Chapter Summaries

Fang Ran learned from Schmidt that the Mechanical Soul was a manifestation of Infinity’s will, born through Fang Ran as its Vessel. When Fang Ran asked whether he could use it to forge his own Ultimate Power and ease the burden on his body, Schmidt said it was impossible.

• Fang Ran went to Schmidt’s laboratory after Klim told him his mentor wanted to see him.
• Schmidt tested Fang Ran beside the Mechanical Soul, and Fang Ran sensed Infinity’s power surge from the sphere as the reinforced armor shattered.
• Schmidt concluded that the Mechanical Soul was the manifestation of Fang Ran’s own ability, not an independent entity or a technologist’s Ultimate Power.
• Fang Ran admitted that using Infinity placed too great a burden on his body and asked whether he could forge his own Ultimate Power with the Mechanical Soul.
• Schmidt inferred that Carol intended Fang Ran to reverse-engineer an Ultimate Power, then declared that the plan was impossible.

Schmidt explained why Fang Ran could not build an Ultimate Power to bear the load of Infinity, then put him through an afternoon of experiments on his Mechanical Soul. As Fang Ran left the Mentor Base and received a call from Shui Linlang, Francis began deploying a weapon outside the base on his master's orders.

• Schmidt identified a material design paradox and the unresolved problem of choosing a mech form compatible with Fang Ran's Mystic Side Mechanical Soul, ruling out an Ultimate Power as a solution to Infinity's energy load.
• Schmidt ended the discussion and ordered Fang Ran to prepare for experiments, refusing to let him stop for lunch.
• Schmidt conducted tests on the relationship between Fang Ran and the Mechanical Soul throughout the afternoon, then dismissed him at eight o'clock.
• Fang Ran decided to visit Tang Bing, but a contact notification from Shui Linlang reached him before he could ask Krim to set a route.
• Francis activated his master's weapon on a hillside outside the Mentor Base, where a massive machine opened an abyss-like mechanical shaft into the ground.

Fang Ran chose to leave the Mentor Base after Shui Linlang warned him that the people beside him mattered most, but a massive mechanical army attacked before he could reach Tang Bing. The Mentor Base’s defenses were breached, and machines began tunneling into the underground facility.

• Shui Linlang urged Fang Ran to return, hinting that he had one last chance to choose and warning him to value the people by his side.
• Fang Ran ran to find Hulu, but the base shook violently before Klim could guide him to her.
• Fang Ran summoned Hugin and Munin to search for Tang Bing as alarms and tremors spread through the base.
• Osphia reacted to the attack, while Schmidt recognized that the barrier was under heavy assault.
• A mechanical army of thousands attacked the Mentor Base, and a transformed machine used a Railgun to bore through the barrier as more machines flooded toward the underground facility.

The Covenant’s mechanical tide breached the Mentor Base, forcing an evacuation as Fang Ran searched for and rescued Tang Bing. Schmidt emerged to confront the invaders, where a silver-haired man with blood-red eyes appeared opposite him.

• Schmidt declared the 42nd disaster drill as the Mechanical Tide attacked the base, and personnel evacuated through the escape zones.
• Osphia flew from the testing grounds to find Tang Bing while Klim altered an evacuation route toward his room.
• The Mechanical Tyrannosaurus Rex pierced the defensive barrier, allowing nearly a thousand machines to invade the underground base.
• Fang Ran found Tang Bing, rescued her from her room, and carried her toward the entrance elevator while dodging mechanical attackers.
• Schmidt shut down the underground defenses, secured a device, and emerged aboveground to face the Mechanical Tide and the Arcane Machine Freak.
• A silver-haired man with enormous scarlet wings appeared opposite Schmidt, revealing his blood-red eyes.

Fermiller challenged Schmidt for greater power, sparking a civil war among the Zero Knights as Fang Ran and Tang Bing fought their way through the underground base. Schmidt activated a system that compressed the base’s space and destroyed the Mechanical Tides, leaving a massive white mechanical cube behind.

• Fermiller revealed that he had abandoned the Zero Knight rules to pursue greater power and attacked Schmidt.
• Eru Beishili and an alchemist intervened, and Eru confronted Fermiller while the alchemist faced Schmidt, beginning a battle among the Zero Knights.
• Fang Ran carried Tang Bing through the base, using Gluttony to consume a pursuing machine before an A-rank Mechanical Tyrannosaurus Rex confronted them.
• A blond, white-clad figure arrived and used Divine Art Coordinate as the Mechanical Tyrannosaurus Rex prepared to attack.
• Schmidt activated the underground base’s modules, compressing its space and crushing the Mechanical Monsters before a massive white mechanical cube appeared behind him.

Fang Ran and Osphia were cornered by three peak B-rank enemies while the mentor fought above them, and Fang Ran activated a dangerous power to resist. The Black Box appeared, summoned the nearly hundred-meter-tall Night Roamer from Beijing, and brought the surrounding battles to a halt.

• Schmidt compressed his research base into a mechanical cube and prepared advanced weapons as Francis unleashed an A-rank Upper Tier mechanical world-serpent.
• Osphia rescued Fang Ran and Tang Bing from the underground base, but surviving Mechanical Monsters attacked them in the wilderness.
• Klim shot a Mechanical Monster, then Tu Er carried Klim and Tang Bing away as Brianna and Francis attacked Fang Ran and Osphia.
• Ignat joined Brianna and Francis, surrounding Fang Ran and Osphia while the mentor and White Night remained occupied above.
• Fang Ran activated the Seventh Node and reached for Gungnir, but the Black Box appeared and began a spatial transmission.
• Night Roamer emerged from a Dimensional Light Door and descended into the battlefield, stopping everyone in their tracks.

Wandering Night appeared during Fang Ran and Osphia’s desperate escape, driving off their attackers before joining the aerial battle and revealing Ling’s safeguard had activated while she remained asleep. As Fang Ran escaped, he warned Osphia that the enemy’s plan was nearing its final stage.

• Wandering Night arrived on the battlefield and attacked Francis, Ignat, and Brianna with its floating machine falcons and ion light cones.
• Fang Ran and Osphia fled while Francis, Ignat, and Brianna retreated using spatial crystals.
• Wandering Night joined Schmidt and Fermiller in fighting the mechanical giant serpent, and a fifth Zero Rider appeared.
• Ling’s prerecorded message explained that her Black Box had activated a program projection in Wandering Night to protect Fang Ran while she remained in hibernation.
• Fang Ran told Osphia that the enemy’s plan had entered its final stage and would soon be completed.

After learning that the Covenant was close to activating an experiment with potentially massive effects on the real world, Fang Ran and Osphia headed for the Seventh Node near Rome to seek help. Schmidt gave Fang Ran a device that could lift the Simulation Scenario's lockdown in about twenty-four hours, and the mission to reach the Seventh Node was unlocked.

• Fang Ran told Osphia that the Covenant had prepared six European nodes and was gathering materials and an engine to activate an experiment.
• Fang Ran said he knew of a troublesome person near the Seventh Node who might help them, though the Covenant was preparing its final step there.
• Schmidt appeared through a holographic projection and gave Fang Ran an unfinished device that could lift the Simulation Scenario's lockdown in about twenty-four hours.
• Fang Ran and Osphia decided to head for the Seventh Node that night, and the mission to reach it was unlocked.
• A golden card appeared before Fang Ran, identified as Strike Card (THE SHOT), with the symbol to lock onto a target.

After escaping the battlefield, Fang Ran gathered Tang Bing and Klim into the group and used the Divine Art Coordinate to draw a Clow Card. Instead of gaining an ability, he accidentally connected to the Night Bureau and brought a familiar golden-haired woman into the car.

• Fang Ran checked on Tang Bing and Klim after Osphia drove them away from the battlefield.
• Tang Bing admitted she did not want to cause Fang Ran and the others more trouble, while Klim explained that he had returned to retrieve his mechanical models and had destroyed the Mechanical Monster with his prototype weapon.
• Fang Ran asked Tang Bing and Klim to stay with him and Osphia for safety, and both agreed.
• Fang Ran persuaded Osphia to recharge the Divine Art Coordinate so he could draw one ability despite his weakened condition.
• Fang Ran activated the Divine Art Coordinate, but its spatial connection ability unexpectedly linked him to the Night Bureau.
• A golden-haired woman landed on Fang Ran’s lap, ruffled his hair, and greeted him as Xiao Fang.

Fang Ran reunited with Mu Cheng, who revealed that her intuition had been blocked and that Numbered Monsters were increasing in the Yellow Mist. In the sealed Simulation Scenario, Hua Ling and Su Qun tracked the monsters to a vast Narrow Space, where they found Ye Sheng.

• Mu Cheng appeared beside Fang Ran and said someone had blocked her ability to sense danger.
• Fang Ran told Mu Cheng that they had found a way to break the blockade, and she warned that more Numbered Monsters were appearing in the Yellow Mist.
• Hua Ling and Su Qun searched London for Ye Sheng after finding traces of her power on Numbered Monsters.
• Hua Ling worried that someone had been letting the monsters into the sealed Scenario, while Su Qun asked about a confession she had once mentioned and Hua Ling denied remembering it.
• Hua Ling and Su Qun reached a huge Narrow Space and found Ye Sheng fighting among the remains of Numbered Monsters.

Fang Ran and his companions infiltrated an international train bound for Rome after fleeing the Machine Sea, narrowly avoiding a ticket check with help from a stranger. The train carried them toward their final destination, while the girl who helped them unknowingly recalled Fang Ran as the man who had once saved her.

• Osphia led Fang Ran and their companions in a leap from a cliff onto a train traveling from Geneva to Rome, then helped them board during a crowded stop.
• The group made their way through first class toward an unoccupied private compartment, but a train employee asked whether they had reserved it.
• A father and daughter intervened, and the father distracted the employee by asking for help with his daughter's luggage.
• Fang Ran felt he recognized the girl but dismissed the feeling and continued with Osphia toward the compartment.
• After the train departed, the girl told her father she had helped the strangers because someone who saved her in Longyearbyen had asked for nothing in return.

Fang Ran and his companions traveled toward Rome aboard an international train, discussing the Numbered Monsters appearing in the Simulation Scenario and preparing for the Covenant’s next move. Before dawn, a powerful participant appeared above the carriage and called Fang Ran, Osphia, and Mu Cheng outside to talk.

• Fang Ran, Mu Cheng, Osphia, Tang Bing, and Klim settled into a first-class compartment after escaping the Machine Sea invasion.
• Osphia questioned Fang Ran about the Numbered Monsters appearing throughout the Simulation Scenario, but he had no explanation; Mu Cheng offered no useful clues and asked for tuna sashimi instead.
• Osphia confirmed that Tu Er was recovering and explained that Bio-Armor was an ability with independent consciousness residing in an exclusive weapon.
• Fang Ran and Osphia spoke quietly as the train approached Italy, and Osphia warned that the Covenant would likely intercept them; Fang Ran fell asleep while she summoned a Flame Sprite beside him.
• Before dawn, a powerful participant appeared above the carriage, and a woman told Fang Ran, Osphia, and Mu Cheng to come speak with her so the ordinary passengers would not be involved.

Fang Ran encountered Lorraine, Trinity’s adjutant, on the train roof as she tried to persuade him to abandon the mission and avoid going to Rome. He refused, and Lorraine activated a power upgrade that raised her to A-rank before sweeping Fang Ran and the others off the train.

• Fang Ran, Osphia, and Mu Cheng teleported onto the train roof and confronted Lorraine, who said her mission was to stop them before the experiment began.
• Lorraine offered to take Fang Ran away, promising that the Night Bureau members trapped in the Scenario would remain safe and be released after the experiment.
• Lorraine revealed that her boss had proposed the offer and invoked her connection to the Wandering Night Angel, prompting Fang Ran to realize she was Trinity’s adjutant.
• Fang Ran refused to abandon the mission and attacked Lorraine with Moon God Hunt, which she deflected.
• Lorraine opened a spatial portal with the Dimensional Generator, releasing dozens of mechanical birds, then used an annular device to amplify her power to A-rank.
• Lorraine unleashed violent currents of air that swept Fang Ran, Osphia, and Mu Cheng off the train.

Fang Ran and his companions fought Lorraine’s A-rank air-current manipulation as she tried to stop them from reaching Rome. Si Ai arrived to help Mu Cheng hold Lorraine back, but Lorraine teleported behind Fang Ran and unleashed a massive storm; Fang Ran answered by throwing a silver component into the sky, where Black Shadow appeared.

• Lorraine used powerful winds and mechanical birds to knock Fang Ran, Mu Cheng, and Osphia from the train and attack them in the wilderness.
• Mu Cheng cut apart Lorraine’s ambushes and wind chains while Fang Ran and Osphia struggled to escape her attacks.
• Lorraine’s mechanical birds self-destructed and assembled into a giant mechanical falcon, but Si Ai arrived and destroyed it with fire.
• Mu Cheng and Si Ai stayed behind to intercept Lorraine while Osphia took Fang Ran away on Tu Er.
• Lorraine used Dimensional Space generators to bypass the two defenders and unleash a massive storm at Fang Ran and Osphia.
• Fang Ran threw a bright silver component into the storm, and Black Shadow appeared beside it.

Fang Ran and Osphia escaped Lorraine and raced toward Rome, but a Covenant vice commander with a flute brought them down and trapped Fang Ran in a powerful illusion. As Fang Ran strained to break free, an azure-flamed demon horse and a weapons-filled carriage burst into the illusion.

• Lorraine failed to stop Fang Ran's escape, while Mu Cheng and Si Ai stayed behind to face her.
• Fang Ran and Osphia followed Munin's signal and flew after the train carrying Tang Bing and Klim toward Rome.
• A flute's mental interference disrupted Osphia's flight, and Tu Er caught them as they fell into farmland.
• A Huaxia woman wielding a flute attacked them, and Fang Ran used Gluttony before her illusion swallowed him and separated him from Osphia and Tu Er.
• Fang Ran used the Silver Spear to shatter some of the illusion but remained trapped, until an azure-flamed demon horse and a carriage full of weapons charged into the lotus pond.

Fang Ran and Osphia escaped Osphia’s illusion and reunited with Aurelia Le Guien, who explained how the Covenant’s plans connected the National War to a ritual in Rome. With dawn approaching and the Covenant’s plan nearing completion, Le Guien asked Fang Ran to help her stop it.

• Le Guien rescued Fang Ran and Osphia from Osphia’s illusion using her carriage’s magical crossbow bolts and met them outside Rome.
• Le Guien treated Fang Ran’s injuries from overusing Infinity, easing the strain on his body.
• Le Guien revealed that the Covenant had targeted her because her ability could interfere with an energy ritual involving the Dark Energy Crystal.
• Le Guien explained that Colossus had tried to seize control of the Royal Court during the National War, but the Night Bureau’s early declaration of war disrupted their plans.
• Osphia told Le Guien that Mentor Base had been attacked and that the Covenant’s real-world plan was close to completion.
• Le Guien urged Fang Ran to help her find the Dark Energy Crystal in Rome and stop the plan.

Fang Ran and Osphia brought Tang Bing and Klim to a safe villa in Rome before setting out with Le Guien to investigate the Covenant’s underground operations. As dawn broke, Fang Ran chose to keep helping Osphia, sensing that something important awaited him in the ancient city.

• Fang Ran and Osphia took Tang Bing and Klim to Osphia’s family villa, where they left them with the butler.
• Fang Ran and Osphia joined Le Guien on the villa roof, and Le Guien explained that the Covenant’s operation was nearing completion but likely would not begin before nightfall.
• Le Guien gave Osphia a map of suspected underground sites and departed on Garon to restrain the Covenant adjutant.
• Fang Ran and Osphia prepared to investigate Rome’s suspected sites while waiting for the National War’s blockade to lift.
• Fang Ran told Osphia he had chosen to get involved because he wanted to act on his own wishes and sensed something important awaited him in Rome.

Fang Ran and Osphia raided a Mafia casino in search of clues about the Dark Energy Crystal, but found no connection to the Covenant. After Osphia took the gang’s illegal records, they left to pursue their next target.

• Bu LuoKa learned that an unknown force had exposed and attacked Rome’s criminal leaders, so he decided to flee his casino.
• Fang Ran and Osphia stormed the casino alone and defeated its armed guards, with Fang Ran surviving a barrage of rifle fire behind a barrier of darkness.
• Fang Ran seized Bu LuoKa and searched the room, while Osphia confirmed that the casino had no connection to the Covenant or the Dark Energy Crystal.
• Fang Ran read Bu LuoKa’s thoughts and cut open a hidden safe containing records of the gang’s illegal activities.
• Osphia took the records and declared that Bu LuoKa’s powerful connections could no longer protect him, while Fang Ran urged her to hurry to the next target.

As night approached, allies and enemies raced to prepare for the Covenant’s plans, while battles erupted across Rome, the Simulation Scenario, and the Dark World. The Zero Knights were held back as the Covenant’s operations advanced toward a looming crisis.

• Fang Ran and Osphia pursued the Dark Energy Crystal’s whereabouts through Rome while Le Guien and Yun Yin fought Lorraine and Si Ai outside the city.
• Eru Beishili left the Geneva research base before the White Night mech’s repairs were complete, and Schmidt said giving the Night Bureau member the seal key had been a rational choice.
• Francis accepted his master’s order to head to Rome and prepared the others for departure.
• Ye Sheng reunited with Hua Ling and Su Qun in the Simulation Scenario and urged them to help stop the Numbered Monsters pouring through the Narrow Space.
• Clotilde spoke with the shackled gentleman above Westminster as the Covenant’s plan approached its appointed time.
• The Zero Knights fought the Covenant’s Executive Officers in the Dark World, while Apocalypse recalled Bayerdians’s vow to unleash a spark that would rewrite the era.

Fang Ran and Osphia searched Rome for the last Dark Energy Crystal as time ran short, and Osphia warned him not to push himself past his limits. After splitting up, Fang Ran continued through the city, where a chance encounter with an elderly Huaxia man eased his tension and prompted him to reconsider his search.

• Fang Ran and Osphia found no Dark Energy Crystal at their tenth target and realized only two locations remained before time ran out.
• Osphia urged Fang Ran to stop forcing himself, but he insisted they had to keep searching and promised to contact her if danger arose.
• Fang Ran and Osphia split up, and he raced across Rome toward another possible target while exhausted.
• Fang Ran bumped into an elderly Huaxia man, who reassured him and teased him about running around without a girlfriend.
• After the encounter, Fang Ran's anxiety eased, and he reconsidered whether the Covenant could have hidden the crystal anywhere else in Rome.