Chapter Summaries

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.