Chapter Summaries

Xia Wuyou and Shen Qin fought fiercely during Shen Qin’s employment assessment, revealing how closely matched their combat skills were. Xu Shi identified Shen Qin’s ability and its cost, but the battle changed when both women began to rein in their attacks.

• Xia Wuyou and Shen Qin exchanged blades and gunfire, and Xia Wuyou discovered Shen Qin’s violet Rust Fog weapon.
• Xia Wuyou pressed Shen Qin with her Gravity Domain and training rounds, but Shen Qin held her own in close combat.
• Shen Qin activated Blood Burn Liberation, boosting her strength, speed, accuracy, and pain tolerance at the cost of her life force.
• Xu Shi watched the fight and judged Shen Qin’s ability to be at least A rank, noting her balanced combat style and frail appearance.
• Xia Wuyou and Shen Qin unexpectedly began reining in their attacks.

Xia Wuyou and Shen Qin secretly tried to lose their assessment fight convincingly, and both ended up appearing defeated. Xu Shi passed Shen Qin into Serpent Coil, but grew suspicious when she refused medical treatment.

• Xia Wuyou and Shen Qin adjusted their fight so each could lose without exposing her full abilities.
• Xia Wuyou staged a disarm and apparent defeat, but Shen Qin then pretended to faint so Xia would not truly lose to her.
• Xu Shi praised Xia Wuyou's performance and arranged for her to rest.
• Shen Qin asked whether she had passed, and Xu Shi welcomed her as an official Serpent Coil member.
• Shen Qin took a pill from her own medicine and initially declined the infirmary, prompting Xu Shi to become suspicious.

Xu Shi investigated why Shen Qin had refused treatment and discovered that her wounds healed far faster than expected, suggesting she possessed a second Ascendant Ability in addition to Blood Burn Liberation. He left the chapter suspecting Shen Qin had a hidden Accelerated Self-Healing ability.

• Xu Shi grew suspicious when Shen Qin refused to go to the infirmary and asked Su Lin for her City Hall medical report.
• Xu Shi and Su Lin reviewed Shen Qin’s report and interview, finding no clues about any abnormality.
• Su Lin learned that Shen Qin had received only simple bandaging before leaving the infirmary.
• Xu Shi compared Shen Qin’s rapid recovery with Xia Wuyou’s slower healing despite Xia’s superior treatment.
• Xu Shi and Su Lin concluded that Shen Qin might possess a second Ascendant Ability, possibly Accelerated Self-Healing.

Xu Shi concluded that Shen Qin might possess a hidden self-healing ability alongside her visible Ascendant Ability, and warned Su Lin to investigate discreetly. After Su Lin apologized for interrupting him and Xia Wuyou, Xu Shi pulled her close and teased her about compensating him, but another knock interrupted them.

• Xu Shi argued that Shen Qin’s apparent illness did not rule out a passive self-healing ability, and Su Lin accepted that the evidence pointed toward her having two abilities.
• Xu Shi considered whether The Forgotten had implanted Shen Qin’s ability and told Su Lin to keep her under observation while quietly investigating.
• Xu Shi planned to assign Shen Qin as Xia Wuyou’s adjutant so he could monitor her closely.
• Su Lin apologized for entering Xu Shi’s office without knocking, and Xu Shi pulled her close and asked her to compensate him with herself.
• Su Lin blushed at Xu Shi’s teasing, but a knock sounded at the office door.

Xu Shi reviewed Jiang Chengcheng’s placements for the newcomers and adjusted his plan for managing The Forgotten by giving a few influential members limited opportunities. The discussion ended with Su Lin asking whether development of the second-generation chip should officially begin.

• Jiang Chengcheng arrived while Xu Shi and Su Lin were in an awkward, teasing moment, and Su Lin slipped away relieved.
• Jiang Chengcheng reported how she had assigned the newcomers to low-level roles, and Xu Shi approved her screening and placements.
• Xu Shi told Jiang Chengcheng to give a few capable, influential newcomers important but non-core positions and preferential treatment.
• Jiang Chengcheng agreed with Xu Shi’s plan to redirect tensions within The Forgotten, and Su Lin asked whether they should begin developing the second-generation chip.

Xu Shi decided to make the Overlimit Project public and resume cooperation with Prism, with medicine as the joint development priority. He planned to assign the lower-priority chip project to Lin Wenhua as a way to weaken or remove him, while Jiang Chengcheng would lead the project's most important work.

• Jiang Chengcheng asked Xu Shi whether Serpent Coil should keep the Overlimit Project secret or resume cooperation with Prism.
• Xu Shi told Su Lin to contact Ye Shanshan and offer Prism the lead in joint medicine development to preserve cooperation between the companies.
• Xu Shi said Serpent Coil would continue developing chips at lower priority and would assign the work to Lin Wenhua.
• Su Lin and Jiang Chengcheng realized Xu Shi intended to use flawed revised materials to set Lin Wenhua up for failure and weaken his position.
• Xu Shi told Jiang Chengcheng to lead a team on the most important part of the Overlimit Project.

Xu Shi assigned Jiang Chengcheng to lead the secret Specialized Weapon project and let her collect data from him and Su Lin. After Jiang Chengcheng left, Xu Shi realized she was afraid to awaken an ability and ordered the regular meeting moved forward.

• Xu Shi warned Jiang Chengcheng not to take on too much and told her to select trusted Engineering Department members for the Specialized Weapon project.
• Jiang Chengcheng recorded Xu Shi’s measurements and ability-related data, then collected Su Lin’s data as well.
• Xu Shi asked Jiang Chengcheng whether she had awakened an ability, but she said she could manage without one and left to return to work.
• Su Lin suggested Jiang Chengcheng was afraid of awakening an ability, and Xu Shi understood her fear of suffering side effects.
• Xu Shi ordered that the month’s regular meeting be moved forward.

Shen Qin worried that Xu Shi had noticed her hidden abilities while she served as deputy leader of Outer Field Team Three under Xia Wuyou. At a board meeting, Xu Shi assigned Lin Wenhua to lead a new derivative-products project, leaving Lin convinced the appointment was a trap.

• Shen Qin recalled resisting Xu Shi's mental influence during her interview and worried he had detected her two abilities.
• Xia Wuyou reprimanded Shen Qin for losing focus while they guarded the board meeting.
• Xu Shi outlined Serpent Coil's plans for The Forgotten, the Overlimit Project, and new derivative products.
• Xu Shi asked Lin Wenhua to take charge of the derivative-products project, surprising the directors.
• Lin Wenhua suspected Xu Shi meant to put him at risk but accepted the assignment.
• Xu Shi agreed to leave the project to Lin and glanced at Su Lin.

Xu Shi pressured Lin Wenhua into leading Serpent Coil’s chip project while Shen Qin considered exploiting their apparent conflict. After returning home, Xu Shi reunited with Gu Yi, and their promised gaming session turned intimate.

• Lin Wenhua accepted leadership of the chip project, hoping it would restore his reputation and give him leverage.
• Shen Qin overheard the meeting and decided she might use the tension between Xu Shi and Lin Wenhua, but Xia Wuyou warned her to keep quiet.
• Xu Shi returned home, where Gu Yi greeted him and asked him to play Divine Arrival with her.
• While they played, Xu Shi teased Gu Yi about her outfit and choker, and she admitted she had dressed with him in mind.
• Gu Yi turned to Xu Shi and meowed like a kitten before they left the game for the nearby bed.

Xu Shi took Gu Yi racing, then brought her to meet Wen Shengkui, who warned him that Long Tianding had proposed reconciliation and closer ties between Sin City and Night City. Xu Shi recognized the offer as a likely maneuver against him but said Wen Shengkui could agree to it.

• Gu Yi recovered after Xu Shi used her as an outlet for his bad mood, and she asked him to teach her to drive.
• Xu Shi taught Gu Yi to race, and she quickly became skilled enough to finish a lap just six seconds behind him.
• After Wen Shengkui contacted him, Xu Shi took Gu Yi to the Feather Pen estate and introduced her to the old master.
• Wen Shengkui told Xu Shi that Long Tianding had proposed making peace and establishing a green corridor and schools between Sin City and Night City.
• Xu Shi concluded that Long Tianding was likely trying to distract Wen Shengkui while preparing to target him, but told his grandfather he could accept the offer.

Xu Shi supported Wen Shengkui’s plan to reconcile with Long Tianding and help improve Sin City, which strengthened the bond between him and his grandfather. After Gu Yi’s awkward attempt to praise Wen Shengkui’s calligraphy, Xu Shi left with her, promising to bring his pet another time.

• Xu Shi told Wen Shengkui that cooperation with Long Tianding could benefit Sin City and that he was not worried about their reconciliation.
• Wen Shengkui tested Xu Shi’s feelings about the potential alliance, and Xu Shi emphasized that they were family and offered to help with Dragon City.
• Wen Shengkui remarked that Gu Yi seemed introverted, so Xu Shi prompted her to compliment his calligraphy; Gu Yi misread “Heart Without Dust” as “fried bun center.”
• Wen Shengkui invited Gu Yi to visit and learn calligraphy, then told Xu Shi that He Yuxia was away gathering inspiration.
• Xu Shi and Gu Yi prepared to leave, and Xu Shi promised to bring his pet to visit Wen Shengkui next time.

Xu Shi encouraged Gu Yi to learn calligraphy from Wen Shengkui, then accepted Long Tianding’s invitation to negotiate over Districts Six and Seven. The meeting ended with Long Tianding asking what Xu Shi wanted in exchange for returning the districts.

• Xu Shi reassured Gu Yi about her awkward praise of Wen Shengkui, and she decided to become his calligraphy student.
• Gu Yi jokingly claimed seniority over Xu Shi as Wen Shengkui’s student, so Xu Shi spanked her and made her call him Dad.
• Xu Shi received an invitation from Long Tianding to discuss Sin City, and he decided to attend with Su Lin and covert Field Operations Department protection.
• Long Tianding welcomed Xu Shi and Su Lin in District One and questioned Xu Shi’s role in the changes to Districts Six and Seven.
• Xu Shi defended his actions by citing the District Nineteen bombing and rejected Long Tianding’s appeal to unwritten rules.
• Long Tianding offered to return the equipment Xu Shi had provided the Long Saber Party, but Xu Shi argued that repayment could not make up for his losses, prompting Long Tianding to ask what he wanted.

Xu Shi negotiated an equipment purchase with Long Tianding and secured his help against anyone who might target him, while keeping Sin City’s future and Lin Wenhua under observation. After joking with Su Lin about her role and their trust in each other, Xu Shi received an urgent message that Miss He Er had gone missing.

• Xu Shi redirected Long Tianding’s attempt to pressure him into a serious discussion about purchasing equipment, then agreed to sell weapons and Gemini chips on the condition that Long Tianding help protect him from hidden attacks.
• Long Tianding accepted Xu Shi’s condition, and Xu Shi waived an extra 2.42 million from the bill while making clear that District Six and Seven remained his territory.
• After they left District One, Su Lin teased Xu Shi about avoiding a fight, and Xu Shi joked that she should take Du Wei’s Field Operations Department position instead.
• Xu Shi told Su Lin that he had not decided how to deal with Long Tianding and planned to use Lin Wenhua to test Long Tianding’s true intentions.
• Xu Shi and Su Lin joked about her needing to learn new tricks, then Xu Shi received a message that Miss He Er had gone missing.

After He Yuxia disappeared, Xu Shi helped Tang Shuang organize a search and suggested she might have left the city. Meanwhile, Shen He found an unconscious young woman outside the city and brought her to The Forgotten’s encampment, where she began to wake.

• Tang Shuang told Xu Shi that He Yuxia had vanished, and he arranged for his personnel, Gu Yi, and Wen Shengkui to help search.
• Xu Shi suggested He Yuxia might have left the city, so Tang Shuang decided to search outside and asked Xu Shi to accompany her, but Su Lin refused on his behalf.
• Shen He reflected on his weakened position and his inability to challenge Xu Shi, then went outside the encampment to clear his head.
• Shen He found an unconscious young woman in a pale yellow dress beside scattered art equipment and brought her back to the encampment.
• The woman recovered after treatment for Rust Fog exposure and asked where she was.

Shen He rescued He Yuxia after she collapsed outside the city and learned that she had gone there to take photographs. After she offered to help The Forgotten and record their side of the story, he sent her back to Night City with an idea about using the media.

• He Yuxia woke at The Forgotten's base, and Shen He told her she had collapsed from inhaling Rust Fog; he introduced himself as Luo Tian.
• He Yuxia explained that she had slipped away from her bodyguards to take photographs, and she offered to help Shen He settle in the city.
• He Yuxia took notes as Shen He described The Forgotten's hardships and criticized the Six Great Conglomerates, then gave him a sketch as a keepsake.
• Shen He arranged for He Yuxia to be escorted back, and their conversation inspired him to consider using the media.
• Tang Shuang, Wen Shengkui, Xu Shi, Qi Maoyang, and the He siblings welcomed He Yuxia back; Qi Maoyang declined Xu Shi's suggestion to exchange photography tips with her, saying women slowed down his shutter speed.

Xu Shi met with Tang Shuang at the Inspection Bureau, where she thanked him for helping improve public order and admitted she had few people to talk to. Their conversation ended with Tang offering him a new Inspection Bureau uniform to try on.

• Qi Maoyang thanked Xu Shi for the concessions and left to write an article praising him.
• Xu Shi followed Tang Shuang to her office at the Inspection Bureau to hear what she wanted to discuss.
• Tang Shuang thanked Xu Shi for the drop in crime and for helping settle The Forgotten, while Xu Shi said he still felt uneasy about He Yuxia's disappearance.
• Tang Shuang admitted she had no friends and that her parents had died in the line of duty, so Xu Shi agreed to stay and chat.
• Tang Shuang said she wished Xu Shi were an ordinary person she could recruit, then handed him a new Inspection Bureau uniform and asked him to try it on.

Tang Shuang made Xu Shi wear an Inspection Bureau uniform, and their conversation about working together left her wondering whether they had feelings for each other. After Tang Shuang drove him to Serpent Coil, Xie Qingyan arrived with Ye Shanshan and said she had something important to tell him.

• Tang Shuang used Xu Shi's incomplete community-service record to make him put on an Inspection Bureau uniform, then adjusted his clothes herself.
• Xu Shi invited Tang Shuang to work for Serpent Coil, but she said she preferred to stay in her current position, and he did not press her.
• Tang Shuang drove Xu Shi back to Serpent Coil and, during the silent ride, began wondering whether she had feelings for him after all.
• Before leaving, Xu Shi warned Tang Shuang to prepare for something that might happen and said it would involve him, though he did not want it to occur.
• Xie Qingyan and Ye Shanshan stopped Xu Shi outside the Serpent Coil building, and Xie Qingyan said she had something important to tell him.

Xu Shi and Xie Qingyan discussed the Phase Two Overlimit Project drug, naming it Sublimation, and considered cooperating on future specialized enhancements. Xu Shi offered Xie Qingyan the chance to absorb Furious Wolf, while secretly planning for Spark to get involved.

• Xie Qingyan showed Xu Shi a sample of the Phase Two drug, and Xu Shi named it Sublimation while suggesting they bundle it with Gemini chips.
• Xie Qingyan proposed focusing future research on specialized enhancements, and Xu Shi agreed to let her try that direction with him.
• Xie Qingyan suggested they stop competing against each other and divide Shark Tooth between them, while they discussed managing the former Forgotten leaders.
• Xu Shi offered Xie Qingyan a chance to swallow Furious Wolf after its losses in Sin City, saying the Long Saber Party would stay out.
• Xu Shi privately planned for Spark to get involved in Furious Wolf instead.

Xu Shi arranged for Xie Qingyan and Lin Yue to compete for Raging Wolf’s territory, while Lin Yue weighed the risks and benefits of attacking the weakened gang. The chapter ended with Lin Yue privately struggling with her lingering feelings for Xu Shi.

• Xu Shi reviewed Lin Yue’s rise to control half of District Six and decided she should try to seize Raging Wolf’s territory alongside Xie Qingyan.
• Xie Qingyan accepted Xu Shi’s offer, and Xu Shi told Ding Jun to stay out of the District Ten conflict while promising to help him pursue his ambitions.
• Lin Yue and Lin Xing discussed whether Spark should move against Raging Wolf, and Lin Yue agreed to plan an attack because its arms channels could help solve Spark’s supply problems.
• After Lin Xing left, Lin Yue admitted to herself that she could not control her feelings for Xu Shi.

Chu Cuicheng armed the Raging Wolves as attacks wore down their defenses, while Lin Xing and Lin Yue planned to recruit their members into Spark. Song Ziyou ordered White Iron to launch its final assault on District Ten, leaving the Raging Wolves facing an immediate attack and Spark working to exploit the turmoil.

• Chu Cuicheng ordered the Raging Wolves to open their warehouses and arm their members, including those with brain-computer interfaces receiving Gemini units.
• The Raging Wolves repelled repeated attacks by smaller gangs, but Chu Cuicheng suspected White Iron was using them to weaken his members before a major assault.
• Lin Xing told Lin Yue to recruit Raging Wolves members into Spark while White Iron and the Raging Wolves were occupied, and Lin Yue agreed to put the plan into action.
• Lin Xing reassured Lin Yue that they could work together, and Lin Yue reaffirmed her trust in her sister.
• Song Ziyou decided the Raging Wolves had been worn down enough and ordered White Iron to launch its final assault on District Ten.