Chapter Summaries

After surviving an assassination attempt, Lu Xin learned that the Old Director had built an altar capable of sacrificing half the world and was pursuing an unknown plan involving a logic chain called Mobius. Lu Xin decided to return to Qinggang and investigate who had arranged the attack.

• Number Fourteen used his connection ability to contact the rescued children's relatives, while Number Five and Number Eight investigated the attack site.
• Number Five identified the assassins' weapon as a device that exchanged a forbidden-zone creature's mental power for power from The Beginning.
• Number Five revealed that the Old Director had secretly built an altar capable of sacrificing half the world and had also focused on Lu Xin and the logic chain codenamed Mobius.
• Number Five said she feared the Old Director's obsessive love would make him indifferent to others, whom he might treat as sacrifices.
• Number Eight discovered poor construction and alarm systems around the restricted zone and planned to report the officials responsible.
• Zhou Quan arrived with Qinggang's security squad and apologized for being diverted; Lu Xin said he would return to Qinggang to investigate the assassination and find those responsible.

Lu Xin returned to Qinggang with his classmates and met with its leaders over evidence of betrayal within the city. Chen Jing rejected the official investigation’s findings and pressed Mr. Zhang until he agreed to let them meet the person under investigation.

• Lu Xin arrived at Qinggang’s northern outpost with Number Three, Number Five, and the veteran assassin, whose intelligence had helped identify people plotting to kill him.
• As they traveled into Main City, Lu Xin reflected on whom he trusted and wondered who had destroyed his sense of security.
• Chen Jing brought Lu Xin and his companions to meet Mr. Su and Mr. Zhang, while Qinggang’s security forces remained on alert.
• Mr. Zhang presented an investigation result, but Chen Jing threw it away and accused him of trying to cover up a betrayal with scapegoats.
• Chen Jing pointed to the evidence in Lu Xin’s briefcase and demanded a face-to-face meeting with the person involved, and Mr. Zhang agreed that the person was waiting.

Chen Jing led Lu Xin and the others to arrest a powerful figure at a guarded villa in Qinggang, ordering her forces to shoot anyone who resisted. After the guards let them through, Chen Jing shot Second Young Master Song when he threatened them, and the exhausted old man they had come to arrest appeared on the stairs.

• Lu Xin, Chen Jing, and Numbers Three, Five, and Fourteen drove to the villa after leaving the nameless building.
• Chen Jing ordered her armed personnel to prepare for a firefight, warned the villa guards, and drove through after they withdrew.
• Lu Xin recognized Vice President Xiao outside the villa, and Old President Xiao took his son away, hoping to retire and transfer the company.
• Chen Jing and the others entered the villa, where Second Young Master Song threatened them with a gun.
• Chen Jing shot Second Young Master Song in the heart and explained that she had promised to kill anyone who obstructed them.
• An exhausted old man in a dressing gown appeared at the top of the stairs and looked helplessly at the wounded Second Young Master Song.

Lu Xin and Chen Jing confronted Mr. Song, who admitted that he had joined the Spades Office’s assassination plot because he distrusted Qinggang’s uncertain plans and wanted to survive. Meanwhile, Professor Bai revealed that the Heavenly Kingdom Plan’s second half came from a genius researcher and had been secretly put into practice.

• Mr. Song returned to Qinggang, signed documents, and told Chen Jing he had come to accept the consequences of the failed assassination.
• Mr. Song explained that he had worked with the Spades Office for years because he believed the Mentor and the Bishop offered a clearer path to survival than Qinggang’s plans.
• Lu Xin listened to Mr. Song’s reasons and felt conflicted because his own experience with The Beginning gave him a faint sense of resonance with them.
• Professor Bai and Mr. Su listened to the confrontation and discussed how the pressure of their world left everyone feeling lost.
• Professor Bai revealed that Dean Xue Jia had secretly preserved a genius researcher’s ideas, which inspired the Heavenly Kingdom Plan and its newly uncovered second half.

Professor Bai revealed that Lin Mo’s research had inspired Qinggang’s Heavenly Kingdom Plan and that Xue Jia had spent decades protecting and gradually passing on Lin Mo’s findings. He explained that the First-Generation Researchers had tried to give The Beginning consciousness, turning a civilization-scale Pollution Source into a godlike Mental Monster.

• Professor Bai told the gentlemen that the original idea for the Heavenly Kingdom Plan came from Lin Mo, whose research had been concealed and later shared by Xue Jia.
• Professor Bai explained that Lin Mo discovered the truth about the world and drew The Beginning’s attention, suffered a mental breakdown, and left behind three prophecies and final advice.
• Professor Bai described how Xue Jia altered Lin Mo’s suicide note, hid his most important research, removed the First-Generation Researchers’ surveillance, and spent more than twenty years preparing Qinggang.
• Mr. Su asked what secret Lin Mo had left, and Professor Bai said the answer was an idea pointing toward a possible method of dealing with The Beginning.
• Professor Bai explained that The Beginning was a vast, unconscious Pollution Source and that the First-Generation Researchers had sought to implant consciousness into it, making it the greatest Mental Monster: God.

Chen Jing confronted Mr. Song over his betrayal of Qinggang and refused to let his confusion excuse his crimes, while Professor Bai and Qinggang’s leaders faced the choice of opening a document that could draw the Beginning’s attention. Chen Jing’s determination strengthened Lu Xin and the others, and one leader urged Qinggang to meet the dangers head-on.

• Professor Bai warned that pursuing the Heavenly Kingdom Plan could attract the Beginning, the first-generation researchers, and other dangerous forces, then asked the assembled leaders whether to open the document.
• Chen Jing demanded that Mr. Song explain how he sold information and set the trap, dismissing his confusion as no excuse for betraying Qinggang.
• Chen Jing said Mr. Song would lose his privileges and assets and that his uninvolved family would be exiled to Satellite City; she then had him handcuffed and taken away.
• Number Three and Number Five questioned Chen Jing about her convictions, and she said she would keep doing what she believed was right even if she were an ant fighting a flood-swept log.
• A gentleman in Professor Bai’s office argued that Qinggang should face the dangers head-on rather than wait for them to arrive.

Old Ghost announced that Crimson Moon was entering its final volume and that the seventh trial would include puzzle-solving before the story’s mysteries and remaining threads were resolved. The author reflected on writing the novel during a dark period and thanked readers, promising to work toward a satisfying ending.

• Old Ghost said the seventh trial would include puzzles and that the story would end after its mysteries were revealed.
• Old Ghost said Crimson Moon was the final volume and that earlier unresolved threads would be tied up without forcing them.
• Old Ghost said the month would likely be the novel’s last on the rankings and promised to work to maintain update speed and quality.
• Old Ghost explained that Crimson Moon came from an especially dark period in the author’s life and hoped it might comfort readers with similar experiences.
• Old Ghost thanked readers and wished them restful nights and happy days.

After Mr. Song was captured, Lu Xin reunited with his former classmates and hosted them for a barbecue at Kid’s villa. As they discussed finding Old Director, Number Five asked whether Lu Xin could truly protect them, and Lu Xin said he would answer after resolving the Sole Consciousness.

• Chen Jing took Mr. Song into custody and arranged for the veteran killer to report to Group D of the Special Purity Department.
• Lu Xin invited his returning classmates to eat barbecue at Kid’s villa, where Number Fourteen introduced Kid as Sister-in-law Nine.
• The group shared a meal and reminisced about their childhood at the orphanage.
• Lu Xin said he would bring Number Two back from Kindling City, while Number Five noted that Seven had chosen to follow Old Director and Number Twelve was impossible to find.
• Number Five asked whether Lu Xin could protect them, and Lu Xin said he would answer the next day after resolving the Sole Consciousness.

Lu Xin went into the wilderness with Kid to confront The Beginning and understand how to digest Sole Consciousness. As The Beginning’s influence engulfed him, he chose to trust in himself and in the hope of making the world better.

• Lu Xin shared a meal with his orphanage classmates, arranged their stay at the Special Purity Department guesthouse, and took Kid with him to the wilderness.
• Lu Xin used Kid’s mental power to travel with her nearly a hundred miles without passing through the abyss.
• Beneath the Crimson Moon, Lu Xin recalled his encounters with The Beginning and Lu Tianming and realized that his foolishness was key to opposing The Beginning.
• Lu Xin summoned The Beginning’s power and faced its overwhelming mental influence as he searched for the resolve to preserve his consciousness.
• Lu Xin remembered Kid, Mom, his classmates, Teacher Lu, Qinggang, and his colleagues, then declared that he believed the world could have hope and vowed to become its final hope.

Lu Xin voluntarily faced The Beginning’s pollution, enduring despair as he began to digest Sole Consciousness. As Old Director watched and the western laboratory’s plans faltered, the black-robed archbishop chose to unleash the abyss’s creatures and create a new crisis.

• Lu Xin chose to face The Beginning and endured its overwhelming pollution, holding on to his resolve as his emotions and desires began to fade.
• Kid watched Lu Xin struggle under the pressure and grew tearful.
• Old Director explained that the seven trials had been stages of resisting pollution, expressed faith in Lu Xin, and declared that the Trial of God had begun.
• In the western laboratory, the chief researcher and the black-robed archbishop learned that Lu Xin was digesting Sole Consciousness and discussed their remaining choices.
• The black-robed archbishop rejected giving the world another chance and ordered his people to kill Mother of Punishment and release the beings from the abyss.

Lu Xin faced The Beginning's power and used the experience to digest more of Sole Consciousness, gaining a small amount of mental power while keeping his sense of self intact. He discovered that his new connection to The Beginning affected the world around him and let him perceive Kid's thoughts, then offered to take her back.

• Lu Xin endured The Beginning's mental pressure as the symbols from the Crimson Moon Research Institute appeared in his mind and helped Sole Consciousness merge with him.
• Lu Xin realized his mental power had increased by two points and confirmed that he had not changed physically or lost his sense of self.
• Kid asked whether Lu Xin was all right, and Lu Xin reassured her before walking toward her.
• Lu Xin's movement stirred The Beginning's mental power and knocked Kid onto the ground, so he apologized and helped her up.
• Lu Xin realized his increased mental authority let him perceive Kid's thoughts and that it had changed how she saw his appearance.
• Lu Xin stopped probing Kid's thoughts and offered her his hand so they could head back.

Lu Xin sensed a sudden, far-reaching danger after seeing strange currents strike a monster tree and feeling a black nail pierce his palm. He returned to Qinggang as reports of severe mental pollution arrived from multiple settlements, and Professor Bai suspected the crisis was the Second Coming.

• As Lu Xin walked with Sister beneath the Crimson Moon, he sensed danger, saw a fleeting vision of violent currents hitting a monster tree, and found a painful black nail piercing his right palm.
• Lu Xin hurried back to Qinggang with Sister, while Kid returned safely to her villa and the city issued urgent orders to locate her and summon high-level personnel.
• Chen Jing told Lu Xin that Qinggang's instruments had detected immense fluctuations beyond the city, and distress reports arrived from several settlements and High Wall City.
• Professor Bai ordered the emergency intelligence system activated as reports described unknown Mental Pollution, a suspected Mental Lord in Blackwater Town, mass nightmares in Cigarette Market, and a ghost train in Misty Village.
• Professor Bai wondered whether the spreading catastrophe marked the true meaning of the Second Coming.

Lu Xin and the others learned that the world-ending Third Descent had begun after the First-Generation Researchers killed the Mother of Punishment, who had guarded reality. Professor Xue Jia issued a mission asking the Alliance to protect civilians, leaving Qinggang to decide whether it would carry out the only available plan.

• Professor Xue Jia appeared through an oil painting and explained that the Third Descent had already begun and would surpass the First Descent in intensity.
• Professor Xue Jia revealed that the Mother of Punishment had protected reality as the gatekeeper between the Abyss and the world, but had been killed by people in reality.
• Lu Xin recognized the black nail in his palm and felt guilty upon learning that the Mother of Punishment had been betrayed by those she protected.
• Professor Xue Jia issued the Alliance a world-ending Special Pollution Cleanup mission to protect polluted civilians.
• Professor Xue Jia told Professor Bai that the plan had been sent to him and that Qinggang was the only Alliance city with the foundation to carry it out, leaving the decision to Qinggang.

As the Third Descent spread chaos across the wilderness, Qinggang’s leaders debated whether to carry out a dangerous plan before they had time to prepare. Mr. Su reminded them of the choice they had made when Qinggang was founded, leaving the meeting to face the promises they had once made.

• Professor Bai asked Chen Jing to report that nearby cities were requesting aid, several locations had gone silent, and severe Mental Pollution was spreading.
• Professor Bai ordered Qinggang’s defenses prepared, while Lu Xin left the meeting and sensed monsters and outbreaks across the wilderness as Kid protected the city.
• Lu Xin sensed researchers outside Satellite City No. 2 demanding help while Qinggang’s leaders struggled to decide whether to act on a plan originally meant to take years to prepare.
• Professor Bai argued that waiting for more information would let the Pollution spread and cost more lives, but the leaders remained divided.
• Mr. Su recalled Qinggang’s founding test about whether to stay safe or risk going outside to save people, and said their old promises had finally come due.

Lu Xin learned that Qinggang had voted to accept the world-ending Mental Pollution crisis and agreed to help carry out the response. Professor Bai outlined a plan to extend Kid’s protection with the Sword Wielder’s Mental Palace and recruit Lu Xin to lead a powerful cleanup team, leaving Qinggang ready to begin the effort to save the world.

• Lu Xin listened to Qinggang’s debate and felt respect for the city’s decision to risk itself to save others.
• Lu Xin returned to the meeting after Qinggang voted five to two to accept the plan, and he promised to help.
• Professor Bai explained that the Eclipse Research Institute’s Infiltrators could provide timely information despite the collapse of communications.
• Professor Bai proposed using the Sword Wielder’s Mental Palace to expand Kid’s protective reach by creating a knight order, and Lu Xin agreed.
• Professor Bai asked Lu Xin to assemble the strongest Special Pollution Cleanup team in history, and Lu Xin agreed after confirming they would follow the rules.

Lu Xin formed the Tyrant Squad to prepare for the Third Descent and recruit help for the coming crisis. After assembling eleven members, he welcomed Gecko back with reinforcements from Black Marsh City, completing the squad’s initial twelve.

• Lu Xin agreed to form the Tyrant Squad and recruited Sister and several former squad members, while Chen Jing assigned Mizang, Troublemaker Kid, and Red Snake to him.
• Lu Xin tried to recruit members through the Crimson Moon Club, but Dracula’s paid rescue offer drew away many potential recruits before his communicator lost its signal.
• Number Two arrived in Qinggang on a tractor, and Lu Xin paid the farmer’s fare to bring him into the squad.
• Gecko arrived with six junior priests and hundreds of Fear Divine Guards from Black Marsh City, introducing himself as the Great Priest of Terror and offering reinforcements.
• Lu Xin welcomed Gecko back and named him deputy captain, completing the Tyrant Squad’s initial twelve members.

Lu Xin and the Tyrant Squad began Qinggang’s campaign to protect the world, and Lu Xin acquired the Ghost Train as their transport. After receiving two urgent reports, he destroyed the Face Bat Swarm in Mist Town with a long-range strike and set the team on course for Happy Town.

• Qinggang sent its knights and Infiltrators into the wilderness while the Tyrant Squad prepared to respond to dangerous Pollution Sources.
• Lu Xin stopped the Ghost Train, freed the entities trapped inside, and brought the train back to Qinggang for the squad to use.
• Gecko joined the train after Sister called for him, and the team loaded supplies before setting out.
• Lu Xin reviewed reports about the Face Bat Swarm in Mist Town and the Wriggling Meatball in Happy Town, then chose to strike the Face Bat Swarm first.
• Lu Xin fired a long-range spiritual attack that destroyed the Face Bat Swarm, leaving Watchdog stunned in Mist Town.
• Lu Xin told the team to proceed to Happy Town and clear the remaining target.

The Drunkard arrived at Happy Town as a grotesque fleshball and its contaminated horde overwhelmed Queen’s defenders. Lu Xin and the members of Tyrant Squad arrived by train, swiftly defeated the monster, and left the rescued victims asleep as the Queen wondered what kind of monsters they were.

• The Drunkard rode into Happy Town and used a silver briefcase to distract the fleshball, but it spread its desire through the contaminated horde and intensified its attack on Queen.
• Lu Xin and Tyrant Squad arrived on a psychic-powered train, which crushed the fleshball’s reaching tongues and froze the contaminated attackers.
• Number Two put the contaminated people and Happy Town’s residents to sleep, while Number Three entered the fleshball and took control of its main body.
• Number Eight multiplied across the wilderness and surgically destroyed the fleshball’s scattered remnants, though Sister secretly kept a small piece.
• Lu Xin recorded the mission as complete and left with the squad, while Queen woke to find the monster gone and feared the newcomers.

The Tyrant Squad and the Qinggang Knights spread across the world, defeating Mental Monsters and rescuing people as the Goddess of Light and Knights of Light became symbols of hope. With Kid’s power growing unstable, Professor Bai began the ceremony to format the Sword Wielder’s Mental Palace and make Kid a new Ultimate, expecting enemies to attack Qinggang at its weakest.

• The Tyrant Squad hunted Mental Monsters while the Qinggang Knights’ dreams helped polluted people recover and inspired the names Goddess of Light and Knights of Light.
• Organizations including Dracula’s Doomsday Legion and Miss Rocket Launcher’s organization defended survivors as Qinggang’s influence spread across the alliance and beyond.
• The expanding reach of the Knights strengthened them and rapidly increased Kid’s mental power, but her ability became unstable.
• Professor Bai and the researchers prepared to format the Sword Wielder’s Mental Palace so Kid could enter it and attain the Ultimate level.
• Kid arrived at the Midnight Court and prepared to enter, while Professor Bai warned that the man-made Third Descent would provoke a backlash at Qinggang’s weakest moment.
• Professor Bai rejected calls to recall the Tyrant Squad and Knights, and announced that Kid’s promotion ceremony would begin.

As Kid entered the Midnight Court to become the new Ultimate, Professor Bai explained how the transformation would reshape humanity’s sense of right and wrong. Multiple Ultimates attacked Blue Harbor by driving displaced people and residents into a frenzy, and Professor Bai declared that Blue Harbor would fight back.

• Kid entered the Midnight Court, and Professor Bai activated the energy matrices to dissolve it and begin transforming the Ultimate.
• Professor Bai told Mr. Su that Kid would become a new kind of Ultimate whose authority could influence and be influenced by people in reality.
• Two figures in a western laboratory recognized their opportunity and ordered an attack on the transformation in Blue Harbor.
• Ultimates spread madness among displaced people around Blue Harbor and Qinggang, provoking assaults and stirring greed, jealousy, and resentment.
• Professor Bai explained that the Ultimates had infiltrated Kid’s mental domain and corrupted people despite its defenses.
• Professor Bai told Mr. Su that Blue Harbor would meet the approaching Ultimates in battle.