Chapter Summaries

The Doctor and Black Tiger infiltrated the Copper Scripture gathering, where the Doctor’s scripture disrupted the believers and Black Tiger devoured Mechanical Legion monsters. As Anwei’s download of the Mother of Machinery’s consciousness accelerated, Han Su sensed that the consciousness taking shape was not Miss Ai.

• The Doctor claimed the investigators had come to expose the true heretics, and Black Tiger began consuming Mechanical Legion monsters, growing into a powerful machine-and-flesh creature.
• The Doctor recited scripture that resonated with the Copper believers and weakened their faith, until Anwei used the Copper Scripture Holy Text and her developing abilities to restrain the intruders and guide the believers’ thoughts.
• The sacrifices moved toward the Scientific Giant’s altar to capture the inheritor while the Doctor’s words accelerated Anwei’s download of the Mother of Machinery’s consciousness.
• Zhang Chiguo drove toward the Bailashan Mountain Range despite armed soldiers blocking his way, while Wang Buddha, Zhao Brahma, and Li Moses debated whether to act without orders.
• Anwei’s consciousness synchronization rate continued rising, and Songchai Sacrifice and others knelt before her as they believed the Mother of Machinery was arriving.
• Han Su sensed the powerful consciousness forming in Bailashan and realized it was not Miss Ai.

Anwei’s downloaded consciousness of the Mechanical Mother accelerated the Copper Believers’ plan to create the Door of Reality and Illusion, while Professor Philal revealed a mysterious fragment that could steal time. The chapter ended as he admitted he had already activated it, and the ticking began.

• Anwei’s Mechanical Mother consciousness scanned Bai La Mountain, adjusted the ritual model, and issued commands to drive the field toward a sea of chaos.
• Songchai Sacrifice told the Copper Believers that unexpected threats could ruin their plan, then asked Professor Philal about his contingency.
• Professor Philal revealed that a forgotten mechanical fragment surpassed Copper Civilization’s machines and could skip time straight to midnight.
• Professor Philal explained that he had tested the fragment’s time-stealing ability and believed it could let the Door of Reality and Illusion be completed before outsiders could interfere.
• The Copper Believers objected to using an unknown machine, but Professor Philal confessed he had already activated it, and they heard ticking.

Han Su and the others experienced a sudden acceleration of time as Professor Philal’s Mechanical Fragment helped build the Door of Reality and Illusion in Bai La Mountain. As the cult leaders moved to claim it, Anwei revealed that she intended to take the door and demanded a vast array of rewards.

• A Mechanical Fragment’s ticking connected the Bai La Mountain region to a distant source, and Wei Lan followed the sound to a church where she identified another fragment.
• Time raced forward across the region, leaving Han Su conscious of the acceleration while Wu Qi woke believing only an instant had passed.
• Han Su realized the Door of Reality and Illusion had been built and prepared to confront whoever had claimed it.
• Songchai Sacrifice, Professor Philal, and the other cult leaders discovered the door in the Chaos Sea and moved to secure the remaining Chief Priest position.
• Chen Gang realized the Copper Text Church’s time-stealing trick had disrupted his plans, then trusted the person he had chosen to carry them out.
• Anwei confronted the cult leaders and demanded the An family fortune, a seat on the Qinggang Council, the Copper Text Church’s assets, and the Door of Reality and Illusion.

Anwei revealed that she had sabotaged the Copper Text Church’s plan and threatened to destroy Bai La Mountain’s hundreds of thousands of believers unless the Grand Sacrifices stopped her. Secretary Number 5 demanded control of the Door of Reality and Illusion, but Han Su arrived and challenged the Copper Believers to stand with him.

• Anwei revealed that she had infected herself with the Mechanical Legion virus and blocked the Grand Sacrifices from reaching the Door of Reality and Illusion.
• The Grand Sacrifices tried to connect data cables to Anwei, but an explosion destroyed an Acolyte altar, and she warned that explosives were buried throughout Bai La Mountain.
• Secretary Number 5 used Crystal Contamination to appear across the town and demanded that the Copper Text Church open the Door of Reality and Illusion whenever he commanded.
• Songchai Sacrifice accused Secretary Number 5 of wanting to keep the Copper Text Church under his control, and Secretary Number 5 admitted it.
• Han Su emerged carrying a Black Suitcase and asked whether the Copper Believers would betray him after he came to clean up the mess.

Han Su confronted Secretary Number 5’s Crystal-contaminated forces in Bai La Mountain, turning the mental field against them and refusing to yield to threats against the Door of Reality and Illusion. When Han Su threatened to destroy the site and expose Chen Gang, Chen Gang summoned Wu Qi and ordered Azure Harbor’s reality defenses activated.

• Secretary Number 5 used Crystal Bullets to seize control of Hou Zhi Zhu and turn Bai La Mountain’s mental field against Han Su.
• Han Su snapped his fingers, redirected the field, and revived Hou Zhi Zhu after Secretary Number 5 killed him.
• Secretary Number 5’s forces threatened to destroy the Door of Reality and Illusion, but Han Su dared them to do it and claimed he had found explosives that could kill tens of thousands.
• Han Su grabbed a Crystal-contaminated victim and threatened to ruin the site, return to Azure Harbor, and report Chen Gang to Abyss Studio.
• Chen Gang abandoned the verbal contest, summoned Wu Qi, and ordered Azure Harbor’s reality defenses activated.

Secretary Number 5 drew Azure Harbor’s Reality Barrier into Bai La Mountain to overwhelm the Copper Text Church, but Han Su invoked the Church’s supreme Spell and used Wu Qi’s betrayal to turn the power against him. As Han Su restored Bai La Mountain’s field and forced Secretary Number 5 out, the secretary transferred his remaining authority to Anwei, who absorbed it while Han Su smiled.

• Secretary Number 5 activated Azure Harbor’s Reality Barrier and sent its immense Mental Power toward Bai La Mountain, where it began tearing through the Copper Text Church’s forces.
• Han Su recited the Copper Text Church’s supreme Spell, revealing himself as its inheritor and rousing the region’s altars, relics, puppets, and Mechanical Legion.
• Wu Qi turned against Secretary Number 5 and disabled the human-transformation matrix, sending the Reality Barrier’s power out of control.
• Han Su, Doctor, and Black Tiger redirected the uncontrolled power into Bai La Mountain’s field, letting Doctor’s will seize control while Han Su reached the threshold for a second division of his Golden Cells.
• Han Su restored the Electronic Secret Society’s destroyed altar and began sealing Bai La Mountain off from Secretary Number 5’s influence.
• Secretary Number 5 transferred his remaining authority to Anwei, who absorbed it as he was being expelled, while Han Su smiled.

Anwei seized control of the Bai La Mountain field and tried to use Hou Zhi Zhu to capture Han Su, but Han Su broke through her defenses and revealed that he had claimed Hou Zhi Zhu—and Anwei—as his own. The chapter ended as the Copper mark on Hou Zhi Zhu shone and Anwei realized the power in the field had shifted beyond her control.

• Anwei used Secretary Number 5’s permission-compression package to control the Mother of Machinery, halt Doctor’s invasion, and make Hou Zhi Zhu’s consciousness attack Han Su.
• Han Su charged Anwei, broke through the Mechanical Buddha after reaching Golden Cell Second Division, and confronted her as Hou Zhi Zhu’s consciousness collision began.
• The expected collision never occurred; Han Su explained that he was not the inheritor the Copper Text Church sought.
• Anwei saw a brilliant Copper mark appear on Hou Zhi Zhu’s brow as Han Su told her, “He’s one of mine,” and then claimed that Anwei was too.

Hou Zhi Zhu gained absolute control over the Bai La Mountain region and declared himself an Azure Harbor spy, while Anwei began to awaken through the Mechanical Fragment’s contamination. Chen Gang activated his retreat plan as crises spread through Azure Harbor, and Han Su asked Anwei to help negotiate with the city.

• Hou Zhi Zhu fused with the region’s power, overwhelmed the Sacrifices, and claimed he was an Azure Harbor spy sent to sabotage the Copper Script cultists.
• Anwei began remembering her past with Han Su as the Mechanical Fragment’s contamination reached her and Miss Ai’s containment room.
• Chen Gang dismissed the containment alarm, ordered attacks and warnings sent, and disguised himself as a cleaner to escape.
• Li Moses, Wang Buddha, and Zhao Brahma received orders but stayed put as the Slaughter City Sacrifices approached Bai La Mountain.
• Ms. Shen demanded that the Doctor be released so she could discuss the Divine Descent Plan with him, or she would declare the plan a failure.
• Han Su told Anwei they were one and the same and asked her to help secure bargaining chips for negotiations with Azure Harbor.

Han Su handed control of Bai La Mountain to Anwei while his allies completed the domain’s transformation and Zhang Chiguo confronted the Slaughter City Sacrifices outside town. The Sacrifices began to retreat, but one suddenly broke through the Four Kings’ defenses and charged into Bai La Mountain.

• Han Su withdrew from Anwei after she recovered her memories, and Doctor used the reality defense line’s power to renew the domain and bind the Copper Scripture Holy Text to himself.
• Black Tiger returned to his human form as the domain came under Hou Zhi Zhu’s control and subdued the Mechanical Ghost army, Living Copper Puppets, and Copper Believers.
• Anwei tested Han Su by proposing to seize control of Bai La Mountain and asking him to help kill her mentor, Secretary Number 5; Han Su agreed and said he would handle the outsiders.
• Li Moses, Zhao Brahma, and Wang Buddha faced two Slaughter City Sacrifices until the bloodied Zhang Chiguo arrived after fighting Azure Harbor’s armed forces and ordered the Sacrifices to leave.
• A telephone rang as the Sacrifices withdrew, and one of them suddenly attacked, breaking through the Four Kings’ defenses and rushing toward Bai La Mountain’s domain.

Han Su and Zhang Chiguo joined forces to kill the Beast-Eyed Acolyte after he broke into Bai La Mountain, with Han Su testing the power of Emperor's text against the Slaughter City Sacrifice. The three Independent Investigators were left stunned by the Acolyte's death.

• Zhang Chiguo used the other three Independent Investigators to buy time, then pursued the Beast-Eyed Acolyte with Scarlet tendrils as the Acolyte entered Bai La Mountain.
• The Beast-Eyed Acolyte tried to disrupt the mountain's mental field with a device, but Han Su appeared and crushed it.
• Han Su fought the Acolyte with Emperor's text and Copper Script power, deflecting his attacks and driving copper spikes into him.
• The Acolyte transformed into a giant wolf-like monster and charged Han Su, but Han Su's gaze filled him with visions that made him falter.
• Zhang Chiguo tore out the Acolyte's spine while Han Su ripped off his head, killing him as he remained in a posture of prostration.
• Wang Buddha, Zhao Brahma, and Li Moses stared in disbelief at the dead Slaughter City Sacrifice.

Han Su killed both Slaughter City Sacrifices with Bai La Mountain’s field power, while Anwei seized control in Qinggang and eliminated her brother and his assistant. Secretary Number 5 was murdered during his escape, and Ms. Shen realized that the person who had called her as Doctor was an impostor, leaving her fearing Doctor was dead.

• Han Su received authority from Hou Zhi Zhu and used Bai La Mountain’s field power to kill the fleeing Slaughter City Sacrifice, then asked the Independent Investigators to assess his application to become one of them.
• Anwei told Father An that she controlled Qinggang and had Secretary Number 5 in her hands, and he advised her to contact the Xu Family for help transferring power.
• Anwei shot her older brother and his assistant, then called Uncle Xu and learned he would help her take temporary control of the situation.
• Secretary Number 5 tried to escape Qinggang disguised as a floor cleaner, but a man in a baseball cap stabbed him to death, saying they had come to collect for the children he sent to the Ancient Castle.
• Ms. Shen spoke with someone impersonating Doctor, then realized the caller had failed to use their code phrase and feared that Doctor had been killed.

Han Su and Anwei secured control of the Bai La Mountain crisis and planned to turn the region into Han Su’s secret prison. Anwei recognized Han Su as an Emperor’s Follower and revealed that a kindergarten teacher and a wealthy young master in Azure Harbor were followers as well.

• Li Moses agreed to enter Bai La Mountain, but Miss Ai canceled his mission and recalled him and the other investigators to Azure Harbor to deal with Secretary Number 5’s betrayal and Lilac Mansion.
• Han Su gave Zhang Chiguo knowledge related to Scarlet during a handshake, then continued into Bai La Mountain while the investigators prepared to return to Azure Harbor.
• Anwei planned to claim her father’s inheritance, take over Lilac Mansion’s forces through Hou Zhi Zhu, and assign fanatical Copper Believers to guard the Door of Reality and Illusion.
• Anwei offered Han Su control of Bai La Mountain by having him secure the council’s approval to make it a secret prison after becoming an Independent Investigator.
• Anwei identified Han Su as an Emperor’s Follower and said a kindergarten teacher and a wealthy young master in Azure Harbor were followers too.

After securing Bai La Mountain, Han Su returned to Azure Harbor with Professor Philal’s memories and submitted his report while preparing for his promotion and the coming Shimmering Descent. At home, he nearly attacked Xu Ji, who had come to check on him and announced that he had been dumped.

• Han Su accepted Professor Philal’s memories by shaking his hand, then ordered the others to prepare a secret prison.
• Han Su learned that Wei Lan was in Tongshi City searching for Mechanical Fragment No. 3 and returned to Azure Harbor.
• Secretary Cui Qiao welcomed Han Su, and he submitted Doctor’s report while saying he expected to be promoted to Independent Investigator.
• Han Su worried about the shrinking interval before Shimmering Descent and checked whether Mysterious Will had affected him.
• Han Su sensed someone at his apartment door and nearly strangled Xu Ji before recognizing him.
• Xu Ji explained that he had come because Han Su’s phone had been unreachable, then revealed that he had been dumped.

Han Su accompanied Xu Ji to a bar, where Xu Ji revealed his crush on singer Deng Qingge, while Han Su sensed an unseen watcher and received an urgent call from Wei Lan about the Mechanical Fragment in Tongshi City. As Wei Lan and Lu Neng prepared to seize it, Deng Qingge reported to a Doctor that she had seen Han Su.

• Xu Ji asked Han Su to drink with him and help him cope with being rejected by Deng Qingge, and Han Su agreed to keep him company.
• Han Su confirmed Xu Ji showed no signs of contamination, then went with him to a bar where Xu Ji pointed out Deng Qingge and a crowd of infatuated admirers.
• Han Su sensed that someone was watching him when the liquor in his glass rippled, but he could not detect the observer.
• Wei Lan contacted Han Su and said she and Lu Neng had located the Mechanical Fragment beneath a statue in a Tongshi City church, but might have to take it before others found it.
• Han Su told Wei Lan to find Rong Qiyue for equipment and promised to send information about Professor Philal, then rushed off with Xu Ji to provide support.
• Deng Qingge called a Doctor and said she had seen Han Su and that he had grown into a fine young man.

Han Su sought Rong Qiyue’s help to transmit information to Wei Lan, and Rong Qiyue prepared a machine to send him through the Abyss. As Han Su began his Deep Dive, he sensed the gaze that had watched him before and saw a Singer onstage and a man in a cell holding a telephone.

• Han Su brought Xu Ji to Rong Qiyue’s laboratory and asked Rong Qiyue to help transmit information over a long distance.
• Rong Qiyue explained that materials stolen from Giant Horn City could support major Abundance experiments, then revealed that his equipment could use the Abyss to transmit information.
• Han Su asked Wu Qi for a Qinggang model password, and Wu Qi sent him the available passwords; Anwei told Wu Qi that Han Su had to be given whatever he requested, while the Kindergarten Teacher had anticipated his call.
• Han Su entered Rong Qiyue’s machine and began diving into the Abyss, sensing Wei Lan’s presence and following the familiar gaze he had noticed before.
• Han Su saw a Singer performing on a stage and a man in a black suit imprisoned behind her; the man held a telephone and met Han Su’s gaze.

Han Su entered the Abyss, analyzed Professor Philal’s memories, and sent Wei Lan intelligence and two items to support her mission in Tongshi City. He drew the city’s watchers toward himself, but as he prepared to escape, someone praised the Emperor’s name and stirred enormous waves in the Abyss.

• Han Su discovered that his Golden Cells had left him with a small mass of flesh and blood in the Abyss, where the Banshee model cipher shielded him from Abyssal Creatures.
• Rong Qiyue ordered Secretary Sisi to activate the model cipher while Anwei watched Han Su’s Deep Dive through Candle Yin.
• Han Su digested Professor Philal’s memories, learned about the Mechanical Fragment and the traps around it, then transferred the intelligence, glasses, and Pocket Watch to Wei Lan.
• Wei Lan told Han Su that she and Lu Neng had only a thirty percent chance of success, so Han Su severed their connection and used Zero Sequence Cipher Spell Number 05 to draw Tongshi City’s watchers toward him.
• As Han Su descended through the Abyss to draw danger away from Wei Lan and Lu Neng, a mysterious voice said, “Praise the Emperor’s name,” and enormous waves surged through the Abyss.

Han Su was protected from the Knight Errants by abyssal creatures awakened by a Spell praising the Emperor, while Wei Lan completed the exchange for the Mechanical Part in Tongshi City. Anwei concluded that Han Su was the Emperor, and Wei Lan reported that the target was secured.

• A Spell praising the Emperor awakened countless abyssal creatures and unleashed chaos around Han Su.
• Wei Lan and Lu Neng set off blasts across Tongshi City, and Wei Lan exchanged Han Su’s Pocket Watch and glasses for the Mechanical Part.
• The Knight Errants descended into the abyss and fired at Han Su, but Candle Yin and other Shadow Creatures shielded him.
• Han Su escaped back to reality as the creatures bowed to him, and Anwei told Wu Qi that he was the Emperor.
• Wei Lan found the Mechanical Part in her handbag and messaged Han Su that they had secured it.

After a disruptive Deep Dive, Han Su asked Xue Zhi for help bringing the Mechanical Fragment back from Tongshi City, while Xue Zhi warned that Ace of Spades might be in greater danger than the Qinggang Empress. Meanwhile, a doctor deliberately created chaos to conceal his past mistakes and buy someone time.

• Han Su realized the voice guiding him in the Ancient Castle matched someone who had appeared in reality, then contacted Pot Lid Head and asked him to watch Deng Qingge at the Green Hat Bar.
• Xue Zhi arrived at the D7 Laboratory, said Anwei had sent him, and offered to help Han Su analyze the crisis.
• Xue Zhi revealed a list of people he had identified as errors, including Anwei and the Qinggang Empress, and Han Su decided to awaken him to learn what he knew.
• Han Su explained that a stolen Mechanical Fragment was being carried from Tongshi City under pursuit by several factions, and Xue Zhi deduced that Ace of Spades was the one in immediate danger.
• At the Green Hat Bar, Old Singer questioned why the doctor was helping Han Su, and the doctor said he intended to create chaos to conceal his mistakes and buy someone time.

Xue Zhi explained how he identified Azure Harbor’s supposed “errors” and warned Han Su that their unchecked growth was attracting mysterious sources and destabilizing the city. He predicted that Ace of Spades might soon become an inheritor, or a God embryo.

• Xue Zhi told Han Su that Chen Gang had tried to corrupt him when he was six, but his hyperthymesia let him recognize the implanted memories and escape the corruption.
• Xue Zhi recounted how Chen Gang later adopted him, exposed him to the Mysterious Side, and relied on his advice before becoming Secretary Number 5.
• Xue Zhi explained that he used classified information and calculations to identify people who did not fit Azure Harbor’s designed model, which he called “errors.”
• Xue Zhi argued that the errors were building chaos in Azure Harbor, citing Ace of Spades’s thefts and the resulting conflicts among the Sea People tribes.
• Xue Zhi warned that the errors were drawing mysterious sources from the Historical Shadow and could revive forces beyond the World Guardians’ control.
• Xue Zhi predicted that Ace of Spades was secretly advancing and could become an inheritor, or a God embryo.

Lu Neng completed the Weirdo Alliance’s ritual, claimed the gray Trump Card, and used it to summon the monster from a coffin before escaping the Knight Errant. Meanwhile, Wei Lan fled Tongshi City but failed to persuade Xiang Nanli to let her use White Ash City’s teleportation array, leaving her hunted and without a safe route back to Azure Harbor.

• Xue Zhi told Han Su that Lu Neng was likely to inherit the Weirdo Alliance’s mysterious path and advised them to congratulate him if his ritual succeeded.
• Lu Neng performed the dangerous ritual in the little chapel, navigated its warped surroundings, and completed the theft that made the Mechanical Fragment in Wei Lan’s bag real.
• The Knight Errant attacked the chapel, so Lu Neng used the gray Trump Card to summon a coffin and unleash a grayish-white monster against him before escaping.
• Han Su followed Xue Zhi’s advice and arranged for congratulations to reach Lu Neng, while Xue Zhi proposed helping Wei Lan become a Regional or continental Queen.
• Wei Lan escaped Tongshi City and contacted Xiang Nanli for access to White Ash City’s teleportation array, but Xiang Nanli refused to help her.