Chapter Summaries

After the Bionic Human malfunctioned during Yang Bo’s exploration, the Game Department investigated while Yang Bo decided to delay playing and returned to Second World. He set out to explore the nearby Oak Forest, considering how the realistic clone world might reveal the Empire’s experiments.

• The Game Department found that the Bionic Human’s sensors had failed without triggering an alarm, and the colonel suspected sabotage before deciding to report the damage and seek a replacement.
• Yang Bo blamed the Game Department for deceiving him, told Liu Jingxiang he would reach level ten and visit her, and agreed to stay away from the Swordplay Association until the tournament draw.
• Yang Bo logged into Second World, examined the realistic inn and its surroundings, and speculated that the clone world could be used for experiments and drug trials.
• After eating, Yang Bo collected a bow and arrows from the Sheriff's Office and planned to explore toward the Oak Forest, taking food and a cheap Scythe while proceeding cautiously.
• Yang Bo used Sonic Detection and discovered a wild pheasant in the grass near the village.

Yang Bo avoided a group plotting to use him as bait for a Wild Boar King, then hunted rabbits and sold part of his catch in the village. He ended the day at the player market, where other players questioned him about his equipment and one offered him a dagger.

• Yang Bo refused to join six players hunting boars, overheard them planning to use him as bait, and followed them briefly before turning back because his clone was exhausted.
• Yang Bo studied a forum guide to herbs, then hunted rabbits with stones to preserve their pelts and gained a Jump skill level.
• After three hours, Yang Bo returned to the village carrying more than twenty rabbits and overheard a player recounting several disastrous lives in the game.
• Yang Bo gave fifteen of his twenty-five rabbits to Kyle at the Sheriff's Office and sold the other ten for fifty Copper Coins.
• Yang Bo ate and drank at the inn, browsed the player market, and was approached by a player offering him a dagger.

Yang Bo kept testing the realistic game while the Swordplay Association monitored his immersion and discussed how the game could influence Alliance citizens. After days of dwindling wildlife and slow progress, he joined Liu Jingxiang and Zhou Kexin to attend the Swordplay Association’s competition drawing ceremony.

• Yang Bo refused to equip the Sheriff's dagger, hunted scarce Rabbits and Pheasants, and returned the borrowed equipment before logging out.
• The March Star Branch president and a young man reviewed Yang Bo’s game data, discussed using the game to promote their culture, and bet on when his character would die.
• Yang Bo read about the Bard class and discovered that the man who had received him was the branch president; he suspected the Alliance was also watching the game.
• Yang Bo continued experimenting with tasks and game mechanics as wildlife became scarce, while the Silver Coins Liu Jingxiang had mailed him remained undelivered.
• Yang Bo met Liu Jingxiang and Zhou Kexin, told them he was only level two, and went with them to the Swordplay Association’s drawing ceremony.

Liu Jingxiang and Zhou Kexin advised Yang Bo on pursuing swordsmanship and navigating the political pressures around competitions as they introduced him to the elite gathered for the Swordplay Association’s drawing ceremony. As Yang Bo weighed the social connections he hoped to gain, someone called out to Zhou Kexin, and Yang Bo recognized an acquaintance.

• Liu Jingxiang encouraged Yang Bo to pursue swordsmanship for competitions, endorsements, and access to influential circles, while Yang Bo said he would consider it after achieving results.
• Zhou Kexin and Liu Jingxiang warned Yang Bo to avoid risky comments about the Aquamarine Empire, especially during livestreamed competitions and media interviews.
• Yang Bo arrived with Liu Jingxiang and Zhou Kexin at an elaborate outdoor drawing ceremony, where Liu Jingxiang introduced several prominent swordsmen and competitors.
• Other attendees gossiped about Yang Bo, the Lu Family, Liu Jingxiang, and the rumored talents of the swordsman Mike, while Yang Bo quietly focused on improving his social standing.
• After Yang Bo met more than a dozen skilled swordsmen, someone called to Zhou Kexin, and Yang Bo turned to see an acquaintance.

Yang Bo attended the Swordplay Association’s gathering, met Li Aido, and learned the schedule for the Swordplay Competition, where he would face newcomer Li Yong. After returning home, he prepared to take his weak Second World character to the Oak Forest for a quest, while the chairman described him as principled and stubborn.

• Li Aido greeted Zhou Kexin and Liu Jingxiang, while Yang Bo stayed apart and noticed Liu Jingxiang seemed to know his identity.
• Chairman Tal warmly spoke with Yang Bo, offered help getting to the Empire, and asked him to email if he needed anything.
• The chairman announced the competition rounds, and Yang Bo drew newcomer Li Yong as his first opponent, with the match set for twenty days later.
• Yang Bo left the gathering alone, returned home, and read forum discussions about quests and Li Aido’s fan meet-and-greet.
• Yang Bo prepared to take his level-two Second World character to the Oak Forest for the Sheriff’s quest after finding that nearby animals and useful herbs had become scarce.
• The chairman told a young man that Yang Bo was principled and stubborn because he insisted on calling him Chairman.

Yang Bo traveled to the Oak Forest, gathered valuable Black Truffles, and returned to bargain with the Sheriff for combat training. The Sheriff agreed to teach him and set a deadline to capture five uninjured golden pheasants, while Yang Bo began training and asked to borrow money for food.

• Yang Bo prepared supplies, bought arrows, and traveled five kilometers through the mountains to the Oak Forest.
• Yang Bo discovered several Black Truffles and gained the Scouting and Gathering skills, then spotted wild boars and golden Male Wild Chickens in the forest.
• Yang Bo returned to the village before dark and offered the Black Truffles to the Sheriff in exchange for combat training.
• The Sheriff agreed to teach Yang Bo but required him to capture at least five uninjured golden pheasants within half a month.
• The Sheriff demonstrated short-sword techniques and sparred with Yang Bo, then advised him to eat more roasted meat to build strength.
• Yang Bo asked the Sheriff to lend him money for food, leaving the Sheriff visibly frozen.

Yang Bo accepted the Sheriff's offer to undergo Power Awakening, which succeeded and left him with a new power seed and sharply increased food needs. He returned to the inn to consider how to afford the extra nutrition and investigated what players knew about awakened abilities.

• Yang Bo persuaded the Sheriff to let him undergo Power Awakening, and the Sheriff warned that his frail body could collapse.
• Yang Bo signed a liability contract, then held an Artificial Energy Stone while the Sheriff performed the awakening.
• After half an hour, the Sheriff confirmed the awakening had succeeded and advised Yang Bo that he would need far more food as his power grew.
• Yang Bo calculated the cost of the extra food, returned to the inn, and ordered three pounds of beef from Innkeeper Lü.
• Yang Bo searched the game forum and learned about different Power Awakening attributes, class choices, and growth values, which raised questions about the clones' genes.

Yang Bo returned to White and his colleagues with Energy Metal, helped advance their research, and used a staged lab accident to plant Mental Seeds and uncover their plans to betray him. He later tested his awakened game character’s hunger and stamina, unaware that the clone had drawn special attention and that Yang Bo had been labeled as someone who followed the rules.

• Yang Bo used the Space Mecha to reach White and the other researchers, delivered some Energy Metal, and agreed to take responsibility for their Non-Compete Agreement.
• Yang Bo joined the researchers’ high-temperature experiments and caused an explosion that let him plant a Mental Seed in White.
• Yang Bo discovered through the Mental Seeds that White, Wilson, and their colleague planned to resign, seek other investors, and potentially sabotage his Space Mecha.
• Yang Bo watched March Star’s approaching storm season and then entered Second World to test his game character after its Power Awakening.
• Yang Bo found that the character’s stamina fell more slowly but its hunger rose quickly, while the clone attracted special attention and Yang Bo was labeled as someone who followed the rules.

Yang Bo learned that the Pirate Alliance Council had hired a soul-powered assassin and used Zhang Bozhen to help draw out information about the threat. Zhang Bozhen investigated a woman connected to both himself and the Silver Moon Pirate Gang leader, leaving the assassin’s true target uncertain.

• Yang Bo discovered that the Pirate Alliance Council had hired killers with soul-based superpowers, prompting him to prepare for a possible attack.
• Yang Bo contacted Zhang Bozhen as Ninth Mister and warned him about a legendary Soul Killer who could control people and track targets through their contacts.
• Yang Bo said the Soul Killer was trying to reach a woman who had been close to the Silver Moon Pirate Gang leader.
• Zhang Bozhen realized he had also encountered the woman and ordered Butler Niu to investigate her.
• Butler Niu found suspicious conversations between the woman and her family, but Zhang Bozhen could not tell whether the killers were targeting him or the Pirate Boss.

Zhang Bozhen ordered preparations to confront the Soul Killer, while Yang Bo considered the risks of Second World and resumed hunting Rabbits. Meanwhile, the Swordplay Association’s leaders monitored Yang Bo as a possible subject for their Empire’s experiment and recruitment.

• Butler Niu persuaded Zhang Bozhen to protect the woman, prepare area-destruction weapons, and investigate the Soul Killer, and Zhang Bozhen approved his plan.
• Yang Bo wondered what happened to unattended Second World characters, then speculated about the game’s influence on players and its possible purpose before deciding to focus on leveling up.
• Yang Bo asked the village chief about dealing with Rabbits, but left when the chief suggested getting a pet after he learned pets brought upkeep costs and the risk of unpaid conscription.
• Yang Bo bought thin hemp rope and headed toward the Oak Forest while the Swordplay Association president and a young man discussed his game data and the Empire’s plans to assess and recruit talented Alliance residents.

Yang Bo hunted in the game, where he learned new skills but lost his prey to a swift predator, and worried that the game might be used to copy players and their souls. After logging out, he followed Young Master Zhang’s preparations for a possible Soul Killer attack and discovered the woman he had abandoned was about to leave.

• Yang Bo avoided the distant bear, set five Snare Traps, and learned trap and repair skills while hunting in the jungle.
• He killed a huge rat, gained Dynamic Vision +1, and watched a fox-like animal steal the carcass before he could react.
• Yang Bo logged out, wondered how to improve his game character, and went Stealth to investigate Young Master Zhang’s preparations.
• He followed an arriving Flying Car into a villa and saw two armed robots join two others while three people monitored the target’s villa.
• Yang Bo realized through the Mental Seed that the woman he had abandoned was about to go out, and considered controlling her to stop her.

Yang Bo followed the woman to a teahouse, where a disguised Soul Killer tried to invade her mind and triggered a chaotic fight with mall security. The Soul Killer was captured, but the woman remembered nothing, and the police left under accusations of mistreating victims.

• Yang Bo chose not to control the woman with the Mental Seed and followed her to the Shopping Mall, suspecting her meeting was a trap.
• At the teahouse entrance, the disguised Soul Killer tried to read the woman's memories, so Yang Bo made her shout that the attendant was a pervert and grab him.
• A fat woman and her companion attacked the attendant, who unleashed Sky Rend before mall drones, bullets, and robots overwhelmed and captured him.
• The woman said she had no memory of the incident, while a teahouse employee revealed that the real attendant had been killed and replaced by an impostor.
• The police questioned those present, then left as the women accused them of blaming victims and covering up the incident.

After Yang Bo exposed and defeated the suspected Soul Killer, the incident drew public attention and prompted March Star to seek help from the Alliance Judicial Department. Yang Bo kept his identity hidden and wondered what the Soul Killer’s equipment and abilities might yield, while investigating how he had reached March Star so quickly.

• The police sent the female victim for observation but could not establish from the blocked surveillance footage whether harassment had occurred, while clips of the confrontation spread online.
• Butler Niu judged the assailant was likely the Soul Killer and discussed his powerful Mental Power, unusual clothing, and Sky Rend with Zhang Bozhen.
• Zhang Bozhen asked Ninth Mister how to handle the suspect, and Ninth Mister told them to manage the case themselves and report the outcome.
• Yang Bo returned to Suburban Park, concealed himself, and told Zhang Bozhen he did not know whether the assailant was the Soul Killer or how to contain a Mental Power expert.
• March New officials announced that they suspected an A+ Level super powerhouse and requested help from the Alliance Judicial Department and Supreme Court, while police publicly linked the assailant to the Soul Killer.
• Yang Bo reviewed recent spacecraft arrivals at March Star and found suspicious timing that raised questions about how the Soul Killer had arrived so quickly.

Yang Bo investigated the Grade SS mission to rescue Soul Killer while continuing to hunt in Second World and learning about Strange Beasts. The mission issuer accepted his extravagant terms, and Yang Bo decided to wait for more mercenary groups before selling what he knew to Zhang Bozhen.

• Yang Bo wondered whether Soul Killer had come to March Star for another purpose and planned to check the Mercenary Guild for related missions.
• Yang Bo caught a scaled wild boar, a rabbit, and a fox in his traps, then sold the live Level 0 Strange Beast to the Chief of Public Security for twenty Silver Coins.
• The Chief of Public Security explained that Mysterious Professionals wanted live Strange Beasts and asked Yang Bo to bring him any more he caught.
• Yang Bo set his game character to train, then logged into the Mercenary Guild and found a Grade SS mission to rescue Soul Killer.
• Yang Bo demanded a viscount title, an actual fief, and permission to trade those things; the mission issuer agreed, requiring a one-billion-Credit-Point deposit.
• Yang Bo declined to commit yet and planned to wait for more Ace Mercenary Groups before selling information about the mission to Zhang Bozhen.

Yang Bo trained his game character and accompanied Liu Jingxiang to the Swordplay Association, where he learned more about its members and factions. Liu Jingxiang warned him to keep quiet during the competition, and Yang Bo asked whether the factions could cheat.

• Yang Bo let his game character train and increased its meat supply while preparing for the Swordplay Competition.
• Yang Bo agreed to accompany Liu Jingxiang to the Swordplay Association after learning Zhou Kexin would not go.
• Yang Bo told Liu Jingxiang about his game character’s early Power Awakening, level, earnings, equipment, and skills, surprising her.
• Yang Bo and Liu Jingxiang registered at the association and waited for their appointment over tea.
• Liu Jingxiang warned Yang Bo that association factions joined forces to suppress newcomers, and Yang Bo asked whether they could use tricks during the competition.

Yang Bo trained at the Swordplay Association, where Liu Jingxiang warned him that competitors might use fouls and exploit his resident status. Afterward, he showed Liu Jingxiang how he had gained valuable equipment and skills in the game by treating its characters as people rather than mere NPCs.

• Liu Jingxiang explained that rivals might use repeated moves and fouls to manipulate contestants, and Yang Bo agreed to let the association publicize his resident status.
• Yang Bo sparred with a training robot, scoring a hit before its rising difficulty eventually led to his defeat.
• Yang Bo trained for two hours, then joked to the Guild Master that the only flaw in the association’s hospitality was that he could not take the buffet home.
• The Guild Master praised Yang Bo’s restraint despite his poor training results, and Liu Jingxiang went with Yang Bo to his home.
• Yang Bo showed Liu Jingxiang his level-two game character and explained how he earned military-grade gear by borrowing equipment from the Sheriff and sharing his prey.
• Liu Jingxiang said she would try giving game characters gifts, then teased Yang Bo when he offered to take her home.

Yang Bo told Liu Jingxiang that he already had two Superpower User girlfriends, prompting Liu Zhijie to question him about them and their Gene Evolution. Liu Jingxiang and Zhou Kexin tested Yang Bo’s advice in Second World and each unlocked a tailoring quest by giving her teacher a gift, while Yang Bo planned to ask Young Master Zhang about the Soul Killer and study Swordplay Competition videos.

• Yang Bo told Liu Jingxiang he had two girlfriends, both Superpower Users, and Liu Jingxiang shared the news with Zhou Kexin.
• Liu Zhijie questioned Yang Bo, who explained that he had met his girlfriends in the game and that both had become Superpower Users after receiving his Gene Evolution Serum.
• Liu Zhijie told Liu Jingxiang and Zhou Kexin that Yang Bo had been telling the truth, then privately urged Liu Jingxiang not to give up on him.
• Liu Jingxiang gave her tailoring teacher Fruit Wine in Second World and received a quest to make a silk scarf, with the scarf-making method as the reward.
• Zhou Kexin gave the teacher perfume and received a leather-boots quest, and both women decided to play again the next morning.
• Yang Bo went to bed early, planning to ask Young Master Zhang about the Soul Killer and watch Swordplay Competition videos.

Yang Bo prepared for the Swordplay Competition while investigating the Second World game and devising a way to catch golden-feathered wild chickens. After luring five male chickens into a hidden pit, he noticed a golden-spotted leopard approaching and decided to risk catching it too.

• Yang Bo learned that the Aquamarine Empire had posted an SSS-Class mission to capture Soul Killer, then considered visiting the Swordplay Association and planned to defeat his Swordplay Competition opponent within three moves.
• Liu Jingxiang thanked Yang Bo because her and Zhou Kexin's Second World characters had learned new crafting skills and gained work at a tailor shop.
• Yang Bo studied the golden wild chickens, discovered that a particular call attracted males, and taught the sound to his game character.
• Yang Bo hid his game character under branches and leaves, used the call and female feathers as bait, and caught five golden wild chickens.
• A golden-spotted leopard approached the hidden trap, and Yang Bo decided it might be valuable enough to try catching.

Yang Bo's game character captured a live Gold Leopard and delivered it with golden pheasants to the Sheriff, asking to work under him. Five days later, the promoted Sheriff gave Yang Bo a Letter of Recommendation to study at Green Academy and arranged a temporary night-patrol job in Green City, where Yang Bo set off by carriage.

• Yang Bo's game character trapped, subdued, and bound a Gold Leopard, then drove it back to the village with five golden pheasants.
• The Sheriff took the Gold Leopard and pheasants, and Yang Bo asked to work under him instead of receiving money or a skill.
• After logging out, Yang Bo saw a forum screenshot of his capture and learned that live Ferocious Beasts could be valuable noble pets.
• The Sheriff returned on the fifth day, revealed his promotion to Green City East District Sheriff, and offered Yang Bo a Letter of Recommendation for Green Academy and a temporary night-patrol position.
• Yang Bo accepted the offer and traveled toward Green City in a guarded merchant caravan.

Yang Bo arrived at Green Academy, took the name Hantel, and became a student after delivering his letter to Vice Dean Eddie. He chose a dorm room and asked Ace about the academy’s courses, while continuing to wonder why the Golden Wild Chickens had yielded no skills.

• Yang Bo reconsidered whether the Golden Wild Chickens were clones and speculated about the Aquamarine Empire’s motives for the mission.
• Yang Bo reached Green City and went to Green Academy, where guards initially called him an Outsider.
• Yang Bo delivered his letter to Vice Dean Eddie, changed his game name from Flying Heaven Sword to Hantel, and was accepted as a student.
• Ace complained that Yang Bo had entered through the back door, but backed down when Yang Bo threatened to report his remarks to Eddie.
• Yang Bo chose a middle dorm room and asked Ace what courses the academy offered.