Chapter Summaries

Li Yao read a forum campaign accusing Maeve Manufacturing and the Wallfacer Organization of conducting inhumane experiments. He recognized that the accusations aimed to stir independent espers into demanding an investigation that could give rival forces access to Maeve Manufacturing’s secrets.

• Li Yao made Wei Dadong leave his training spot and sweep the entrance while Chen Xi practiced nearby.
• Li Yao opened the Esper World Forum and read a pinned report about Maeve Manufacturing’s strategic cooperation with the Wallfacer Organization.
• Li Yao clicked a popular post alleging that Maeve Manufacturing conducted illegal human experiments using debris from the Sahura Pyramid subspace.
• Li Yao examined the post’s replies and concluded that its authors were trying to turn independent espers against Maeve Manufacturing and pressure the Arbitration Association to investigate it.

Li Yao watched the Esper World Forum react to Maeve Manufacturing’s experiments and prosthetics, then learned the World Esper Arbitration Association might question the company. Oslia arrived at the Lost Tavern on behalf of the Foundation to ask Li Yao about the human experiments, and he answered her first question with a cryptic remark.

• Li Yao read arguments on the Esper World Forum, where disabled people praised Maeve Manufacturing’s prosthetics and other netizens attacked them for supporting the company.
• Chen Tienan called Li Yao, offered to take responsibility for the controversy, and was reassured that the prosthetics were a rigid demand.
• Wang Xueyi warned Li Yao that the World Esper Arbitration Association might question the Wallfacer Organization and consider opening an investigation.
• Li Yao asked whether the American Federation belonged to the convention and said the situation would be easy to handle when Wang Xueyi confirmed it did.
• Wang Xueyi told the Staff Department to monitor Li Yao’s movements in Jinling and be ready to clean up after him.
• Oslia arrived at the Lost Tavern on behalf of the Foundation to question Li Yao about the human experiments, and Li Yao replied that her first question was a good one.

Li Yao responded to accusations of detaining espers for human experimentation by posting a defiant thread on the Esper World Forum, then told Oslia to wait and see. After Oslia left, Kou Kou spotted Wei Dadong and became interested in him.

• Li Yao logged into the Esper World Forum and posted a challenge demanding that his accusers provide details about the espers he supposedly mistreated.
• Oslia warned Li Yao that the public accusations were prepared and that his post amounted to a denial, but he calmly urged her to wait and see.
• After Oslia left, Lin Xiaoxi teased Li Yao about being single, and Wei Dadong avoided being caught between her and Li Yao by taking a broom outside.
• Kou Kou watched Wei Dadong leave the tavern and, unable to win over Li Yao, decided that the muscular man had caught her eye.

Li Yao and Chen Xi examined an inflammatory forum post accusing Maeve Manufacturing of abusing espers, while Wang Xueyi urged Li Yao to allow a damage-control response. Li Yao refused to intervene, leaving Wang Xueyi and his deputy staff officer unsure how to respond.

• Kou Kou left after eating, while Wei Dadong swept outside the Lost Tavern, unaware that she had set her sights on him.
• Li Yao read a forum post accusing Maeve Manufacturing of conducting bloody experiments and warning that it might eventually persecute ordinary espers.
• Chen Xi said the post relied on groundless assumptions, comparing its reasoning to the claim that Yue Fei might rebel because he commanded an army.
• Wang Xueyi called Li Yao to complain that his online post had complicated their damage control, but Li Yao told him not to get involved and hung up.
• Wang Xueyi's deputy staff officer suggested attacking the post's arguments, while Wang Xueyi remained dazed by Li Yao's refusal to act.

Li Yao prepared a response to the Esper World Forum post by asking Maeve to create bodies for the people named in it. He left Maeve to work in the subspace and posted a warning on the forum, telling his critics to wait.

• Wang Xueyi stopped the Staff Department from responding online until they knew what Li Yao was planning.
• Li Yao called Maeve upstairs, and she mistook his request to “make some people” as a sexual invitation after picking up innuendo online.
• Li Yao scolded Maeve and Sauron, then brought them into the subspace to discuss the people named in the forum post.
• Maeve agreed to create the named people’s bodies, with natural expressions and simulated reactions, by the next day.
• Li Yao left Maeve to make the bodies and posted on the Esper World Forum: “You guys are awesome! Just wait!”

Li Yao sent Maeve and Sauron to deliver recreated Esper criminals to Wang Xueyi, setting up a response to accusations against them. Wang Xueyi recognized the criminals and heard Li Yao’s plan, but remained unsure how Maeve had made them.

• Li Yao found Maeve with a group of naked recreated Esper criminals and gave them ill-fitting clothes from his Space Ring.
• Li Yao sent Sauron and Maeve to an abandoned warehouse and instructed Maeve on what to tell Wang Xueyi.
• Li Yao messaged Wang Xueyi a location, and Wang Xueyi hurried there with several staff officers.
• Wang Xueyi recognized the recreated criminals as identical to those Chen Tienan had handed over and wondered whether Li Yao had killed them.
• Maeve told Wang Xueyi that Li Yao said the people were fake but impossible to verify, and that they should return the accusations against them.

Wang Xueyi livestreamed the questioning of the espers accused of being victims of human experiments, using their testimony to defend the Wallfacers and Maeve Manufacturing. He announced that the factions responsible would face arbitration and heavy compensation, then revealed that the criminals were being held for a separate investigation.

• Wang Xueyi arranged for the detained espers to be taken to a special prison and organized a public livestream with media from across the Esper World.
• Wang Xueyi introduced the livestream and questioned Jane Larson and the other espers, who denied suffering abuse and confirmed they were answering freely.
• Maeve, with help from Sauron and the Lord of Familiars, guided the espers through reporters' difficult questions and ignored hostile factions' attempts to intimidate them.
• Wang Xueyi announced that the Wallfacers and Maeve Manufacturing would seek arbitration and hold the slandering factions responsible.
• After receiving Li Yao's messages, Wang Xueyi promised those factions would pay enormous compensation and said the Wallfacers would investigate why they had secretly detained the espers.

Wang Xueyi accused the American Federation’s Department of Homeland Defense and Counterattack Security of colluding with Hydra, then proposed an investigation by the World Esper Arbitration Association. After the press conference, Li Yao tried to learn whether the Wallfacers planned a major operation against the Federation, but Madam Qian left him guessing.

• Wang Xueyi publicly connected the Department of Homeland Defense and Counterattack Security to Hydra and the Sierra Leone incident, and said the Wallfacers would seek an arbitration association investigation.
• Wang Xueyi refused reporters’ requests to interview the detained espers and sent the media away after the livestream ended.
• Maeve filmed Wang Xueyi at Li Yao’s request and made him answer Li Yao’s video call.
• Wang Xueyi told Li Yao that the Wallfacers had a major operation, then hurriedly ended the call without explaining further.
• Li Yao called Madam Qian to ask whether they would act against the American Federation, and she told him to guess.

Li Yao reviewed the fallout from the Wallfacers’ livestream, which had silenced Hydra and triggered arguments across the Esper World Forum, while the American Federation faced compensation demands. Morgan planned to exploit the crisis to purge rivals and told Freeman he had a plan to salvage Song Ze’s prospects.

• Madam Qian told Li Yao that something significant was in motion and urged him to check the lively forum.
• Li Yao reviewed his successful counterattack against Hydra and considered the Wallfacers’ moves against the American Federation.
• Forum users argued over whether the Wallfacers had forced confessions, while the Wallfacers invited authoritative organizations to verify the livestream claims.
• Chen Tienan praised Li Yao, and Oslia apologized on behalf of the Foundation before saying she would submit her report to the American Federation instead.
• Morgan fielded calls from allies seeking financial assistance and decided he could use the compensation dispute to purge hostile factions within his organization.
• Morgan called Freeman, learned that Song Ze had lost his chance to join the investigative team, and said he had a plan.

Wei Dadong settled into his new routine serving at Li Yao’s tavern and taking shifts with Maeve Manufacturing’s defense team. After a morning of sweeping and breakfast at the tavern, he left for duty and was approached by a woman who asked to add him on WeChat.

• Morgan decided to use his own influence to get Mr. Song Ze moving after Freeman’s forum campaign failed to sway the doubters.
• Li Yao sent Maeve with Feng Li to expand Maeve Manufacturing’s production facilities, while Feng Li reminded Wei Dadong that he was on duty.
• Li Yao made Wei Dadong finish sweeping before he could leave, and Wei Dadong then found breakfast waiting for him at the tavern.
• Wei Dadong thanked Chen Xi for the meal, and Li Yao told Chen Xi to add more meat to breakfast so Dadong would have the strength to clean.
• On his way out, Wei Dadong received a woman’s WeChat QR code after she complimented him and asked to add him.

Wei Dadong met the outgoing Kou Kou on a DiDi ride to General Mountain, where he reported for duty protecting the young miss. After passing Maeve Manufacturing's security checks and boarding the shuttle, he met the newly transferred metahuman Wang Zicheng, who immediately asked to add him on WeChat.

• Kou Kou persuaded Wei Dadong to add her on WeChat and chatted with him during the drive to General Mountain.
• Wei Dadong warned Kou Kou to be careful driving, and she explained that she was one-sixteenth Han Chinese and drove DiDi for fun.
• At the guard post, Wei Dadong completed password, iris, and DNA verification and chatted with a First Dispatch Team member about protecting the young miss.
• Wei Dadong boarded the shuttle bus with the other fighters and took the last available seat beside Wang Zicheng.
• Wang Zicheng introduced himself as a newly transferred metahuman and enthusiastically asked Wei Dadong to add him on WeChat.

Wei Dadong and Wang Zicheng drew the same night patrol assignment and spent the shift talking, with Wang Zicheng revealing his interest in men and deciding Wei Dadong would become his close male friend. The chapter left Wei Dadong baffled by how their conversation had turned into an attempt to recruit him as an “ass-brother.”

• Wei Dadong and Wang Zicheng drew the same patrol assignment and collected their equipment and route tablets.
• On the way to their post, Wang Zicheng showed Wei Dadong his divination tools and offered to read his fortune, but Wei Dadong declined.
• During the night shift, Wang Zicheng chatted with Wei Dadong about work, marriage, and relationships.
• Wang Zicheng said he liked men and asked whether Wei Dadong disapproved; Wei Dadong said it was fine and mentioned a teammate with similar preferences.
• Wang Zicheng happily declared that he would make Wei Dadong his “ass-brother,” leaving Wei Dadong confused.

Li Yao checked on his senior’s Original Liquid business, discussed his plans for Maeve Manufacturing, and prepared to attend the Esper World Forum defamation compensation negotiations. In Switzerland, Song Ze received a call and decided to travel to China with Song Duo'er.

• Wang Zicheng told Wei Dadong about his time in a gay conversion center and how he outsmarted its director.
• Li Yao contacted his senior, learned the Original Liquid products were gaining strong interest, and told her about Maeve Manufacturing’s production plans.
• Li Yao arranged to attend the compensation negotiations for the Esper World Forum defamation case in the provincial capital.
• Song Ze received a call at Golton Manor and told Song Duo'er to pack for a trip to China.

Li Yao and Feng Li met with five Esper factions whose agents had caused trouble for the Wallfacers and Maeve Manufacturing. After their representative offered apologies, Li Yao challenged whether an apology was enough.

• Li Yao noticed Feng Li had returned from a difficult patrol with a torn coat and the faint scent of blood.
• Feng Li brought Li Yao, Old He, and Xiao Zhao to Mustard Seed Garden for a meeting with five Esper factions.
• Feng Li explained the organizations’ backgrounds and discussed whether her team should receive war beasts.
• Representatives from the five factions greeted the group and offered apologies and a public notice of remorse.
• Li Yao replied, “If apologies worked, what would we need the police for?”

Li Yao and Feng Li negotiated compensation with Si Ensi’s delegation for slander posted on the Esper World Forum. After Li Yao calculated an outrageous per-character claim, he challenged Si Ensi’s right to dictate the compensation, leaving the dispute unresolved.

• Li Yao disrupted Si Ensi’s diplomatic pitch with insults, then asked about compensation for the damage to his side’s reputation.
• Si Ensi offered five hundred million USD, while Feng Li secretly told Li Yao that the Staff Department had planned to demand 1.5 billion USD.
• Li Yao proposed ten million USD, then claimed the delegation had posted 150,000 slanderous characters and asked Feng Li to calculate the bill at ten million USD per character.
• Si Ensi objected that they had offered total compensation rather than a per-character rate, and Li Yao asked whether Si Ensi got to decide the amount and form of payment.

Li Yao secured 2 billion USD in compensation from the negotiating factions and told Feng Li he had been serious about declaring war if they refused. Feng Li warned him about the hidden dangers among Earth's supernatural organizations, and Li Yao asked her to explain their structure.

• Feng Li told Li Yao that the 2 billion USD compensation would be split among six parties, and Li Yao regretted that it did not include extraordinary items or research.
• Feng Li praised Li Yao for holding firm during negotiations and imitated the threats he had made to force the factions to agree.
• Li Yao confirmed that he would have declared war if the factions had refused, and told Feng Li he did not need to rely on the Wallfacers' strength.
• Li Yao considered the army and powerful allies he could assemble from his subspace resources and cross-plane support.
• Feng Li warned Li Yao that ancient beings might lurk behind Earth's supernatural factions, and Li Yao asked her to explain those factions' structure.

Feng Li explained the difference between espers, heretics, and aberrations to Li Yao, who also discussed his earnings and plans with Lin Xiaowei. The chapter ended with Lin Xiaowei asking him to gather Earth's biological genetic information for the Magic Association's evolved Mother Empresses.

• Feng Li told Li Yao that heretics were once human but had been twisted by contact with supernatural beings, while aberrations were even more numerous and had been suppressed throughout human history.
• Li Yao told Feng Li he had secured fifteen hundred million in compensation and would keep an additional five hundred million USD for himself.
• Li Yao joked with Lin Xiaowei about building a Mage Tower on Earth and possibly creating a magic-version space station.
• Lin Xiaowei asked Li Yao to compile genetic information on Earth's living things for the Magic Association's evolved Mother Empresses and offered to send him more useful items.

Lin Xiaowei complained to Li Yao about missing food from home, and he promised to gather ingredients for her while teasing her about becoming an emperor. After their call, Li Yao considered how to source the food and announced a bullfrog dinner, just as Maeve arrived with something to discuss.

• Lin Xiaowei listed the foods and spices she missed, and Li Yao promised to send ingredients and recipe videos to her.
• Lin Xiaowei added Li Yao's food-related threat to her notebook of future revenge plans.
• Li Yao considered gathering crayfish, bullfrogs, Asian Carp, and other ingredients for Lin Xiaowei.
• Li Yao called for bullfrogs for dinner, Chen Xi agreed, and Maeve arrived saying she needed to talk to him.

Maeve told Li Yao that her experiments had produced a medicine that greatly increased a gray wolf’s size, spiritual awareness, and learning ability, potentially raising its intelligence to that of a ten-year-old child. Li Yao eagerly asked for the formulas of the failed, lethal medicines, while Sauron continued digesting spirits in the subspace.

• Maeve explained that she had been experimenting with ways to create souls and improve creatures’ spirituality.
• Maeve described how she used magical-creature genetics and trial-and-error formulas, many of which killed their test subjects.
• Maeve reported that one gray wolf survived a potion and gained size, spiritual awareness, and greatly improved learning ability.
• Li Yao recognized the result as a breakthrough, and Maeve estimated the wolf could reach the intelligence of a ten-year-old child.
• Sauron continued digesting captured spirit entities, while Li Yao asked Maeve to share the formulas for the failed potions.

Li Yao gave Maeve foundational alchemy knowledge and urged her to develop both her Smart Potion and new formulas, then asked Lin Xiaowei whether the Main World could use Maeve’s discoveries. At the Millennium Hotel, Song Ze told Song Duo'er that he had accepted a commission to infiltrate Maeve Manufacturing because her Grandpa Raska had made the request.

• Li Yao gave Maeve the Alchemy Basics Compendium and advised her to keep experimenting while improving the Smart Potion.
• Li Yao asked Maeve to send him failed formulas and messaged Lin Xiaowei about using Maeve’s alchemy discoveries in the Main World.
• Maeve and Sauron left for the subspace, and Li Yao continued studying and conducting alchemy experiments.
• Song Duo'er played a game without touching her phone and asked Song Ze whether his effort to infiltrate Maeve Manufacturing had gone well.
• Song Ze said Maeve Manufacturing’s security made infiltration difficult, and he explained that he accepted the commission because Grandpa Raska had asked him.