Chapter Summaries

Ba Di awakened in his Kryptonian Separation Pod and discovered that he had reached the Solar System, reaffirming his ambition to rule Earth. As he continued toward the planet, a satellite detected his spacecraft near Nevada’s Area 18 Military Base.

• Ba Di recalled how he had become a wanted Kryptonian criminal and betrayed Krypton to escape its coming destruction.
• Ba Di saw Earth in the holographic projection, calmed himself with meditation, and declared that he would rule the world.
• Ba Di fell asleep again while his pod continued traveling toward Earth.
• In 1980, a satellite detected a small spacecraft from outer space near Nevada’s Area 18 Military Base.

Military staff detected a spacecraft descending toward Sequoia Forest, but General Vick ordered its discovery erased so he could keep it for himself. He later told Colonel Slade that aliens had already come to Earth before and that Area 51 knew about them.

• The Nevada satellite control room identified a white spacecraft entering Earth's atmosphere and calculated that it would crash in Sequoia Forest.
• General Vick ordered the staff to delete the spacecraft's records and alter older records to conceal the discovery.
• Colonel Slade and the staff complied as soldiers arrived to guard the control room.
• General Vick assured Slade that other satellites would not expose the spacecraft and that he could explain the sighting as a meteor.
• General Vick revealed to Slade that the spacecraft was not the first alien visitor to Earth and that Area 51 had prior knowledge.

Reporter Mike rushed to the Sequoia Forest after a smoking spaceship crashed there, hoping to uncover a Pulitzer-worthy story. After photographing the unconscious man inside, Mike discovered he was impossibly heavy, and Colonel Slade knocked Mike unconscious as soldiers surrounded the crash site.

• Mike watched a blazing object explode and crash into the Sequoia Forest, prompting Ston Town to prepare for a possible wildfire.
• Mike grabbed his camera and raced to the crash site, where he found a smoking white spaceship and an unconscious man hanging from it.
• Mike photographed the man before trying to pull him free, but found that the man's body was too heavy to move.
• Colonel Slade arrived with soldiers, recognized the man as an alien, and knocked Mike unconscious with a hand chop.

General Vick’s forces captured Ba Di and brought him to an underground laboratory, where tests revealed that his home planet’s gravity had given him at least ten tons of strength. Seventeen hours later, Ba Di woke in restraints and realized humans had made him a research subject.

• General Vick ordered Colonel Slade to remove Ba Di from the wreckage, and Slade struggled to carry the alien’s four-hundred-kilogram body.
• Colonel Violet lifted Ba Di with ease and carried him back to the Underground Base while Slade handled the crash site and secretly kept the camera film.
• At the laboratory, Dean Bo Li reported that Ba Di’s home planet had ten times Earth’s gravity and estimated his strength at at least ten thousand kilograms.
• General Vick considered using Ba Di’s strength to develop serum and create powerful soldiers.
• Seventeen hours later, Ba Di woke in the laboratory, saw his reflection, and realized he had been captured for human research.

After three months of captivity in an underground research base, Ba Di continued to hide his desperation while searching for a way to reach sunlight and escape. He settled on Doctor Jenny as his best chance to gain access to the sun.

• Ba Di recalled what he had learned about General Vick, Dean Bo Li, Doctor Jenny, Violet, and Colonel Slade during his captivity.
• He maintained an appearance of hopeless exhaustion while secretly studying his restraints and considering ways to escape.
• Ba Di recognized that sunlight could activate his Kryptonian genes and restore the power he needed to break free.
• He ruled out General Vick, Violet, Colonel Slade, and Dean Bo Li as possible allies.
• Ba Di chose Doctor Jenny as his best opening and hoped he could use her to see the sun.

Ba Di realized the research base needed his knowledge and began looking for a way to exploit that opportunity. When Doctor Jenny arrived, he used a show of sorrowful affection to catch her attention and start his plan to win her over.

• Ba Di concluded the researchers could not study the damaged spacecraft with their limited technology, so General Vick pursued alien biology while keeping the spacecraft as a possible opportunity.
• During his fourth month of imprisonment, Ba Di ignored Wen Di, the middle-aged teacher assigned to teach him English, because he wanted to attract a younger woman instead.
• On the second day of the fifth month, Doctor Jenny replaced the researcher giving Ba Di a Muscle Relaxant Injection and spoke with Wen Di about teaching him scientific terminology.
• Ba Di raised his head and filled his gaze with emotion when he heard Jenny's voice, leaving her stunned and prompting Wen Di to tease her that the alien had fallen in love at first sight.
• After Jenny left, Wen Di offered to help Ba Di court her if he learned English, but Ba Di could not communicate with her and remained focused on winning Jenny over to escape.

Ba Di used a sorrowful display of devotion to make Jenny curious about him, while hiding his anger and plans to gain freedom. Dean Bo Li assigned Jenny to teach Ba Di English so the researchers could learn more about his past and his planet’s technology.

• Ba Di grew resentful of the researchers’ attempts to teach him English but concealed his feelings and planned to use Jenny to gain leverage.
• After more than seven days without seeing Jenny, Ba Di planned how to renew her interest in him.
• Jenny came to give Ba Di a Muscle Relaxant Injection, and he acted as if her voice reminded him of a lost lover.
• Ba Di spoke to Jenny in Kryptonian Language, asking to hear her voice longer, then lowered his head in apparent grief.
• Dean Bo Li ordered Jenny to teach Ba Di English, and Jenny felt uneasy about using his apparent devotion.

Ba Di manipulated Doctor Jenny’s growing feelings to gather information from the Underground Base and win greater freedom. After Jenny revealed that Slade planned to cripple him before allowing him to leave his room, Ba Di’s rage surged.

• Ba Di feigned deep emotions during Jenny’s English lessons, drawing her into his carefully constructed romantic act.
• Dean Bo Li welcomed Jenny’s bond with Ba Di as leverage, while Colonel Slade warned that Ba Di was dangerous and Jenny could be used against him.
• Over five months with Jenny, Ba Di learned about the Underground Base’s research, the year 1980, and events outside, then offered technological knowledge in exchange for greater freedom.
• Nine months into his imprisonment, Jenny tearfully told Ba Di that Slade intended to cut his hand and foot tendons before letting him leave the room.
• Ba Di hid his shock from Jenny as rage surged inside him.

Ba Di realized Slade planned to cripple him before allowing him any freedom, so he manipulated Jenny into seeking a safer way to restrain him. Jenny left the room determined to prevent his disability, while Ba Di watched her go with murderous intent.

• Ba Di recognized that Slade intended to sever his hand and foot tendons because he considered him dangerous and did not believe his story about being a Kryptonian prince.
• Ba Di appealed to Jenny’s love and described the future they could share, making her grieve over the prospect that he would be permanently crippled.
• Ba Di suggested using a magnetic pulse device to temporarily block signals to his limbs instead of severing his tendons, while concealing that sunlight could help him overcome the restriction.
• Jenny realized the pulse method might be safer but could still leave Ba Di paralyzed, then vowed to stop him from becoming crippled and hurried out.
• Ba Di watched Jenny leave tenderly, then privately resolved to kill her if he ever became free.

Doctor Jenny confronted Slade over how Ba Di should be restrained, arguing that a temporary spinal block would protect them without crippling him. She revealed that General Vick had approved the operation, then left to tell Ba Di the news while Slade reluctantly accepted the order.

• Doctor Jenny demanded that Slade stop insisting Ba Di's hand and foot tendons be severed and proposed temporarily blocking his spinal nerves instead.
• Dean Bo Li explained that Doctor Jenny wanted Ba Di treated peacefully so he would cooperate and might eventually earn their trust.
• Slade insulted Doctor Jenny for loving an alien and argued that Ba Di would remain imprisoned and could never be accepted by human society.
• Doctor Jenny revealed that General Vick had approved the operation and ordered Colonel Slade to carry it out, then left to tell Ba Di.
• Slade read the file, recognized Ba Di as a serious threat, and told Dean Bo Li he would leave the rest to him.

Dean Bo Li reviewed Jenny’s proposal to paralyze Ba Di and use his knowledge and cooperation to advance research, while Slade insisted the alien had to be completely immobilized. Dean Bo Li promised to adjust the Magnetic Field Pulse Radio Frequency himself, leaving the plan approved but Ba Di’s fate dependent on its success.

• Dean Bo Li read Jenny’s report and noted that General Vick had approved her plan because of its promised research and military benefits.
• Dean Bo Li praised Slade for acting through Jenny to keep Ba Di compliant and make both of them contribute to the research.
• Slade warned Dean Bo Li that Ba Di was dangerous and demanded that he be permanently paralyzed before Jenny’s proposal went ahead.
• Dean Bo Li said he would adjust the Magnetic Field Pulse Radio Frequency and have Jenny activate it to paralyze Ba Di.

Jenny operated on Ba Di, implanting a Pulse Radiofrequency Needle connected to a metal wheelchair that could monitor and restrain him. After a hidden visitor secretly adjusted the signals overnight, Ba Di woke and Jenny began activating the block under Slade’s watch.

• Jenny operated on Ba Di’s spine and connected a Pulse Radiofrequency Needle to a metal wheelchair fitted with restraints and monitoring equipment.
• Dean Bo Li had soldiers move Ba Di into the wheelchair while Jenny completed the settings, unaware that it could also control him with electric shocks and toxins.
• After everyone left, Jenny kissed Ba Di and departed to rest; a thin, frail figure later entered the dark room and secretly readjusted the pulse signals.
• Ba Di woke the next day and understood that the wheelchair’s monitoring made him need to be cautious, but also gave him a chance to act beyond the White Room.
• Slade ordered Jenny to begin as soldiers guarded the room, and Jenny activated the Pulse Radiofrequency block after Ba Di nodded his support.

Ba Di endured Jenny’s activation of the Pulse Radiofrequency Needle and briefly regained control of his body, but he restrained his urge to attack and lost that control again. He left Slade and the others believing he was paralyzed, preserving his chance to gain freedom and access to the Underground Base.

• Ba Di considered how his apparent paralysis would earn the researchers’ trust and help him gain access to the Underground Base and the damaged spaceship.
• Slade, old Dean Bo Li, and General Vick each expected to benefit from Ba Di’s paralysis and the knowledge he could provide.
• Jenny activated the Pulse Radiofrequency Needle while Slade and armed soldiers watched Ba Di.
• Ba Di felt excruciating pain as his body’s strength and control returned, and he imagined killing the people who had imprisoned him.
• Ba Di used the Meditation Technique of the Kryptonian Meditators Guild to suppress his violent urges, crushed the wheelchair’s metal handles, and then lost control of his body again.

Jenny’s Pulse Radiofrequency Needle permanently paralyzed Ba Di, leaving her overwhelmed by guilt until he reassured her and urged her to find a way to restore his mobility. Ba Di ended the chapter resolved to keep contributing his scientific knowledge and win the silent battle despite being paralyzed.

• The Pulse Radiofrequency Needle disrupted Ba Di’s neural signals, leaving him permanently paralyzed from the neck down.
• Dean Bo Li questioned Jenny’s calculations, and Jenny realized her mistake had caused Ba Di’s paralysis.
• Jenny collapsed beside Ba Di’s wheelchair and apologized, but Ba Di told her he believed in her.
• Ba Di encouraged Jenny to use her biological expertise to find a way to make him move again, and she promised she would.
• Dean Bo Li and Slade watched Jenny and Ba Di reconcile, while Ba Di privately concluded that everyone had gotten what they wanted and he had not lost the silent battle.

After a year and three months underground, Ba Di had become a valued scientific consultant while concealing his true abilities and enduring the control of the Pulse Radiofrequency Needle. Dean Bo Li summoned him to discuss the spaceship’s virtual imaging technology and showed him the key that housed its Artificial Intelligence.

• Ba Di continued to provide the researchers with broad scientific guidance while hiding the extent of his knowledge and controlling his reactions to the Pulse Radiofrequency Needle.
• Two soldiers escorted Ba Di from the White Room to the room where researchers studied his damaged spaceship.
• Dean Bo Li asked Ba Di for help understanding the spaceship’s virtual imaging technology, and Ba Di explained that it required Artificial Intelligence for practical use.
• Dean Bo Li showed Ba Di the Kryptonian spaceship key and asked him what it was.

Ba Di used the Spaceship Key to exploit Dean Bo Li’s greed, convincing him that it opened a Kryptonian royal treasure vault and trading his silence for help marrying Jenny. Dean Bo Li agreed to arrange the wedding and provide a ring, leaving Ba Di’s plan to bring him further under his influence on track.

• Ba Di recognized the Spaceship Key in Dean Bo Li’s possession and told him it was both the source of Krypton’s disaster and the key to the royal family’s treasure.
• Ba Di claimed the vault held Kryptonian civilization records and scientific knowledge, then said it had already been destroyed.
• Dean Bo Li decided to keep the key as a research-worthy keepsake and asked Ba Di how things were going with Jenny.
• Ba Di said he wanted to marry Jenny, and Dean Bo Li agreed, imagining the research possibilities of their child.
• Ba Di asked for a wedding ring, and Dean Bo Li offered to prepare one in exchange for Ba Di keeping the key’s supposed significance quiet.

Ba Di realized Jenny’s infrared experiments threatened to expose his response to sunlight, so he proposed that they bask in the sun together the next day. Jenny accepted joyfully, while Ba Di secretly resolved to begin his escape plans then.

• Ba Di reflected on how Dean Bo Li could help him and reviewed what he had learned about the Underground Base and its security.
• Jenny told Ba Di that his cells changed under infrared rays and that she had exposed them overnight with a Gene Serum Catalyst.
• Ba Di feared the experiment’s results would lead to deeper testing and cost him his chance to escape.
• Ba Di asked Jenny to take the next day off and bathe in the sun with him, deciding to act then.
• Jenny accepted Ba Di’s proposal and professed her love, while Ba Di remained inwardly cold.

Ba Di persuaded Dean Bo Li to let Jenny take him to the Negative First Floor to bask in the sun, while Dean Bo Li went to inspect the infrared-exposed cells. Slade appeared from the elevator and blocked their way.

• Ba Di stopped Jenny from checking the experiment and asked her to take him into the sunlight.
• Jenny agreed to have Dean Bo Li inspect Ba Di's cells and encountered him in the corridor.
• Ba Di reminded Dean Bo Li of his earlier promise, and Dean Bo Li gave him a small red box and blessed the couple.
• Jenny guided Ba Di past the guards and toward the Negative First Floor.
• Slade stepped out of the elevator, blocked their path, and asked where they were going.

Ba Di confronted Colonel Slade over being barred from going to the Negative First Floor, insisting that basking in sunlight was essential to his Kryptonian faith and threatening to die if stopped. After Dean Bo Li announced the Gene Serum had succeeded, Slade let Ba Di and Jenny go upstairs under guard, leaving Ba Di on his way to the sun.

• Colonel Slade blocked Jenny from taking Ba Di to the Negative First Floor, citing his authority and concerns that Ba Di remained dangerous.
• Ba Di argued that his faith in the sun gave him an unwavering will and declared he would rather die than let Slade prevent him from basking in its light.
• Slade recognized Ba Di's value to the Underground Base and stopped objecting when Ba Di threatened to make him answer to General Vick for his death.
• Dean Bo Li arrived with Jenny and announced that the Gene Serum General Vick wanted had succeeded.
• Slade allowed Jenny to take Ba Di upstairs, ordered soldiers to monitor them, and followed Dean Bo Li to see the successful serum.

Slade tried to restrain Ba Di but let him go sunbathing under heavy security, while Jenny's successful Gene Serum experiment revealed that Ba Di's cells reacted strongly to infrared radiation. The chapter ended with Slade fearing the sun's other radiation could affect Ba Di too, just as a scream came over his radio.

• Slade told Dean Bo Li that he had deployed soldiers, raised the base's alert level, and sealed passageways to prevent Ba Di from acting freely.
• Dean Bo Li showed Slade Jenny's completed Gene Serum and reported that it made a white mouse larger and stronger without destabilizing its genes.
• Dean Bo Li explained that Jenny's experimental records could allow the serum to be replicated and might lead to versions with special powers.
• Slade learned that Ba Di's cells reacted strongly to far infrared rays and worried that sunlight's other radiation might affect him as well.
• Slade's radio crackled with a shrill, miserable scream.