Chapter Summaries

The leader learned that Luofu had agreed to test cooperation by sending military personnel into its secret realm, where their performance would determine whether the project continued. After influential families learned of the plan and sought to place their children on the list, the leader set strict limits on recommendations and candidate contact.

• Old Man Li told the leader that Luofu would select military officers to help develop the secret realm, with rewards based on their contributions.
• The leader realized the trial was a test between Luofu’s pro-cooperation sect leader and elders who opposed working with the authorities.
• Old Man Li explained that the plan had become public at Old Man Tian’s birthday banquet, and influential families were pressing to nominate their younger relatives.
• The leader agreed to allow each family to recommend two candidates, while reserving the ordinary-family selections for himself and setting a one-to-nine ratio of influential-family scions to ordinary candidates.
• The leader ordered Old Man Li to contact Li Jia Yi and barred everyone from contacting candidates before selection.

Old Man Li announced that aristocratic families could nominate only two military-affiliated candidates each, with commoners making up ninety percent of the selection. At the Liu family, Dog Bro revealed that technical soldiers would have an advantage, securing Liu Guoxian an opportunity to compete.

• Old Man Li told the assembled retired leaders that each aristocratic family could recommend two candidates, that commoners would make up ninety percent of the total, and that candidates had to hold military status.
• Old Man Li planned to call back two promising children from Old Fourth's family, while the Liu family discovered that only the eldest branch's Liu Guo Dong and Liu Guo Xian qualified under the rules.
• Liu Jianjun explained that Liu Guo Dong was a trained commander, while Liu Guo Xian was a fifth-grade engineer who had followed a technical career.
• Dog Bro arrived at the Liu family hall and said technical soldiers would have an advantage because the recruits were mainly intended for the Star Sea Sect, which specialized in engineering and invention.
• Old Master Liu accepted Dog Bro's explanation and gave Liu Guo Xian the chance to compete, while Liu Wenhao grew resentful.

Lei Xue’s younger brother, Zhan Hao, asked why she would not join the Luofu selection, and she reflected on how family expectations and military hierarchy had constrained her career. Her mother summoned her to Old Master Lei’s family questioning session, leaving Lei Xue dreading the gathering.

• The Lei children debated which relatives would be chosen for the Luofu selection, while Zhan Hao quietly left the courtyard.
• Zhan Hao found his older sister Lei Xue studying ship blueprints and asked whether she would participate in the selection.
• Lei Xue explained that she had been pushed into the Military Academy and had advanced slowly despite her academic talent and interest in ship design.
• Lei Xue told Zhan Hao that her engineering work had kept her mostly ashore and that meaningful design responsibilities remained years away.
• Lei Xue’s mother arrived and summoned her to join the family as Old Master Lei prepared to question the gathered relatives.

Old Master Lei weighed his talented grandsons as candidates for the Luofu election while overlooking his granddaughters, until Old Man Tian arrived and challenged his family’s unequal rules. News that the Liu family had nominated two candidates from its eldest branch left Lei Xue shaken when Old Master Lei asked why Liu Wenhao had not been chosen.

• Old Master Lei questioned the Lei family’s third-generation boys about their military service and praised Lei Jia Ming’s progress toward Dark Force.
• Old Master Lei struggled to choose between Lei Hao, the Third Branch’s Top Soldier King, and Lei Jia Ming for the two candidate spots, while he neglected Lei Xue and the other granddaughters.
• Old Man Tian arrived for dinner, sat beside Lei Xue, and rebuked Old Master Lei for sending her to the army while making an exception for Lei Jia Ming.
• Old Man Tian told Old Master Lei which candidates other families had submitted, including the Liu family’s two eldest-branch children.
• Old Master Lei realized one Liu candidate was a Technical Soldier and asked why the Liu family had not nominated Liu Wenhao, making Lei Xue visibly tremble.

Old Man Tian persuaded the Lei family to consider Lei Xue for Luofu’s selection, arguing that it might be recruiting Technical Soldiers. After hearing that Shi Yu had returned to the Liu family compound, Lei Xue declared that she would win a slot for the Lei family if the selection sought Technical Soldiers.

• Lei Xue and Old Lei realized that the Liu family might have sent Technical Soldiers because Luofu’s selection was seeking them.
• Old Lei called Old Man Li to verify the Liu family’s registrations, while Jia Ming questioned whether they proved the selection criteria.
• Old Man Tian urged Old Lei to reserve a slot for Lei Xue, a young Level Four engineer, alongside a candidate chosen by traditional criteria.
• Old Man Tian revealed that Shi Yu had returned to the Liu family compound, and Old Lei postponed the family’s discussion until Lei Xue returned.
• Old Man Tian encouraged Lei Xue to seize the opportunity, and she returned to the family meeting determined to win a slot if Luofu was recruiting Technical Soldiers.

At a military-base selection event, Li Gou Dan announced separate assessments for Warrior Class and Technical Class recruits, surprising the candidates and revealing the recruitment’s focus on technical personnel. Lei Xue recognized several technical officers among the crowd and grew excited, while Lei Jia Ming remained convinced she had little chance.

• Lei Xue arrived with Lei Jia Ming and learned that ordinary candidates outnumbered the prominent-family scions ten to one.
• The candidates formed separate groups, and Liu Guoxian recognized unfamiliar officers as technical personnel, prompting Liu Guodong to conclude that the selection would focus on Technical Soldiers.
• Lei Xue spotted technical officers she had encountered before, while Li Gou Dan stepped forward in elf form to announce the assessment rules.
• Li Gou Dan explained that ten Warrior Class officers would be selected through four tests and reviews of their records and conduct.
• Li Gou Dan announced that one hundred Technical Class recruits would be selected through foundational, professional, and expanded-knowledge tests, leaving the prominent-family scions bewildered.

Li Gou Dan announced that Luofu prioritized Technical Soldiers, provoking resentment among combat officers before the candidates took their tests. The results were posted, and Old Lei discovered that Lei Jia Ming had placed 498th out of 500 and been eliminated.

• Li Gou Dan defended Luofu’s decision to prioritize technical talent and silenced officers who protested the unfairness.
• The leader directed candidates to the appropriate testing channels, while more than five hundred elite Technical Soldiers prepared to compete for the first hundred places.
• Old Lei, Old Man Tian, Old Liu, and the other elders hurried to the public rankings when the results were announced.
• Old Lei found Lei Jia Ming’s name and saw that his grandson had scored 19 points, ranked 498th, and been eliminated.
• Old Lei staggered and repeated, “498?”

The Lei family elders argued over Lei Jia Ming’s poor score while waiting for Lei Xue’s technical assessment results. Li Gou Dan found Lei Xue among the promising candidates and tried to recruit her, but Yu Nv Wu Gua insisted she join the Main Base Research Institute.

• Old Lei discovered that Lei Jia Ming had placed 498th and realized the soldier-focused tests had been a poor fit for him.
• Old Man Tian mocked Old Lei’s choice and defended his confidence in Lei Xue, while Lei Jia Ming doubted she would earn a place.
• Old Liu wondered why the technical assessment results had not appeared, and Old Man Tian worried about his boast that Lei Xue would qualify.
• Li Gou Dan visited Yu Nv Wu Gua and opened the results screen, finding Lei Xue’s high score in marine ship design.
• Li Gou Dan said she wanted Lei Xue to repair ships and later design them, but Yu Nv Wu Gua insisted Lei Xue must enter the Main Base Research Institute.

Yu Nv Wu Gua praised Lei Xue’s exceptional Technical Soldier test results and refused to let Li Gou Dan recruit her, prompting developers from several departments to argue over the candidates. Li Gou Dan left in anger after they dismissed her request, and Yu Nv Wu Gua realized too late that she needed to stop her.

• Yu Nv Wu Gua explained that the Main Base Research Institute urgently needed researchers and that Lei Xue had excelled at the assessment’s creative-reasoning test.
• Yu Nv Wu Gua refused Li Gou Dan’s request to recruit Lei Xue, despite Li Gou Dan reminding her that Xi Ye had promised she could choose someone.
• Developers from the Mechanical, Necromancy, Shaping, and Alchemy Departments arrived and argued over how many recruits they needed and which candidates they wanted.
• The developers dismissed Li Gou Dan’s request and suggested she choose an unsuccessful examinee instead.
• Li Gou Dan spread her wings and left in anger, and Yu Nv Wu Gua shouted for someone to stop her.

Li Gou Dan escaped the players trying to stop her and headed off to snatch someone, while Yu Nv Wu Gua wondered at the players’ unexpectedly high abilities. At the examination hall, the families schemed to recruit successful candidates, and the Lei family learned that Lei Xue had passed.

• Yu Nv Wu Gua ordered the players to stop Li Gou Dan, but Li Gou Dan dodged the Mechanical Department player’s arms and flew away to snatch someone.
• Yu Nv Wu Gua noted that the players’ abilities seemed far higher than Federation data predicted.
• Old Man Li overheard the family elders arguing over matchmaking their granddaughters with successful candidates and lamented their behavior.
• Old Lei criticized Lei Jia Ming’s uncle for sending unedited photos of Ting Ting and Ke Xin, then told him to use a beauty camera.
• Lei Xue emerged uncertain about her exam, while Lei Jia Ming reminded everyone that she had promised to win a spot for the Lei family.
• The results appeared, and Lei Xue’s family pushed through the crowd to discover that she had passed.

Lei Xue ranked first in the technical assessment, making her family celebrate and sparking a rush among elders to arrange a match for her. Li Gou Dan then accepted Lei Xue and flew her to Luofu before she could pack, while Yu Nv Wu Gua arrived too late and asked about the second-ranked He Xiao Xin.

• Lei Xue's results showed three A+ grades, 78 points, and first place, delighting Old Lei and the rest of her family.
• Old Man Tian claimed credit for Lei Xue's success, and the elders began arguing over potential husbands for her.
• The Lei Family Eldest considered asking General Huo to help Lei Xue earn a higher character-assessment score, but Li Gou Dan declared the assessment unnecessary.
• Li Gou Dan grabbed Lei Xue and flew her away to Luofu, saying she had already been accepted.
• Yu Nv Wu Gua arrived in a Gundam-like craft, learned Lei Xue had been taken, and asked which candidate was He Xiao Xin.

Lei Xue signed a lifetime employment contract with Sea Emperor Corporation while being flown to Luofu by Li Gou Dan. Meanwhile, Wei Lin explained the sect’s aggressive recruiting to government officials, who discussed the soldiers’ return and asked whether the ten soldiers who passed the combat examination were still wanted.

• Lei Xue admired the view while Li Gou Dan carried her through the sky toward Luofu.
• Li Gou Dan mistakenly gave Lei Xue Wang Ye’s contract, then presented her with a lifetime Sea Emperor Corporation contract, which she signed under pressure.
• Wei Lin explained that Star Sea Sect had recruited heavily because it needed scientific talent and apologized to the government officials for the commotion.
• Wei Lin estimated the soldiers could return in about a week, and the leader said they should first learn the environment and begin working.
• The leader asked whether the sect still wanted the ten soldiers who passed the combat examination, leaving them stunned.

After Luo Fu’s recruitment revealed the value of Technical Officers, the leader and the aristocratic families considered how to benefit from future cooperation. The leader then instructed two trusted officers to gather intelligence at Luo Fu and exploit Huaxia’s head start, hoping to assimilate the sect if possible.

• The aristocratic families regretted neglecting technical talent, while the Lei and Liu families celebrated their recruits’ success and began planning for a second round.
• Old Liu advised Old Lei to prepare his granddaughters, and Old Lei resolved to have Ke Xin train for a possible future opportunity.
• Lei Jia Ming worried that his poor performance had cost him another chance to join Luo Fu and decided he had to find a way in.
• The leader summoned two trusted combat officers, Xiao Cui and Xiao Wang, and ordered them to contact the Technical Officers at Luo Fu and gather intelligence.
• The leader concluded that Huaxia should use its early cooperation to gain as much as possible and, ideally, assimilate Luo Fu.

Li Gou Dan took Lei Xue to the Main Base and had her undergo surgery so she could join its ship-design team. Lei Xue woke in unfamiliar surroundings, learned she had not become a monster, and questioned why the crossing required surgery.

• Li Gou Dan told Ice Crown that he had prepared contracts to recruit Lei Xue, then persuaded him that the base needed her shipbuilding expertise and that Ice Crown should take responsibility for the deal.
• The operating room announced that Lei Xue’s surgery had succeeded, and Li Gou Dan carried her to a room before leaving to gather the rest of the crew.
• Lei Xue awoke in a soft bed, realized she was not at the Lei residence, and found Li Gou Dan reading on the balcony.
• Lei Xue demanded to know what was happening at Luofu and objected that no one had told her about the surgery.
• Li Gou Dan explained that crossing into the Luofu Secret Realm required surgery because its environment differed from Planet D, leaving Lei Xue speechless.

Li Gou Dan showed Lei Xue around Cloud City and described Luofu’s factions, the realm’s vast size, and its colonized inhabitants. Lei Xue learned that her contract required lifelong service but was told she could take a brief leave before returning to work, leaving her unsure what Luofu intended.

• Li Gou Dan introduced Cloud City as the Sea Emperor Corporation’s outpost and explained that Luofu contained multiple internal factions and academic schools.
• Lei Xue noticed the unusual appearance of the realm’s inhabitants, and Li Gou Dan said Luofu factions had recruited them as laborers.
• Li Gou Dan estimated that the continent covered about 210 million square kilometers and had several million colonized inhabitants, leaving Lei Xue stunned by the realm’s scale.
• Li Gou Dan told Lei Xue that her contract required her to serve for life, and she suspected something strange had happened when she signed it.
• Li Gou Dan said Lei Xue could take up to three days of leave after Sect Leader Qin briefed the researchers, but she remained suspicious of Luofu’s plans.

Lei Xue recorded her fears about Luofu’s Gene Surgery and prepared to visit the port for her new shipboard job. Meanwhile, Xi Ye and Yu Nv Wu Gua investigated mutated insects that had attacked East Sea Port and concluded that an enemy might be probing Luofu.

• Lei Xue wrote in her diary that Luofu’s Gene Surgery might change her body or turn her into a monster, then hid the diary before going to meet Nina.
• Nina told Lei Xue that Li Gou Dan had sent her to the port to learn about the crew and ship facilities, where Lei Xue would work as a Level 1 Engineer and Warship Vice-Captain.
• Yu Nv Wu Gua asked Xi Ye to change the contracts so she could choose people with better aptitude, but Xi Ye refused and promised her first choice in the next assessment.
• Yu Nv Wu Gua showed Xi Ye a mutated, locust-like insect that had attacked East Sea Port and explained that it seemed to have evolved naturally through the Black Goat Diagram’s mutational energy.
• Xi Ye suspected the insect was a probe sent by an enemy whose forces were limited, and he told Yu Nv Wu Gua that they should warn the players to be careful.

Lei Xue toured Li Gou Dan’s warship with Tang Dou and was stunned by its advanced technology. After Tang Dou introduced the crew and identified Wang Ye as the reliable First Mate, Lei Xue recognized his name from intelligence about a Special Forces captain taken to Luofu.

• Lei Xue admired the sea at East Sea Port before Tang Dou introduced himself and escorted her to the dock.
• Tang Dou showed Lei Xue the warship, and its powerful weapons, shields, lasers, and acceleration astonished her.
• Lei Xue questioned Tang Dou about the ship’s technology and learned its laser weapons used Shaping Technology to compress energy from elements.
• Tang Dou introduced Lei Xue to the crew and explained that, despite her Vice Captain rank, she would serve as Chief Engineer.
• Tang Dou identified Wang Ye as the ship’s First Mate and the crew’s most reliable member, prompting Lei Xue to connect his name to intelligence about a Special Forces captain taken to Luofu.

Lei Xue learned that she would serve as Chief Engineer on a battleship tasked with opening a route to the Western Islands and gathering information. Tang Dou said Luofu would train her in the ship’s technology and involve her in designing new ships, leaving her stunned by the openness of the offer.

• Tang Dou introduced Mosenjin Gailkeqi and the ship’s other officers, while Lei Xue wondered about the unfamiliar title of apprentice Mechanical Alchemist and the Energy Separation Equipment.
• Tang Dou explained that the sailors were still training and that the ship lacked some essential crew members because East Sea Port’s residents had little experience with large vessels.
• Tang Dou assigned Lei Xue as the battleship’s temporary Chief Engineer and said she would assist Lord Li Gou Dan in opening a route to the Western Islands and collecting information about its countries.
• Tang Dou revealed that the known continent covered only part of the secret realm, which Lei Xue said Lieutenant General Li had not told her.
• Tang Dou promised to teach Lei Xue the ship’s basic principles and core technologies so she could later help design and develop new ships, leaving her astonished.

Lei Xue recorded what she had learned about Luofu before Wang Ye visited to share intelligence on the Sea Emperor Corporation and its Gene Surgery. She learned that she and the other technical soldiers could return home the next day, but suspected Luofu was deliberately allowing them to carry information back.

• Lei Xue noted the advanced technology of Luofu and the Egg Dog in her diary before Wang Ye arrived at her door.
• Wang Ye told Lei Xue that the Sea Emperor Corporation had fewer than ten core members and that she could access all of its technical data.
• Wang Ye explained that Gene Surgery granted bloodlines with extraordinary abilities, including the Developer bloodline Lei Xue had received.
• Wang Ye revealed that their Spirit Bodies could switch between Gene Bodies and their preserved original bodies, and said he had found no side effects so far.
• Wang Ye told Lei Xue that Qin Xuanji would take her technical soldiers home the next day, leaving Lei Xue to suspect Luofu was willing for them to report its intelligence.

Li Gou Dan treated Lei Xue to seafood while preparing to send her back to the real world for leave. She warned Lei Xue that conditions would worsen once their sea-route mission began, then said Lei Xue would meet her instructor before returning that afternoon.

• Tang Dou told Lei Xue to find Li Gou Dan so she could arrange Lei Xue's leave in the real world.
• Lei Xue found Li Gou Dan dining at Gou Dan Seafood and joined her for a meal.
• Li Gou Dan offered Lei Xue raw oysters and prawns, and Lei Xue was delighted by the seafood.
• Li Gou Dan warned Lei Xue not to get too comfortable because opening a sea route would be arduous, though Lei Xue thought the ship's facilities sounded luxurious.
• Li Gou Dan said the crew preparations were nearly complete and planned to take Lei Xue to meet her instructor before she returned that afternoon.