Chapter Summaries

Wang Dong traded Life Crystals with Wang Yingchen’s probationary mercenary squad for Dark Crystals, Radiant Crystals, and titanium crystals, then used his resources to complete the Dark Peng’s first Battleship Skill, Mirage. The new skill gave the warship a mobile decoy for instant space displacement and permanent high-priority concealment, leaving Wang Dong confident in its greatly improved survivability.

• Wang Dong agreed to release Cai Chengan to Wang Yingchen and learned from him to avoid registering as a probationary mercenary in the star regions of the Shannan Kingdom and the Oda Shogunate.
• Wang Dong decided the interstellar trade fair’s prices were too high and traded Life Crystals with Wang Yingchen’s squad for 186 Dark Crystals, 48 Radiant Crystals, and 750 titanium crystals.
• Wang Dong upgraded the Dark Peng’s Mirage System to LV.40 and began developing its Battleship Skill, spending Source Points and titanium crystals.
• Wang Dong watched the Mirage System become intangible and enter the onboard Kindling, completing the Mirage Battleship Skill after thirty minutes.
• Wang Dong saw that Mirage could create a decoy within ten light-minutes for instant space displacement and conceal the Dark Peng at priority 2000, re-entering concealment five minutes after its weapons stopped charging.

After the Dark Peng’s Battleship Skill developed, Wang Dong discovered an advanced function that could add a second skill slot, but he postponed unlocking it until the ship’s hull structure could reach Red quality. He then spent heavily to upgrade several modules, greatly strengthening the Dark Peng’s defenses, energy efficiency, and corrosion attacks, before turning to its remaining main guns.

• The Auxiliary System gained Advanced Function Seven, allowing the Dark Peng to add a second Battleship Skill slot for ten High-grade Energy Crystals, and Wang Dong decided to wait until the hull structure reached Red quality.
• Wang Dong raised the Red-quality Black Hole Cruiser from LV.5 to LV.15, increasing its shield durability, recovery speed, and defenses.
• Wang Dong upgraded the Shadow Dark Matter Energy Reactor from LV.10 to LV.30, improving its power and reducing Shipborne Module energy consumption by 75%.
• Wang Dong upgraded the Corrosion Charm from LV.0 to LV.20, raising its corrosion effect to 25%.
• With its Dark Crystal reserves nearly exhausted, Wang Dong shifted his attention to the unupgraded Positron Impact Cannon and Longinus Energy Cannon.

Wang Dong upgraded the Dark Peng’s two main guns, learned more about Cai Chengan and the mercenary backing him, and returned to the Capital Star System with Lin Xiaogui. After preparing to act against battleships commanded by Prince Lin Rongxiang, Wang Dong used the Auxiliary System to return the Dark Peng to the Dark Spirit Flower battlefield.

• Wang Dong upgraded the Positron Impact Cannon and Longinus Source Cannon to LV.20, raising the Dark Peng’s combat strength rating to LV.42.
• After the trade fair ended, Wang Dong learned from Wang Yingchen that Cai Chengan had exaggerated his family’s influence and had received help from a full-fledged mercenary in the Interstellar Mercenary Association.
• Wang Yingchen urged Wang Dong to seek resources beyond the region, and his advice renewed Wang Dong’s ambition to explore the wider interstellar world.
• Wang Dong returned to the Capital Star System with Lin Xiaogui, asked her for information on Prince Lin Rongxiang’s battleships, and learned that two ships lent by the Xidun Kingdom might be vulnerable.
• On December 1, Wang Dong used the Auxiliary System’s recorded coordinates and an Intermediate Energy Crystal to send the Dark Peng back to the Dark Spirit Flower battlefield, surprising the crew.

Wang Dong tested the Dark Peng’s upgraded Mirage skill and used its concealment to enter the Dark Spirit Flower’s main bud and harvest fruits safely. After collecting many fruits, the crew discovered that the flower had begun turning its remaining fruits into defective ones, suggesting it was protecting itself.

• Wang Dong revealed that he could preserve coordinates for selected Otherworldly Space battlefields, prompting the crew to ask him to warn them before future surprises.
• Mada explained how the Dark Peng’s upgraded Mirage skill could keep it concealed inside the Dark Spirit Flower, and Wang Dong’s crew tested its Mirage Shadow and instantaneous spatial exchange.
• Wang Dong’s crew entered the Dark Spirit Flower’s main bud and confirmed that its defensive organisms could not detect the concealed Dark Peng as it traveled toward the fruits.
• Lieba collected the first fruit directly from the cargo bay in seconds, and the Dark Peng went on to harvest thirteen fruits without revealing its position.
• Liu Zhi noticed that nearby areas of concentrated life energy were dwindling, and the crew found that the next expected fruit had become a small, murky defective one.
• Gao Luanqin concluded that the Dark Spirit Flower was breaking down its remaining fruits as a self-protection measure.

Wang Dong harvested Dark Spirit Flower Fruits sustainably, then seized the Eagle Warrior and received a lecture from the Marquis about his actions. After the Marquis asked him to investigate the Straw Hat Pirate Group, Wang Dong learned that the pirates had reappeared and plundered a planet by bypassing its planetary shield.

• Gao Luanqin and Wang Dong identified the Dark Spirit Flower's regional defense mechanism, and Xu Zhenzhi proposed guerrilla harvesting to avoid triggering it.
• The Dark Peng harvested twenty-three Dark Spirit Flower Fruits using the new method, bringing its total to thirty-one, before leaving the battlefield.
• Wang Dong arranged to seize the Eagle Warrior in the Ganlin Star System and use anonymous star-gate access to send it to the Northern Star Domain.
• The Marquis reprimanded Wang Dong for his recent actions, then accepted that Wang Dong had completed the Dark Peng's Battleship Skill and explained why he had limited his attack to the Eagle Warrior.
• The Marquis asked Wang Dong to investigate the Straw Hat Pirate Group, and Wang Dong learned that the group had plundered a planet after electronically infiltrating its planetary shield.

Wang Dong held Black Stone Territory’s year-end review, where Zhou Tai won the top honor, then helped Mada use Dark Spirit Flower Fruits to awaken an ability. Mada also broke through to the advanced stage of the Body Forging Technique and strengthened his new ability.

• Wang Dong told Mada to investigate a Straw Hat Pirate Group supply channel and reminded him to attend the year-end review.
• Wang Dong announced that the top three performers could receive noble titles and fiefs, and Zhou Tai won the top honor.
• Wang Dong brought Mada to the Dark Peng’s captain’s quarters, where Gao Luanqin explained how Dark Spirit Flower Fruits could help awaken abilities.
• Mada consumed eleven Dark Spirit Flower Fruits and awakened an ability aboard the Dark Peng.
• Gao Luanqin found that Mada’s Body Forging Technique had reached the peak of its intermediate stage, so Wang Dong provided a High-grade Energy Crystal and an evolution potion.
• Mada used the potion and crystal to break through to the advanced stage of the Body Forging Technique and further strengthened his newly awakened ability.

Wang Dong prepared Dark Peng for a revenge campaign against the Jiyuan Chen Family in the Golden Snapdragon Federation, Zhou Tai’s former enemy. The ship set course for the Jiyuan Star System, where the crew planned to strike Chen Daodan’s fleet and capture Chen Daoju.

• Mada explained that his awakened ability, Dispel Falsehood, Retain Truth, used Source Points to detect false information, while Gao Luanqin’s Biological Identification ability helped her study living things and Dark Spirit Flower Fruits.
• Wang Dong reserved the remaining fruits for himself and Zhou Tai’s Body Forging Technique training, leaving Xu Zhenzhi and Wang Guannan to earn their share through contributions.
• At the year-end ceremony, Wang Dong refused advances from several women, then told Zhou Tai that they would settle old scores in the Golden Snapdragon Federation.
• Wang Dong raised his Body Forging Technique to Advanced LV.5 by consuming Dark Spirit Flower Fruits, and Dark Peng departed for the Jiyuan Star System under stealth.
• Mada briefed the crew on the Jiyuan Chen Family and identified Chen Daoju and Chen Daodan as their primary targets, while Zhou Tai recalled how the brothers had ruined his family and forced him to flee.
• Wu Baiyi proposed ambushing Chen Daodan’s escort fleet in deep space, then capturing Chen Daoju and crippling the Jiyuan Chen Family by destroying a major convoy.

Wang Dong’s crew ambushed Chen Daodan’s escort fleet near the Jiyuan Star System, using the attack to lure out Jiyuan Chen Family reinforcements. Chen Daodan recognized a chance to earn merit by holding the attackers in place, while the Dark Peng continued destroying his destroyers and awaited the family’s response.

• Shi Zunhou proposed ambushing Chen Daodan near the Jiyuan Star System and using a distress signal to draw out the Chen Family’s reinforcements, and Wang Dong approved the plan.
• The Dark Peng secretly reached the Jiyuan Star System and waited until Chen Daodan’s fleet departed on its escort mission seven days later.
• Wang Dong ordered the Dark Peng to attack, and Chen Daodan quickly sent a distress call and moved the Big Polylace and two cruisers to engage.
• The Dark Peng evaded the Chen Family’s larger ships and repeatedly fired on its destroyers, sinking five and crippling five in less than an hour.
• Chen Daodan chose to keep the attacking battleship occupied until reinforcements arrived, treating the losses as worthwhile if he could earn credit by capturing or destroying it.
• Mada explained that the Chen Family would likely send one battleship squadron while calling on Golden Snapdragon Federation forces to handle most of the fighting.

Wang Dong used the Dark Peng to draw out Chen Daodan’s and Chen Guiyuan’s forces, then revealed the ship’s overwhelming firepower and captured Chen Daodan. The Dark Peng took control of the Big Polylace, while Chen Guiyuan was left with a crippled flagship and his fleet destroyed.

• Gao Luanqin left the command cabin to continue her experiments as the Dark Peng prepared to attack Chen Daodan’s fleet.
• Wang Dong ordered the Dark Peng to destroy Chen Daodan’s destroyers and transports, but the Chen Family reinforcements failed to arrive on time.
• Chen Daodan accused Chen Guiyuan of deliberately delaying the reinforcements, while Chen Guiyuan arrived and ordered his fleet to destroy the Dark Peng.
• Wang Dong fired the Supernova Burst Cannon and Scorpio Death Ray Cannon, wiping out Chen Guiyuan’s fleet except for his crippled flagship and forcing the Big Polylace to flee.
• The Dark Peng caught the Big Polylace, crippled it, and sent Zhou Tai and the assault team to seize the ship.
• Zhou Tai defeated Chen Daodan and took him prisoner as the Dark Peng’s assault team secured the Big Polylace.

Wang Dong’s crew destroyed the Jiyuan Chen Family’s two battleship squadrons, captured Chen Daoju, and gave Zhou Tai the chance to settle his revenge. The Dark Peng then reached the Dingyuan Star System to begin targeting the Jin Family, while Wang Dong harvested more Dark Spirit Flower Fruits and prepared to return his attention to the Otherworldly Space battlefield.

• The Dark Peng looted and destroyed the Big Polylace and Chen Guiyuan’s flagship, then departed after wiping out the Jiyuan Chen Family’s two battleship squadrons.
• Using stealth and spatial jumps, Wang Dong’s crew slipped onto Jishui, seized Chen Daoju, and escaped without alerting the planet’s defenses.
• News of the Chen Family’s losses spread across the Golden Snapdragon Federation, leaving the family vulnerable to challengers.
• Zhou Tai spent a day with Chen Daoju and Chen Daodan, emerged free of his consuming hatred, and declared that Zhou Tai was his real name.
• Wang Dong named the Jin Family of the Dingyuan Star System as the Dark Peng’s next target, and Mada briefed the crew on the family’s defenses and structure.
• On February 4, Wang Dong harvested 38 more Dark Spirit Flower Fruits, bringing the Dark Peng’s supply to 59, then decided to stop harvesting for now.

After secretly destroying two Jin Family battleship squadrons, Wang Dong took the Dark Peng on a voyage to the Freedom Light Federation to sell valuable goods. The ship crossed the Cosmic Void Belt and reached the Oda Shogunate’s Bodo Star System, where Xu Zhenzhi revealed how to locate an Interstellar Explorer Association branch and obtain a better star chart.

• The mysterious battleship destroyed Jin Family outposts and probes, then annihilated two pursuing battleship squadrons, leaving the Jin Family on high alert.
• Wang Dong left the Dingyuan Star System aboard the Dark Peng and headed for the Freedom Light Federation to seek better prices for his goods.
• Wang Dong spent resources upgrading the Steel Bullet Warp Device, reducing the Cosmic Void Belt crossing to about 20 days while leaving only five Titanium Crystals in reserve.
• The Dark Peng crossed the Cosmic Void Belt and reached the Oda Shogunate’s Bodo Star System using a star chart obtained from a Golden Snapdragon Federation secret base.
• Xu Zhenzhi explained that the crew could find an Interstellar Explorer Association branch in Bodo and volunteered to help obtain a new star chart.
• Xu Zhenzhi activated his Explorer Badge, and Liu Zhi granted it access to the ship’s location so the badge could display the branch’s current position.

Wang Dong and the Dark Peng crossed the Oda Shogunate and Shannan Kingdom, buying star charts along the way, then reached the Blue Eagle Federation’s Galiford Star System. With the Fuhai Trading Market open, Wang Dong considered selling the crew’s valuable goods there discreetly.

• Wang Dong’s group bought a detailed star chart of the Oda Shogunate from an Interstellar Explorer Association branch aboard the cruise ship Twilight City.
• The Dark Peng crossed the Oda Shogunate and Shannan Kingdom, cautiously navigating active Space Warp Blockers and buying a Shannan Kingdom star chart from a nearby branch.
• The Dark Peng crossed the Cosmic Void Belt and reached the Blue Eagle Federation, where Wang Dong brought the crew to the prosperous Galiford Star System.
• Xu Zhenzhi explained that the Galiford Star System’s Fuhai Trading Market attracted warships from neighboring states and had once hosted a Star Destroyer.
• Wang Dong learned that the market allowed anonymous, flexible face-to-face trades and decided to visit while it was open, considering selling the crew’s valuable goods there.

Wang Dong took the Dark Peng to the Fuhai Trading Market, surveyed prices, and rented a stall to barter golden-quality Level 7 Biological Essence Fluid for high-quality modules. Just as he was preparing to complete a promising trade, Jia Wei of the Jia Family arrived with an armed escort and began demanding that traders cooperate with her premium purchase.

• Wang Dong signed the market’s temporary contract, which locked the Dark Peng’s weapons and identity-related functions, then paid the entrance fee with green-quality modules.
• Wang Dong toured the market and found that Shipborne Modules cost more than in the Purple Thorn Kingdom’s star sector, but he rejected the idea of buying there to resell because it would weaken his home region.
• Wang Dong rented a stall and offered golden-quality Level 7 Biological Essence Fluid in exchange for high-quality modules.
• After the market promoted his item on the final day of the rental, Wang Dong reviewed many offers and chose six candidate modules, including one gold-quality module, for a potential trade.
• Jia Wei arrived with dozens of warships, invoked the Jia Family’s influence, and repeatedly announced that she was buying at a premium despite the market staff’s warning.

Jia Wei tried to trade a dangerous Level 3 Otherworldly Space Signal Beacon for Wang Dong’s valuable Biological Essence Fluid, prompting the market’s traders to mock her. Wang Dong recognized that the beacon could be valuable to him, while Fuhai Trading Market’s management challenged Jia Wei to follow its appraisal rules.

• Jia Wei claimed her analyzed beacon, which pointed to a captive civilization of over ten billion people, was worth more than Wang Dong’s Level 7 Biological Essence Fluid.
• Traders in Fuhai Trading Market mocked Jia Wei, pointing out that the beacon’s level restriction and the civilization’s powerful owners made it a deadly risk.
• Wang Dong realized the beacon could still yield millions of Source Points if he used the Auxiliary System and sent the Dark Peng to the signal’s location.
• A mid-level manager offered to arrange an appraisal by Jia Yiguang and gave Jia Wei the option of choosing a market-funded gift instead of forcing the trade.

Jia Wei tried to exploit the turmoil around Fuhai Trading Market’s failing Jia Family backing to force Wang Dong to trade his golden-quality Level 7 Biological Essence Fluid for a cheap Level 3 Otherworldly Space Signal Beacon. Fuhai’s owner chose not to risk the market’s resources opposing her, and manager Mingzhi Guangxiu privately apologized to Wang Dong while warning that the deal would likely go through.

• Jia Wei dismissed the market manager’s authority, invoked her family status, and demanded the stall’s golden-quality Level 7 Biological Essence Fluid in exchange for her Level 3 Otherworldly Space Signal Beacon.
• The Flame Seed Warship captains realized Jia Wei was targeting Fuhai Trading Market rather than them, and they stood aside as she isolated Wang Dong’s stall from the group.
• Wang Jiayuan and Mingzhi Guangxiu debated whether Fuhai should protect the stall, and Wang Jiayuan decided the market could not afford to confront Jia Wei or absorb the loss.
• After Wang Dong received a private call from Fuhai Trading Market, Mingzhi Guangxiu apologized and promised to mediate and offer future compensation, while admitting Jia Wei’s demanded trade would likely proceed.

Wang Dong used Dark Peng’s disguised warship identification to make the Fuhai Trading Market believe he was an LV.110 powerhouse, forcing its owner to take responsibility for Jia Wei’s actions. He demanded high-quality modules and Jia Wei’s Level 3 Otherworldly Space Signal Beacon, then reviewed the market’s discounted inventory.

• Wang Dong rejected Mingzhi Guangxiu’s vague promise of compensation and sent him Dark Peng’s disguised LV.110 identification information.
• Mingzhi Guangxiu realized the market had provoked a formidable outsider and urgently contacted owner Wang Jiayuan.
• Wang Jiayuan apologized to Wang Dong and offered to buy his goods at double their listed price.
• Wang Dong said he wanted high-quality modules and Jia Wei’s Level 3 Otherworldly Space Signal Beacon instead of Origin Coins.
• Wang Jiayuan promised to obtain the beacon and sent Wang Dong a list of the market’s high-quality modules at prices about twenty percent below market value.

Wang Jiayuan and Mingzhi Guangxiu decided to win the Gentleman Number One’s support by using Fuhai Trading Market’s trade connections to find him a superior module. After Wang Jiayuan left to deal with Jia Shi Yiguang, Mingzhi ordered the market guards to detain Jia Wei while escorting Wang Dong’s Dark Peng toward the market’s storage center.

• Wang Jiayuan recognized the Gentleman Number One as a possible guardian for Fuhai Trading Market and discussed how its trade channels could serve him.
• Mingzhi Guangxiu concluded that a module above Gold Quality could prove the market’s value, and Wang Jiayuan authorized him to spend up to a million Origin Coins to acquire an Orange Quality module.
• Mingzhi recalled a lead on a Red Quality module and chose to trust Wang Jiayuan’s plan, despite the risks to himself and the woman he cared about.
• Wang Jiayuan headed to the Red Moon Star System to seek value from Jia Shi Yiguang and told Mingzhi to deal with Jia Wei.
• Mingzhi sent three hundred guard warships to surround Jia Wei and her party while other ships escorted Wang Dong’s Dark Peng out of Fuhai Trading Market toward its storage center.

Wang Dong visited the Fuhai Trading Market, where Mingzhi Guangxiu sought to recruit him as the market’s patron and offered information about an unclaimed Orange Quality module. Wang Dong refused because he was only passing through the Blue Eagle Federation, so Mingzhi Guangxiu proposed a separate personal deal and began telling him a story.

• The Fuhai Trading Market welcomed Wang Dong and showed him its secret warehouse while Mingzhi Guangxiu explained that the Jia Family’s influence threatened the market.
• Mingzhi Guangxiu spoke with Ning Ji, his childhood sweetheart, and decided to hand over information in hopes of securing a new opportunity.
• Mingzhi Guangxiu told Wang Dong about the market’s predicament and offered reliable information about an unclaimed Orange Quality module if Wang Dong became its patron.
• Wang Dong refused to serve as the Fuhai Trading Market’s backing because he was only passing through the Blue Eagle Federation.
• Mingzhi Guangxiu shifted to proposing a personal deal and began telling Wang Dong an old-fashioned story.

Wang Dong agreed to help Mingzhi Guangxiu and Ning Ji assassinate Jia Yiqing in exchange for reliable information about the red-quality Sky-Shield module. After learning that Jia Yiqing would attend an event in three days, Wang Dong began assessing how to strike and escape from the Jia Family’s heavily controlled star system.

• Mingzhi Guangxiu explained that Jia Yiqing had betrayed Ning Ji’s family, helped destroy it, and risen to become a powerful Jia Family elder.
• Wang Dong agreed to the commission after hearing that Mingzhi Guangxiu could provide the location of the Sky-Shield, a red-quality module that could strengthen the Dark Peng’s defenses.
• Mingzhi Guangxiu gave Wang Dong detailed, current intelligence about Jia Yiqing and his heavily armored flagship, the Unyielding.
• Wang Dong learned that Jia Yiqing would attend an event in three days with nearly two hundred warships guarding him in the Galiford Star System.
• Wang Dong concluded he could approach the Unyielding while cloaked and destroy it, but the Jia Family could activate Space Warp Blockers and prevent his escape by deep-space jump.

Wang Dong planned an assassination of Jia Yiqing, then used the Dark Peng to enter an Otherworldly Space battlefield where the Allen and Tyran Civilizations were fighting for survival. After discovering the Tyran fleet’s Micro Black Hole Generators and the Allen fleet’s Portable Star Gate, he ordered the crew to wait until they could return to their own universe before joining the battle.

• Wang Dong finalized a plan to attack Jia Yiqing after confirming the No Retreat’s route and schedule with Mingzhi Guangxiu.
• Wang Dong gave the Dark Peng the No Regrets No Death identity and entered an Otherworldly Space battlefield between the fifth-level Allen and Tyran Civilizations.
• Gao Luanqin identified the Tyran Civilization as human, while the battle report described the two civilizations’ struggle to claim the Zenith Star Domain.
• Liu Zhi and Abyss Eye detected ten Micro Black Hole Generators in the Tyran fleet, including three that could be accepted as shipborne modules.
• Mada and Abyss Eye revealed that the Allen Civilization possessed a one-time Portable Star Gate previously used to summon higher-level Silicon-based warships.
• Wang Dong ordered the crew to wait twenty-four hours before considering intervention, and Xu Zhenzhi proposed striking the Allen warship carrying the gate.