Chapter Summaries

Gao Gong used the Cyberkind god’s power to show Capsule Man h how he might revive the Cyberkind who had died, then drew Doctor Yu into researching Xiao Yu’s collapse energy and the metal cells. The chapter ended as Sleepless City dropped its first high-yield nuclear bomb on Demihuman Continent.

• Gao Gong transformed Capsule Man h’s divine whip into data sparks, making the two-dimensional waifus more lifelike and producing unstable copies of their dead Cyberkind husbands.
• Gao Gong encouraged Capsule Man h to learn how to revive his believers and offered to teach him before the coming great battle.
• Doctor Yu prepared to leave Fuqing Island after learning that the technological lock on metal cells had been broken, but Xiao Yu arrived and revealed her Nicea Bacteria’s Great Fission and collapse energy.
• Gao Gong had Xiao Yu bring Doctor Yu to the laboratory, where Doctor Yu used her cells to analyze Tong’s neural cells and the collider’s metal cells to one hundred percent.
• Doctor Yu demanded answers from Gao Gong, and Sleepless City’s first high-yield nuclear bomb fell on Demihuman Continent.

Hugh Laurie revealed that Illusory United’s Human Completion Plan had advanced far enough to overpower Fifth-Generation Miller through neural signals, while nuclear strikes cleared the way for the City That Never Sleeps to relocate criminals. The chapter ended with Forum Administrator G announcing a Nightmare-level mission tied to the Human Completion Plan.

• Five nuclear bombs struck the Five Great Families’ headquarters, followed by fifty area attacks, while Hugh Laurie and Dr. Murray discussed Lord Machinist’s plan and their own ambitions.
• Hugh Laurie challenged Fifth-Generation Miller over the off-world engines, then used the Human Completion Angel to flood him with neural signals and overwhelm his nervous system.
• The signal reached Miller’s clone aboard a starship, where doctors identified Machina Rift as an advanced civilization’s cyber experimental site and recommended severing the clone’s connection.
• The City That Never Sleeps passed an Immigration Plan to relocate one million artificial minds from the City of Crime, and Lord Machinist threatened nuclear bombardment if the criminals tried to deceive the city.
• Forum Administrator G posted the Cyber Experiment—Human Completion Plan expansion, inviting players with the Laughing Bat chip and City of Crime citizenship to enter a Nightmare-level mission.

Machine Crack Planet players argued over how to tackle the nightmare-level social-transformation dungeon, while Baozi explained that entry required a Laughing Bat chip. Unable to access the City That Never Sleeps network, Gao Gong joined Paradise Bird in negotiating with the Holy City, and they arrived at a gathering of the organization.

• Players across the planets reacted to the dungeon announcement, while Machine Crack Planet groups split over how to complete the vague quest.
• Sister Ji muted her divided group, and Baozi reminded the players that they needed a Laughing Bat chip to enter the dungeon.
• Gao Gong discovered that moral-chip monitoring had sealed off the City That Never Sleeps network and rejected Gao Yuanyuan’s suggestion to use quantum entanglement.
• Paradise Bird proposed threatening the Holy City into opening a path, and Gao Gong arranged for the Prototype to accompany her with a small addition to the plan.
• Paradise Bird secured an invitation, and she and Gao Gong transferred to a secret node where they found a large Holy City gathering instead of just two hackers.

Gao Gong and Bird of Paradise entered the Holy City Organization’s encrypted cyberspace node and confronted six of its Arhats. Bird of Paradise and Gao Gong exposed weaknesses in their religious-code defenses, then fought off an attack from an unfamiliar hacker as Gao Gong’s IP bubbles overwhelmed his identity.

• Gao Gong and Bird of Paradise explored the node, where they saw Nightmare consuming dark personalities, Mr. Patchwork feeding viruses with dead personalities, and a clone of Teriya.
• Gao Gong recognized the Holy City Organization’s radical method of advancing hackers and inferred that they intended to resurrect ancient evil gods to counter its dangers.
• At the node’s central hall, Teriya and five other figures faced the pair, and Bird of Paradise’s information flames clashed with Teriya’s religious-code defenses.
• Gao Gong pointed out that the religious code’s centralized architecture made it vulnerable to infiltration, allowing Bird of Paradise to crack its golden defenses with her flames.
• An unfamiliar hacker attacked the pair, but Gao Gong and Bird of Paradise defeated him; Gao Gong’s IP bubbles flooded the hacker with virtual personalities and memories.

Highworker and Paradise Bird traded the Spider Goddess's holy seal for the network key to Nightless City, while Highworker told Terria he planned to overthrow a rising tycoon. Afterward, Highworker discarded the key, saying he had found the real gateway, and urged Paradise Bird to consider leading her civilization toward ascension.

• Electronic Dream, Superworker, Nightmare, and Mr. Patchwork took turns digesting the newcomer's infected brain-IPs until he was left in a terrible state.
• Highworker offered Terria the Spider Goddess's holy seal in exchange for Nightless City's network key and said he wanted to overthrow things, starting with Nightless City's rising tycoon.
• Terria accepted the seal and ordered the Holy City organization to resolve its Nightless City business before beginning the first stage of ascension.
• After Paradise Bird and Highworker left, Terria told the organization that its members would undergo ascension, and the hackers celebrated their chance to become information life-forms.
• Highworker threw the network key into the Sea of Data and told Paradise Bird he had found the real gateway, then urged her to consider a true civilizational ascension.

Gao’s allies pursued the Spider Goddess’s revival while religious code infected the Seventh Spider Lady and gave Gao access to her data-migration ability. Meanwhile, immigrants traveled toward Nightless City as Lord Machine Generation’s new data chain began to form.

• Gao invited Paradise Bird to join his superbrain civilization path, but she hesitated over committing to his technology tree.
• Mr. Patchwork and Nightmare delivered the Spider Goddess’s lost holy seal to the Seventh Spider Lady and entered the restricted area to help rewrite the religious code.
• Nightmare warned Mr. Patchwork that religious code could alter their brains like a virus, but the hackers continued toward the First Spider Lady.
• The holy seal reappeared on the Seventh Spider Lady and spread across her body, but she used data migration to move it.
• Gao took control of the Seventh Spider Lady’s body and recognized her data-migration ability as useful.
• Immigrants rode temporary trains toward Nightless City as Lord Machine Generation sought Sunless City’s data-processing system.

Players received morality chips and Laughing Bat chips before Nightless City came under attack by peacekeepers. Highsmith watched the ensuing battle begin, having used the chips to unleash the players’ Calamity nature.

• Baozi implanted Laughing Bat chips in players and explained that their Black-and-White Bars boosted attributes but risked permanent nervous-system damage.
• A player tried to leave without paying for surgery, so mafia NPCs dragged him back; Baozi revealed that temptation charged the chip’s black bar.
• Mechanical scouts stormed the train and implanted basic morality chips, activating the Laughing Bat chips and greatly increasing their charging speed.
• Dr. Mori’s experts discovered that nearly ten thousand people in the City of Crime sent no criminal data through their morality chips, and Dr. Mori ordered peacekeepers to capture them.
• Level-twenty-five peacekeepers attacked Nightless City in numbers twice those of the players, while Highsmith watched the city’s network node turn gray.

Gao Gong infiltrated the Mainframe District, used neural equipment to turn players’ simulated-sensory data into computing power, and disrupted Virtual United’s Moral Chip system. Virtual United’s leaders responded by advancing their Human Completion Project and plans to exterminate players, while surviving players discovered Nightless City’s citizens had lost their impulses and began targeting corporate resources.

• The Seventh Spider Woman infiltrated the Mainframe District and found the orphanage’s neural equipment, which Gao Gong used to connect Laughing Bat chips to more than ten thousand players.
• Virtual United captured several players and examined their chips, but Dr. Murray concluded that players’ different underlying logic made them immune to the Moral Chip’s control.
• Dr. Murray urged Hugh Lowry to launch the Human Completion Project early and begin exterminating players, and Hugh Lowry agreed.
• After a night of fighting, about half the players survived and noticed that the giant flies, street gangs, and ordinary citizens had vanished or changed.
• A player discovered that citizens had lost brain computing power and were following Moral Chip behavioral patterns, prompting the players to plan raids on corporations.
• Gao Gong watched the players prepare to act and said that the NPCs should move too.

Players exploited the sleeping mechanical main brain to raid corporations, infect moral chips with the Laughing Bat virus, and hunt players who were killing civilians. As the fourth-generation moral chip network spread through the City That Never Sleeps, High Engineer received a nightmare-level individual quest.

• Mortar led players in defeating a corporate security team and raiding the company, then the group forced Black Death to replace employees’ moral chips with the Laughing Bat.
• The leader received the Laughing Infected side quest, which tasked players with infecting every NPC implanted with a moral chip.
• Airplane and Big Muscle attacked clown-masked players who were killing civilians, destroyed their car, and continued hunting them to advance their quest.
• The Virtual Union mapped moral-chip locations as the fourth-generation chip’s network mode formed data nodes and white-light clusters across the city.
• Ordinary citizens began bleeding and leaking white slurry from their brains, while High Engineer received a nightmare-level individual quest.

Gao Gong used the clash between the Mechanical Main Brain and the corporate will to enter the Mechanical Main Brain’s core and take control of its systems. He vanished into the data source, leaving the city’s networks issuing strange commands and the story poised for his return as the Mechanical Main Brain.

• The Mechanical Main Brain attacked the Phantom Tower, but Hugh Laurie revealed that the corporation had used itself as bait to assimilate it into the corporate will.
• The corporate will began extracting computing power from the Phantom Tower’s employees and the people of Evernight City, while the new machine generation moved to devour the old one.
• The No-Chancellor appeared before Gao Gong and asked to borrow a shell, helping him enter the code abyss beneath the Mechanical City.
• Gao Gong reached the Mechanical Main Brain’s core with help from Gao Yuanyuan, and the No-Chancellor opened the core’s iron gate for him.
• Gao Gong entered the data source, and the Mechanical Main Brain began sending strange commands through the city’s civilian, public, and corporate networks.

Gao Gong seized the Data Hub and used it to interfere with the Machine Generation as it fought the Pure White Angel. Hugh Laurie turned against Gao Gong, leaving him divided across the cyber network, his biological system, and his approaching mechanical body.

• Gao Gong merged with the Data Hub, formed an electronic domain, and split Nightless City open to reveal the Old Machine Generation beneath it.
• The Speaker explained that the Machine Generation had grown stronger by absorbing Mechanical Brain Technology, while Gao Gong escaped the Abyss using the Hyperlink Girl template.
• Gao Gong entered the Virtual Union servers and stabbed the Machine Generation's source code, allowing the Pure White Angel to consume part of it before he fled its retaliation.
• Hugh Laurie appeared as the Corporate Will and chose to attack Gao Gong, whom he considered the greater threat.
• Gao Gong's biological system, the Rich Lady Ai Ai prototype, and his mechanical body operated separately, and he activated Flesh Fusion to scatter his biological body as rain across the world.

As the Mechanical Watchers and Peacekeepers battled, High Engineer empowered players and gave them quests to spread a virus, prompting several groups to launch their own operations. The chapter ended with the Seventh Spider Lady being urgently summoned back as the goddess was about to revive.

• High Engineer used Genetic Ascension to remove players’ debuffs, strengthen them temporarily, and issue quests to spread the virus.
• Bun coordinated an attack on a large server with PP Boss, who prepared to use a cracked network insertion pod and hack the corporation.
• The Evil Jade Family planned to blow up the Illusionary Building, Big Brother Hui prepared to use a family space station against a Steel Claw Gang base, and Sis Ji accidentally entered a network refuge full of shut-ins.
• Tong, Collider, and Chappie declared a Special Operation against Jidai while restricting their target to the Mechanical Overmind.
• Mercenaries and demi-human warriors attacked Illusionary United, Daisila left for Santo Domingo District on the boss’s orders, and Yao Xue learned that Mr. G was not Daisila’s boss.
• Calls summoned the Seventh Spider Lady back to her post because the goddess was about to revive.

Gao Gong infiltrated the Spider Goddess network as the Seventh Spider Lady and turned the Deep Web Weavers’ own systems against them, while Daisyla planted memory chips in their underground factory. The chapter ended as a vast data presence awakened through Daisyla’s memories and Cyber Baidu appeared in the sky, welcoming Big Sis Elissa.

• The Seventh Spider Lady surrendered her divinity to the Second Spider Lady, then revealed that the goddess’s backdoor could trigger cascading Virtual Machine failures and used it to dissolve the Second Spider Lady into source code.
• Gao Gong discovered that Nightmare and Mr. Patchwork had built hidden Virtual Machines using Phantom Union servers, and Hugh Laurie arrived and sent spider crawlers after him.
• Daisyla fought into the underground factory beneath Santo Domingo, found human and Deep Web Weaver subjects in nutrient tanks, and inserted the memory chips Gao Gong had supplied.
• The chips triggered holograms of Daisyla’s life, and a voice declared that it was her and everyone else, with everyone’s memories and simulated sensations as its own.
• As spider crawlers drained most of Gao Gong’s data, he invoked Cyber Baidu, and the sky transformed into an ocean of data as it welcomed Big Sis Elissa.

Gao Gong entered the network’s deepest layer, developed a new biological information-flow sense, and advanced into a War Hacker. As Nightless City’s conflict intensified across the network and physical battlefields, a powered-up Battle Angel raced toward the city while the mainframe district’s forces converged on its core.

• Alisa rescued the Rich Woman Ai Prototype and helped Gao Gong enter the network’s underlying layer, where he developed a biological information-flow organ by adapting his virtual sense through changing numerical systems.
• Gao Gong completed his class-change quest and chose War Hacker, gaining the Pioneer of Information Warfare title, the Secret War specialty, and advanced knowledge in electronic information engineering, military AI manufacturing, and cryptography.
• The Battle Angel merged Xiao Yu’s combat templates with Gao Gong’s boss templates, unleashed three pairs of light wings, and sped toward Nightless City.
• Phantom Union’s experts attacked the mainframe district’s core in person while missile fire and malfunctioning machines destabilized the mechanical army.
• Hong Bing and the Nameless Youth joined the battle with Hong Biological Group’s security force, while the pirated g attacked fighters from every side.

Hong Bing unleashed a spreading biological weapon against Pirated G while attacks on the city's data nodes weakened Doctor Murray's plan. Xiao Yu's strike on the nodes culminated in the activation of the Continental Plate Impactor, whose blast devastated the city and left her suspended over the collapsing world.

• Hong Bing transformed into a mutated biological fusion and attacked Pirated G with a virus that rapidly rotted machines and living bodies.
• Old Pawa and his companions escaped, leaving Hong Bing and Pirated G to fight as the virus overwhelmed the battlefield.
• Collider, Chappie, and Tong shut down seven main-brain wells, putting tens of thousands of mechanical spies into dormancy.
• Xiao Yu cut through the security forces and data transfer stations, prompting Doctor Murray to activate the final defense system.
• Xiao Yu wielded the Dragon-Scale Greatsword to destroy enemies along the energy grid and began awakening to control collapse energy.
• The Continental Plate Impactor fired from the Illusory Building, sending a city-shaking shock wave across the planet and jolting Xiao Yu awake amid the destruction.

Xiao Yu repeatedly attacked the Continental Plate Impactor while Gao Gong tested her memory-metal body, as Pale Angel and Ji Dai fought over the mechanical main brain. Hugh Lowry merged with Ji Dai and seized Nightless City's systems, but Gao Gong revealed that his virus had helped the merger and asked whether the corporate will might awaken.

• Xiao Yu used her Domain of Collapse and repeated high-speed strikes against the Continental Plate Impactor, but the building's defenses shattered her blade and badly damaged her body.
• Gao Gong's memory-metal cells repaired Xiao Yu's mechanical body, and he boosted her next attack with a Particle Disruption Field and Solidified Energy before stopping her from striking again.
• Pale Angel and Ji Dai remained locked in the data core while Gao Gong and the players attacked them, and Dr. Murray activated the Employee Purge Plan, melting himself and employees with fourth-generation chips to boost Pale Angel's computing power.
• Pale Angel overwhelmed Ji Dai, and Hugh Lowry merged with it to take control of Nightless City's mechanical systems, legions, and underground hub.
• Gao Gong confronted Hugh Lowry and explained that the Laughing Bat virus had helped him digest Ji Dai, then warned that Ji Dai's failed mechanical awakening might cause the corporate will to awaken.

Gao Gong triggered mechanical awakening, killing Hugh Lowry and bringing Nightless City to the brink of a purge that could destroy its human population. The Mother City’s intervention approached as the Machine Emperor faced a decision, while Gao Gong completed his mission and unlocked Pan-Asian regional reputation.

• Third-Generation Steelclaw connected to the central brain, where its source code overwhelmed him, and Hong Bing escaped before a bloody humanoid caught him.
• Gao Gong’s mechanical awakening overwhelmed Hugh Lowry’s corporate will and killed him, ending the Morality Chip Project.
• The Speakerless Councilor questioned Gao Gong’s plans, and Gao Gong explained that the Mother City would suppress mechanical awakening because it violated the permitted technological paths.
• Alyssa warned that Cloudwing Assassins were downloading into Nightless City’s network, and Gao Gong and the Speakerless Councilor appeared before the Machine Emperor.
• The Machine Emperor considered her choices as the Mother City’s people approached, while Gao Gong received mission rewards and unlocked the Pan-Asian Region reputation system.

Old Machine Generation agreed to shut down the Mechanical Nexus and accept responsibility for the Mechanical Awakening if Gao Gong rescued the other Machine Generation. After the mission ended, Gao Gong paid the experience shortfall and prepared to face three Cloudwing assassins sent to suppress the awakening.

• Old Machine Generation struck a deal with Gao Gong to seal itself away in exchange for rescuing Machine Generation, and Gao Gong accepted.
• Gao Gong completed the Street Revolution mission and rewarded the surviving and dead players, along with elite contributors.
• Gao Gong discovered the players had earned more faction experience than he had available and spent 15,000,000 personal experience to cover the deficit.
• The Speakerless Councilor warned Gao Gong that a new threat was approaching, and three Cloudwing assassins arrived above Sleepless City to suppress the Mechanical Awakening.

Ms. Nattidis investigated the aftermath of the mechanical awakening and confronted Highgamer, the Uncouncilor, and their allies in Nevernight City. She recovered the two data hubs, ordered a replacement installed in three days, and then went undercover in reality as an ordinary young wife.

• Ms. Nattidis copied Nevernight City's data and identified Highgamer as a figure connected to the mechanical awakening.
• Collider, Tong, and Chappie negotiated with Ms. Nattidis, while Madam Elisha warned her that several data conceptual entities would boycott the Fortress Conference.
• A Cloudwing Assassin tried to erase the mainframe area, but Highgamer used the mechanical mainframe's authority to restore the lost data.
• The Uncouncilor explained the conflict between the twin machine generations and the corporate will, and Ms. Nattidis inspected his source code.
• Ms. Nattidis recovered both data hubs and ordered a new mechanical mainframe installed in three days, then sent her companions to deliver the cores to the Fortress and General Cybertron.
• Ms. Nattidis downloaded herself into reality and arrived at an apartment disguised as an ordinary young wife.

After defeating Virtual Union, Gao Gong entered its Continental Plate Impactor and extracted its research, gaining the Virtual Personality knowledge chain and thousands of blueprints. As Old Pava and the others arrived in Evernight City to investigate, Pirate Yuan revealed that he had killed Hong Bing and introduced Little Jie as his new disciple.

• Gao Gong inspected the Continental Plate Impactor and used his temporary authority to open its modules for his companions.
• Gao Gong recovered Virtual Union’s experimental data, gained the Virtual Personality knowledge chain, and absorbed hundreds of project blueprints before ordering the Corporate Intelligence Brain to stop.
• Gao Gong received the Mechanical Brain Technology knowledge chain, then discovered that Fifth-Generation Miller was hidden beneath the floor.
• Old Pava, Naga, and Bai arrived in Evernight City and found Pirate Yuan in the ruins.
• Pirate Yuan denied Old Pava’s doubts by presenting Hong Bing’s head and introducing Little Jie as his newest disciple.