Chapter Summaries

The Nangong couple opened their little restaurant after returning to Earth, with Hao Ren and their friends helping prepare for the first day. The chapter left the restaurant officially open as Lily’s firecrackers startled Elizabeth.

• Nangong Wudi recalled his old dream of opening a shop, while Lily embarrassed herself by discussing her writing.
• Nangong May, Nangong Sanba, Hao Ren, and their friends arranged the restaurant and helped Elsa prepare the kitchen.
• Nangong Sanba reassured Nangong Wudi that the neighbors would support the new restaurant.
• Lily set off firecrackers outside the shop and cheered that the restaurant was open.
• Elizabeth mistook the firecrackers for a fierce demonic custom, and Hao Ren told her to expect even more during New Year.

The Nangong couple’s restaurant opened amid Lily and Elizabeth’s chaotic firecracker celebration, while Hao Ren freed the street after Izax frightened away the guests. As the packed restaurant struggled to serve its first customers, Hao Ren recognized two unexpected visitors: Ryūsei and Zhao Xi.

• Lily’s firecrackers and Little Demon’s celebration left Nangong Wudi wondering why no guests had arrived.
• Hao Ren learned that Izax had been blocking the street to greet guests because Lily had asked him to welcome them.
• Hao Ren sent Izax back to the restaurant, allowing neighbors and passersby to enter for the Nangong couple’s opening.
• Elizabeth lit half a box of firecrackers at once, and Vivian called everyone inside to help with the restaurant’s busy first day.
• Hao Ren spotted Ryūsei and Zhao Xi at a table and admitted that he had forgotten their names.

Hao Ren met Ryūsei and Zhao Xi at the restaurant, where they revealed that their Demon Hunter instincts had gradually disappeared. They left him aware that the two could no longer sense or instinctively oppose nonhumans.

• Ryūsei and Zhao Xi visited Hao Ren’s newly opened restaurant and said they had come to ask him about something.
• Hao Ren realized they could not identify the species of the nonhumans working in the shop.
• Ryūsei told Hao Ren that he and Zhao Xi had lost their hunting instinct, and Zhao Xi said they noticed it after encountering a wandering Shadow Demon.
• Ryūsei explained that their instincts had weakened over the past month or two and that they had lost all hostility toward nonhumans.

Ryūsei and Zhao Xi told Hao Ren that Demon Hunters’ killing instincts were mysteriously disappearing, prompting him to investigate whether the problem affected their wider community. During the restaurant’s chaotic opening-day rush, Doudou accidentally ended up in a clay pot, and the chapter left the group preparing to discuss the hunters’ problem after lunch.

• Ryūsei explained that his and Zhao Xi’s killing instincts had weakened about a month earlier, and that the regional director had hinted many Demon Hunters were affected.
• Hao Ren agreed to investigate and asked Ryūsei and Zhao Xi to describe the symptoms and estimate how many hunters were affected.
• Lily served the customers two plates of the same cold dish while repeatedly describing assorted foods as signature dishes.
• Ryūsei and Zhao Xi discovered Doudou inside their clay pot, and Hao Ren took her to the kitchen to wash her before putting her in his portable space.
• Hao Ren told Vivian that the missing killing instincts might be connected to the innate hostility among inhuman creatures, and they agreed to discuss it after the lunch rush.
• Hao Ren noticed Elizabeth dismantling the freezer and called for Old King to come see his daughter.

After the restaurant’s hectic opening day, Hao Ren gathered Ryūsei and Zhao Xi to discuss the fading hunting instinct among Demon Hunters. Vivian confirmed that anomalous beings at the Athens Sanctuary had also experienced their hostility instinct disappearing, suggesting the change affected more than one group.

• The restaurant’s customers left, and Nangong Sanba counted the modest earnings while Nangong Wudi said the family had opened the place for something to do.
• Hao Ren remembered Ryūsei and Zhao Xi were waiting, brought everyone together, and introduced them to Nangong Wudi and Elsa.
• Ryūsei and Zhao Xi explained that the Demon Hunters’ hunting instinct was fading, and Nangong Wudi said his own instinct had been weak and might have atrophied over the century he had been away.
• Hao Ren suggested the change might also affect nonhumans and asked Vivian to contact Heiserana at the Athens Sanctuary.
• Vivian finished her call and confirmed that anomalous beings at the Athens Sanctuary had also experienced their hostility instinct disappearing.

Hao Ren and Vivian discussed the worldwide disappearance of innate hostility among nonhuman races and the dangers it posed to the existing balance. After Ryūsei and Zhao Xi agreed to report major Demon Hunter developments, Hao Ren wondered whether the change was connected to his activities in the Dream Plane.

• Vivian told Hao Ren that innate hostility was vanishing among nonhumans worldwide, leaving some affected people less able to sense danger and prompting families to restrict their young members.
• Hao Ren and the others considered how the change might unite nonhuman races, while Vivian warned that centuries of real grievances would keep conflict alive.
• Ryūsei and Zhao Xi grew uneasy about the possibility of united nonhumans overpowering the Demon Hunters, and Vivian reassured them that modern humanity would make any attempt to reclaim the world disastrous.
• Vivian decided to contact the Elders she knew and monitor nonhuman families, while Nangong Sanba argued that they needed to discover the cause of the change.
• Ryūsei and Zhao Xi agreed to inform Hao Ren about major developments among the Demon Hunters before leaving.
• Vivian wished they could contact Hassu and cooperate with the Demon Hunters, while Hao Ren wondered whether his Dream Plane activities were causing the disappearance of hostility.

As the Others’ innate hostility receded worldwide, Vivian and the others worried that the change was part of an unknown plan or countdown. After three days of insomnia, Hao Ren finally fell asleep, only to awaken in a bombed-out street amid gunfire.

• Vivian confirmed that the Others’ hostility toward one another was fading worldwide and coordinated with surviving ancients to monitor the situation.
• Hao Ren, Vivian, Lily, and Izax discussed whether the disappearance of innate hostility was tied to their Dream Plane activities or a deliberate countdown.
• Hao Ren went to bed after several nights of insomnia, while Vivian planned to find medicinal herbs to help him rest.
• Hao Ren fell asleep and woke in a ruined street as explosions and gunfire sounded nearby.

Hao Ren entered a ruined, war-torn city in the Dream Plane, but he and the Data Terminal could not determine where they were or why the usual connection to Horleta had changed. After rushing to recover the immobilized Data Terminal, Hao Ren examined fallen soldiers and their advanced weapons before someone ordered him to surrender.

• Hao Ren awoke in a devastated city and confirmed that he was in reality, though he suspected he had entered the Dream Plane.
• The Data Terminal said it had been pulled into the Dream Plane with him, could not identify their location, and had lost the ability to move.
• Hao Ren climbed a damaged tower to survey the city and wondered whether the Rift in the Wall of Reality had expanded.
• Hao Ren followed the Data Terminal's signal into an active combat zone and found that the fighting had ended, leaving equipment and corpses behind.
• Hao Ren examined a fallen soldier's rifle, which locked him out, and an unseen person ordered him to raise his hands and stand up.

Hao Ren encountered Nolan and her Gray Fox mercenary squad in Rift Valley City and hired them with a gold bar. While retrieving the Data Terminal from beneath some rubble, he discovered a person buried there instead.

• Hao Ren met Nolan's armed Gray Fox squad, and Nolan identified him as a civilian with no implanted chip.
• Nolan warned Hao Ren to leave, but he asked to join the mercenaries because his companions were dead and he could not find his way out.
• Hao Ren offered Nolan a half-kilogram gold bar as payment, and she teased him before accepting him as their employer.
• Hao Ren followed the Data Terminal's signal to a nearby ruin and asked the mercenaries to help clear the rubble.
• Hao Ren looked into the hole and found a person instead of the Data Terminal.

Hao Ren found the Data Terminal embedded in the ruined body of a blond girl, and carried her through a war-torn city while the mercenaries mistook her for his dead lover. He traveled with Nolan’s unit to learn about the planet, leaving the misunderstanding uncorrected.

• Hao Ren and the mercenaries uncovered a blond girl’s corpse, and the Data Terminal revealed through their mental connection that it had become her body.
• Hao Ren carried the corpse out of the ruins and insisted that he needed to take her along, despite the mercenaries believing she was dead.
• Nolan let Hao Ren join the group as they prepared to leave, while Ulanov salvaged equipment from fallen soldiers.
• Hao Ren followed the mercenaries across the ruined city, listening to their talk to learn about the planet and its factions.
• Ulanov mistook Hao Ren’s silence and comments about the girl for evidence that he had fled persecution, and Hao Ren realized he had been caught up in a scandal.

Hao Ren and Nolan’s squad reached a concealed pickup point, where an ambush erupted and Hao Ren revealed unexpected combat ability. Nolan deployed the truck’s weapons station to fight back as the battle escalated.

• Hao Ren carried the dead blonde girl while he and the Data Terminal discussed its transformation and the dangers of Zero City and Black Street.
• Nolan’s squad discovered the concealed armored truck and moved toward it after she confirmed the area was clear.
• Hao Ren and Nolan sensed an ambush just as gunfire erupted from surrounding buildings.
• Hao Ren knocked away a gunman’s pistol, helping Nolan reach the truck, then climbed into a building and threw an enemy machine gunner from the roof.
• Nolan activated the truck’s multi-barrel cannons and directed them at the attackers’ firing positions.

After the ambush, Hao Ren traveled with Nolan and the surviving Gray Fox mercenaries through a devastated war zone while keeping the Data Terminal’s dead temporary shell with him. He learned more about Nolan’s abilities and the world, and the Data Terminal revealed that over four hours had passed in the dream.

• Nolan told the mercenaries that Shiton had betrayed them and joined the Rangers, then questioned Hao Ren about his combat skills.
• Nolan returned Hao Ren’s gold and gave him back the bar he had thrown, while the mercenaries suspected he was insane.
• Nolan drove the surviving mercenaries away from the ambush site with Shiton’s corpse and the identification tags of two dead newcomers.
• Nolan explained that her physical connection activated the truck’s heavy weapons and described the differences between First and Second Generation Evolvers.
• Hao Ren saw the ruined outskirts and asked the Data Terminal how long they had been in the dream; it said over four hours had passed and Vivian had tried to wake him.
• Ulanov interrupted Hao Ren’s thoughts by asking what he planned to do next.

Hao Ren arrived at Black Street with Nolan’s mercenary unit and accepted a temporary place to stay at their camp. He settled into a room beside Ulanov’s, carrying the still-inactive Data Terminal with him.

• Hao Ren told Ulanov that he had fought in a war but refused to discuss his past.
• Ulanov explained that Black Street was a vast industrial settlement that supplied Zero City, and warned Hao Ren about its dangers.
• Nolan offered Hao Ren a place with her unit, and he accepted for a few days after declining to become a soldier.
• Nolan brought the unit back to its camp and ordered Shiton’s body displayed as a warning to anyone considering defecting to the Rangers.
• Nolan assigned Hao Ren the room that had belonged to Shiton, and Ulanov objected to Hao Ren bringing the corpse-like Data Terminal next door.

Hao Ren struggled to explain why he was carrying the Data Terminal in the form of a dead blonde girl, then settled into Shiton’s old dormitory and examined the former mercenary’s diary. The diary suggested Shiton had betrayed Nolan after becoming convinced his world was fake, and Hao Ren turned to an electronic device to investigate further.

• Nolan mistook Hao Ren’s attachment to the Data Terminal for grief over a dead girl and let him stay in the barracks.
• Ulanov led Hao Ren to a gray-box dormitory salvaged from an abandoned space center and explained its original purpose.
• Hao Ren read Shiton’s diary and found that its final entries described a conspiracy, a false world, and Nolan as the key to waking up.
• Hao Ren considered whether Shiton’s strange beliefs had been caused by the Firstborn or brain monsters, but found no clear explanation.
• Hao Ren noticed a personal electronic device and began trying to access its information without the Data Terminal’s help.

Hao Ren used a computer to learn about Zom’s history and the origins of its generations-long war. He discovered that the Data Terminal’s temporary body belonged to a Second Generation Evolver, while he appeared to the locals to be a natural human.

• Hao Ren and the Data Terminal searched the internet for information about Zom, the Great War, and the Evolvers.
• Hao Ren learned that an out-of-control nanomachine swarm had destroyed three cities sixty-five years earlier, triggering a war that spread across the planet.
• Hao Ren found that rumors blamed radical Evolvers, foreign powers, or extremists for the attack, but the true cause remained uncertain.
• Hao Ren learned that First Generation Evolvers received implants as older individuals, while Second Generation Evolvers had mechanical cores implanted as embryos.
• Hao Ren recognized the girl’s body as that of a Second Generation Evolver and noted that he appeared to be a natural human to the locals.
• The Data Terminal complained about occupying the dead girl’s damaged body, and Hao Ren told it to respect the dead.

Hao Ren learned that Zom Planet had collapsed into warring factions after the Great War and found evidence that its ecosystem had been seeded by the Goddess. He concluded that a Firstborn must be buried on the planet, while the Data Terminal continued occupying a dead girl’s body.

• Hao Ren studied the planet’s history and learned that the nanomachine disaster and the Great War had shattered civilization into rival factions.
• The Data Terminal warned that a hidden Guardian might be responsible for the planet’s catastrophe and recommended avoiding attention until they could prepare defenses.
• Hao Ren searched for creation myths and concluded that the Goddess had seeded the planet and that a Firstborn must be buried beneath it.
• Hao Ren cleaned the golden-haired girl’s face and hair while the Data Terminal complained about occupying her corpse.

Hao Ren investigated how the Data Terminal had inhabited a dead Second Generation Evolver, but found no functioning systems that could explain it. A doctor arrived to preserve the body with nanomachines and revealed how essential the technology was to humanity’s survival.

• Hao Ren examined the Second Generation Evolver’s body while the Data Terminal shared his senses and joked about its new appearance.
• Hao Ren and the Data Terminal found no active signals in the body’s artificial nerves and planned to scan its brain.
• A middle-aged woman arrived, introduced herself as the base’s doctor, and mistook Hao Ren’s conversation with the Data Terminal for grief-driven madness.
• The doctor injected the corpse with nanomachines to prevent it from decomposing for a month.
• The doctor explained that nanomachine swarms kept most people alive by supporting food production and providing oxygen.

Hao Ren learned that nanomachine swarms had become humanity’s lifeline and discovered that the girl’s body had remained unchanged for hours. After bandaging her wound, he went to speak with Ulanov and was startled by his face.

• The doctor explained to Hao Ren that nanomachine swarms now supplied most survivors with food, air, medical care, and industry.
• The doctor noticed that the girl’s wound showed no decay and concluded that her body had been maintained as if time had stopped.
• Hao Ren covered the Data Terminal’s wound with a membrane that fused with its skin, while the Data Terminal urged him to plan their next move.
• Hao Ren left the room to speak with Ulanov, who was next door in the barracks.
• Ulanov raised his head when Hao Ren entered, and Hao Ren exclaimed in shock at his face.

Hao Ren asked Ulanov how to leave the base and learned about the veteran’s horrific injuries and the dangers of Black Street. Ulanov gave him a Gray Fox identity badge, and Hao Ren left knowing that Nolan was far more formidable—and mysterious—than she appeared.

• Hao Ren saw Ulanov’s severely damaged body and heard how a nanite disaster had melted one-third of him sixty-five years earlier.
• Hao Ren asked Ulanov whether he needed permission to leave the base, and Ulanov explained that Gray Fox had few rules and offered to accompany him.
• Ulanov gave Hao Ren a Gray Fox identity badge that would protect him from being treated as an unbacked outsider in Black Street.
• Hao Ren asked about Nolan, and Ulanov said she was only seventeen or eighteen, warned him not to question her, and described rumors about her origins and strength.
• Ulanov put on his life-support helmet, and Hao Ren thanked him before leaving the room.

Hao Ren returned from the Dream Plane and told Lily and Vivian about the strange events he and the Data Terminal had experienced there. As he searched for the mercenary identity tag he had brought back, he discovered it was missing.

• Hao Ren left Gray Fox's base, passed Shiton's corpse, and disconnected from the Dream Plane in a secluded alley.
• Hao Ren woke in his bedroom, where Lily had waited with reheated food, and learned Vivian had gone out for a walk.
• Hao Ren woke the Data Terminal and recounted the Dream Plane's suspicious events to Lily and Vivian.
• Lily asked to see Hao Ren's mercenary dog tag, but Hao Ren found it was missing.