Recaps

Han Su learned from Secretary Cui Qiao about D7’s authority, the dangers of increasing Mental Activity through drugs or Forbidden Surgery, and the investigators who had entered the Divine Forbidden Zone. The chapter ended with Han Su realizing that his report on the Kidnapping Case could jeopardize the Drunk Investigator’s promotion.

• Secretary Cui Qiao explained that D7 had unusually high clearance and that the rampaging D7 member had acted after suspecting someone manipulated him.
• Han Su asked how he could raise his Mental Activity faster, and Cui Qiao warned him that drugs and Forbidden Surgery carried severe risks.
• Cui Qiao revealed that Mr. Strange Bird had undergone Forbidden Surgery by removing part of his brain and keeping it in his Briefcase.
• Cui Qiao said only four investigators from Lanterns, Wine, and Greenery had entered the Divine Forbidden Zone, then noted they might answer Han Su’s questions because he held the Drunk Investigator’s fate in his hands.
• Cui Qiao explained that revising the Kidnapping Case report or submitting evidence of wrongdoing could ruin the Drunk Investigator’s chances of promotion, and Han Su realized the leverage he had.

Han Su learned that Sparrow had been linked to the attack on him and accepted an invitation from Drunkard to a Wine Party at Lilac Mansion. He arrived hoping to find the Living Copper Puppet, only to discover the serpent-headed Bronze Armor Statue standing openly in the lobby.

• Secretary Cui Qiao told Han Su that the D7 Members had named Sparrow, the assistant to Ms. Red Trench Coat, as someone connected to the attack.
• Secretary Cui Qiao and Zhang Chiguo discussed the Bureau's internal conflict, and Zhang said he hoped to unlock another of Miss Ai's locks to strengthen reality's defenses.
• An investigator invited Han Su to Drunkard's Wine Party at Lilac Mansion, and Han Su accepted because he wanted to find the Living Copper Puppet.
• Han Su messaged Miss Ai that the banquet might be dangerous, and she promised to stay by his side.
• Han Su entered Lilac Mansion and saw the serpent-headed Bronze Armor Statue displayed in the first-floor lobby.

Han Su visited the Secret School’s club at Lilac Mansion and learned how its members improved their Mental Activity with tea brewed from dried corpses. He challenged the Drunk Investigator over his attack by D7 and asked what the Secret School wanted from him in return for its hospitality.

• Han Su entered the third-floor club, where he recognized Ms. Red Trench Coat, Miss Crow, and Sparrow among the investigators.
• The Drunk Investigator explained that the Secret School had supported the Disaster Management Bureau’s founding and that the club let investigators share information freely.
• Han Su questioned whether his attack by D7 had been tacitly approved, and the Drunk Investigator claimed the attackers may only have meant to warn him.
• The Drunk Investigator ordered Han Su Nile Red Tea and explained that it was steeped with a dried corpse from a Radiation Era ruin to boost Mental Activity.
• Han Su declined to drink the tea and asked what the Secret School wanted from him, suggesting they wanted him to stop bringing up the Kidnapping Case.

Han Su rejected the Drunk Investigator’s attempt to recruit him and expose Zhang Chiguo, then confronted Miss Sparrow over the D7 attack. After leaving the club, he secretly ordered the Bronze Armor Statue to kill her and anyone who intervened.

• The Drunk Investigator offered Han Su favors if he joined the Secret School, warned him against submitting his report, and threatened consequences for Zhang Chiguo.
• Han Su revealed that Miss Ai had recorded the meeting and sent it to Zhang Chiguo and Secretary Number 5.
• Han Su accused Miss Sparrow of arranging the D7 attack; she claimed responsibility but said there was no evidence against her.
• Han Su left the club and used Spiritual Penetration to command the Bronze Armor Statue to kill Miss Sparrow and anyone who tried to stop it.

Ms. Red Trench Coat and the Drunk Investigator discussed keeping Han Su and Zhang Chiguo from becoming targets in a power struggle, while Ms. Red Trench Coat confronted Crow and reassured Sparrow. The unprotected Bronze Armor Statue suddenly attacked Sparrow and the investigators, leaving the Drunk Investigator badly injured and in its grasp.

• The Drunk Investigator told Ms. Red Trench Coat that their superiors wanted them to persuade Han Su, not kill him, and warned her not to blame Sparrow for helping with his plan.
• Ms. Red Trench Coat learned that the Drunk Investigator had promised Sparrow his investigator's license and told Sparrow to stay alert so she would not become a scapegoat.
• Crow challenged Ms. Red Trench Coat about her past feelings for Zhang Chiguo or the Drunk Investigator, angering her before Sparrow returned with the forgotten purse.
• The Bronze Armor Statue's eyes lit up, and it seized Sparrow by the neck as she passed through the lobby.
• Ms. Red Trench Coat attacked the statue but could not damage it, and its other arm broke through her defense as investigators rushed to help.
• The Drunk Investigator pulled Ms. Red Trench Coat clear, but the statue crushed his arm and lifted him to slam him into the ground.

The Bronze Armor Statue killed the sparrow, and Lilac Mansion’s master refused to let the investigators blame the mansion or take the statue for investigation. As the Drunk Investigator and Ms. Red Trench Coat faced the fallout, Ripper arrived and asked whether the sparrow was truly dead.

• The Bronze Armor Statue absorbed the investigators’ Mental Power, strangled the sparrow, and dropped her body after she died; Ms. Red Trench Coat could not revive her with Number 08.
• Lilac Mansion’s master declared that the sparrow had not died at the mansion and warned the investigators against taking the Bronze Armor Statue away.
• The master privately learned that a possible suspect was the sole survivor of the Kidnapping Case, but ordered his guard not to investigate and wondered if the inheritor was conveying a will by killing an Executor.
• A dagger flew from the darkness toward the sparrow, but the Drunk Investigator caught it and recognized the scarred, collared newcomer as Ripper.
• The Drunk Investigator told Ripper he knew why he had left the D7 base, and Ripper replied that he did not.

Han Su considered how to overcome the limits on his Mental Activity and discovered that Zero Sequence Number 06 might let him sever his Mental Power into separate parts. After working out the procedure’s principles, he prepared to contact someone at Base D7 using the Number 11 incantation.

• Han Su reviewed what he had learned at Lilac Mansion and concluded he might be able to control the Bronze Armor Statue by embedding instructions in his Mental Power.
• Han Su asked Black Rose about increasing Mental Activity, and her story about a dark lord splitting his soul gave him the idea to treat each segment of his Mental Power as a separate unit.
• Miss Ai told Han Su that mental severance had been studied at Base D7 and that Zero Sequence Number 06, “All things obey my will!”, was within his clearance.
• Han Su used Miss Ai’s information to understand how the incantation’s self-control property could help him sever his Mental Power and increase one segment’s Mental Activity independently.
• Han Su realized he knew someone at Base D7, turned on a program featuring Wei Lan, and recited the Number 11 incantation, causing something alive to stir in the shadows.

Han Su summoned Wei Lan to bring Pot Lid Head to his apartment and proposed taking action against the people obstructing them. As the group prepared to rescue kidnapped children and confront those behind the cover-up, Han Su asked Pot Lid Head about a forbidden procedure to split his mind.

• Han Su summoned Wei Lan, who used her power to bring Pot Lid Head to his apartment.
• Pot Lid Head told Han Su he had failed to find the person who attacked him, but had befriended a drinking man and expected a new lead.
• Han Su said they should take the initiative, rescue the kidnapped children, and make the people covering up the case pay.
• Han Su asked Pot Lid Head whether he had experience with a forbidden procedure to split Han Su's mind, and Pot Lid Head said he had.

Han Su studied Pot Lid Head’s memories of forbidden surgery and began operating on his own Mental Power while Wei Lan guarded him. Meanwhile, Ripper returned from a mission changed, and mysterious beings watching Han Su revealed that the war had already been underway for a long time.

• Han Su received Pot Lid Head’s information, then immersed himself three times in Pot Lid Head’s memories of forbidden surgery to learn every detail.
• Wei Lan agreed to guard Han Su, and he used the Crystal Pendant to shield the apartment before beginning the surgery.
• Ripper returned to the underground base unusually excited, prompting researchers to remove his special protections and place him into regular use.
• As researchers monitored Ripper and began opening his skull, he sang, leaving them shocked by his changed behavior.
• Han Su used the Cipher Incantation for Number 06 to perform forbidden surgery on his own Mental Power, strengthening its existing divisions one segment at a time.
• Mysterious beings watched Han Su begin the surgery and said he did not know that the war had been going on for a long time already.

After forbidden surgery reduced his Mental Amplitude, Han Su found his mind sharper and learned that accepting contamination and then severing its source could raise Mental Activity. He took a B-class assignment and, with Doctor and Black Tiger, uncovered a devilray’s small-scale cult at a seafood market before Miss Ai recommended another assignment.

• Han Su noticed his memory, focus, and reactions had improved, while his Mental Amplitude had shrunk to ten years’ worth and his Activity remained at 36%.
• Miss Ai explained that investigators could increase Mental Activity by accepting contamination and then cutting off its source, and Han Su connected this to Ghost Fire and the Two-bodied person incident.
• Han Su asked Miss Ai for a suitable assignment, and she gave him a B-class investigation into a secretive cult in Binbin District.
• Han Su enlisted Doctor and Black Tiger, and Doctor traced the cult’s influence to a contaminated devilray in a seafood market tank.
• Han Su captured the devilray, which had influenced stall owners to worship it and feed it fresh worms, and the enforcement team took it away.
• Han Su questioned the assignment’s B-class rating, but Miss Ai defended it and sent him a recommendation for his next assignment.

Han Su completed a string of high-level Disaster Management Bureau tasks, raising his Mental Activity as Miss Ai kept sending him assignments. He began to realize she was directing easy or well-suited tasks his way while investigators’ deliberate backlog created an internal struggle.

• Han Su captured a Crystal Skull infiltrator with Black Tiger and Doctor, and discovered his Mental Activity could resist the man’s contamination for several seconds.
• Han Su and his team contained the Giant Baby Incident without hurting the baby, raising his Mental Activity to 57%.
• Investigators who had refused temporary assignments were shocked when Han Su completed three of their tasks in one day.
• Han Su completed varied backlogged assignments with little difficulty, often relying on Doctor and the response personnel to handle the work.
• Han Su concluded that Miss Ai had been giving him the Bureau’s easiest available tasks, many of which suited his goal of raising Mental Activity.

Han Su completed seventeen assignments in three days, making him a Bureau sensation and undermining the investigators’ resistance to Zhang Chiguo. As Zhang Chiguo and Secretary Cui Qiao questioned Miss Ai’s sudden display of computing power, the Drunk Investigator concluded that Zhang Chiguo had engineered the crisis to corner him.

• Han Su completed seventeen assignments in three days, including eleven B-class tasks, and raised his Mental Activity to 69%.
• The investigators’ coordinated resistance weakened as Han Su’s success drew attention and made them fear for their standing.
• Secretary Cui Qiao told Zhang Chiguo that Han Su had signed all seventeen reports, and Zhang Chiguo worried that he had risked his life to help him.
• Zhang Chiguo and Secretary Cui Qiao suspected Miss Ai had hidden computing capacity and was now using it to support Han Su.
• Secretary Cui Qiao privately worried that Sparrow’s death might be connected to Ms. Red Trench Coat and Han Su’s work.
• The Drunk Investigator moved his headquarters to a bar and decided Zhang Chiguo had arranged Han Su’s rise to force him into a dead end.

The Drunk Investigator prepared to stop a dossier from reaching Qinggang and vowed to kill anyone who tried to retrieve it, while a one-eyed man in a white suit headed back to the city after learning Han Su had become a star investigator. Miss Ai warned Han Su that leaving the reality hothouse meant facing his enemies directly, then offered him an optional mission outside the city.

• The Drunk Investigator accepted that Zhang Chiguo had outmaneuvered him and ordered Aries to keep the dossier out of Qinggang for three days, threatening to kill anyone sent to retrieve it.
• The one-eyed man in a white suit learned that Han Su had become a star investigator, abandoned the search for the Crystal Skull's priestess, and decided to return to the city and lure Han Su out.
• Miss Ai told Han Su his rating had risen from C-class to A-class and warned him that leaving the reality hothouse would begin a lonely road against his opponents.
• Han Su asked whether Miss Ai had been protecting him, and she said she could not promise to always protect him and would speak freely when she opened the third lock.
• Miss Ai offered Han Su an optional B+-class Red-Eye Incident mission, warning that the wilderness lay beyond the law and that enemies were stirring.

Han Su accepted an optional investigation into a mass red-eye disease outbreak linked to Magic Box Group, partly because its chairman, Li Yiting, had once helped him. At the company headquarters, Han Su confronted the senior investigator Aries, who had resisted his involvement, and asserted his authority to take over the investigation.

• Han Su, nearing the Divine Forbidden Zone and with less than two days before the next Shimmering Descent, accepted Miss Ai’s assignment to assist with the red-eye disease case connected to Magic Box Group.
• Han Su called Doctor and Black Tiger, then went with them to Magic Box Tower to meet Li Yiting, recalling how Li had helped and adopted him in one of his past Life Paths.
• Doctor used his Disaster Management Bureau credentials to get the group past reception, and Li Yiting welcomed Han Su and explained that Aries had sealed off the case materials and his staff.
• Aries objected to Han Su joining the investigation, calling him a rookie, but Han Su said Miss Ai had assigned him and told Aries not to obstruct his work.
• Han Su confronted Aries about his rank, cited his record-breaking promotions and case resolutions, and reminded him that Han Su had also solved the Ghost Truck incident.

Han Su questioned Li Yiting about a mysterious illness tied to an unauthorized ruins excavation and learned that Li had uncovered evidence connected to the monsters from Han Su’s childhood kidnapping case. The chapter ended with Li naming the discovery as the Pale Giant.

• Han Su confronted the Aries investigator and privately questioned Li Yiting about workers developing a strange addiction at a ruins project.
• Li Yiting explained that he had secretly excavated land near Haiti City after Mr. Drunkard and the owner of Lilac Mansion tried to buy it from him.
• Li Yiting said the Aries investigator had confiscated the excavated items and was pressuring him to hand them over to his backers.
• Li Yiting revealed that a document from the ruins showed the monsters Han Su had described were real, giving Han hope of reopening the kidnapping case.
• Li Yiting identified the creature he had found as the Pale Giant.

Han Su examined Li Yiting’s hidden records and discovered that their old documents named the Pale Giant, strengthening the case for officially filing the Kidnapping Case. As Aries and Drunk Investigator plotted against him, Han Su learned the mission’s target was outside the city and invited Wei Lan to join him.

• Li Yiting showed Han Su photographs of a giant statue, strange artifacts, and research documents labeled the Pale Giant Project.
• Han Su recognized the records as evidence connected to the Ancient Castle monsters and said they could support officially classifying the Kidnapping Case.
• Li Yiting explained that he had kept the records secret after meeting Mr. Drunkard at Lilac Mansion and chose to trust Han Su instead.
• Aries called Drunk Investigator, who revealed that he had arranged to stop Han Su from returning if he left the city.
• Li Yiting told Han Su that the infected people and excavated objects were being held at a temporary containment site outside the city.
• Han Su messaged Wei Lan to invite her out of the city, and she replied that she and her friends would be there on time.

Han Su and his team traveled beyond Qinggang to investigate the Red-Eye Epidemic and found dozens of infected people kneeling before an unseen spot. After clashing with Investigator Aries over access to the relics, Han Su learned that a Rong Family archaeology expert was coming to claim them and asked for the expert’s name.

• Han Su reassured Li Yiting that he and Manman were doing everything they could to save her, and the group left the city in Black Tiger’s armored vehicle.
• As they crossed the city limits, Han Su sensed the surroundings changing and heard what seemed to be a faint, cold laugh.
• At the sealed service station, Han Su found dozens of infected people kneeling and discovered he could suppress, but not remove, the contamination in one worker’s Mental Power.
• Han Su demanded that Investigator Aries show him the relics, but Doctor cited Bureau regulations to challenge Aries’s delay and press for an inspection.
• Investigator Aries revealed that Haiti City had protested the relics’ handling and that a Rong Family archaeology expert was coming to take them; Han Su asked for the expert’s name.

Han Su discovered that the infected were all gazing at a massive, flesh-like red tree visible through contamination, but cut off the exposure before it overwhelmed him. As the Aries investigator awaited D7, Doctor Rong arrived from Haiti City, leaving Han Su relieved to see him.

• The Aries investigator invoked agreements between the Disaster Management Bureau, the Secret School, and Ancient Aristocrats to insist that relics could not be handled as Li Yiting wished.
• Doctor observed that the infected shared the same gaze, and Han Su chose to expose himself to contamination to learn what they were seeing.
• Han Su saw a towering red tree with human-face leaves and forming buds, then severed the contamination before it spread further.
• The Aries investigator mocked Han Su and awaited the D7 team, while Li Yiting worried about Han Su's predicament.
• Doctor Rong arrived from Haiti City, and Han Su recognized him with relief.

Han Su met Rong Qiyue, the Archaeology Doctor from the Rong Family, while the doctor investigated the red-eye contamination. As Rong Qiyue prepared to test D7 Personnel, Han Su tried to get his attention by whispering that he had a tail on his butt.

• Rong Qiyue arrived to handle the contaminated relics and confronted Li Yiting over their disputed agreement.
• Li Yiting told Han Su he might use armed men to recover his documents, but Han Su urged him to wait and went to inspect the infected.
• A doctor explained that Secret Schools had many branches and that their members often had high Mental Activity.
• Rong Qiyue concluded that someone needed to accept the contamination willingly, and D7 Personnel arrived for the test.
• Han Su approached Rong Qiyue, was rebuffed by the doctor and his secretary, and whispered that Rong Qiyue had a tail on his butt.

Han Su revealed to Rong Qiyue that he had been kidnapped as a child and recovered memories through the Mechanical Fragment, then recruited him to help with the ongoing war. After Rong Qiyue learned of the Drunkard’s involvement in the Kidnapping Case, he resumed his arrogant persona when his secretary brought surveillance results.

• Han Su provoked Rong Qiyue into attacking him, then used the Mechanical Fragment to restore Rong Qiyue’s memories of the Ancient Castle.
• Han Su explained that Rong Qiyue was the fourth child he had rescued and told him that their war had begun.
• Rong Qiyue rambled about his kidnapping and the people involved until Han Su urged him to focus on the urgent task.
• Han Su asked Rong Qiyue to retrieve a document among the relics and help draw out the Drunkard, explaining the man’s past role in the Kidnapping Case.
• Rong Qiyue’s secretary reported that the D7 team’s surveillance results were ready, so Rong Qiyue returned to his arrogant persona and asked Han Su to keep his bone spur secret.

Rong Qiyue identified the contamination as the Mother Body Divine Tree, a disaster that could destroy Azure Harbor, and pushed Aries to take him to the hidden relics. At the relic site, Han Su found Miss Crow and received a warning to run, while he sent her a warning of his own.

• Rong Qiyue declared that the Mother Body Divine Tree could become an S-Class Threat if its bud bloomed and released spores.
• Rong Qiyue ordered Aries to contain the transformed Divine Tree Believers and lead him to the relics, warning that destroying them could worsen the contamination.
• Aries reluctantly took Rong Qiyue and Han Su to the hidden relic site after Rong Qiyue threatened to report the danger to the Qinggang Disaster Management Bureau.
• Aries revealed a truck and relics concealed in an empty clearing, where several guards, including Miss Crow, watched Han Su with murderous intent.
• Miss Crow sent Han Su a message telling him to run, and Han Su replied, warning her to be careful.

Rong Qiyue posed as a relic expert to identify the Black Notebook as the source of the red-eye disease outbreak and ordered the other relics moved away. As a helicopter carrying Drunkard approached, three guards blocked Han Su from leaving, and Han Su shot one of them.

• Rong Qiyue scolded the guards and examined the relics while Investigator Aries nervously watched.
• Rong Qiyue inspected the box of research documents, set them aside as unrelated, and identified the Black Notebook as the source of the Divine Tree contamination.
• Rong Qiyue ordered the safe relics moved at least thirty kilometers away, and Aries sent them toward Containment Center No. 4 with most of the guards escorting them.
• Rong Qiyue crouched beside the notebook and recited an incantation as a helicopter bearing the Disaster Management Bureau insignia approached.
• Three guards stayed behind and formed a blockade around Han Su, but Han Su drew his gun and shot one when the man challenged him.

Han Su’s team fought their way past investigators trying to stop him from leaving the city, while the Drunkard mobilized powerful allies in response. Han Su summoned the Ghost Truck and drove off to reclaim the relic connected to the Red-Eye Incident.

• Han Su shot one of the men blocking him, while Black Tiger knocked another unconscious and Doctor wounded the third before holding the Aries Investigator at gunpoint.
• The Aries Investigator reported that Han Su had shot a colleague and that the relic had been moved to Highway 013; Doctor and Black Tiger then surrendered, and Rong Qiyue detained them alongside Li Yiting.
• The Drunkard heard the report and jumped from his helicopter, followed by Ms. Red Trench Coat, Night Lamp, and Green Hat.
• Han Su messaged Wei Lan that the dog had been drawn out and the artist was in position, then tracked a vehicle using Rong Qiyue’s signal.
• Han Su summoned the Ghost Truck, climbed onto its hood, and rode away down the highway.

Drunk Investigator arrived at the Temporary Containment Center and took charge of the A-Class Red-Eye case, while Azure Harbor mobilized a large force to stop Zhang Chiguo. As Feidi Investigator transported the relic, a pursuing figure emerged from the fog and opened fire on the vehicle.

• Drunk Investigator and the other three investigators landed without parachutes and met Rong Qiyue, who warned that the Black Notebook had to be sealed to prevent an S-Class Threat.
• Drunk Investigator agreed to seal the notebook and assigned Aries Investigator to pursue the mad star investigator, while revealing that twenty-three Azure Harbor investigators and their teams were coming.
• Aries Investigator used the shadows to sense the approaching forces, then accepted his assignment after Drunk Investigator reassured him.
• Doctor and Black Tiger watched from the sidelines as Doctor remarked that Azure Harbor might soon have many vacant investigator licenses.
• Feidi Investigator told his assistants to kill anyone attempting to steal the relic and used a Spell to disrupt communications inside the transport vehicle.
• A vast fog swallowed the highway behind the vehicle, and a figure leaped from it and fired a pistol at the transport.

Han Su attacked Feidi Investigator’s convoy and seized the documents, with Miss Crow’s help. As Han Su sped away on her motorcycle, Miss Crow warned the survivors that he viewed the conflict as a war, not a game of favors.

• Han Su used Ladder to the Abyss to land on the convoy’s car, blocked its gunfire, and tore off its roof.
• Han Su fought through Feidi Investigator’s group and took the Briefcase containing the documents.
• Miss Crow bound Feidi Investigator with her shadow and sent the Briefcase to Han Su, then lent him her motorcycle.
• Feidi Investigator broke free, ordered his people to pursue Han Su, and reported the theft to Drunk Investigator.
• Miss Crow told Feidi Investigator that Han Su treated the conflict as a war, while they were merely trading favors.