Chapter Summaries

Xu Wuyi and Fang Xiaoxiao went to the forty-eighth floor to meet Wang Haidong, where Zhao Gufeng tried to stop them. Xu Wuyi raised a blue curtain of light, and Zhao Gufeng became motionless and vacant after striking it.

• Xu Wuyi showed the guard his Federation Inspection Department identification and said he had come to see Wang Haidong.
• Xu Wuyi and Fang Xiaoxiao rode to the forty-eighth floor, where Zhao Gufeng and six suited subordinates waited for them.
• Zhao Gufeng warned Xu Wuyi to leave and argued that he had the right to stop them without a search warrant or formal authorization.
• Xu Wuyi raised a faint blue curtain of light, and Zhao Gufeng's punch struck it.
• Zhao Gufeng lost awareness and stood frozen with a vacant expression, leaving his subordinates bewildered.

Xu Wuyi arrested Wang Haidong for organizing large-scale Star Realm smuggling after his teams seized contraband and secured evidence linking the operation to Skysea Group. The teams returned to Inspection Department headquarters with Wang Haidong, Zhang Yuhuai, and the confiscated military-grade materials.

• Xu Wuyi forced Zhao Gufeng to lead him and Fang Xiaoxiao into Wang Haidong's office.
• Xu Wuyi identified himself as Meng Zhishou and arrested Wang Haidong for Star Realm smuggling; Fang Xiaoxiao cuffed him.
• Li Zhaowen reported that Zhang Yuhuai had been secured, and Zhou Bin reported that the Eastern District warehouse held military-grade materials and contraband.
• Xu Wuyi told Wang Haidong the evidence was in their hands and warned Zhao Gufeng that he was lucky the operation was for law enforcement, not extermination.
• Fang Xiaoxiao escorted Wang Haidong from Skysea Building as Xu Wuyi received Zhou Bin's report that the evidence could support a death sentence.
• Zhou Bin and Sun Jing returned to headquarters with three trucks of contraband, while Li Zhaowen and Chen Yunxuan brought back Zhang Yuhuai.

Xu Wuyi and the Fourth Squad interrogated Wang Haidong and Zhang Yuhuai over Skysea Group’s smuggling operation, but Zhang took full responsibility while Wang denied knowing anything. The investigation stalled because the evidence implicated Zhang directly but did not establish Wang’s involvement.

• Zhou Bin and Li Zhaowen reported that the raid uncovered contraband and records linking Skysea Group to seventeen smuggling operations worth more than two billion.
• Fang Xiaoxiao and Zhou Bin questioned Wang Haidong, who claimed Zhang Yuhuai had used the warehouse without telling him what it contained.
• Li Zhaowen and Chen Yunxuan questioned Zhang Yuhuai, who confessed to running the smuggling operations and insisted Wang Haidong knew nothing.
• The Fourth Squad reviewed the interrogations and concluded that Zhang’s records and confession left them without enough evidence to charge Wang Haidong.

The Fourth Squad struggled to find evidence tying Wang Haidong to the smuggling network, so Xu Wuyi decided to wait for his powerful associates to intervene. On the third day, Li Mingyuan arrived at Inspection Department headquarters and challenged Wang Haidong’s arrest as a possible misunderstanding.

• The Fourth Squad found no evidence directly linking Wang Haidong to the smuggling, while Zhang Yuhuai refused to talk to protect his family.
• Xu Wuyi told the team to wait for Wang Haidong’s associates to act and said they could not simply release their arrested suspect under pressure.
• Li Mingyuan arrived at Inspection Department headquarters as a special guest.
• Li Mingyuan told Deputy Director Chen that Wang Haidong had always followed the rules and asked whether the arrest was a misunderstanding.

Li Mingyuan pressured the Inspection Department to release Wang Haidong, but Xu Wuyi refused and insisted the investigation continue. The chapter ended with Fourth Squad stunned by Xu Wuyi’s defiance and Deputy Director Chen preparing to report his position to his superiors.

• Li Mingyuan told Deputy Director Chen to release Wang Haidong if the evidence remained insufficient, invoking the Sky Swallow Battle Corps’s interests.
• Deputy Director Chen informed Xu Wuyi and Fourth Squad that the evidence implicated Zhang Yuhuai but could not conclusively be tied to Wang Haidong.
• Fang Xiaoxiao challenged the idea of releasing Wang Haidong, while Deputy Director Chen explained the limits of the evidence.
• Xu Wuyi declared that Wang Haidong would not be released until the case was closed and told Li Mingyuan to confront him if he objected.
• Deputy Director Chen left to report Xu Wuyi’s stance, and Xu Wuyi reaffirmed to Fang Xiaoxiao that Wang Haidong would remain in custody.

Xu Wuyi refused to release Wang Haidong despite pressure from Li Mingyuan, and Li discovered that the Inspection Department would not interfere with the Fourth Squad’s investigation. Li then met Xu in person and tried to persuade him to release Wang, but Xu’s response was left unstated.

• Xu Wuyi told the Fourth Squad to investigate Wang Haidong’s case to the end and said he would handle Li Mingyuan.
• Li Mingyuan tried to pressure the Inspection Department through his connections, but was told the Fourth Squad would decide whether to release Wang Haidong.
• Li Mingyuan investigated Meng Zhishou and learned he had served in the Military Special Operations Department under the codename Mountain.
• Li Mingyuan arrived at Inspection Department headquarters and asked to meet Meng Zhishou, who agreed to see him.
• Li Mingyuan offered to meet Xu Wuyi’s conditions and argued that Wang Haidong should be released, warning Xu not to offend powerful people over the case.

Xu Wuyi stood firm against Li Mingyuan's pressure and refused to release Wang Haidong before the case was closed. During the interrogation, Wang Haidong denied knowing anything about Skysea Group's Star Realm smuggling and warned that using truth serum without sufficient evidence would violate procedure.

• Xu Wuyi told Li Mingyuan that Wang Haidong could be detained for fifteen days while the investigation continued, and Li Mingyuan tried to pressure him into backing down.
• Xu Wuyi remained unmoved by Li Mingyuan's quasi-Grandmaster pressure, and Li Mingyuan left after warning that he would not forget the confrontation.
• Sun Jing warned Xu Wuyi that Li Mingyuan would seek revenge, but Xu Wuyi said he was focused on determining whether Wang Haidong was involved and went to interrogate him.
• Wang Haidong claimed not to know about the smuggling operation, its funding, its buyers, or its weapons sales, and described Li Mingyuan as a distant relative.
• Xu Wuyi threatened to use truth serum, but Wang Haidong said it could not be used without sufficient evidence and that any confession obtained that way would be invalid in court.

Xu Wuyi used an unexplained ability to force Wang Haidong to tell the truth, exposing Skysea Group’s eight-year Star Realm smuggling operation and Li Mingyuan’s involvement. Wang Haidong revealed the location of a hidden ledger and began disclosing further details about Li Mingyuan’s corruption.

• Wang Haidong argued that Federation law did not permit Captain Meng to use truth serum without sufficient evidence.
• Xu Wuyi tapped the air before Wang Haidong, making him unable to lie.
• Wang Haidong confessed that the smuggling operation began eight years ago and that military materials and high-energy weapons had been stolen from the Sky Swallow Battle Corps.
• Wang Haidong said Li Mingyuan took seventy percent of the profits and revealed that he had hidden a handwritten ledger in his Eastern District villa’s basement.
• Wang Haidong disclosed that Li Mingyuan had embezzled money from the Battle Corps and secretly transferred funds to an unknown destination.
• Wang Haidong named Zhang Yuhuai as someone who knew part of the arrangement, then Xu Wuyi asked how he and Li Mingyuan had contacted each other.

Xu Wuyi made Wang Haidong reveal where he had hidden a ledger, then led the Fourth Squad to retrieve it from Wang’s villa. The ledger appeared to document Li Mingyuan’s payments and dealings, and the chapter ended with Fang Xiaoxiao asking whether it could convict him.

• Xu Wuyi told Fang Xiaoxiao and Zhou Bin that Wang Haidong’s account was reliable, then decided to have Wang lead them to his villa to retrieve the ledger.
• The Fourth Squad escorted Wang Haidong to his eastern-district villa and made him open the basement safe.
• Fang Xiaoxiao found a notebook documenting payments and goods distributed to Li Mingyuan, including notes about advance payments from the Battle Corps.
• Xu Wuyi examined the ledger and ordered the squad to take Wang Haidong back.
• At dusk, Fang Xiaoxiao asked Xu Wuyi whether the ledger could convict Li Mingyuan.

After the Inspection Department seized evidence from Wang Haidong’s villa, Li Mingyuan moved to protect his assets and avoid arrest. He sought refuge in the Sky Swallow Battle Corps’ safest building, telling Zhou Tieshan that the Inspection Department was investigating him.

• Xu Wuyi told Fang Xiaoxiao that anyone who broke the law had to pay, regardless of status.
• A watcher reported to Commander Li that the Inspection Department had taken something from Wang Haidong’s villa.
• Li Mingyuan learned that Wang Haidong’s ledger might expose their dealings and ordered Old Zhou to destroy or transfer records tied to his companies.
• Li Mingyuan took the key to his secret account and went to the Sky Swallow Battle Corps’ central building for protection.
• Li Mingyuan told Zhou Tieshan that the Inspection Department was investigating him and asked to stay there until the danger passed.

Li Mingyuan took refuge at the Sky Swallow Battle Corps base while the Inspection Department debated how to arrest him for supplying smuggled goods. The department’s leaders agreed they needed to investigate carefully, but they remained divided over how to proceed.

• Zhou Tieshan let Li Mingyuan stay at the battle corps base but warned he would not protect him from the Inspection Department.
• At a high-level meeting, Xu Wuyi presented Wang Haidong’s confession and ledger implicating Li Mingyuan in more than two billion worth of smuggling.
• Song Ya argued that arresting Li Mingyuan could deter corruption, while Qin Hongzhang warned that forcing entry into the base could provoke a conflict with the Sky Swallow Battle Corps.
• Song Ya challenged Qin Hongzhang’s cautious approach, and Qin Hongzhang turned to Luo Jing without answering whether Li Mingyuan should be allowed to evade arrest.

Xu Wuyi announced that he would go alone to the Sky Swallow Battle Corps to bring back Li Mingyuan, and Luo Jing gave him three days to do so. After leaving, Xu Wuyi reflected that Luo Jing knew his true identity and had approved the mission to temper him, regardless of whether the case was solved.

• Xu Wuyi told Luo Jing and the other officials that he would go to the Sky Swallow Battle Corps and bring back Li Mingyuan.
• Qin Hongzhang warned Xu Wuyi that three quasi-Grandmasters protected the battle corps, but Xu Wuyi said he was confident.
• Luo Jing approved Xu Wuyi's plan and gave him three days to return with Li Mingyuan before formal negotiations began.
• Xu Wuyi left the conference room as Song Ya wondered who he really was, and Luo Jing did not answer.
• In the corridor, Xu Wuyi recalled that Luo Jing knew he was the disguised Xu Wuyi and had sent him to face the battle corps for the sake of his growth.

Xu Wuyi went to the Sky Swallow Battle Corps garrison to find Li Mingyuan, who was suspected of organizing military-supplies smuggling. After Li Jinsong claimed Li Mingyuan had left, Xu Wuyi called the claim a deflection and set out to find him inside the garrison.

• Xu Wuyi reflected that he wanted to use the case against Wang Haidong to expose Li Mingyuan and enforce order through strength.
• Xu Wuyi arrived at the Sky Swallow Battle Corps garrison and asked to see Li Mingyuan.
• A guard reported that Li Mingyuan was absent, so Xu Wuyi agreed to meet commander Li Jinsong.
• Li Jinsong claimed Li Mingyuan had left early that morning and suggested Xu Wuyi contact his family or visit his home.
• Xu Wuyi accused Li Jinsong of deflecting and testing him, then said he would find Li Mingyuan without reporting back or dropping the case.
• Li Jinsong blocked Xu Wuyi and demanded to know whether he had a search warrant to search the garrison.

Xu Wuyi used the Ring of Order to identify Li Mingyuan hiding in the Sky Swallow Battle Corps garrison. Li Jinsong refused to let him take Li Mingyuan away and attacked Xu Wuyi.

• Li Jinsong warned Xu Wuyi that entering or searching the garrison without a warrant would be unlawful, but Xu Wuyi said he had no intention of searching.
• Xu Wuyi rose above the garrison and spread his Ring of Order, revealing the soldiers’ identities and abilities beneath pillars of light.
• Xu Wuyi found Li Mingyuan in a courtyard at the deepest part of the garrison and told Li Jinsong that his ability had exposed him.
• Li Jinsong admitted he would not let Xu Wuyi take Li Mingyuan, citing the vice commander’s twenty years of service and membership in the corps.
• Xu Wuyi agreed to fight, and Li Jinsong attacked him with a powerful golden punch.

Xu Wuyi defeated Li Jinsong with blue flames and confronted Li Mingyuan over his large-scale smuggling of military supplies. Li Mingyuan asked to be spared, but Xu Wuyi made clear that he would be arrested and held accountable.

• Xu Wuyi burned away Li Jinsong's Heart Image control, then stopped when Li Jinsong admitted defeat.
• Xu Wuyi crossed the base to the isolated courtyard while Zhou Tieshan watched him in shock.
• Xu Wuyi found Li Mingyuan waiting in the main house and confronted him.
• Li Mingyuan admitted smuggling military supplies to raise money for influence and pleaded for Xu Wuyi to let him go.
• Xu Wuyi said he had come to show that anyone who broke the law had to pay, and Li Mingyuan realized he could not escape arrest.

Xu Wuyi brought Li Mingyuan to the Inspection Department and recovered the key to his secret account. The account contained more than three billion in funds linked to overseas sources and the Sky Swallow Battle Corps, while some transfers remained untraceable.

• Li Mingyuan surrendered to Xu Wuyi, who restrained him with handcuffs and escorted him out of the Sky Swallow Battle Corps.
• Li Jinsong and Zhou Tieshan watched silently as Xu Wuyi drove Li Mingyuan toward Xingjing.
• Xu Wuyi brought Li Mingyuan to the Inspection Department’s underground headquarters, where Fourth Squad reacted with shock at his capture.
• At Xu Wuyi’s instruction, Zhou Bin searched Li Mingyuan and found a metal box containing the account key.
• Li Mingyuan opened the box, and Xu Wuyi handed its chip to Li Zhaowen for analysis.
• Li Zhaowen discovered that the account held more than three billion, with funds traced to overseas transfers, shell companies, and the Sky Swallow Battle Corps, though some destinations could not be tracked.

Xu Wuyi confirmed that Wang Haidong’s ledger matched the financial evidence against Li Mingyuan, while Fourth Squad uncovered a wider smuggling network and rumors spread about Meng Zhishou’s raid on the Sky Swallow Battle Corps. The chapter ended with Zheng Mingchuan arriving at Luo Jing’s office.

• Xu Wuyi compared Wang Haidong’s ledger with Li Zhaowen’s financial records and confirmed that every payment to Li Mingyuan matched.
• Fourth Squad investigated Li Mingyuan’s connections to smuggling groups, with Li Zhaowen sorting intelligence, Fang Xiaoxiao and Chen Yunxuan questioning Li Mingyuan, and Zhou Bin and Sun Jing verifying leads.
• News spread through the Inspection Department that Meng Zhishou had entered the Sky Swallow Battle Corps alone, defeated Li Jinsong, and taken Li Mingyuan away.
• Inspection Department employees speculated about Meng Zhishou’s identity and placed more than five million in bets on who he was.
• Zheng Mingchuan entered Luo Jing’s office.

Zheng Mingchuan tried to learn about Meng Zhishou and recruit him, but Luo Jing firmly warned him to stop asking. Meanwhile, the Fourth Squad uncovered a smuggling network tied to Zheng Hai and set out on Lunar New Year's Eve to arrest him and other suspects.

• Zheng Mingchuan asked Luo Jing about Meng Zhishou and sought to recruit him for a Logistics Support Committee project, but Luo Jing refused and warned him not to investigate Meng further.
• Fang Xiaoxiao and Zhou Bin discussed the rumors about their captain while Xu Wuyi calmly continued his work.
• Li Zhaowen connected Li Mingyuan to seven smuggling rings, twenty-three suspects, and more than five billion in funds, identifying Zheng Hai as the key middleman.
• Xu Wuyi ordered the Fourth Squad to prepare to leave the next day and arrest Zheng Hai.
• On Lunar New Year's Eve, Xu Wuyi took Fang Xiaoxiao and Li Zhaowen to pursue Zheng Hai while Zhou Bin led Sun Jing and Chen Yunxuan after other suspects.

Xu Wuyi and his team arrested Zheng Hai, whose confession exposed the scale of Li Mingyuan’s smuggling network. The Field Operations Group arrested nearly all the identified suspects, but their interrogations revealed that the network reached toward more powerful figures still beyond the Inspection Department’s grasp.

• Xu Wuyi, Fang Xiaoxiao, and Li Zhaowen arrested Zheng Hai in a remote county on New Year’s Eve, and Zheng Hai admitted he had expected the arrest.
• Fourth Squad learned that Li Mingyuan’s network involved 37 people across 13 provincial regions, more than seven billion in suspected dealings, and smuggling of weapons and Star Realm contraband.
• Xu Wuyi ordered the names reported to Group Leader Song and called for the entire Field Operations Group to mobilize.
• Song Ya assigned the ten squads to regions and ordered them to arrest all targets within three days.
• The squads arrested 35 targets and killed two, while interrogations revealed clues leading to higher figures and a greater conspiracy.

After the arrest operation, Xu Wuyi’s team found that intermediary Zheng Hai came from the same village as Supreme Council chairman Zheng Mingchuan, raising suspicions of a hidden connection. Xu Wuyi used his ability to make Zheng Hai speak the truth, and Zheng Hai admitted they had known each other since childhood.

• The team reviewed Zheng Hai’s interrogation record and noticed he was from Qinghe County.
• Li Zhaowen discovered that Zheng Mingchuan was also from Lower River Village, the same village as Zheng Hai.
• The team found no public evidence linking the two, but noted that Zheng Hai’s business grew as Zheng Mingchuan entered the capital’s core of power.
• Xu Wuyi decided to question Zheng Hai himself and asked about his relationship with Zheng Mingchuan.
• Xu Wuyi used his ability on Zheng Hai, who admitted they were childhood acquaintances from the same village.