Recaps

Chlorine Sodium overwhelmed the black giant in battle, restraining and mutilating it after it survived her initial barrage. The Sarcophagus Research Institute’s deputy director returned to the battlefield and found the giant dead, leaving him screaming in disbelief.

• Chlorine Sodium unleashed a storm of Subspace Spears, but the black giant evaded the worst of the attack and charged through the smoke.
• Chlorine Sodium fired weapons from Imaginary Gates at the descending giant, then bound it with Judas’s chains when it landed.
• Chlorine Sodium cut through the giant’s limbs with golden whips of light and mocked its helplessness.
• The deputy director ordered the plane to return after losing contact with the cargo, and the captain circled back toward the battlefield.
• The crew saw the devastated terrain and the giant’s corpse, while the deputy director screamed that its defeat was impossible and demanded to go down.

Yelena witnessed the Snow Demon destroy the forces attacking the Infected, while Yaga and Koschei discussed the battle and Koschei revealed that he had helped orchestrate it. At the devastated battlefield, Kal'tsit rescued a frail, doll-like figure from the wreckage of the enormous machine.

• The copilot succumbed to Honkai Energy and attacked a crew member as the aircraft crew panicked.
• A hurricane tore through the camp, revealing the battle, and a purple attack wiped out the Arts Casters attacking the Infected.
• Yelena recognized the glowing presence in the sky as the Snow Demon.
• Yaga dismissed the battle as an assessment and left, while Koschei revealed that the Snow Demon was his ally and predicted the Empire would change.
• Kal'tsit and Mon3tr tore open the wrecked machine's cockpit and found a surviving figure inside.
• Kal'tsit dragged the emaciated figure from the machine and saw its pale, doll-like face in the rising sunlight.

Kal'tsit discovered a strange, newly revived girl beneath the newborn sun. In Chernobog, Chlorine Sodium collected Yelena from detention despite suspecting her of being a protagonist, and later in Lungmen she encountered the mysterious Elafia woman known as yj at her clinic.

• Kal'tsit examined the pale-haired newborn girl and speculated that the former master of the land had existed.
• After Ursus imposed martial law, Chlorine Sodium presented identification at Chernobog City Hall and collected Yelena from the temporary holding area.
• Chlorine Sodium wondered whether Yelena had seen her true appearance and might be connected to the enemy, but chose to take her home.
• In Lungmen, yj visited Chlorine Sodium's clinic about her hair and stopped Yelena from saying her name.

Chlorine Sodium watched Yelena repel a gang that tried to intimidate them, then reflected on shaping Yelena only to destroy their life together. Later, she went to a quiet downtown bar for a meeting and learned that her psychiatric appointments had become highly sought after.

• A gang leader and his lackeys entered Chlorine Sodium’s clinic and tried to take Yelena with them.
• Chlorine Sodium told Yelena to see them out, and Yelena punched the gang leader outside the clinic.
• Chlorine Sodium praised Yelena, then questioned whether their happiness was real as she considered her plan to build Yelena up and crush everything they had.
• Chlorine Sodium visited a bar at the address on a postcard and heard that people in Lungmen’s upper circles were eager to book appointments with her.

Chlorine Sodium attended Wei Yanwu’s birthday banquet in Lungmen to search for the person she was seeking, after Koschei offered her an invitation in exchange for a favor. She found no sign of that person among the powerful guests, until something made her pupils contract.

• Koschei offered Chlorine Sodium an invitation to Wei Yanwu’s birthday banquet, saying it could help her find the person she sought, and asked her for a favor in return.
• Chlorine Sodium attended the banquet at the Wei Mansion, hoping to learn whether the world’s protagonist was among Lungmen’s upper circles.
• Wei Yanwu received a report that communications with the Frozen Land had been cut off and that the informant in the Snow Demon incident had been silenced.
• Wei Yanwu and Wei Wenyue discussed the banquet as a public performance before he descended to greet the guests.
• Chlorine Sodium glanced at Wei Yanwu, lost interest in the gathering, and considered leaving early.
• Something appeared that made Chlorine Sodium’s pupils suddenly contract.

Yelena was left alone in the clinic when the Black Hand Gang broke in, and she fought off their first attackers. As the gang surrounded her, she continued taking them down, but the chapter ended with the fight still underway.

• Yelena prepared to water the clovers and went to the door after hearing a knock.
• The Black Hand Gang smashed through the door and found Yelena alone in the clinic.
• A thug swung at Yelena, but she closed in, restrained his arm, and punched him into his gang members.
• The gang surrounded Yelena and attacked her with clubs and machetes.
• Yelena dodged and counterattacked at close range, knocking down thug after thug despite being outnumbered.

At a banquet, Chlorine Sodium spotted the blue-haired Chen Hui Jie and saw her as a potential protagonist to study and manipulate, but a message about Yelena’s kidnapping distracted her. An hour later, still frustrated by her failed attempt to learn about Chen Hui Jie, Chlorine Sodium stopped herself from pouring another glass of wine as memories held in her body seemed to stir.

• A Sarkaz mercenary confronted a girl and called her trouble after a flying knife blocked her path.
• Chlorine Sodium saw a protagonist’s halo around the blue-haired Chen Hui Jie, whom Wei Yanwu greeted as Hui Jie and who called him uncle.
• Chlorine Sodium decided to learn about Chen Hui Jie and cultivate a relationship that could later be shattered into hatred.
• An unknown number sent Chlorine Sodium a photograph and a message saying Yelena had been kidnapped, and she chose to prioritize Chen Hui Jie instead.
• After an hour at the banquet, Chlorine Sodium had learned only Chen Hui Jie’s name and felt increasingly irritated.
• Chlorine Sodium stopped herself from pouring another glass of wine, and memories embedded in her body seemed to awaken.

Chlorine Sodium watched Chen Hui Jie at Wei Yanwu’s birthday celebration and silently marked her for a future confrontation. Yelena woke in an organ-trafficking slaughterhouse, where her captors restrained her and prepared to torture and kill her for profit.

• Chlorine Sodium dismissed a waiter’s concern, watched Chen Hui Jie with murderous amusement, and resolved to deal with her another time.
• A gust of wind disrupted the birthday celebration, and Chen Hui Jie looked toward the source of an intimidating gaze but saw nothing unusual.
• Yelena awoke in a slaughterhouse and recalled how a masked Sarkaz fighter had defeated her.
• Yelena saw a butcher removing organs from a corpse and realized the room was filled with human victims.
• The manager revealed that he knew Yelena was infected, explained that a device around her neck blocked her Originium Arts, and threatened to torture her and sell her Originium Crystals.

Chlorine Sodium crashed into the workshop, slaughtered the thugs, and rescued Yelena from the operating table. After freeing her, Chlorine Sodium faced Yelena’s sudden tears and felt unsure how to comfort her.

• Chlorine Sodium descended at supersonic speed and smashed into the transport vehicle outside the workshop.
• Chlorine Sodium tore through the guards and killed the thugs who tried to stop her.
• Chlorine Sodium entered the dark workshop and decapitated the man who had been preparing to torment the captive girl.
• Chlorine Sodium untied Yelena, who burst into tears, leaving Chlorine Sodium troubled and unsure what to do.

Chlorine Sodium comforted Yelena and led her out of the blood-soaked factory, while Yelena clung to her despite seeing the violence she had unleashed. At dawn, Hoshiguma intervened when police questioned a street peddler, claiming that local rules gave her a say in the case.

• Chlorine Sodium stroked Yelena’s hair and comforted her as the girl sobbed in her arms.
• Chlorine Sodium took Yelena by the hand and led her out through the factory, exposing the bloody trail of her slaughter.
• At dawn, Guard Department officers cordoned off an alley and questioned the peddler who had called the police.
• The officer threatened to take the peddler to the station, but Hoshiguma stepped in and said she would speak with him.
• Hoshiguma told the officer that local rules gave her authority to intervene, and a familiar voice sounded behind him.

Nine investigated a fire scene with Hoshiguma and found a massacre too horrific to seem like ordinary gang violence. At the clinic, Pianna and Miss Manager read readers’ letters and discussed the story’s characters, relationships, and protagonist.

• Nine questioned Hoshiguma about the crime scene and learned that Hoshiguma’s people had been watching the loan sharks and reported the incident after the fire began.
• Hoshiguma warned Nine about the scene inside, where Nine found crimson standing water and brutally mutilated bodies beneath the remains of a burned vehicle.
• Nine concluded the massacre seemed beyond gang-on-gang violence, and Hoshiguma said the organization had arrived while the blood was still warm.
• At the clinic, Miss Manager brought letters from readers, and Pianna read one reminding Bill to rest, prompting Miss Manager to tease Bill about overwork.
• Pianna and Miss Manager discussed readers’ questions about the book’s relationships and protagonist, including Chlorine Sodium, Sariel, and the protagonist’s gender.

Nine and Hoshiguma investigated a slaughterhouse crime scene as Longmen faced gang turmoil and mysterious child abductions. Wei Yanwu learned that Koschei had returned, and Koschei began examining Chen Hui Jie’s name from a hidden apartment.

• Nine and Hoshiguma found a slaughterhouse scene where the victims had been killed with a single powerful blow, and Hoshiguma described how the Black Hand Gang’s new Speaker had changed its operations.
• Nine considered the unexplained child abductions and her growing sense that a major crisis was coming to Longmen.
• Wei Yanwu received a message from Koschei and ordered his secret agent to investigate the Black Snake’s plans without acting rashly.
• Koschei, hiding in an old apartment, remarked with interest on Chen Hui Jie.

Chlorine Sodium agreed to help Koschei identify the Taiko Group heiress in exchange for information about Chen Hui Jie, while Koschei prepared a plan to create a disaster in Lungmen. On her way home, Chlorine Sodium bought food and tried to explain away her concern for Yelena as a calculated investment.

• Chlorine Sodium met Koschei, who asked her to gather information about Chen Hui Jie and offered to arrange a meeting with the Taiko heiress.
• Koschei asked Chlorine Sodium to observe the heiress and report what she looked like, and she accepted the deal.
• Chlorine Sodium stored Koschei's materials about Chen Hui Jie and considered how his planned disaster would leave Chen and the heiress vulnerable.
• Chlorine Sodium searched for food on the way home, rejected hamburgers at first, then bought them because there were few other options nearby.
• Chlorine Sodium worried about Yelena and rationalized her concern as an investment in the girl's future.

Chlorine Sodium followed yj to an abandoned district, where the woman revealed herself as the manager who had arranged Chlorine Sodium’s new identity and called her a villainess. The manager attacked with absolute authority, leaving Chlorine Sodium dodging through the ruins with her fist techniques.

• Chlorine Sodium returned to the clinic and found yj waiting with Yelena, then agreed to accompany her for a protective enchantment.
• yj led Chlorine Sodium into an abandoned section of the old district instead of the wealthy district.
• yj used Originium Arts to turn the cat in her arms to ash, provoking Chlorine Sodium to attack.
• yj revealed that she was the manager who had arranged Chlorine Sodium’s new identity and called her a villainess.
• The manager unleashed wind blades and gales, while Chlorine Sodium dodged through the wreckage using her Honkai-world skills.

Elafia trapped Chlorine Sodium in a devastating gale and taunted her for refusing to transform, but Chlorine Sodium drew Cherry Blossom Snow and severed Elafia’s hand. After Elafia conceded that Chlorine Sodium had grown stronger, she healed her and revealed that the mission was special; elsewhere, a late-night conversation turned to whether someone was raising a child or a pig.

• Elafia unleashed a huge gale and sealed the ruins’ boundary, while Chlorine Sodium still refused to enter her strongest state.
• Elafia realized Chlorine Sodium was holding back because an Ursus girl was nearby, then goaded her and flooded the battlefield with wind.
• Chlorine Sodium endured the storm’s cuts, drew Cherry Blossom Snow from an Imaginary Number Gate, and slashed off Elafia’s hand.
• Elafia admitted Chlorine Sodium was stronger now and stopped fighting, then healed Chlorine Sodium and said the mission was special.
• Elsewhere, someone joked that feeding a child the same food every day was like raising a pig, and the other person protested.

Pianna visited Yelena while waiting for her sister, then revealed her mechanical arm and declared that she had come to kill the returning doctor. Meanwhile, Chlorine Sodium learned that Yelena was not her assigned target and left to confront the protagonist she was meant to deal with; the chapter ended with her facing a hostile woman who seemed to be her counterpart.

• Pianna introduced herself to Yelena as a noblewoman from Kazdel and waited with her for her sister to return.
• Elafia told Chlorine Sodium that Yelena's fate was already set, that Yelena was not her target, and that another villain would target her.
• Chlorine Sodium left the alley after asking what would happen to Yelena, then questioned what she truly wanted.
• Pianna revealed her mechanical eyes and right arm when Yelena's sister appeared, and announced that she had come to kill her.
• Chlorine Sodium faced the hostile newcomer, whose mechanical construction and weapons made her appear to be someone like herself.

Chlorine Sodium and Pianna realized they were both villains who could see protagonist markers, but disagreed over whether Pianna had found the right person. Chlorine Sodium concluded that Yelena was not her responsibility and regretted getting involved, leaving her resenting her manager.

• Chlorine Sodium asked Pianna what color the protagonist marker had been and revealed that she could see the markers too.
• Pianna said she had seen a gray marker, while Chlorine Sodium had seen purple ones, so they initially concluded they had found the wrong person.
• Pianna told Chlorine Sodium she had not found the wrong person, while openly displaying her desire for the silver-haired doctor.
• Chlorine Sodium reflected that Chen Hui Jie was not her target and that Yelena's protagonist marker would be handled by someone else.
• Chlorine Sodium regretted investing in Yelena, resolved that a child would disrupt her pursuit of a peaceful life, and began to hate her manager.

Chlorine Sodium found her quiet life disrupted by Elafia and the shameless Pianna, while Pianna decided Yelena might need a push. Later, Pianna noticed Yelena struggling with her incomplete boxing training but chose not to intervene.

• Chlorine Sodium struggled to read Koschei’s intelligence and wondered whether to investigate further.
• Elafia hugged Yelena and gushed over her at Chlorine Sodium’s clinic while Pianna teased the doctor and refused to leave.
• Chlorine Sodium closed the clinic and gave up on evicting either guest.
• Pianna watched Chlorine Sodium leave and considered nudging the withdrawn doctor toward action.
• Yelena practiced the incomplete boxing technique Chlorine Sodium had taught her, and Pianna asked about her difficulties.
• Pianna recognized that Yelena needed guidance but decided not to change anything.

Pianna befriended Yelena by offering to teach her magic, then revealed her mechanical arm and explained how Sarkaz mages used Originium Arts. She gave Yelena a dagger as a casting tool and began showing her how the magic worked.

• Pianna asked Yelena what trouble she had faced, and Yelena wondered if all Sarkaz fought without regard for their lives.
• Pianna offered to teach Yelena magic and explained that Originium Arts required an Originium product as a medium.
• Pianna removed her glove and showed Yelena the mechanical arm she used as an Originium product.
• Yelena asked about Pianna's original arm and whether its loss had hurt, but Pianna left the story for another time.
• Pianna explained that Sarkaz mercenaries often preferred knives to staffs and gave Yelena an Originium dagger to use for casting.

Chlorine Sodium accepted Koschei’s plan to pose as Dr. Ina and infiltrate the Taiko Group, while Koschei arranged for a lookalike’s silence. In Lungmen, the Emperor was ambushed by a gang tail, and Ina began investigating Koschei’s interest in the Taiko Group ruler’s daughter.

• Koschei gave Chlorine Sodium a work identity as Ina and arranged for a stylist to dye her hair to match the photograph.
• Chlorine Sodium said she no longer cared about Chen’s matter, and Koschei promised to treat the scheme as a favor while ensuring the real Ina would keep quiet.
• The Emperor rode through Lungmen as his car was followed by a white sedan carrying Felines who reached for weapons.
• Ina heard a report of a gang firefight and considered the Black Hand Gang’s organ trade and Koschei’s apparent scheme against the Taiko Group ruler’s daughter.
• Ina had been introduced to the Taiko Group as a psychiatrist, though she still did not understand what Koschei wanted from the ruler’s daughter.

Ina Koporovich Zhozhiyaeva met Semior, the Taiko Group’s owner, at his luxurious residence in Lungmen under the pretense of discussing psychological Arts. Semior offered her two million Lungmen Dollars, leaving Ina to weigh the apparent bribe and its hidden purpose.

• Ina arrived at the Taiko Group’s seven-star hotel in Lungmen’s central district for a meeting arranged under her name.
• A’fu escorted Ina to a private residence high in the hotel, where she met the elderly Taiko Group owner, Semior.
• Semior introduced himself by his given name and asked Ina about psychological suggestion and self-anchoring.
• Semior offered Ina an anonymous bank draft worth two million Lungmen Dollars, and Ina recognized it as a tempting hook.

Chlorine Sodium negotiated with Semior and discussed his recurring snow-filled dreams, then suggested the danger might involve his granddaughter. The encounter left her thinking about Yelena and trying to explain her own protectiveness toward the girl as a practical investment.

• Semior offered Ina a larger check in exchange for keeping his secrets, while Chlorine Sodium played along with his bargain.
• Semior's blonde granddaughter entered, and Ina forced a smile that frightened the girl before Semior sent her away.
• Semior asked Chlorine Sodium to interpret his recurring dream of his tall building amid heavy snow, which he believed foretold a crisis.
• Chlorine Sodium suggested the dream might be connected to Semior's granddaughter, prompting him to consider the child's safety.
• Chlorine Sodium thought of Yelena and rationalized her concern for the girl as an investment tied to protective instincts.

Hoshiguma investigated a violent clash on the expressway and went to Pure Land to meet Yan, seeking a safe place to discuss the case. Yan showed her a badly beaten informant whose gang had become unnaturally violent, leaving Hoshiguma facing a dangerous investigation.

• Hoshiguma found a bloodied Lungmen police badge and evidence that three groups had exchanged fire on the expressway.
• Hoshiguma arrived at Pure Land and asked its manager, Yan, to meet with her.
• Yan welcomed Hoshiguma and led her through a staff passage to a secured underground room.
• Yan revealed Yang San, a recently released criminal and the only informant they had found, bound and badly beaten.
• Yan explained that people involved in the attack had become violent and had even fought the Guard Department.

Hoshiguma worried that Lungmen’s gangs were being driven toward open conflict and asked Yan to obtain Guard Department uniforms. Elsewhere, Pianna taught Yelena about sacrifice, Sarkaz mercenaries set out to investigate a missing comrade, and Koschei admired a portrait of the Taiko Group’s likely heir as a potential bargaining chip.

• Hoshiguma ordered Yan to quickly obtain Guard Department uniforms after realizing they might help her respond to Lungmen’s escalating turmoil.
• Pianna reassured Yelena as the girl struggled to understand the pentagram and the idea of resonance.
• A Sarkaz mercenary leader learned that a missing comrade had gone to meet a suburban gang and led his group to demand an explanation.
• Koschei praised his ally after examining a portrait of the Taiko Group family’s likely successor, which he intended to use as leverage.

Chlorine Sodium disrupted Koschei’s kidnapping briefing by humiliating a mercenary leader, while Sarkaz mercenaries tracked Yelena through the factory district. Pianna confronted the mercenaries after they noticed Yelena’s scent, leaving them to face the noble Sarkaz woman.

• Koschei rallied Ursus mercenaries to kidnap the girl in the portrait, but Chlorine Sodium called the plan boring and knocked their leader through a door.
• Chlorine Sodium questioned Koschei’s ambitions, and he explained that the kidnapping was only one part of a larger conspiracy.
• Sarkaz mercenaries examined the deserted factory district, found signs of a battle and the Guard Department’s involvement, and set out to settle the score.
• Yelena encountered the Sarkaz mercenaries on her way home and hurried into an alley without drawing their attention.
• The mercenaries recognized Yelena’s scent and considered questioning her, but their leader sensed someone watching them and ordered her to reveal herself.
• Pianna stepped out of the shadows, identified herself, and confronted the Sarkaz mercenaries as they pursued Yelena.