Chapter Summaries

Veronica explained how Participants’ Abilities might help her transform society, then admitted she had invented the grand plan to manipulate Fang Ran. She ended the conversation by teasing him again, leaving him flustered and convinced he was no match for her.

• Veronica fired a revolver at herself, and Fang Ran used his Wisdom Ability to react before the bullet struck the ceiling.
• Veronica asked Fang Ran what he thought of Paris and described its social problems and the power of her Financial Empire.
• Veronica claimed she wanted to use Participants’ Abilities and Technologists’ inventions to change society, and asked Fang Ran to join her side.
• Veronica revealed that her grand plan was fabricated as another way to tempt Fang Ran into joining her.
• Veronica continued teasing Fang Ran with suggestive remarks and gestures, leaving him embarrassed and speechless.

Fang Ran reunited with Veronica before returning to the ball, where he and Tang Bing prepared to carry out their plan to extract Klim Kleishon. As Klim began presenting his scientific achievement, Osphia reported his extraordinary background and the operation officially began.

• Fang Ran spoke with Veronica, declined her offer of help, and left to rejoin the operation.
• Osphia told Yota to approach Klim after she lured Donald away, then escape once the lights and cameras went down.
• Fang Ran returned to the ballroom, thanked Li Daina, and learned that Tang Bing had stayed despite being alone.
• The ball's formal program began, and Klim Kleishon appeared onstage as the operation's target.
• Osphia described Klim's prodigious achievements while Fang Ran noticed a composed man entering the ballroom.

Klim demonstrated an unknown silver substance produced by his research at a Paris ball, where Fang Ran and Tang Bing observed him. Klim’s fiancée, Mei Lan Duo Er, ignored his tentative invitation to dance and instead asked Donald for a dance, leaving Klim visibly disappointed.

• Klim activated his enormous experimental device briefly and presented a bright silver substance he said belonged to no known material.
• After the demonstration, the guests began dancing, and Klim hurried to greet Mei Lan Duo Er, his fiancée.
• Mei Lan Duo Er told Klim that her father wanted him to attend a business gathering and meet people connected to research.
• Fang Ran learned from Osphia that Mei Lan Duo Er was a prominent heiress, model, philanthropist, and Klim’s fiancée.
• Mei Lan Duo Er asked Klim to introduce her to Donald, then ignored Klim’s invitation to dance and asked Donald instead.
• Klim’s smile faltered as he watched Mei Lan Duo Er invite Donald to dance.

As Osphia lured Donald away and Yota infiltrated the underground control room, Fang Ran and Tang Bing discussed Klim’s feelings for Mei Lan Duo Er and what it meant to like someone. With the operation underway, Fang Ran prepared to make his entrance.

• Osphia sensed the opportunity to begin the operation, drew Donald away from the ballroom, and raced across Paris’s rooftops as he pursued her.
• Yota entered the club’s corridor and nervously made his way toward the underground control room.
• Donald refused Mei Lan Duo Er’s invitation to dance and left the ballroom to pursue the unfamiliar Participant aura.
• Fang Ran asked Tang Bing what it meant to like someone, and she described the feelings and actions that came with it.
• Fang Ran recognized that Osphia and Yota were already acting, then invited Tang Bing to make their entrance.

Osphia fled Paris with Donald pursuing her, while Yota tried to reach a control room alone and encountered two guards. At a ballroom, Fang Ran reunited with Klim and privately led him away, but the planned blackout failed to happen.

• Osphia fought off Donald's first attack, revealed her Zero Knight White Wings armor, and lured him out of Paris, where he realized her plan.
• Yota struggled with fear as he infiltrated a club to hack its power system, then spotted two guards approaching the control room.
• Fang Ran arrived at the ballroom with Tang Bing and asked Klim to speak privately, leaving Mei Lan Duo Er behind.
• Fang Ran told Klim that he would explain the situation later and asked him to come along, but the expected blackout never occurred.

Fang Ran found Yota hiding in the control room and comforted him after he froze in fear, promising to rescue everyone. Returning to the meeting room, Fang Ran realized the Night Bureau bond meant he was not alone, but Osphia warned him that the room was a trap just as seven B-rank opponents appeared and restrained him.

• Fang Ran rushed to the underground control room, knocked out two guards, and found Yota trembling in a changing-room cubicle.
• Yota confessed that he had been too afraid to act, and Fang Ran reassured him that he had already shown courage and did not need to apologize.
• As Yota began to be recalled by the Scenario, he pleaded for another chance to help Fang Ran, and Fang Ran promised to wait for him.
• Fang Ran reflected on his bond with the Night Bureau, then returned to the meeting room where Klim and Tang Bing looked tense.
• Osphia warned Fang Ran that the room was a trap, but a restraint ring activated around him as seven B-rank figures appeared.

Fang Ran was captured by Donald and Brianna’s team, but he broke free and launched a chaotic escape across Paris with Tang Bing and Klim. He left the city racing beneath a Phantom-powered performance, daring his pursuers to catch an A-rank Upper Tier.

• Osphia realized Donald had used a decoy to lure her away and warned Fang Ran that the meeting was a trap.
• Donald and Brianna’s team restrained Fang Ran, but he broke free and teleported himself, Tang Bing, and Klim to the Eiffel Tower.
• Fang Ran jumped from the tower with Tang Bing and Klim, then drove a concealed Hummer through Paris after escaping five B-rank pursuers with lightning.
• Fang Ran had Tang Bing connect her phone to the Hummer so he could play “Butterfly,” whose Phantom Card effect caused people nearby to hear the song.
• Fang Ran drove toward the figures blocking his way and challenged them to catch him as his presence surged across Paris.

Fang Ran drove through Paris under the Illusion Card’s power, breaking through Donald and Brianna’s interception with help from Osphia. He confronted the Zero Rider Fermiller Francis with Silver Severing Dragon Tooth, then escaped with the Hummer as Paris glittered behind him.

• Fang Ran charged through Paris in the illusion-shrouded Hummer while Tang Bing screamed and Klim watched in awe.
• Donald, Brianna, and four white figures attacked the vehicle, but Fang Ran used a road of ice and sand and the Shadow Card’s defense to break through their siege.
• Osphia joined Fang Ran on the vehicle and warned him to flee when she recognized Fermiller Francis waiting ahead.
• Fang Ran ignored Osphia’s warning and rammed the Hummer into Fermiller’s barrier, sending the vehicle flipping into the air.
• Fang Ran leaped out and hurled Silver Severing Dragon Tooth at Fermiller, who avoided a severe wound by scattering into crimson bats at the cost of a quarter of his blood.
• Fang Ran vanished with the falling Hummer inside a loop of red ribbons, leaving Fermiller injured and Paris shining in the distance.

Fang Ran and Osphia escaped Paris after Fang Ran wounded Fermiller with the Silver Dragon lance, while Fermiller’s plan continued advancing toward its final experiment. In the Hummer, Osphia healed Fang Ran and confronted him about his reckless escape, and Klim finally asked whether he had been kidnapped.

• Donald refused to pursue Fang Ran, while Brianna searched the outskirts and Fermiller chose not to launch a large-scale pursuit.
• Fermiller dismissed his injuries as minor, learned that the Hidden Society and European royal courts were becoming harder to control, and said the plan was nearing its final node experiment.
• Fang Ran’s group sped away from Paris in Klim’s Hummer, and Osphia angrily healed Fang Ran after his reckless use of recovered abilities injured him.
• Fang Ran explained that he had used his abilities to create an opportunity for Yota, and Osphia quietly accepted his explanation.
• Klim recovered from his daze and asked whether he had been kidnapped.

After escaping Paris, Fang Ran and Osphia asked Klim to take them to his mentor, Schmidt Ailanpointan, for help with the crisis in Europe’s Night Battle world. Klim agreed to lead them toward the France-Switzerland border, and the new team set off while Fang Ran was forbidden from driving.

• Klim asked whether Fang Ran and Osphia had kidnapped him, and Osphia explained that they needed his help meeting his mentor, Schmidt Ailanpointan.
• Klim warned that Schmidt would probably refuse to help, but Osphia said they only needed him to arrange a meeting.
• Osphia identified their attacker as Fermiller Francis, the fifth Zero Rider, and warned that the Covenant and other powerful enemies were still hunting them.
• Fang Ran introduced himself to Klim, welcomed him to the team, and gave him a Glock.
• Klim said his mentor was near the France-Switzerland border, so Fang Ran announced that they would head there, but Osphia and Tang Bing refused to let him drive.

Yota overcame his fear and used his hidden computational ability to destroy a Numbered Monster, resolving to change. In the Yellow Mist, the Magician met Uncle Qing, learned the Sage was behind the mist, and declared he was ready to step forward for the Night Bureau.

• Yota used his ability to restart his damaged energy gun and annihilate the Numbered Monster before leaving the building determined to change.
• The Magician destroyed a B-24 Numbered Monster in the Yellow Mist and reunited with Uncle Qing.
• Uncle Qing said the Yellow Mist came from the Sage and suggested the Covenant might seek to push the world forward, though its ideals and methods differed from Nevernight Palace's.
• The Magician asked what the Covenant wanted, and Uncle Qing said Midnight could not intervene unless the real world was endangered, though a certain busybody had likely acted behind the scenes.
• The Magician told Uncle Qing that the Night Bureau had become his new shelter and that he was ready to step forward, even if he had to crawl up Kunlun to beg his master for punishment.

Fang Ran revisited his memories of the Evil Cult and the Dark Energy Crystal, wondering what the Covenant planned to do with the Strange Sphere. After waking from a long sleep, he traveled through the French countryside with Osphia, Tang Bing, and Klim, and learned Klim had turned twenty-one shortly before receiving his doctorate.

• In a dream, Fang Ran connected the Evil Cult and the Covenant’s plans to the royal court’s loss of control over reality, but still could not understand what the Covenant wanted.
• Fang Ran recalled the Dark Energy Crystal appearing on the altar and wondered what the Covenant intended to use the Strange Sphere for.
• Fang Ran woke after sleeping for about fourteen hours as the group drove through France toward Geneva, still searching for a way across the border.
• Fang Ran admired the French countryside and listened as Klim explained how rural areas differed from the major cities.
• Fang Ran asked Klim if he had earned a Harvard doctorate at twenty, and Klim revealed that he had turned twenty-one a month before receiving the degree.

During a drive through southeastern France, Fang Ran, Tang Bing, Klim, and Osphia chatted about their studies and lives as participants. Fang Ran discovered he was the only underachiever in the car, and the group continued toward Switzerland in a relaxed, cheerful mood.

• Fang Ran and Tang Bing were stunned when Klim explained that he had earned a Harvard PhD at twenty, and Fang Ran tried to verify his intelligence with a riddle about the number of nines from one to a hundred.
• Fang Ran asked Klim whether Harvard had many beautiful girls, and Klim laughed as Tang Bing grabbed Fang Ran and scolded him.
• Klim asked whether Fang Ran studied at Jing City University, and Fang Ran claimed that participants were constantly training and facing danger while Tang Bing questioned his story.
• Osphia explained that participants usually worked and studied ordinary lives, then said she had completed her MBA in Germany.
• Fang Ran realized that everyone in the car had impressive academic credentials except him, and the four companions continued their half-day drive toward Switzerland while teasing one another.

Fang Ran, Osphia, and Tang Bing followed Klim to the Mentor’s hidden underground research base in Geneva. Klim brought Fang Ran and Osphia to meet his teacher, the Eleventh Zero Rider, Schmidt Ailanpointan.

• Fang Ran told Osphia that his body could not withstand another battle like the one in Paris, and she warned him not to summon his power again until his Divine Art Coordinate finished charging.
• Klim led the group past the ordinary research facility above ground and into a vast, futuristic underground testing area.
• Klim sent Tang Bing to a resting room and took Fang Ran and Osphia deeper into the base, assuring Fang Ran that the Mentor already knew they were coming.
• Klim introduced Fang Ran and Osphia to Schmidt Ailanpointan, the Eleventh Zero Rider of Nevernight Palace.

Osphia asked Schmidt to help break the Simulation Scenario’s seal, but he refused, dismissing the crisis as outside his responsibilities. Fang Ran revealed his A-rank power and proposed making a deal with Schmidt.

• Schmidt examined White Wings’ logs and assessed Osphia’s synchronization data before asking why she had come.
• Osphia explained the Covenant’s conspiracy, the trapped Zero Riders, and their need for Schmidt to break the seal.
• Schmidt refused to intervene, saying his Zero Rider affiliation imposed no obligations and he had no responsibility for how others used his inventions.
• Klim apologized as Osphia accepted that she could not persuade Schmidt, and Schmidt offered to let the pair rest at his laboratory.
• Fang Ran revealed his A-rank Upper Tier power, then addressed Schmidt and proposed a deal.

Fang Ran negotiated with Schmidt to remove the Simulation Scenario’s seal by lending him the Mechanical Soul for research. Schmidt accepted the deal, and Fang Ran left the workshop only to falter from exhaustion outside.

• Fang Ran proposed a deal with Schmidt, but Schmidt rejected his offer of an Ultimate Power component catalog because he had already researched it.
• Klim revealed that Schmidt had led the development projects for Younight and Whitenight, prompting Fang Ran to change his offer.
• Fang Ran offered to lend Schmidt the independently existing Mechanical Soul in exchange for removing the Simulation Scenario’s seal.
• Schmidt examined the Mechanical Soul, found its composition beyond his ability to analyze on the spot, and accepted the deal.
• Fang Ran handed over the Mechanical Soul, saying he trusted Schmidt to unlock its value, and left with Osphia and Klim.
• Outside the workshop, Fang Ran swayed and asked Klim to support him.

After securing Schmidt’s help, Fang Ran collapsed from overusing his power and was treated by Osphia, who urged him to rest and leave the larger conflict to the Archmage and her mentor. He fell asleep at the base, then woke three hours later with a strong but fading sense that he had forgotten something important and found Klim’s bed empty.

• Fang Ran collapsed after using the Silver Severing Dragon Tooth, and Osphia caught him and treated his injuries.
• Osphia told Klim to take Fang Ran to a guest room, where she explained that Schmidt’s help could free their companions and help the Royal Court regain control.
• Osphia warned Fang Ran that he could no longer use his power and said they should leave the remaining threats to the Archmage and Schmidt.
• Fang Ran rested in the secure base, reflecting on the dangers of the past four days before falling asleep.
• Fang Ran woke around three hours later, remembered only that he had forgotten something important, and noticed Klim was missing.

Fang Ran discovered Klim’s elaborate robot models and learned about his nearly completed experiment, then bonded with him over their childhood love of robots. The two stayed up talking excitedly while Klim’s mechanical dragon neared completion.

• Fang Ran woke and found Klim working in a workshop-like room filled with equipment and robot models.
• Klim showed Fang Ran how he used precision equipment to make intricate components, and Fang Ran admired his collection of robots.
• Fang Ran asked about Klim’s experiment, and Klim explained that it had produced a limited amount of unusual new material.
• Klim showed Fang Ran a nearly completed mechanical dragon built with the new material and described its power and weapon systems.
• Fang Ran and Klim shared stories about their childhood dreams and spent the night talking about robots.

The Covenant defeated A-39 at the Dark World’s sixth node and prepared to pursue the seventh, while Bayerdians sought to buy time for the one who would ultimately face the threat. In the real world, Schmidt detected energy matching Fang Ran’s power, and Fermiller learned that preparations were underway to attack his target.

• Ling Feng, Adrian, and their allies overwhelmed A-39, and Adrian’s meteor barrage annihilated it despite Yag’s efforts to protect it.
• The Covenant’s three Executive Officers departed with a nearly filled Dark Energy Crystal, declaring that the seventh node was the final step.
• Bayerdians told Klausel and Yag that they could only secure time for the one who would ultimately face the plan, though he did not know who that was.
• Schmidt tested a white sphere of light in an underground Geneva laboratory and detected energy fluctuations identical to those Fang Ran had unleashed.
• Fermiller recalled the overwhelming energy strike that had depleted his strength, and Francis told him that preparations for an attack had been arranged.

Fang Ran trained to draw Moon God Hunt at a research facility, with Osphia guiding his control of its magical energy. After he finally made progress, Klim arrived to say that his teacher wanted to see him.

• Fang Ran practiced drawing Moon God Hunt but could pull its bowstring only a short distance before the recoil warned him that he might break it.
• Osphia returned from arranging Tang Bing’s procedures to go home and tried to contact the Night Bureau with Fang Ran, but received no response.
• Osphia explained that Night Artifacts could change through training and offered to help Fang Ran control the Aether Spirit in Moon God Hunt.
• Fang Ran practiced with Osphia’s guidance throughout the morning and finally managed to make a new movement while drawing the bowstring.
• Klim appeared and told Fang Ran that his teacher had asked him to come.