Chapter Summaries

Yang Bo carried Zhou Kexin through the shopping mall as assassins pursued them and took hostages, while Liu Zhijie also encountered the attackers. Yang Bo escaped into a Maintenance Tunnel, but three assassins discovered the entrance and split up to search it.

• Yang Bo fled the Underground Parking Lot with Zhou Kexin, reached the third floor, and used fishing line to delay the pursuing assassins.
• Zhang Bozhen told Liu Zhijie that five assassins were in the mall and that attackers had taken more than twenty hostages on the fourth floor.
• Liu Zhijie encountered two assassins, failed to defeat them, and fled upstairs as Yang Bo learned the elevators were destroyed.
• Yang Bo followed Zhang Bozhen's directions to a Maintenance Tunnel and entered it with Zhou Kexin after opening its mechanical door.
• Three assassins found the Maintenance Tunnel entrance, entered to search, and split up while one backed out to alert the others.

Yang Bo used an improvised plasma tool and an assassin’s weapons to defeat the attackers pursuing him and Zhou Kexin through the Shopping Mall. He and Zhou Kexin escaped toward the stairs, leaving Zhang Bozhen and Butler Niu baffled by what they had witnessed.

• Yang Bo carried Zhou Kexin through the Maintenance Tunnel, found repair equipment, and took a control-box cover and a plasma cutting tool to confront the pursuing assassin.
• The female assassin attacked Yang Bo, but his plasma tool struck her Laser Sword’s battery and caused an explosion that fatally injured her; Yang Bo then accidentally shot another assassin dead with her Laser Pistol.
• Zhou Kexin killed the wounded female assassin with the cutting tool, and Yang Bo hid beside the exit before using the tool to trigger an approaching Superpower User’s energy barrier and bring him down.
• Yang Bo repeatedly shot the fallen assassin, gained Combat and Sword Skill, and fled with Zhou Kexin toward the stairs.
• Zhang Bozhen and Butler Niu watched the confrontation and wondered how Yang Bo had defeated the assassins.

Yang Bo and Zhou Kexin escaped the Shopping Mall attack and were sent to the hospital, where Zhang Bozhen arranged for them to claim bounties for the assassins Yang Bo killed. March Star officials later announced that the attack stemmed from a bounty mission to kill an ex-girlfriend and her current boyfriend, shocking viewers across the Alliance.

• Yang Bo and Zhou Kexin escaped through the police cordon, were identified, and taken to a hospital while police launched their final assault on the Shopping Mall.
• Zhang Bozhen watched Zhou Kexin’s video of the attack and proposed that she and Yang Bo accept compensation to avoid trouble from investigators and the killer organization.
• Butler Niu reported that Yang Bo had killed two Rank A assassins and one B-Class assassin, with Alliance bounties totaling 420 million Credit Points.
• Yang Bo and Zhou Kexin agreed to split the bounty, then left the hospital and returned to the Company Dormitory.
• March Star officials announced that the terrorists had been pursuing a bounty mission, and the killer’s recorded words revealed that an ex-boyfriend had hired them to murder his ex-girlfriend and her current boyfriend.

After the March Star hostage attack, Zhou Kexin went public about the killers and her lawsuit, triggering an investigation of the Lu Family and widespread backlash. Yang Bo welcomed the fallout from home until Wang Muxue arrived and admonished him for acting recklessly without telling her.

• Zhang Bozhen and Butler Niu reviewed footage of Yang Bo fighting the killers and discussed his luck, abilities, and the danger posed by the remaining Poison Rose Killer Group members.
• Zhou Kexin, Liu Jingxiang, and Liu Zhijie discussed the attack, and Zhou Kexin decided to reveal that she had been targeted and had already paid compensation to the Lu Family.
• Yang Bo replied to messages from Zhou Kexin, Liu Zhijie, Liu Jingxiang, and Zhou Rui, then saw Zhou Kexin publish evidence of her ordeal and the authorities confirm her account.
• The public turned against the Lu Family, the Judicial Department began investigating its finances, and other families rushed to manage public opinion and silence relatives who had paid compensation.
• Yang Bo celebrated the incoming payments and planned to stay home, but Wang Muxue arrived at his villa and scolded him for putting on an act without informing her.

Yang Bo denied Wang Muxue’s suspicion that he had taken part in the Shopping Mall incident while she explained the political fallout and tried to recruit him. After Wang Muxue left, Yang Bo contacted Liu Zhijie and Zhou Rui, while Wang Muxue remained unsure whether the footage showed Yang Bo.

• Yang Bo denied acting in the Shopping Mall incident when Wang Muxue confronted him, and secretly checked that Liu Zhijie and Zhou Rui had not told her anything.
• Wang Muxue explained that the Lu Family faced ruin over the terrorist attack, while the incident had also forced major families to settle compensation claims and keep them confidential.
• Wang Muxue invited Yang Bo to join the military, but he refused and warned that the Pirate Alliance might attack March Star again.
• Yang Bo admitted that Wang Muxue was a risk to him, and she pinched him before leaving in a camouflaged fighter craft.
• Yang Bo contacted Liu Zhijie and Zhou Rui, denied having visited the mall, and urged them to destroy the recordings.
• Wang Muxue replayed the news footage and wondered whether the masked people who escaped the mall had been Yang Bo.

The Lu Family’s troubles created a scramble for military positions, prompting the Game Department to flood Yang Bo with difficult tasks. After completing an exploration task, Yang Bo suspected the military was trying to earn merit through him and investigated a warehouse Zhang Bozhen had offered as a target, discovering the deal could also profit Zhang Bozhen through a contract penalty.

• The Lu Family’s predicament drew military attention as families and officers eyed the positions that might become vacant, while the Game Department hoped Yang Bo would complete more tasks.
• Yang Bo found more than three hundred tasks in his mailbox, completed an exploration task in a collapsed shelter, and lost the leading Mutated Rat before he could gain its ability.
• Yang Bo concluded that people managing the game might be using the tasks to earn merit amid the Lu Family crisis, and he decided to attempt a high-risk task next.
• Zhang Bozhen offered Ninth Mister Energy Metal from a warehouse at a steep discount, and Yang Bo decided to investigate the location before trusting the information.
• Zhang Bozhen and Butler Niu discussed locating the remaining assassins and dismissed recruiting Yang Bo, while Yang Bo discovered the warehouse theft could trigger a penalty payment to Zhang Bozhen.
• Yang Bo accused Zhang Bozhen of being unethical and demanded a share of the breach penalty as well as a better price for the Energy Metal.

Yang Bo agreed to Zhang Bozhen’s terms for the Energy Metal and planned to impersonate the Clown Bandit to take it from a guarded warehouse. After completing a reconnaissance mission and learning that March Star had arrested three assassin suspects, Yang Bo set out to put his plan into motion.

• Yang Bo and Zhang Bozhen settled the Energy Metal deal, and Yang Bo began figuring out how to remove the shipment without revealing his abilities.
• Yang Bo researched past Energy Metal thefts by the masked Clown and decided to impersonate the Clown Bandit.
• Yang Bo declined a high-difficulty game mission despite its Smart Turret reward and completed a reconnaissance mission in a poisonous, radioactive volcanic valley.
• Zhang Bozhen had Butler Niu secretly watch the Energy Metal warehouse while they speculated about Ninth Mister’s identity and motives.
• The Alliance cracked the assassins’ communicators, leading March Star authorities to arrest three suspects.
• Yang Bo decided it was time for the Clown Bandit to act and headed out to cause trouble.

Yang Bo stole Energy Metal from March Star’s spaceport while impersonating the Clown Bandit, worsening Dar Energy Company’s prospects and confusing Zhang Bozhen. The real Clown Bandit then denied the theft and announced that he would hunt down the impostor.

• Yang Bo knocked out a warehouse guard, controlled two other guards into disabling security, and stole the Energy Metal before leaving unseen.
• Zhang Bozhen learned that the thief had been identified as the Clown Bandit, while Butler Niu suspected Yang Bo’s team was involved.
• Zhang Bozhen realized the theft might force Dar Energy Company to breach its contract and pay March Star compensation.
• The real Clown Bandit released a video denying responsibility for the theft and threatening to capture and kill the person impersonating him.
• Zhang Bozhen and Yang Bo watched as the Clown Bandit released videos showing himself killing two other alleged impersonators.

Yang Bo analyzed the Clown Bandit's motives, considered ways to earn money in the Aquamarine Empire, and practiced using his Mental Power while preparing for a difficult mission. He met Liu Jingxiang and Zhou Kexin at the dormitory, where Zhou returned his money and offered help after he claimed to have nightmares.

• Yang Bo reasoned that the Clown Bandit's videos were meant to prove he was not on March Star and concluded that a powerful organization or hidden force might be involved.
• Yang Bo dismissed the idea of provoking the Clown Bandit, reflected on the investigation into the Energy Metal theft, and blamed Zhang Bozhen for using him against Dar Energy Company.
• Yang Bo searched for ways to build wealth in the Aquamarine Empire and decided that its swordplay competitions and arenas could offer opportunities to make money.
• Yang Bo trained his Mental Power by preparing breakfast with it and learned that his Swordplay Association Virtual Game helmet had arrived.
• Yang Bo visited the company dormitory and learned that Brother Jie was studying; Zhou Kexin returned his money and asked if he wanted to see a psychologist after he said he had nightmares.

Yang Bo, Liu Jingxiang, and Zhou Kexin visited the Swordplay Association so Yang Bo could collect a Virtual Game Helmet that had arrived early. Surrounded by the association’s lavish Aquamarine-style grounds and customs, Yang Bo remained suspicious as the staff assured him he could exchange or return the helmet.

• Yang Bo declined an offer of help, and Zhou Kexin repaid the money she had borrowed before the three of them drove to the Swordplay Association.
• Yang Bo admired the association’s castle, garden, and ocean-side setting while suspecting that its luxurious atmosphere might influence visitors.
• Liu Jingxiang and Zhou Kexin explained Aquamarine customs as the group entered, and a middle-aged attendant welcomed them into a reception room.
• Yang Bo questioned the origin of the association’s enormous wooden table and ordered bottled purified water, while Liu Jingxiang and Zhou Kexin chose other drinks.
• Yang Bo asked why his Virtual Game Helmet had arrived early and whether it would suit him, and the attendant said the association guaranteed exchanges and refunds.

Yang Bo accepted a Game Helmet from the Swordplay Association but refused its president’s efforts to keep him at the Association. As Yang Bo headed back with Liu Jingxiang and Zhou Kexin, the president bet that he could make Yang Bo fall in love with water from Godo Glacier within three months.

• Yang Bo sensed that the middle-aged Association president looked down on him and wondered whether he had a power related to mental states or souls.
• The president presented Yang Bo with a Virtual Helmet and Zhou Kexin explained that the game could improve reaction speed and earn players money.
• Yang Bo rejected the president’s invitation to stay for lunch or tour the competition venue, took the helmet, and left with Liu Jingxiang and Zhou Kexin.
• After the three departed, the president discussed Yang Bo with a hat-wearing youth and bet fifty thousand Credit Points that he could make Yang Bo fall in love with water from Godo Glacier within three months.
• On the way back, Yang Bo considered the Association’s motives while Liu Jingxiang and Zhou Kexin lamented missing the lunch and its Caviar Tarts.

Yang Bo explored the Association’s Second World game and discovered that its virtual world appeared to contain real people, possibly unimplanted clones being trained by the Aquamarine Empire. He left the chapter planning to inspect the game’s stars at night to identify the planet.

• Yang Bo learned from Zhou Kexin and Liu Jingxiang about Second World’s costly classes, dangerous starting areas, and three-month character lockout after death.
• Yang Bo examined his Virtual Helmet, detected Energy Metal in its components, and noticed an electromagnetic fluctuation when he charged it.
• Yang Bo completed a zombie exploration mission in the Doomsday Dungeon, using sonic detection to navigate a maze-like hydroelectric Power Plant archive.
• Yang Bo registered for Second World, browsed its forums, and entered the game as Flying Heaven Sword.
• Yang Bo used his Optoelectric Superpower and realized the player character and village residents seemed to be real people, possibly clones, then decided to inspect the stars after nightfall.

Yang Bo investigated the game’s mechanics and suspected the Virtual Helmet was linked to clone training, then tried to hunt while avoiding the game’s dangers. The chapter left him heading toward the mountains after covering himself in mud to escape a swarm of mosquitoes.

• Yang Bo noticed the Virtual Helmet emitted electromagnetic fluctuations and wondered whether it collected brainwaves to control the clone.
• Yang Bo learned hunting required a quest and heavy taxes, and he refused to register as the lord’s subject because commoners could be conscripted.
• Yang Bo sold his character’s shirt for Black Bread, drawing mockery from other players who thought he was an uninformed Newbie.
• Yang Bo took stones and went to hunt, but a swarm of mosquitoes attacked him and steadily drained his health.
• Yang Bo smeared ditch mud over his character, reducing the parasite attacks, and wondered whether the Virtual Helmet used Neural Networks that could transmit pain.

Yang Bo trained his controlled character’s Throwing skill, hunted rabbits, and discovered that the game’s sound effects could stimulate specific areas of the brain. After returning to the village and logging off from a rented room, he left the game’s observers discussing his talent and betting on his next earnings.

• Yang Bo practiced throwing rocks until his character reached Throwing Level 2, while he studied how the helmet’s sound waves affected his brain.
• Yang Bo hunted and killed three rabbits, gaining a Jump skill point and noticing that the game’s music made him feel excited.
• Guardian of Honor bought Yang Bo’s rabbits, shared advice about hunting and logging off, and learned that his character was named Flying Heaven Sword.
• Yang Bo bought back his clothes, purchased bread, rented an inn room, and logged off while considering further experiments with sound waves.
• In Oma City, the middle-aged man and Bald Head discussed Yang Bo’s game performance and bet one game Gold Coin on how much he would earn the next day.

Yang Bo investigated the secrets of the game helmet and learned that a formidable assassin had accepted a contract to kill him. He chose a dangerous Super Zombie hunting mission, while the game officials hoped his performance would help secure their colonel’s promotion.

• Yang Bo read about the game’s neural-transmission features and players’ varied experiences, then stored his helmet in a room protected from surveillance.
• Yang Bo checked the Pirate Alliance Ninth Elder’s memories and learned that an assassin had accepted a contract to kill him for a large payment.
• Yang Bo received messages from Liu Jingxiang, Annie, and Siya, then prepared to play the Doomsday Dungeon game and destroy his current Bionic Human.
• Yang Bo accepted a high-difficulty mission to hunt a Super Zombie hidden beneath a city amid more than a million zombies.
• The Doomsday Dungeon game officials discussed Yang Bo’s unusual abilities and hoped he would complete the mission, while the colonel ordered them not to restrict his actions.

Yang Bo entered the high-difficulty mission and discovered that the Super Zombie controlled the high-level zombies inside a fortified compound. After observing their patrols, he slipped inside and used debris to measure their timing, preparing to move deeper into the building.

• Yang Bo used the fighter jet to draw most of the zombie horde away, then parachuted down and gained Blade Skill and Scouting from the zombies he killed.
• Yang Bo reached the compound and found two high-level zombies guarding its entrance; the Game Department revealed that the Super Zombie controlled the zombies within the wall.
• Yang Bo circled the wall, observed the high-level zombies patrolling in pairs along distinct routes, and identified a gap in their patrol coverage.
• Yang Bo slipped past the patrols and entered an attached Podium Building, where he placed debris along a marked route and hid to listen for passing zombies.
• Yang Bo used the repeated sounds of the debris to estimate the patrol timing, impressing the observers at the game backend.

Military officials praised Yang Bo’s independent thinking as he infiltrated a zombie-infested building and tracked down the Super Zombie. After disabling it with Electromagnetic Bombs, he crippled it, and the game backend rushed to send support while ordering him to hold out for ten minutes.

• A colonel explained that the Intelligent System had made officers reluctant to take independent risks, citing a commander who had won after disobeying its recommendation.
• Yang Bo used trash sounds and passive Sonic Detection to map the zombies’ patrols and infer that the Super Zombie was likely in the Main Building.
• Yang Bo avoided the guarded stairways, climbed the Podium Building, and located a suspicious zombie on the Main Building’s sixth floor.
• Yang Bo threw two Electromagnetic Bombs through the sixth-floor windows, then entered the Main Building and blocked the stairwell and elevator shaft with two more bombs.
• Yang Bo fought off pursuing zombies and found the pale, white-haired Super Zombie twitching on the sixth floor after it had apparently lost control of the others.
• Yang Bo shot through the Super Zombie’s knees and shoulders, and the colonel ordered a mission notification, reinforcements, and a triple reward if Yang Bo held out for ten minutes.

Yang Bo completed the Super Zombie mission, gained skills from the battle, and learned that the military had captured the target alive. He later entered Second World to hunt, but fled toward the mountain after hearing that bandits were approaching the village.

• Yang Bo held off advanced zombies for ten minutes until military support arrived and captured the Super Zombie alive.
• After logging out, Yang Bo gained Blade Skill, Forging, and Tracking skills from zombies injured by his bombs.
• The game department praised Yang Bo’s success, while its staff discussed how the Intelligent System had overlooked the Super Zombie’s location.
• Yang Bo practiced controlling his Gravity Superpower, then told Liu Jingxiang and Zhou Kexin his Second World nickname.
• Yang Bo entered Second World, ate Black Bread, and set out to hunt so he could test what happened when his character leveled up.
• Yang Bo heard a warning that bandits were coming to raid the village and hurried toward the nearby mountain.

Yang Bo watched bandit players raid the village, then accepted the village chief’s rabbit-hunting task and negotiated with the Sheriff for a bow and archery training. After mastering archery and hunting five colorful male wild chickens, he was offered a new task with a mysterious reward.

• Yang Bo watched fifty bandits loot the village and learned from the forums that they were players conducting planned robberies.
• The village chief assigned Yang Bo a task to kill rabbits in exchange for equipment rewards, and Yang Bo accepted it.
• Yang Bo killed fifteen rabbits, offered the Sheriff fifty Copper Coins, and persuaded him to lend him a bow and teach him archery.
• Yang Bo mastered the Bow and Arrow skill, borrowed the bow and ten Wolf Fang Arrows, and agreed to share sixty percent of his daily earnings with the Sheriff.
• Yang Bo hunted five Male Wild Chickens, gained Flight skills from two of them, and received an offer from the Sheriff to complete a task for a mysterious reward.

Yang Bo suspected the game backend was withholding real rewards, so he chose a dangerous lake mission intending to destroy the Bionic Human and provoke its operators. After he deliberately sent the character into the lake’s crushing pressure and the mission failed, the backend staff lost contact with their advanced Bionic Human.

• Yang Bo received leather armor from the Sheriff, then logged off and pondered whether the game and Biochips concealed a larger conspiracy.
• Yang Bo spent the night with Annie and Siya, while the colonel and the game backend staff waited for him to log in.
• Yang Bo learned Liu Jingxiang had sent him twenty Silver Coins, then decided to destroy the Bionic Human after finding that the game’s promised equipment rewards were recycled or merely virtual.
• Yang Bo accepted a mission at a deep volcanic lake and discovered through sound-wave detection that its unusual water density caused a dangerous pressure difference.
• Yang Bo used the three Invincible Badges as his character sank beyond his control, failed the mission, and logged off as the backend staff lost contact with the Bionic Human.