Chapter Summaries

Richard explained that he had secretly stored the unusual ore because it could provoke violent mutations in Demonized Creatures, then accused Inspector Qiekafu of targeting him without evidence. Qiekafu collapsed after Richard’s relentless rebuttal, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Richard told Qiekafu that the ore emitted corrosive energy and could make exposed creatures mutate violently, so he had sealed it in Lead Boxes and arranged for it to be studied.
• Richard recounted how he learned about Shangbala Town and its Demonized Creatures from Wizard Yuesefu before discovering the ore while mining there.
• Richard said he suspected the Truth Society had made him a target or pawn and stated that he might leave the organization.
• After Qiekafu demanded that Richard name his accuser, Richard directly accused Qiekafu of persecuting him and using him as a chess piece.
• Richard challenged Qiekafu to provide evidence and mocked his accusations, and Qiekafu spat blood and fell backward.

Qiekafu collapsed after Richard provoked him, and Long Mei Er intervened as the inspector’s borrowed body and final Soul Fragment failed. Before dying, Qiekafu asked Long Mei Er to report his death and seek his complete resurrection, but Long Mei Er pretended not to hear the second request, and Qiekafu died before he could repeat it.

• Qiekafu fell toward the ground, but Long Mei Er caught him with an invisible force and returned him to his seat.
• Long Mei Er urged Richard and Qiekafu to treat the meeting as a mutual inquiry, and Richard apologized for offending the inspector.
• Qiekafu admitted he had been wrong to question the branch without key evidence and said his Soul Fragment was about to dissipate.
• Qiekafu asked Long Mei Er to report his death to headquarters and apply for an emergency, complete resurrection.
• Long Mei Er asked Qiekafu to repeat his second request, and Qiekafu died while trying to speak again.

After Qiekafu died, Long Mei Er dismissed the inquiry and explained his death to Canon while defending his actions as necessary to preserve the organization’s stability. He admitted Richard was suspicious but allowed him to leave, insisting that internal threats mattered more than external ones.

• Long Mei Er closed Qiekafu’s eyes, placed his body in a coffin, and declared his death an accident before ending the inquiry.
• Canon questioned whether Qiekafu’s sudden death would really go uninvestigated, and Long Mei Er urged him not to overthink the matter.
• Long Mei Er said he served only the True God and would oppose changes that threatened the Southern Free Federation’s stability.
• Long Mei Er claimed he had helped sustain Qiekafu’s Soul Fragment but explained that the fragment’s conflict with its host body had caused Qiekafu’s death.
• Long Mei Er acknowledged that Richard was suspicious because he had injured Qiekafu and belonged to the Pro Society, but said Richard could be tolerated and controlled.
• Canon accepted Long Mei Er’s argument that the organization should focus more carefully on internal threats than on external enemies.

Richard returned to Blue Lake Manor after passing the inquiry and prepared to focus on his Nuclear Weapon project. He learned that Marquis Wei An had invited him to an Agricultural God Festival banquet, though Richard felt little attachment to the celebration.

• Richard reflected that the inquiry had gone smoothly, though Qiekafu's sudden death left him wondering whether someone had interfered.
• Richard returned to Blue Lake Manor and told Jia Lie that the manor's high expenses did not concern him.
• Jia Lie gave Richard an invitation from Marquis Wei An to a banquet celebrating the Agricultural God Festival.
• Richard realized the festival fell on December twenty-fourth but thought of the year's first and last days as the only true festivals.

Richard left Blue Lake Manor and went to the Shangbala Uranium Mine, where he discussed the Lich Old Man’s lost era and memories. He left the Lich Old Man arguing with Pandora over the exhausted yellow dog and headed to the underground factory.

• Richard told Jia Lie to decline Marquis Wei An’s invitation, pass a scroll and message to Harry and Kathy, and arrange a manor-wide Agricultural God Festival dinner.
• Richard flew to the Shangbala Uranium Mine, where Pandora chased the Lich Old Man’s big yellow dog for barking outside her door.
• The Lich Old Man told Richard that the Agricultural God Festival reminded him of the Revival Festival from his era, which no one else remembered.
• The Lich Old Man said he would choose to return to his own era, even without extraordinary powers, and described a dream of an ordinary life he might have lived.
• The Lich Old Man shouted at Pandora for pulling the collapsed dog’s fur, while Richard walked away toward the underground factory to avoid the dispute.

Richard returned to Blue Lake Manor and began researching and manufacturing nuclear weapons in Eden Garden while Marquis Wei An hosted a lively banquet in Galan City. At the banquet, Harry and Kathy argued over Harry's interest in Emily as they waited for Teacher Richard, who had not arrived.

• Richard loaded the uranium ore from the underground factory into Eden Garden, returned to Blue Lake Manor, and began working on nuclear weapons.
• Marquis Wei An hosted a crowded banquet attended by Galan City's prominent figures and their families.
• Emily asked Harry to introduce her to Teacher Richard if he attended, and Harry agreed.
• Kathy asked Harry whether Richard had come, and Harry said he had not.
• Kathy told Harry she disliked Emily and warned him not to like her, prompting an argument about their past crushes.

Harry and Kathy read Richard’s notes on self-boundaries, romance, and choosing where to devote their energy. Harry decided that becoming a Wizard mattered more to him than pursuing Emily, and Kathy rejected Mino, leaving Harry to consider her answer.

• Jia Lie told Harry and Kathy that Richard could not attend the banquet or teach them for a while, and gave them Richard’s notes.
• Harry and Kathy read Richard’s discussion of how romance, emotional investment, and personal pursuits shape a person’s growth.
• Harry said he would choose becoming a Wizard over pursuing Emily and explained that he had come to value the path Richard taught him.
• When Mino asked Kathy to dance, she told him she did not like him and did not want to waste either of their time.
• Kathy kissed Mino on the forehead, wished him well with Emily, and told Harry that her actions were her answer.

Richard began processing uranium-bearing mineral powder in Eden Garden, calculating and testing a purification method designed for future large-scale extraction. He removed many impurities from the solution, completing the first stage while sensing the energy within it.

• Richard poured mineral powder into a pool of corrosive acid and analyzed the resulting solution to determine its elemental composition.
• Richard calculated a purification process that could remove dozens of impurities using inexpensive, readily produced substances.
• Richard added measured liquids to the reaction pool, filtered precipitates, removed gases, and conducted comparative experiments.
• Richard continued refining the solution until it became clearer and the first stage of uranium purification was complete.

Sherlock learned that his family had long known about his strange traits and had only begun valuing him after his recent accomplishments and Ian’s disappearance. Determined to escape the family’s demands, he chose Faro City as his destination, where Circe, Nellide, and Hai Di appeared at a wooden door.

• Sherlock questioned an old family elder and learned that his family had known about his abnormal traits, dreams, and the Blue-skinned Rat.
• The elder explained that Sherlock had once been considered expendable, but his impressive actions and Ian’s disappearance had led the family to reconsider his place and assign him family affairs.
• Sherlock complained that the family was exploiting him, then pretended to give up and lie down while the Blue-skinned Rat watched him.
• After the blue figure vanished, Sherlock secretly opened a map and decided to run away to Faro City in the Soma Alliance.
• In a quiet Faro City alley, Circe knocked on a wooden door, and Nellide and Hai Di came out behind her.

Circe interpreted an Ancient Ruins text for a cloaked wizard and suspected the recent requests were connected to discoveries in the Sika Kingdom. In the Sika Kingdom, Nancy and Gelo confirmed that corrosive ore had made another mine unusable and sealed it off.

• A cloaked Male Wizard brought Circe a copied Ancient Ruins text and a Phili Deep Blue Gem as payment for interpreting it.
• Circe studied the text with Nellide and Hai Di and completed the interpretation before the promised three days had passed.
• Circe wondered whether a series of Sika Kingdom ruins had prompted the recent requests for her help.
• Nancy emerged from a mine after clearing its Demonized Creatures and told Gelo the mine was contaminated with corrosive energy.
• Nancy and Gelo concluded the surrounding mines could not be used, and miners sealed the mine containing the corrosive ore.

Richard completed the second stage of uranium purification, producing Yellowcake and confirming it contained about 60% uranium. He regarded the result as a milestone in his nuclear research and anticipated continuing toward the later stages.

• Richard rested after completing the first stage of uranium extraction, then returned to the laboratory to begin further purification.
• Richard used solvent extraction and back-extraction to separate uranium from impurities and transfer it into dilute Nitric Acid.
• Richard added Magnesium Oxide, causing a golden-yellow Magnesium Diuranate precipitate known as Yellowcake to form.
• Richard completed the finishing procedures and filled a metal barrel with about half a barrel of Yellowcake from nearly five hundred barrels of ore powder.
• Richard tested the Yellowcake and found its uranium content was around 60%, then resolved to refine the process and proceed with his nuclear research.

Three months after the Shangbala Uranium Mine began expanding, Richard’s rail network and workforce had greatly increased ore production, while Eden Garden added a sector for purifying Uranium Element. Richard and Lich Old Man A Fu tested the new equipment, ending with A Fu complaining that poor materials forced him to make weak Magic Puppets.

• Over three months, Richard expanded the Shangbala Uranium Mine’s rail network and workforce to nearly ten thousand, increasing ore extraction and transport.
• Richard built a new Uranium Element purification sector in Eden Garden using ore powder to produce more Yellowcake.
• Richard instructed Lich Old Man A Fu to pull control lever number six, and A Fu sent a Crippled Skeleton to operate it.
• The Crippled Skeleton shattered while forcing down the lever, and the Golden Retriever ran off with one of its bones before A Fu made it return the bone.
• Richard pulled down the control lever himself and told A Fu that operating it personally would be easier than reviving a weak Magic Puppet.
• A Fu blamed the poor Spellcasting Materials and said he could make powerful Magic Puppets if he had better bones.

Richard proposed improving Magic Puppets by enclosing their White Bone Skeleton cores in metal frameworks and armor, creating durable, specialized constructs that could be produced in large numbers. When Lich Old Man A Fu asked why Richard did not build a private force instead, Richard explained that training and managing enough subordinates would consume too much time and create risks.

• Richard told Lich Old Man A Fu that Magic Puppets could be improved by using their bones as energy channels and adding metal frameworks, armor, and specialized abilities.
• Lich Old Man A Fu considered how the design could turn fragile skeleton hordes into a large force of powerful steel skeletons.
• Richard and Lich Old Man A Fu compared the proposed puppets to Magic-armored Knights and discussed the challenges of integrating their cores and drawing out their energy.
• Lich Old Man A Fu asked why Richard did not develop a private force, and Richard explained that training and managing enough subordinates would take time and bring risks.

Richard explained why he was delaying the creation of a large private force, then completed the third stage of uranium processing by producing and storing Uranium Hexafluoride. He prepared to begin the final purification stage, targeting Uranium-235.

• Richard told Lich Old Man that he would build a private force only when his research made one necessary, and that he was currently planting seeds and using a loose commercial organization.
• Lich Old Man complained that Richard had called him back as an assistant without giving him enough rest, but accepted that his earlier words about the mine had left him responsible for helping.
• Richard adjusted the chemical instruments and produced Uranium Hexafluoride from purified uranium compounds.
• Richard checked the storage conditions, packed the Uranium Hexafluoride into gas cylinders, and stored them in the warehouse.
• Richard finished the third phase of the nuclear weapon plan and turned to the final purification of Uranium-235.

Richard realized he had forgotten how to separate Uranium-235 from Uranium-238, so he entered a deep hibernation to access his hidden memories. He awakened in the virtual world of his Memory Palace, where the chapter left him surrounded by stars in the depths of his mind.

• Richard considered the challenge of separating scarce Uranium-235 from Uranium-238 and admitted that he could not immediately recall the method.
• Richard decided to visit the rest room in the Main Laboratory to retrieve the knowledge hidden in his brain.
• Richard lay on the bed and slowed his breathing and heartbeat until he entered a deep hibernation.
• Richard's consciousness awakened in a star-filled expanse, which he recognized as his Memory Palace.

The chapter explained the Memory Palace method and how people used images and associations to remember information. It revealed that Richard had mastered the technique to an extraordinary degree, building a universe in his mind that let him retain vast knowledge and perform remarkable feats.

• The chapter described several accounts of the Memory Palace’s origins and Matteo Ricci’s role in recording and advancing the method.
• It explained how the technique used logic, association, and imagined places to store abstract information.
• The chapter noted that the Memory Palace had limited practical value for most ordinary people.
• Richard was revealed as a real-life Memory Palace master whose palace was an entire universe.

Richard explored a virtual universe and visited a library of memories, where he obtained a book on Uranium-235 enrichment. He settled in to study its methods, leaving his research underway.

• Richard selected a star, pulled its life-bearing planet closer, and descended to the island at its equator.
• Richard entered the silent library and searched through memory-books, but the first ones he examined were not relevant.
• Richard called for Suma, the Turtle Statue, and asked it to find books about Uranium-235 enrichment.
• Suma led Richard to a purple library room and gave him the book he sought.
• Richard read the book's enrichment methods while seated on Suma and drinking coffee.

Richard studied methods for purifying Uranium-235 and chose the Laser Separation Method as the most practical option for him. After reviewing and adjusting his Memory Universe, he returned to the Real World determined to begin.

• Richard read about several Uranium-235 purification methods and concluded that electromagnetic separation and gaseous diffusion required resources beyond his means.
• Richard found the Laser Separation Method more feasible because it offered high separation efficiency with lower electricity, equipment, and manpower requirements.
• Richard told Suma that he had resolved his problem, then left the library with his knowledge retained in memory.
• Richard inspected and adjusted the Memory Universe, discarding an obsolete star system into a black hole before collapsing the universe.
• Richard woke in Eden Garden's Main Laboratory and said he would begin with the Laser Separation Method.

Richard renovated a room in the Mechanical Processing Sector to prepare for laser experiments separating Uranium-235 and Uranium-238. When the Lich Old Man asked for a more challenging task, Richard explained his research, and the Lich Old Man retreated to work on improving Magic Puppets instead.

• Richard used Earth Magic to break through a wall and reshape the rubble into a level stone workbench.
• Richard asked the Lich Old Man to fetch tools, prompting the Lich Old Man to request more meaningful work.
• Richard explained that he planned to use a Shaping-Type Light Spell and laser separation to enrich Uranium-235 for fission weapons.
• The Lich Old Man avoided advising him, claimed he wanted to develop an improved Magic Puppet, and left the room.

Richard’s first laser separation experiment produced an unsatisfactory energy-consumption result, so he began tearing down walls to expand the laboratory for a larger test. Meanwhile, Pandora vented her irritation by pulling fur from the Lich Old Man’s Golden Retriever before returning to her studies.

• Richard completed Laboratory No. 2’s modifications and tested laser separation of Uranium-235 and Uranium-238.
• Richard calculated a result of 3.865 ± 0.125 and concluded that a larger experiment was needed to find the source of excess energy consumption.
• Richard began tearing down walls to expand the laboratory, while the Lich Old Man moved his recliner farther away from the noise.
• Pandora left her room after the demolition sounds disrupted her studies, and the Lich Old Man told her Richard was making the noise.
• Pandora pulled several handfuls of fur from the Golden Retriever, ignored the Lich Old Man’s protests, and returned to her room.