Chapter Summaries

Alvin tried to calm a Thunder Warrior by mentioning Terra’s unification, but the word triggered the warrior’s memories of the Battle of Mount Ararat and sent him into a violent hallucination. After the Thunder Warrior mistook Alvin for a Sorcerer Tyrant and attacked, Alvin fought back and knocked him unconscious.

• Alvin’s mention of unification reminded the Thunder Warrior of the Emperor’s order to slaughter the Thunder Warriors at Mount Ararat, and the warrior attacked him.
• The Thunder Warrior mistook Alvin for the Yellow Skin and then for a Sorcerer Tyrant, striking him with overwhelming force.
• Alvin tried to explain that Terra had already been unified, but the hallucinating Thunder Warrior kept charging and fighting for Terra.
• Alvin read the Thunder Warrior’s movements, dodged his attacks, and shattered a stone against his psychic barrier.
• Alvin appeared in front of the Thunder Warrior and knocked him unconscious with a flaming punch.

After losing control, Maximus woke to find Alvin and the children unharmed, then angrily rejected the Imperium’s attempt to bring him back. Alvin invoked the Thunder Warriors’ unpaid debt and bluffed about a stabilizer from the Emperor, persuading Maximus to reconsider joining him.

• Maximus woke from a dream about his dead brothers and checked that the children around Alvin were safe.
• Alvin introduced himself as a certified Psyker, and Maximus accused him of coming to finish off the Thunder Warriors.
• Alvin told Maximus that Marshal Trajan said the Thunder Warriors’ deeds remained unfinished and unpaid.
• Maximus punched through a thick wall and raged that the Thunder Warriors had been betrayed and forgotten.
• Alvin offered Maximus a chance to wage war across the galaxy and restore the Thunder Warriors’ name.
• When Maximus refused, Alvin claimed he had a powerful stabilizer from the Emperor, and Maximus immediately agreed to talk again.

Alvin took Maximus to see the surviving Thunder Warriors and admitted he did not yet have the drug he had promised, provoking Maximus to attack him. Alvin insisted he could prove he could help and vanished with Maximus through a black hole, leaving their destination unknown.

• Maximus agreed to take Alvin to the Thunder Warriors, who lived among their battered armor and weapons in an abandoned warehouse.
• Alvin examined Theoris, a gravely ill Thunder Warrior, while Maximus explained that Theoris had once commanded the Thirteenth Company; Maximus also revealed that Jian and Wang were dead and Cassius was at the Black Market.
• Maximus begged Alvin to save Theoris and Cassius, offering his own share of the drug and promising the Thunder Warriors would fight for Alvin.
• Alvin confessed that he did not currently have the drug, and Maximus accused him of lying and raised a worn Chainsword against him.
• Alvin grabbed Maximus's arm and promised to prove he could help, then told the Navigator to engage and disappeared with Maximus into a black hole.

Alvin and Maximus arrived in Xia Country instead of the Marvel Universe, and Alvin discovered that the Navigator System had brought them to an unknown world. With the system’s protective field about to end, Alvin began taking precautions while trying to keep Maximus calm.

• Alvin woke on a bustling Xia Country street and realized he had returned to a familiar world, while Maximus demanded an explanation for their sudden arrival.
• The Navigator System revealed that they were in an unknown world, that anchoring it required 10,000 units of Source Power, and that its Cognitive Obfuscation Field would soon deactivate.
• Alvin told Maximus to trust him and follow his instructions, promising to help cure Maximus’s brother; Maximus reluctantly agreed.
• Alvin used the Void Dragon’s power to disable nearby surveillance cameras and considered how to learn about the world before its authorities found them.
• Alvin decided they needed to leave the street quickly because Maximus’s towering, violent appearance could cause a major commotion once the protective field disappeared.

Alvin and Maximus tried to leave unnoticed after arriving on Holy Terra, but Maximus sensed someone watching them and the crowd noticed his unusual appearance. When a freight truck charged toward them, Maximus stopped it with his bare strength, leaving the wrecked vehicle and the crowd to witness his power.

• Alvin gave Maximus clothes and explained that they were on Holy Terra in the 2K era.
• Maximus sensed an unseen watcher, but Alvin's psychic search found no one nearby.
• Alvin used psychic suggestion to clear a path through the gathering crowd, and he and Maximus headed toward an intersection.
• A speeding freight truck charged toward the two men and the people in the busy commercial district.
• Maximus braced himself and stopped the truck, crushing its cab without suffering any injuries.

After Maximus stopped a runaway train, grateful bystanders overwhelmed him with gifts, giving him a glimpse of the unity the Emperor had sought. As Alvin and Maximus left, they concluded the train incident was deliberate and that someone had been watching and targeting them.

• The crowd surrounded Maximus with praise, food, and gifts after he stopped the train, and a boy gave him a Tiga Ultraman card.
• Alvin used a psychic suggestion to disperse the crowd, and Maximus carefully kept the gifts and said he was beginning to understand the Emperor's idea of unity.
• Alvin and Maximus agreed that the runaway train had not crashed by accident, though Alvin's psychic senses had found no trace of a cause.
• Maximus said he had sensed that someone was watching them and that the runaway train had targeted them.
• Alvin wondered who had found them so soon after their arrival in the unfamiliar world.

Alvin realized that the runaway truck had targeted the world’s protagonist, whom the system had revealed was somewhere in the crowd. After a car accident put the long-haired Luo Ji in mortal danger, Maximus saved him and demanded his name.

• Alvin learned that an important character had raised the world exploration progress by 10%, and concluded that the protagonist had been in the crowd.
• Alvin told Maximus that the truck and the earlier surveillance had targeted the protagonist, though neither of them knew how to identify him.
• Luo Ji noticed Maximus across the street, but his companion could not see the towering man and angrily walked away.
• A speeding car struck Luo Ji’s companion, and multiple vehicles then threatened Luo Ji as he stepped into the road.
• Maximus tossed the oncoming cars aside, saved Luo Ji, and demanded his name; Luo Ji identified himself.

Alvin discovered that the world was the Trisolaran world and that a Sophon was surveilling Earth. He met Luo Ji, offered him his services as a Rogue Trader, and left him uneasy about what lay ahead.

• Alvin learned that a Trisolaran Sophon was watching Earth and understood why Maximus had sensed the surveillance.
• Maximus stopped Luo Ji from leaving, and Alvin introduced himself to the future Swordholder.
• Alvin persuaded Luo Ji to accept a meal that day, then gave him a Rogue Trader business card before their meeting was interrupted.
• Luo Ji asked what Alvin sold, and Alvin listed weapons designed to destroy civilizations, leaving Luo Ji convinced that his carefree days were ending.

After Alvin’s cryptic meeting with Luo Ji, Shi Qiang took him in for questioning while the ETO ordered two unidentified people eliminated. At the United Nations, Luo Ji was named the Fourth Wallfacer, making Alvin’s congratulations suddenly clear.

• Alvin praised Luo Ji, hinted that a smile would follow him for life, and left with Maximus.
• Shi Qiang brought Luo Ji into a car to question him, and Luo Ji concealed his meeting with Alvin.
• Shi Qiang messaged someone to check surveillance footage and investigate whether Luo Ji’s visitor was from the ETO.
• Qin Shi Huang summoned ETO members and ordered them to kill two blurry figures he said posed a greater threat to the Lord than Luo Ji.
• The Secretary-General announced the Wallfacer Project and named Luo Ji as the Fourth Wallfacer.

Alvin watched Luo Ji become the Fourth Wallfacer and waited for him to seek help, while Luo Ji rejected the appointment and fled the United Nations. A gunman shot Luo Ji in New York, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Alvin explained the Wallfacer Project to Maximus and said they should wait for Luo Ji to come to them.
• Maximus said he wanted to kill all intelligent life that was not human, and Alvin agreed.
• Luo Ji learned he had been chosen as the Fourth Wallfacer and asked Secretary-General Sai why he had been selected.
• Luo Ji refused the position, then shoved Shi Qiang aside and ran from the conference hall.
• A gunshot struck Luo Ji on a dark New York street, and he collapsed as Shi Qiang and guards rushed toward him.

After Luo Ji was assassinated, Alvin abandoned his plan to stay behind the scenes and decided to act openly against the Trisolarans and the ETO. He approached Shi Qiang and asked him to help secure Alvin’s appointment as the Fourth Wallfacer.

• Alvin learned from the news that Luo Ji had died after being shot outside the United Nations headquarters, and his destructive Psykana Power erupted as he realized his plans had been ruined.
• Alvin decided to step into public view and vowed to make the Trisolarans and the ETO regret the assassination.
• The assassination triggered public outrage against the ETO, while security for the other Wallfacers was increased.
• Three days later, Shi Qiang left the Security Bureau exhausted by the criticism and investigations following Luo Ji’s death.
• Alvin returned Shi Qiang’s stolen lighter, revealed that he was a member of the Earth-Trisolaris Organization, and asked Shi Qiang to propose him as Luo Ji’s replacement as the Fourth Wallfacer.

Alvin asked Shi Qiang to recommend him as the Fourth Wallfacer, then revealed his identity and convinced Shi Qiang to arrange a meeting with General Chang Weisi. The chapter left Alvin poised to begin his plan while Shi Qiang agreed to let him speak with the general under security conditions.

• Alvin asked Shi Qiang to recommend him as the Fourth Wallfacer, but Shi Qiang refused and tried to leave.
• Alvin immobilized Shi Qiang with a mysterious power and asked him to hear him out.
• Alvin reminded Shi Qiang of the pileup at Ping'an intersection, and Shi Qiang recognized him as the merchant prince Alvin Valshius.
• Shi Qiang explained that Luo Ji had identified Alvin and his three-meter-tall bodyguard before falling into a coma after being shot through the lung.
• Alvin asked to speak with General Chang Weisi, and Shi Qiang agreed on the condition that Alvin accept security measures.

Alvin demonstrated his psychic power to Chang Weisi and demanded to become the Fourth Wallfacer, claiming his abilities represented humanity’s future. After Alvin appeared at the United Nations assembly hall as a Wallfacer, Maximus foresaw a future of war and bloodshed.

• Shi Qiang brought Alvin to a secure meeting with General Chang Weisi, who said he could recommend Alvin to the higher-ups if Alvin proved his ability.
• Alvin declared that he had to become the Fourth Wallfacer and unleashed psychic power that froze the room, shattered the bulletproof glass, and startled the soldiers.
• Chang Weisi ordered the soldiers to lower their weapons and asked Alvin what his demonstration meant.
• Alvin claimed that his powers were psyker power and that humanity could evolve to master them, persuading Chang Weisi with his explanation.
• Maximus watched Alvin announce his inauguration as a Wallfacer and warned Shi Qiang that they would regret choosing him.
• Maximus foresaw a future of bloodshed and war, then told Shi Qiang that the Unification Wars were coming.

After being named the Fourth Wallfacer, Alvin delivered a provocative speech and assured Secretary-General Sai that his actions were part of a plan. He left the United Nations without waiting for security, and a deafening explosion struck just outside.

• Alvin’s declaration spread worldwide and drew criticism from people who supported peaceful coexistence with the Trisolarans.
• Secretary-General Sai questioned Alvin’s extreme speech, and Alvin told her it was part of his plan.
• Sai recalled that the Council had given Alvin unlimited war resources, believing his plan could save humanity.
• Alvin dismissed Sai’s recommendation to wait for security and strode out, declaring that only the weak hid themselves.
• A powerful explosion outside blasted a shock wave into the United Nations, and Sai rushed out in alarm.

Alvin survived a staged bombing outside United Nations Headquarters and used his powers to convince the public that he was humanity’s superpowered leader. The ETO discovered he had arranged the attack to frame them, and Qin Shi Huang ordered them to suspend the Wallbreaker plan and focus on killing Alvin.

• An ETO attacker detonated a bomb near Alvin outside United Nations Headquarters, but Alvin emerged unharmed.
• Alvin compressed and extinguished the explosion’s smoke and flames with his powers, then rallied the crowd by declaring himself humanity’s guide to a new era.
• Shi Qiang watched the broadcast and vowed to root out the ETO, while Maximus recognized the bombing as a staged performance.
• Qin Shi Huang confronted the ETO members, who denied arranging the attack, and Sophon revealed that Alvin had staged it himself.
• Qin Shi Huang ordered the ETO to suspend the Wallbreaker plan and concentrate on killing Alvin.

After Alvin Valshius’s staged terrorist attack ruined ETO’s reputation, Sophon insisted that he be killed before the other Wallbreaker plans could proceed. Sophon revealed that Alvin and his guard were not human and that the civilization behind them frightened the Trisolarans, leaving Qin Shi Huang alarmed and uncertain about Alvin’s true purpose.

• Mozi, Von Neumann, and Aristotle discussed ETO’s damaged reputation and the difficulty of assigning someone to kill Alvin while continuing their Wallbreaker missions.
• Sophon ordered ETO to kill Alvin first, and Qin Shi Huang ended the meeting while telling the others not to abandon their remaining plans.
• Qin Shi Huang questioned Sophon about why Alvin had to die and explained that ETO needed a reason to restore its members’ confidence.
• Sophon told Qin Shi Huang that Alvin was not human, that his genes and biology did not match known human categories, and that his power was extremely dangerous.
• Qin Shi Huang asked what Alvin wanted, but Sophon said it did not know; the Trisolarans feared the civilization behind him might be a hunter in the dark forest.

Alvin used the publicity surrounding his supposed superpowers to advance a secret human-evolution program, while the Trisolarans ordered Qin Shi Huang to kill him. After PIA director Thomas Vader confronted him about the program, Alvin recruited him by testing his willingness to destroy both civilizations rather than let one defeat the other.

• Sophon ordered Qin Shi Huang to eliminate Alvin, and Qin Shi Huang resolved to become his Wallbreaker by exposing him publicly.
• Alvin’s staged attack and display of psionics made him a celebrated symbol of human evolution, and he began sending selected criminals to Xia for his secret program.
• Thomas Vader confronted Alvin with reports that the program had killed 724 people and caused their bodies to mutate.
• Vader privately deduced that Alvin had staged the attack and concealed his real plan, then asked whether it could stop the Trisolaran invasion.
• Alvin asked what Vader would do with a key that could destroy both civilizations, and Vader said he would turn it; Alvin invited him to join his work.

Alvin tested Vader’s belief that civilization must preserve its beastliness, then led him to a sealed underground cell and offered him a glimpse of the future. Vader agreed to join Alvin and demanded to see his plan and what lay behind the door.

• Alvin invited Vader to become his assistant, but Vader refused and tried to leave.
• Alvin asked whether reason or humanity mattered more under pressure, and Vader argued that civilization could lose its humanity but never its beastliness.
• Vader asked whether Alvin would save humanity, and Alvin took him to a top-secret cell beneath a military base.
• Alvin crushed open the cell door and described what waited inside as the future, warning Vader there would be no turning back after he witnessed it.
• Vader’s cold rationality took over, and he agreed to join Alvin and demanded to see the plan and the creature behind the door.

Vader discovered the horrifying secret behind the metal door and learned that Alvin had deceived humanity while pursuing a plan to resist the Trisolarian threat. After seeing Alvin’s full plan, Vader understood that it would plunge humanity into war, while Alvin insisted it was their only chance to survive.

• Vader emerged from seeing what lay behind the door, vomited repeatedly, and accepted a cigarette from Alvin.
• Alvin asked whether necessary evil was needed to ensure humanity’s survival, and Vader called him a lunatic rather than a savior.
• Vader accused Alvin of creating the horrific thing behind the door to defeat the Trisolarian, but Alvin said it was a byproduct of another attempt and would have value even if it failed.
• Vader demanded to know Alvin’s actual plan, and Alvin sent part of it directly into his mind.
• After learning the plan, Vader recoiled and accused Alvin of dragging all of humanity into war, while Alvin said he would become a daemon if that was humanity’s only chance to survive.

Vader questioned Cheng Xin about whether reason or morality mattered more under existential pressure, then dismissed her and recommended her to the Fourth Wallfacer. He left her as the Stairway Plan began with a proposal to send a human brain into space, declaring that humanity needed demons.

• Cheng Xin brought coffee to Vader in his dark office and sensed that he had become far more frightening and emotionless.
• Vader asked Cheng Xin whether reason or morality mattered more when a civilization faced ultimate pressure.
• Cheng Xin argued that humanity must uphold morality even when facing extinction, and Vader reacted with a look of hatred and contempt.
• Vader gave Cheng Xin a document ending her work with him and recommending her to the Fourth Wallfacer.
• Vader told Cheng Xin that the Stairway Plan had begun and that its proposal was to send a single brain into space.
• Vader dismissed morality in favor of results and said humanity needed demons before leaving the office.