Chapter Summaries

Zheng Zhi fell into a strange overlapping spacetime where he overheard a group discussing an unstable Gate and encountered the Holy Ascetic Society’s Artificial Saintess. After her illusory attack, he returned safely to his own street, carrying new clues about the Gate and the missing knights.

• Zheng Zhi activated his emergency gear and cautiously investigated a deserted, mist-covered street that seemed different from Mist City.
• He saw robed figures pass through a building and overheard them discussing an unstable Gate, growing bubble phenomena, Black Dot Laboratory, and knights lost near The Crossroads.
• Zheng Zhi spotted the Artificial Saintess and realized she had detected him across the spacetime divide.
• The Artificial Saintess attacked, but her blades passed through Zheng Zhi as illusions while voices called her back to duty.
• Zheng Zhi felt the street return to normal and found himself back in his own world.

Luo restored Black Stone Station’s systems and searched its records, uncovering suspicious shipments of high-energy minerals to the Darkflow Star Domain. Suspecting someone had been stealing through her logistics network, she prepared to return to her hideout and investigate.

• Luo worked in Black Stone Station’s central database while Yu Sheng repaired the station and teased her through its walls and systems.
• Luo searched the station’s recovered data and found several years of unexplained high-energy mineral shipments to the Darkflow Star Domain.
• Luo discovered anonymous communications linked to the shipments and admitted that her obsession with the Zolda Black Stone might have left her control of the network vulnerable.
• Luo decided to return to her hideout to investigate, and Yu Sheng approved her plan.
• Yu Sheng told Luo to ask Mo Ran for his blood grenades before leaving, and Luo eagerly agreed.

After Luo reviewed the Black Dot Group’s records, she spoke with Yu Sheng about the cost of her extensive modifications and her doubts about whether she was still herself. Later, Yu Sheng rescued Zheng Zhi from a strange incident involving the Hermetic Society and an Artificial Saintess, and connected their mention of the Black Dot Laboratory to Luo’s investigation.

• Luo found no new leads in the suspicious logistics and communication records, then told Yu Sheng that Black Dot Group members modified themselves for profit and that she sometimes doubted whether she remained human.
• Yu Sheng walked with Huli, who dug up animals while searching for food, then took her to buy a roasted sweet potato.
• Zheng Zhi called Yu Sheng and reported seeing the Hermetic Society and an Artificial Saintess near Heyuan Commercial Building after a strange disruption.
• Yu Sheng used Zheng Zhi’s Teleportation Rune Card to reach him and heard his account of the incident, including the Artificial Saintess attacking after sensing him across spacetime.
• Yu Sheng learned that the strange voices had mentioned the Black Dot Laboratory and linked the incident to the laboratory recently destroyed by the Boundary Bridge and to Luo’s missing-item clues.

Yu Sheng investigated Zheng Zhi’s report of phantom figures and learned that the Hermetic Society might be involved in the World Bridge incident. Back at No. 66 Wutong Road, the first heavy snow of the year began, and Yu Sheng’s household and Zheng Zhi prepared to share hot pot.

• Yu Sheng examined the street where Zheng Zhi had encountered an anomaly, but Huli sensed nothing unusual there.
• Yu Sheng told Baili Qing about Zheng Zhi’s encounter and Black Stone Station, then discussed the Hermetic Society’s interest in the World Bridge with Luo.
• Yu Sheng and Luna took the five Eileens down from the drying rod after Luna had hung them up over the Ominous Wandering Star incident.
• Snow began falling over Boundary City, and Huli and the Eileens rushed outside to enjoy it.
• Zheng Zhi invited Yu Sheng to eat hot pot, and Yu Sheng and Luna offered to bring meat and vegetables while Yu Sheng warned Eileen not to put the Ominous Wandering Star in the pot.

Yu Sheng and the others shared a snowy hot-pot meal before Baili Qing learned that Zheng Zhi’s phone had recorded signs of spacetime overlapping from a distant location. The evidence pointed to a dangerous operation by the Holy Ascetic Society, while distortions were appearing at several sites across the Crossroads.

• Yu Sheng, Huli, Eileen, Luna, Li Lin, and Zheng Zhi ate hot pot at the disguised Special Operations Bureau outpost as heavy snow fell.
• Huli turned the remaining hot pot into fox stew and carried it home while Yu Sheng and the others walked through the snow toward No. 66 Wutong Road.
• Bai Xue told Baili Qing that four of five inspected sites showed new spacetime distortions, though Yu Sheng’s marks and patrolling cats protected Dark Alley.
• The Technology Department administrator reported that Zheng Zhi’s phone had recorded weak signals resembling those from the World Bridge rift.
• Baili Qing concluded that the signals likely came from a Holy Ascetic Society lair where spacetime was overlapping with the Crossroads, and ordered the remaining data analysis expedited.

Yu Sheng received a heartfelt but outrageous handmade gift from Hu Li before Baili Qing summoned him to the Special Operations Bureau with findings about Zheng Zhi. The Bureau’s evidence suggested that the Holy Ascetic Society had been building another Realm Bridge for years.

• Yu Sheng woke to find Eileen and the children playing in the snow outside while Little Red Riding Hood watched over them.
• Hu Li gave Yu Sheng a scarf knitted from her own fur, then revealed that Eileen had suggested she make him woolen underwear.
• Baili Qing called Yu Sheng to the Special Operations Bureau to discuss data recovered from Zheng Zhi.
• Baili Qing reported that Zheng Zhi’s visions came from a Holy Ascetic Society lair in a gravitational blind spot, though the exact location remained unclear.
• Baili Qing told Yu Sheng that environmental data from Zheng Zhi’s phone matched parameters recorded when the Realm Bridge opened a spacetime rift.
• Baili Qing said the evidence suggested the Holy Ascetic Society had been pursuing another Realm Bridge, possibly knowing about its Dark Angel nature for years.

Yu Sheng and Baili Qing traced the Holy Ascetic Society’s World Bridge project and identified the Darkflow Starfield and Great Triangle Nebula as the likely hiding place of its headquarters. The search now depended on Luo, who knew the lawless region and might help the Bureau establish a foothold there.

• Yu Sheng questioned how the Holy Ascetic Society had learned the secrets of the World Bridge, and Baili Qing reminded him of his own Star Proliferation Body and Dark Angel crossbreeding.
• Baili Qing said the council had made striking at the Holy Ascetic Society its top priority once they located its nest.
• Baili Qing showed Yu Sheng a star map and explained that the Holy Ascetic Society was believed to be hidden within the vast, dangerous Darkflow Starfield and Great Triangle Nebula.
• Yu Sheng asked how the cultists survived in the hostile region, and Baili Qing compared it to the Crossroads’ ability to endure its own dangers.
• Baili Qing said Luo’s experience and connections in the Darkflow Starfield might help them obtain an authorization code and establish an infiltration foothold.

Yu Sheng and Baili Qing planned to lure the Hermetic Society into the open with forged Angel Catalysts made using Luo’s Zolda Black Stone research. After Yu Sheng left, Baili Qing ordered surveillance of neighborhoods vulnerable to invasion and succumbed to her winter sleepiness.

• Baili Qing agreed to give Yu Sheng Zheng Zhi’s raw data and analysis so Luo could study it.
• Baili Qing proposed spreading false information about World Bridge wreckage and using fake Angel Catalysts to bait the Hermetic Society.
• Yu Sheng and Baili Qing decided to use Luo’s Zolda Black Stone data to help the Special Operations Bureau laboratory produce convincing fakes.
• Yu Sheng asked Baili Qing to alert him to Hermetic Society knights or Artificial Saintesses in Boundary City and to capture them alive if safe.
• Baili Qing’s winter sleepiness became apparent, and Yu Sheng left after teasing her about hibernating.
• Baili Qing told her illusory little sister to watch for spatial rifts from the World Bridge incident that could become invasion points.

Luo set out for the unlawful star sector with weapons and supplies from the Demon Suppressing Tower Trio, while Yu Sheng arranged a mineral shipment and coordinated misleading news with Mo Ran. After discussing Luo’s abilities with Eileen, Yu Sheng headed to the Grand Cathedral to alter the bait intended for the Holy Ascetic Society.

• Luo received blood grenades, pure blood, and escape talismans from Bone Gnawing Immortal, Elder Ku Ting, and Blood Young Master, who urged her to prioritize her safety.
• Luo departed for the unlawful star sector, moved by the support of her new colleagues and promising to return with good news.
• Yu Sheng instructed Mo Ran to prepare special minerals for the Crossroads and spread news about communication restrictions and travel limits around Boundary City.
• Eileen questioned whether Luo could handle her mission, and Yu Sheng explained how effectively Luo had managed Black Stone Station and its teams.
• Yu Sheng told Eileen he was going to the Grand Cathedral to inspect the tree and add something to the Angel Catalyst bait for the Holy Ascetic Society.

Yu Sheng studied the growing World Bridge rifts in the Crystal Tree and pulled out an unstable shadow to strengthen Baili Qing’s counterfeit Angel Catalysts. Meanwhile, Luo arrived secretly in the Darkstream Starfield with a small team to extend Yu Sheng’s influence there.

• Luna showed Yu Sheng how the Crystal Tree’s canopy and World Bridge rifts had grown and stabilized.
• Yu Sheng synchronized with the Crystal Tree and extracted an unstable shadow of a prefabricated World Bridge.
• Yu Sheng explained that he planned to place the shadow inside counterfeit Angel Catalysts to fool the Holy Ascetic Society, and Luna agreed to help.
• Luo and her guards recovered from a rough shuttle passage through a door and confirmed their craft remained concealed.
• Luo recalled that Eileen’s warning had persuaded her to bring guards, and she prepared to carry out her mission in the Darkstream Starfield.

Lo secretly returned to the Darkstream Starfield after the Black Dot Group declared her dead and traveled to Grey Dwarf Star to meet Old Qiao. She reached her property there and prepared to wait for him, carrying a small bottle of shimmering liquid.

• Lo scanned local communications and learned that the Black Dot Group had announced her death and transferred authority after a laboratory accident.
• Lo contacted Old Qiao, told him they would meet on Grey Dwarf Star, and evaded three stealth interceptors that searched for her shuttle.
• Lo arrived at Grey Dwarf Star and landed at a high-end tower, one-third of which she owned.
• Lo checked the tower's security, sent Old Qiao the meeting coordinates, and opened a suitcase to take out a tiny crystal bottle.

Luo prepared an escape route before meeting Old Qiao, who arrived with two unidentified frigates and questioned her about the destruction of her base and her escape from the Special Operations Bureau. The conversation ended with Old Qiao dropping his polite act and Luo welcoming his bluntness.

• Luo activated a Teleportation Rune Card to create a portal to the Inn Hub, then sent the building's ordinary workers away and prepared for Old Qiao's arrival.
• Old Qiao arrived in a steel body with two unidentified light frigates in orbit, and Luo let him dock and enter her suite.
• Old Qiao noticed the blood-based incense in the room, while Luo used it to calm the pain and memories of her earlier surgery.
• Luo told Old Qiao that the Dark Angel had teleported her space station to The Crossroads and that she had awakened in a Special Operations Bureau prison.
• When Old Qiao challenged her claim that an Angel Hunter had helped her escape, he warned that she needed the company's support to return to the Black Spot.
• Luo dismissed her guards' intervention and told Old Qiao she preferred his frank manner to his earlier politeness.

Luo negotiated with Old Qiao for help returning to the Black Dot Group, while investigating whether the Holy Ascetic Society had been involved in her recent disaster. After Old Qiao left, Yu Sheng appeared, and Luo revealed that Old Qiao had once taken her spine and made her part of the Group.

• Old Qiao demanded Luo's experimental data and the trade keys for the Great Triangle Nebula route in exchange for help restoring her position and providing a laboratory.
• Luo said she would consider Old Qiao's offer, then asked about the Holy Ascetic Society and said she suspected Group Corporation had helped them steal something from her.
• Old Qiao denied working with the Holy Ascetic Society and left after questioning Luo about her experiences with the Dark Angel and The Crossroads.
• After Old Qiao's shuttle departed, Yu Sheng appeared on the coffee table and asked Luo who Old Qiao was.
• Luo explained that Old Qiao had been her first superior, senior, investor, and competitor, and that he had taken her spine and made her part of the Black Dot Group.

Yu Sheng and Luo concluded that Old Qiao was urgently seeking Luo’s research data, possibly under pressure from a larger scheme, and Yu Sheng decided to hide inside Old Qiao’s robotic avatar. The chapter ended with Old Qiao feeling an unexplained itch aboard his ship before Yu Sheng’s face faded from his skull.

• Luo explained that Old Qiao was likely using robotic avatars and suspected his interest in her research data connected him to the abnormal records from Black Stone Space Station.
• Yu Sheng suggested that Old Qiao might be acting under pressure from someone behind him, and Luo was surprised by his analysis.
• Yu Sheng decided to infect Old Qiao’s avatar and remain hidden inside it until it returned for maintenance.
• Old Qiao inspected his ship and nearby transit records after leaving Luo, then felt an itch beneath his armor.
• Old Qiao’s discomfort vanished as Yu Sheng’s face faded from his steel skull.

Xu Jiali’s deep-diving team encountered a sudden attack by a shadowy figure and brass-armored enemies in the widening alley. Meanwhile, Yu Sheng explained how Star Proliferation Body crystals could help create convincing Angel Catalyst bait, and Baili Qing ordered the lab to begin work.

• Xu Jiali and his team investigated fresh traces in the dark alley as Bell sensed danger and strange cats formed from the shadows.
• The cats calmed when Xu Jiali showed them Yu Sheng’s image, but soon frantically warned the team as a black mass rushed into the Old Bookstore.
• A shadowy attacker ambushed Xu Jiali and his team, while brass-armored figures marched into the alley; Xu Jiali ordered everyone to engage.
• Yu Sheng showed Baili Qing the Star Proliferation Body crystals from Jushu and explained their potential as base material for Angel Catalysts.
• Baili Qing confirmed the crystals were safe to handle and instructed the laboratory staff to begin work cautiously.

Yu Sheng and Baili Qing prepared a Reality Distortion Lens experiment to bait the Hermetic Society, then learned that Xu Jiali’s Deep Dive Team had been attacked by an Artificial Saintess in Dark Alley. Yu Sheng found Xu Jiali and Bell recovering in the hospital and asked for a full account of the attack.

• Yu Sheng watched technicians use the Reality Distortion Lens to give a crystal sample unstable properties, while Baili Qing explained the device and its black-psionics risks.
• Baili Qing received word that an Artificial Saintess had attacked Xu Jiali’s Deep Dive Team in Dark Alley, and Yu Sheng went with her to the Third Medical District.
• Yu Sheng found Xu Jiali badly wounded but conscious and Bell lightly injured in the hospital ward.
• Xu Jiali explained that the Artificial Saintess had brought a squad of knights, forcing the team to retreat; two teammates remained unconscious.
• Yu Sheng told Xu Jiali not to move and said he would call specialists before hearing the full account of the attack.

Yu Sheng brought Luna to examine Xu Jiali’s wounds after an Artificial Saintess attacked the team in Dark Alley. Song Cheng explained that Artificial Saintesses were distributed lives with no vital spots, their souls bound throughout their bodies, but Yu Sheng’s ability could still counter them.

• Luna arrived at the hospital room, startling Lingdang, and examined Xu Jiali while Yu Sheng recounted the Dark Alley encounter.
• Luna could not identify the Artificial Saintess because the Holy Ascetic Society’s cognitive masks had obscured her memories of former comrades.
• Xu Jiali explained that Lingdang’s Psychic Scream had let him counterattack and that he believed he had stabbed the Artificial Saintess several times.
• Luna confirmed that one of Xu Jiali’s strikes might have pierced a joint, but said her entire body had no vital spots.
• Song Cheng explained that Artificial Saintesses were distributed lives made from living metal and biological matter, with their souls bound throughout their structures.
• Song Cheng said Yu Sheng’s ability uniquely countered Artificial Saintesses, and Luna squeezed Yu Sheng’s hand as he held it.

Yu Sheng investigated the attack site in Dark Alley and learned from a black cat’s fragmented memories that the attacking Artificial Saintess had turned on her knights and fled through the alley’s crossroads. The Saintess may have reached the outside world, where she appeared in front of Zheng Zhi and Li Lin.

• Yu Sheng and the others entered Dark Alley to investigate the site where Xu Jiali’s squad had been attacked, while the Special Operations Bureau monitored the area.
• Luna recognized the attacker as an older model of Artificial Saintess, distinct from herself.
• Yu Sheng used his blood connection to view a black cat’s memories of the Artificial Saintess throwing a knight into a closing rift before fleeing toward the crossroads.
• Yu Sheng told the group the Saintess might have made it outside, and Luna said she did not know why the Saintess had acted that way.
• Zheng Zhi and Li Lin walked home with roasted sweet potatoes when an Artificial Saintess suddenly appeared in front of them.

Zheng Zhi and Li Lin encountered an apparently abnormal Artificial Saintess, who took Zheng Zhi’s roasted sweet potato and left him game tokens before disappearing. Yu Sheng arrived and, after hearing what happened, suspected she had partly broken free of the Holy Ascetic Society’s Mental Shackles, while Li Lin began reporting the incident to the Special Operations Bureau.

• The Artificial Saintess approached Zheng Zhi and Li Lin, took Zheng Zhi’s roasted sweet potato, and tried unsuccessfully to eat it.
• The Artificial Saintess gave Zheng Zhi a handful of game tokens and disappeared into the wind.
• Zheng Zhi called Eileen, who relayed the encounter to Yu Sheng, and Yu Sheng arrived with Huli, Eileen, and Luna.
• Zheng Zhi recounted the encounter, and Yu Sheng considered whether the Artificial Saintess had partly escaped the Holy Ascetic Society’s Mental Shackles.
• Li Lin called the Special Operations Bureau to report the incident.

Baili Qing led the Special Operations Bureau’s search for the missing Artificial Saintess, but the investigation found little beyond a trail at a closed shopping mall. Yu Sheng and Eileen decided to search for her themselves and recruited Zheng Zhi, whose Spiritual Vision might help them find a lead.

• Baili Qing arrived after Li Lin contacted the Special Operations Bureau and used a game token Zheng Zhi had received to trace the Artificial Saintess to a closed shopping mall beside Sun City Plaza.
• Baili Qing ordered agents to search old alleys and vacant buildings and told the Information Security Department to monitor reports about the Artificial Saintess.
• Baili Xue found only fading shadow tracks, while Luna suggested that the confused Artificial Saintess might be frightened and avoiding people.
• The Special Operations Bureau searched Boundary City all day but found almost nothing beyond signs of destruction at the closed shopping mall.
• Yu Sheng and Eileen decided to search for the Artificial Saintess themselves and proposed bringing Zheng Zhi along to use his Spiritual Vision.
• Yu Sheng called Zheng Zhi late at night, and Zheng Zhi agreed to change clothes and join the search.