Chapter Summaries

Summary

The author announces that the newly released book briefly reached the top ten in the monthly new-book voting chart, thanks readers, and promises to repay their support with extra chapters and continued improvements to the story. Shortly afterward, the book slips out of the top ten and falls just two votes short of returning. The author makes an earnest appeal for readers to cast their monthly votes.

Character and interaction notes

• Author: Grateful and enthusiastic, then comically dismayed by the book’s sudden drop. Promises to work harder and openly asks readers for help.
• Readers: Addressed warmly as supporters whose votes are crucial to the book’s ranking.

Themes

• Gratitude and reciprocity between creator and audience.
• The competitive, fast-changing nature of online rankings.
• Reader participation as a source of encouragement for an author.

Chapter Summary: “Terrifying Odds, Frenzied Bets!”

Key plot points and events

• On the final night of the ten-day life-or-death pact, Jiang Yue skips extra training and instead settles his body, energy, and spirit before facing Butcher.
• In ten days, Jiang Yue has recovered from near-fatal injuries and become a Level 1 Martial Artist. His normal force output now exceeds 1,200 kilograms, and he has mastered Limit Breaking and the Six Harmonies Eight Meridians Strike.
• Jiang Yue meets Shen Qing before the fight. Shen has also become a Level 1 Martial Artist, stabilized his Blood Energy, and grasped the true intent of the Six Harmonies technique. They agree to face Butcher together.
• Jiangue reveals that their squad leader, Lu Ming, will accompany them—not to fight, but to observe and ensure no one cheats outside the ring. Shen Qing is surprised and envies Jiang Yue’s bond with such a supportive officer.
• The Underground Gambling Arena is packed with more than a thousand spectators, drawn by the enormous wagers on the seemingly lopsided match. Butcher is a veteran Level 1 Martial Artist with 1,700 kilograms of force output; Jiang Yue and Shen Qing are newly promoted Martial Artists with much less raw strength.
• The crowd falls silent when the two recruits arrive, recognizing that they have genuinely reached Level 1. They walk to the cage amid fear and admiration.
• Butcher encourages betting and expects an easy win. Lu Ming—disguised in civilian clothes—quietly wagers 300 Points on Jiang Yue and Shen Qing, then adds another 200 on someone else’s behalf. His confidence unsettles the gamblers and angers Butcher.
• Before the fight, Jiang Yue and Shen Qing acknowledge that they cannot match Butcher’s strength directly, but believe their improved techniques and combat ability give them a chance.
• All three sign the life-and-death contract, and the Special Alloy cage drops into place. Butcher privately decides to prolong the fight for entertainment and profit, underestimating his opponents.
• The countdown ends, and the fight begins.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yue displays remarkable composure and self-control. His rapid progress has transformed him from a gravely injured recruit into a confident Martial Artist, and his calm masks a powerful appetite for battle.
• Shen Qing has also advanced significantly. Once an openly sharp, aggressive fighter, he now carries a more restrained, formidable presence. He is startled by Lu Ming’s involvement and openly envies Jiang Yue’s connection with him.
• Lu Ming shows loyalty and personal concern for his squad. He accompanies the recruits, offers protection against interference outside the ring, and backs them with a major wager—while insisting that the fight itself is theirs to win or lose.
• Butcher recognizes that the recruits have improved but remains confident that his strength, technique, and years of experience make him invincible. His greed leads him to plan a showy, prolonged fight rather than take them seriously.
• Jiang Yue and Shen Qing share mutual trust and resolve, preparing together and entering the cage as partners against a much stronger opponent.

Significant themes

• Rapid growth through adversity: Both recruits have crossed into a new level of strength under extreme pressure.
• Trust and mentorship: Lu Ming’s support contrasts with the arena’s transactional, hierarchical culture.
• Underdogs versus experience: Jiang Yue and Shen Qing have less raw power, but their new skills and teamwork may challenge Butcher’s veteran advantages.
• Greed and underestimation: The betting frenzy turns the fight into a spectacle, while Butcher’s desire for profit blinds him to the danger he faces.
• Composure before violence: The fighters’ control and preparation stand against the crowd’s chaos and bloodlust.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• As the Underground Gambling Arena’s countdown ends, Jiang Yue and Shen Qing surprise the crowd by attacking Butcher first rather than defending or waiting. They coordinate a pincer assault: Shen Qing charges head-on with the Six Harmonies Eight-Meridian Strike, while Jiang Yue uses the Roaming Dragon Stance to target Butcher’s flank.
• Butcher’s superior strength sends Shen Qing skidding back with a damaged arm, but Jiang Yue evades the worst of Butcher’s counter and lands a concentrated Hidden Power punch that dents his bracer and injures his arm. The rookies’ opening attack shocks the spectators and makes Butcher take them seriously.
• Butcher launches a relentless Storm Heavy Punch barrage. Shen Qing draws his attention by attacking at close range, while Jiang Yue circles him, dodging and striking at openings. Their teamwork keeps Butcher from landing a decisive blow, and the prolonged struggle leaves all three bloodied.
• After several minutes, the fighters pause to gather strength for a finishing move. Butcher reverses his blood-energy flow in preparation for a powerful attack. Jiang Yue recognizes the danger and triggers the military Secret Art, Limit Breaking.
• Meanwhile, the Third Squad watches the fight on a live feed while training. Wei Han unexpectedly demonstrates Limit Breaking by forcing Tong Meng to react to a surprise dagger attack. He predicts the rookies will probably lose, though he has secretly bet heavily on them. The squad teases him, revealing their wagers as signs of their solidarity.
• Butcher unleashes a devastating, roughly 2,500-kilogram Storm Heavy Punch at Shen Qing. Jiang Yue and Shen Qing activate Limit Breaking together. Shen Qing meets the attack head-on, while Jiang Yue strikes Butcher’s arm joint to weaken the blow.
• The combined assault fails to stop Butcher’s formidable force. As the collision threatens to overwhelm them, Jiang Yue activates Limit Breaking a second time, ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Character developments

• Jiang Yue shows exceptional composure, mobility, and tactical judgment, turning his strength and Hidden Power into a threat to an experienced opponent. His repeated use of Limit Breaking demonstrates extraordinary resolve—and puts his body at severe risk.
• Shen Qing proves willing to absorb damage to create openings for Jiang Yue. Despite being injured, he keeps fighting and commits to a direct, self-sacrificing defense against Butcher’s finishing strike.
• Butcher shifts from arrogant confidence to anger and alarm after the rookies injure him. Humiliation drives him to abandon restraint and unleash increasingly destructive attacks.
• Wei Han maintains a cool, pessimistic assessment of the fight but reveals a less detached side: he has bet heavily on Jiang Yue and quietly hopes for his success. His surprise attack on Tong Meng also shows his role as a demanding trainer.
• The Third Squad is portrayed as a close-knit unit whose members support their comrades through both training and shared wagers.

Significant themes

• Teamwork against superior strength: Jiang Yue’s evasions and precision complement Shen Qing’s direct pressure, allowing the pair to challenge a stronger, more experienced fighter.
• Courage and sacrifice: Shen Qing repeatedly risks injury to protect the partnership and create opportunities.
• Limits, ambition, and cost: Limit Breaking offers a brief surge of power, but its danger is underscored by the fighters forcing their bodies beyond safe limits.
• Solidarity and belief: The squad’s wagers and Wei Han’s concealed hope show trust in comrades even when the odds seem bleak.

Character interactions

• Jiang Yue and Shen Qing communicate through practiced coordination, adjusting their roles as Butcher’s attacks intensify.
• Butcher’s growing frustration turns the match from a contest into a personal attempt to crush the rookies.
• Wei Han trains Tong Meng harshly, then is teased by Tong Meng and Hou Ming over his supposedly irrational bet; the exchange exposes the squad’s affection beneath their banter.
• Lu Ming watches the fight with pride in the arena, while his decision to provide a live feed lets the rest of the squad share in the danger and suspense.

Key plot points and events

• In the Octagonal Cage, Butcher launches a 2,500-kilogram Storm Heavy Punch at Shen Qing, apparently certain to kill him. Jiang Yue intervenes with a desperate Second Limit Breaking, multiplying his power and driving the Hidden Power of Six Harmonies Eight-Meridian Strike through Butcher’s hardened arm.
• Jiang Yue fractures Butcher’s arm and disrupts his attack, allowing Shen Qing to survive the blow. The two Recruits have wounded a veteran Martial Artist, stunning the crowd.
• Butcher responds with a furious, reckless assault focused on Shen Qing. Under extreme pressure, Shen Qing finally grasps the True Intent of Six Harmonies Eight-Meridian Strike: unifying his body’s power into one coordinated force. His attacks grow strong enough to halt Butcher’s blows.
• Jiang Yue and Shen Qing exploit Butcher’s injured arm and openings in his enraged defense. All three fighters take severe injuries and exhaust themselves. Butcher expects his more thoroughly conditioned body to recover first.
• Jiang Yue uses Thunder Breath and the energy of his Gluttony Trait to recover a small reserve of Blood Energy. He then activates Second Limit Breaking once more and lands a decisive strike on Butcher’s temple, knocking him unconscious.
• Jiang Yue and Shen Qing stand together beside the fallen Butcher. Their victory establishes them as rising powers in the Borderlands’ underground fighting world.

Character development

• Jiang Yue demonstrates extraordinary martial insight, bodily control, and willingness to risk his life. His Second Limit Breaking reveals astonishing potential, but the immense physical cost leaves him nearly depleted. His unusual recovery gives him one final chance to win.
• Shen Qing evolves from a determined but outmatched defender into a fighter who understands the true intent of his technique. His breakthrough lets him withstand Butcher and contribute meaningfully to the pair’s coordinated attack.
• Butcher shifts from arrogant confidence to shock, pain, and uncontrolled rage after being wounded. Though formidable and experienced, his anger creates openings that the two Recruits exploit.
• Lu Ming, watching from the crowd, recognizes the significance of Jiang Yue’s technique and is impressed by his talent, while also understanding the dangerous toll it takes.

Significant themes

• Growth under pressure: Shen Qing’s understanding deepens in the midst of a life-or-death struggle.
• Teamwork and complementary strengths: Jiang Yue’s explosive power and Shen Qing’s newfound ability to hold the front combine to overcome a stronger opponent.
• Power and sacrifice: Second Limit Breaking grants Jiang Yue extraordinary force, but drains his body and risks catastrophic harm.
• Experience versus potential: Butcher’s veteran strength and conditioning nearly decide the fight, but the Recruits’ adaptability and determination overturn the expected outcome.
• Endurance and will: All three fighters continue despite severe injuries, and Jiang Yue’s final recovery and strike turn apparent defeat into victory.

Character interactions

• Jiang Yue repeatedly saves and supports Shen Qing, first weakening Butcher’s killing blow and later attacking alongside him.
• Shen Qing’s breakthrough allows him to withstand Butcher directly, giving Jiang Yue openings to target the injured arm and exploit gaps in Butcher’s guard.
• Butcher focuses his rage on the two younger fighters, underestimating how effectively they can coordinate.
• Lu Ming observes the fight as both instructor and expert: he admires Jiang Yue’s achievement but recognizes the physical danger of his technique.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Yue and Shen Qing defeat Butcher, a powerful veteran Level 1 Martial Artist, in the Underground Gambling Arena. Jiang Yue’s final attack comes after he pushes himself through repeated Limit Breaking and a perilous Second Limit Breaking.
• The arena erupts in disbelief and celebration. A few bettors who backed the Recruits win heavily, while many others lose their savings. Scar, who fought the pair weeks earlier, realizes how dramatically they have grown and is relieved he survived their earlier encounter.
• Butcher concedes the match but tries to delay paying the fighters’ fees and gambling winnings. Lu Ming reveals that he was the mysterious bettor who staked 500 Points, then uses his authority and intimidating Level 2 presence to demand the complete ledger and payment within an hour. He also makes Butcher cover the fighters’ medical costs.
• Lu Ming carries the badly injured Jiang Yue and Shen Qing back to Third Squad’s barracks. Their squad celebrates their victory, then treats them with supplies Lu Ming has kept from his frontline service rather than sending them to the costly medical ward.
• The squad asks how Jiang Yue managed Second Limit Breaking. Lu Ming explains that it requires precise control and timing—not an endless supply of Blood Energy—and can destroy the user’s body if the surges clash.
• Butcher arrives at the barracks with the accounting records and Points. As Jiang Yue’s injuries begin to heal, he reflects that the fight has strengthened him and will bring him the resources to advance further, then falls asleep.

Character developments

• Jiang Yue proves he can push beyond his limits under extreme pressure. Though exhausted and badly injured, he gains the respect of his squad and accepts the “monster” label with wry confidence.
• Shen Qing shows toughness by taking Butcher’s attack head-on and fighting alongside Jiang Yue. His competitiveness remains, but he is now part of a team whose victory earns both men recognition.
• Lu Ming emerges as a fiercely protective captain. He supports his men openly, ensures they are paid, personally oversees their care, and teaches the squad practical combat knowledge.
• Wei Han moves past his rivalry with Jiang Yue. Understanding the skill behind Jiang Yue’s final attack, he offers sincere respect and accepts him as a comrade.
• Butcher is forced to confront both defeat and the loss of his control over the arena’s finances. Lu Ming’s intervention prevents him from cheating the victors.
• Scar shifts from contempt for the pair to fear and gratitude that he did not face their current strength.

Character interactions

• Lu Ming catches Shen Qing, treats both fighters’ injuries, and later carries them back to the barracks—showing care beneath his commanding manner.
• Shen Qing confronts Butcher over the winnings; Lu Ming steps in before Butcher can stall, compelling him to pay.
• In the barracks, Tong Meng’s excited but careless pat hurts Jiang Yue, prompting a joking rebuke that breaks the tension and draws laughter from the squad.
• Wei Han and Jiang Yue acknowledge one another’s ability without hostility, marking the end of their earlier rivalry.
• Lu Ming turns the squad’s curiosity into a lesson, explaining Second Limit Breaking while protecting Jiang Yue from having to answer questions while injured.

Significant themes

• Teamwork and loyalty: Jiang Yue and Shen Qing win together, while Lu Ming and Third Squad stand behind them and care for them afterward.
• Growth through danger: The fight demonstrates how much the Recruits have advanced, but also the physical cost of forcing their bodies beyond safe limits.
• Respect earned through action: Jiang Yue’s victory transforms how spectators and squadmates see him, while Wei Han’s respect follows genuine understanding of his skill.
• Power and accountability: Butcher’s usual influence cannot shield him from the rules once Lu Ming intervenes; the chapter contrasts his attempted deception with Lu Ming’s direct authority.
• The risks of ambition: Second Limit Breaking offers extraordinary power but can tear apart the user’s body, underscoring the danger behind Jiang Yue’s breakthrough.

Plot and events

• Butcher, the defeated Underground Gambling Arena boss, comes to Third Squad’s training room injured but honors the match’s outcome. He hands over the arena’s 2,430-Point profit and adds 570 Points as compensation and a peace offering.
• He also pays Lu Ming 5,000 Points on Lu’s 500-Point wager at ten-to-one odds. Lu accepts, warning Butcher not to scheme against Third Squad; Butcher agrees to keep his distance.
• Lu distributes the squad members’ betting winnings, sparking celebration. He then uses the 3,000-Point compensation to fund three days of premium meals for the whole squad, including Shen Qing, who is not officially a member.
• At the First Cafeteria, Jiang Yue’s Gluttony Trait lets him consume extraordinary quantities of high-grade Exotic Beast meat. The energy rapidly repairs his injuries, replenishes his Blood Energy, and begins loosening his strength bottleneck. He eats nearly half the kitchen’s reserve, costing 550 Points, and finishes about seventy percent full.

Character developments and interactions

• Butcher shows pragmatism rather than pride: he accepts defeat, pays generously to secure his future, and reflects mournfully on the brothers, opportunities, and military path he lost. He sees in the young soldiers the camaraderie he once had.
• Lu Ming proves both shrewd and generous. He maintains authority while protecting his squad, turns their winnings into resources that strengthen the team, and discreetly makes sure Jiang Yue gets the nourishment he needs.
• Jiang Yue is grateful to Lu Ming and increasingly impressed by his leadership. His Gluttony Trait emerges as a major advantage, enabling extraordinary recovery and suggesting further growth.
• Shen Qing is surprised and moved to be welcomed and included despite being an outsider. His bond with Third Squad deepens.
• Third Squad celebrates its rewards, and the shared feast strengthens morale. Tong Meng’s overenthusiastic offer to carry or feed the injured men frightens Jiang Yue and Shen Qing into standing up, turning the recovery into comic relief.

Significant themes

• Strength and survival: In the arena and military life, strength shapes power and respect, but smart judgment matters too.
• Leadership and loyalty: Lu Ming uses resources to improve the whole squad while recognizing individuals’ needs, reinforcing trust and cohesion.
• Lost paths and regret: Butcher’s memories contrast the young squad’s camaraderie with the comrades and opportunities he lost.
• Growth through resources: Points and food matter only when converted into combat ability; Jiang Yue’s rapid healing shows how the right resources can unlock potential.

Summary

• Plot and events: This is an author’s update rather than a story chapter. The author reports that the book’s first day of paid subscriptions brought in just over 400, a strong start. To meet readers’ requests for more content, the author released 50,000 words from a prepared backlog and plans to keep updating as quickly as possible while saving chapters in reserve. The book briefly reached the monthly new-book vote rankings’ top ten, but another book passed it overnight, leaving it about 100 votes short of regaining its position.
• Character development: No fictional characters appear. The author presents themself as grateful for the support and eager to deliver more, while acknowledging the practical limits of writing speed.
• Themes: Reader–author support, gratitude, competition, and the balance between satisfying demand and maintaining a sustainable reserve of chapters.
• Interactions: The author addresses readers directly, thanks them for their enthusiasm, and asks them to vote. In return, they promise one extra chapter for every 100 monthly votes, with no limit.

Plot and key events

• Over three days, Captain Lu Ming spends 3,000 Points on lavish high-grade exotic beast meat for the Third Squad. The intense diet and training are painful for the less-advanced members, but it helps the whole team recover and grow stronger.
• Jiang Yue consumes nearly 1,000 Points’ worth of meat. His injuries from fighting Butcher heal, and his Normal Force Output rises to 1,298 kg. The others also improve: Support Personnel build Blood Energy, while Tong Meng and Wei Han strengthen their abilities.
• Lu Ming announces that, now officially enlisted, the squad may be sent on real missions across Military Floating Land No. 17—patrols, riot suppression, or exterminating Zerg and mutated beasts. He stresses that missions are dangerous but offer valuable Points, which the Martial Artists need to keep advancing.
• The squad eagerly embraces the prospect of earning resources, but Lu Ming orders them to remain in the Training Room and turn their recent gains into combat readiness before deployment.
• Wei Han challenges Jiang Yue to a spar so the teammates can better understand each other’s capabilities. Though Wei Han opens with speed and skill, Jiang Yue’s strength, refined technique, and defensive control quickly suppress him.
• Wei Han activates Limit Breaking for a decisive burst. Jiang Yue matches it, counters his attacks, and appears able to sustain the state longer. Wei Han concedes that in a real fight he would have been killed once his own burst faded.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yue emerges from recovery stronger and more confident, establishing himself as the squad’s foremost fighter. He nevertheless gives Wei Han genuine credit for forcing him to use Limit Breaking.
• Wei Han tests his belief that speed could overcome Jiang Yue’s superior power. His defeat costs him no dignity: he recognizes the gap honestly and respects Jiang Yue’s restraint.
• Lu Ming acts as both generous protector and strict instructor. He invests in his team’s growth, then channels their hunger for advancement into disciplined preparation for dangerous work.
• The squad shifts from nervousness about real combat to eager determination, united by the need to earn Points and grow stronger. Wei Han and Jiang Yue’s respectful fist bump marks a new bond between the squad’s strongest fighter and fastest fighter.

Significant themes

• Growth through hardship: Excessive food, punishing training, and recovery turn the squad’s resources into measurable strength.
• Combat readiness and responsibility: Official enlistment means the team must face real danger, not just simulations or regulated fights.
• Resources and ambition: Points are essential to advancement, making the desire for strength inseparable from the drive to earn and seize resources.
• Respect through honest testing: The sparring match replaces rivalry with trust, showing that understanding teammates’ strengths and limits is vital to surviving future battles.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• During more than ten days of intensive training, Third Squad grows markedly stronger. Hou Ming becomes a Level 1 Martial Artist, while Jiang Yue’s Normal Force Output rises past 1,400 kilograms. The squad also improves its coordination, combining its members’ different combat roles into a more effective unit.
• Seventh Guard Regiment commander Yan Gang gathers all ten squads and announces signs of possible Zerg contamination in the poultry of the middle-tier Fourth Agricultural Zone. Mutations suggest that Zerg or related creatures may have infiltrated the Floating Land. If they establish a nest, the densely populated habitat could suffer catastrophic casualties.
• Yan Gang volunteers the newly formed regiment for the extermination and investigation mission. He orders the squads to work together, search for the source of the infiltration, and advance methodically through assigned grid sectors. They must not pursue glory at the expense of formation: nearby squads must be able to support any unit under attack within ten minutes.
• The danger is placed in wider context: the target lies near the middle level’s armories, factories, supplies, and crowded civilian housing. The mission is therefore not merely a chance to earn merit, but a defense of hundreds of thousands of workers and their families.
• Yan Gang also announces the coming Regiment Championship. Strong performance could bring substantial rewards, and top elites might enter the G7 Legion’s mysterious Seed Sequence—an opportunity that could transform their careers.
• Third Squad prepares for its first fully armed operation. Jiang Yue, Wei Han, Tong Meng, and Hou Ming enter Ripper-II Powered Armor, while the other six members prepare medical, ammunition, communications, and drone support.
• Captain Lu Ming warns them that armor cannot make them invulnerable. He will accompany them but will intervene only if the squad faces annihilation or a threat beyond the mission’s assessment; otherwise, the recruits must fight their own battles.
• Third Squad boards a Tactical Transport Airship and departs for the dangerous middle-level district. The chapter ends as the operation begins, before the squad encounters the enemy.

Character developments

• Jiang Yue has become stronger and more integrated into team combat. He is eager to test himself in real Powered Armor combat and sees the mission as a step toward merit, championship glory, and a possible place in the Seed Sequence.
• Wei Han shares Jiang Yue’s hunger for battle and demonstrates his speed and skill while testing his armor.
• Tong Meng is exuberant about finally fighting in Powered Armor, but Lu Ming’s warning makes him reconsider the apparent simplicity of the mission.
• Hou Ming reaches Level 1 and joins the squad’s four armored frontline fighters.
• Lu Ming remains a demanding mentor: he trusts the squad enough to make them responsible for their own survival, while reserving himself as a last safeguard.
• Yan Gang reveals himself as both a hard-nosed commander and a strategic motivator. He uses immediate rewards and the distant promise of the Seed Sequence to galvanize the regiment, while emphasizing discipline and civilian protection.

Character interactions

• Yan Gang inspects the recruits, assigns the mission, and sets strict rules for coordination between squads. He places field decisions in the hands of the squad leaders and charges them with bringing their soldiers back alive.
• Jiang Yue and Wei Han recognize each other’s excitement over the chance to use Powered Armor and pursue the mission’s rewards.
• Lu Ming corrects Tong Meng’s assumption that the assigned patrol route sounds easy, stressing that seemingly uneventful searches can become deadly without warning.
• In the Armory, Lu Ming assigns and checks the work of all ten squad members, reinforcing the importance of support personnel as well as frontline fighters.
• The squad answers Lu Ming’s stern challenge with a unified declaration that they understand the risks and accept responsibility for the fight.

Significant themes

• Unity and coordination: The regiment must operate as a connected force rather than a collection of competing squads; Third Squad’s improved teamwork reflects this principle.
• Discipline over individual glory: Soldiers are forbidden to rush ahead for merit. Maintaining formation and enabling timely rescue are presented as essential to survival.
• Growth through danger: Lu Ming believes recruits become true fighters only by facing real risk and taking responsibility for their own decisions.
• Ambition and material need: Combat merit, Points, and access to resources drive the soldiers’ eagerness, while the championship and Seed Sequence represent a chance to escape the limitations of ordinary rank-and-file service.
• Duty to protect civilians: The mission’s stakes extend beyond personal advancement: an outbreak in the crowded middle level could become a disaster for the population and the Floating Land itself.

Chapter Summary: “Arrival at the Mission Area—The Hunt Begins!”

Key plot points and events

• The Seventh Guard Regiment’s First Combat Regiment boards a Tactical Transport Airship for its first live operation. Third Squad’s communications specialists, Qian Feng and Wu Hao, establish encrypted links with neighboring squads, creating a mutually supporting network designed to bring help within minutes.
• During the four-hour journey, Jiang Yue observes fellow standouts Shen Qing and Xiu. Xiu, already a Level 1 Martial Artist before the Recruit Camp’s final exam, is regarded as a prodigy; he knows Jiang Yue only from the exam and underestimates how much Jiang Yue has since developed.
• Captain Lu Ming calms the troops with humor and reassures them about the journey. As the airship passes into the evacuated Mid-Level Residential District, Tong Meng recalls how soldiers once saved his home from Mutated Beasts, reaffirming his pride in serving.
• Jiang Yue recognizes how profoundly his perspective has changed: he now studies the city as a battlefield, identifying possible routes and hiding places for the Exotic Beasts.
• The squads airdrop into their assigned grids. Xiu makes a dramatic powered-armor landing; Jiang Yue and Wei Han jump as well, using precise Force Unloading techniques to land safely and quietly.
• Third Squad advances into the silent residential maze in an inverted-V formation: Jiang Yue leads, Wei Han guards the left, Tong Meng provides heavy firepower on the right, and Hou Ming supplies missile support. Six support troops and the communications team keep the squad equipped, informed, and protected.
• Lu Ming orders the squad to hold a defensive perimeter and stresses two priorities: respond rapidly to any squad in trouble, and, if Third Squad locates the beasts’ source, overwhelm it with full force. The squad rallies and pushes deeper into the district.

Character developments

• Jiang Yue shows greater tactical awareness and self-control, using his Calm Spirit Trait to prepare for battle and instinctively assessing the city for threats. His controlled landing demonstrates both skill and confidence.
• Lu Ming shifts from a stern, intimidating commander to a warm, joking mentor during the journey, then becomes forceful and uncompromising when giving combat orders. His authority steadies and motivates the squad.
• Tong Meng reveals a personal reason for his pride in military service: soldiers saved him as a child during a beast attack. His memory strengthens the squad’s sense of purpose.
• Xiu remains a distant, self-assured prodigy. He recognizes Jiang Yue’s toughness but is unaware of Jiang Yue’s recent breakthrough and victories.
• Wei Han continues as Jiang Yue’s trusted counterpart, matching his composure and landing technique.

Significant themes

• The shift from civilian to soldier: Jiang Yue and Tong Meng reflect on how they have moved from watching soldiers protect others to becoming protectors themselves.
• Teamwork and mutual responsibility: Reliable communications, coordinated formations, and the mandate to aid neighboring squads are emphasized as essential to survival.
• Preparation and information as power: Lu Ming stresses intelligence and battlefield awareness over simply killing enemies; technology and tactical coordination complement individual strength.
• Composure before violence: The chapter builds from nervous anticipation to disciplined readiness, ending with the squad’s eagerness to fight.

Character interactions

• Soldiers trade jokes and barracks banter to ease pre-mission nerves, while Third Squad’s communications team works seriously to coordinate with adjacent squads.
• Jiang Yue silently exchanges recognition with Shen Qing and shares a brief, competitive moment with Xiu.
• Lu Ming jokes with other squad leaders, strengthening camaraderie, then gives Third Squad blunt instructions that unite them around their obligations.
• Jiang Yue and Wei Han coordinate their jumps without speaking; Jiang Yue later jokes about Xiu’s flashy landing, drawing an amused response from Wei Han and Tong Meng.
• The chapter ends with the whole squad responding to Lu Ming’s orders with a shared battle cry as they enter the hunt.

Key plot points and events

• Third Squad spends over half a day searching the evacuated Mid-Level Residential District without finding signs of the suspected Exotic Beasts. The prolonged alert leaves the newly deployed Recruits physically and mentally exhausted.
• Captain Lu Ming orders a short rest and uses a humorous story about his own first-mission panic to ease the squad’s nerves. He teaches them that battlefield discipline means staying alert without wasting energy.
• During the break, the soldiers review their findings and adjust their tactics to account for uncharted underground passages. Lu Ming compares the squads’ reports and suspects the Zerg have avoided the standard search routes.
• Lu Ming gets Command approval to investigate an abandoned energy pipeline that could provide a concealed route into the district. In the pipeline, the squad finds alien molting slime; testing confirms it came from Sickle-armored Beetle larvae.
• Lu Ming explains that the larvae can mature and multiply rapidly if they have enough food, making them a serious threat to the Floating Land. He alerts Command and nearby squads, then leads Third Squad farther into the pipeline.
• The squad encounters and kills a single larva with Tong Meng’s heavy machine gun. The easy victory briefly lifts their spirits, but Lu Ming warns that Zerg larvae do not travel alone.
• More than a dozen nearly mature beetles emerge from the darkness. Third Squad forms a coordinated defensive line: Jiang Yue anchors the front, Tong Meng prepares heavy fire, Wei Han covers the flank, and Hou Ming targets the attackers with missiles. Support personnel provide ammunition, medical supplies, and covering fire.
• Lu Ming deliberately holds back, trusting his Recruits and their Powered Armor to face the threat. As the beetles charge, he orders the squad to fire; Tong Meng opens the attack, and the chapter ends as the first wave of gunfire engulfs the leading creatures.

Character developments

• Jiang Yue begins tense and overfocused but regains composure after Lu Ming’s advice. He thinks tactically during the rest and becomes the squad’s steadfast frontline anchor. The sight of the enemy also stirs his unusual hunger for slaughter and Devour.
• Lu Ming shows both humor and hard-won battlefield experience. His careful analysis identifies the likely enemy route, while his confidence in the squad leads him to let them meet the coming attack themselves.
• Tong Meng shifts from nervousness to exuberance after easily killing a larva, then has his confidence checked by Wei Han and Lu Ming’s warning.
• Wei Han remains cautious and observant, identifying the slime and resisting premature celebration. He takes on the role of concealed, mobile flank fighter.
• Hou Ming demonstrates tactical judgment and strong instincts, helping refine the squad’s formation and sensing danger before it becomes visible.

Significant themes

• Discipline over panic: Effective soldiers conserve their strength and remain alert without exhausting themselves.
• Adaptation and teamwork: The squad uses field observations to revise its plans, with each member and support role contributing to a coordinated defense.
• The danger of complacency: A small, easily defeated enemy can conceal a much larger threat.
• Humanity’s strength through technology: Lu Ming sees Powered Armor, weapons, and disciplined cooperation as the means by which humans can overcome the Zerg’s natural physical advantages.
• Combat as transformation: Lu Ming views the encounter as a test that can turn inexperienced Recruits into capable soldiers.

Character interactions

• Lu Ming mentors the squad through blunt humor, personal confession, and practical battlefield instruction.
• Hou Ming proposes a terrain-based formation adjustment, which Jiang Yue accepts.
• Lu Ming shares intelligence with other captains and Command, coordinating the broader response once the Zerg are confirmed.
• Wei Han tempers Tong Meng’s boasting after the first kill, and Lu Ming reinforces the warning by stressing that larvae travel in groups.
• As the swarm charges, the squad’s practiced roles and trust in one another replace their initial fear.

Plot and key events

• Third Squad fights a swarm of more than a dozen Sickle-armored Beetle larvae in a narrow underground conduit. Tong Meng’s heavy rotary gun and the Support Personnel’s crossfire thin the swarm, while Jiang Yue holds the choke point during the gun’s ten-second cooling period.
• When the heavy weapon is ready again, Tong Meng and the support team pin the remaining beetles down. Wei Han and Hou Ming exploit the distraction: Hou Ming fires missiles, and Wei Han uses [Limit Breaking] to cut off the heads of the last beetles. The squad wins without casualties.
• As the team salvages valuable Zerg parts, Lu Ming warns them that the larvae were only an appetizer. Their presence so close to the patrol route—and their unusually healthy growth—suggests a larger, hidden nest.
• Second and Fourth Squads arrive. Lu Ming presents his findings: the conduit grows more radiation-rich deeper in, and the area is too clean to have sustained the larvae naturally. He concludes that a Zerg Nest and its Broodmother lie farther inside.
• With Guard Commander Yan Gang’s approval, the three squads form a joint assault force to destroy the nest before it can produce more Zerg. Lu Ming claims the lead credit for Third Squad, while the other captains accept the arrangement and prepare to compete for the next share. The chapter ends as the combined force charges into the passage.

Character developments

• Jiang Yue demonstrates both immense strength and composure, using Powered Armor and martial skill to hold the line alone. Afterward, he immediately meditates to recover for the greater threat ahead.
• Tong Meng performs effectively with heavy weapons but becomes overconfident after the victory. Lu Ming’s explanation reminds him that Powered Armor, physical training, and teamwork—not weak enemies—made the fight seem easy.
• Wei Han proves his lethal speed and precision with a decisive Limit Breaking attack, and briefly shows satisfaction after the victory.
• Hou Ming displays strong tactical awareness by questioning why Lu Ming called for reinforcements, prompting the revelation of the nest.
• Lu Ming emerges as a cautious, perceptive commander: he praises his recruits, recognizes the hidden danger, and shares the opportunity with nearby squads rather than risking Third Squad alone.
• Xiu revises his dismissive opinion of Jiang Yue after seeing the damage he can inflict. Captains Li Rong and Zhao Qi are competitive but cooperative, while recognizing Lu Ming’s rightful claim to lead the operation.

Significant themes

• Technology and martial discipline: Powered Armor multiplies trained physical strength, making bodily conditioning essential rather than obsolete.
• Teamwork and tactical coordination: Heavy fire, frontline defense, support weapons, and a flank attack each play a necessary role in victory.
• Caution after success: The easy win is not the real danger; careful observation reveals a much larger threat.
• Shared credit and military fellowship: Lu Ming brings other squads into the operation, valuing cooperation and shared gains over keeping the prize for himself.

Character interactions

• Zhao Wu coordinates the Support Personnel, who follow orders calmly and later recover materials from the corpses.
• Tong Meng celebrates Jiang Yue’s strength and boasts about his own firepower; Lu Ming both commends and corrects him.
• Hou Ming’s question draws Jiang Yue, Wei Han, and the others’ attention to Lu Ming’s deeper concern.
• Li Rong praises Lu Ming’s squad, and Lu Ming returns the compliment, especially praising Shen Qing. Zhao Qi cuts through the pleasantries to demand the real reason for the mobilization.
• The captains agree on the assault formation, with Third Squad in the center, Second Squad on the left, and Fourth Squad on the right.

Plot and key events

• From the command airship, Guard Commander Yan Gang reviews Third Squad’s battle footage. He praises Jiang Yue’s strength and Wei Han’s combat instincts, but especially commends Lu Ming’s sound leadership: Lu Ming investigated suspicious traces, reported the larvae, called in nearby squads, secured support, and only then attacked.
• Before Yan Gang can formally unite Third Squad with Second and Fourth, Ninth Squad reports encountering roughly twenty Sickle-armored Beetles in the south. Its captain asks for orders rather than reinforcements, suggesting he wants to claim the kill and its rewards alone. Yan Gang reprimands him, orders Ninth Squad to hold a defensive position, and sends Eighth and Tenth Squads to surround the enemy.
• Analyzing the footage, Yan Gang realizes Ninth Squad faces fully grown adult beetles, unlike the larvae found by Lu Ming’s squad. The sites are over five kilometers apart in a straight line, so he concludes they likely belong to one enormous hive whose tunnels span the residential district.
• Third, Second, and Fourth Squads form a joint Assault Group and advance through the pipes, defeating repeated beetle attacks. They discover egg remains indicating a breeding chamber. Lu Ming restrains the group’s excitement, warns that the hive’s defenses will intensify, and orders careful scans to prevent an ambush.
• Yan Gang’s warning about the hive’s possible scale reaches Lu Ming. The captains consider the dangers of numerous Level 2 beetles or a Broodmother evolving under threat. Lu Ming prepares for the worst by confirming that he and the other captains, Li Rong and Zhao Qi, have powerful personal Powered Armor in reserve.
• The Assault Group reaches the hive’s core: a vast, acid-corroded cavern covered in living Creep, toxic vapor, slime, human remains, and thousands of pulsing eggs. Despite their shock and disgust, the soldiers maintain discipline.
• The three squads launch a coordinated bombardment, destroying the eggs around the hive’s perimeter and clearing a path. Once the firing stops, Lu Ming sends the strongest recruits—Jiang Yue, Xiu, and Shen Qing—into the depths to find the Broodmother. They charge together as the spearhead of the final assault.

Character developments

• Lu Ming is established as a cautious, capable commander who prioritizes preparation and his soldiers’ lives over glory. He intends to let the recruits prove themselves, but keeps the captains’ superior armor as a safeguard against an overwhelming threat.
• Yan Gang shows both strategic skill and a fierce commitment to protecting his troops. He condemns Ninth Squad’s captain for risking lives to monopolize credit and quickly mobilizes support.
• Jiang Yue and Wei Han earn recognition for their combat ability; Jiang Yue’s strength and Wei Han’s ruthlessness under pressure stand out.
• Li Rong and Zhao Qi shift from excitement about the approaching hive to sober concern after learning its likely scale. They trust Lu Ming’s judgment and reveal their customized personal armor as backup.
• Jiang Yue, Xiu, and Shen Qing move from rival recruits to a united assault team, combining competitiveness with trust in one another.

Significant themes

• Duty over personal glory: Ninth Squad’s captain endangers his unit by seeking exclusive credit, while Yan Gang insists that collective safety comes first.
• Leadership through preparation: Lu Ming’s caution, coordination, and contingency planning repeatedly prevent the squads from entering danger blindly.
• Teamwork and trust: The three squads’ joint advance and the recruits’ shared spearhead show individual talent becoming stronger through cooperation.
• Courage under horror: The soldiers are disturbed by the hive’s grotesque scale but remain disciplined and act decisively.
• The hidden scale of the threat: Separate encounters reveal that the Zerg are organized and entrenched far more extensively than the military initially suspected.

Character interactions

• Yan Gang praises Lu Ming’s decisions while condemning Ninth Squad’s captain, demonstrating two contrasting models of command.
• Yan Gang shares his hive assessment with Lu Ming; Lu Ming then briefs Li Rong and Zhao Qi, whose reactions reinforce the seriousness of the threat.
• Lu Ming checks that Li Rong and Zhao Qi can deploy their personal armor, ensuring he has a protective reserve before committing the recruits.
• Tong Meng persuades the heavy-weapons teams to join the attack on the eggs; the three captains coordinate a massive opening barrage.
• Jiang Yue, Xiu, and Shen Qing silently acknowledge one another as rivals who are now willing to rely on each other in the assault.

Plot and key events

• The combined Assault Group of Third, Second, and Fourth Squads drives deep into the Underground Hive, cutting through waves of adult Sickle-armored Beetles.
• Xiu demonstrates extraordinary control of Instant Limit Breaking, activating the dangerous technique only for fractions of a second at the moment of each strike. Jiang Yue recognizes the skill and admires his precision.
• A scan reveals a vastly stronger life-form ahead. Commander Lu Ming orders the force to blast away the Hive’s Creep, while news that reinforcements will arrive in thirteen minutes turns the assault into a race for the Broodmother and its military rewards.
• The bombardment exposes the Level 2 Life Broodmother and four equally powerful elite Guard Zerg. The Broodmother sends surviving beetles to shield its retreat.
• The assault team splits its effort: Xiu takes on two Guards to divide the enemy, while Jiang Yue and Shen Qing each engage one. Meanwhile, Wei Han, Feiyu, and Han Qian flank the battle to pursue the fleeing Broodmother.
• Jiang Yue uses repeated Limit Breaking to overcome a heavily armored Bio-Spitter Guard, ultimately killing it with Second Limit Breaking. Xiu defeats one of his two opponents, and the other fights are turning in the humans’ favor.
• After the main battlefield is secured, Wei Han reports that the Guerrilla Group has killed the Broodmother, completing the assault’s central objective.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yue moves from studying Xiu’s technique to fighting alongside him as an equal. His excitement at confronting a Level 2 opponent reflects both his ambition and his appetite for growth; he pushes beyond ordinary Limit Breaking and wins through timing, endurance, and resolve.
• Xiu proves both exceptionally skilled and strategically minded. Rather than simply seeking glory, he takes on the two most dangerous Guards to create an opening for the flank attack.
• Shen Qing remains composed and dependable, holding his opponent while coordinating smoothly with Jiang Yue.
• Lu Ming directs the force calmly under pressure and uses the coming reinforcements—and the promise of shared spoils—to motivate the squads to finish quickly.
• Wei Han, Feiyu, and Han Qian demonstrate teamwork and discipline as the concealed strike team, complementing the frontal assault.
• The three frontline aces’ different strengths—Jiang Yue’s power, Xiu’s precision, and Shen Qing’s persistence—work together to hold the line.

Significant themes

• Courage against overwhelming odds: The recruits confront enemies far above their apparent level rather than retreating.
• Teamwork and complementary tactics: The frontal fighters buy time for the guerrillas to reach the Broodmother; neither effort alone would suffice.
• Skill, discipline, and adaptation: Xiu’s precise bursts and Jiang Yue’s controlled escalation show that technique can help bridge a gap in raw power.
• Ambition and reward: Honor, military merit, and resources fuel the squads’ determination, though the stakes extend beyond personal gain: the Broodmother posed a grave threat to civilians.
• The danger of unchecked growth: The Hive’s rapid expansion underscores how quickly a hidden threat could become a catastrophe.

Plot points and events

• Wei Han announces that the Broodmother has been killed, triggering a burst of celebration among the G7 Legion troops. The captains quickly restore discipline, ordering their squads to eliminate the remaining Zerg and destroy the eggs.
• The last wounded Level 2 Guard is overwhelmed by a coordinated attack involving Jiang Yue, Xiu, Tong Meng, and the other soldiers. The squads then methodically clear the Hive.
• Jiang Yue’s combat actions complete his new Trait, Hunting. It lets him absorb small amounts of Blood Energy from dying creatures, helping restore injuries and gradually increasing his maximum Blood Energy.
• Reinforcements arrive to find the Hive already devastated. They are astonished that the assault group defeated the Broodmother and four Level 2 Guards in under twenty minutes without losing anyone.
• The squads divide salvage according to established rules, with valuable materials from the elite Zerg reserved for the main assault squads. Public Security troops arrive to take over cleanup.
• As the regiment prepares to leave, Commander Yan Gang praises the soldiers for proving themselves in real combat. He grants them three days’ leave before the Regiment Championship.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yue proves his growing strength by fighting through the strain of Second Limit Breaking and helping finish the final Guard. His new Trait offers a major advantage for future battles, which he keeps private. He also encourages his squad to value teamwork and survival over recognition.
• Wei Han reveals that a concealed fighter from Second Squad delivered the decisive blow to the Broodmother after Wei Han and Han Qian were nearly disabled. Though frustrated that someone else landed the final strike, Wei Han acknowledges the fighter’s skill. Jiang Yue calms the tension by reminding everyone that the mission succeeded.
• Tong Meng celebrates the squad’s performance and hopes for reward Points; Hou Ming provides a measured account, emphasizing that killing the Broodmother disrupted the Zerg’s coordination and turned the battle.
• The captains—Lu Ming, Li Rong, and Zhao Qi—balance celebration with discipline, then oversee reporting, salvage, and the group’s departure.
• Yan Gang’s praise gives the recruits formal recognition and strengthens their sense of belonging to the regiment.

Significant themes

• Teamwork over individual glory: The Broodmother’s death changes the battle, but the victory depends on coordinated action and mutual support.
• Growth through danger: Jiang Yue’s powers develop through combat, while the recruits gain experience, confidence, and trust in one another.
• Discipline after victory: Even amid relief and celebration, the soldiers remain alert and complete their mission methodically.
• Belonging and recognition: The recruits’ shared ordeal and Yan Gang’s approval mark their transition from trainees to proven soldiers.

Plot and key events

• After a month of training and surviving their first combat mission, Third Squad receives a three-day break—but spends it training. Captain Lu Ming announces that the recruits have met the required foundation standard and may now study Federation Martial Arts.
• Four top-ranked recruits—Jiang Yue, Wei Han, Tong Meng, and Hou Ming—earn the privilege of choosing advanced techniques from the Martial Arts Archive.
• The squad is awarded a collective Third-Class Merit and 3,000 mission points, divided among its ten members. Individual bonuses reflect performance: Jiang Yue leads with 700 points, followed by Wei Han, Tong Meng, and Hou Ming.
• Third Squad also receives 12,500 points from recovered Zerg materials. Lu Ming assigns the shared fund to high-grade Secret Medicine and upgraded first-aid kits, then spends the remaining points on specialized Powered Armor modifications for the four frontline standouts.
• At dinner, Third Squad encounters the rival Second Squad. Their captains, Lu Ming and Zhao Qi, discuss the upcoming Regiment Championship. Both plan to compete in both individual matches and team events, despite the strain this will place on their squads.
• Jiang Yue and Second Squad’s talented fighter Xiu silently recognize each other as primary rivals. Back at base, Lu Ming announces that training will double, and Third Squad vows to win the championship.

Character developments and interactions

• Third Squad has matured from inexperienced recruits into disciplined, ambitious soldiers. Their joy over the rewards gives way to a shared commitment to use squad resources for survival and strength.
• Lu Ming balances pride and discipline: he celebrates his squad’s success, invests strategically in its combat readiness, and turns rivalry into motivation.
• Jiang Yue remains composed despite earning the highest individual reward. He values the mission’s success but recognizes that repeated disasters would mean civilian suffering. He also accepts Xiu as a worthy future opponent.
• Zhao Qi is candid about the Second Squad’s costs and strategic dilemma. He respects Lu Ming, while their friendly exchange reveals their competitive ambitions.
• Wei Han, Tong Meng, and Hou Ming are publicly recognized for their specialized contributions and receive armor upgrades suited to their fighting styles. The squad supports these unequal investments, understanding their value to everyone’s survival.

Significant themes

• Strength earned through discipline: The recruits’ foundations are treated as essential preparation for mastering more powerful techniques.
• Collective survival over equal reward: The squad’s shared points are concentrated on key equipment and fighters because a stronger frontline can protect the whole unit.
• Merit and competition: Performance brings tangible rewards, while rivalry between squads pushes soldiers to improve.
• The cost of combat: Points and honors matter, but Lu Ming reminds the squad that survival—not wealth or prestige—is the ultimate measure of value.
• Respectful rivalry: The tension between Third and Second Squads is intense but rooted in mutual respect and a shared military spirit.

Key plot points and events

• Lu Ming takes Third Squad to the Federation Martial Arts archive and assigns training suited to each recruit’s role. Support personnel receive practical basic combat techniques, while the four frontline fighters get access to specialized arts.
• Lu Ming selects Immovable as a Mountain Art for Tong Meng to improve his defense, Tortoise-Breathing Mirage Art for Wei Han to strengthen concealment, and Thunder Shadow Cloud-Piercing Step for Hou Ming to boost speed and evasiveness.
• Rather than prescribe a technique for Jiang Yue, Lu Ming recognizes that his mastered Six Harmonies Eight-Meridian Strike already provides strong offense and lets him choose freely.
• Jiang Yue searches for a way to improve his reactions and discovers Mindless Flash, an obscure Battle Meditation Method. It teaches practitioners to suppress conscious thought and let instinct guide their evasions. Though Lu Ming considers it dangerously impractical, Jiang Yue chooses it, and Lu Ming reluctantly backs his decision.
• After an unproductive hour of ordinary meditation, Jiang Yue realizes the method requires an actual threat. During a spar with support soldier Wu Hao, he is struck once while trying to force himself into a blank state, but the experience helps him understand that Mindless Flash is about instinctive response, not simply emptying the mind.
• Jiang Yue then combines the method with his Calm Spirit trait, which lets him fall asleep instantly. While unconscious and relaxed, his body instinctively evades Wu Hao’s successive attacks. He has crossed the technique’s initial threshold, though he still cannot move freely or counterattack in that state.
• To refine the skill against varied attacks, Jiang Yue offers a hundred Points to anyone who can hit him. The recruits eagerly rush to take the challenge.

Character developments

• Jiang Yue shows confidence, independence, and a willingness to risk injury for growth. His insight connects Mindless Flash to the bodily instincts developed through his Roaming Dragon Stance, and he creatively adapts Calm Spirit to make the technique work.
• Lu Ming proves to be a thoughtful, invested commander: he studies his squad’s fighting styles, tailors their training, and respects Jiang Yue’s autonomy even when he fears the choice is reckless.
• Tong Meng, Wei Han, and Hou Ming begin training techniques that directly address their individual weaknesses. Their first results suggest each art suits them well.
• Wu Hao is eager to learn from Jiang Yue and follows his instructions despite his initial worry about hurting him. His attacks become the practical test that unlocks Jiang Yue’s breakthrough.
• The support recruits gain confidence in their basic training and become motivated by Jiang Yue’s reward.

Significant themes

• Personalized growth: The best training depends on a fighter’s role, strengths, and weaknesses, not on prestige or one-size-fits-all instruction.
• Trust and autonomy: Lu Ming’s mentorship includes allowing Jiang Yue to make a dangerous choice for himself.
• Instinct versus conscious control: Mindless Flash challenges conventional combat training by arguing that conscious analysis can slow reaction, while deeply trained bodily instinct can respond directly.
• Risk, practice, and discovery: Jiang Yue’s progress comes through experimentation, failure, and real pressure rather than theory alone.
• Teamwork and motivation: Training is both individual and collective; Jiang Yue turns his squadmates into active partners in developing his skill.

Character interactions

• Lu Ming gives each fighter personal guidance, and Jiang Yue earns his respect by choosing an unconventional path despite their disagreement.
• Wei Han and Tong Meng watch Jiang Yue’s strange meditation and sparring with suspicion, then astonishment, while Wu Hao helps him test the technique.
• After Jiang Yue’s successful evasions, his reward offer transforms the squad’s curiosity into enthusiastic competition, setting up a group training challenge.

Plot points and events

• During two weeks of training, Tong Meng improves his durability, Wei Han sharpens his concealment, and Hou Ming becomes faster and more unpredictable. Jiang Yue appears to sleep through training, but repeatedly evades ambushes without waking. Those failed attempts also teach the support personnel stealth, timing, observation, and teamwork.
• Captain Lu Ming concludes that Jiang Yue has entered a form of instinctive battle meditation: his trained Roaming Dragon Stance lets him avoid hostile attacks without conscious thought. Lu Ming remains unsure whether Jiang Yue can attack effectively in that state.
• Lu Ming announces that the Regiment Championship begins in half a month and puts the squad on high combat readiness. He presents costly medicines that he bought with his own Points: Body-Tempering Serum for all ten combat personnel and specialized medicines for the four frontline fighters.
• Jiang Yue receives Starsea Marrow, which increases mental capacity and recovery. It sharpens his senses and should let him sustain his mindless state longer.
• Lu Ming also unveils four heavily customized Ripper suits, paid for with the squad’s shared mission rewards: Tong Meng’s armor and firepower are reinforced; Wei Han’s suit is stealthy and carries a high-frequency blade; Hou Ming’s is lighter and fitted with thrusters and advanced sensors; Jiang Yue’s Crimson Gold Ripper is built to withstand and amplify his explosive output.
• In tests, Tong Meng’s mech unleashes sustained heavy fire, Wei Han’s blade cuts through thick alloy, Hou Ming’s suit races through an obstacle course, and Jiang Yue’s mech caves in a powerful impact target with a single punch. Lu Ming orders the four to train in the simulation room until the Championship.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yue continues to grow through unconventional training. His involuntary defense impresses Lu Ming, while Starsea Marrow addresses the mental strain behind it. His new mech is tailored to his strength rather than burdened with extra weapons or armor.
• Tong Meng, Wei Han, and Hou Ming turn their specialized techniques into more effective combat skills and eagerly embrace their customized suits.
• The support personnel improve through repeated attempts to ambush Jiang Yue, becoming better at coordination and battlefield awareness. They accept the frontline fighters’ superior equipment as necessary for the squad’s survival.
• Lu Ming proves both an observant instructor and a generous, protective leader. He spends his own savings on medicines, and the squad responds with gratitude and a renewed commitment to perform well. His jokes and threats about repayment ease the emotional moment before he drives them toward the coming contest.

Significant themes

• Teamwork and shared survival: Frontline and support members understand that the whole squad rises or falls together.
• Leadership and earned resources: Lu Ming rewards the recruits’ hard-won progress while making clear that their equipment carries responsibility.
• Discipline and unconventional growth: Jiang Yue’s apparent idleness conceals demanding training, while the others improve through repeated practice and setbacks.
• Preparation and ambition: With the Championship approaching, the squad shifts from training individually to becoming a coordinated, battle-ready unit.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• After receiving secret medicine, martial-arts training, and upgraded equipment, Third Squad enters the Advanced Simulation Training Room to face a full recreation of the Zerg Nest they had encountered half a month earlier. Lu Ming warns them that pain will feel completely real and that they must clear the nest without help from other squads or officers.
• The squad accepts the challenge and enters the simulation. Jiang Yue takes command, assigning Tong Meng and the support team to hold the main passage, Wei Han to infiltrate and kill the Broodmother, Hou Ming to draw away two Guard Zerg, and himself to confront the remaining two.
• Tong Meng’s heavy Mecha and the support soldiers’ Gauss rifles form a powerful defensive crossfire against the Worker Zerg. Hou Ming uses his speed and thrusters to lure two Guard Zerg away. Wei Han slips into the nest to reach the Broodmother.
• Jiang Yue first uses Calm Spirit and Mindless Flash to enter a state of instinctive evasion. He dodges the two Guard Zerg with uncanny precision, but realizes that this defensive state alone cannot defeat them.
• He switches to an all-out attack, using his overloaded Mecha and martial techniques to batter the Guard Zerg. The brutal assault is powerful but rapidly drains his stamina and blood energy.
• At the brink of exhaustion, Jiang Yue discovers he can alternate between savage attacks and the Mindless State: he unleashes Limit Breaking, then uses Calm Spirit to evade and recover before attacking again. Repeating this cycle, he kills the two Guard Zerg facing him.
• When Hou Ming begins to be overwhelmed, Jiang Yue orders the support team to divert half its firepower to help him. Tong Meng steps forward to shield the weakened defensive line while Jiang Yue rushes to assist.
• Jiang Yue and the others defeat the remaining Guard Zerg. Wei Han reports that he has killed the Broodmother; with her dead, the Worker Zerg lose coordination and scatter.
• Third Squad completes the simulated nest-clearing mission with no casualties. Watching their teamwork and Jiang Yue’s transformation, Lu Ming recognizes their progress with pride.

Character developments

• Jiang Yue grows from a powerful but inexperienced fighter into a battlefield leader and innovator. He combines instinctive evasion, rapid recovery, Mecha overload, and Limit Breaking into a distinctive attack-and-recovery cycle. He also remains alert to the squad’s overall situation, adjusting the plan to protect Hou Ming and the defensive line.
• Third Squad has become more confident and independent. Rather than relying on Lu Ming to direct every move, its members communicate, carry out specialized roles, and trust one another under pressure.
• Tong Meng proves both his strength and reliability, holding the main line and later using his heavily armored Mecha as a shield when the team redirects fire.
• Hou Ming displays impressive speed and tactical mobility, successfully drawing off two Guard Zerg, though the prolonged strain begins to wear him down.
• Wei Han demonstrates composure and precision by infiltrating the nest and completing the crucial assassination of the Broodmother.
• Lu Ming shifts from testing the squad to openly admiring its growth, especially Jiang Yue’s unprecedented combat method.

Significant themes

• Growth through confronting fear: The squad returns to the place of its earlier trauma, now prepared to face it with greater skill and resolve.
• Teamwork and responsibility: Each soldier’s specialized role matters, and Jiang Yue’s tactical choices balance his personal fight against the survival of the whole squad.
• Adaptation and innovation: Jiang Yue does not merely master existing techniques; he combines them into a combat rhythm suited to his own abilities.
• Discipline alongside ferocity: Jiang Yue’s style alternates between intense aggression and complete stillness, presenting control and recovery as essential counterparts to power.
• Recognition of earned progress: The mission’s victory serves as proof that Third Squad has become a capable, coordinated unit.

Character interactions

• Lu Ming challenges the squad and taunts them into demonstrating their new abilities, while still watching closely and encouraging their development.
• Jiang Yue calmly assigns roles and earns the squad’s trust; even when his plan seems dangerous, they follow his orders.
• Wu Hao, Zhao Wu, and the others react with alarm as Jiang Yue faces two Guard Zerg, then with astonishment as he alternates between evasion and explosive attacks.
• Jiang Yue’s orders to redirect fire protect Hou Ming but put pressure on Tong Meng’s position, prompting Tong Meng to take responsibility for holding the line.
• Hou Ming and Jiang Yue support each other in turn: Hou Ming distracts the first pair of Guard Zerg, and Jiang Yue later comes to his aid.
• Wei Han’s successful assassination completes the squad’s coordinated effort, turning their hard-fought battle into a decisive victory.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Third Squad emerges from a 56-minute simulation in which they independently clear a complete Zerg Nest and kill its Broodmother. Despite injuries and damaged armor, Captain Lu Ming judges their performance “acceptable” and says he is highly satisfied.
• After Zhao Wu questions why the victory took so much longer than a previous mission, Lu Ming and Li Yang explain that the earlier 13-minute clear involved three squads, over thirty soldiers, heavy weapons, and multiple commanders. Third Squad’s solo success is extraordinary.
• Lu Ming praises the squad’s recent improvements, especially Jiang Yue’s use of Limit Breaking, but Jiang Yue and Wei Han focus on what could have gone better. Jiang believes his cautious attack-and-recovery cycle is inefficient; Wei Han regrets taking too long to assassinate the Broodmother. Their self-criticism renews the whole squad’s determination.
• Lu Ming leads a detailed replay of the battle, identifying tactical mistakes in positioning, suppressive fire, and teamwork. He orders the squad to keep repeating the mission until they can clear it faster, preparing for the Regiment Championship.
• That night, Jiang Yue studies footage of Xiu, Second Squad’s ace, who killed two Level 2 Guard Zerg in nine minutes. He realizes Xiu’s attacks rely on brief, precisely timed power bursts rather than sustaining Limit Breaking.
• Lu Ming explains Instant Limit Breaking, an advanced technique that pre-compresses Blood Energy and seals it in mental “locks,” releasing it at the moment of impact and immediately cutting it off. He demonstrates the technique and proposes combining it with Jiang Yue’s Mindless Flash: evade instinctively, then awaken for an instant to deliver a decisive strike.
• Jiang Yue trains to make Mindless Flash automatic by allowing six Support Personnel to ambush him anywhere in the garrison. Though he is hit occasionally at first, he learns from each failure until the ambushers can no longer catch him.
• He also strengthens his body with intensive training and nutrition. Five days before the championship, he measures over 1,645 kilograms of raw striking force and concludes that his physical foundation has greatly improved.
• Jiang Yue finally attempts Instant Limit Breaking. Despite severe strain, he successfully releases a highly compressed burst at the exact moment his fist touches a target, wrecking it without suffering Blood Energy backlash.

Character developments

• Jiang Yue grows from being pleased with a major victory to rigorously examining his inefficiencies. He becomes driven to match Xiu’s speed, trains both reflexes and physical strength, and successfully masters his first Instant Limit Breaking strike.
• Wei Han demonstrates accountability and high standards, openly accepting responsibility for the slow assassination despite having completed the mission.
• Lu Ming balances praise with demanding instruction. He uses the victory as a teaching opportunity and recognizes Jiang Yue’s potential, guiding him toward a more advanced fighting style.
• Third Squad shifts from celebrating its “miracle” to renewed ambition. The ordinary members recognize that victory is only a starting point and commit themselves to improvement.
• Wu Hao, Li Yang, Zhao Wu, and the other Support Personnel initially relish the chance to earn points by ambushing Jiang Yue, but their repeated failures leave them impressed and eventually demoralized.

Significant themes

• Improvement beyond victory: Success matters, but complacency after success is dangerous; excellence requires continued self-criticism.
• Teamwork and battlefield consequences: Individual delays and positioning errors can expose teammates to lethal danger.
• Precision over brute force: Instant Limit Breaking offers a more efficient, controlled alternative to prolonged bursts of power.
• Discipline and adaptation: Jiang Yue turns each ambush, mistake, and physical challenge into feedback for improvement.
• Preparation before a breakthrough: His new technique becomes possible only after sustained development of his body, mental strength, and control of Blood Energy.

Character interactions

• Lu Ming and the squad: He praises their achievement, corrects their tactical mistakes, and sets a collective training goal for the championship.
• Jiang Yue and Wei Han: Their candid self-assessments challenge the squad’s satisfaction and prompt their teammates to renew their resolve.
• Lu Ming and Jiang Yue: Lu Ming explains Xiu’s technique, demonstrates Instant Limit Breaking, and suggests fusing it with Mindless Flash; Jiang embraces the idea and pursues it.
• Jiang Yue and the Support Personnel: Their ambush arrangement turns into an extended training partnership—one in which their failed attacks steadily sharpen Jiang Yue’s automatic defenses.