Chapter Summaries

Lin Yu defeated Zhu Rong by extinguishing his fire-based attack with torrential rain, and the captured Player admitted defeat while promising to win someday. Nightless Sky Huo Le gave Lin Yu a healing inhalant, then insisted on continuing to choose his formalwear despite lingering concerns about safety.

• Zhu Rong surrendered after Lin Yu's rain extinguished his fire and scattered the rice straw, and he admitted Lin Yu had won.
• Zhu Rong asked how Lin Yu had identified him, and Lin Yu said he knew about powerful farmers active in the City That Never Sleeps.
• Lin Yu called Hannah back, and Ba thanked him before going to receive medical treatment.
• Nightless Sky Huo Le confronted Lin Yu for risking himself, then gave him an inhalant that instantly healed his wounds and restored his energy.
• Nightless Sky Huo Le ordered servants to prepare dry clothes and a towel and said she would continue to pick out formalwear, while Nightless Sky Huo Shu prepared tickets for an emergency evacuation.

After Saint Orchid Kui thanked Lin Yu for saving Ba and offered him a favor, Nightless Sky Huo Le teased him and suggested how Lin Yu could use it. Lin Yu chose to ask Kui for information and left with Huo Le to buy clothes.

• Nightless Sky Huo Shu hurriedly left, while Saint Orchid Kui thanked Lin Yu for saving Ba and offered him a favor.
• Saint Orchid Kui refused Huo Le's suggestion that he withdraw from the Saint Orchid Tribe Leader competition and left after promising to compete with Lin Yu at the Birthday Banquet.
• Old Zheng speculated that Huo Le's possessiveness came from lacking parental care, while Lin Yu rejected the idea that he was responsible for her dependence on him.
• Huo Le offered to help Lin Yu claim benefits from Saint Orchid Kui, but Lin Yu said he wanted information only Kui knew.
• Lin Yu reminded Huo Le that she owed him a favor and asked her to buy him clothes, and she agreed while telling him not to take such risks again.

Lin Yu left Wanjin Heavenly Seat after Nightless Sky Huo Le gave him her private number, then went to the City That Never Sleeps Security Bureau to question Zhu Rong about the attack. The security captain hesitated to take him to the prisoner, leaving Lin Yu to wonder what difficulty the bureau faced.

• Nightless Sky Huo Le helped Lin Yu finish preparing for his outing and gave him her private communicator number.
• Lin Yu decided to investigate Zhu Rong himself because he suspected the attacker had a powerful reason to feel safe after being captured.
• Lin Yu arrived at the Security Bureau, where officers warmly welcomed him as Sherlock and praised his past work.
• Lin Yu asked to interrogate Zhu Rong, but the captain hesitated before agreeing to take him to the prisoner.

Lin Yu confronted the Security Bureau’s preferential treatment of Zhu Rong and learned that a powerful backer had arranged his transfer to a special detention area. The security captain could not identify who had called the director, so Lin Yu went to question Zhu Rong directly.

• The security captain led Lin Yu through the Security Bureau’s checkpoints to a special detention area designed for nobles.
• Lin Yu realized that Zhu Rong’s backer had enough influence to secure his transfer within hours of his attempted assassination.
• Lin Yu warned the captain that Zhu Rong’s attempted attack had also endangered Nightless Sky Huo Le, Nightless Sky Huo Shu, and Saint Orchid Kui.
• The captain said the director had received a call from someone he had to kneel to hear, but he did not know the caller’s identity.
• The captain told Lin Yu that Zhu Rong was in the second room on the right.

Lin Yu questioned Zhu Rong in the Security Bureau detention room about who employed him and why he had tried to assassinate Saint Orchid Kui’s butler. Zhu Rong refused to betray his allies, but his answers gave Lin Yu enough clues to narrow down who was behind him.

• Lin Yu visited Zhu Rong in detention and asked who he worked for and why he had tried to assassinate Saint Orchid Kui’s butler.
• Zhu Rong refused to reveal his employer, saying he would endure pressure rather than betray them.
• Lin Yu praised Zhu Rong by recalling how Grandpa Radish had trusted him with a dangerous Item, and Zhu Rong spoke of his respect for Grandpa Radish.
• Lin Yu said Zhu Rong was too stupid to realize that his refusal to speak had revealed that his employer opposed Nightless Sky Huo Le and would be badly harmed if their identity became known.

Lin Yu used his knowledge to persuade Zhu Rong to let him speak with the woman behind him, then learned she was a disregarded Royal Noble seeking a chance to improve her standing. The woman agreed to hear Lin Yu's proposal, and he revealed that he wanted to kill a Royal Noble.

• Lin Yu convinced Zhu Rong that he could uncover the identities behind him and offered to work with his hidden partner.
• Zhu Rong contacted the woman, who spoke with Lin Yu through the communicator and asked to be called Your Excellency.
• Your Excellency explained that she and her allies were neglected members of a Royal Noble family who resorted to dangerous schemes to gain opportunities.
• Lin Yu told Your Excellency that he wanted to kill a Royal Noble.

Lin Yu discussed his plan to kill Royal Nobles with a woman who led an alliance of marginalized noble family members, then arranged a code to protect her companions. The woman agreed they could contact her through Zhu Rong, but Lin Yu was left wondering where she had learned her peculiar poem.

• Lin Yu told the woman in the communicator that he planned to kill Royal Nobles for survival, not revenge.
• The woman admitted that she and her allies resented their exclusion from power and explained that their group included abandoned members of noble families.
• Lin Yu asked for the group's names so he could avoid killing his potential allies, but the woman refused to reveal them because she did not trust him completely.
• Lin Yu proposed a code that his allies could use to ask an assassin to spare them, and the woman chose the phrase "The moon rises over the sea... Stars illuminate the blue sky."
• The woman told Lin Yu to contact her through Zhu Rong, then hung up; Lin Yu complained that Zhu Rong had taught her strange poetry, and Zhu Rong said he knew little about poetry.

Lin Yu learned from Zhu Rong that an alliance of overlooked family heirs was behind the City That Never Sleeps and might be tied to the C-77 assassination commission. After Lin Yu headed to the Saint Orchid Family, the real Zhu Rong visited the captured Zhu Rong and suspected Lin Yu had someone involved in the commission.

• Lin Yu exchanged communicator numbers with Zhu Rong, asked him to keep their connection secret, and left the Security Bureau.
• Lin Yu concluded that the alliance behind the City That Never Sleeps might know about or have ordered the C-77 commission to assassinate Alter Mercury.
• Lin Yu went with the Nightless Sky Family chauffeur to the Saint Orchid Family after learning Nightless Sky Huo Le had authorized his plans without requiring reports or approval.
• The red-haired woman who had posed as Zhu Rong visited the captured Zhu Rong and brought him roast meat.
• The woman said Lin Yu had quickly figured out much of her identity and suspected he had placed someone among the C-77 commission participants.

“Your Excellency” and Zhu Rong discussed the C-77 commission, concluding that several factions may have been involved and deciding to cooperate with Sherlock’s plan. Lin Yu visited the Saint Orchid Family to see Saint Orchid Kui, who hurried out to meet him and asked whether he meant to defect from Nightless Sky Huo Le.

• “Your Excellency” told Zhu Rong that she had infiltrated the C-77 commission under Zhu Rong’s identity and encountered the Divine Power Group’s vice president, one of Sherlock’s planted people, and Saint Orchid Kui.
• “Your Excellency” reasoned that the vice president and Saint Orchid Kui had likely joined the commission for their own purposes, and proposed cooperating with Sherlock to see whether he would target a Royal Noble.
• Lin Yu arrived at the Saint Orchid Family residence and told its grand butler that he had come to visit Saint Orchid Kui.
• The butler warned Lin Yu that Saint Orchid Kui was recovering from an accident and might refuse visitors, but Lin Yu insisted that Kui would see him.
• Saint Orchid Kui rode out on a self-balancing scooter to greet Lin Yu and asked whether he planned to abandon Nightless Sky Huo Le and defect to his side.

Lin Yu visited Saint Orchid Kui to collect the favor Kui owed him, while Kui tried to recruit him with promises of status and friendship. When Lin Yu began to mention Kui’s secret business on Gray Street Three, Kui hurried him into his study to talk privately.

• Saint Orchid Kui explained that he hoped Lin Yu could help him gain the Nightless Sky Family Head’s favor and improve his chances of becoming family head.
• Kui offered Lin Yu a City That Never Sleeps council seat or title, then added his friendship as an incentive to join his side.
• Kui brought Lin Yu to Kui Mansion and thanked him for saving Ba, who was recovering inside.
• Lin Yu said he had come to collect Kui’s favor and began mentioning Kui’s recent visit to Gray Street Three.
• Kui interrupted Lin Yu, dismissed the servants, and led him to the study for a private conversation.

Lin Yu questioned Saint Orchid Kui about Nightless City's problems and his plans for reform, briefly considering supporting him before hearing his proposals. Lin Yu left convinced that Kui would make life worse for the lower classes and hoped Saint Orchid Lai would defeat him.

• Saint Orchid Kui secretly met Lin Yu and explained that his family believed he went to the outer city for pleasure, while he actually took dangerous commissions there.
• Kui argued that his experience made him more qualified than Saint Orchid Lai to lead the Saint Orchid Family and described the widening gap between rich and poor in Nightless City.
• Kui proposed extending work hours for lower-ranked residents and distributing subsidies by printing money or issuing Asset Points.
• Kui blamed outer-city residents for rising crime and advocated more security stations, stricter penalties, expanded police powers, curfews, and alcohol bans.
• Lin Yu abandoned the idea of supporting Kui and decided to ask Nightless Sky Huo Le what Saint Orchid Lai was like.

Lin Yu questioned Saint Orchid Kui about the plot to assassinate Alter Mercury at Nightless Sky Fire Apricot’s coming-of-age celebration. Saint Orchid Kui admitted his involvement but said he did not know who had arranged the commission.

• Lin Yu revealed that he knew the assassination target, timing, and venue, leading Saint Orchid Kui to suspect the Nightless Sky Family Head was behind the inquiry.
• Saint Orchid Kui admitted he had joined the commission as its supervisor and captain because Alter Mercury’s death would benefit the Saint Orchid Family, but said he had not initiated the plan.
• Saint Orchid Kui explained that he partly wanted an assassination to add excitement to Nightless Sky Fire Apricot’s celebration and believed he could avoid consequences by claiming he had infiltrated the group to stop it.
• Lin Yu asked who the mastermind was, and Saint Orchid Kui said he had only communicated through a device and an intermediary and could not identify the person.
• Saint Orchid Kui guessed the mastermind was not from the Saint Orchid Family because the person had recognized him without exposing him or trying to gain his favor.

After questioning Saint Orchid Kui about the C-77 commission, Lin Yu left the Saint Orchid Family and made his way to the Heavenly White Jade Palace. He disguised himself, used Hannah’s optical camouflage, and leapt from the hotel’s observation balcony.

• Lin Yu concluded that the mysterious C-77 issuer was likely a Royal Noble who had never met Saint Orchid Kui, but remained unsure of their identity and purpose.
• Saint Orchid Kui asked whether Lin Yu would report his findings to the Nightless Sky Family Head, and Lin Yu denied investigating on her behalf or for Nightless Sky Huo Le.
• Saint Orchid Kui wondered whether Lin Yu had another backer or a personal motive, then agreed to help him investigate someone in exchange for the information Lin Yu had shared.
• Lin Yu left the Saint Orchid Family and walked discreetly through the City That Never Sleeps to the Heavenly White Jade Palace.
• Lin Yu rented a suite, changed his appearance to May May, and used [Shady Corner] to reach the balcony without being seen.
• With Hannah cloaking him, Lin Yu released his grip on the hotel structure and plunged toward the ground.

Lin Yu broke into room 7037 at the White Jade Palace to meet the broker Black Snake, using Hannah’s illusion to surprise the men inside. After killing two of them and feeding their souls to his pocket watch, he asked the survivors to identify Black Snake.

• Lin Yu slowed time with [The Virtuous and Frugal Drinkers], reached the seventieth-floor balcony, and entered room 7037.
• Lin Yu had Hannah gradually reveal his disguised figure and announced that he wanted to speak with Black Snake.
• A scorpion-tattooed man and a bald man attacked Lin Yu’s illusion, and Lin Yu killed them from behind.
• Lin Yu used the [Repaired Mist Pocket Watch] to absorb the dead men’s souls.
• The two surviving brokers each claimed to be Black Snake.

Lin Yu intimidated Black Snake into revealing what he knew about a suspicious commission by threatening the safety and future of Black Snake’s sister. Black Snake identified it as the C-77 commission, but admitted he did not know its contents.

• Lin Yu sat with Black Snake and another middleman to watch a comedy, making his casual remarks about the dead Rose deepen their fear of him.
• Lin Yu questioned Black Snake about a dangerous commission and used the Fear Lens to reveal that Black Snake feared for his younger sister.
• Lin Yu pressured Black Snake by describing what could happen to his sister if he died, and Black Snake pleaded with him to leave her unharmed.
• Black Snake recalled the C-77 commission and said he had suspected something was wrong with it.
• Black Snake offered to share everything he knew, explaining that as the middleman he had not known the commission’s contents.

Lin Yu learned from Black Snake how an anonymous employer had arranged a secret assassination commission and revealed that its target was Alter Mercury at Nightless Sky Fire Apricot’s coming-of-age ceremony. He killed the intermediary, then told Black Snake to let the information slip at the right moment.

• Black Snake told Lin Yu that an anonymous employer had paid him three weeks earlier and summoned him to arrange an assassination team without vetting the candidates.
• Black Snake described the employer’s disguise, cargo van, and skilled driving, leading Lin Yu to infer more about the person behind the commission.
• Lin Yu killed Black Snake’s companion and explained that he wanted fewer people alive who knew about the matter.
• Lin Yu revealed that the commission targeted Royal Noble Alter Mercury during Nightless Sky Fire Apricot’s coming-of-age ceremony.
• Black Snake collapsed in fear, and Lin Yu ordered him to let the information slip at the appropriate moment.

Lin Yu, posing as Sherlock, was identified as a suspect in the deaths of three intermediaries and Black Snake’s disappearance, then learned the Universal Trade Association had ordered his arrest. He resisted arrest and wounded the Third Captain, while Old Zheng joined the fight.

• Two Security Bureau officers and the Third Captain told Lin Yu that he was suspected of killing three intermediaries at the Heavenly White Jade Palace and making Black Snake disappear.
• The Third Captain said the Saint Orchid Family’s testimony linked Lin Yu to Black Snake’s location, while the Universal Trade Association had issued an arrest warrant.
• Lin Yu told the officers to record his arrest, then announced that he would resist and knocked down the two officers.
• Lin Yu slashed the Third Captain’s vest and wounded his forearm before calling Old Zheng to knock the officers out.

Lin Yu deliberately made Sherlock a wanted fugitive to create chaos and force the hidden employer behind the Alter Mercury assassination commission to reveal himself. He headed for the outer city to hide, but the taxi driver recognized him from a wanted notice and tried to flee.

• Old Zheng knocked out the three Security Bureau personnel at the Heavenly White Jade Palace Hotel, and Lin Yu left the scene.
• Lin Yu explained to Old Zheng that he suspected the hidden employer intended to use the assassination team without paying the reward, so he planned to draw the employer into the open by causing unexpected chaos.
• Lin Yu reasoned that Nightless Sky Huo Le and the Nightless Sky Family Head would protect Sherlock, despite the accusations against him.
• Lin Yu flagged down a taxi to travel to the outer city and hide from the Security Bureau.
• The taxi driver saw a notice identifying Sherlock as a fugitive suspect and began to stop the car, but Lin Yu held him at gunpoint.

Lin Yu returned to Gray Street Three and confronted Shark Shock at the Demon Pig Bar after the brokers’ deaths made him a target of local hostility. He overpowered Shark Shock and waited for the Butcher, who arrived and asked him to show mercy.

• Lin Yu returned to Gray Street Three, where locals watched him with suspicion because he was wanted for killing three brokers and making Black Snake disappear.
• Lin Yu ordered a drink at the Demon Pig Bar, and Shark Shock questioned him on behalf of the Butcher about the brokers’ deaths.
• Lin Yu threw Shark Shock across the bar, then lifted him and dismissed him as a nobody.
• The Butcher entered the bar and asked Lin Yu to let Shark Shock go as a favor to him.

Lin Yu provoked The Butcher and the Gray Street Three gangs at the Demon Pig Bar, refusing to back down and challenging them to fight. Several dangerous-looking gang leaders stepped forward, and the confrontation erupted into violence.

• Lin Yu dismissed The Butcher's influence and mocked his claim that Gray Street Three had its own rules.
• The Butcher accused Lin Yu of being bloodthirsty and demanded to know about the three intermediaries and Black Snake, while gang members shouted for revenge.
• Lin Yu challenged the crowd's belief in the Security Bureau's accusation, drew two blades, and dared anyone to attack him.
• Several formidable men emerged from the crowd, and Lin Yu asked whether they planned to fight together or one by one.
• Someone hurled a chair at Lin Yu, who split it apart as the Demon Pig Bar descended into chaos.