Chapter Summaries

Bai Jun learned that Abundance energy had left him with at most fourteen years to live, and Herta recruited him to test the Simulated Universe by promising it might lead to a cure. As the test ran, the data feed suddenly accelerated and an Aeon appeared on Herta’s console.

• Bai Jun sensed a strange power stir within him near the cowering Stellaron, while Herta questioned him about how he had eliminated the Fragmentum.
• Herta caught Bai Jun examining her puppet and struck him with a hammer, sending him flying into Arlan as he rushed to help.
• Herta gave Bai Jun his examination results, explaining that Abundance energy had drained his vitality and that he might have no more than fourteen years to live.
• Herta invited Bai Jun to test the Simulated Universe, claiming that gaining Yaoshi’s attention could help cure him, and Bai Jun agreed.
• Herta sent Bai Jun into a simulation of the Luofu’s Exalting Sanctum, where Abominations of Abundance attacked him.
• After the test produced no Aeon data for a while, the feed suddenly sped up and an Aeon appeared on Herta’s console.

After Yaoshi appeared in the Simulated Universe and Nanook nearly killed him, Bai Jun resolved to regain the strength to protect those he cherished. Back on the space station, he sensed an unseen observer and then collided with a silver-haired woman carrying documents.

• Yaoshi appeared before Bai Jun in the Simulated Universe, but Nanook interrupted and threatened to kill him before Herta disconnected the simulation.
• Bai Jun returned to reality shaken and resolved to fight so he could protect the people he cherished.
• Arlan helped Bai Jun clear away the Abundance vines, while Herta apologized and tried unsuccessfully to recover the corrupted simulation data.
• Bai Jun asked Arlan for the location of a nearby star and later sensed someone watching him on the space station.
• Bai Jun collided with a young silver-haired woman, knocking her and the documents she carried to the floor.

Bai Jun traveled from the space station to a nearby sun and discovered that Favor of the Sun could raise his strength beyond Emanator level, though it made him dangerously arrogant. He returned to the station and began considering how to control the ability, while questioning its connection to the Flint Emperor within his soul.

• Bai Jun met Samuel, a new Supply Zone researcher, and introduced himself before leaving with Arlan to board a starship.
• Arlan set the starship's flight path and gave Bai Jun an administrator ID card for his journey toward a nearby star.
• Bai Jun left the starship to approach the sun, where Favor of the Sun awakened and transformed his body as the Flint Emperor's flames changed within his soul.
• Bai Jun tested his newfound power by destroying a third of a barren planet, then returned to the space station with his clothes ruined.
• Arlan lent Bai Jun a jacket and took him to the cafeteria, where Bai Jun reflected on Favor of the Sun's effects and wondered why it altered the Flint Emperor.

Bai Jun rejected the fate described in his medical report and grew closer to Ms. Samuel, while his good deeds earned him the researchers’ appreciation. Herta then ordered him to meet Ruan Mei at the Railway Platform, where he waited as the station prepared a modest welcome for her and Screwllum.

• Bai Jun accepted Ms. Samuel’s return of his medical report, tore it up, and said he would fight any fate that threatened his life.
• Bai Jun agreed to let Ms. Samuel guide him around the station, and he told her that life’s meaning was to live until tomorrow.
• Bai Jun spent the following days undergoing Herta’s tests, basking in sunlight, helping people, and earning the researchers’ gratitude and morality points.
• Herta told Bai Jun that Ruan Mei and Screwllum had arrived to discuss the Simulated Universe and ordered him to meet Ruan Mei at the platform.
• Bai Jun waited near the Railway Platform as researchers discussed canceling the planned welcome ceremony at Ruan Mei’s request.

Herta and Ruan Mei argued over whether Bai Jun should be handed over for Ruan Mei’s research, while Screwllum also expressed interest in him. Herta refused to give him up, revealing how attached she had become to her “precious experimental specimen.”

• Ruan Mei asked Herta to let Bai Jun assist with her research into the unknowable aspects of life.
• Herta refused, saying she would share Bai Jun’s data but would not let Ruan Mei take or harm him.
• Ruan Mei asked whether Herta had claimed Bai Jun as her own or developed feelings for him, leaving Herta unable to answer.
• Screwllum offered to take Bai Jun instead, but Herta and Ruan Mei both rejected the idea.

Bai Jun agreed to serve as Ruan Mei’s assistant for half a month in exchange for her help treating his body, but her use of truth-serum pastries and the intimate morning aftermath left him flustered. He then crushed Arlan in another sparring session, while the chapter ended with him challenging the Security Department members to fight.

• Ruan Mei offered Bai Jun a half-month assistant position with flexible hours and her help treating his body, and Bai Jun accepted.
• Ruan Mei tricked Bai Jun into eating a pastry containing truth serum, then had him help with her experiments late into the night.
• Bai Jun woke to find Ruan Mei asleep against his chest and crying in her sleep, then fled the room when Arlan knocked.
• Arlan heard Ruan Mei’s voice and saw a mark on Bai Jun’s collarbone, misunderstood the situation, and hurried away in embarrassment.
• Bai Jun overwhelmed Arlan during their morning sparring session, then challenged the watching Security Department members to fight.

Bai Jun recovered from sparring and spoke with Herta and Screwllum about his condition, while Ruan Mei’s research and repairs to the Simulated Universe remained stalled. Days later, he chatted with a girl he knew on the space station and realized she recognized the online hacker Silver Hacker, though he did not suspect she was connected to that identity.

• Bai Jun knocked Allen Walker and Eludick unconscious with a wooden training sword, then ended the sparring session and visited Herta’s office.
• Herta checked Bai Jun for injuries, learned about Ruan Mei’s truth serum, and told him the Simulated Universe repairs and his treatment would take more time.
• Screwllum explained that the Astral Express would soon visit the space station, and Herta praised Bai Jun privately for striving against his circumstances.
• Over the next three days, Herta and Screwllum failed to restart the Simulated Universe, while Ruan Mei’s research into Bai Jun’s condition made no progress.
• Bai Jun spoke with a girl in the cafeteria, teased her with a compliment, and told her stories about his life and online acquaintance Silver Hacker.
• The girl recognized the name Silver Hacker and nervously concealed that she knew the hacker, while Bai Jun assumed she had merely heard of her.

Liuying fled after Bai Jun gently combed her hair, unsettled by the feelings growing inside her and the pain of an approaching event. Bai Jun then discovered Heavenly Fire’s true form in a training-room accident that wrecked part of the space station, and Herta confronted him over the damage.

• Liuying suggested that the skilled hacker might be a lonely girl, then blushed as Bai Jun combed her hair and hurried away without finishing her meal.
• Bai Jun worried that he had upset Liuying and went to the training room to test the limits of the Sacred Judgment of Heavenly Fire.
• Bai Jun joined the twin pistols into a sword, awakened Heavenly Fire’s true form, and accidentally blasted the training room and nearby passageways.
• Bai Jun apologized after Herta angrily confronted him about the destruction and the damage to the Simulated Universe equipment, while Asta tried to calm her.

After Bai Jun injured himself wielding the Sacred Judgment of Heavenly Fire, Herta treated him and warned him not to test the repaired Simulated Universe until they understood his unusual constitution. Ruan Mei’s research led her to suspect Bai Jun’s blood and abilities reflected a new form of life, but Bai Jun interrupted her before she could finish her conclusion.

• Asta and Arlan defended Bai Jun, but Screwllum drew Herta’s attention to his badly burned left arm, and Herta took him to her office for treatment.
• Herta healed Bai Jun with diluted sap from the great tree of Abundance, gave him research notes to deliver to Ruan Mei, and warned him that testing the Simulated Universe could attract another Aeon’s attention.
• Screwllum apologized for intervening and told Herta that emotions were worth understanding, but she brushed him off and asked him to help repair the Simulated Universe.
• Ruan Mei studied Bai Jun’s blood and reasoned that its ability to absorb powers from multiple Paths might point to a connection with an Aeon and a previously unseen form of life.
• Bai Jun visited Ruan Mei, gave her Herta’s Simulated Universe notes, and found her room strewn with research papers as she asked him to carry her to a bath.

Bai Jun learned that a Giant True Sting threatened the space station and met Samuel, who took him to a quiet storeroom and asked whether he would reject her if she lied and hurt people. His promise to stop her from hurting herself left Samuel facing the truth that he cared for her despite her deception.

• Ruan Mei spent the night with Bai Jun, and he woke beside her before leaving to find out why the space station was under alert.
• Arlan told Bai Jun that a Giant True Sting had appeared near the station and that personnel could not leave while security prepared for a possible attack.
• Samuel invited Bai Jun to her favorite quiet place in a spare-parts storeroom and released fireflies from a bottle.
• Samuel asked what Bai Jun would do if she lied or hurt someone, and he said he would stop her from hurting herself.
• When Samuel asked if he would hate or blame her, Bai Jun said the fireflies shone brightly because they knew their fate.

The Astral Express crew arrived at the space station, where Welt was unsettled by returning memories and a researcher’s description of Bai Jun. After spotting a silver-haired figure near the elevator, Welt was left wondering whether his suspicions about the familiar stranger were correct.

• Asta’s guests were allowed to dock, and March 7th, Dan Heng, Welt, Himeko, and Pom-Pom prepared to disembark.
• Welt admitted he was distracted by fragments of the past, and Pom-Pom encouraged him to explore the station with March 7th and Dan Heng.
• Himeko took Herta’s relic to the Master Control Zone while March 7th, Dan Heng, and Welt went to buy supplies in the Base Zone.
• March 7th overheard Wen Shiling discussing her admiration for Bai Jun, including his twin black-and-white flame pistols.
• Welt reacted uneasily to Wen Shiling’s description and then spotted a silver figure disappearing into the Base Zone elevator room.

Bai Jun met Himeko at Herta’s office just before the Antimatter Legion attacked Herta Space Station. As Asta organized the station’s response and the Express crew rushed to protect the Stellaron, Bai Jun went to confront the invasion, while Arlan and the security team struggled to hold their position.

• Bai Jun met Himeko, who suggested he ask the Astral Express Conductor about the name he was investigating.
• Explosions shook the station, and Herta realized hackers had disabled communications and left the station vulnerable.
• Arlan reported that an enemy in molten armor had breached the Supply Zone and Antimatter Legion troops were pouring inside.
• Asta began to panic under the pressure, but Bai Jun reassured her, and she rallied the staff and issued orders to evacuate researchers and restore station systems.
• Bai Jun left to assess the damage and confront the attackers, while March 7th, Dan Heng, and Welt headed for the Storage Zone to protect the Stellaron.
• At 01:23, Arlan and several injured Security Department members were exhausted at the junction between the Supply Zone and Storage Zone, wishing Bai Jun were there to help.

Arlan and the Supply Zone staff stood against the Antimatter Legion until Bai Jun arrived and overwhelmed the attackers. After sending them back to the Base Zone, Bai Jun headed for the Storage Zone, where Kafka, Blade, and Silver Wolf prepared to retrieve the Stellaron.

• Arlan chose to hold the connection to the Supply Zone against the Antimatter Legion, and the twin brothers and other staff refused to abandon him.
• Bai Jun arrived, destroyed most of the Antimatter Legion with ease, and gave the survivors emergency medicine.
• Bai Jun ordered Arlan and the staff back to the Base Zone, then set out for the Storage Zone because he was worried about the Stellaron.
• Kafka and Silver Wolf met in the Storage Zone, where Blade followed them after saving Kafka from a surviving Voidranger.
• Silver Wolf led Kafka and Blade toward the room containing the Stellaron, while explaining that Sam had completed her task and that the mission involved an unexpected variable.

Silver Wolf and Kafka found the Stellaron hidden in Herta’s Storage Zone and implanted it into the gray-haired girl, while Bai Jun fought his way to them. After overpowering Blade and resisting the Hunters’ coordinated attack, Bai Jun broke free of their restraints and left Kafka unconscious, with the confrontation still unresolved.

• Silver Wolf located Curio number 211, “Blind Spot,” and revealed the concealed room containing the Stellaron.
• Silver Wolf disabled the containment system, and Kafka placed the Stellaron into the gray-haired girl, who absorbed it.
• Bai Jun intercepted Blade, recognized the Shard Sword, and defeated him after Blade became mara-struck.
• Bai Jun entered the room and attacked Kafka and Silver Wolf, who used gunfire, grenades, and Curio chains to trap him.
• Kafka used Spirit Whisper on Bai Jun, but it failed; Bai Jun broke the chains, incapacitated Blade, and left Kafka unconscious.

Bai Jun defeated the Stellaron Hunters and Antimatter Legion, then carried the unconscious gray-haired girl toward the Master Control Zone. After she woke and clung to him, March 7th and the others reacted with confusion and embarrassment.

• Bai Jun defeated Kafka and Blade, forced Silver Wolf to reveal that the Stellaron was inside the gray-haired girl, and encountered Welt, March 7th, and Dan Heng.
• Welt recognized Bai Jun’s Heavenly Fire and called him Kevin Kaslana, while Blade recognized Dan Heng as Imbibitor Lunae and attacked him verbally before Bai Jun pinned him to the wall again.
• Bai Jun carried the gray-haired girl toward the Master Control Zone, destroyed the Antimatter Legion in their path with a barrage of Sunlight Spears, and the girl woke and embraced him.
• March 7th asked Welt and Dan Heng about Bai Jun and Blade, but both avoided explaining their connections.
• March 7th blushed and gawked when the gray-haired girl burrowed into Bai Jun’s arms, while Dan Heng distanced himself from March 7th’s noisy reaction.

Bai Jun and the Astral Express crew helped secure the space station, but a new Doomsday Beast appeared as the station’s systems failed again. Himeko and Bai Jun prepared to respond while the crew and staff faced the renewed attack.

• Bai Jun brought Stelle and the captured Stellaron Hunters to the Base Zone, where Stelle clung to him again and March 7th tried to pull her away.
• The space station’s power failed after a violent tremor, and Pom-Pom called to report a dragon near the Railway Platform.
• Welt, March 7th, and Dan Heng headed toward the Supply Zone while Himeko went to consult Herta about the Stellaron inside Stelle.
• Asta told Bai Jun and Himeko that much of the station’s power and defenses had failed and that Herta and Ruan Mei were missing.
• Asta’s staff spotted a second, larger Doomsday Beast breaching the station’s barrier, and Bai Jun offered to handle it while Himeko watched the captives and Stelle.

Bai Jun returned to the Railway Platform and destroyed the Doomsday Beast with Heavenly Fire, then faced the Giant True Sting threatening Herta Space Station. The geniuses watching concluded that his power came from a new Path and an Aeon in its infancy, and Bai Jun’s final strike burned the Giant True Sting away.

• Welt crushed the Doomsday Beast with gravity, but a second Doomsday Beast broke through the protective barrier as the first began preparing a self-destructive attack.
• The Giant True Sting appeared outside Herta Space Station, and the Doomsday Beast fired at Welt while he shielded Dan Heng and March 7th.
• Bai Jun shattered the Doomsday Beast’s core with a thrown blade, then unleashed Heavenly Fire and burned the beast to ashes.
• Herta, Screwllum, and Ruan Mei watched Bai Jun’s power and identified it as evidence of a brand-new Path and an Aeon in its infancy.
• The Giant True Sting turned toward the Storage Zone, and Bai Jun warned it to leave before bringing Heavenly Fire down and burning it away.

Bai Jun woke after collapsing from the battle and learned that Yaoshi had marked him with the power of Abundance, making him half an Emanator. The chapter left him ravenously eating while Asta and the others tried to care for him.

• Bai Jun awoke in Herta’s room beside the sleeping Stelle and learned he had been unconscious for a day after fighting the Doomsday Beasts and Giant True Sting.
• Herta explained that Yaoshi had left a mark in Bai Jun and infused him with enough Abundance to make him half an Emanator.
• Bai Jun learned that the Sun within him was likely a newly opened Path and that the Abundance had restored his body to that of a normal Xianzhou native.
• Asta rushed in to check on Bai Jun, while Arlan brought food and explained that Asta had been eager to thank him.
• Bai Jun began devouring the food to recover his energy, and Asta sent Arlan to buy more.

After the Astral Express crew visited Bai Jun to thank him, Himeko urged Stelle to consider joining the Express so she could learn about the Stellaron within her. Himeko made Bai Jun a cup of her infamous coffee, and the chapter ended with Arlan collapsing after drinking it.

• Asta and Herta competed to care for Bai Jun until Stelle moved close and March 7th stumbled into the room, setting off a chaotic pileup.
• Himeko and Welt apologized for March 7th and Dan Heng, while Bai Jun explained that his dramatic words had been a side effect of his ability.
• Himeko told Stelle to consider joining the Express and exploring who she was, and Stelle agreed to think it over before the Express departed.
• Himeko made Bai Jun a cup of coffee, and he struggled to drink it as the Express crew watched in alarm.
• Arlan returned with food, accepted Bai Jun's coffee, drank it, and collapsed.

After the space station crisis, Asta thanked Bai Jun for helping her through the emergency, while Stelle struggled to choose between following the Astral Express and staying with him. Bai Jun took Stelle to visit the Express, where the crew’s chaotic welcome left her eager to imitate March 7th.

• Asta told Bai Jun to rest, then thanked him for encouraging her during the crisis; Bai Jun credited her leadership and assured her that she worked hard.
• Stelle lifted Asta’s skirt to tease her, enraging Asta and ruining the private moment between her and Bai Jun.
• Bai Jun checked on Arlan’s injury, then asked Stelle to consider whether she truly wanted to follow the Astral Express or stay with him.
• Stelle asked Bai Jun to join the Express crew, but he refused and said he would respect her decision after she thought it through; he then led her toward the train.
• Aboard the Astral Express, Pom-Pom punished March 7th for overspending and forgetting to buy a promised plush toy, while Himeko and Welt teased the Conductor.
• Bai Jun and Stelle entered the Express, and Stelle asked to learn March 7th’s odd one-legged display.