Chapter Summaries

Chen Chuan accepted the Mutual Aid Society’s invitation to meet, while Wei Jun and his allies gathered support to eliminate him. After arranging help from Cheng Zitong, Director Lei, and Brigade Commander Nian, Chen Chuan left for the appointed meeting at four in the morning.

• Wei Jun, Jiang Wei, and Shao Xiaobie contacted Yangzhi’s elites and began rallying the Mutual Aid Society against Chen Chuan.
• Chen Chuan examined Tan Wang’s order form and learned about the Secret Serpent Sect’s Implant Body modifications.
• Lawyer Song threatened Chen Chuan by mentioning his former schools and classmates, but Chen Chuan agreed to meet the Mutual Aid Society.
• Chen Chuan asked Cheng Zitong, Director Lei, and Brigade Commander Nian to support his plan, while a white-haired old man at Wuyi Academy mobilized students to create momentum.
• Gao Ming confirmed the meeting for four in the morning at the Li'an Machinery Old Factory District, and Chen Chuan departed with the Snow Monarch Blade.

Chen Chuan entered the Li'an Old Factory alone to confront the Mutual Aid Society, where Wei Jun tried to make him abandon his ambitions and join them. Chen Chuan rejected the offer and vowed to clear away anyone who obstructed his path.

• Chen Chuan arrived at the factory carrying the Snow Monarch Blade and entered as the Mutual Aid Society’s guards closed the shutter behind him.
• Wei Jun confronted Chen Chuan from a raised platform and warned that he would face Yangzhi City's powerful upper class if he crossed the boundary.
• Wei Jun offered Chen Chuan a place in the Mutual Aid Society without conditions, asking him to stop pursuing his goal.
• Chen Chuan rejected Wei Jun’s offer and declared that he would keep walking his path and remove every obstacle.

Chen Chuan resisted the Double-Faced Heart Fiend ritual and killed Shao Xiaobie, then revealed that he had come to attack the Mutual Aid Society. As Chen Chuan and the Tayana Battle Spider fought through the factory’s armed guards, he charged toward Wei Jun and the others.

• Wei Jun activated the factory’s ritual and explained how it had caused Shen Zheng to injure himself until he died.
• Shao Xiaobie attacked Chen Chuan with a steel pipe, but Chen Chuan punched his head apart and tore the Double-Faced Heart Fiend from his body before crushing it.
• Chen Chuan told Wei Jun that he had come to find the Mutual Aid Society, and Wei Jun ordered the guards to open fire.
• The Tayana Battle Spider cut down guards who raised their guns, while Chen Chuan merged with the Second Self and charged through the gunfire.
• Chen Chuan leaped onto a passageway and cut down the security personnel firing there with the Snow Monarch Blade.

Chen Chuan cut through the Mutual Aid Society members and confronted the Combat Mantises they released to stop him. Wei Jun and the others escaped through a web-trapped passage while Chen Chuan destroyed both mantises, leaving their escape and pursuit unresolved.

• Chen Chuan blocked the Mutual Aid Society members fleeing through a side exit and killed them, while Wei Jun withdrew to a secure room with the survivors.
• Jiang Wei released a Combat Mantis from a case, and Chen Chuan killed the two black-robed men who attacked him.
• Chen Chuan sent the Combat Spider to web an exit and advanced toward Wei Jun’s hiding place, where two Combat Mantises attacked him.
• Wei Jun led the group toward another exit while Jiang Wei left High-Energy Nutrient Fluid behind as a possible lure.
• Jiang Wei probed a passage protected by invisible cuts and crawled through gaps near the ground, followed by the other escapees.
• Chen Chuan baited the two Combat Mantises into attacking and split both of them apart with a spinning slash.

Chen Chuan killed or outlasted the Mutual Aid Society members trapped inside the factory, while Wei Jun succumbed to the Double-Faced Heart Fiend’s effects. Outside, Fenxin Society members arrived to help, only to find the Patrol Bureau and Secret Sect Review Bureau closing in on the factory.

• Chen Chuan caught up with the fleeing Mutual Aid Society members after the spider silk lost its effect and killed several of them as they tried to escape.
• Wei Jun swallowed a transparent insect left by the Double-Faced Heart Fiend, while Jiang Wei was stabbed at the factory door and died after realizing Chen Chuan might have an Infinite Defense Certificate.
• Chen Chuan found Wei Jun trapped in a delusion, strangling a steel pillar as he screamed about Shen Zheng and Zhao Qian.
• Lu Fang, Shu Han, and other Fenxin Society members rushed toward the factory, hoping to prevent Chen Chuan from suffering the same fate as Shen Zheng.
• The Wei Family’s Butler blocked the Fenxin Society members from entering, but Deputy Director Guan Yuming arrived with Patrol Bureau officers, followed by Director Lei and the Secret Sect Review Bureau.

After the Patrol Bureau and Secret Sect Review Bureau entered the Wei Family factory, they found Chen Chuan alive amid the corpses of the Mutual Aid Society members and evidence of an Esoteric Sect Ritual. Guan Yuming took Chen Chuan to the Patrol Bureau for questioning, while the Fenxin Society learned that Wei Jun had died and worried about the forces behind the massacre.

• Director Lei and Guan Yuming confronted the Wei Family butler and ordered their teams to search the factory.
• Patrol officers found Chen Chuan standing among the dead, and investigators discovered firearms, Combat Creatures, and Esoteric Sect markings at the scene.
• Guan Yuming asked Chen Chuan to accompany the Patrol Bureau, and Chen Chuan agreed to explain what had happened.
• The Review Bureau seized Wei Jun's corpse despite the butler's protests, and Fenxin Society members recognized him and celebrated his death.
• Chen Chuan left with Guan Yuming, while the Fenxin Society members planned to seek help from their academy teachers and the butler sent word to the Wei Family master.

After the Old Factory District massacre, students and academy staff rallied to protect Chen Chuan, while the School Board demanded his expulsion. Cheng Zitong defied the board, and Luo Kaiyuan secretly beat Committee Member Jiang before returning to the dormitory.

• Mr. Chi pleaded with the departing fighter to stop, then called for a drink after the fighter left.
• News spread that Chen Chuan had killed thirty-seven Mutual Aid Society members and dozens of security personnel, prompting students and alumni to praise him and demand his release.
• Bian Feng and Yue Hong urged Gao Shi to protect Chen Chuan, and Gao Shi said Vice Principal Gu had reported the matter to the Handling Bureau.
• Committee Member Jiang delivered the School Board's demand to expel Chen Chuan, but Gao Shi rejected the demand and Cheng Zitong vowed that no one would expel his student.
• After Committee Member Jiang left the office building, someone punctured his tires and then beat him unconscious; Luo Kaiyuan later returned to the dormitory and claimed he had gone to the restroom.

Wei Hang plotted to have Chen Chuan killed and allied with Supervisor Luo’s company, while Chen Chuan’s supporters prepared for a Government Affairs Hall hearing the next day. The chapter ended with Nian Fuli deciding to send Qian'er a telegram as the powerful families’ conflict over Chen Chuan escalated.

• Butler An reported that Chen Chuan had ties to a young lady from the Meng Family, and Wei Hang decided Chen Chuan had to die to protect Yangzhi’s established order.
• A company representative secured Wei Hang’s promise to cooperate with Supervisor Luo’s demands, and Supervisor Luo discussed using the crisis to challenge Wuyi Academy and expand the company’s influence.
• Gao Ming told Chen Chuan that an internal Judgment Court hearing would discuss how to convict him, and said the contest between Yangzhi’s powers would begin and end with him.
• Guan Yuming assured Chen Chuan that the Patrol Bureau would support him at the hearing, while warning him to watch out for unseen enemies.
• Nian Fuli reassured Yu Wan about Chen Chuan, then privately worried over the deaths and decided to send Qian'er a telegram.

Chen Chuan admitted killing all thirty-seven students at Li'an Machinery Old Factory and claimed he had acted in self-defense. He revealed a genuine Grade B Infinite Defense Certificate, making conviction through the court unlikely, while Wei Hang rose to speak.

• Chen Chuan arrived at the Judgment Court as Wuyi Academy students and graduates gathered outside in support of him.
• The Judge opened the hearing, and the families of the dead students described their losses before Chen Chuan admitted killing all thirty-seven students.
• Chen Chuan said the students had tried to control him through an Esoteric Sect Ritual and then opened fire, and he insisted they deserved to die.
• Chen Chuan presented a Grade B Infinite Defense Certificate, which the Judge verified as genuine.
• Wei Hang realized the certificate made a public conviction nearly impossible, then stood to address the court.

Wei Hang and Zhan Yi used the aftermath of Chen Chuan’s killings to rally influential families against him and expand Mo Lan Company’s security influence in Yangzhi. Yi Bo arrived intending to protect Chen Chuan, but Supervisor Luo persuaded him to leave, and Yi Bo waited outside to learn the outcome.

• Wei Hang urged the people at the Judgment Court to petition for Chen Chuan’s expulsion from Wu Yi Academy and removal from Yangzhi City, portraying him as a danger to the public.
• Zhan Yi introduced himself as Supervisor Luo’s representative from Mo Lan Company and offered company security to those present while declaring that Mo Lan would bar Chen Chuan from future employment.
• Wei Hang and Zhan Yi planned to use social and corporate pressure against Chen Chuan, while Handling Bureau officials recognized Mo Lan’s effort to displace Wu Yi Academy from the security sector.
• Yi Bo arrived at the Judgment Court hoping to use the Meng Family’s influence to protect Chen Chuan or take him to Central City.
• Supervisor Luo met Yi Bo outside and asked him to stay out of Chen Chuan’s case, so Yi Bo returned to his car and decided to wait for the final outcome.

At the Judgment Court, Wu Yi Academy’s board moved to revoke Chen Chuan’s student status while Mo Lan Company threatened to shut him out of all companies. Chen Chuan revealed an Origin Company recommendation card, forcing Mo Lan to reverse course and withdraw its support from the gathered families, while Old Mr. Wei collapsed.

• Eleven of the fifteen Wu Yi Academy board members present supported revoking Chen Chuan’s student status, and the board announced that he would have to suspend his studies pending the principal’s decision.
• Chen Chuan asked Zhan Yi whether Mo Lan Company would truly bar him from companies, then showed the court a black card.
• Zhan Yi recognized the card as an Origin Company recommendation card and hurried outside to consult Supervisor Luo, who ordered him to apologize and withdraw all of Mo Lan’s security promises.
• Zhan Yi returned, apologized to Chen Chuan, withdrew Mo Lan’s restrictions, and announced that the company would no longer provide security to anyone present.
• Old Mr. Wei clutched his chest and fell from his seat as the court erupted into chaos, while Zhan Yi asked Chen Chuan if he was satisfied.

Chen Chuan used an Origin Company Recommendation Card to expose Mo Lan Company's weakness and accelerate the authorities' planned crackdown. After the Judgment Court cleared him, he agreed to join the operation against Mo Lan Company as arrests began across Yangzhi City.

• Zhan Yi withdrew Mo Lan Company's support and left the Judgment Court after Chen Chuan produced the black card.
• Supervisor Luo learned the card had been canceled after its holder was declared dead and rushed back to Mo Lan Company.
• Commissioner Cao ordered immediate arrests after Canghong Sky Canal and Yuan An Company reported that they had noticed the same developments.
• Cheng Shang ordered the School Board of Directors members detained and invited Chen Chuan to join the operation against Mo Lan Company, which Chen Chuan accepted.
• The Judge ruled that Chen Chuan's actions during the Old Factory Incident were legitimate self-defense, and Chen Chuan left the court with Gao Ming.
• Guan Yuming reported that the arrests were underway and realized Chen Chuan had used the invalid card to force the operation against Mo Lan Company forward.

After leaving the Judgment Institute, Chen Chuan returned to Aunt's home and was summoned by Commissioner Cao, who issued him a National Conscription to help eliminate Mo Lan Gaoling Company. Chen Chuan accepted and learned that the company had seized control of Yangzhi's waterways, threatening millions of lives.

• Chen Chuan saluted the Wuyi Academy students, who cheered him as he left, while Lu Fang handed Fenxin Society over to its members and Deng Fu urged his friends to take the Infinite Defense Certificate exam.
• Chen Chuan returned to Aunt's home, reassured Yu Wan, and heard a radio report about the Judgment Court case and the Patrol Bureau's investigation.
• Commissioner Cao summoned Chen Chuan and issued a National Conscription, which Chen Chuan accepted as a national law enforcer.
• Commissioner Cao explained that Mo Lan Gaoling Company had moved key research equipment to its branch and gained control of waterways to support its Implant Body research and threaten Yangzhi's water supply.
• Chen Chuan accepted a briefcase of information about Mo Lan Company's armed forces and rejected the idea of using his recommendation card to join a company.
• After Chen Chuan left, Commissioner Cao told his assistant that Chen Chuan's actions mattered more than his private thoughts and ordered the group back to the Government Affairs Hall.

Supervisor Luo and the Mo Lan Company directors assessed the impending threat to their Yangzhi City branch and approved an emergency plan to preserve the company’s research. Back at the Nian Residence, Chen Chuan studied intelligence on the company’s forces and key personnel while awaiting orders.

• Supervisor Luo warned the Mo Lan Company directors that Zhan Yi’s actions had exposed the company’s weakness and estimated that its defenses could hold for about a month without military intervention.
• Supervisor Luo advised against revealing the company’s Combat Weapons and said the Esoteric Sect Bureau had disrupted its local arrangements, while the directors considered using resistance groups and negotiating with the Canghong Sky Canal.
• The directors concluded that the Yangzhi City Branch Office might not be salvageable and agreed to activate emergency contingency plan three to protect the company’s achievements.
• Chen Chuan reviewed materials on the Mo Lan Company’s history, research, Blood Ink Guard, and more than five hundred ordered Combat Mantises.
• Chen Chuan studied profiles of Luo Qi, Han Jian, Cui Hong, and the company’s directors as he prepared for a likely group operation.

Chen Chuan joined Special Commissioner Feng’s operation to intercept an An Tan Company shipment bound for Mo Lan Company. He assembled a trusted team of students and fighters, and the group received intelligence and an operation plan before heading into the wilderness.

• Chen Chuan stayed home amid Yangzhi City’s tense situation, exercised, and checked that Ding Jiao was safe.
• Special Commissioner Feng told Chen Chuan that An Tan Company was smuggling Combat Mantises and High-Energy Nutrient Solution to Mo Lan Company, and asked him to recruit trusted people for an interception.
• Chen Chuan called Ren Xiaotian, Wei Changan, Luo Kaiyuan, Feng Xiaoqi, Wu Han, Wei Dong, and others, who agreed to join the operation.
• Chen Chuan assembled the team in one afternoon, and Special Commissioner Feng distributed the operation plan and intelligence on An Tan Company’s shipment team.
• Special Commissioner Feng explained that An Tan Company had sold them the intelligence, though it might be outdated or inaccurate.

Chen Chuan joined Lao Feng’s team for a national mission to intercept An Tan Company’s Combat Weapon shipment and weaken Mo Lan Company. As both sides tracked the shipment using An Tan’s intelligence, multiple convoys converged in the wasteland, and Lao Feng kept waiting for more forces to arrive.

• Lao Feng briefed Chen Chuan and the assembled General Affairs Bureau teams, issued protective equipment and medicine, and led them into the wasteland at night.
• Lao Feng told Chen Chuan that the mission could help him earn merit for admission to Wuyi Academy Head Institute and that Mo Lan Company’s Blood Ink Guard was not expected to appear.
• Lao Feng’s convoy left a scout team at An Tan Company’s camp and used radio intelligence to locate the shipment’s transport route.
• Mo Lan Company’s reception team met the transport convoy, took one vehicle, and began to separate from it as another convoy charged toward them.
• Lao Feng’s team watched as yet another convoy arrived, realizing that An Tan Company had sold the same intelligence to several buyers.

Mr. Zero and Xiao Xiao waited for the fighting between Mo Lan Company and its attackers to weaken before moving in, but Chen Chuan intervened and wiped out the combatants and Combat Mantises. An Tan Company’s drug-enhanced fighter confronted Chen Chuan and was killed, leaving the battle site under the victors’ control.

• Mr. Zero ordered Xiao Xiao and his Implant Body team to wait until Mo Lan Company and its attackers had weakened each other before seizing the shipment.
• The attackers used Venom Dragonflies against Mo Lan Company, whose team released Combat Mantises that charged into the enemy ranks.
• Lao Feng asked Chen Chuan to join the battle, and Chen Chuan killed the fighters around him and sliced apart both Combat Mantises.
• An Tan Company’s observers retreated, while Mr. Zero and Xiao Xiao watched Chen Chuan’s display from the high ground.
• An Tan Company’s burly fighter injected Violent Rage and attacked Chen Chuan, who blocked his knives and beheaded him with the Snow Monarch Blade.

Chen Chuan helped Lao Feng’s team intercept Mo Lan Company’s cargo and defeat the armed force guarding it. Back in Yangzhi City, Commissioner Cao assigned Chen Chuan to join an assault on Mo Lan Building within three days as the Bureau prepared to force Mo Lan Company out.

• Chen Chuan killed the burly fighter and found a high-end protective suit beneath his coat, while Lao Feng ordered a telegram sent to authorize an attack on the camp.
• Lao Feng’s forces secured a truckload of High-Energy Nutrient Solution and ten crates of Combat Mantises, then eliminated the unknown armed team and captured five people, including Mr. Zero and Xiao Xiao.
• Mr. Zero identified his group as belonging to Ferris Wheel Company, and Lao Feng ordered the prisoners taken for questioning and the company placed under closer watch.
• At the temporary station in Yangzhi City, a National Temporary Special Operations Committee supervisor urged an attack on Mo Lan Building, while Commissioner Cao insisted Mo Lan Company would be drawn out within ten days.
• Commissioner Cao told Chen Chuan to join the assault on Mo Lan Building within three days and said the state would provide supplies for the mission.
• After Chen Chuan left, Lao Feng warned that letting Mo Lan Company leave could make recovering the goods harder, but Commissioner Cao said they would not escape.

Chen Chuan refined the Heavy Slash Knife Force by connecting his Mutated Tissue with the Snow Monarch Blade, preparing to attack Mo Lan Company. After learning that government troops were approaching, Mo Lan Company activated its evacuation plan, and Commissioner Cao predicted where its main forces would flee.

• Chen Chuan spent half a day adjusting the Heavy Slash Knife Force and discovered that warming up the Snow Monarch Blade let him connect its Mutated Tissue to his own for smoother attacks.
• Supervisor Luo reported that Mo Lan Company had lost elite fighters and exposed an emergency route after its directors insisted on recovering intercepted High-Energy Nutrient Solution.
• Mo Lan Company’s directors learned that two warships, including a troop transport, had arrived at Yuanwang Port and agreed to activate Plan B3 and evacuate.
• Mo Lan Company sent a convoy toward National Avenue in East City and notified Fatty Guo to receive it.
• Commissioner Cao summoned representatives from the city’s agencies and government, concluded the convoy was a decoy, and pointed out where Mo Lan Company’s main forces would likely flee.

Commissioner Cao uncovered Mo Lan Company's escape route through the underground waterways toward Zhang Mountain and mobilized forces to intercept them. As the directors sent Combat Mantises against the Iron Chain Gang and Supervisor Luo prepared to flee with company materials, Commissioner Cao ordered Chen Chuan to kill Luo Qi at a wharf in Wu Family Town and recover what he carried.

• Commissioner Cao announced that the operation against Mo Lan Company would take place outside Yangzhi City and arranged an interception near Zhang Mountain.
• A surveillance post spotted Mo Lan Company personnel near the lower Black River, and Commissioner Cao said they were using underground waterways to reach Zhang Mountain, where the Iron Chain Gang would try to block them.
• The five directors emerged from the river with more than two hundred Mo Lan Guard members, then ordered planted agents and the Blood Ink Guard to eliminate the Iron Chain Gang within an hour using 250 Combat Mantises.
• Supervisor Luo injected the Clarity Release Drug, then arranged to escape through the underground waterways with company materials and Gold Notes, meeting his contact at the Old Factory No. 2 Cargo Wharf in Wu Family Town.
• Commissioner Cao summoned Chen Chuan and ordered him to find and kill Luo Qi at the Wu Family Town wharf and bring back everything he was carrying.