Chapter Summaries

Yu Sheng toured the Eileen Legion’s increasingly crowded alchemy assembly line, where dolls repaired even severely dismembered comrades with remarkable speed. Eileen warned that the operation was running out of space and blood, leaving Yu Sheng to consider expanding the facilities while facing a harder-to-solve shortage of production material.

• Yu Sheng and Luna watched Mass-produced Eileens repair damaged dolls, including one whose upper and lower halves were fitted back together.
• Luna teased a half-doll, prompting Yu Sheng to intervene as the dolls continued their repairs around them.
• Eileen told Yu Sheng that the alchemy hall was too small for the growing legion, and Yu Sheng proposed building a doll town and production base beside the Black Forest.
• Eileen revealed that the laboratory had enough reserve blood for only two more refills of the diffusion device, and Yu Sheng realized his heart’s blood was nearly gone.

Yu Sheng and Eileen discussed ways to stretch the blood needed to produce mass-produced puppets, but neither of their proposed methods seemed practical. After a strange, forgotten manifestation of darkness appeared around Yu Sheng, he set aside his questions about his blood and took Eileen to the Black Forest to choose a site for the puppet production center.

• Yu Sheng explained that Spirit Fox Profound Iron was manageable, but the blood catalyst remained the main obstacle to mass-producing puppets.
• Eileen proposed cycling donated blood through Yu Sheng, but he rejected the idea because his blood type might not match anyone else's.
• Yu Sheng suggested feeding his blood into the diffusion device until he died, reasoning that blood already used would not be erased when his death reset; Eileen objected and suggested using saline.
• Yu Sheng wondered about the nature of his blood as a dark shadow briefly overlapped his body, then vanished along with Eileen and Luna's memories of it.
• Yu Sheng took Eileen to a broad clearing by the Black Forest and chose it for her puppet town and production center.

Yu Sheng began laying out Doll Town, but Eileen rejected his awkward houses and decided to build the town herself based on the Alice dolls’ gathering place. He then found Luo and Rapunzel recovering from a stronger-than-usual mushroom trip, and the chapter ended with Rapunzel promising to make up her homework.

• Yu Sheng reshaped the land beside the Black Forest into Doll Town, planning roads, a river, homes, workshops, and a plaza.
• Yu Sheng built rows of awkward houses that Eileen and Luna compared to toilets and urns, so he turned them back into earth.
• Eileen took charge of building Doll Town and imagined recreating Alice and Duncan's Antique Shop and nearby streets from the Garden Network.
• Yu Sheng left to check on Luo and discuss the Holy Ascetic Society, then found Luo and Rapunzel dazed beside a campfire after eating mushrooms.
• Luo and Rapunzel snapped out of their stupor, and Rapunzel offered Yu Sheng roasted mushrooms before saying she would return to make up her homework.

Yu Sheng, Luo, and Eileen worked out a way to use the forged Angel Catalyst as bait to contact the Hermetic Society without knowing Old Qiao’s security code. Yu Sheng left to write a script for the staged emergency, while Luo stayed behind with Eileen and the roasted food.

• Yu Sheng roasted food with Luo and Eileen, and Luo explained the risks of impersonating Old Qiao and smuggling the forged Angel Catalyst to the Hermetic Society.
• Yu Sheng and Luo worried that Old Qiao had a secret code or identification method they could not recover before his death became known.
• Eileen suggested having Old Qiao contact the Hermetic Society while supposedly in trouble, prompting Yu Sheng and Luo to plan a staged emergency around the Angel Catalyst.
• Yu Sheng assigned Luo to prepare the communications channel and disguised shuttle while he went to write the script, then gave Luo roasted skewers before leaving.
• Luo praised Eileen for her insight, and Eileen admitted she did not understand what the code was for.

Yu Sheng spent a quiet afternoon with Huli before a crash drew them to the room with the mirror, where snow fell through the ceiling and walls. He discovered that the mirror had become pitch-black and developed a nearly invisible crack.

• Yu Sheng brought roasted sweet potatoes home and relaxed with Huli, who said Eileen had probably not been thinking deeply while he and Luo discussed the Angel Catalyst.
• A crash from upstairs alerted Yu Sheng, Huli, and Eileen, and they hurried to the room with the mirror.
• Yu Sheng entered the room and found it covered in snow that ignored the underfloor heating and Huli's foxfire.
• Yu Sheng examined the pitch-black mirror and saw that it reflected neither Eileen nor Huli.
• Yu Sheng felt a nearly invisible crack running across the mirror and realized it had been broken.

Yu Sheng used his blood to touch the cracked mirror and found himself in a vast void where he saw the universe’s information structures and a projection of Black Star. Eileen pulled him back after only seconds in the room, and Yu Sheng told Eileen and Huli what he had seen.

• Yu Sheng pressed his bleeding hand against the cracked mirror, which drew him into a strange void.
• Yu Sheng watched the universe’s laws and information megastructures reflected on a boundless surface, along with messages left by the Creators.
• Yu Sheng realized the surface was a projection of Black Star and felt himself falling toward the swirling starlight.
• Eileen wrapped Yu Sheng in golden threads and pulled his consciousness back into the room, where Huli caught him with her tails.
• Yu Sheng learned the mirror had healed and told Eileen and Huli that he had seen Black Star and felt strangely at ease beside it.

Baili Qing entered the Council Tower, where echoes of an older era caused strange phenomena, and joined the other councilors in the Long Hall. The meeting was about to begin, with the Colorless Dragon now present.

• Baili Qing passed a lounge where temporal phantoms argued over an old role-playing story and continued to the elevator.
• The chapter explained that the Council Tower contained a vast temporal echo from the previous turning of the age, which the Council kept contained in its Core Area.
• Baili Xue appeared in the elevator and told Baili Qing she disliked the Council Tower, recalling that its inhabitants had once tried to kill her.
• Baili Qing entered the Long Hall and sat beside the black-haired maiden and the crude clock-filled robot.
• The white-haired old man welcomed the Colorless Dragon and announced that the meeting could begin.

The Crossroads councilors discussed the threat of an artificial World Bridge and a Dark Angel in the Darkstream Star Sector, and considered sending the Inn to infiltrate the Holy Realm. Meanwhile, Luo arrived at the Morona Fault to search for the Hermetic Society’s strongholds using probes.

• Baili Qing told the councilors that the Holy Ascetic Society might have an unstable artificial World Bridge and a Dark Angel poised to awaken.
• The councilors discussed having the Inn infiltrate the Holy Realm to disable the Eden Gate before a fleet assault, while preparing backup plans.
• Kand said he had found no trace of Yu Sheng in the remnants of the previous era, though the councilors agreed he and his team were reliable allies.
• Luo piloted a stealth shuttle into the Morona Fault and released two deep-space probes.

Luo found a safe route to the gravitational collapse point where Old Qiao had arranged to meet the Hermetic Society, while Yu Sheng’s team prepared to use a robotic shell of Old Qiao to contact the Society. Their disguised transmission connected to a Darkcurrent Star Domain communications array, and the team began listening for a response.

• Luo used deep-space probes to locate a safe rift leading to the collapse point and reported that no one appeared to be watching it.
• At Deep Rock Fortress, technicians tested a robotic shell resembling Old Qiao while Yu Sheng calmed Momo and Huli.
• Luo returned from the Morona Fault and confirmed the meeting place, while Yu Sheng described the Special Operations Bureau’s cover story about missing Boundary Bridge wreckage.
• Luo assured Yu Sheng that her equipment could disguise their signal as Darkcurrent Star Domain traffic and imitate Old Qiao’s encrypted communications.
• Luo ordered the team to activate its shielding and transfer control of the Old Qiao shell, then the disguised transmission connected to a remote communications array.

Yu Sheng, Luo, Momo, and the Deep Rock Fortress crew used a staged call with the Hermetic Society to make them believe Old Qiao possessed the Angel Catalyst. They negotiated a sale and arranged an inspection and handoff at the Morona Fault, leaving the group ready to carry out the next stage of their plan.

• Deep Rock Fortress received and decoded a response from the Hermetic Society, and the crew prepared Old Qiao’s shell for a staged negotiation.
• Old Qiao claimed Luo had escaped through a rift and left behind a black stone, prompting the priest to identify it as an Angel Catalyst and offer a large sum for it.
• Luo followed Yu Sheng’s directions and refused to accept the Hermetic Society’s initial offers too readily, maintaining Old Qiao’s suspicious persona.
• Old Qiao agreed to sell the Angel Catalyst and arranged a meeting at the Morona Fault, with one-third of the payment due as a deposit and experts inspecting the catalyst at the delivery site.
• The priest revealed that a genuine Angel Catalyst would make the Hermetic Society’s mysterious data unnecessary, and Old Qiao ended the call as the crew applauded.

Yu Sheng’s team prepared a counterfeit Angel Catalyst to lure the Hermetic Society into a meeting, while Luo checked that their communications and cover story were secure. On the agreed delivery day, Yu Sheng planned to fly the unescorted shuttle into the Morona Fault himself.

• Luo checked the communication data and camouflage protocols as Eileen asked whether the Hermetic Society would notice the trap.
• Luo argued that the Hermetic Society would investigate because Eden Gate made the Angel Catalyst too important to ignore.
• Ryan and his guards received a disguised cargo container from Li Lin and saw the unstable-looking imitation Angel Catalyst inside.
• Li Lin explained the counterfeit catalyst’s containment precautions and handed Ryan the transport instructions.
• Two days later, Yu Sheng prepared to pilot the shuttle carrying the counterfeit catalyst into the Morona Fault without an escort.

Yu Sheng and Eileen departed Deep Rock Fortress aboard the Silver Star to deliver the Angel Catalyst to the Hermetic Society, while Luo guided them remotely. At the Morona Fault, the Hermetic Society’s concealed flagship appeared, and the delivery began.

• Yu Sheng boarded the shuttle with Eileen in a mass-produced body, and the Silver Star teleported to the Morona Fault before its launch channel had opened.
• Luo took over the shuttle’s controls after Yu Sheng’s erratic piloting, and Yu Sheng and Eileen admired the shattered planet and starry sky as Luo reflected on her fading Star Language talent.
• The Silver Star reached the Morona Fault’s gravitational collapse point, where Luo scanned for the Hermetic Society’s contact ship.
• The Hermetic Society’s concealment field disengaged, revealing its Dark Star-class missile cruiser.

Yu Sheng delivered the Angel Catalyst to a Hermetic Society warship, arranging to observe its inspection from inside the hangar. The Society’s technicians began testing the catalyst while Yu Sheng and Luo watched, leaving the transaction underway.

• A Darkstar-class cruiser contacted Yu Sheng and proposed verifying the Angel Catalyst before completing the deal.
• Yu Sheng asked to dock aboard the cruiser so he could observe the inspection, and the commander agreed.
• Yu Sheng entered the hangar in a Black Dot uniform while Eileen hid in the shuttle.
• Hermetic Society soldiers escorted Yu Sheng to the opened cargo container, where their priests and technicians began preparing to examine the catalyst.
• Luo recognized the technicians’ equipment as modified detection apparatus from Black Stone Station and told Yu Sheng they were checking spatial fluctuations and psionic waves.

Yu Sheng delivered the Angel Catalyst to the Hermetic Society and returned to Black Stone Space Station, where Luo began locating the enemy’s stargate. As Yu Sheng planned to infiltrate the Hermetic Society’s homeworld, a fleet assembled near Mela-IX for an expedition led by Baili Qing and a black-haired maiden.

• Yu Sheng left a blood mark aboard the Hermetic Society’s cruiser, delivered the Angel Catalyst, and departed after the priests promised payment to Old Qiao.
• Yu Sheng and Eileen returned to Black Stone Space Station, where Huli greeted him and Luo explained how she could trace the cruiser’s route toward an illegal stargate.
• Yu Sheng said he would wait until the catalyst reached the Hermetic Society’s holy realm before opening a door to infiltrate their homeworld.
• Luo began locating the stargate to provide coordinates for a fleet, while Eileen learned that Yu Sheng’s group was not acting alone.
• At Mela-IX, a fleet assembled near the homeworld defense fortress, and Baili Qing agreed to join the black-haired maiden on the expedition.

Baili Qing, Baili Xue, and Hong discussed how Yu Sheng had changed Baili Xue and how her awareness had grown. At the Supreme Holy Temple, the Holy Seat announced that the Angel Catalyst needed for Eden Gate had been recovered and was on its way back.

• Baili Qing explained that Baili Xue had begun changing after her first contact with Yu Sheng, and Hong asked Baili Xue what she had noticed.
• Baili Xue admitted that she felt more aware than before, and Hong left after saying she had work to do before the distant coordinates lit up.
• Golendel attended the Holy Seat’s meeting in a wheelchair and felt ashamed of his injuries until the Holy Seat reassured him that his suffering was part of his path to perfection.
• The Holy Seat announced that the border warriors had recovered Angel Catalyst, a better fuel for Eden Gate than Shadowless Bones, and were returning with it.
• Golendel heard the news and smiled, relieved that something good was finally happening.

The Holy Seat prepared to receive the Angel Catalyst as the Eden Gate grew more urgent, while Golendel saw a devastating vision and was singled out for questioning. Back at Yu Sheng’s home, Momo reported that Sister Luo had calculated the coordinates of the Hermetic Society’s illegal stargate.

• The Holy Seat ordered operations in the Crossroads and Unified Star Region suspended, the Eden Gate kept stable, and Ranch Star’s selection process paused.
• Golendel saw visions of a planet’s destruction during an Eden Gate fluctuation, and the Holy Seat crushed the fiery aurora with his psychic power.
• The Holy Seat asked Golendel to describe his vision and suggested that his curse had awakened a connection to the Eden Gate.
• At Yu Sheng’s home, the two Eileens kept struggling against a game boss while Yu Sheng teased sleeping Huli by twitching her ear.
• Momo arrived and told Yu Sheng that Sister Luo had roughly calculated the Hermetic Society’s illegal stargate coordinates from data leaked by the returning Dark Star cruiser.

Yu Sheng learned from Luo that the Hermetic Society had an illegal stargate near the Morona Fault and took the Otherworld Inn to investigate. The ship entered stealth and began a warp jump toward the Society’s border.

• Yu Sheng arrived at Luo’s laboratory, where she explained that the Hermetic Society’s hidden border could be reached through an illegal stargate.
• Huli recognized that the coordinates lay surprisingly close to the Morona Fault, and Yu Sheng ordered Luo and Momo to send the route data to the Otherworld Inn.
• Yu Sheng opened a door to the inn and set off with Eileen and Huli, dismissing Big Golden Hair’s request to join them.
• The Otherworld Inn traveled to the Morona Fault, activated its stealth field, and received navigation data from Black Stone Station.
• The shipboard AI began a warp jump toward the Hermetic Society’s border as Huli studied the navigation systems.

The Otherworld Inn traveled through warp toward the Hermetic Society’s hidden stargate while Yu Sheng reassured Luna that everyone was trying to find a way to restore her body and help her return home. After the ship emerged near a brown dwarf, its radar detected many artificial objects, and Huli identified a large structure surrounded by signals as a possible stargate.

• Eileen grew restless during the warp journey, while Huli explained that the ship had to travel without a stargate authorization code.
• Yu Sheng found Luna watching the warped darkness and explained that locating the Hermetic Society’s nest would not immediately reveal her home.
• Luna learned that Yu Sheng and others were exploring ways to give her a physical body, and she was moved by their efforts.
• The Otherworld Inn exited warp near a brown dwarf and detected numerous artificial objects in the star system.
• Huli pinpointed a large structure surrounded by signals as a possible stargate, and Yu Sheng ordered the ship to approach stealthily and prepare to contact Baili Qing.

Yu Sheng and the crew discovered the Hermetic Society’s heavily defended Star Gate and learned how it controlled warp travel and enemy territory. Rather than accept a costly assault or search for another route, Yu Sheng proposed using the Otherworld Inn’s door-like properties to bring the Crossroads fleet through the gate and seize it.

• The Otherworld Inn approached the Star Gate, revealing its enormous structure and surrounding defenses to Yu Sheng, Eileen, and Huli.
• Luo explained that ships needed gravitational anchors for warp jumps and that taking the Star Gate would let the Crossroads fleet enter the Hermetic Society’s territory directly.
• Luo warned that the Inn should not approach any closer and suggested reporting its position before continuing toward the Sacred Realm and the Eden Gate.
• Yu Sheng wondered whether the fleet could jump through the Star Gate itself and strike the defenses from behind.
• Yu Sheng proposed taking the Star Gate, and Eileen, Huli, and Luna enthusiastically supported him.

Yu Sheng planned to secretly reach the Stargate and alter its door function without alerting the garrison. After Luo judged a ride on Huli’s tail feasible, Yu Sheng and Huli prepared to set out.

• Eileen proposed hauling the Stargate back to use as a display or sky city, while Huli asked how they could avoid alerting the star fortress.
• Yu Sheng explained that he would only claim the Stargate’s door function for now, rather than convert the entire structure.
• Luo warned that spacecraft and torpedoes would trigger the Stargate’s defenses, and Eileen described the Boarding Yu-Torpedo method.
• Yu Sheng proposed having Huli carry him through space on her tail, and Luo estimated that radar would be unlikely to detect them but warned that the star fortress might notice her energy signature.
• Yu Sheng argued that the fortress would not connect their strange infiltration to a future fleet arrival, then set out with Huli.