Chapter Summaries

Xia Chujian told Xia Yuanfang and Shen Junyi that Wang Yixiao had targeted her and that she suspected the attack on her aunt three years earlier was connected. Xia Yuanfang confirmed she had been poisoned with Wind-Dried Blood Kirin, and said Xia Chujian had found the cure.

• Wang Yixiao's husband refused to pay for her Medical Cabin, while her parents argued with him and wept.
• Xia Chujian told Shen Junyi that Wang Yixiao had beaten her and described how Wang's Gene Chain had been severely damaged.
• Xia Yuanfang arrived, reacted angrily to Xia Chujian's injuries, and listened as Xia Chujian explained Wang Yixiao's scheme involving Zhu Yingying and Fen Tai Ni.
• Xia Chujian suspected the person behind Wang Yixiao was responsible for harming Xia Yuanfang three years earlier, and Xia Yuanfang confirmed she had been poisoned rather than afflicted by a Genetic Disease.
• Xia Yuanfang revealed that the poison came from Wind-Dried Blood Kirin and said Xia Chujian had obtained the cure by chance.

Xia Chujian and Shen Junyi suspected that Wang Yixiao had been poisoned and silenced by the same person who targeted Xia Yuanfang. Xia Yuanfang refused to let Xia Chujian risk using Fresh Blood Kirin to save Wang Yixiao, and Xia Chujian asked what would happen to Wang Yixiao’s Quantum Optical Brain after her death.

• Xia Chujian described Wang Yixiao’s sudden collapse after she tried to post altered photos, and Shen Junyi suspected she had been poisoned.
• Xia Yuanfang and Shen Junyi agreed that someone might have poisoned Wang Yixiao to silence her, and Xia Chujian reached the same conclusion.
• Shen Junyi left to examine Wang Yixiao and run tests while Xia Yuanfang warned Xia Chujian not to reveal that she had an antidote.
• Xia Yuanfang said she already knew who was behind the attack and rejected Xia Chujian’s plan to save Wang Yixiao as a potential witness.
• Xia Chujian asked about the altered photos stored on Wang Yixiao’s Quantum Optical Brain and learned that heirs could inherit its contents and legal responsibility after reauthentication.
• Xia Chujian asked whether the Quantum Optical Brain could be reformatted before it was authenticated again.

After Wang Yixiao died, Shen Junyi secretly destroyed the storage chip in her Quantum Optical Brain and told Xia Yuanfang and Xia Chujian he was an S-Class Gene Evolver. He took them to Wang Yixiao’s school to investigate where she had been poisoned, where they found Zong Ruoan and Lu Jianpeng examining a reported Genetically Anomalous Object.

• Shen Junyi learned that Wang Yixiao’s family had discontinued treatment, then secretly destroyed the storage chip in her Quantum Optical Brain.
• Shen Junyi told Xia Yuanfang and Xia Chujian that he was above A-Class, explaining that this meant S-Class.
• Shen Junyi asked Xia Chujian and Xia Yuanfang to accompany him to Wang Yixiao’s school so he could investigate the likely poisoning scene.
• Xia Chujian, Xia Yuanfang, and Shen Junyi reached Wang Yixiao’s office and found Zong Ruoan, Lu Jianpeng, and another Special Security Bureau member there.
• Zong Ruoan said the bureau had come because it received intelligence that a Genetically Anomalous Object had appeared at the school, and Xia Chujian asked what it was and how they learned of it.

Xia Yuanfang brought Xia Chujian to confront the school over Wang Yixiao’s physical punishment, while Zong Ruoan revealed that the Special Security Bureau controlled school surveillance. The chapter ended with Lu Jianpeng giving Xia Chujian a fast-acting injury spray as Shen Junyi documented her injuries.

• Zong Ruoan showed Xia Chujian a horned goldfish and explained that the Special Security Bureau handled genetically anomalous objects.
• Xia Yuanfang told Zong Ruoan and Lu Jianpeng that she had come to seek answers and hold the school accountable for Wang Yixiao’s treatment of Xia Chujian.
• Zong Ruoan offered to treat Xia Chujian’s swollen face, but she refused because she wanted the injuries recorded as evidence.
• Zong Ruoan explained that the Special Security Bureau could retrieve school surveillance footage even if Wang Yixiao had turned the cameras off.
• Shen Junyi photographed Xia Chujian’s injuries and offered to provide a formal medical assessment.
• Lu Jianpeng returned with a fast-acting External Injury Spray for Xia Chujian.

After Xia Chujian’s injury, Xia Yuanfang forced the school to revoke Wang Yixiao’s teaching credentials, while Zong Ruoan investigated footage that revealed Wang had tested suspicious pills on a goldfish before attacking Xia. Reconstructed photos showed Zhu Yingying with the men who died at Feather, linking the school incident to the private-room deaths.

• Xia Yuanfang treated Xia Chujian’s swollen face with Lu Jianpeng’s spray, and Shen Junyi collected tank water and a normal goldfish for testing.
• Xia Yuanfang complained to the school, and the Dean of Studies revoked Wang Yixiao’s teaching credentials and canceled her insurance benefits.
• Shen Junyi took Xia Chujian and Xia Yuanfang to Imperial Official 892 Hospital to complete an official injury assessment.
• Zong Ruoan reviewed office surveillance showing Wang Yixiao tested two pills on a goldfish, swallowed them, struck Xia Chujian, and later collapsed.
• Zong Ruoan ordered Lu Jianpeng to retrieve Wang Yixiao’s body and Quantum Optical Brain, then reconstructed photos that revealed Zhu Yingying among the victims from Feather.

Zong Ruoan investigated Wang Yixiao’s death and discovered evidence linking her to Zhu Yingying’s altered photos and a genetically anomalous goldfish. Huo Yushen questioned Zong Ruoan’s involvement with Xia Chujian and the Fan Clan, leaving Zong Ruoan’s personal motives exposed but unexplained.

• Zong Ruoan learned that Zhu Yingying was believed to have died in the private club fire and that Wang Yixiao had altered Zhu Yingying’s photos to show Xia Chujian.
• Huo Yushen told Kang Shanxing that Zong Ruoan could use the Audit and Discipline Department to investigate the Fan Clan’s influence over Guiyuan Star’s Disciplinary Department.
• Lu Jianpeng transferred Wang Yixiao’s corpse and belongings to the Special Security Bureau, while Zong Ruoan arranged tests on residue from beneath her fingernails.
• Zong Ruoan showed Huo Yushen surveillance footage of Wang Yixiao feeding medicine to a goldfish and herself, striking Xia Chujian, and displaying altered photos of Zhu Yingying.
• Zong Ruoan explained that he had visited Xia Chujian’s home after a checkpoint dispute involving her Dark Night Hunter Team and Fan Chengcai, and Huo Yushen pressed him about his motives for pursuing the Fan Clan.

Zong Ruoan briefed Huo Yushen on evidence that Wang Yixiao had used a synthesized substance to induce genetic mutations, and Huo assigned him to lead the investigation into the Gene Drug development case. The chapter left Zong Ruoan preparing to investigate the drug supply chain while also moving against the Disciplinary Department and the Fan Family.

• Zong Ruoan showed Huo Yushen footage of Wang Yixiao feeding drug powder to goldfish and reported that tests identified a synthesized component capable of causing genetic mutations.
• Huo Yushen put Zong Ruoan in charge of the Gene Drug case and directed him to investigate its potential supply chain, while also checking the link to the Private Club case.
• Huo Yushen asked whether Wang Yixiao’s altered photographs had been backed up to her cloud Account, and Zong Ruoan decided to check it and ask Xia Chujian where the photos came from.
• Huo Yushen watched footage of Fan Chengcai’s subordinates beating Xia Chujian and questioned why Fan Chengcai had escaped punishment.
• After Huo Yushen left, Zong Ruoan told Lu Jianpeng he would quickly handle the Disciplinary Department and Fan Family before focusing on the Gene Drug investigation next year.

Xia Chujian discovered that the Fan Family’s West District villas were being searched by the Special Security Bureau, while Zong Ruoan questioned Fan Chengxin about the Private Club fire and shooting. The chapter ended with Zong Ruoan pressing Fan Chengxin to explain why his fiancée had burned to death.

• Xia Chujian saw support drones surround the Fan Family’s West District villas and found deleted social media discussions about a Special Security Bureau operation.
• Xia Chujian discussed Fan Chengcai’s possible arrest with Xia Yuanfang, who redirected the conversation to her studies.
• Zong Ruoan and Lu Jianpeng inspected records seized from the Fan Family’s villas and found that Fan Family members and in-laws held every important Mulan City Punishment Department position.
• Zong Ruoan questioned Fan Chengxin about his injured leg and his fiancée’s death in the Private Club fire.
• Zong Ruoan asked Fan Chengxin why his fiancée had burned to death, and Fan Chengxin had yet to answer.

Zong Ruoan uncovered evidence of the Fan Family’s crimes and ties to powerful allies while investigating their assets and private starship. Meanwhile, Xia Chujian took her high school graduation exams and discovered that Xia Yuanfang had accurately predicted nearly every question, leaving her astonished and her aunt unimpressed by the prediction rate.

• Zong Ruoan questioned Fan Chengxin but found no evidence tying him to the photos, then had Lu Jianpeng organize evidence against the Fan Family.
• Lu Jianpeng reported the Fan Family’s alleged crimes and connections to Guiyuan Star’s governor Hu Meihang and the Rong Family, while Zong Ruoan found they owned a private starship and sent its travel records to Colonel Kang.
• Zong Ruoan told Lu Jianpeng to monitor the Punishment Department’s investigation of Fan Chengcai so they could identify Fan Family allies and clean up the disciplinary system.
• Xia Chujian sat her four high school graduation exams after secretly being followed, believing the watchers were protecting her and focusing on passing.
• Xia Chujian found that Xia Yuanfang had predicted most or all of the exam questions, used her prepared answers, and deliberately limited her physics score to avoid doing too well.
• Xia Chujian returned home amazed by Xia Yuanfang’s predictions, but Xia Yuanfang dismissed their accuracy as too low.

Xia Chujian received generous salary and bonus payments from Su Buyan, who agreed to keep her job and mecha secret from Xia Yuanfang. The next morning, Ye Shijie alerted the squad to a new bounty target, but Xia Chujian’s breakfast stole everyone’s attention.

• Xia Yuanfang told Xia Chujian she would tutor her through the high school curriculum, including evening study, and Xia Chujian worried about having time to be a Hunter.
• Xia Chujian discovered Su Buyan had transferred her 18,888 Beichen Coin as salary, then received another 20,000 as a year-end bonus after calling him.
• Su Buyan told Xia Chujian he had arranged her Five Insurances and One Fund and promised not to ask her to work before her college entrance exam.
• Xia Chujian asked Su Buyan to keep her job and Shao Siming Mecha secret from Xia Yuanfang, and he agreed to devise a believable explanation after seeing her exam results.
• Ye Shijie told Xia Chujian that a target had appeared on the Bounty Hunter Hunted List, but Song Mingqian, Li Fu, and Ping Qiong focused on her breakfast and rushed to visit her.

Xia Chujian welcomed her Dark Night Hunter Team teammates to her home, where they met Xia Yuanfang and shared a meal before discussing Fan Chengcai’s appearance on the Bounty Hunter Hunted List. The team weighed the risks and reward of taking the contract, but Xia Chujian and Song Mingqian remained unconvinced.

• Xia Chujian invited Ye Shijie, Song Mingqian, Li Fu, and Ping Qiong to her home, and they brought her gifts including a Killer 018 Smart Pistol, Advanced Nutrient Solution, a flying vehicle identity card, skincare products, and red wine.
• The teammates met Xia Yuanfang, then ate her fried dough sticks and soy milk while chatting with Xia Chujian.
• Ye Shijie revealed that Fan Chengcai, the noble who had attacked Xia Chujian at the Mulan City checkpoint, was on the Bounty Hunter Hunted List.
• The team discussed the danger of targeting Fan Chengcai and learned the contract offered One Million Beichen Coins and a Civilian Flying Vehicle.
• Xia Chujian dismissed the reward as insufficient for the risk, and Song Mingqian agreed that the team could be walking into a slaughter.

Xia Chujian considered taking the Hunted List mission against Fan Chengcai alone, while discouraging her teammates from joining. After Fan Chengcai tried to summon the Disciplinary Department director, his defiance was met with a refusal, and Xia Yuanfang’s home-cooked lunch stirred memories and feelings in Xia Chujian’s teammates.

• Xia Chujian decided she would pursue the Hunted List mission alone and suggested that its unknown poster might be helping Fan Chengcai by making him more cautious.
• Fan Chengcai raged over the two-million bounty on his life, then ordered his subordinates to investigate the poster and summon the Disciplinary Department director.
• The director refused to come immediately, citing work for the Special Security Bureau Information Department, and said he would visit Fan Chengcai’s father instead.
• Fan Chengcai threatened to replace the director and declared that nobody on Guiyuan Star could defy him.
• Xia Yuanfang served lunch to Xia Chujian’s teammates, whose dishes brought back personal memories and whose favorite foods varied.

Xia Chujian celebrated her birthday with her aunt and teammates, then fell asleep after eating the last of her aunt’s rare Red Glutinous Rice. Meanwhile, Zong Ruoan sent her a birthday gift, and the Fan family prepared to receive Blessing Masters while dismissing a Special Security Bureau raid.

• Xia Yuanfang and Xia Chujian’s four teammates celebrated Xia Chujian’s birthday with a spectacular homemade cake and a meal.
• Xia Chujian ate her piece of cake, experienced a supposed Sugar Rush, and fell asleep; Xia Yuanfang said the Red Glutinous Rice was finally gone.
• Ping Qiong carried Xia Chujian to bed, and Xia Yuanfang later covered her when she found her sweating and uncovered.
• Zong Ruoan sent Xia Chujian birthday wishes and transferred her 88,888 Beichen Coin as a gift and repayment for their coffee and tea.
• At the Fan family mansion, guests discussed the Alliance of the Spirits of Light and its blessings as Fan Chengcai told Fan Chengqi their Mulan City residence had been raided.
• Fan Chengqi dismissed the raid and said he had invited two Blessing Masters to welcome blessings expected after December twenty-fourth.

On December 25, the Alliance of the Spirits of Light staged a public display and introduced the Fan brothers to its beliefs and influence. The Fan brothers sought an A-Rank Peak Mental Strength Gene Evolver as a bodyguard, but the Blessing Masters doubted their family could afford one.

• Two masked figures proclaimed the Alliance of the Spirits of Light’s creed, and paper yuanbao promising wishes sent the hall’s guests scrambling.
• Fan Chengqi and Fan Chengcai met Praying Master Da Luyuan and Praying Master Xiao Luyuan, who explained that Buddha ranked below the Spirits of Light.
• Fan Chengcai asked the Blessing Masters to find an A-Rank Peak Mental Strength Gene Evolver to guard his younger brother.
• Da Luyuan and Xiao Luyuan displayed a list of powerful alliance members and said that hiring such an Evolver would cost more than the Fan family could afford.
• Fan Chengcai stopped the Blessing Masters as they left and asked the price, while Xiao Luyuan said the Fan family lacked the wealth of Zong Military Industries, Quan's Mining, or Li's Pharmaceuticals.

Fan Chengcai joined the Alliance of the Spirits of Light to get protection, while Fan Chengqi urged him to pursue Quan Caiwei and revealed his own plans for the Zong Family’s treasured daughter. After returning Xia Chujian refused Zong Ruoan’s birthday money and called San Zong, asking where Yingying was.

• Fan Chengcai agreed to join the Alliance of the Spirits of Light, which promised two Peak Rank A Mental Strength Gene Evolvers as bodyguards for ten million Beichen Coins per week.
• Fan Chengqi told Fan Chengcai to pursue Quan Caiwei and said Hui Yinong would bring her to stay with the Fan Family next week.
• Fan Chengcai learned that Fan Chengqi intended to pursue the treasured daughter of the Zong Family Second Branch, and the brothers discussed noblemen keeping multiple fiancées and mistresses.
• Xia Chujian returned Zong Ruoan’s 88,888 Beichen Coins birthday gift and warned him not to send it again, so he ordered a Nanomaterial Bodysuit Bulletproof Vest for her.
• Xia Chujian started an encrypted video call with San Zong, greeted Small Dog, and asked San Zong where Yingying was.

Xia Chujian and her teammates planned to travel to Da Fu Prefecture to kill Fan Chengcai, while searching for a cover story to get Xia Yuanfang’s permission. Xia Chujian accepted a lucrative Association mission to secretly protect a Noble Lady there, giving the team an official reason to go.

• Xia Chujian had San Zong try to accept the Hunted List mission to kill Fan Chengcai, but Ye Shijie accepted it first and invited the team to Da Fu Prefecture.
• Xia Chujian and her teammates agreed to participate, with Ye Shijie and Song Mingqian scouting ahead and Li Fu preparing equipment.
• Xia Chujian and Ping Qiong discussed using an Association mission as a reason for Xia Chujian to leave home.
• Xia Chujian accepted a B Grade mission to secretly protect a Noble Lady in Da Fu Prefecture for six days, earning the team six million Beichen Coins.

Xia Chujian and her squad accepted a Dark Night Hunter mission to secretly protect a Noble Lady in Da Fu Prefecture, giving Xia a reason to leave Mulan City and travel at the Association’s expense. After packing and collecting equipment, the squad prepared to depart, and Xia learned that Director Gu Shanjun would bring her long-awaited Supernatural Helmet to Da Fu Prefecture.

• Ping Qiong and Xia Chujian explained that they had accepted a B Grade mission to protect a Noble Lady in Da Fu Prefecture, and the squad agreed to go together.
• After realizing they had to leave quickly, Xia Chujian packed, left her aunt a note, and headed for the Association Branch Station without waiting for her aunt to return.
• Ye Shijie gathered the squad at the Branch Station, where they confirmed the mission and collected weapons, disguises, communication gear, nutrient solution, and the Association’s Combat Aircraft.
• Xia Chujian messaged Director Gu Shanjun about her Supernatural Helmet, and he told her it had arrived and that he would deliver it in Da Fu Prefecture.

Xia Chujian and her squad traveled to Da Fu Prefecture for a mission and decided to explore the city before beginning their work. When Yi Sha Ka turned them away for lack of reservations, Zong Ruoan arranged for the restaurant’s owner to welcome them as his friends.

• Ye Shijie piloted the squad’s Combat Aircraft to Da Fu Prefecture, and the team agreed to go sightseeing before their mission.
• Xia Chujian and Ping Qiong joined Ye Shijie, Song Mingqian, and Li Fu at the luxurious Yi Sha Ka, where they learned reservations had to be made a month ahead.
• Zong Ruoan offered Xia Chujian a new Nano Bulletproof Suit and explained that its improved version was worth far more than the consulting fee he had paid her.
• Xia Chujian told Zong Ruoan that the squad was stranded outside Yi Sha Ka, so he asked Fang Chenggong to arrange seats for them.
• Boss Yi came to the entrance, confirmed that Xia Chujian was Zong Ruoan’s friend, and escorted the squad to his private compartment.

Xia Chujian and her team enjoyed a meal at Yi Sha Ka in Da Fu Prefecture, where they spoke with Xia Yuanfang and planned to visit her for the New Year. After leaving the restaurant, Xia Chujian explored Da Fu Prefecture’s orderly layout and learned how its districts were arranged.

• Boss Yi welcomed Xia Chujian and her team to a private compartment at Yi Sha Ka and offered them Unicorn Cattle Meat.
• Xia Chujian explained that Zong Ruoan had helped secure their reservation, then video-called Xia Yuanfang and apologized for leaving without telling her.
• Xia Yuanfang checked that the team’s bodyguard mission was safe and invited them to her house for the New Year.
• The team ate dinner, compared the restaurant’s dishes with Xia Chujian’s cooking, and Ye Shijie gave the Head Chef a red envelope as a good-luck token.
• After leaving the restaurant, Xia Chujian examined Da Fu Prefecture’s map, and Ping Qiong noted how its residential, commercial, and school districts differed from Mulan City.

Xia Chujian and her companions visited a Sanctuary, where Ping Qiong became captivated by a mysterious, handsome man who left after making a threatening pistol gesture at them. Li Fu identified him as Quan Yugui, the eldest son of the Quan Second Branch, while Song Mingqian worried about Ping Qiong’s attraction to him; the group stayed to tour the Sanctuary.

• Xia Chujian, Ping Qiong, Ye Shijie, Song Mingqian, and Li Fu took a Suspension Train to a nearby Sanctuary.
• Ping Qiong admired a man praying in the Sanctuary, while Xia Chujian found his world-weary demeanor unpleasant.
• The man rejected the steward’s offer to meet the Realm Lord, left in a powerful flying vehicle, and aimed a finger like a pistol at the group before departing.
• Ping Qiong gushed over the man, and Xia Chujian teased her until the steward objected to her joke about the Sanctuary’s ventilation.
• Li Fu told Song Mingqian that the man was Quan Yugui, the eldest son of the Quan Second Branch, and Song Mingqian caught up with the others as the steward showed them around.