Chapter Summaries

Dream Boat One and Empire Pioneer landed safely on Terra and began building temporary survival outposts, while the UHC coalition prepared to capture the parasite leadership in Uze. In Senantata, Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi considered whether the Mind Network could identify parasites and began testing it themselves.

• Dream Boat One and Empire Pioneer landed on Terra, and their astronauts followed ground instructions to establish temporary survival outposts.
• The UHC coalition advanced on Uze, where Adam and other Ascendants received orders to parachute above the National Shrine and capture the parasite leadership in its underground shelter.
• Guan Tong told Shangyuan Zi that he had killed Yelena's brother, Rieka, but believed Yelena would not hold a deep sibling bond with him.
• Guan Tong received Zhang Minglu's message that the Alien Intelligence had named the Mind Network as a way to identify parasites, and he declined to travel to the Countermeasure Research Institute for testing.
• Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi clasped hands and attempted to establish a Mind Network together.

Guan Tong failed to form a Mind Network with Shangyuan Zi, then contacted Yelena, who admitted she had wanted Rieka dead. At the UHC meeting, commissioners debated leaked intelligence, humanity’s space plans, and which question to ask the Alien Intelligence, while Xisiya demanded veto power over costly questions.

• Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi tried to connect their Mind Power but failed, and Guan Tong decided to contact Yelena instead.
• Yelena asked Guan Tong whether he had killed Rieka, and he admitted it; Yelena said she had wanted Rieka dead and asked to meet him.
• At the UHC meeting, Mary accused someone of leaking intelligence about the Alien Intelligence, and Gao Liangwei urged nations to investigate possible infiltration and mental control.
• Gao Liangwei announced that the Dream Boat One and Empire Pioneer missions had landed on Terra and that humanity planned to build a Survival Base there.
• The UHC commissioners debated five proposed questions for the Alien Intelligence, with many favoring the Mind Power question because the others might cost too much.
• Toravt demanded that Xisiya receive veto power over costly questions or that the Alien Intelligence be moved out of Xisiya.

Guan Tong met Yelena, now Xisiya's Archon, and discussed both the political fallout from Rieka's death and his request to question the Alien Intelligence. He agreed to stay in Xisiya and protect her until her position was secure in exchange for her arranging an opportunity for him to ask one question.

• Yelena met Guan Tong at the National Museum in disguise and explained why her father had preserved its destruction as a warning.
• Yelena assured Guan Tong that she was glad Rieka had died and would not pursue him, but said the Konia Family and Rieka's former subordinates might investigate.
• Yelena asked Guan Tong to stay in Xisiya and protect her while she consolidated her position as Archon.
• Guan Tong revealed that he wanted to ask the Alien Intelligence a question and demonstrated that he could summon Living Dead as possible food for it.
• Guan Tong promised to ask only whether the Alien Intelligence's name was, and to stop if the Living Dead could not serve as its food.
• Yelena offered to arrange an opportunity for Guan Tong to ask a question, and Guan Tong agreed to protect her until her position was secure.

Guan Tong entered the Landing Site disguised as a Xisiya soldier to contact the Alien Intelligence, with Sigaoxin keeping him under close watch. As the UHC prepared its next question, he arranged to test whether the Alien Intelligence would eat a Living Dead hidden among the parasites.

• Xisiya soldiers let Guan Tong into the Landing Site disguised within an armed squad, and Sigaoxin recognized him as he arrived.
• Guan Tong told Sigaoxin he would find a way to question the Alien Intelligence without drawing the UHC observers' attention, but she ordered him to stay beside her until the UHC's question was asked.
• Sigaoxin showed Guan Tong the Landing Site's defenses, and he assessed the rings of security surrounding the Alien Intelligence.
• After transport trucks brought parasites for the UHC's question, Guan Tong asked Sigaoxin to let him hide a Living Dead among them as a test, and she agreed.
• By evening, more than thirty thousand sleeping parasites had gathered around the Alien Intelligence, including Guan Tong's Living Dead, which pretended to sleep among them.

Solloma’s Annihilators ambushed the Fire Thief Cult convoy headed for Rodel City, while Dr. Hysen turned his attention to an unfinished humanoid robot he called an angel. At the Landing Site, the Alien Intelligence answered humanity’s energy question with news that Tianshui Star lacked a substance needed to overcome material-science limits, leaving the UHC searching for a way forward.

• Solloma’s unmanned Annihilators ambushed the Fire Thief Cult followers on their way to Rodel City and inflicted devastating casualties.
• A cult follower broke into an Annihilator, where Dr. Hysen mocked him remotely before detonating the machine and killing him.
• Dr. Hysen visited a lifelike intelligent robot and hoped to activate the angel valued by the Emperor.
• The Alien Intelligence consumed the Living Dead along with other parasites before answering the UHC’s question about safe, abundant energy.
• The Alien Intelligence said Tianshui Star lacked a substance needed to obtain that energy and that humanity could not overcome material-science limits; snipers then killed the questioner for speaking beyond the rules.
• Gao Liangwei, Mary, and the other commissioners discussed searching other planets for the substance, gathering language samples, and continuing research into the Mind Network.

Han Qiu argued that humanity should treat Fire Thief’s rules as a game and search for the clues it had hidden in Alien Intelligence’s appearance, then revealed he had a question in mind for the next meeting. Meanwhile, Black Star’s tavern drew a crowd of clients seeking information, and Guan Tong prepared to question Alien Intelligence despite the heavily guarded Landing Site.

• Han Qiu told Zhang Minglu that the Mind Network might be the intended way to identify parasites and that humanity should follow Fire Thief’s rules rather than pursue useless questions.
• Han Qiu said he would propose a question for the next meeting, and Zhang Minglu was astonished when he heard it.
• Black Star returned to his tavern and found crowds of clients seeking information about Alien Intelligence; he began receiving them despite worrying that the New Consul might target his operation.
• Bai Xing told a lackey to keep gathering intelligence while worrying about the many outsiders arriving in Xisiya.
• Guan Tong, disguised as a soldier, told Sigaoxin that he would create a domain to block surveillance and ask Alien Intelligence his question.

The Allied Forces' elite Ascendant unit discovered its decapitation strike had hit the wrong parasites, then rescued a resistance group that included Lu Cheng in disguise. Meanwhile, the Pope dismissed the destruction of Father Yak's Apostle Group as mission accomplished, and Shangyuan Zi watched an overcrowded icefield town come under Xisiya scrutiny while waiting for Guan Tong.

• Adam and the elite Ascendant unit found that the parasites at the sacrificial hall were weak scapegoats, then went to rescue Ascendants under siege at a broken bridge.
• Adam subdued more than a hundred parasites with Force Field Manipulation, and the Allied Forces took the parasites and rescued Ascendants to their temporary base for containment.
• The rescued group complained about being confined, while the man called Wang Ming revealed the face of Lu Cheng and flashed an inconspicuous green gleam in his eyes.
• The Four Great Bishops reported that Father Yak's Apostle Group had been wiped out by Suoloma's Annihilator, and the Pope said their mission had already been completed.
• Shangyuan Zi observed hundreds of new arrivals and Xisiya patrols in the icefield town as she waited for Guan Tong to contact her.

The UHC debated whether to keep questioning the Alien Intelligence amid public accusations that its parasite-capturing campaign was harming innocent people. Suoloma and North Star proposed questions about brain-computer connections and the Sixteenth Apocalypse Rule, leaving the committee to consider both proposals.

• UHC committee members debated public opposition to questioning the Alien Intelligence and focused on deciding what to ask next.
• Mary proposed asking how human brains could connect with intelligent chips, explaining that Suoloma would open-source the technology if the UHC pursued the question.
• Toravt demanded that Suoloma share the technology with UHC nations, and Mary agreed on Suoloma's behalf.
• Gao Liangwei proposed asking what the Sixteenth Apocalypse Rule would be, explaining that the answer could reveal whether the Rules were predetermined and whether the Alien Intelligence could foresee the future.

Shangyuan Zi discovered that suspected Fire Thief Cult followers were stirring up visitors in town, while Louis rallied the crowd to march on the Landing Site. As Guan Tong waited for the UHC to question the Alien Intelligence, over a thousand civilians began assaulting the site’s outer defenses.

• Shangyuan Zi overheard suspected Fire Thief Cult followers discuss using the townspeople to reach the Landing Site.
• A young woman and others denounced the UHC and Xisiya’s restrictions at the tavern, and the crowd began protesting.
• Louis identified himself as the first official questioner and urged the crowd to march together to the Landing Site.
• Guan Tong told Sigaoxin he would wait for the UHC to ask questions before asking his own.
• Sigaoxin received word that over a thousand civilians were assaulting the Landing Site’s outer defensive line and reported it to Yelena.

A thousand-person crowd led by Louis tried to breach the Landing Site’s defensive line, but Fire Thief Cult followers opened fire and turned the arrests into a deadly clash. At the scheduled questioning, the Alien Intelligence consumed 27,395 parasites answering a question about converting brain activity into digital signals, leaving too little stock for the next question.

• Yelena ordered the soldiers to arrest the advancing crowd, and Louis and Fire Thief Cult agitators urged them onward with chants of “To the Landing Site.”
• Fire Thief Cult followers shot into the crowd during the arrests, triggering a chaotic exchange of fire that left more than half the people killed or injured and the rest detained.
• Yelena suspected a conspiracy connected to recent infiltrators and asked Guan Tong to seek clues from Shangyuan Zi through a secure channel.
• Sigaoxin told Guan Tong that the scheduled questions concerned converting brain activity into digital signals and the contents of the next rule.
• At ten o’clock, the questioner asked how human brainwaves could be converted into digital signals, and the Alien Intelligence ate 27,395 parasites before answering.

The Alien Intelligence provided humanity with extensive technical information, while Guan Tong investigated the assault on the Landing Site and suspected it was a diversion. The chapter ended with him warning Shangyuan Zi that awake parasites among the supposedly sedated shipment could be the real threat.

• The Alien Intelligence explained conversion technology, and UHC commissioners celebrated the valuable information while debating its costs and the situation in Wuze City.
• Gao Liangwei reported that the allied forces had suppressed Wuze City and that the parasites had a leader called the Prophet.
• Guan Tong contacted Shangyuan Zi, who told him that Fire Thief Cult followers had discussed a bishop, heretics, and entering the Landing Site, while Louis had rallied the crowd.
• Guan Tong told Shangyuan Zi to leave the town after Xisiya soldiers took control, then reconsidered whether the assault had been staged as a diversion.
• After a truck carrying sedated parasites arrived, Guan Tong suspected that some might remain awake and cause trouble at a critical moment.

UHC personnel prepared captured parasites for transport while Lu Cheng infiltrated the Front Line base by joining a resistance fighter combat team. At the Landing Site, Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi prepared for a possible plot involving the transported parasites and awaited the Alien Intelligence’s next question.

• UHC soldiers loaded captured parasites for transport and added drug-resistance tests after receiving a new order.
• The Front Line commander selected Evolvers with recorded evidence of fighting parasites to form a separate combat team, allowing Lu Cheng to move through non-classified areas while he sought intelligence for the Prophet.
• Guan Tong’s suspicions about the Fire Thief Cult’s plans led Yelena to order parasite inspections and reinforce the Landing Site defenses.
• Shangyuan Zi arrived at the Landing Site, where Sigaoxin criticized her for not warning the authorities sooner and Guan Tong defended her.
• Guan Tong told Shangyuan Zi that the UHC planned to use a Mind Power camera during the next question and expected to ask his own question afterward.

Solloma’s King ordered Dr. Hysen to develop an angel within six months while avoiding trouble with North Star, and the UHC prepared to ask whether future Apocalypse Rules could be revealed. Host Ascendants attacked the Landing Site during the question, but the questioner completed it before being killed, and the Alien Intelligence began feeding as the attackers retreated.

• The King of Solloma gave Dr. Hysen six months to develop an angel and ordered him to submit technical materials to the UHC without provoking North Star.
• The UHC explained its restrictions on questioning the Alien Intelligence and acknowledged that some Black Flag Nation citizens had been mistakenly sent to Xisiya as hosts.
• Sigaoxin, Guan Tong, and Shangyuan Zi prepared for the UHC’s question about whether future Apocalypse Rules could be disclosed, as nearly a hundred thousand hosts were gathered at the Landing Site.
• Transport vehicles exploded, and Guan Tong identified the attackers as Host Ascendants who had infiltrated among the captives.
• Guan Tong shattered the attackers’ barrier and fought them, giving the questioner time to ask, “What is the Sixteenth Apocalypse Rule?”
• A Host Ascendant killed the questioner, but the Alien Intelligence began feeding before the attackers retreated, leaving the Landing Site in chaos.

Hundreds of Parasite Ascendants attacked the Landing Site, and Guan Tong and the Xisiya forces fought to stop them from disrupting the Alien Intelligence’s food supply. After the Ascendants destroyed much of that food with Mind Power Bombs, the surviving soldiers evacuated, while Guan Tong stayed behind to question the Alien Intelligence.

• UHC committee members watched the Landing Site livestream reveal hundreds of Parasite Ascendants, then lost the feed as the battle intensified.
• Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi rescued Sigaoxin from attackers, and Sigaoxin directed the soldiers to fight while continuing to move parasites into the food zone.
• Guan Tong used his Shadows to overwhelm the Parasite Ascendants, but the attackers detonated Mind Power Bombs hidden among the parasites and inside their own bodies.
• Guan Tong survived the explosions with injuries, while Sigaoxin ordered the remaining soldiers to evacuate before the Alien Intelligence could target them.
• Shangyuan Zi left with the evacuees, and Guan Tong stayed behind the transport trucks to wait for the Alien Intelligence to finish eating and answer his questions.

After the Alien Intelligence finished feeding, Guan Tong asked whether his passage through time and space was connected to the [Wordless Book]. The question triggered a malfunction, and the creature attacked the book before collapsing when Guan Tong stored it away.

• Sigaoxin evacuated the wounded soldiers, then led a heavy firepower battalion back into the Core Area to assess the Alien Intelligence.
• The Alien Intelligence stopped feeding after consuming the parasites and began malfunctioning when it tried to answer what the Sixteenth Apocalypse Rule was.
• Guan Tong used Shadow Domain to hide from satellite surveillance and asked whether his crossing through time and space was related to the [Wordless Book].
• The Alien Intelligence ignored the parasites and chased Guan Tong, then abandoned him to pursue the book when Shadow carried it away.
• Guan Tong stored the [Wordless Book] in the Terminal Panel's Storage Box, and the Alien Intelligence stopped and collapsed.

The UHC learned that the Alien Intelligence might be made of nanobiological organisms or robots, while Guan Tong tested its reaction to the [Wordless Book]. After eating one page, the creature briefly formed a spaceship and spoke in fragments before producing a page-like piece of itself, which Guan Tong took as Sigaoxin returned.

• Gao Liangwei admitted the UHC had misjudged the parasite Ascendants, and Toravt thanked Shadow for saving lives at the Landing Site.
• The research department showed the UHC footage suggesting the Alien Intelligence consisted of hundreds of billions of nanobiological organisms or robots that broke down food instantly.
• Guan Tong concluded the Alien Intelligence had been drawn to the [Wordless Book] and decided to test what would happen if he fed it a single page.
• The Alien Intelligence devoured the page, transformed into a spaceship-like construct, and uttered fragments including “God... Star Ark...” and “Out of control... fragment...”
• The Alien Intelligence returned to black mud and produced a page-like piece of itself, which Guan Tong kept at a distance as Sigaoxin arrived.
• Guan Tong decided to leave the Shadow Domain with the page-like piece and consider what he had discovered.

After the Fifteenth Apocalypse Rule ended, Guan Tong obtained a limited Nanite Swarm formed from a page of the Wordless Book and learned that it could decompose objects through direct contact. He and Shangyuan Zi headed to Xisiya’s capital to honor Guan Tong’s agreement with Yelena, while the Countermeasure Research Institute assessed the rule’s gains and setbacks.

• Sigaoxin kept the Alien Intelligence under guard as UHC researchers concluded it was composed of countless nanoscopic organisms and that its spaceship was likely made of similar creations.
• The Alien Intelligence remained shut down and unresponsive until the Fifteenth Rule ended, then returned to its spaceship and vanished as the Fire Thief announced humanity had passed.
• Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi received the rule’s completion notice, and Guan Tong discovered that the page the Alien Intelligence had spat out had become an item called Nanite Swarm.
• Guan Tong tested the Nanite Swarm, found it could form a black glove and decompose anything touching his palm, but could not move independently or be used at a distance.
• Guan Tong told Shangyuan Zi he would protect Yelena in Xisiya under their agreement, and the two set out for the capital while preparing for the Sixteenth Rule.
• At a Countermeasure Research Institute meeting, Han Qiu and Gao Liangwei discussed the rule’s delayed technological benefits and its costs, including Xisiya’s casualties, public opposition to asking questions, and the parasites’ alliance with the Fire Thief Cult.

Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi visited Yelena in Xisiya, where he agreed to protect her from a possible coup and assassination attempt. Afterward, he decided to spend his Ascension Coins on commissions that would let other Ascendants transfer Mind Power to him.

• Guan Tong and Shangyuan Zi discussed the public backlash over the UHC's decisions and the rumors that it had captured humans as hosts.
• Yelena arrived at her estate, thanked Guan Tong for his help at the Landing Site, and explained that Rieka's supporters were secretly planning an armed rebellion.
• Yelena asked Guan Tong to serve as her driver and office guard while she dealt with the threat, and he agreed.
• Guan Tong checked his Terminal Panel and realized his Reserve Mind Power was running low after the battle at the Landing Site.
• Guan Tong decided to spend his Ascension Coins on commissions that would have other Ascendants transfer Mind Power to him.

The Sixteenth Apocalypse Rule began as the astronauts on Terra lost contact with the Empire Pioneer crew and humanity prepared for a deadly competition among Ascendants. Fire Thief announced a seven-day Death Race in which contestants could gain points by killing one another.

• Astronauts at Dream Boat One feared the next rule would begin before they could return to Tianshui Star, then heard screams over the communicator from Empire Pioneer and lost contact with its crew.
• The Space Administration confirmed the Empire Pioneer astronauts were still alive and ordered Wei Xuan to investigate, carrying lethal weapons if he went in person.
• The UHC set space exploration and digital life as humanity's two development paths, and prioritized finding Prophet and eradicating the Fire Thief Cult.
• Nations and survivors pursued their own plans as the seven-day interval passed.
• Fire Thief released the Sixteenth Apocalypse Rule, Death Race, making Ascendants with invitations hostile contestants who earned points by killing rivals.

Guan Tong, Shangyuan Zi, and Yelena discussed how Xisiya could manage Rule Sixteen’s deadly points competition, including Shangyuan’s proposal for an official arena. Guan Tong decided to become a competitor without hunting others for points, though he would defend himself if attacked.

• Guan Tong learned that Rule Sixteen turned Tianshui Star into a deadly competition and that competitors could forfeit by discarding their invitations at the cost of Mind Power.
• Guan Tong discovered that Hidden Rule Sixteen allowed Ascendants in Team Up mode to kill their teammates for points, threatening trust within established groups.
• Yelena asked Guan Tong for advice on managing the rule, and he suggested keeping invitations while forbidding Ascendants from killing for points.
• Shangyuan Zi proposed a designated arena where Ascendants could legally fight for points, and Guan Tong supported the idea as a way to reduce killings outside it.
• While waiting for Yelena’s meeting to end, Guan Tong decided to compete but not actively kill for points, while promising to defend himself against anyone who provoked him.