Chapter Summaries

East Sakura Country’s leaders debated China’s demand to lease thirty thousand Mechanical Leopards, while a worsening outbreak and mounting deaths left them increasingly desperate. Takashima-gawa agreed to the thirty-year lease, accepting that his delegation would take the blame.

• Takashima-gawa rejected Lin Chen’s demand to lease thirty thousand Mechanical Leopards for twenty years, but Lin Chen said Yanhuang Robotics Company could produce that many in just over a month.
• The Elder of East Sakura Country convened major officials, who initially opposed the lease before agreeing to stall and seek better terms after learning the company could produce nearly three hundred thousand units a year.
• As the outbreak spread and deaths, military casualties, shortages, and riots mounted, Takashima-gawa proposed a shorter lease, but Lin Chen demanded thirty years and threatened to raise the number of units.
• Takashima-gawa urged his delegation to sign for the Empire and bear the blame, and they returned to the negotiating table to accept the agreement.

Lin Chen and Chen Guoxiang secured East Sakura Country’s agreement to host Chinese forces and deploy Mechanical Leopards under strict operating rules. Three thousand Mechanical Leopards arrived at Tojin City Port, where they began spreading through the city and announced a lockdown.

• Lin Chen negotiated five ten-square-kilometer bases and exemptions for the Chinese forces’ supply ships, and Takashima-gawa reluctantly signed the agreement.
• Lin Chen obtained approval for the Mechanical Leopards to shoot attackers, enforce warned lockdowns, and suppress rioters.
• Two days later, with East Sakura Country’s infected and death tolls surging, a cargo ship carrying three thousand Mechanical Leopards reached Tojin City Port without soldiers.
• The Mechanical Leopards disembarked, split into one thousand teams, and advanced through the city.
• After a man threw a bottle at one Mechanical Leopard, it shot him and broadcast warnings ordering residents to return home before a lockdown began.

Mechanical Leopards enforced a curfew across Tojin City and other parts of East Sakura Country, killing people who attacked them or defied their warnings. Lin Chen then ordered them to hunt infected people and report their locations to the East Sakura Military, and they began searching an apartment building.

• Several hundred people who attacked the Mechanical Leopards were shot, prompting East Sakura authorities to broadcast warnings and order citizens home.
• Three thousand Mechanical Leopards spread through Tojin City and announced a curfew, warning that they would attack anyone still outside when time ran out.
• A group of young people ignored the deadline, and three Mechanical Leopards killed dozens of them as others fled or hid.
• Little Bei told Lin Chen that the Mechanical Leopards had killed more than 110,000 people, and Lin Chen ordered them to find and kill infected people and send their addresses to the East Sakura Military.
• Three Mechanical Leopards searched an apartment building for infected people, and one began checking doors after finding that its first apartment was not the target's.

The Mechanical Leopards cleared thousands of infected people in Tojin City, while East Sakura officials debated the casualties and their political consequences. After the United States ordered an elite unit to capture some of the robots, Lin Chen warned that they would be destroyed if they persisted.

• The Mechanical Leopards killed infected people in Tojin City, including two in an apartment, and their actions saved a neighboring family.
• The Mechanical Leopards announced that the lockdown had ended, left one hundred robots in Tojin City, and departed to clear infected people elsewhere.
• An East Sakura military official reported about 3,500 infected people killed and at least 500 anti-China figures eliminated, and the Elder ordered positive publicity while accepting the purge.
• A United States base officer learned the Mechanical Leopards had suffered no losses and ordered an elite unit to capture some.
• The United States unit used electronic jamming against three Mechanical Leopards, and Little Bei alerted Lin Chen.
• Lin Chen ordered a warning and told Little Bei to wipe out the unit if it continued after the warning.

Lin Chen’s Mechanical Leopards fought Woodrow’s US unit after it ignored their warnings and jammed their communications. The battle left the soldiers with heavy losses, but armed helicopters arrived and destroyed two Leopards with Hellfire missiles as Lin Chen ordered the machines to close in among the enemy.

• Three Mechanical Leopards warned Woodrow’s unit to stop electronic jamming, but Woodrow ordered his soldiers to advance and attack.
• Mechanical Leopards disabled the jamming vehicle and killed machine gunners, then exchanged fire with the US soldiers as both sides took casualties.
• Mechanical Leopards used self-destruct explosions and grenades against the soldiers, while suicide drones failed to reliably hit the fast-moving machines.
• Little Bei told Lin Chen that two nearby teams were approaching, and eighteen reinforcements arrived after the first team had lost five Leopards.
• Woodrow’s soldiers suffered more than 150 deaths before two armed helicopters arrived and destroyed two Mechanical Leopards with Hellfire missiles.
• Lin Chen ordered the Mechanical Leopards to charge among the soldiers so they would be less vulnerable to missile attacks.

Lin Chen’s Mechanical Leopards defeated Woodrow’s American forces in East Sakura Country, and Lin Chen ordered the surrendering soldiers killed. The two surviving helicopters escaped after attacking the robots, while Lin Chen chose not to escalate the conflict by shooting them down.

• Lin Chen assessed the Mechanical Leopards’ vulnerability to helicopters and decided Mechanical Tigers carrying air-defense missiles could support them.
• The Mechanical Leopards fought Woodrow’s troops and helicopters, suffering losses while inflicting heavy casualties on the Americans.
• Lin Chen told Old Jiang that reinforcements were coming, and Old Jiang supported winning the battle before negotiating.
• Fifty-four Mechanical Leopards arrived as reinforcements, overwhelming Woodrow’s forces; Woodrow and his adjutant were killed, and the remaining soldiers surrendered.
• Lin Chen ordered Little Bei to kill the surrendering soldiers, while two American helicopters fired on the Mechanical Leopards and then withdrew.
• Little Bei offered to use a missile launcher to shoot down the helicopters, but Lin Chen declined to avoid provoking the United States further.

After a U.S. force in East Sakura Country lost five hundred elite troops in a clash with China’s Mechanical Leopards, General Miller gathered senior officials for an emergency meeting. They decided to keep the battle quiet and avoid openly escalating the conflict, while privately demanding an explanation from China.

• General Rachel learned that China had deployed eighty-one Mechanical Leopards in the battle, of which the U.S. force destroyed thirty-eight, while all five hundred soldiers were killed.
• Rachel called General Miller and reported the defeat, and Miller ordered the news sealed off.
• General Miller summoned U.S. officials for a midnight meeting and revealed that the Mechanical Leopards had killed the elite force in just over ten minutes.
• Mitchell told the meeting that China had sent thirty thousand Mechanical Leopards to East Sakura Country, while U.S. forces there numbered around fifty thousand.
• The officials chose not to pursue the matter openly because the United States had initiated the clash, but agreed to demand an explanation from China privately.

Lin Chen ordered thirty Dragon Tooth Type B unmanned submarines to confront American submarines after the United States increased pressure on China. The submarines located an American vessel and rammed it, leaving the underwater clash underway.

• Lin Chen told Old Jiang that Mechanical Leopards had lost thirty-eight units, and he discussed building Mechanical Tigers armed with missiles.
• Old Jiang reported that the United States demanded compensation and threatened to send more carriers and submarines into China's sea area, while Lin Chen proposed ramming the American submarines.
• Mechanical Leopards killed more than ten thousand infected people and eliminated Anti-China Elements in East Sakura Country as its military avoided challenging Lin Chen.
• General Miller deployed twenty American submarines near China, and American negotiators increased pressure while China's negotiators stalled for time.
• After Old Jiang confirmed the Dragon Tooth Type B Submarines were ready, Lin Chen took command and sent all thirty toward the American submarines.
• Little Bei used Active Sonar to locate an American submarine, and a Dragon Tooth Type B Submarine closed in and collided with it.

Chinese Dragon Tooth Type B Unmanned Submarines rammed four United States submarines and forced the Aircraft Carrier Group to retreat after conventional anti-submarine weapons and electronic attacks failed. The Negotiation Team Leader in China received the news and wondered how the United States could secure its demands through negotiations after its show of force had failed.

• A Dragon Tooth Type B Submarine collided with a United States submarine, flooding a compartment and forcing its Captain to order the submarine to surface and warn the other boats.
• A Dragon Tooth Type B Submarine chased and rammed another United States submarine, and two more United States submarines were rammed before the rest fled the area.
• General Miller learned that thirty Chinese submarines had appeared and sent Anti-Submarine Helicopters to locate five approaching the fleet.
• The helicopter crews detected the five submarines at a depth of fourteen hundred meters, beyond their torpedoes' reach, while electronic attacks also failed to stop them.
• General Miller ordered the Aircraft Carrier Group to retreat, and the Negotiation Team Leader in China received news of the failed show of force and four damaged submarines.

Wei Hongru confronted Jared with China’s military strength during negotiations, while Lin Chen ordered continued operations in East Sakura Country and asked Xu Xiangyang how to answer Lin Xiaoqian’s question about Chinese cultural relics abroad. The chapter left Lin Chen’s question unanswered.

• Wei Hongru warned Jared that China would retaliate against further U.S. pressure and threatened to send twenty submarines to waters near the United States.
• Jared reported the negotiations to U.S. officials, who dismissed the submarine threat as a bluff, unaware that twenty Dragon Tooth Type B Submarines had already set out for the United States.
• Tongtong and the other children visited Lin Chen’s home, where Lin Xiaoqian introduced them to her little brother.
• Lin Chen told Xu Xiangyang to continue clearing infected people in East Sakura Country and send three thousand personnel and ten thousand Mechanical Leopards to five bases.
• Lin Chen asked Xu Xiangyang how to answer Lin Xiaoqian’s question about why Chinese cultural relics were in museums in other countries.

Lin Chen sent four thousand Mechanical Leopards to Magic City and loaded them onto his three submarines, alarming observers in the United States about their possible destination. As American leaders debated the threat, they decided to call Lin Chen and ask what he was planning.

• Lin Chen told Xu Xiangyang that he would act as the bad cop and refused to reveal his plan.
• Lin Chen ordered Little Bei to send his three submarines to Magic City and arrange for four thousand Mechanical Leopards to board them.
• The submarines surfaced at the port, where the Mechanical Leopards boarded as onlookers and netizens speculated about their destination.
• American officials examined the submarines and debated whether Lin Chen might send the Mechanical Leopards to the United States.
• The American leader ordered Robert to call Lin Chen and ask about his intentions.

Robert's attempt to pressure Lin Chen ended with Black Emperor emptying his bank account, while Australian officials panicked that Lin Chen's submarines carrying four thousand Mechanical Leopards might be headed for their country. The chapter left Australia debating how to respond, afraid that pressuring China could provoke Lin Chen to send even more Mechanical Leopards.

• Robert called Lin Chen to demand an explanation for loading four thousand Mechanical Leopards onto three submarines, but Lin Chen told him to mind his own business and warned him about Black Emperor.
• After Lin Chen ended the call, Robert discovered that several million dollars had vanished from his bank account, and the other American officials felt relieved that they had not contacted Lin Chen themselves.
• Franca called Simpson to ask whether the United States would destroy Lin Chen's submarines, but Simpson warned that Black Emperor could retaliate and advised Australia to strengthen its defenses.
• Franca and other Australian officials discussed the threat, worried that their roughly eighty-thousand-strong military could not stop four thousand Mechanical Leopards from landing.
• Franca's group considered pressuring China's government to make Lin Chen talk, but feared that doing so could lead to forty thousand Mechanical Leopards being sent instead.

While Australia, Phi Country, and the Sun Never Sets Empire reacted to the Mechanical Leopards’ advance, Lin Chen reached Legendary Explosives Technology and chose to keep his powerful new formula private. He began manufacturing the explosives and their fuses separately, and the first batch was completed.

• Australian officials decided to wait and observe, while Phi Country’s leaders ordered everyone to avoid provoking China and Lin Chen.
• Media outlets in the Sun Never Sets Empire urged sanctions against China, hoping conflict would destabilize the East and draw capital westward.
• Lin Chen reached Legendary level in Explosives Technology and received formulas for powerful, inexpensive explosives that caused no environmental pollution.
• Lin Chen decided not to give the formula to the country, fearing other nations could copy the explosives and that wider access would increase casualties.
• Lin Chen told Little Bei to order raw materials and assign separate robots to manufacture the explosives and their fuses.
• The raw materials arrived the next day, and Lin Chen’s robots produced a first explosive about the size of a large firecracker with the power of one kilogram of TNT.

Lin Chen tested his New Type of Explosives and decided to keep it secret, while three submarines carrying four thousand Mechanical Leopards crossed the Suez Canal. As the submarines approached the Sun Never Sets Empire, Lin Chen ordered them to wait outside its territorial waters.

• Lin Chen tested a tiny New Type of Explosives bomb at sea and found that its blast was powerful enough to threaten even him.
• Lin Chen told Xu Xiangyang he would not release the explosive, and Xu reported the decision to China’s leaders, who agreed.
• Lin Chen ordered three submarines to surface and pass through the Suez Canal after they arrived near the Red Sea.
• People and governments learned that the submarines carried four thousand Mechanical Leopards, and the submarines crossed the canal without being stopped.
• A week later, Lin Chen ordered the submarines to approach the mouth of the Thames River but remain outside the Sun Never Sets Empire’s territorial waters.

Lin Chen’s three submarines surfaced near the River Thames, alarming the Sun Never Sets Empire and prompting its officials to demand an explanation. Lin Chen called their presence a technical stop, then requested permission to dock at Foggy City Port, leaving the Empire to weigh the threat against the consequences of confronting him.

• Lin Chen’s three submarines surfaced near a cruise ship at the River Thames, and passengers recognized them as Chinese vessels.
• Herman and the Sun Never Sets Empire’s cabinet discussed the submarines’ arrival and contacted China’s embassy for an explanation.
• Zhang Bin called Lin Chen, who said the submarines had encountered trouble and needed a technical stop.
• Lambert rejected the explanation, but the officials feared that attacking the submarines could trigger devastating retaliation against the Empire’s financial system.
• The Sun Never Sets Empire learned that Lin Chen had requested a technical stop at Foggy City Port, intensifying officials’ concerns about the submarines’ proximity to Fog City.

The Sun Never Sets Empire agreed to let Lin Chen's three submarines enter Foggy City Port, avoiding a confrontation with him. Lin Chen then ordered the Mechanical Leopards aboard to disembark, and thousands gathered at the docks as protesters and police realized they could not oppose them.

• Herman and the cabinet voted to allow Lin Chen's three submarines into the port after the United States refused to intervene.
• Lin Chen ordered the submarines to surface and enter Foggy City Port, where citizens and reporters watched them arrive.
• Lin Chen told Little Bei to have the Mechanical Leopards disembark under the pretense that the submarines needed repairs.
• Protesters gathered at the docks, but many left as the number of Mechanical Leopards grew to more than two thousand.
• Police officers at the docks worried that their weapons and forces were inadequate to face the Mechanical Leopards.

Lin Chen left four thousand Mechanical Leopards at the Sun Never Sets Empire's harbor and sent three submarines to patrol its waters, prompting Herman's government to suspect he wanted to force trade concessions or the return of Chinese cultural relics. The chapter ended with Herman learning that the submarines were circling the empire with Active Sonar on.

• Four thousand Mechanical Leopards emerged at the harbor, and the remaining protesters fled after the robots fired warning shots.
• Lin Chen ordered Little Bei to send three submarines out of the harbor and have them patrol separately around the Sun Never Sets Empire.
• Herman discussed why Lin Chen had left the Mechanical Leopards behind, and Stanford proposed that Lin Chen sought stronger trade ties or the return of Chinese cultural relics.
• Herman received word that the three submarines were circling the empire with Active Sonar activated.

Lin Chen prepared for the New Year with his family and discussed the Sun Never Sets Empire’s standoff with Xu Guofeng. The United States discovered Dragon Tooth Type B Submarines on both its coasts, leaving General Miller unsure how many more were nearby.

• Lin Chen wrote Spring Festival couplets with Lin Xiaoqian, then packed for a visit to Xu Guofeng and Yang Qingyue with Xu Mengyao and their children.
• The System increased Lin Chen’s System Space by one thousand cubic meters after he and Lin Xiaoqian packed Lin Dongyao’s luggage, bringing it to seven thousand cubic meters.
• Lin Chen told Xu Guofeng to let the standoff with the Sun Never Sets Empire continue, since the Mechanical Leopards were imposing ongoing costs and he expected the United States to be occupied with other matters.
• Elro’s warship detected a Chinese Dragon Tooth Type B Submarine beneath it off the United States’ West Coast, prompting General Miller to order a search.
• United States forces found another Dragon Tooth Type B Submarine off the East Coast, and General Miller worried that many more might remain undetected.

Lin Chen celebrated the New Year with his family as the United States struggled to locate China’s hidden Dragon Tooth Type B Submarines. During a visit with Old Man Li and Old Jiang, Lin Chen heard that East Sakura Country no longer needed the Mechanical Leopard’s help, but he insisted that it did.

• Lin Chen celebrated the New Year with Xu Mengyao, Lin Xiaoqian, and Lin Dongyao, reflecting on the family’s growth and their wealth.
• General Miller ordered the search for Chinese submarines to continue; after finding eleven, he feared that more might still be hidden nearby.
• Lin Chen’s family visited the Imperial Capital, where Lin Xiaoqian collected New Year red envelopes and Lin Chen discussed her and Lin Dongyao’s talents with Old Man Li and Old Jiang.
• Old Man Li and Old Jiang encouraged Lin Chen to have more children, and Lin Chen said they might consider having twins within two or three years.
• Old Man Li told Lin Chen that East Sakura Country had said it no longer needed the Mechanical Leopard’s help, and Lin Chen replied that it did.

Lin Chen urged Old Man Li and Old Jiang to continue the Mechanical Leopards’ cleanup in East Sakura Country, expand production, and use the weapons to pressure other countries. He then revealed his ability to make two Mechanical Leopards appear instantly, leaving the officials wondering whether he had begun cultivating immortality.

• Lin Chen argued that the Mechanical Leopards should keep eliminating infected individuals in East Sakura Country for years and suggested treating Anti-China Elements as threats.
• Lin Chen proposed expanding production to three thousand Mechanical Leopards a day and building backup factories in the Rear Area, offering to pay the initial cost himself.
• Lin Chen said he planned to transport eight thousand Mechanical Leopards publicly toward the Sun Never Sets Empire to pressure it, while the United States continued searching for the submarines.
• Old Man Li confirmed that construction had begun on the second batch of thirty Dragon Tooth Type B Submarines and raised concerns about the growing number of autonomous weapons.
• Lin Chen said he sought immortality and made two Mechanical Leopards appear in the study, prompting Old Jiang to ask whether he had started cultivating immortality.