Chapter Summaries

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tang Shizhe discovers a hidden danger related to the Ancestor Civilization and the Spacetime Curvature Network.
• The shopkeeper reveals that the Ancestor Civilization may return, posing an existential threat to other civilizations in the Milky Way.
• It's revealed that faster-than-light travel and instantaneous communication are restricted by the Ancestor Civilization, and all civilizations rely on the Spacetime Curvature Network for communication, with a delay of up to a year for messages.

Character Developments

• Tang Shizhe becomes aware of the potential danger his discovery might bring to the Milky Way civilizations.
• The shopkeeper shows concern for the safety of the Milky Way civilizations and shares confidential information with Tang Shizhe.

Significant Themes

• The consequences of technological advancement and the dangers of relying too heavily on a single technology (Spacetime Curvature Network).
• The potential threat of an ancient, advanced civilization returning and the impact it might have on current civilizations.
• The limitations of communication and its impact on interstellar relations and governance.

Character Interactions

• Tang Shizhe interacts with the shopkeeper, who provides crucial information about the Ancestor Civilization and the Spacetime Curvature Network.
• The shopkeeper expresses worry about the potential return of the Ancestor Civilization and the threat it poses to other civilizations.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tang Shizhe visits a marketplace to exchange Energy Fluid for interstellar currency.
• He learns about the currency system and the restrictions on technology purchases.
• Tang Shizhe heads to the central district to buy technology for his civilization.
• He visits Wade Technology, a corporation selling technologies to various civilizations.
• Tang Shizhe purchases several crucial technologies for his civilization, including military-grade thermal dissipation, stealth, nanofabrication, and propulsion systems.

Character Developments

• Tang Shizhe demonstrates his adaptability and resourcefulness in navigating the interstellar marketplace and purchasing necessary technologies.
• The shop owner and Wade Technology's attendant show professionalism and knowledge about the interstellar market and technology sales.

Significant Themes

• Technology and Civilization Advancement: The chapter emphasizes the importance of technology in advancing civilizations and the restrictions placed on less developed civilizations by advanced ones.
• Interstellar Market and Economy: It explores the interstellar currency system, the role of corporations like Wade Technology, and the differences in technology availability and cost between civilizations.

Character Interactions

• Tang Shizhe interacts with the shop owner and the Wade Technology attendant, learning about the interstellar market and purchasing technologies.
• The holographic projections in the trading hall represent various civilizations and organizations buying or selling technology, highlighting the diversity and interconnectedness of interstellar society.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tang Shizhe purchases various technologies and thrusters, spending a significant amount of energy fluid.
• He receives a basic membership card with a 5% discount for purchasing over 1,000 tons of energy fluid at once.
• Tang Shizhe and his group shop for clothes, jewelry, and novelties, filling three shuttles with their purchases.
• The Tang yacht receives its purchased thrusters, which are delivered via a Type 01 cargo hold from the market's warehouse planet.

Character Developments

• Tang Shizhe demonstrates his business acumen and decisiveness in purchasing technologies and managing the group's shopping.
• Yao Na and the other women show their enthusiasm and excitement for shopping, but eventually comply with Tang Shizhe's request to stop.

Significant Themes

• The vastness and variety of the market, showcasing different civilizations' technologies and products.
• The importance of energy fluid as a universal currency.
• The concept of membership and discounts, suggesting a hierarchical system in the market.

Character Interactions

• Tang Shizhe interacts with the market attendants, making purchases and receiving special treatment due to his large order.
• He shops with Yao Na and the other women, indulging their desires but eventually putting a stop to their shopping spree.
• Tang Qian assists Tang Shizhe in managing the purchases and transporting them back to the ship.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tang Shizhe's yacht, carrying a cargo of thrusters, enters the Spacetime Curvature Network.
• Three pirate ships, attracted by Tang's lavish spending at the market, follow and threaten him.
• The pirates demand Tang to shut down his defense systems and allow them to dock, planning to take everyone aboard hostage.
• Tang Shizhe orders his crew to prepare for the pirates' boarding, revealing his true intentions.

Character Developments

• Tang Shizhe demonstrates his calm and strategic thinking under pressure.
• Tang Qianyi, Tang Qian'er, and Tang Qiansan are revealed to be enhanced soldiers with restrictions, ready to fight the pirates.

Significant Themes

• The ruthlessness and desperation of pirates in pursuit of wealth.
• The importance of preparation and strategic planning in the face of unexpected threats.
• The power dynamics between the wealthy and the desperate.

Character Interactions

• Tang Shizhe shows confidence in his crew's abilities, reassuring his companions.
• The pirates underestimate Tang Qianyi due to her appearance, leading to a tense standoff.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tang Qianyi, Tang Qian'er, and Tang Qiansan undergo a transformation process using Bio-Armor Suits and G-Agent, evolving into monstrous forms with enhanced combat capabilities.
• The transformed sisters, now controlled by Tang Shizhe, attack and eliminate the pirate crew aboard their ship.
• The pirates attempt to fight back using heavy weapons, but they are ultimately no match for the sisters' new forms.

Character Developments

• Tang Qianyi, Tang Qian'er, and Tang Qiansan lose their human reason and become mindless killing machines after their transformation.
• Tang Qian, who remains in her human form, expresses relief that her sisters survived the transformation process.

Significant Themes

• The destructive power of bioweapons and their potential for misuse.
• The loss of humanity and free will when subjected to extreme physical enhancement and control.
• The reversal of power dynamics between hunter and prey.

Character Interactions

• Tang Qianyi, Tang Qian'er, and Tang Qiansan interact with the pirates only as predators, displaying no recognition or emotion towards their former captors.
• Tang Qian communicates with Tang Shizhe, relaying the status of her sisters' transformation and receiving orders to attack the pirates.
• The pirates interact with each other in a panicked and disorganized manner, demonstrating their lack of preparation and training for such a situation.

Key Plot Points and Events

• The pirates' ship is breached, and a Mutant (Tang Qianyi) infiltrates it.
• The pirates surrender, but the Mutant kills them all.
• The remaining pirates surrender to Tang Shizhe's crew.
• The pirates are rounded up and gathered in the central hall of Tang Shizhe's yacht.
• Tang Shizhe announces that 418 pirates will be executed, and the survivors must vote for who they want to see killed.

Character Developments

• Tang Qianyi demonstrates her combat prowess and ruthlessness as a Mutant.
• Tang Shizhe shows his strategic mind, using the situation to divide and conquer the pirates.
• The pirates show their cowardice and selfishness, willing to sacrifice each other to save themselves.

Significant Themes

• The power dynamics between humans and Mutants.
• The ruthlessness and cunning of Tang Shizhe in dealing with enemies.
• The selfish nature of humans under extreme circumstances.

Character Interactions

• Tang Qianyi and the other Mutants interact with the pirates, striking fear into them.
• Tang Shizhe interacts with the pirate captain, showing calmness and decisiveness.
• The pirates interact with each other, showing their fear and willingness to sacrifice others for their own survival.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tang Shizhe offers a 50% chance of survival to the pirates, who then vote for who they want killed.
• The votes are manipulated, causing suspicion and mistrust among the pirates.
• Tang Shizhe announces that the survivors will become missionaries for the Church of Science.
• The pirates are forced to swallow black pills containing Parasitic Splitters, which will eventually assimilate them into splitters loyal to Tang Shizhe.

Character Developments

• Tang Shizhe demonstrates his ruthlessness and manipulative tactics, using the pirates to further his goals.
• The pirates, once fearsome and defiant, are reduced to desperate, terrified individuals willing to do anything to survive.

Significant Themes

• Manipulation and Control: Tang Shizhe manipulates the pirates' votes to sow mistrust and uses the Parasitic Splitters to control them.
• Faith and Belief: Tang Shizhe introduces the concept of the Church of Science and the God of Science to fill a spiritual void and maintain control over the population.
• Survival and Desperation: The pirates' primary concern is survival, leading them to make desperate decisions.

Character Interactions

• Tang Shizhe and the Pirates: Tang Shizhe manipulates and controls the pirates, treating them as pawns in his grand plan.
• Pirates among themselves: The pirates, once united, become suspicious and mistrustful of one another due to the manipulated votes.

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Tang yacht returns to the Solar System after three months, towing captured pirate ships and goods.
• The pirate ships' engines, capable of reaching five percent the speed of light, are of great interest to Tang Shizhe.
• Dark Space Cruise technology is banned for everyday use, only permitted for ships crewed by Death Soldiers or biochemicals, and with no witnesses.
• Ordinary people's memories of Dark Space are erased to prevent leaks.
• Titan Group suspends mining operations within Dark Space, relying on death-row prisoners, and increases automation.
• The Tang yacht cannot use Dark Space Cruise due to alien presence, causing a delay in reaching Blue Star.

Character Developments

• Tang Shizhe becomes more cautious and secretive about Dark Space technology.
• Tang Qianyi, Tang Shizhe's clone, suggests a plan to explain faster-than-light travel to the public.

Significant Themes

• The consequences of advanced technology and the struggle for secrecy.
• The ethical implications of using death-row prisoners for labor in Dark Space.
• The tension between progress and caution in interstellar development.

Character Interactions

• Tang Shizhe and Tang Qianyi discuss the challenges of using Dark Space Cruise and the potential solution of claiming to have discovered a natural wormhole network.
• Tang Shizhe interacts with the trained pirates, expressing discomfort at their lack of human sexual characteristics.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tang Shizhe designs special missionary robes for the pirates, enhancing their appearance and strength.
• The pirates undergo brainwashing and plastic surgery, becoming devoted believers of the Church of Science.
• Tang Shizhe reveals his mutated form as the image of the God of Science.
• The missionaries arrive at the Republic and receive Superpower Generators, allowing them to perform "divine miracles."
• The missionaries successfully spread the teachings of the Church of Science, converting citizens through their displayed abilities.

Character Developments

• Tang Shizhe: Further solidifies his role as the leader of the Church of Science and the image of God, manipulating the missionaries and citizens for his gain.
• The Pirates/Missionaries: Undergo significant changes, becoming devoted believers and acquiring "superpowers" through their faith and the Superpower Generators.

Significant Themes

• Manipulation and control: Tang Shizhe manipulates the missionaries and citizens to further his goals.
• Faith and power: The missionaries' faith in the God of Science grants them abilities, illustrating the connection between faith and power.
• Deception: Tang Shizhe uses deception and trickery to spread the teachings of the Church of Science and gain followers.

Character Interactions

• Tang Shizhe interacts with the missionaries, guiding them and instilling in them the belief that their powers come from their faith in the God of Science.
• The missionaries interact with the citizens, converting them to the Church of Science through their displayed abilities and teachings.

Key Plot Points and Events

• The colony ship successfully lands on Europa, Jupiter's fourth-largest moon.
• The crew begins setting up the colony, deploying atmosphere generation towers, and preparing the landing site.
• The colony ship deploys container homes, and colonists emerge from hibernation.
• The colony expands, and the colony ship is dismantled, leaving a reusable subship.

Character Developments

• The crew members, equipped with the Adaptive Evolution Gene, adapt to Europa's harsh environment.
• Colonists awaken from hibernation and begin settling into their new homes.

Significant Themes

• Human adaptation and evolution in harsh environments.
• The challenges and rewards of extraterrestrial colonization.
• The importance of technology and infrastructure in supporting human life in space.

Character Interactions

• The crew works together to establish the colony, communicating and coordinating their efforts.
• Colonists interact with each other as they awaken and begin settling into their new lives on Europa.

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Titan Group's research team, led by Li Yang, drills through Europa's ice layer to explore its ocean.
• An unmanned submersible is deployed and detects unusual sounds, revealing a group of humanoid, bioluminescent creatures with rudimentary intelligence.
• The creatures are observed communicating and assessing the submersible, indicating a primitive civilization.

Character Developments

• Li Yang, initially sent to Europa for his combat experience and to protect scientists, now oversees research and demonstrates leadership and knowledge in extraterrestrial environments.
• The scientists show expertise in their respective fields and adaptability to new discoveries, challenging their existing knowledge of life and intelligence.

Significant Themes

• The emergence of life and intelligence in extreme environments.
• The potential for first contact with a primitive civilization and the ethical considerations involved.
• The importance of scientific exploration and adaptation to new discoveries.

Character Interactions

• Li Yang and the scientists work together, sharing their knowledge and expertise to understand and interpret the new discovery.
• Li Yang demonstrates his authority and understanding of regulations when a scientist suggests obtaining biological samples without consent.
• The scientists challenge each other's assumptions and interpretations, fostering a collaborative learning environment.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Human researchers, led by Li Yang, encounter a primitive, humanoid aquatic species on Europa.
• The creatures, initially startled by the submarine's lights, retreat but later approach the drilling site, climbing up from the shaft.
• The creatures exhibit remarkable stamina, climbing a kilometer in minutes, and seem curious about the humans.
• The creatures retreat when a War Robot moves, ending the first contact.
• Twenty days later, Tang Shizhe arrives with advanced research equipment, including a newer submarine.

Character Developments

• Li Yang: Shows leadership and quick decision-making, prioritizing the safety of his team and attempting peaceful contact with the creatures.
• Tang Shizhe: Demonstrates interest in the discovery and brings advanced research equipment to study the creatures.

Significant Themes

• First Contact: The encounter with the aquatic species raises questions about how to approach and study alien life.
• Technology Gap: Human ocean technology lags behind space technology, highlighting a weakness in human science.
• Fear and Curiosity: Both humans and the aquatic creatures exhibit fear and curiosity in their initial interaction.

Character Interactions

• Li Yang and his team: They work together, following Li Yang's orders to ensure their safety and study the creatures.
• Li Yang and Tang Shizhe: Li Yang greets Tang Shizhe upon his arrival, and they discuss the discovery and the new research equipment.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tang Shizhe arrives at Europa III and discovers an underwater city inhabited by fish-men.
• The city is revealed to be a tribe with a unique, interconnected structure made of biological material.
• Tang Shizhe orders an engineering ship to excavate the ice and expose the city, and to study the fish-man structures.

Character Developments

• Tang Shizhe demonstrates his leadership and strategic thinking by ordering the excavation and study of the fish-man city.
• Li Yang shows curiosity and asks Tang Shizhe about his plans.

Significant Themes

• Exploration and discovery: Tang Shizhe's team discovers a new civilization on Europa.
• Adaptation: The fish-men have adapted to live underwater, using biological materials to build their city.
• Technology and innovation: The engineering ship's advanced capabilities enable the excavation and study of the fish-man city.

Character Interactions

• Tang Shizhe interacts with his team, giving orders and discussing their findings.
• Li Yang approaches Tang Shizhe to ask about his plans, showing curiosity and engagement with the mission.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Scientists discover that Europa's buildings are grown from organisms, similar to Titan Group's Magic Seed buildings, and contain Energy Blanket genes.
• Tang Shizhe imposes a lockdown on Europa due to the presence of life-forms posing a threat and unknown technology.
• Underwater drones find numerous empty fishman tribes and a massive spaceship resting on the seabed.

Character Developments

• Tang Shizhe demonstrates decisive leadership, quickly responding to the discovery and ordering investigations.
• Scientists show curiosity and excitement about the new findings, driving the plot forward.

Significant Themes

• The unknown and mysterious nature of Europa and its inhabitants.
• The intersection of human and alien technology, raising questions about the fishmen's origin and intentions.

Character Interactions

• Tang Shizhe interacts with scientists, showing interest in their findings and making quick decisions based on their reports.
• Officers report to Tang Shizhe, updating him on the situation and following his orders.

Key Plot Points and Events

• The team discovers that the crashed spacecraft on Europa's moon should have been incapable of taking off due to extensive damage, suggesting its crew and passengers evolved into the current fishmen civilization.
• Biological activity is detected inside the spacecraft, and the team prepares to explore it.
• Li Yang leads a team of Death Soldiers in specially designed diving suits to descend seventy kilometers to the spacecraft's location.

Character Developments

• Tang Shizhe: Shows thoughtfulness and strategic planning, considering Li Yang's potential threat and using Death Soldiers for the mission instead of regular marines.
• Li Yang: Demonstrates unease and claustrophobia during the descent, but maintains composure and leads his team into the spacecraft.

Significant Themes

• Adaptation and evolution: The fishmen's ancestors adapted to Europa's harsh environment, regressing to a primitive civilization.
• Power and loyalty: Tang Shizhe's concern about Li Yang's potential power and loyalty highlights the theme of power dynamics within the team.

Character Interactions

• Tang Shizhe and Li Yang: Tang sends Li Yang on the dangerous mission, showing a lack of trust and concern for Li Yang's safety.
• Li Yang and his team: Li Yang tries to engage his team in conversation during the descent to ease his own unease, but they remain silent, highlighting the hierarchical and disciplined nature of their relationship.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tang Shizhe notices a familiar pattern in the mural, hinting at the fish-men's origins.
• Li Yang and his team discover a waterless space above an upward fault, where the fish-men are hiding.
• They find over ten thousand fish-men in a vast hall, armed and surrounding the entrance.
• Tang Shizhe identifies the fish-men's language as a variant of Chinese.
• Li Yang communicates with the fish-men, learning they know about extraterrestrials and their origins.
• The fish-man leader reveals their temple, where each leader learns and eventually dies, preserving the equipment inside.

Character Developments

• Tang Shizhe: Shows expertise in language analysis and becomes excited about the possibility of solving the mystery.
• Li Yang: Demonstrates courage and patience in facing the fish-men and communicating with them.
• Fish-man leader: Reveals knowledge about their origins and the temple's purpose, showing wisdom and understanding.

Significant Themes

• Origin and Identity: The fish-men's origins and their true identity as extraterrestrials are central to the chapter.
• Preservation of Knowledge: The temple serves as a repository of knowledge, highlighting the importance of preserving history and culture.
• Communication and Understanding: The ability to communicate with the fish-men leads to mutual understanding and cooperation.

Character Interactions

• Li Yang and Fish-men: Li Yang's initial caution turns into cooperation as he communicates with the fish-men, leading to a handshake and trust-building.
• Tang Shizhe and Li Yang: Tang Shizhe provides crucial linguistic analysis, enabling Li Yang to communicate with the fish-men, showing a productive working relationship.
• Fish-man leader and his people: The leader shows respect and care for his people, asking them to stand down and expressing his desire to discuss matters with Li Yang and his team.

Key Plot Points and Events

• The merman leader reveals that their gods are actually ancestors who left a prophecy depicting Li Yang's group.
• Li Yang steps into a knowledge-imparting machine, triggering a holographic playback of an archived log from a spaceship called "Return Zero."
• The log shows the ship's crew preparing for wormhole travel to find their home planet, Blue Star.
• The ship's wormhole engine malfunctions, causing damage to the ship, but they successfully reach the Solar System.
• The ship is now on a collision course with Jupiter's moon, Europa, with an estimated 49 hours until impact.

Character Developments

• Li Yang shows curiosity and caution when faced with alien technology.
• The merman leader displays reverence for his ancestors and understanding of the tribe's history.

Significant Themes

• The pursuit of knowledge and its consequences (civil wars, near-extinction).
• The importance of home and the lengths people will go to find it (the crew's mission to find Blue Star).

Character Interactions

• Li Yang interacts with the merman leader, who shares his tribe's history and guides him to the knowledge-imparting machine.
• The crew of the Return Zero spaceship interacts, showing their excitement, fear, and determination during their mission.

Key Plot Points and Events

• The exploration ship, after enduring countless hardships, reaches the Solar System, only to find it devoid of electromagnetic signals and signs of human civilization.
• A drone sent to Blue Star (Earth) reveals that it's in a primitive state, with no signs of human cities or space activity.
• The crew realizes they've not only crossed space but also time, having arrived thousands of years before the wormhole's closure.
• The captain decides to settle on Europa (one of Jupiter's moons) to avoid altering Earth's history and to wait for humanity to leave Earth and enter the stars.

Character Developments

• The captain demonstrates strategic thinking and responsibility, prioritizing the preservation of the guild's history and the Milky Way's future over immediate needs.
• The crew shows dedication and resilience, working tirelessly to repair the ship and support the captain's decisions.

Significant Themes

• Time Travel: The unexpected discovery of time travel raises questions about the consequences of altering past events.
• Responsibility and Sacrifice: The captain and crew must make difficult decisions that prioritize the greater good over personal desires.
• Home and Belonging: The search for their home planet (Blue Star) drives the crew's actions, but they must grapple with the reality that they may not belong in this time period.

Character Interactions

• The captain and crew work together, sharing a common goal and supporting each other's decisions.
• The captain takes a leadership role, making crucial decisions based on the information available and the potential consequences of their actions.
• The crew respects the captain's authority and follows his orders, demonstrating a strong sense of unity and purpose.

Key Plot Points and Events

• The spacecraft from the future crashes on Europa, stranding its crew with limited resources and technology.
• The crew's technology regresses over generations, and civil wars erupt, leading to a primitive society.
• Tang Shizhe's guild discovers the crashed spacecraft and salvages it for advanced technology.
• The top ten Splitters discuss the possibility of changing the future using the spacecraft's information.

Character Developments

• Tang Shizhe: Realizes the potential impact of changing the future and decides to evolve a new Brood Mother within the Interstellar Mercenary Guild to maintain control.
• Tang Yi: Suggests breeding more Splitters in the Kaqi Star System to ensure control over the Mercenary Guild.
• Tang Er: Proposes that changing the future creates a parallel universe, not a closed loop.

Significant Themes

• The consequences of changing the future and the potential creation of parallel universes.
• The struggle for control and power within the Interstellar Mercenary Guild.

Character Interactions

• Tang Shizhe interacts with the top ten Splitters, discussing the implications of the discovered spacecraft and the possibility of altering the future.
• The Splitters, particularly Tang Yi and Tang Er, present their views on changing the future, influencing Tang Shizhe's decision to evolve a new Brood Mother.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Humanity, after colonizing the Solar System, sets its sights on Proxima Centauri's rocky planet, Second Home.
• An unmanned exploration ship previously sent to Second Home found signs of biological activity but no complex life.
• The Republic launches its first manned exploration vessel, carrying 100 people, to investigate Second Home.
• Upon arrival, contact with the previous unmanned exploration ship is lost, sparking concern and uncertainty.

Character Developments

• Tang Shizhe, the leader of the expedition, shows calm under pressure and a self-deprecating sense of humor despite the dire situation.

Significant Themes

• Humanity's expansion into the universe and the challenges and dangers it faces.
• The unknown and its potential threats.
• The human spirit of exploration and determination in the face of adversity.

Character Interactions

• Tang Shizhe interacts with the researchers, trying to keep them calm and focused on their mission despite the loss of contact with the unmanned exploration ship.
• The researchers, excited about their first visit to an alien planet, become anxious and uncertain when they learn of the lost contact.