Chapter Summaries

Arthur and Zhang Yuanqing searched a Liaodong mall for Sequence 030, while Nine-Tailed Fox discussed Sequence 009’s return and Qin Leng’s approaching ascension. They encountered Meng Qing, a member of the Hand of the Serpent, as their search began.

• Arthur and Zhang Yuanqing set out to find Sequence 030, the unknown Liar Eater, using information Computer had gathered from Nine-Tailed Fox.
• At Nine-Tailed Fox headquarters, the O5 Council discussed Sequence 010’s appearance and Sequence 009’s return, while Qin Leng reflected on his plan and his remaining four years and seven months before ascending.
• Arthur and Zhang Yuanqing arrived at a shopping mall in Liaodong, where a lookout reported their presence to Meng Qing.
• Meng Qing ordered his subordinates to leave Arthur and Zhang Yuanqing alone, then used invisible Silk Thread to disappear from the rooftop.
• Arthur and Zhang Yuanqing sat on a bench in the mall, where an unidentified man watched a television drama and asked whom they were seeking.
• Meng Qing approached the bench, and Arthur recognized him as a member of the Hand of the Serpent and prepared to attack.

Zhang Yuanqing and Arthur confronted Meng Qing while searching for 030, but the man they found claiming to be 001 revealed himself as Number Bro and escaped. Number Bro explained his knowledge of the Nine-Tailed Fox and Chaos as Meng Qing and Arthur fought, then waited for the Nine-Tailed Fox to arrive.

• Meng Qing restrained Arthur with invisible threads and demanded to know what he was seeking.
• Zhang Yuanqing revealed they were looking for 030, and a nearby man claimed to be 001 before transforming into the Progenitor of Sequence 007 and fleeing.
• Meng Qing and Arthur chased the man while Zhang Yuanqing took the stairs and was captured by a security guard.
• Number Bro revealed that he recognized Meng Qing by his voice and had explored the hidden world of the Nine-Tailed Fox and Chaos.
• Number Bro said neither organization understood the Game Space, then predicted that the Nine-Tailed Fox would soon arrive.

Number Bro explained his plan to create the Night Watcher, an independent organization for Sequences emerging from the Game Space, and invited Meng Qing to join. Meng Qing refused, believing he could not abandon his identity or his pursuit of greater power, and remained uncertain how to advance toward the fourth tier.

• Meng Qing and Number Bro escaped as police and Nine-Tailed Fox containment specialists surrounded Arthur and requested the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.
• Number Bro told Meng Qing that he had fought the Nine-Tailed Fox seven times under different identities to gather intelligence and predict its response time.
• Number Bro explained that he wanted to create the Night Watcher to protect future Sequences without joining the Nine-Tailed Fox, Chaos, the Hand of the Serpent, or the Black Queen.
• Number Bro invited Meng Qing to build the organization with him, but Meng Qing refused and said he could no longer leave his current identity behind.
• Meng Qing reflected on the Inner World, his questions about evolution and his god, and the difficulty of reaching the fourth tier in a world with little energy.

Arthur was battered by sustained gunfire and captured by Jia Wood, while Computer failed to break China's new missile-defense encryption. Zhang Yuanqing then arrived at the mall and was seized by Ji Earth.

• Arthur retreated into the mall under heavy fire as local forces and Nine-Tailed Fox personnel evacuated civilians.
• Jia Wood caught Arthur on the second floor, used vines and a Wood Dragon to injure and restrain him, and reported that Sequence 010 had been captured.
• Arthur learned that Happy Birthday had been intercepted and Computer needed up to two days to crack China's new oracle-bone-script encryption.
• Zhang Yuanqing came up from the mall basement playing loud music, and Jia Wood identified him as Sequence 029, Gambler.
• Ji Earth burst stone arms from the ground and grabbed Zhang Yuanqing's legs.

Zhang Yuanqing used coin-flip gambles and his extraordinary luck to overpower Jia Wood, exploiting the fact that he could not see the Mist World. As Jia Wood fell, Arthur kicked Zhang Yuanqing away and called him a weakling.

• Zhang Yuanqing kicked Ji Earth out of the ground and smashed her into a mall wall.
• Zhang Yuanqing repeatedly bet on coin flips as he destroyed Jia Wood’s Wood Dragon and wooden spikes.
• Zhang Yuanqing’s punch passed through Jia Wood’s phantom, and he punched through Jia Wood’s abdomen.
• Headquarters warned Ji Earth that Zhang Yuanqing could not see through the Mist World, and Ji Earth realized Jia Wood had mistaken physical attacks for his secondary body.
• Arthur started to apologize to Zhang Yuanqing, but another figure kicked Zhang Yuanqing away and called him a weakling.

The Mao position saved Jia Wood from death, but Arthur escaped with Zhang Yuanqing through a spatial rift that severed the Mao position’s arm. Half a month later, Arthur and Zhang Yuanqing returned to the Chaos Splitters’ headquarters, where Sequence 009 resumed rebuilding the group while Arthur was taken for experiments and secretly equipped with an exoskeleton.

• The Mao position used the Dog and Horse Talismans to heal Jia Wood, but Arthur broke free and tried to escape with Zhang Yuanqing through a spatial rift.
• The Mao position pulled Arthur and Zhang Yuanqing back, but Zhang Yuanqing’s bet triggered the rift to swallow them and severed the Mao position’s arm as it closed.
• Ji Earth recognized that Sequence 009’s return had restored the Chaos Splitters’ resilience, and the group escaped without losing anyone else.
• Half a month later, Arthur and Zhang Yuanqing returned after landing at Mount Fuji, where Arthur vented his frustration by killing his way down the mountain and destroying a shrine.
• Sequence 009 revealed that the Mother Coffin had been recovered, while Computer took Arthur for secret experiments after he asked for annual leave.
• Sequence 009 began rebuilding the Chaos Splitters, and Arthur was fitted with an exoskeleton Metal Battle Armor linked to his spinal nerves.

Computer introduced the Slaughter Prototype, an exoskeleton powered by energy absorbed through an Awakened wearer, and said it needed more materials to build improved versions. Days later, Arthur returned from being implanted with a Light Brain and struggled with his body's rejection of the technology while Computer preached mechanical evolution.

• Computer explained that the Slaughter Prototype used a Light Brain for assisted thought and automatic evasion, but could only be worn by Awakened people.
• Sequence 009 urged Computer to make the armor usable by ordinary people, and Computer asked for large amounts of Awakened flesh or Sequence Derivative flesh and blood.
• Several days later, Arthur returned to headquarters wearing the exoskeleton and complained about the Light Brain implanted in his neck.
• Arthur's body twitched and writhed as it reacted to the mechanical implants, while Zhang Yuanqing watched in confusion.
• Computer explained that Arthur's discomfort was temporary biological rejection and declared that humanity should embrace mechanical evolution, but Zhang Yuanqing declined.

Qin Leng sent Geng Metal, Yi Wood, and Ren Water to investigate a mass decapitation at a European farm, and Geng Metal requisitioned the Truth Stone for the mission. The chapter ended with Yi Wood asking Ren Water whether he had killed Ding Fire.

• Qin Leng received a report that farmers at a European farm had been decapitated and ordered an investigation with Geng Metal, Yi Wood, and Ren Water.
• Geng Metal and Yi Wood received the mission notice and prepared to collect equipment from the logistics department.
• Geng Metal requested Alpha-147, the Truth Stone, alongside the standard investigation supplies.
• The logistics staffer gave Geng Metal the Truth Stone, which grew hot when someone nearby lied.
• Geng Metal met Ren Water and Yi Wood outside, and Yi Wood asked Ren Water if he had killed Ding Fire.

Geng Metal used the Truth Stone to question Ren Water about Ding Fire’s death, confirmed Ren Water was telling the truth, and admitted he still distrusted everyone. Ren Water left angry, and he, Geng Metal, and Ji Wood set off on their mission amid growing tension among the Heavenly Stems.

• Geng Metal confronted Ren Water and asked whether he had been involved in Ding Fire’s death.
• Ren Water swore he had not caused Ding Fire’s death, and the Truth Stone confirmed his words were true.
• Geng Metal apologized for suspecting Ren Water but insisted he would investigate everyone until he found a possible mole.
• Ren Water left in anger, while Yi Wood warned Geng Metal that his accusation had damaged their trust.
• Bing Fire told Yi Wood he also disliked Ren Water and thought he was unworthy of being a Heavenly Stem.
• Ren Water, Geng Metal, and Ji Wood departed by helicopter for their mission.

Geng Metal, Yi Wood, and Ren Water investigated a farmstead massacre in Europe and followed strange footprints to a warehouse. They found a blood-covered gargoyle statue that might be their target and prepared to take it back.

• Yi Wood examined the headless victims and concluded they had been killed in single strikes, while the investigators found an unmatched footprint that seemed to belong to a small, heavy creature.
• Geng Metal and Ren Water split off to follow separate trails despite Yi Wood's warning.
• Geng Metal tracked the footprints to an isolated farmstead, found dismembered livestock and two more headless bodies, then followed the trail to a warehouse.
• Geng Metal used a C Cipher message to alert Yi Wood and the others that they had found the target.
• The team opened the warehouse and found only mangled animal carcasses and a blood-covered gargoyle statue, which they considered a possible target to retrieve.

Yi Wood recognized that the gargoyle moved whenever no one watched it, and she and the surviving investigators tried to hold it in place. A mole used flashbangs to create openings, and Jia Wood killed Geng Metal outside the warehouse while Yi Wood remained trapped with the gargoyle.

• Yi Wood realized the gargoyle could move and decapitate people whenever they lost sight of it, so she ordered everyone to watch it and called for reinforcements.
• A flashbang blinded the investigators, killing several more, and Yi Wood concluded that an organization insider had thrown it.
• Geng Metal went outside to catch the mole, where Jia Wood attacked him with poisoned vines and stole his communicator and shield.
• Jia Wood pierced Geng Metal's chest, eyes, and throat, killing him as he tried to fight back.
• Yi Wood heard footsteps behind her but could not look away from the gargoyle, leaving her unsure whether Geng Metal had returned.

Jia Wood arrived at the warehouse and helped recover the stone statue demon after investigators found Geng Metal and Yi Wood dead. Bing Fire revealed that a listening device had captured Geng Metal shouting the mole’s name, then confronted Jia Wood.

• Jia Wood arrived at the warehouse and wiped away the character Geng Metal had written before he died.
• Ji Earth found an investigator hanging in the warehouse, forced to stare at the stone statue demon, and learned that looking away could cost him his head.
• Jia Wood, Ren Water, and Ji Earth recovered the statue and discovered that Geng Metal and Yi Wood had been killed by a wood-element attacker who took their equipment.
• Ji Earth found a requisitioned high-flash grenade casing, raising suspicion that a mole was among them.
• Bing Fire revealed that he had secretly planted a listening device on Yi Wood and said he had heard Geng Metal name the mole.
• Bing Fire asked Jia Wood why he did not confess.

Bing Fire exposed Jia Wood as the mole using the Truth Stone, and the O5 Council imprisoned him pending the Leader’s decision. An instructor then told an O5 chairman that Ding Fire and Ren Water had fallen in love, potentially making their fates complementary.

• Bing Fire questioned Jia Wood with the Truth Stone, which turned red and heated when Jia Wood denied involvement in Geng Metal and Yi Wood’s deaths.
• The Truth Stone did not react to Ren Water’s or Ji Earth’s answers, and Bing Fire concluded that Jia Wood was responsible for Ding Fire, Geng Metal, and Yi Wood’s deaths.
• The O5 Council debated Jia Wood’s fate, learned that Qin Leng was unwell, and decided to imprison Jia Wood until the Leader recovered.
• An O5 chairman questioned the Ten Heavenly Stems’ instructor about possible moles, and the instructor explained how Heavenly Stems could combine and transform.
• The instructor said Ding Fire and Ren Water had fallen in love and might have become complementary.

After Alos helped Sequence 032 escape containment, the world stayed unusually quiet until news spread that the wish-granting Book of Gods had been stolen from The Exiled's Library and was in Antarctica. Organizations mobilized to find it, with the Hand of the Serpent acting first.

• The Council of Elders tested the gargoyle and discovered that it became flesh and blood when no one watched it, allowing it to break containment.
• A D-Class Personnel called Number Bro claimed his ability could nullify abilities and helped the gargoyle teleport to an abandoned factory in Asia.
• Number Bro revealed himself as Sequence 030, Alos, and asked whether the gargoyle understood the people who had captured it.
• After a month of uneasy calm, news announced that a Book of Gods capable of granting all wishes had been stolen and was located in Antarctica.
• Chaos Splitter and Nine-Tailed Fox suspected each other of spreading the news, while the Hand of the Serpent began mobilizing ahead of them.

The Nine-Tailed Fox, Chaos, and the Hand of the Serpent clashed in a fierce Antarctic landing battle as the computer severed communications and Chaos launched an assault in the Ross Sea. Cain deployed ghouls and tanks to hold the coast, while Arthur broke through the defenses with help from the Light Brain before a Silk Threads-wielding enemy confronted him.

• The Hand of the Serpent and Chaos attacked the Nine-Tailed Fox's forces as the Antarctic landing battle began, and the defenders stalled the invasion with ships, aircraft, tanks, and anti-aircraft guns.
• The computer landed Chaos 01 and cut communications across Antarctica, allowing Chaos to retain contact and launch a landing operation in the Ross Sea.
• Cain used the Ghoul Book to raise corpses as ghouls and sent them to operate tanks, ordering his forces to stop the Nine-Tailed Fox and Chaos from landing.
• After learning that the Ross coast defense line had been breached, Cain ordered Seth to drive the attackers back.
• Arthur broke through the Ross Sea defenses, using the Light Brain to evade attacks and destroy ghouls and a tank, but the Light Brain struggled to control his movements as a black-robed man wielding Silk Threads descended to attack him.

Meng Qing fought Arthur and discovered that the Light Brain had made him better at evading attacks, while Arthur revealed a metallic exoskeleton. Meanwhile, the Nine-Tailed Fox launched an assault on Antarctica to seize the Book of Gods, and a masked man jumped from a damaged drone as it fell.

• Meng Qing used the Demon Blade, threads, and magic against Arthur, but Arthur dodged his attacks with help from the Light Brain and revealed his metallic exoskeleton.
• The Nine-Tailed Fox deployed Nightmare, whose Absolute Darkness concealed its landing force as it breached the Hand of the Serpent's coastal defenses and advanced toward the Book of Gods.
• At headquarters, the O5 Council discussed Sequence 024, The Exiled's Library, and agreed they had to investigate the Book of Gods despite the danger.
• A masked man traveling in an automated drone used a cyan phantom to deflect a shell, then jumped from the aircraft as it began to crash.

Wu Earth and Gui Water fought a masked enemy in Antarctica and identified him as Ren Water, who had absorbed other Heavenly Stem abilities. The enemy revealed multiple avatars, and Wu Earth and Gui Water combined their powers into Netherflame.

• Wu Earth and Gui Water fought off the ghouls and discussed how Heavenly Stem combinations worked.
• A masked man attacked them with a Wood avatar, and Wu Earth identified him as Ren Water, who had absorbed Ding Fire's ability.
• Ren Water used Wood, Water, and purple fire abilities against Wu Earth and Gui Water, who fought back together.
• Ren Water revealed a second golden avatar with six chain blades and destroyed Wu Earth's rock puppet.
• Wu Earth and Gui Water combined their avatars, unleashing dark Netherflame.

Ji Earth revealed that the Truth Stone could be fooled by self-doubt and memory loss, and uncovered evidence that Ren Water had used Forgetfulness Spray and might have stolen other people's abilities. Jia Wood realized Ren Water was likely the murderer and warned that Wu Earth and the others were in danger as a battle with the gas-masked man raged in Antarctica.

• Ji Earth showed Jia Wood that the Truth Stone could mark an uncertain person's denial as a lie, and Jia Wood answered that he was not sure about the murders without triggering it.
• Ji Earth explained that Ren Water had a history of forgetting agreements, that the surviving investigator's memories had been erased, and that Ren Water had returned Forgetfulness Spray with some missing.
• Ji Earth revealed that Ding Fire's unrecovered equipment might have contained the poison used to kill Geng Metal, and Jia Wood connected the Wood Element ability and Purple Fire Poison to Ren Water's possible ability theft.
• Jia Wood learned that Ren Water was missing and that Wu Earth and the others had been sent to Antarctica, where communications had been cut off, so he urged Ji Earth to find the Leader.
• In Antarctica, Wu Earth and Gui Water merged their secondary bodies and attacked the gas-masked man with black flames, while he unleashed two phantoms and a Wood Serpent Vine Chain Blade.

Ren Water revealed that he had manipulated the Heavenly Stems and killed Wu Earth and Gui Water while trying to merge their powers. Ji Earth identified Ren Water as the mole and escaped with Jia Wood to hunt him in Antarctica, where Arthur captured the Nine-Tailed Fox fighter Mao.

• Ren Water killed Wu Earth and Gui Water, absorbed their auras, and failed to fuse their secondary bodies without suffering backlash.
• Ren Water revealed that he had caused Ding Fire's death, manipulated Geng Metal's message, and used Forgetfulness Spray and a diary to conceal his experiments and evade the Truth Stone.
• Ji Earth told Commander Qin Leng that Ren Water was the mole, but Qin Leng refused to intervene, so she freed Jia Wood from containment and urged her to help kill Ren Water.
• Ji Earth and Jia Wood escaped in a supersonic fighter and flew to Antarctica, where Jia Wood suspected the Commander had allowed them to leave, but Ji Earth claimed the decision was hers.
• Arthur killed a Hand of the Serpent member searching for the Book of Gods, then captured Nine-Tailed Fox's Mao after the Computer ordered him brought in alive.

Cain sacrificed Hand of the Serpent members and ghouls to summon the Apocalypse Knight, Death, from Revelation. Nightmare struggled against Death until Chen Position and Zi Position arrived as reinforcements, and Zi Position activated his hollow puppet with the Rat Talisman.

• Cain warned the Hand of the Serpent to withdraw from the Nine-Tailed Fox headquarters after learning Abel was on an island.
• Cain sacrificed a Hand of the Serpent member and the island's ghouls to summon Death, the fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse.
• Nightmare attacked Cain, but Death struck him and halved his remaining lifespan, then pursued him through his darkness.
• Chen Position arrived and hit Death with a Dragon Flame Pillar, but Death emerged unharmed.
• Zi Position placed the Rat Talisman into the hollow puppet on his back, and it opened its eyes.