Chapter Summaries

Junior Master Luo investigated the forces behind the turmoil in the Federation and suspected MacArthur, while Eisenhower planned to seek information from the Tiger of the Far East during a Punishment mission. As Xu Yue prepared for his own Punishment mission, he asked for a list of his allies who might join him.

• Junior Master Luo traced suspicious behavior among powerful Federation interest groups and concluded that an unseen mastermind might be preparing a civil war.
• Junior Master Luo suspected his rival in Europe was behind the infiltration and resolved that he had to win the election.
• Eisenhower told Junior Master Luo that MacArthur might have arranged his unexplained death and proposed questioning the Tiger of the Far East.
• Junior Master Luo advised Eisenhower to avoid drawing attention, and Eisenhower planned to approach the Tiger during a future Punishment mission.
• Xu Yue asked for a list of his people entering the current Punishment missions so he could find potential partners.

Xu Yue entered a reset, fused Punishment mission world and recognized it as the Holy Grail War setting, where his first task was to find and join the main storyline. He found himself in an ordinary body with forty-nine sealed Mage Circuits and a hidden circuit connected to the Root, and began considering how to rebuild his strength.

• Xu Yue received notice that the original Mission Space had collapsed, fused with other worlds, and imposed increased costs on using his power.
• Xu Yue recognized the world as the Holy Grail War setting and inferred that Mission 1 required him to reach Fuyuki City and join the Fifth Holy Grail War.
• Xu Yue examined his new identity as an ordinary mortal with magecraft talent and forty-nine untrained Mage Circuits.
• Xu Yue sensed that he also possessed a hidden Mage Circuit connected to the Root, though it remained sealed along with the others.
• Xu Yue decided that his weakened state was acceptable because he could train again and use his prior knowledge to build a Magic Crest.

Xu Yue arrived in 1995 Port City as a penniless undocumented immigrant and used his knowledge of ingredients to earn money selling barbecue. After fleeing gangsters, he realized Port City was part of a Hong Kong cinematic universe and planned to awaken his dormant Mage Circuits before heading to Fuyuki.

• Xu Yue assessed his ordinary body and learned he had become an illegal immigrant who had swum to Port City.
• Xu Yue gathered shellfish and crabs, then earned his first 120 Hong Kong dollars selling barbecue to a delighted customer.
• Xu Yue bought basic seasonings and made more than 1,400 Hong Kong dollars in one night by selling food from a makeshift stall.
• Xu Yue fled after gangsters began surrounding his stall, deciding his money was enough to leave the area.
• Xu Yue read newspapers mentioning God of Cookery and Chan Ka Kui, recognized a Hong Kong cinematic universe, and considered how to activate his dormant Mage Circuits.

Xu Yue assessed Port City’s spiritual landscape and chose a cheap, haunted apartment near a ley line to use as a base for training his Magecraft. He moved into Room 2442 despite learning that a murder had occurred there.

• Xu Yue explored Port City, sensed weak ley lines and resentful spirits, and concluded that ghosts could help him awaken his Mage Circuits.
• Xu Yue decided to find a stable home and job that would support his Magecraft Training before the Fifth Grail War began.
• Xu Yue found a cheap apartment near an inferior ley line and recognized that it was haunted.
• Uncle Yan checked Xu Yue’s payment, introduced himself as the building’s security guard and manager, and showed him to Room 2442.
• Xu Yue noticed Uncle Yan’s unease and learned that the room had stayed vacant since a murder, but said he was satisfied with it.

Xu Yue moved into an apartment haunted by two fierce Earthbound Spirits and deliberately weakened himself to draw them out, hoping to use them to open his first Mage Circuit. The spirits approached him as A You realized something had gone wrong and tried to break into the room.

• Uncle Yan gave Xu Yue spiritual incense, then left incense outside the apartment before hurrying away.
• Xu Yue assessed the two Earthbound Spirits and decided to use their resentment and spiritual power to force open a Mage Circuit.
• Xu Yue ground the incense into powder, drew a pattern with it, and sat on the bed holding his breath until oxygen deprivation weakened him.
• The room grew unnaturally cold, and two humanoid spirits approached Xu Yue through the floating curtains.
• A You saw the incense outside snap, sensed the chilling aura, and rammed the door in an attempt to reach Xu Yue.

Xu Yue used the two possessing ghosts to cultivate, cleansing their resentment and Yin Energy while A You struggled to hold one off. After subduing the first ghost, Xu Yue turned to confront the second.

• A You broke into Xu Yue’s room and found him bleeding from all seven orifices while resisting possession.
• Xu Yue had A You split a talisman and use half its power to drive one ghost out, then sent him to hold her off for five minutes.
• A You fought the enraged female ghost while Xu Yue refined her resentment and Yin Energy into magical energy.
• Xu Yue spat out the cleansed ghost as a Benevolent Spirit, then used a hand-drawn talisman to provoke the female ghost into attacking him.
• Xu Yue repeated the process with the second ghost while A You and the Benevolent Spirit watched.

Xu Yue explained his limited spiritual power while preparing crude Ragdolls for the two purified ghosts, and considered A You’s inherited Artifact Compass. As Xu Yue and A You left to get food, Xu Yue recognized A Jiu’s terminal condition and offered to help him.

• A You questioned Xu Yue about his spiritual power and methods, and Xu Yue admitted he had little power after refining the two spirits.
• Xu Yue reflected that the apartment building belonged to the story of "Zombies" and that his arrival and the ghosts’ purification might prevent its events from unfolding.
• Xu Yue made two Ragdolls from household materials, and the purified ghosts possessed them before he ordered them to clean the room.
• A You invited Xu Yue to eat at his home, and they encountered A Jiu in the corridor.
• A Jiu declined the invitation, but Xu Yue stopped him and offered medical help after recognizing that he was terminally ill.

Xu Yue saved A Jiu from his severe illness, gaining his loyalty and learning about how Port City handled ghost-related incidents. A Jiu explained the roles of the police, independent masters, and wealthy clients, while the story left Xu Yue with two new helpers and a clearer view of the city’s paranormal world.

• Xu Yue’s treatment made A Jiu spit out black blood and breathe more easily, though he still needed several more courses.
• A Jiu bowed to Xu Yue and pledged his life to him, while Xu Yue dismissed the vow and decided A Jiu could handle useful errands.
• A You praised Xu Yue’s skills, and Xu Yue pointed out that A You could also afford a better life if he wanted one.
• Over dinner, Xu Yue asked A You and A Jiu what they knew about Port City’s cultivators and paranormal affairs.
• A Jiu explained that the police’s Miscellany Departments documented and soothed spirits but relied on killing possessed hosts to weaken Fierce Spirits.
• A Jiu said capable masters protected wealthy clients, while ordinary residents mostly avoided haunted places and rarely encountered ghosts.

Xu Yue borrowed A You’s inherited magical artifacts and used an Artifact Compass to inscribe a spatial-affinity Magic Crest. He then went looking for work, but left the job hunt behind when he spotted traffic cops Chan Ka Kui and Chow Sing Sing, whom he planned to use to begin farming missions.

• Xu Yue asked A You to lend him his family’s magical artifacts, and A You agreed to let him take what he wanted as a gift.
• Xu Yue successfully inscribed a Magic Crest with spatial affinity after several days of work.
• After deciding to look for a job to farm missions, Xu Yue headed out with a newspaper’s job listings.
• Xu Yue spotted Chan Ka Kui directing traffic after his reassignment and recognized Chow Sing Sing working at the other side of the intersection.
• Xu Yue decided the two traffic cops could provide a useful opening for his plans.

Xu Yue encountered Brave Detectives Chan Ka Kui and Chow Sing Sing, whose rivalry over their girlfriends turned into a comic clash when Ami became captivated by Xu Yue’s looks. Seeking work, Xu Yue received an address for a security guard job and left with a lead on his next move.

• Chow Sing Sing mocked Chan Ka Kui for working traffic duty, and the two prepared to fight over their exchange of insults.
• Ami accidentally smeared Ice Cream on Chan Ka Kui’s face while staring at the handsome Xu Yue, prompting Chow Sing Sing to laugh at them.
• Xu Yue asked the detectives to help him find respectable work and claimed he had quit his last job after his boss harassed him.
• Chan Ka Kui recommended a security guard opening at an apartment building, and Chow Sing Sing wrote down its address for Xu Yue.
• Xu Yue warned Chow Sing Sing that his sharp tongue could cost him his girlfriend, and Chow Sing Sing hurriedly rode away after handing over the address.

Xu Yue took a low-paid security job at an apartment building, where he recognized the setting of Haunted Night and learned that Old Mrs. Li had already died. Since he could not prevent the tragedy at its source, he planned to wait for the Li couple to become ghosts and deal with them, while postponing his help for Chan Ka Kui.

• Chan Ka Kui fled with Ami, and Xu Yue used tracking spells on the people involved in Zhu Tao’s affairs.
• Xu Yue followed a security job notice to a nearby apartment building and accepted a security guard position for three thousand a month.
• Xu Yue met Captain Lu and two newly hired Fujian guards, then realized the apartment building was the setting of Haunted Night.
• Captain Lu said Old Mrs. Li had fallen to her death the previous day, and Xu Yue decided to wait for Mr. and Mrs. Li to return as ghosts before dealing with them.
• Xu Yue chose to delay helping Chan Ka Kui, reasoning that he could clear his name after he was framed.

During a night patrol, Xu Yue sensed that Old Mrs. Li’s resentment was spreading through the apartment building and frightened Captain Lu into calling the police. Officer Huang Yaozu arrived and recognized that the supernatural activity was unusually strong for the first day after her death.

• Captain Lu showed Xu Yue and the Hu Jian brothers around the apartment building and warned them about its troublesome residents.
• Xu Yue sensed Old Mrs. Li’s resentment growing through the building’s ley line and considered how it could eventually become dangerous.
• Xu Yue suggested that Captain Lu close his eyes and call Old Mrs. Li’s name, then told him the Hu Jian brothers had seen an old lady’s ghost; Captain Lu dropped his flashlight.
• Captain Lu’s report brought Officer Huang Yaozu of the Miscellaneous Affairs Department to the building.
• Huang Yaozu sensed that the building’s supernatural disturbance was already severe, despite Old Mrs. Li having died only the previous day.

Huang Yaozu investigated the ghost sighting at the apartment building, concluded that Old Mrs. Li had been murdered, and suspected her daughter-in-law. Mrs. Li realized Captain Lu had involved the police and withdrew into the building, leaving Xu Yue to wonder whether Leon or Huang Yaozu would deal with the ghost first.

• Huang Yaozu explained away the sighting as a shadow and questioned Captain Lu and the security guards to learn who had seen it.
• Xu Yue admitted that he had seen the ghostly shadow, and Huang Yaozu questioned him about Old Mrs. Li’s death.
• Huang Yaozu concluded that Old Mrs. Li had been murdered and planned to wait for her Earthbound Spirit to awaken before acting against the suspected killers.
• Mrs. Li overheard that Captain Lu had called the police, grew fearful and hostile, then retreated into the apartment building.
• Huang Yaozu gave Captain Lu his number and left, while Xu Yue watched Mrs. Li disappear and wondered whether Leon or Huang Yaozu would resolve the case first.

Xu Yue returned to the apartment on Old Mrs. Li’s seventh night as Mr. and Mrs. Li reported that Xiao Long had gone missing, while Officer Huang Yaozu realized the newly formed Earthbound Spirit might already have possessed him. The chapter left Old Mrs. Li’s return imminent, with Xu Yue knowing Xiao Long’s soul was protected by his sticker.

• Xu Yue checked in and found Captain Lu injured again after several days of near-fatal encounters with Mr. and Mrs. Li.
• Captain Lu noticed Iron Guts’s despair over his wife and stopped him from trying to kill himself, while Lee and Big Twin discussed driving away the three mainlanders so they could steal from the owners.
• Mr. and Mrs. Li told Captain Lu that Xiao Long had gone missing on Old Mrs. Li’s seventh night.
• Captain Lu dismissed the possibility of ghosts, but Officer Huang Yaozu arrived and grew solemn as he considered whether the Earthbound Spirit had possessed Xiao Long.
• Xu Yue knew Old Mrs. Li had returned and that his sticker would protect Xiao Long’s soul after possession.

Huang Yaozu recruited Xu Yue to help search for the missing Xiao Long, warning him about ghosts that possessed people and giving him a revolver. Xu Yue found that Old Mrs. Li had possessed Xiao Long, and the possessed child stepped out to meet his mother.

• Huang Yaozu told Xu Yue that a ghost might have possessed the missing child and promised to resolve his identity issue if he helped.
• Huang Yaozu gave Xu Yue a police revolver and split the search party into two teams.
• Xu Yue led the Hu Jian brothers and Mr. and Mrs. Li back to the Li home, where Mr. Li noticed the offering's chicken leg was gone.
• Xu Yue saw Old Mrs. Li possessing Xiao Long and judged that shooting the possessed child would destroy the ghost as well.
• Xiao Long stepped out of the shadows and said, "Mommy, I'm here."

Mr. Li found Longzai, but the boy disappeared again after returning home, prompting Huang Yaozu to race back and confront a ghostly threat. Huang Yaozu and Leon tried to save Longzai and stop the spirit, but a gunshot killed Mrs. Li as the possessed child attacked her.

• Mr. Li thanked Xu Yue and the Hu Jian brothers, then learned from Mrs. Li that Longzai had disappeared again.
• Huang Yaozu heard Xu Yue's report, realized Longzai was possessed, and ordered Captain Lu and the others to return immediately.
• On the way upstairs, Huang Yaozu encountered Leon, who warned him that the ghost was inside the apartment and Longzai was waiting outside.
• Leon stopped Huang Yaozu from shooting Longzai and insisted that the boy's soul could still be saved.
• Old Mrs. Li's ghost returned to Longzai, who raised his knife to stab Mrs. Li as she opened the door.
• A gunshot pierced Mrs. Li's temple, and she collapsed while Longzai, Leon, and Huang Yaozu fell silent.

Xu Yue killed Mr. and Mrs. Li during the exorcism, and Leon explained that their deaths ended the old woman’s resentment. Huang Yaozu covered up the incident and promised to arrange identities for Xu Yue and the Hu Jian brothers, while Leon was taken back to a psychiatric hospital.

• Xu Yue shot Mrs. Li and then killed Mr. Li, claiming they were possessed after Mr. Li threatened to expose the truth.
• Leon said the old woman’s resentment had faded after the Li couple, who had killed her, were brought to justice.
• Huang Yaozu buried the incident by reporting the Li couple’s deaths as an attempted silencing and ordering the witnesses to keep quiet.
• Xu Yue reminded Huang Yaozu of his promise to arrange identities, and Huang agreed to help him and the Hu Jian brothers.
• Leon suggested that more ghosts might form at the site, but orderlies arrived and took him back to a psychiatric hospital.

After dealing with the haunting at Temo's building, Xu Yue secured two days off and followed the news about Chan Ka Kui, who had been framed for Inspector Man's murder. Chan Ka Kui escaped from police custody after the station refused to help him, leaving Xu Yue watching from across the street.

• Captain Lu learned ghosts were real, scolded Lee for trying to steal from residents, and kept the Hu Jian brothers on the job despite their fear of Xu Yue.
• Xu Yue persuaded the Hu Jian brothers to demonstrate their basic Cantonese patrol phrases, then got leave approved by Captain Lu.
• Chan Ka Kui woke to reports accusing him of killing Inspector Man and learned that he had become the prime suspect in a first-degree murder case.
• Chan Ka Kui asked Director Li and Uncle Piao for help, but the police had no evidence to clear him and his superiors could do little.
• Chan Ka Kui kidnapped and threatened Director Li before escaping the district police station, while Xu Yue watched from across the street.

After Chan Ka Kui escaped with Director Li, Xu Yue joined him and proposed finding Shalina to secure evidence against Zhu Tao. They watched Zhu Tao’s office from a mall, but his armed men arrived to capture Shalina, leaving Xu Yue to suspect Zhu Tao was also preparing to confront rivals.

• Chan Ka Kui released Director Li, then discovered Xu Yue hiding in the car and accepted his offer to help catch Zhu Tao.
• Xu Yue advised Chan Ka Kui to find Shalina, who could testify against Zhu Tao, and suggested watching Zhu Tao’s office for her.
• Chan Ka Kui and Xu Yue kept watch from a pedestrian bridge outside the mall, expecting Shalina to seek Zhu Tao’s transaction records.
• Zhu Tao’s armed men arrived at the mall after Shalina triggered an alarm while copying computer files.
• Xu Yue suspected Zhu Tao had brought the unusually large, armed group to confront business rivals rather than the police.

After Zhu Tao sent dozens of armed men into the mall to kill Selina and Chan Ka Kui, Chan Ka Kui fled until Xu Yue pulled him into a changing room. Xu Yue armed himself and Chan Ka Kui, then led the way back into the mall to reach Selina and clear Chan Ka Kui’s name.

• Zhu Tao ordered his gunmen to kill Chan Ka Kui and Selina and leave two men behind to blame the shooting on a gang dispute.
• Chan Ka Kui evaded Zhu Tao’s gunmen through the mall but was driven into a corner.
• Xu Yue pulled Chan Ka Kui into a changing room and took his nearly empty gun.
• Xu Yue shot three gunmen as they searched nearby, took their weapons, and gave Chan Ka Kui a gun.
• Xu Yue urged Chan Ka Kui to find Selina before Zhu Tao’s men could silence her.