.
• Basong learned that a fragment holder was nearing his manor, gathered intelligence, and ordered Mala to search north of Banzhen for the newcomer.
• Basong tightened his manor’s defenses and decided to seize the approaching holder’s fragment before selling both fragments together.

Guan Tong discovered that Basong was imprisoning people and decided to seize the puzzle fragment by force while wiping out the estate. After killing Mala's group, he remotely confronted Basong through Shadow, but Basong's Mind Power hand cannon could not harm him.

• Shadow scouted Basong's estate and revealed that nearly two hundred people were chained and treated like livestock in its warehouses, enraging Guan Tong.
• Guan Tong lured Mala and his armed men to an abandoned construction site, killed the group with Shadow Thorns, and forced Mala to reveal what he knew about Basong and the fragment.
• After Mala died, Basong heard his voicemail and ordered his men to reinforce the estate, then escaped through a secret passage to his underground shelter.
• Guan Tong sent Shadow into Basong's shelter, where Basong fired a shotgun and then his Mind Power hand cannon at the intruder.
• Guan Tong used Shadow's phasing ability to avoid the hand cannon's blast and taunted Basong while holding back until he obtained the fragment.

Guan Tong defeated Basong and obtained Qimo Star Chronicle · Fragment 1 by betting that the fragment would remain after its holder died. After absorbing the mural’s information, he learned the locations of the remaining fragments and turned his attention to Basong’s estate.

• Basong attacked Guan Tong’s Shadow with explosive, poison gas, and incendiary shells, but none of them stopped it.
• Basong recognized Shadow and offered to become Guan Tong’s subordinate, but he refused to surrender the fragment.
• Guan Tong attacked Basong, who unleashed a powerful blast that destroyed the basement and collapsed the house above.
• Shadow killed Basong, and Qimo Star Chronicle · Fragment 1 appeared beside his corpse because it could not be destroyed.
• Guan Tong collected the fragment, absorbed its mural of Qimo Star’s environments and creatures, and saw that the remaining fragments were in a tropical region and Yingqi Nation.
• Guan Tong remembered that Basong’s estate remained intact and that he still had something left to do there.

Adam defeated an alien giant guarding a fragment in Lalgan and obtained the fragment, while Guan Tong destroyed Basong’s estate in Andai State. Andai State blamed Shadow for the massacre and demanded an explanation from Beixing Nation, whose officials debated how to respond.

• Adam stopped the giant creature from crushing Solloma soldiers, held back its next attack, and earned its approval before it disappeared into the mist.
• Amanda found a fragment outside the cave, and Adam sensed that two fragments were already gathered by a holder in either Beixing Nation or Andai State.
• Guan Tong used Shadow Lines to kill Basong’s armed followers, freed the prisoners, and burned the estate.
• Andai State officials investigated the killings, identified Shadow as the likely perpetrator, sealed the border, and demanded an explanation from Beixing Nation.
• The Countermeasure Research Institute discussed how to answer Andai State without alienating Shadow or damaging diplomatic relations.

The Beixing Nation Countermeasure Research Institute debated how to respond to Shadow’s unauthorized killings abroad, while Gao Liangwei warned Zhang Minglu that powerful figures among the higher-ups were hostile toward Shadow. In Yingqi Nation, Mu Tiancheng reported that his Chosen Group had found only one puzzle fragment and planned to prepare for the Tenth Rule before pursuing the others.

• Gao Liangwei and the Countermeasure Office debated whether Shadow should be held accountable, weighing national laws against the risk of driving him to another country.
• Zhang Minglu told Gao Liangwei that Chen Na could not contact Shadow, and Gao warned that a will among the higher-ups had become hostile toward him.
• Mu Tiancheng told Lord Divine Child that the Chosen Group had one puzzle fragment, while two were in Solloma and two were in Andai State, likely held by Beixing Nation citizens including Shadow.
• Lord Divine Child instructed Mu Tiancheng to prioritize preparing for the Tenth Rule and asked whether the Chosen Group had resolved Wall of Heart’s problem.
• After Lord Divine Child left, Mu Tiancheng planned to gather intelligence, address Wall of Heart’s problem, and pursue the fragments after confirming the group could pass the Tenth Rule.

While hiding in Andai State, Guan Tong worried about being tracked and bombed, then discovered that a user named Original Person wanted to discuss the puzzle fragments. Their messages led to a proposed exchange of mural information, but Original Person also invited Shadow to a potentially risky duel.

• Guan Tong stayed deep in an Andai State forest, keeping his fragments far away underground in case another holder revealed his location and authorities attacked.
• Guan Tong read discussion of Shadow’s destruction in Banzhen and saw that Andai State had formally protested to North Star Official.
• Guan Tong found Original Person’s offer to buy fragments for five million Ascension Coins each and replied by asking what if Shadow wanted to buy them.
• Original Person proposed a one-on-one match for the fragments and revealed a power called Force Field Manipulation, while Guan Tong recognized his disadvantage in combat information.
• Guan Tong suggested exchanging the murals on their fragments, and Original Person said they held fragments No. 2 and No. 4 while Shadow held No. 1 and No. 3.

As governments debated Shadow’s massacre, Guan Tong studied the Original Person’s interpretations of Fragments 2 and 4 and suspected the fog had destroyed Qimo Star’s strange-beast civilization. He learned that the fog-gate guardians might be intelligent survivors from Qimo Star—and perhaps victors chosen by the Apocalypse Rules—leaving open whether humans could face the same fate.

• Beixing Nation promised to investigate Shadow, while countries condemned him and the Solloma Empire defended and invited him.
• Guan Tong compared the Original Person’s interpretations of Fragments 2 and 4 with his own and concluded that disasters and dark fog may have ended Qimo Star’s strange-beast civilization.
• The Original Person proposed traveling with Shadow to Yingqi Nation after the Tenth Rule to find the holder of Fragment 5, but Shadow deferred the discussion.
• The Original Person told Guan Tong that the fog-gate guardians were not Nightmare Beasts and might be intelligent survivors from Qimo Star.
• Guan Tong wondered whether the Fire Thief had brought those survivors to Tianshui Star and considered the possibility that humans could become future gatekeepers.

As the Tenth Apocalypse Rule approached, Guan Tong trained his Mind Power and prepared for what came next. The new rule, Five Senses Elimination, would gradually deprive everyone of all five senses, and the authorities began urgently planning for the final ten days without them.

• Guan Tong decided not to travel with Original Person to meet the holder of Fragment 5, believing they would eventually compete to collect the fragments.
• Guan Tong practiced Mind Power Circulation, discovered it could automatically defend his body, and raised his Mind Power Cap to 317.
• Fire Thief announced the Tenth Apocalypse Rule: humanity would randomly lose one sense after 24 hours, lose all five within five days, and remain without them for 15 days.
• Guan Tong wondered whether Shadow could share his senses and make the rule easier for him.
• Gao Liangwei and the Apocalypse Rules Countermeasure Research Office discussed preparations, focusing especially on the challenges of losing sight, hearing, and touch.

After the Tenth Apocalypse Rule caused fears about losing the senses, Guan Tong discovered its Hidden Rule and decided to sell the information rather than use its cruel effects. He earned 3.4 million Ascension Coins and reflected on how that fortune could let him build an organization, while the rule’s effect on touch remained unclear.

• People speculated online about losing their senses, and the Beixing Nation government announced plans to provide guide devices, hearing aids, and support robots.
• Guan Tong checked Hidden Rule Ten, which said that losing a sense could restore it if that sense had already failed, and rejected harming himself to exploit it.
• Guan Tong posted the hidden intelligence for sale at 100,000 Ascension Coins per copy and received a flood of interest.
• Guan Tong sold thirty-four copies and raised his total to 4,085,620 Ascension Coins.
• Guan Tong considered how his wealth could fund a team of Ascendants and noted that mercenary groups were already offering services for Ascension Coins.

Guan Tong found a market item that could block taste and planned to profit from the hidden rule’s effect, while the Apocalypse Rules Countermeasure Research Office received the rule information and began searching for ways to disable senses in advance. The chapter ended with Director Gao Liangwei ordering the transfer of a psychologist whose ability might temporarily block a person’s hearing.

• Organizations bought the hidden information about the Tenth Rule, and Guan Tong searched Terminal Market for useful items.
• Guan Tong bought a Taste Blocker, reasoning that blocking a sense might counter the rule’s removal of it.
• The Countermeasure Research Office received the information that a sense already disabled when targeted by the rule would be restored to perfect condition.
• The researchers discussed ways to disable all five senses, including medication, surgery, and general anesthesia, but recognized the risks and practical limits.
• The office found records of a psychologist whose Cognitive Displacement ability had temporarily stopped someone from feeling tinnitus.
• Gao Liangwei ordered the psychologist transferred to the office and called for testing other relevant abilities and items.

When the Rule removed sight, Guan Tong used Shadow’s vision to adapt and considered traveling to Yingqi Nation to obtain Fragment 5. Meanwhile, an Yingqi Nation Special Operations Unit blinded itself to evade the Rule and launched missiles at the fragments’ burial site.

• At 11 p.m., Beixing Nation and other groups released the intelligence about the Rule, and Guan Tong sold his [Taste Blocker] for ten times what he had paid.
• When the Rule took effect at nine, Guan Tong lost his sight and experienced complete darkness.
• Guan Tong summoned Shadow and used its shared vision, then realized the Rule might give him a chance to travel to Yingqi Nation for Fragment 5.
• An Yingqi Nation Special Operations Unit entered Banzhen with Andai State’s permission and used drugs or spikes to blind themselves before the Rule began.
• After sight returned to the unit, its commander ordered the soldiers to eliminate Guan Tong and retrieve the fragments, then called for long-range support.
• Missiles launched from Yingqi Nation’s warships and struck the area where Guan Tong had buried the fragments.

Guan Tong survived the Yingqi Nation’s missile attack and learned that the operation had been arranged with Andai State to kill him and seize the fragments. After the attackers withdrew, he decided to make Andai State’s government pay before visiting the Yingqi Nation.

• Mu Tiancheng arranged with Andai State to bombard Shadow during the Tenth Rule and sent a special operations team to recover the fragments.
• Guan Tong watched the first team search the blast zone, then used shadows to attack after the soldiers discovered he was still alive.
• Mu Tiancheng ordered another missile strike, killing the surviving team members, and sent a second team that Guan Tong also killed remotely.
• When the warship ran out of missiles, Mu Tiancheng ended the operation and returned to the Yingqi Nation.
• Andai State soldiers investigated the blast zone, and Guan Tong inferred that their government had helped the Yingqi Nation target him.
• Guan Tong resolved to punish Andai State’s government before traveling to the Yingqi Nation.

The Solloma Senate debated Yingqi Nation’s attempt to seize a special item in Andai State and considered strengthening ties with Beixing Nation. At Beixing’s Countermeasure Research Institute, Gao Liangwei chose to experience Visual Elimination himself as staff reported on its effects and Yingqi Nation’s attack on Shadow.

• The Solloma senators discussed Adam’s lack of ambition and the threat posed by Yingqi Nation’s operation in Andai State.
• The Senate voted to establish a communication channel with Beixing Nation to prepare for possible aggression from Yingqi Nation.
• Gao Liangwei refused help that would restore his vision, saying he needed to experience the rule as ordinary people did.
• The Countermeasure Research Institute reported that shelters were functioning with assistance from guide robots, but some people might need psychological counseling.
• An analyst concluded that Yingqi Nation had bombed southern Andai State’s rainforest to eliminate Shadow and seize a special item linked to the Fog Gate Caves.

Guan Tong retaliated against Andai State by destroying its Royal Palace, prompting Prince Lado to blame Shadow and issue a bounty. Beixing Nation’s leaders debated how to respond and decided to investigate and seek official communication with Shadow after the Tenth Apocalypse Rule ended.

• Prince Lado dismissed warnings that Shadow might attack the Royal Palace, but explosions soon tore through the building and killed several officers.
• Guan Tong used Shadow Line to attach and detonate bombs he had bought from the Terminal Market, then withdrew after the palace collapsed.
• Prince Lado was escorted to safety and publicly blamed Shadow, vowing to pursue him and offering a bounty through Ascendant's Home.
• Officials in Beixing Nation debated whether Shadow’s attack warranted a highest-level wanted notice or charges of treason.
• Beixing Nation’s leaders decided to investigate the incident and have the Countermeasure Research Institute contact Shadow after the Tenth Apocalypse Rule ended.

Guan Tong traveled to Lieming Island to retrieve Fragment 5, which was held in a shrine protected by Yingqi Nation’s military and a barrier that blocked his Shadow. Inside the shrine, Orochi Murasaki reflected on how Yingqi Nation had made her its guardian after she awakened the Orochi Bloodline, and the chapter ended with an instructor requesting an audience with her.

• Guan Tong reached Lieming Island using Shadow Line and Phase Shift, intending to obtain Fragment 5 before taking revenge on Yingqi Nation.
• Guan Tong scouted the shrine and discovered that a barrier prevented his Shadow from entering its main hall.
• Guan Tong planned to slip past the mostly blind soldiers guarding the shrine, while preparing to destroy the island’s buildings if he could not take the fragment.
• Orochi Murasaki sat alone in the shrine’s main hall beneath a monstrous eight-headed statue and recalled how the Divine Child had declared her Yingqi Nation’s guardian after she awakened the Orochi Bloodline.
• A voice outside the hall told Orochi Murasaki that Instructor Mu Tiancheng wished to see her.

Orochi Murasaki gave Fragment 5 to Guan Tong, who learned that the murals showed Qimo Star’s destruction and the Fire Thief’s role in recording it. He left without fighting, while Orochi Murasaki remained convinced that humanity’s efforts were meaningless.

• Mu Tiancheng warned Orochi Murasaki that Shadow might retaliate against Yingqi Nation after the failed operation in Andai State.
• Orochi Murasaki discovered that the two fragments were on the island, then went alone to meet Guan Tong outside the shrine.
• Orochi Murasaki handed Guan Tong Fragment 5, and its murals revealed how the Ninth Apocalypse Rule’s mist turned Qimo Star’s strange beasts into Nightmare Beasts before a mechanical arm recorded the planet’s destruction.
• Guan Tong told Orochi Murasaki about Fragments 1 through 4 and argued that destruction could not erase the happiness the strange beasts had experienced.
• Guan Tong left without fighting and told Orochi Murasaki she could contact him through the Ascendant's Home website if she wanted to.

After studying Fragment 5, Guan Tong practiced Mind Power and agreed to communicate with Beixing Nation’s Countermeasure Research Institute. The exchange ended with Gao Liangwei weighing Shadow’s demand that the government either stop meddling abroad or confront Prince Lado as part of humanity’s fight against Fire Thief.

• Guan Tong considered Fragment 5’s account of Fire Thief destroying civilizations and concluded that learning more about him mattered more than despairing over humanity’s fate.
• Guan Tong practiced Mind Power in the dark and believed he could soon cover his whole body with a defensive layer.
• Guan Tong replied to Original Person that Shadow wanted the two Fragments in their possession and invited them to name their terms.
• Guan Tong accepted a communication request from the Beixing Nation government’s Countermeasure Research Institute.
• Gao Liangwei asked why Shadow had killed people in Andai State and destroyed the Royal Palace, and Shadow defended his actions by condemning Prince Lado’s evil.
• Shadow told Gao Liangwei that the government should either isolate itself or treat uniting humanity against Fire Thief as its duty, beginning by eliminating Prince Lado; Gao Liangwei pondered how to respond.