Ch. 282Collapse

Chapter Summary: “Collapse”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • After defeating Nash, Xiao He faces the O Continent Team’s final fighter, Ford, a seemingly harmless and cowardly man.
  • Ford’s defensive Superpower automatically adapts to every attack:
    • Physical blows rebound or fail to damage him.
    • He can absorb internal force, transform his body into liquid, flatten himself, and produce membranes or tubes to counter fire, freezing, and other attacks.
  • Xiao He realizes the opposing team intends to use Ford to stall him until the match becomes a draw under the arena-damage rule.
  • Ford’s ability appears to be law-based: he can suffer attacks without dying, though he still experiences pain and limited injury.
  • When Xiao He’s attacks damage the arena enough to trigger a forced draw, he repairs the arena using Entropy Reduction and refuses to let the O Continent Team’s strategy succeed.
  • Xiao He consults Cui Man and Ye Wanqing, then has Ye Wanqing alter Ford’s name so that his own rule-based Superpower can affect him.
  • Because Xiao He’s power requires only that he defeat Ford—not kill or injure him—the two abilities do not conflict. Xiao He commands Ford to surrender, and Ford immediately complies.
  • Dragon Country wins the first match of the best-of-three series, taking a 1–0 lead.
  • Xiao He rests for the second round. Xie Haining, also known as Candle Dragon, enters for Dragon Country.
  • The opposing team sends Nash out first, hoping to exploit Xiao He’s exhaustion and win the second match.
  • Xie Haining reveals that he has deduced the weakness of Nash’s explosive ability: the blast radius of each detonation point is always five meters larger than its placement range.
  • By staying outside the effective blast zones and using pistols to pressure Nash, Xie Haining effectively neutralizes him.

Character Developments

  • Xiao He: Demonstrates greater tactical maturity and restraint. He avoids immediately risking a dangerous clash between his own law-based ability and Ford’s, but ultimately discovers a safe method to win. He also becomes more confident in using his full strength after realizing his attacks can affect Ford.
  • Ford: Revealed to be a reluctant, pacifistic participant rather than a genuine fighter. His extraordinary defensive ability makes him an ideal stalling weapon, but his fear and lack of fighting spirit leave him vulnerable to surrender-based control.
  • Ye Wanqing: Plays a crucial strategic role by changing Ford’s name, enabling Xiao He’s Superpower to take effect. She is pleased when Xiao He praises her contribution.
  • Cui Man: Acts as Xiao He’s adviser, warning him about the danger of conflicting law-type abilities while ultimately supporting his decision.
  • Xie Haining/Candle Dragon: Shows confidence, analytical skill, and excellent battlefield control. He uses his time-related perception advantage to identify Nash’s weakness and deliberately forces Nash into a disadvantaged position.
  • Nash: Remains intelligent and dangerous but is frustrated when Xie Haining exposes the limitation of his ability. His usual ranged-control strategy becomes ineffective once the blast-radius flaw is understood.

Significant Themes

  • Strategy over brute force: Xiao He and Xie Haining win by identifying loopholes and weaknesses rather than relying solely on overwhelming power.
  • The limits of absolute abilities: Even seemingly invincible, law-based Superpowers have conditions, loopholes, or practical restrictions.
  • Violence versus unwilling participation: Ford’s fear and pacifism contrast with the competition’s expectation that every contestant must fight.
  • Trust and teamwork: Xiao He relies on Cui Man, Ye Wanqing, and the rest of the team to make decisions and overcome opponents whose abilities he cannot easily counter alone.
  • Rules as weapons: Both teams exploit tournament regulations and Superpower wording, turning technical interpretations into decisive tactical advantages.

Character Interactions

  • Xiao He taunts and questions Ford, while Ford apologizes repeatedly and admits he only entered because the O Continent Team claimed only he could stop Dragon Country.
  • Xiao He and Cui Man argue over whether changing Ford’s name is too dangerous; Ye Wanqing supports the plan and promises to reverse it if the abilities conflict.
  • After the victory, Cui Man affectionately congratulates Xiao He, while he complains about being treated like a child. He praises Ye Wanqing for her assistance.
  • Xie Haining and Nash engage in a tense exchange before their match. Nash deduces that Xie’s ability involves altered time perception, while Xie openly explains that he has discovered Nash’s explosive-range limitation.
  • Xiao He and the spectators initially cannot understand why Nash’s bombs appear ineffective, but Xie’s deliberate positioning eventually exposes the flaw in Nash’s technique.

Ch. 283Tsunami

Chapter Summary: “Tsunami”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • After defeating the Mutator invasion, Xiao He, Ye Wanqing, and the Special Response Department celebrate at Xiao He’s island villa with a beach barbecue and alcohol.
  • The group reflects on the battle, acknowledging the contributions of the prison inmates, Xia Yu, Xie Haining, and other Mutants. The attack caused few national casualties because of the advance warning.
  • The world’s opinion of Yinglong improves dramatically. Despite propaganda from BBT and DDC, he becomes recognized as a global hero, while other heroic Mutants also gain public respect.
  • In Wyoming, Claude Moriarty gathers surviving Mutators and reveals the next stage of his plan. After being blamed for the previous attack’s heavy losses, he argues that Yinglong cannot be defeated by force alone.
  • Claude plans to psychologically destroy Yinglong by forcing him to choose which groups of hostages live or die. He also intends to replenish the Mutators’ ranks by recruiting criminals from prisons.
  • One week later, Xiao He is summoned to Hawaii, where a massive tsunami caused by an undersea earthquake threatens the islands and thousands of tourists.
  • Ye Wanqing creates a global database event describing the tsunami, allowing her Cognition ability to reach the necessary threshold and eventually grant Xiao He the power to counter it.
  • Xiao He first attempts to slow the tsunami with Vector Control and Kinetic Energy Absorption, but the wave is too massive. He then saves a cruise ship by using Time Stop and Psychokinesis to push it out of the tsunami’s path.
  • Once Ye Wanqing’s ability activates, Xiao He punches the tsunami, splitting it into two weakened waves that pass around Hawaii and dissipate before destroying the other islands.
  • The island’s residents celebrate Yinglong as a hero.
  • Meanwhile, Claude reveals that the tsunami was deliberately used to draw Xiao He away. Amanda issues a worldwide mental command ordering Mutators to raid prisons and abduct “irredeemable” criminals to rebuild their forces.

Character Developments

  • Xiao He: Shows greater confidence and maturity as a global protector, but also demonstrates the limits of his powers against large-scale natural disasters. He relies on strategy, endurance, and cooperation rather than brute strength alone. His playful affection toward Ye Wanqing continues, while his public embarrassment over their romantic teasing highlights his softer side.
  • Ye Wanqing: Her ability has expanded significantly through access to the United Nations database. She can now spread information rapidly enough to establish Cognition on a global scale, allowing her to fight alongside Xiao He rather than merely support him privately.
  • Cui Man: Remains a commanding but sociable leader, organizing the celebration and coordinating Xiao He’s international mission. Her teasing during the rescue emphasizes her close familiarity with the team.
  • Xie Haining: Feels guilty about contributing little during the battle, but Xiao He reassures him that his efforts helped protect others and reduce casualties.
  • Xia Yu: Receives praise for defeating two Mutators, reinforcing her growing confidence and competence.
  • Claude Moriarty: Becomes increasingly manipulative and psychologically cruel. He shifts from relying on direct combat to exploiting morality, public perception, and human weakness.
  • Amanda and the Mutators: Amanda is revealed to possess a form of global mental communication or command authority. The surviving Mutators remain loyal to Claude despite their losses, while their new plan focuses on recruitment and expansion.

Significant Themes

  • Heroism and public perception: Yinglong becomes a worldwide hero, demonstrating how public opinion can change rapidly after a crisis. The chapter also stresses that heroism belongs to many individuals, not just the strongest figure.
  • Cooperation and complementary powers: Xiao He cannot initially stop the tsunami alone, but Ye Wanqing’s information-based ability makes his physical intervention possible. Their partnership becomes an essential part of saving lives.
  • Human limitations versus natural disasters: The tsunami exposes the limits of superhuman strength. Xiao He’s initial failures emphasize that nature cannot always be defeated through force.
  • Love and domestic happiness amid danger: The celebration and Xiao and Ye Wanqing’s affectionate interactions provide a peaceful contrast to the global threats surrounding them.
  • Psychological warfare and moral dilemmas: Claude recognizes that destroying a hero’s principles may be more effective than killing him. His hostage-selection plan targets Xiao He’s compassion and sense of responsibility.
  • The universality of evil: Claude claims that anyone can become a villain with the right catalyst, foreshadowing the use of criminals as expendable recruits.

Character Interactions

  • Xiao He and Ye Wanqing share affectionate, teasing domestic moments during the celebration and later cooperate closely during the tsunami rescue.
  • Xiao He reassures Xie Haining and praises Xia Yu for their contributions to the previous battle.
  • The Special Response Department members bond during the victory celebration, drinking, joking, and discussing the battle.
  • Xiao He communicates with Cui Man throughout the Hawaii mission, receiving updates and joking with her over the public channel.
  • Claude confronts Sate and the other Mutators, deflecting blame for their losses and reasserting control through manipulation.
  • Claude communicates with Heather and Amanda, coordinating the diversion and the prison raids that begin the next phase of his plan.

Ch. 284The Monster That Longed to Become Human

Chapter Summary: The Monster That Longed to Become Human

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Following Xiao He’s rescue of Hawaii from a tsunami, the Hawaiian government and a luxury cruise company offer free vacations to employees of Dragon Country’s Special Response Department. The disaster further increases Yinglong’s international fame.
  • Xiao He and Ye Wanqing visit Dragon Country’s Mars base. The base now includes a large greenhouse, allowing astronauts to grow crops and achieve partial self-sufficiency. Wu Changchun asks Xiao He to:
    • Build two additional Mars bases.
    • Create remotely controlled Yinglong Robots to assist with construction and exploration.
  • Wu Changchun reveals research into Mutators. Analysis of 267 cases suggests that Mutations are most common among high-pressure individuals who suppress violent or perverse desires. Stress acts as a catalyst, while deeply repressed desires are believed to trigger transformation.
  • Prisoners, contrary to expectations, are the least likely to become Mutators because they have already acted on and released their desires. However, convicted rapists and murderers have recently been disappearing from prisons worldwide, suggesting that someone may be abducting them to artificially create Mutators.
  • Xiao He suspects Claude Moriarty and informs the United Nations. He implants nanoscale Trackers into prisoners across different countries so he can locate them if they are abducted.
  • In Wyoming, Claude successfully creates a new Mutator and prepares to use a captured “traitor” as bait. He later exploits the public execution of Eric Cavendish to lure Xiao He into action.
  • Eric Cavendish, a kind-hearted Mutator who spent his life secretly helping others despite his frightening appearance, is sentenced to public execution after his identity is exposed. Although he helped humans fight other Mutators, society still condemns him as a monster.
  • Xiao He decides to rescue Eric. With Ye Wanqing’s assistance, he appears at the execution in London and claims authority under the United Nations Special Peacekeeping Force to take Eric into custody.
  • Raphael, now publicly respected because of his role in fighting Mutators, opposes Xiao He. His mysterious six-winged archangel attacks Xiao He, even during Time Stop.
  • Xiao He and Raphael battle in front of the media. Raphael invokes religious “Sin Judgment” techniques, while Xiao He uses his Perfect Cube and physical strength to defend himself and Eric.
  • Xiao He realizes that the archangel is likely not Raphael’s own ability but someone else’s power manifested through him. Consequently, changing Raphael’s name does not disable the ability.
  • Claude watches the confrontation with satisfaction, confirming that Xiao He’s intervention is part of his plan. He then teleports to Lin Tiannan Prison, where he announces that he has come to “pick up” the prisoners.

Character Developments

  • Xiao He: Becomes increasingly committed to protecting people who are unjustly persecuted, even when doing so risks political consequences. He recognizes parallels between himself and Eric, noting that his own revenge-based power could have made him a villain without Ye Wanqing’s guidance.
  • Ye Wanqing: Acts as Xiao He’s emotional support, tactical adviser, and partner. She helps him navigate the legal and public-relations aspects of the rescue while encouraging him to do what is right.
  • Wu Changchun: Demonstrates major scientific progress in understanding Mutators and raises the global threat of artificial mutation experiments.
  • Claude Moriarty: Reveals himself as the mastermind behind the prison disappearances and experimental Mutator creation. He manipulates events so Xiao He and Raphael will clash.
  • Raphael: Gains public legitimacy through his alliance with the Three Sacred Church but becomes increasingly fanatical and dangerous. He places religious doctrine above law and views Mutators as inherently inhuman.
  • Eric Cavendish: Emerges as a tragic, compassionate figure. Though physically transformed and rejected by both humans and Mutators, he maintains his moral integrity and continues helping others.

Significant Themes

  • Appearance versus true humanity: Eric’s story challenges the assumption that physical monstrosity reflects moral corruption. His body becomes more human while society treats him as less human.
  • Suppressed desire and transformation: The chapter presents Mutations as the result of destructive desires being repressed until they are released through Black Light.
  • Law versus religious or extrajudicial punishment: Xiao He insists that even abnormal beings must be judged under legal systems, while Raphael supports execution based on religious authority.
  • Society’s hypocrisy and prejudice: Eric protects humans but is condemned solely because of his species and appearance.
  • The importance of guidance: Xiao He reflects that his own destructive power might have led him down a darker path without Ye Wanqing and the people around him.
  • Scientific progress and moral danger: Humanity’s growing ability to colonize Mars and manipulate Mutations is contrasted with the danger of using science to manufacture monsters.

Important Character Interactions

  • Xiao He and Wu Changchun: Discuss Mars colonization, Yinglong Robots, and the scientific causes of Mutation.
  • Xiao He and Ye Wanqing: Their affectionate domestic relationship contrasts with the surrounding violence. Ye Wanqing helps Xiao He formulate a legal justification for rescuing Eric.
  • Xiao He and Raphael: Their ideological conflict escalates into a public battle between legal authority and religious fanaticism.
  • Xiao He and Eric: Xiao He recognizes Eric’s humanity and intervenes because he believes Eric is being unjustly punished.
  • Claude and the prisoners: Claude arrives at Lin Tiannan Prison to recruit or abduct prisoners for his larger plan, setting up the next major confrontation.

Ch. 285Prison Break

Chapter Summary: “Prison Break”

Plot and Major Events

  • Claude Moriarty arrives at Mutant Prison and offers the inmates a way to defeat Yinglong: become Mutators through Amanda’s power. He promises that their existing Mutant abilities and constitutions will become even stronger, though the transformation is irreversible.
  • Ivan, Oliver, Johnny Leiden, and others reject Claude’s proposal, preferring the relatively peaceful life they have gained in prison. Jin Shaokang accepts first, followed by Liu Yufei, Danny Wu, Zhang Shan, Tamura Toshio, Julius, and several others—thirteen prisoners in total.
  • Claude uses Wade’s power to erase the Oathmarks binding all the prisoners, freeing both those who join him and those who remain. He then leaves with the thirteen recruits.
  • The prison immediately divides into factions. Newer overseas prisoners attempt to escape, while the older inmates, now cooperating with the authorities, try to stop them. Oliver and his brother prevent one escape attempt, escalating the conflict.
  • Meanwhile, in Y Country, Xiao He battles Raphael, whose strength comes from an archangel-like entity attached to him. Xiao He realizes that ordinary attacks cannot permanently defeat Raphael and first attempts to sway the crowd by defending Raphael’s humanity and condemning religious prejudice.
  • When persuasion fails, Xiao He uses Makina’s anti-“god and vessel” ability. His black flames injure the archangel, but Raphael escapes before Xiao He can finish the fight.
  • After learning that Claude has attacked the prison, Xiao He returns and finds the facility in ruins. He seals the prison with a psychokinetic barrier and defeats the rebellious inmates with overwhelming strength, time manipulation, Soul Chains, and brutal close combat.
  • The prisoners who surrender are still punished because they ignored Xiao He’s earlier warning. Afterward, Xiao He heals the loyal inmates by redistributing power he had previously taken from them.
  • The authorities determine that Claude took thirteen prisoners, while six escaped during the chaos. Trackers implanted in the escapees allow Xiao He to pursue them later. The remaining prisoners receive new Oathmarks.
  • At the Mutators’ Wyoming base, Amanda begins transforming Jin Shaokang. She identifies his deepest desire—to stop being someone’s shadow and become “shadow” itself—and turns him into a towering, formless creature surrounded by darkness.

Character Developments

  • Claude reveals a more ambitious plan: he intends to create powerful Mutators from already-enhanced criminals and use them against Yinglong. His manipulation relies on offering freedom, power, and revenge.
  • Jin Shaokang demonstrates intense resentment and determination. He willingly abandons his humanity to gain the power necessary to oppose Yinglong, ultimately becoming a living shadow.
  • Liu Yufei and the other recruits choose rebellion over stability, believing that defeating Yinglong and reclaiming their former strength is worth irreversible mutation.
  • Ivan, Oliver, Johnny, Anna, and the older prisoners show that they have adapted to prison life and no longer view themselves as enemies of Yinglong. Their refusal to join Claude reflects their preference for security and community over dangerous ambition.
  • Xiao He demonstrates both emotional frustration and tactical flexibility. He first tries diplomacy, then resorts to force when persuasion fails. His overwhelming power reinforces his position as the prison’s uncontested authority.
  • Raphael shifts from confidence to panic when Xiao He’s flames injure the archangel supporting him, exposing the vulnerability behind his religious authority.
  • Amanda is established as a dangerous transformation agent who can perceive and unleash a person’s deepest desires.

Major Themes

  • Freedom versus security: The prisoners must choose between the controlled but safe life of prison and Claude’s dangerous promise of freedom.
  • Humanity and identity: Becoming a Mutator is presented as a rejection of one’s human identity, raising questions about whether humanity depends on appearance, biology, or moral behavior.
  • Desire and transformation: Amanda’s power turns inner desires into physical forms, showing how ambition and resentment can reshape people literally.
  • Power and futility: The prisoners believe greater power will allow them to defeat Yinglong, but Xiao He’s dominance suggests that strength alone may not overcome certain absolute advantages.
  • Prejudice and manufactured morality: Xiao He argues that Raphael’s monstrous appearance does not make him evil, while the crowd uses religion and fear to justify condemning him.
  • Choice and manipulation: Although Claude claims not to force anyone, his rhetoric pressures the prisoners by exploiting their fear, pride, and desire for revenge.

Important Character Interactions

  • Claude debates Ivan, Danny Wu, Oliver, and Liu Yufei while recruiting the prisoners.
  • Liu Yufei insults those who remain, while Ivan and Oliver defend their decision to stay and reject Claude’s ideology.
  • Johnny Leiden mocks the recruits’ belief that mutation will let them defeat Yinglong, provoking Julius.
  • Xiao He communicates with Ye Wanqing and Cui Man through his earpiece, receiving support and updates during the Raphael battle and prison crisis.
  • Xiao He reunites with Eric, frees him from the cross, and brings him back to the prison.
  • Xiao He confronts the rebellious prisoners, defeats them, then heals the loyal inmates while teasing them about their dependence on him.
  • Amanda psychologically probes Jin Shaokang and transforms his desire to become “shadow” into his new monstrous form.

Ch. 286Mutant Mutants

Chapter Summary: “Mutant Mutants”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Xiao He personally apprehends the escaped Mutants, despite being able to rely on Yinglong Robots. He confronts Yousuli, whose ability, Debt Borrowing, temporarily lends power to an opponent and collects interest over time.
  • Yousuli discovers that Xiao He possesses an overwhelming “capital” of superpowers. Even after using his ability twice, he drains less than a third of Xiao He’s basic physical strength.
  • Xiao He easily defeats Yousuli in hand-to-hand combat, but Yousuli attempts a surprise attack using a golden blade created from Xiao He’s stolen power. The blade only slightly deforms Xiao He’s muscles.
  • Xiao He responds with a full-strength strike that buries Yousuli in the pavement. Because Yousuli had exploited several of Xiao He’s abilities, he survives, and those stolen powers return to Xiao He once Yousuli is defeated.
  • Xiao He restores the damaged road with Entropy Reduction, delivers a threatening warning to M Country’s security personnel, and returns Yousuli to the M Country lounge.
  • At home, Xiao He reunites with an anxious Ye Wanqing. Their affectionate interaction emphasizes their close relationship, though Xiao He delays their intimacy to shower.
  • M Country’s team reacts angrily to Yousuli’s defeat. Captain Sebastian condemns him for humiliating the team, while Mike orders a public-relations campaign to blame Yinglong. Yousuli explains that his encounter confirmed Xiao He possesses multiple exceptionally powerful abilities.
  • The M Country Mutants argue among themselves, especially Victor, Taro, Rhea, and Ruiwen. Sebastian stops the infighting and threatens to remove Yousuli from the team if he causes trouble again.
  • The chapter then shifts to Dragon Country’s team matches. Cui Man selects Yue Feng, Qin Weize (“Horned Dragon”), and Li Xue (“Feilian”) for the first round against Australia.
  • Yue Feng ignores the cautious strategy and charges ahead. He breaks through Hastur’s tentacles, defeats Black Witch with a controlled collision, and forces the Australian team onto the defensive.
  • Chain God tries to use his golden chains offensively, while Hastur attacks Qin Weize and Li Xue. Li Xue’s wind techniques destroy Hastur’s smaller octopus forms, and Qin Weize shatters Chain God’s chains and injures him with powerful shockwaves.
  • Hastur’s body proves difficult to defeat: after enough attacks, her octopus exterior is stripped away, revealing a young girl. However, she then activates Descent, transforming into a gigantic manifestation of Hastur, the Yellow-Robed Lord.
  • Rather than retreat, Yue Feng enthusiastically charges the transformed Hastur, ending the chapter as he prepares to attack.

Character Developments

  • Xiao He: Demonstrates overwhelming strength, durability, combat skill, and confidence. He gains a clearer understanding of Yousuli’s ability and establishes himself as a ruthless protector of Dragon Country outside the tournament. His softer, affectionate side is shown through his concern for Ye Wanqing.
  • Yousuli: His arrogance collapses after discovering the enormous gap between his power and Xiao He’s. Although he claims his actions were intelligence-gathering, his behavior exposes his recklessness and weakness. His defeat also reduces the superpower “principal” he had accumulated.
  • Ye Wanqing: Reveals how much she worries about Xiao He’s absence and seems increasingly sensitive to his presence, suggesting a strong emotional connection or intuitive bond.
  • Cui Man: Acts as a strategic leader, assigning less experienced teammates to the first round so they can gain real combat experience while supporting one another.
  • Yue Feng: Shows enormous strength and growing combat control. Although impulsive and unwilling to follow orders, he demonstrates improved maneuverability and deliberately restrains himself to avoid killing Black Witch.
  • Qin Weize and Li Xue: Begin proving themselves in team combat. Qin Weize uses precise impact attacks, while Li Xue protects and supports him with versatile wind techniques.
  • M Country’s team: Their internal insecurity and rivalry become evident after Yousuli’s failure. Despite their hostility toward one another, they recognize that Xiao He is a major threat.

Significant Themes

  • The overwhelming gap in power: Yousuli’s “loan” metaphor emphasizes that even powerful abilities can be meaningless against someone with vastly greater reserves.
  • Strength versus technique: Xiao He defeats Yousuli effortlessly through superior fundamentals, while Yue Feng’s battle shows that speed, maneuverability, and tactical restraint matter alongside raw power.
  • Public image and national rivalry: M Country focuses on concealing its humiliation and manipulating the media, contrasting with the tournament’s supposed ideals of sportsmanship.
  • Teamwork and growth: Dragon Country’s lineup is designed to let developing fighters gain experience, with each member compensating for the others’ weaknesses.
  • Hidden power and transformation: Hastur’s ability appears absurd and defensive at first, but its true danger emerges through the “Descent” transformation, reinforcing the theme that appearances conceal deeper abilities.
  • Affection amid conflict: Xiao He’s relationship with Ye Wanqing provides a warm, domestic contrast to the violence, political tension, and competitive brutality.

Important Character Interactions

  • Xiao He mocks and defeats Yousuli, then warns M Country to control its Mutants.
  • Ye Wanqing anxiously waits for Xiao He and joyfully welcomes him home, while he teases and comforts her.
  • Sebastian, Ruiwen, Rhea, Taro, and Victor criticize or provoke Yousuli, revealing the M Country team’s fractured relationships.
  • Cui Man assigns Yue Feng, Qin Weize, and Li Xue roles suited to their development.
  • Yue Feng protects Li Xue from Hastur’s surprise attack, while Li Xue shields Qin Weize and assists his aerial assault.
  • Qin Weize’s final attack exposes Hastur’s true form, but her transformation escalates the battle and sets up Yue Feng’s next confrontation.

Ch. 287The Third Personality

Chapter Summary: “The Third Personality”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Xiao He and Ye Wanqing sit out the semifinals while Xiao He observes the other teams, especially Thousand Magnet, whose power appears to grow stronger during battle.
  • The pair spend the day together as a couple, eating spicy stinky tofu, exploring food stalls, and watching a movie. Their affectionate, ordinary interactions contrast with their public identities as powerful Mutants.
  • An argument breaks out between M Country Team and Y Country Team over insults concerning caste and social status. Xiao He is called in to restore order.
  • After Ye Wanqing changes the competitors’ codenames, Xiao He enters the arena in his powerful Six-in-One state. He decisively defeats all six combatants:
    • He restrains Asura’s demon avatar and knocks him out.
    • He neutralizes Void’s spatial black holes and defeats her.
    • He counters Fahan’s spatial body by redirecting his own punch.
    • He defeats Taro, Ball Thrower, and finally Thousand Magnet, despite Thousand Magnet surrendering.
  • Xiao He gains a spatial movement ability from Void’s Superpower, finally obtaining the mobility skill he had been missing.
  • His overwhelming victory leaves the audience questioning whether the competition still has any suspense, since Yinglong appears unbeatable.
  • In Dragon Country’s team match against R Country, Cui Man initially keeps Xiao He off the field to showcase the strength of the rest of the team.
  • Dragon Country uses a “two-protect-one” strategy, with An Xiuru and Han Tianyu enhancing a main attacker:
    • Xia Yu demolishes R Country’s team almost instantly using explosive speed and Fist Pressure.
    • Xie Haining and Li Zhengliang later take the protected role and also win decisively.
  • For the next match, Cui Man finally sends out Xiao He with An Xiuru and Han Tianyu supporting him, intending to show the opponents the true meaning of “despair.”
  • R Country responds by deploying its final hidden trump card, Iron Smith, alongside Charge Hero and Shadow Flash.

Character Developments

  • Xiao He: Demonstrates overwhelming combat superiority and gains a new spatial movement ability. He balances ruthless efficiency in battle with playful affection toward Ye Wanqing. His frustration at having his date interrupted highlights his desire for a more ordinary life.
  • Ye Wanqing: Acts as Xiao He’s affectionate partner and supports him tactically by changing the competitors’ codenames. Her playful, coquettish behavior strengthens their romantic bond.
  • Thousand Magnet: Reveals himself to be calculating and opportunistic. He deliberately provokes Y Country to create a chance to approach Xiao He, but his plan fails completely.
  • Void and Fahan: Show powerful spatial abilities, but Xiao He quickly understands and counters both of them.
  • Cui Man: Proves to be a strategic leader who deliberately gives other Dragon Country members opportunities before unleashing Xiao He. She also enjoys dramatically intimidating the opposition.
  • Xia Yu: Reveals extraordinary physical power and control, defeating opponents through speed and Fist Pressure rather than direct contact.
  • An Xiuru and Han Tianyu: Their support abilities are shown to work exceptionally well together, multiplying the effectiveness of Dragon Country’s main attackers.
  • Xie Haining and Li Zhengliang: Gain confidence by experiencing the “two-protect-one” formation and briefly feeling as powerful as Xiao He.
  • R Country Team: Becomes increasingly desperate, ultimately introducing the mysterious Iron Smith as a last resort.

Significant Themes

  • Overwhelming strength and loss of suspense: Xiao He’s dominance makes the competition seem nearly predetermined, raising questions about the purpose of contests when one competitor is vastly superior.
  • Teamwork and synergy: Dragon Country’s victories emphasize that strength comes not only from individual power but also from carefully combined abilities and coordinated support.
  • Public identity versus private life: Xiao He and Ye Wanqing are terrifying figures in the arena but behave like an ordinary young couple when alone.
  • Class prejudice and social conflict: The confrontation between the M and Y Country teams exposes caste discrimination, resentment, and wounded pride.
  • Adaptation and ability acquisition: Xiao He’s analysis of enemy Superpowers allows him to understand, neutralize, and even gain new abilities from them.
  • Despair as psychological warfare: Cui Man deliberately uses Xiao He’s overwhelming presence to crush opponents’ morale as well as defeat them physically.

Important Character Interactions

  • Xiao He and Ye Wanqing share a playful romantic outing, teasing one another over food, kissing in the cinema, and supporting each other when the match is interrupted.
  • Xiao He confronts both teams during their argument but is forced to defeat all six when Thousand Magnet’s provocation sparks a battle.
  • Xiao He and Thousand Magnet clash indirectly: Thousand Magnet attempts to manipulate the situation to touch Xiao He, but Xiao He sees through nothing explicitly and simply overwhelms him.
  • Xiao He protects Taro’s opponents from discrimination in treatment, then knocks out every member of M Country Team as well, insisting that everyone be treated equally.
  • Cui Man directs the team’s strategy and later sends Xiao He into battle, encouraging him to give R Country “the taste of despair.”
  • An Xiuru and Han Tianyu support Xia Yu, Xie Haining, and Li Zhengliang, while the team members begin to understand how empowering it feels to fight under the “two-protect-one” arrangement.
  • The chapter ends with Xiao He, An Xiuru, and Han Tianyu facing R Country’s final lineup, setting up the next major battle.

Ch. 288The Hidden Eighth Personality

Chapter Summary: The Hidden Eighth Personality

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Raphael uses Sin Judgment to remove Moriarty’s personalities one by one. His first judgment, Gluttony, forces out Wade, confirming that the technique can temporarily suppress individual personalities.
  • Raphael’s next judgment, Sloth, brings out Javier, a personality capable of manipulating localized time through acceleration and slowdown. Xiao He identifies the connection between several personalities and the seven deadly sins:
    • Anika — Envy
    • Wade — Gluttony
    • Claude — Sloth
    • Javier — Wrath
    • The remaining personalities appear linked to Greed, Lust, and Pride.
  • Javier reveals his name after Xiao He pressures him, allowing Ye Wanqing to record it. His time-control ability proves dangerous, but Xiao He counters it with his own Time Stop, exploiting the fact that Javier’s acceleration and slowdown affect areas rather than individuals.
  • Javier triggers a powerful ability for Xiao He: Spacetime Rift, a zone in which time does not exist. Xiao He realizes that this ability can provide near-immortality and protect him from time-based attacks. However, when Javier switches personalities, the ability disappears.
  • The next personality, associated with Greed, reveals that he caused the earlier tsunami by collecting an earthquake from Yellowstone and releasing it beneath the ocean near Hawaii. He refuses to give his name without receiving information in exchange.
  • Greed possesses a Collection ability, allowing him to store attacks, explosions, natural disasters, and other phenomena, then return them to his opponent. He absorbs Xiao He’s attacks and even makes crystal swords vanish by collecting them.
  • Raphael finally uses Sin Judgment: Greed, Lust, and Pride, forcing the remaining personalities to emerge in succession. Xiao He is frustrated because Raphael acts before he can obtain Greed’s name.
  • After the judgments, Moriarty’s original personality appears. He is frightened, confused, and shocked to learn that ten months have passed while the other personalities controlled his body.
  • Xiao He initially assumes the original Moriarty is powerless and attempts to knock him unconscious. However, the original self suddenly reveals a terrifying hidden form, suggesting that he is not merely the host personality.

Character Developments

  • Xiao He demonstrates increasing mastery of his time-related powers. He uses Time Stop strategically, understands its limitations, and discovers that Spacetime Rift may be even more powerful because it removes the passage of time entirely.
  • Xiao He also becomes more cautious about Moriarty’s personalities. Although he initially treats them as separate enemies, he recognizes that each personality possesses a distinct and highly dangerous ability.
  • Raphael proves that his Sin Judgment is extremely effective against Moriarty, but his impatience frustrates Xiao He by causing personalities to switch before their names can be recorded.
  • Javier is revealed as a highly skilled and aggressive fighter whose time-control ability relies on manipulating zones rather than directly targeting individuals.
  • The Greed personality is clever, manipulative, and unwilling to cooperate without bargaining. He is also revealed to be responsible for the previous tsunami, greatly expanding the perceived scale of Moriarty’s threat.
  • Moriarty’s original self appears weak, frightened, and disconnected from the actions of the other personalities. His reaction suggests that the personalities may have been protecting him, but his later transformation reveals the existence of an even more dangerous hidden identity.
  • A previously unknown personality or form, apparently tied to the protection of “William,” emerges as a monstrous Mutator-like being. After reverting, another calm personality uses Claude’s Spatial Jump, implying that Moriarty possesses an eighth personality or can access abilities belonging to the others.

Significant Themes

  • Identity and fragmentation: Moriarty’s personalities function as distinct individuals, raising questions about responsibility, innocence, and whether the original self should be blamed for their actions.
  • Power and sacrifice: Xiao He’s Time Stop is powerful but consumes his lifespan, while Spacetime Rift offers a potentially limitless advantage by removing time itself.
  • Information as power: Names are crucial because Ye Wanqing’s renaming ability can help control or suppress Moriarty’s personalities. The personalities therefore treat information as something to conceal or trade.
  • Hidden potential and escalation: Each personality possesses an increasingly dangerous ability, emphasizing that Moriarty’s true strength lies not in one power but in the combined threat of his fragmented identities.
  • Protection versus destruction: The monstrous personality claims it will not allow anyone to hurt “William,” suggesting that even Moriarty’s most violent forms may exist to protect the original self.

Character Interactions

  • Xiao He and Raphael cooperate against Moriarty, with Xiao He directing Raphael’s judgments while Raphael attempts to suppress the personalities.
  • Xiao He battles Javier in a tactical confrontation, countering localized time manipulation with movement, Time Stop, and careful observation.
  • Xiao He tries repeatedly to force Moriarty’s personalities to reveal their names, while Greed resists by demanding an exchange of information.
  • Raphael’s judgments interrupt Xiao He’s attempt to negotiate with or identify Greed, Lust, and Pride.
  • Xiao He confronts Moriarty’s original self and hesitates briefly over whether killing him is morally justified. His hesitation ends when the hidden monstrous form appears.
  • The chapter ends with the transformed Moriarty escaping through Spatial Jump, leaving Xiao He confused about how a personality that was not Claude could use Claude’s ability.

Ch. 289Shocking! Yinglong's Identity Exposed?

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

  • The chapter opens with the revelation that Moriarty can revert from a Mutator back into a human, shocking Raphael, while Xiao He learns that Claude possesses more than the seven personalities associated with the “Seven Deadly Sins.”
  • The international Mutant competition is about to begin. The contestants are highly motivated because their performances will affect their ratings, privileges, and future status—not merely prize money. Most competitors share the goal of defeating Yinglong and ending his undefeated legend.
  • Xiao He and Ye Wanqing finish their school arrangements and prepare for the competition in late February. The first day will be extremely demanding: Dragon Country must complete all five of its Group A matches, and Yinglong is scheduled to fight fifteen opponents.
  • Before the competition, Xiao He removes his mask in front of his teammates, revealing his face to most of them for the first time. Xie Haining warns everyone that anyone who betrays Yinglong will be hunted down.
  • On the morning of March 1, Cui Man explains that Xiao He should avoid instantly defeating opponents so the team can study their abilities. He is also told to withdraw if necessary, though he confidently dismisses the possibility of losing.
  • Xiao He enters the arena before a massive audience. His first opponent, Apasi of Y Country, manipulates water and attacks with “holy water.” However, Xiao’s nausea from overeating and stage fright causes him to vomit during the match. He accidentally defeats Apasi with a single blow, leaving the opponent buried in the ground.
  • Xiao remains in the arena for the second match against Indra, a lightning-speed Mutant. Indra injures his own hand attacking Xiao’s extremely high defense, prompting Xiao to ask Cui Man to lower the physical enhancement Yue Feng provides. Indra becomes too intimidated to continue and surrenders.
  • Y Country’s third fighter, Asura, enters with a determination to prove himself, particularly because he comes from a lower caste. He transforms into a three-headed, six-armed giant and charges Xiao. Unlike the previous opponents, Asura possesses roughly Level 4 strength and successfully drives Xiao backward, promising a more serious battle.

Character Developments

  • Xiao He/Yinglong: Despite being regarded as nearly invincible, Xiao is revealed to be socially awkward and prone to stage fright. His nervousness, overeating, and accidental vomiting make him appear comically human. He nevertheless remains confident, compassionate, and focused on gathering intelligence rather than simply winning.
  • Ye Wanqing: She continues acting as Xiao’s affectionate but strict partner, warning him not to get injured and teasing him about the consequences. Her support helps calm his anxiety before the match.
  • Xie Haining: He demonstrates strong loyalty to Xiao and takes responsibility for protecting his secret identity, threatening anyone who might betray him. He also organizes the team’s battle strategy.
  • Cui Man: She serves as a practical strategist and supervisor, explaining the competition schedule and reminding Xiao to study enemy abilities. She is amused and frustrated by his tendency to defeat opponents too quickly.
  • Apasi and Indra: Both are confident initially but are quickly overwhelmed. Apasi is defeated instantly, while Indra injures himself against Xiao’s defense and loses the will to fight.
  • Asura: He is introduced as more serious and determined than his teammates. His desire to prove himself because of his lower-caste background gives him a stronger emotional stake in the competition.

Significant Themes

  • Public image versus personal reality: Yinglong is presented as an international legend, but behind the mask he is nervous, hungry, embarrassed, and prone to mundane problems.
  • Competition as social advancement: The Mutants are fighting for ratings, rights, privileges, and recognition. Their matches represent their future status rather than simple entertainment.
  • Teamwork and trust: Dragon Country’s competitors coordinate abilities and support roles, while Xie Haining emphasizes the importance of loyalty and protecting Xiao’s identity.
  • Strength and restraint: Xiao’s overwhelming power creates a tactical problem: winning too quickly prevents the team from learning about foreign Mutants. The chapter explores the difficulty of balancing victory with information gathering.
  • Social inequality: Asura’s determination highlights the caste divisions within Y Country and shows that the competition is also a chance for marginalized Mutants to gain recognition.
  • Comedy amid high stakes: Xiao’s stage fright, vomiting, teasing relationship with Ye Wanqing, and the host’s desperate commentary contrast humorously with the enormous scale and seriousness of the tournament.

Character Interactions

  • Xiao and Ye Wanqing share affectionate teasing and emotional support, with Ye Wanqing helping him relax before the competition.
  • Xiao casually interacts with his teammates, offering to form a husband-and-wife team with Ye Wanqing and drawing enthusiastic support from Han Tianyu and Qin Weize.
  • Xie Haining privately warns the team that betraying Xiao will have fatal consequences, reinforcing the group’s loyalty.
  • Cui Man gives Xiao tactical instructions and communicates with him during the match to adjust his physical enhancement.
  • Xiao treats his opponents politely and even encourages Indra and Asura, contrasting with his overwhelming combat ability.
  • The commentators and audience repeatedly struggle to present Xiao’s effortless victories as exciting, especially after Apasi’s instant defeat and Indra’s surrender.

Ch. 290Deadly Counterattack

Chapter Summary: “Deadly Counterattack”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Xiao He defeats two Mutators, accidentally killing one before he can use him to get captured. He then learns that Candle Dragon/Xie Haining needs help.
  • In East Zhou City, Xiao He finds a ruined battlefield, destroyed Yinglong Robots, and Xie Haining’s severed arm. He initially believes Xie is dead.
  • Using Mechanical Modification, Xiao He reviews the robots’ recordings and discovers that Xie was attacked by former criminals Scorpio Scott and Danny Wu, who had become Mutators. Scott disabled the robots with Inorganic Matter Control, while Danny could summon weapons.
  • Xie’s apparently reckless final attack was deliberate. He used himself as bait, removed one of the robots’ eyes, and left the word “Bait” written in blood so Xiao could locate him.
  • Xiao confirms through the robot’s eye that Xie is alive and imprisoned in a remote cave in Wyoming, along with more than thirty captured Mutants and over fifty Mutator guards. Moriarty is temporarily absent.
  • The Special Response Department debates whether to wait for international reinforcements or attack immediately. They decide that rescuing the prisoners is more urgent than attempting to eliminate every enemy.
  • Cui Man secretly prepares information on captured Mutants, allowing Ye Wanqing to distribute Moriarty-related Cognition and give Xiao access to additional abilities through the “Lin Tiannan” identity.
  • Xiao chooses Zhang Ming, whose illusion ability can affect multiple senses, to accompany him. They infiltrate the cave, hide themselves, and begin silently killing the Mutators while freeing the imprisoned Mutants.
  • After two hours, Moriarty returns and discovers the entire base destroyed and the prisoners gone. He realizes that Yinglong is responsible and identifies Lecter as the likely cause of the guards’ failure to raise the alarm.
  • Xiao emerges from Scorpio Scott’s body and ambushes Lecter, severely damaging him. Anika regenerates Lecter’s body, after which Lecter attacks using light-based powers and his Abyss darkness domain.
  • Ye Wanqing changes Moriarty’s identity profile in time, granting Xiao an ability that lets him detect Lecter through sound and smell despite the darkness. Xiao defeats Lecter with a devastating punch.
  • Lecter’s personality attempts to revive through multiple hosts, but Xiao’s attack has left a lasting destructive effect that continues killing him. Anika also begins dying whenever she revives, forcing Moriarty to cycle through hosts and personalities.
  • Ultimately, Moriarty’s calm “Teacher” personality takes control and declares that he will personally deal with Yinglong.

Character Developments

  • Xiao He: Becomes more emotionally driven after believing Xie has died, but regains his composure and intelligently reconstructs the evidence. His anger over Xie’s injury motivates a bold rescue and counterattack. He also demonstrates growing trust in Ye Wanqing and confidence in his own strength.
  • Xie Haining/Candle Dragon: Shows his tactical intelligence by deliberately making himself bait and leaving clues for Xiao. Even while injured and imprisoned, he remains calm and gathers valuable intelligence.
  • Ye Wanqing: Provides crucial remote support by analyzing identities and changing Moriarty’s Cognition. Her intervention gives Xiao the sensory ability needed to defeat Lecter, strengthening their teamwork and emotional bond.
  • Zhang Ming: Initially nervous, he nevertheless accepts the mission and uses his illusion ability effectively, enabling the stealth massacre inside the cave.
  • Cui Man: Acts as a practical strategist, calming Xiao and arranging the identity-based support that makes the rescue possible.
  • Moriarty/Lecter/Anika: Moriarty’s unstable personalities become increasingly threatened. Lecter’s arrogance leads him into battle, Anika relies on regeneration and mockery, while the calm “Teacher” personality emerges as the most composed and dangerous response.

Significant Themes

  • Strategy over brute force: Xie’s “bait” plan, Xiao’s investigation, and the cave infiltration show that victory depends on deception, timing, and information as much as strength.
  • Trust and teamwork: Xiao’s success depends on coordination with Ye Wanqing, Cui Man, Zhang Ming, and the wider Special Response Department.
  • Sacrifice and loyalty: Xie risks himself to expose Moriarty’s base, while Xiao refuses to abandon him or the captured Mutants.
  • Identity and control: Moriarty’s shifting personalities and the manipulation of Cognition blur the boundaries between names, powers, and selves.
  • Revenge versus rescue: Xiao’s anger initially focuses on killing Moriarty, but the team repeatedly emphasizes that the immediate mission is to save the prisoners.
  • The danger of arrogance: Lecter’s pride and excessive talking give Xiao openings, while Xiao’s own confidence is balanced by his allies’ planning and support.

Important Character Interactions

  • Xiao and Ye Wanqing repeatedly reassure and support each other, with Ye providing the key countermeasure to Lecter.
  • Xiao and Xie communicate indirectly through the robot eye, with Xie comforting Xiao’s family despite being injured.
  • Xiao recruits Zhang Ming by combining encouragement with teasing, while Zhang jokingly asks for permission to pursue Xia Yu.
  • Cui Man and Ye secretly coordinate a plan to give Xiao additional abilities, showing their willingness to support him even if he becomes overwhelmed.
  • Lecter and Anika alternate control of Moriarty’s body, criticizing and relying on each other while reacting differently to Xiao’s attacks.
  • Xiao taunts Lecter’s arrogance during their battle, while Lecter responds with pride and threats, intensifying their personal conflict.

Ch. 291Have a Baby

Chapter Summary: “Have a Baby”

Plot Points and Events

  • Xiao He reveals that he had previously used Anika’s “Plague Inc.” Superpower to infect the entire world with a harmless virus programmed to target William Moriarty’s genes. If Moriarty reincarnated, the virus would immediately kill him.
  • Moriarty’s defeat severely weakens his organization. Six of his nine personalities have been identified, while the remaining personalities—Amanda, the Mutator, and “Teacher”—are considered manageable or less immediately threatening.
  • The Mutators are also greatly weakened after suffering heavy casualties and losing their base. Most remaining threats are scattered and manageable.
  • The rescued Mutants are prepared for repatriation or resettlement, though many fear returning home after their identities have been exposed.
  • Xie Haining, who lost his left arm during the operation, receives a powerful nanobot mechanical replacement from Xiao He. The arm includes weapons such as lasers, impact punches, tranquilizer darts, and a cannon.
  • Xie refuses retirement, promising to continue fighting until Xiao He retires. Xiao suggests he will retire when a successor to Yinglong appears.
  • Xiao He and Ye Wanqing settle into peaceful domestic life as the world gradually returns to normal. Former prisoners are transferred, information about Mutants is suppressed, and Sylvia and her Black bodyguard are returned to their country.
  • Xiao retains control of Sean Stanley, Raphael’s powerful child, giving the Three Sacred Overseers leverage and forcing them to stop interfering.
  • A month passes peacefully. Xiao continues performing minor heroic rescues, such as saving a cat, while Ye Wanqing begins working at the Special Response Department.
  • During a team gathering, Li Zhengliang and Li Xue announce that they are expecting a child and plan to retire. Li Zhengliang intends to pass on his Qilin Superpower to a suitable successor, though not Xie Haining because it would interfere with Xie’s existing abilities.
  • Eric, a powerful humanoid Mutator, has become a popular and conscientious peacekeeping envoy, but his foreign nationality prevents him from becoming the next Qilin.
  • Later, Ye Wanqing tells Xiao that she wants to have a child with him. They agree to remove her contraceptive implant, but Xiao insists that they should marry first.
  • Their affectionate conversation turns into playful romantic intimacy.
  • The chapter ends with a sudden return of danger: in Los Angeles, “Teacher” emerges and commands a Mutator to spread black smoke across the world, declaring that the world should fall into “Nightmare.”
  • Xiao wakes from what may have been a prophetic dream or psychic vision. Shortly afterward, Cui Man calls to warn him that Teacher has appeared and wants to meet him.

Character Developments

  • Xiao He: Becomes more relaxed after Moriarty’s apparent defeat, enjoying ordinary heroism and domestic life with Ye Wanqing. He begins seriously considering retirement, succession, marriage, and fatherhood.
  • Ye Wanqing: Gains greater independence by working at the Special Response Department. She becomes more openly affectionate and expresses her desire to marry Xiao and have a child.
  • Xie Haining: Adapts enthusiastically to his mechanical arm and remains committed to fighting despite his injury. His new weaponized arm makes him even more capable.
  • Li Zhengliang and Li Xue: Move from heroic public careers toward family life, announcing their pregnancy and plans to retire.
  • Eric: Establishes himself as a devoted and effective peacekeeper, gaining public popularity despite being a Mutator.
  • Moriarty/Teacher: Moriarty’s apparent defeat gives way to a more ominous development as the mysterious Teacher personality finally takes action.

Significant Themes

  • Peace after conflict: The chapter explores the unfamiliar comfort—and slight uncertainty—of a world no longer dominated by major villains.
  • Heroism in ordinary life: Xiao believes heroes remain valuable even without world-ending threats, demonstrated by his small rescues and willingness to help ordinary people.
  • Retirement and succession: Several characters confront the question of when to stop fighting and how their abilities and responsibilities will be passed on.
  • Family and maturity: Marriage, pregnancy, parenthood, and settling down contrast with the characters’ dangerous lives as heroes.
  • The persistence of evil: Even after Moriarty’s apparent destruction and the weakening of the Mutators, the emergence of Teacher suggests that peace may only have been temporary.

Character Interactions

  • Xiao gives Xie Haining his mechanical arm and discusses their future retirement and succession.
  • Xiao and Ye Wanqing share affectionate domestic moments and discuss marriage and having a baby.
  • The Special Response Department team jokes and relaxes together while sharing ice cream at work.
  • Li Zhengliang and Li Xue receive congratulations from the group after announcing their pregnancy.
  • The team debates who should inherit the Qilin Superpower, with Eric considered but ultimately rejected because he is foreign.
  • Cui Man’s urgent phone call at the end abruptly reconnects Xiao to the returning crisis surrounding Teacher.

Ch. 292Global Nightmare

Chapter Summary: “Global Nightmare”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Xiao He receives a cryptic message from Cui Man saying that William Moriarty—believed to be dead—is still alive.
  • Moriarty appears on screens around the world as the “Teacher,” then manifests before Xiao He. The deserted city and the Teacher’s strange behavior make Xiao He suspect something is wrong.
  • Xiao He discovers that the peaceful life he is experiencing—with Ye Wanqing, their daughter Xiao Yun, and their friends—is actually a dream. The dream is an idealized future designed to make him complacent.
  • Using his Dream Controller, Xiao He escapes the dream and wakes in reality. He realizes that Nightmare, a Mutator apparently acting under Moriarty’s influence, has trapped sleeping people in nightmares.
  • Xiao He enters the dreams of Ye Wanqing, Cui Man, Xie Haining, and Xia Yu, helping each confront or recognize their fears so they can awaken. Their nightmares expose personal anxieties involving abandonment, death, guilt, helplessness, and family oppression.
  • Yue Feng’s dream is suspiciously peaceful, unlike the others, suggesting that Nightmare’s plan may contain hidden complications.
  • The group learns that the nightmare is spreading worldwide. People who fall asleep remain trapped, and many are transforming into Mutators after having their desires magnified.
  • Xiao He traces a web-like connection through the dream world to Nightmare’s location and finds Moriarty, Nightmare, and another eye-covered Mutator.
  • Xiao immediately kills Nightmare by crushing his head, but Moriarty reveals that Nightmare’s role is already complete: the dream network remains active even after his death.
  • Moriarty explains that victims can escape in only two ways: by becoming Mutators or by overcoming their deepest fears.
  • He claims Mutators are people whose desires have overwhelmed their morality, causing their bodies to reflect their corrupted souls. Mutants, by contrast, retain a human appearance because they possess both powerful desires and an unbreakable moral boundary.
  • Moriarty argues that humanity is fundamentally monstrous and that he merely brings hidden evil to the surface. Xiao rejects this, insisting that people are shaped by trauma, influence, and circumstance.
  • The chapter ends as Xiao and Ye Wanqing prepare a countermeasure. Xiao confronts Moriarty directly, but Moriarty begins revealing the nature of his own Superpower.

Character Developments

  • Xiao He: Becomes more perceptive and decisive, recognizing the dream’s inconsistencies and using the Dream Controller to escape. He demonstrates strong emotional loyalty by entering his friends’ nightmares and rescuing them. His argument with Moriarty also reveals his belief that people can change and should not be defined solely by their darkest impulses.
  • Ye Wanqing: Shows deep emotional dependence on Xiao He through her nightmare of abandonment, but quickly regains her composure once he reassures her. She becomes an active participant in the plan to counter Moriarty rather than remaining only a victim.
  • Cui Man: Her nightmare centers on guilt over the deaths of her companions, revealing her fear of responsibility and loss. Xiao He’s intervention restores her confidence.
  • Xie Haining: Is shown trapped in a nightmare where his family considers him a burden. His anger and determination to awaken demonstrate his strong will.
  • Xia Yu: Relives childhood abuse and exploitation by her parents and brother. Xiao He protects her in the dream, reinforcing their close bond and his protective attitude toward her.
  • Moriarty/“The Teacher”: Clarifies his ideology and motivation. He believes William’s suffering created their multiple personalities and that transforming the world is justified if it gives William a place where he will not be alone. His emotional reaction when Xiao He calls William a monster exposes the Teacher’s attachment to and protectiveness of William.
  • Nightmare: Serves as the mechanism for spreading the global dream and inducing mutations, but is ultimately disposable once the plan has been established.

Significant Themes

  • Reality versus illusion: The ideal life Xiao He experiences is revealed to be a manufactured dream, emphasizing how comforting illusions can conceal danger.
  • Desire and morality: The chapter explores whether people are defined by their desires or by the limits they refuse to cross.
  • Nature versus nurture: Moriarty claims Mutators reveal people’s true monstrous nature, while Xiao He argues that suffering and manipulation can corrupt otherwise redeemable individuals.
  • Fear and self-confrontation: Awakening requires people to recognize and overcome their deepest fears rather than simply destroying the dream.
  • Love, loyalty, and companionship: Xiao He’s determination to rescue Ye Wanqing and their allies contrasts with Moriarty’s destructive attempt to eliminate loneliness by remaking the entire world.
  • The meaning of humanity: The distinction between Mutants and Mutators is presented as the possession of a moral bottom line despite overwhelming desire.

Important Character Interactions

  • Xiao He and the Teacher engage in a philosophical confrontation over whether people are inherently evil or shaped by their experiences.
  • Xiao He comforts Ye Wanqing in her nightmare and helps her reject the false scenario of betrayal.
  • He reassures Cui Man after she believes she caused everyone’s deaths.
  • He urges Xie Haining to resist the false image of helplessness and reminds him that his family is still alive.
  • Xiao He protects Xia Yu from her abusive family within the dream, strengthening their affectionate “Brother Xiao” relationship.
  • Ye Wanqing and Xiao He coordinate their attack against Moriarty through their earpieces, showing them functioning as partners in battle.
  • The chapter concludes with Moriarty and Xiao He preparing for a decisive confrontation centered on the true nature of Moriarty’s Superpower.

Ch. 293Dominance

Chapter Summary: “Dominance”

  • After the teacher announces his Superpower, Xiao He feels uneasy because he did not consciously activate any ability. Ye Wanqing notices through the earpiece that the teacher’s name has returned to normal, suggesting that his power, “Dominance,” may have affected the situation or interfered with their perceptions.
  • The match against the European Team continues. Nash was only the team’s second fighter, leaving one final contestant. Although Xiao He suffered several attacks and internal injuries from Nash’s implanted explosion, his Kinetic Energy Absorption reduced the damage enough for him to continue fighting.
  • The European Team sends out Ford, an unimpressive-looking, timid, slightly chubby man. Despite his harmless appearance and extremely low attack rating, his defense rating is unusually high. Xiao He suspects the team has deliberately saved Ford because of a powerful hidden ability.
  • Ford is terrified of Xiao He and barely shows any willingness to fight. Xiao He tries to end the match harmlessly with a finger flick, but the impact rebounds painfully, as though he had struck solid iron.
  • Xiao He escalates to a full-force punch, yet Ford remains completely unharmed. The force seems to be absorbed or redirected, while Xiao He injures his own hand. This leads him to speculate that Ford’s ability may resemble Perfect Cube, but at a higher level—perhaps reflecting or nullifying impacts rather than merely canceling them.
  • Xiao He attempts to bypass Ford’s external defenses by driving force directly into his body. The energy disappears without effect. When he uses a much stronger impact wave, strange whistle-like tubes emerge from Ford’s back and release powerful blasts, creating a sandstorm and frightening the spectators.
  • Frustrated, Xiao He uses Psychokinesis to crush Ford. Ford’s body appears to flatten into a sheet, horrifying the audience, though the chapter ends before the result of the attack is clarified.

Character Developments and Interactions

  • Xiao He remains confident and analytical but becomes increasingly frustrated as Ford’s unusual defense renders his attacks useless. He also shows restraint at first, trying to defeat Ford without seriously injuring him.
  • Ford is presented as cowardly, apologetic, and apparently incapable of fighting normally, yet his hidden defensive ability makes him a major threat and a surprising obstacle.
  • Ye Wanqing acts as Xiao He’s observer and support, identifying irregularities in the teacher’s power and the changing status of his name.
  • The teacher becomes more mysterious after revealing that his ability is “Dominance,” implying that he may control or alter others in ways Xiao He does not yet understand.
  • The interaction between Xiao He and Ford contrasts direct aggression with passive defense: Xiao He repeatedly increases his force, while Ford survives without actively retaliating.

Significant Themes

  • Appearances versus true strength: Ford looks weak and harmless, but his ability makes him extraordinarily difficult to defeat.
  • Limits of brute force: Xiao He’s overwhelming physical power is ineffective against an ability that absorbs, redirects, or nullifies impact.
  • Uncertainty and hidden abilities: Both the teacher’s “Dominance” and Ford’s defensive power remain only partially understood, increasing the tension around the match.
  • Restraint versus escalation: Xiao He initially seeks a painless victory but gradually resorts to increasingly destructive methods as Ford’s defenses frustrate him.

Ch. 294The Hardest Battle

Chapter Summary: “The Hardest Battle”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Yinglong returns to Xiao He by merging back into him rather than attacking “Teacher.” The fusion restores a large amount of Xiao He’s stamina, revealing that creating a Clone had consumed roughly half his energy.
  • Xiao He prepares to fight “Teacher” again, confident that the opponent’s repeated resurrection may eventually have a limit.
  • The chapter explains the weakness of Xiao He’s combined Mechanical Modification and Vector Control abilities: overwhelming him with useless data can slow his calculations and shorten his Accelerator state. During the 3v3 match, outside factors and the presence of spectators limit Accelerator to about three minutes.
  • Despite this limitation, Xiao He is pleased because he has Usurped the powers of three opponents, bringing him closer to reaching Level 3 or 4 and potentially giving him a powerful physique even without a Trigger.
  • Back in the lounge, Ye Wanqing and Cui Man congratulate Xiao He. Cui Man decides that Xiao He should rest after his exhausting battle.
  • Cui Man sends Li Zhengliang, Yue Feng, and Zhang Ming into the next match. Yue Feng is enthusiastic, Li Zhengliang determined, and Zhang Ming confident that his illusions will work well against the enemy.
  • Xiao He remains to watch the match while recovering. Ye Wanqing worries about his overheating body, and Xiao He jokingly explains that his “processor” needs cooling.
  • Xiao and Ye Wanqing share a playful, affectionate moment over ice cream, embarrassing Ye Wanqing but making her secretly happy. Cui Man teases them for displaying their affection.
  • The next Dragon Country team is announced as Thousand Magnet, Lone King, and Spore Man. Lone King and Spore Man have not appeared previously and seem to be the U.S. team’s hidden trump cards.
  • Xiao He becomes concerned because the United States appears to have many strong Mutants. He believes Dragon Country’s team should rely on coordinated teamwork, but Yue Feng seems unlikely to follow that strategy.

Character Development

  • Xiao He: Demonstrates growing confidence in his strength and future advancement. He recognizes both the limitations and tactical possibilities of his powers. Although exhausted, he remains supportive of his teammates and playful with Ye Wanqing.
  • Ye Wanqing: Shows increasing concern and affection toward Xiao He. Her embarrassment over their intimate interaction contrasts with her private happiness at being close to him.
  • Cui Man: Acts as a practical leader, evaluating Xiao He’s condition and making strategic substitutions to preserve the team’s strength.
  • Li Zhengliang: Displays a serious, determined attitude as he takes responsibility for the next match.
  • Yue Feng: Remains energetic and impulsive, hinting that his enthusiasm may interfere with the team’s intended strategy.
  • Zhang Ming: Is confident in the usefulness of his illusions and believes the opposing fighters will be especially vulnerable to them.

Significant Themes

  • Strategy versus raw power: Xiao He’s abilities are formidable but vulnerable to data overload, while the next team must rely on coordinated tactics rather than individual strength.
  • The cost of power: Xiao He’s Clone consumes enormous stamina, and his Accelerator ability is limited by processing capacity and external interference.
  • Growth and ambition: Xiao He is motivated by the powers he has Usurped and hopes to reach a higher level after the tournament.
  • Teamwork and trust: The chapter emphasizes the need for Li Zhengliang, Yue Feng, and Zhang Ming to combine their abilities effectively.
  • Affection amid competition: The lighthearted interaction between Xiao He and Ye Wanqing provides emotional relief and shows their growing closeness.

Character Interactions

  • Xiao He confronts “Teacher” after Yinglong reunites with him, taunting the opponent over the possibility of repeated resurrection.
  • Cui Man and Ye Wanqing greet and praise Xiao He after his match, though Cui Man focuses more on evaluating his performance.
  • Cui Man assigns the next battle to Li Zhengliang, Yue Feng, and Zhang Ming.
  • Ye Wanqing worries about Xiao He’s physical condition, while he reassures and teases her affectionately.
  • Xiao He feeds Ye Wanqing ice cream, creating a shy, romantic moment observed and teased by Cui Man.
  • Xiao He analyzes the new U.S. opponents and questions whether his teammates will cooperate effectively against their apparent trump cards.

Ch. 295Lin Tiannan "001"

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

  • Xiao He is tested by Cui Man with questions devised by his wife, Ye Wanqing, as part of the traditional bride-pickup ceremony.
  • He correctly recalls when he and Wanqing first met—September 5—and when they began dating—December 3. However, he incorrectly claims that her favorite food is the noodles he makes; Cui Man reveals that Wanqing actually prefers his pan-fried dumplings.
  • After the playful interrogation, the group opens the bride’s door. Xiao He sees Ye Wanqing in her wedding dress and openly admires her.
  • Xiao He kneels before Wanqing, affectionately calls her “Little Pufferfish,” helps her put on her shoes, and carries her out of the room.
  • The couple shares a flirtatious, affectionate exchange in the elevator, including a brief kiss, before continuing to the wedding venue.
  • They visit both sets of parents to serve tea, then arrive at the hotel, where the wedding reception is being managed by members of the Special Response Department.
  • Several notable guests arrive, including Sebastian and the reluctant Shier Nash. The chapter ends as Xiao He cheerfully greets Shier in French.

Character developments

  • Xiao He is shown as playful, boastful, and openly affectionate. He enjoys showing off Wanqing and is confident in his knowledge of her, though his mistake about her favorite food reveals that he does not know her quite as well as he thinks.
  • Ye Wanqing appears happy, playful, and deeply comfortable with Xiao He. Her teasing comments and affectionate responses show their intimacy and mutual trust.
  • Cui Man acts as the mischievous organizer of the bridal games, teasing Xiao He while enforcing the ceremony’s rules.
  • Sebastian congratulates Xiao He and jokes about his youth, while also mentioning his own relationship with Kyokushin Karate.
  • Shier Nash maintains his gruff, reluctant persona but attends the wedding despite complaining about their relationship being insufficiently close.

Significant themes

  • Love and marital commitment: Xiao He and Wanqing’s affection is presented as sincere, playful, and already firmly established.
  • Public celebration of private intimacy: Their relationship is celebrated through wedding traditions, teasing from friends, and Xiao He’s unabashed admiration.
  • Humor and camaraderie: The ceremony uses jokes, embarrassment, and group participation to strengthen bonds among the characters.
  • Transition into married life: The bride-pickup ritual, tea ceremonies, and arrival at the hotel mark the couple’s formal transition from dating to marriage.

Character interactions

  • Cui Man and the gathered friends tease Xiao He through the bridal questions, exposing his overconfidence.
  • Xiao He proudly presents Wanqing to Zhang Ming and the others, earning mock irritation from Zhang Ming.
  • Xiao He and Wanqing exchange affectionate jokes, embrace, and kiss, emphasizing their romantic closeness.
  • Xiao He greets Sebastian warmly, though he cannot resist boasting about his wife.
  • His enthusiastic greeting of the reluctant Shier Nash reinforces Xiao He’s friendly, energetic personality.

Ch. 296The Enemy Was "Earth"?

Chapter Summary: “The Enemy Was ‘Earth’?”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • One month after their wedding, Xiao He and Ye Wanqing have finished their honeymoon. Although he briefly enjoys doing nothing, his duties as Yinglong soon resume.
  • With the disappearance of “Teacher” and the Mutators largely subdued, serious threats have diminished. The Yinglong Robots can handle most remaining incidents, allowing Xiao He to focus on personal matters.
  • Xiao He accompanies Xia Yu to her remote hometown to visit her parents and younger brother. Before leaving, he drops Ye Wanqing off at the Special Response Department, where she is beginning work.
  • Using his Dimensional Walker ability, Xiao He transports himself and Xia Yu directly to her isolated village.
  • Xia Yu’s family initially appears rude and exploitative. Her mother immediately asks how much money Xia Yu has saved, her father complains that she brought no gifts, and both parents expect her to continue financially supporting them.
  • Xia Yu’s younger brother recognizes Xiao He as Yinglong. Her mother then eagerly suggests that Xiao He marry Xia Yu because he is famous and presumably wealthy, despite knowing he is already married.
  • To prevent Xia Yu from hearing the confrontation, Xiao He sends her to fetch water. He then uses a Superpower to influence her parents, ordering them to stop exploiting Xia Yu and to rely on their son instead.
  • Xiao He also sternly lectures Xia Yu’s younger brother, telling him to become self-sufficient, stop depending on his sister, improve his health, and protect her in return.

Character Developments

  • Xiao He: Demonstrates a gentler, more domestic side through his affectionate farewell with Ye Wanqing, but also shows his protective and forceful nature when he sees Xia Yu being abused by her family. He uses his power not for combat, but to correct an exploitative family dynamic.
  • Ye Wanqing: Begins her new work at the Special Response Department and remains affectionate and supportive toward Xiao He, emphasizing their comfortable married relationship.
  • Xia Yu: Appears embarrassed and anxious about introducing Xiao He to her family, suggesting she is accustomed to their demands and ashamed of their behavior. She remains considerate of Xiao He and tries to prevent him from being inconvenienced.
  • Xia Yu’s Parents: Are portrayed as selfish and financially dependent on their daughter. Their apparent concern for the family is actually centered on money and their son.
  • Xia Yu’s Younger Brother: Is lazy, overweight, entitled, and dependent on Xia Yu, but Xiao He challenges him to assume responsibility and become independent.

Significant Themes

  • Family exploitation and responsibility: The chapter criticizes parents and relatives who treat one family member as a source of money rather than as a loved one.
  • Protection and justice: Xiao He uses his extraordinary power to protect Xia Yu from people who should have supported her.
  • The contrast between public heroism and private life: Although Xiao He is a world-saving figure, the chapter focuses on ordinary issues such as marriage, visiting relatives, and family obligations.
  • Power used in everyday situations: His supernatural abilities are presented humorously as tools for handling domestic and social problems rather than only global threats.
  • Independence and reciprocal care: Xiao He insists that Xia Yu’s family members must support themselves and that her brother should protect her instead of exploiting her.

Character Interactions

  • Xiao He and Ye Wanqing share a playful, affectionate exchange before he leaves, reinforcing their newlywed bond.
  • Xiao He and Xia Yu interact with mutual trust and familiarity; she is nervous about her family, while he reassures her and chooses to accompany her inside.
  • Xiao He confronts Xia Yu’s parents politely at first, then covertly compels them to change their behavior.
  • His interaction with Xia Yu’s brother is more openly scolding, combining insults, humor, and genuine concern for Xia Yu’s welfare.

Ch. 297Chaos "chaos"

Chapter Summary: “Chaos”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Investigations confirm Xiao He’s theory that Titan Creature attacks are linked to environmental destruction: polluted regions, deforested areas, mining zones, and damaged ecosystems suffer the worst attacks. Governments suppress this truth, claiming the monsters are merely Mutants with uncontrolled powers.
  • The truth becomes undeniable when the enormous Abyssal Crocodile attacks F Island in R Country, destroying nearly half the city and hurling a nuclear plant and nuclear waste inland. Its size is comparable to an island, and the disaster causes massive casualties and economic damage.
  • The Special Response Department learns that Titan Pythons inhabit forests according to their size, while Titan Sandworms are concentrated around mining areas. Countries begin halting heavy industry, causing severe economic losses but producing a rapid improvement in the environment.
  • The United Nations asks Yinglong—meaning Xiao He—to eliminate the Abyssal Crocodile. Xiao He initially hesitates because the creature attacked R Country and appears to be punishing environmental abuse, but he agrees after learning that it is near his country and is causing fear and seafood price speculation.
  • Ye Wanqing changes the monster’s name so Xiao He can use it as an Imaginary Enemy. This grants him aquatic adaptations, including gills and enhanced underwater vision. Xiao He and Xia Yu descend into the Mariana Trench, where they confront the creature.
  • Xiao He uses powerful water currents and whirlpools, while Xia Yu employs her Mantis Shrimp enhancement and high-temperature cavitation attacks. They are swallowed by the monster but escape by severing its head and blasting through its body.
  • The Abyssal Crocodile’s corpse turns into black smoke and disappears. Xiao He suspects that someone may have copied or stolen a Superpower similar to Sean Stanley’s ability to create imaginary creatures.
  • The next day, the Abyssal Crocodile reappears on the coast of M Country, and previously defeated Titan Pythons and Sandworms also regenerate. Humanity realizes that the creatures are not ordinary monsters but manifestations of Earth’s defensive will. They attack only severely polluted or exploited regions.
  • Meanwhile, Han Xin travels through Wyoming and encounters surviving Mutator remnants connected to Moriarty. He easily defeats Medusa, Sate, Julius, and Tamura Toshio, demonstrating abilities resembling Yinglong’s powers.
  • Han Xin forces the remaining Mutators to kneel before him, feeding on their fear and absorbing their power. He adopts the name “Chaos” and declares that they must spread his name and fear.

Character Developments

  • Xiao He becomes more capable and adaptable, using aquatic physiology, sonar, and water manipulation to fight a creature vastly larger than himself. He remains conflicted about destroying beings that may represent nature’s retaliation against humanity.
  • Xia Yu proves herself a valuable partner in underwater combat. Her Mantis Shrimp enhancement allows her to fire devastating high-temperature attacks, though she acknowledges that Xiao He’s control over water was essential to defeating the Abyssal Crocodile.
  • Ye Wanqing continues supporting Xiao He through her naming ability. Her concern about the danger of turning the Abyssal Crocodile into Xiao He’s Imaginary Enemy highlights their emotional closeness.
  • Cui Man acts as a practical coordinator, explaining the international crisis and the political and economic consequences of the Titan Creatures’ attacks.
  • Han Xin emerges as a major antagonist. He is arrogant, violent, and obsessed with superiority, especially in comparison with Yinglong. Unlike Yinglong, whom he considers dependent on borrowed powers, Han Xin claims to possess equivalent abilities naturally.
  • The Mutator remnants shift from arrogance to terror and submission after witnessing Han Xin’s overwhelming strength. Their fear becomes the foundation of his new power and authority.

Significant Themes

  • Environmental retaliation: The Titan Creatures represent Earth’s response to pollution, deforestation, mining, and ocean dumping. The chapter reframes the attacks from random monster incidents into a planetary defense mechanism.
  • Truth versus propaganda: Governments attempt to conceal the environmental cause of the disasters, but repeated attacks and regeneration make the truth impossible to suppress.
  • Human exploitation: Even during a crisis, opportunists manipulate seafood prices for profit, showing how greed worsens the consequences of disaster.
  • Limits of power: Xiao He can defeat an individual manifestation but cannot truly defeat the ocean, Earth, or nature itself. Humanity’s survival depends on changing its behavior rather than simply destroying its enemies.
  • Fear as power: Han Xin deliberately cultivates terror, using fear to dominate the Mutators and establish his identity as Chaos.
  • Nature and humanity’s relationship: The chapter suggests that humanity is not fighting isolated monsters but confronting the consequences of its own environmental destruction.

Character Interactions

  • Cui Man and Xiao He discuss the United Nations’ request and the difficulty of defeating the Abyssal Crocodile. Their conversation also reveals Xiao He’s sympathy toward the creature’s apparent environmental purpose.
  • Ye Wanqing worries that changing the monster’s name could cause Xiao He to lose control, while Xiao He trusts her ability and relies on her support.
  • Xia Yu volunteers to accompany Xiao He underwater, and the two coordinate through gestures during their descent and battle.
  • After returning, Cui Man and Ye Wanqing care for the exhausted pair, while Wu Changchun asks about obtaining a corpse sample.
  • Han Xin humiliates and kills the surviving Mutators, mocking their weakness and their former allegiance to Moriarty. Julius initially challenges him but becomes terrified after Han Xin reveals abilities comparable to Yinglong’s.
  • The remaining Mutators ultimately kneel to Han Xin, accepting him as their new leader: Chaos.

Ch. 298Becoming a Dad!

Chapter Summary — Becoming a Dad!

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Xiao He and Cui Man attempt to solve the worldwide Titan Creature crisis by using Sean Stanley’s reality-manipulating Superpower. Xiao hypnotizes Sean into believing that Titan Creatures are less aggressive and will only attack countries that seriously neglect environmental protection.
  • The plan succeeds: Titan Creature attacks decrease dramatically, while governments establish Miracle Fruit farms and Plastic Decomposition factories to meet environmental requirements. Humanity begins coexisting with the creatures, and the mastermind behind their creation is temporarily forgotten.
  • The mastermind, Han Xin, is revealed to be in London. He admits that the creatures have already generated enough fear for him and attacks a church to confront Father Raphael and Andre.
  • Han Xin easily defeats Andre, even killing him before Raphael resurrects him. Raphael explains that his faith allows him to revive himself and his believers, but Han Xin repeatedly kills him until deciding that spreading fear is more important than finishing him.
  • Han Xin absorbs the fear generated by the incident and hints that he may accelerate a larger plan.
  • At the Special Response Department, Ripper Rick conducts Xiao He’s monthly blood draw while repeatedly attempting to attack or dissect him. Xiao uses Mechanical Modification to prevent Rick’s surgical ability from working.
  • Cui Man reveals that wealthy businessman Edward Keton, whose past dealings were connected to Raven, is attempting to gain favor with the Special Response Department because of his daughter’s ALS. Xiao agrees to protect him during an upcoming visit after learning that Keton will donate the income from a new hotel to charity.
  • Rick detects that Ye Wanqing may be pregnant. After discussion—and Rick’s promise to perform a painless, scar-free procedure if necessary—Xiao and Ye agree to let him participate in the childbirth if needed.
  • A pregnancy test confirms that Ye Wanqing is pregnant. Xiao and Ye excitedly share the news with the Special Response Department and their families.
  • Xie Haining, while arresting a drunk driver in East Zhou City, receives the news and enthusiastically celebrates becoming a godfather.
  • The chapter ends with Xiao and Ye discussing their hopes and anxieties about parenthood before jokingly planning a romantic celebration.

Character Developments

  • Xiao He demonstrates practical leadership by finding a temporary solution to the Titan Creature crisis, even though the method is risky and theoretically uncertain. He also shows his softer, more anxious side when confronted with the responsibility of becoming a father.
  • Ye Wanqing becomes pregnant and reacts with happiness and optimism. Though she admits to being afraid, she reassures Xiao that he will be a good father and eagerly embraces their future family.
  • Han Xin is established as the true mastermind behind the Titan Creature incident. He is confident, cruel, and primarily interested in harvesting fear rather than simply causing physical destruction.
  • Father Raphael is shown to possess extraordinary resurrection abilities tied to faith, but he is helpless against Han Xin’s overwhelming strength.
  • Ripper Rick remains dangerous, eccentric, and obsessed with Xiao He’s body and the Miracle Factor. Despite his disturbing behavior, his surgical Superpower is valuable enough that Xiao tolerates him.
  • Cui Man acts as a practical adviser and friend, helping Xiao navigate both international affairs and his personal life.
  • Xie Haining displays a strong sense of justice by arresting a drunk driver and reacts with comic enthusiasm to the news of the pregnancy.

Significant Themes

  • Humanity adapting to danger: Instead of eliminating the Titan Creatures, humanity learns to coexist with them by changing environmental practices.
  • The unintended influence of technology and Superpowers: Xiao’s inventions and abilities reshape global policy, economics, healthcare, and public safety.
  • Fear as a source of power: Han Xin’s actions reveal that terror itself is something he can harvest, making psychological impact more important than simple destruction.
  • Family and responsibility: Xiao and Ye’s pregnancy marks a major transition from adventurous Superpowered agents to future parents.
  • The tension between ethics and necessity: The characters tolerate Rick’s disturbing behavior and rely on his abilities because they may save lives, despite the risks.
  • Hope amid chaos: Even while global threats remain, the characters find happiness, companionship, and the possibility of an ordinary family life.

Important Character Interactions

  • Xiao, Cui Man, and Ye Wanqing cooperate on the Titan Creature solution, balancing uncertainty with the urgent need to save lives.
  • Han Xin taunts Andre and battles him and Raphael, exposing the vast difference between his power and theirs.
  • Xiao and Ripper Rick maintain a hostile but mutually dependent relationship: Rick repeatedly threatens Xiao, while Xiao relies on Rick’s medical abilities.
  • Cui Man teases Ye about possibly being pregnant, prompting the pregnancy test and beginning the chapter’s family-centered turn.
  • Ye persuades Xiao to trust Rick regarding childbirth, while Rick tries to justify his involvement through medical research.
  • Xiao and Ye openly discuss their fears, dreams, and expectations about becoming parents, ending the chapter on a warm and playful note.

Ch. 299Offerings to the Evil God

Chapter Summary: “Offerings to the Evil God”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Xiao He and Ye Wanqing’s parents visit after learning that Ye Wanqing is pregnant. They congratulate the couple and offer advice, though Ye Wanqing still shows no visible signs of pregnancy.
  • Dragon Country begins its tournament matches against the O Continent United Team:
    • Xiao He faces Butcher, whose Psychokinesis manifests as invisible butcher knives and cutting attacks.
    • Xiao discovers the ability’s weakness: Psychokinesis struggles to track fast, unpredictable targets. Using Wave-Treading Steps, he evades Butcher’s attacks and defeats him with a Brazilian kick.
    • Xie Haining battles Heavy Artillery, a powerful boxer with indestructible fists. By applying the principles of Tai Chi, Xie redirects and combines Heavy Artillery’s own strength and momentum, eventually driving him into the ground.
    • Li Zhengliang fights Dragon Hawk, whose tattoos summon animal manifestations that grant him different abilities. Li uses qinggong, martial arts techniques, sword-like energy attacks, and various animal-based styles to defeat him.
  • Dragon Country wins the round and continues using later matches to train its newer members. Xiao He chooses not to fight unnecessarily, intending to save his Usurpation ability for stronger opponents in the semifinals and finals.
  • Dragon Country finishes the day with four wins and one loss, remaining first in Group B.
  • In another match, Li Zhengliang carries much of the team after Qin Weize and Li Xue are injured. He uses internal energy to treat Qin Weize’s internal injuries and help Li Xue as well.
  • Dragon Country’s next major opponent is M Country. Cui Man sends out Xiao He, Han Tianyu, and An Xiuru as their strongest opening lineup, intending to use a “three protect one” strategy.
  • M Country fields Ball Thrower, Taro, and Blastproof Man. Taro immediately draws a reversed High Priestess tarot card, causing Han Tianyu to lose his sight and disrupting his support abilities.
  • Xiao He uses Purification to remove Han Tianyu’s blindness, but the process also erases Han Tianyu’s self-applied enhancements and An Xiuru’s hardening effect.
  • Realizing Taro’s guaranteed-hit ability could neutralize the team’s support, Xiao He rushes toward her. Blastproof Man blocks him with a crystal shield formed over his arm, setting up the next confrontation.

Character Developments

  • Xiao He: Gains the Wave-Treading Steps ability, giving him the mobility he previously lacked. He also increases his permanent Physique to LV2 through Usurpation, but becomes more strategic about when to use it, recognizing that weaker opponents provide little lasting power.
  • Ye Wanqing and Xiao He: Their relationship moves into a new stage as they prepare for parenthood, with both families becoming involved.
  • Xie Haining: Demonstrates exceptional mastery of Tai Chi, showing that his strength lies not in raw power but in redirection, timing, balance, and exploiting an opponent’s force.
  • Li Zhengliang: Establishes himself as one of Dragon Country’s most versatile and reliable fighters. He combines traditional martial arts, qinggong, inner energy, healing techniques, and ranged attacks, and proves capable of carrying an injured team.
  • Han Tianyu: Shows enthusiasm about finally supporting Xiao He, but his abilities are vulnerable to Taro’s interference.
  • Li Xue: Continues her flirtatious, teasing personality, playfully provoking Li Zhengliang while being treated for her injuries.
  • Cui Man: Takes a cautious, tactical approach, reserving powerful lineups for important matches and using weaker matches as training opportunities.

Significant Themes

  • Traditional martial arts versus superpowers: The chapter repeatedly presents Chinese martial arts as capable of overcoming seemingly overwhelming supernatural abilities through technique, timing, and understanding of force.
  • Strategy over brute strength: Xiao He defeats Butcher by exploiting Psychokinesis’ tracking weakness, while Xie Haining defeats Heavy Artillery by redirecting his own power.
  • Growth through combat: Xiao He’s Usurpation reflects his desire to accumulate permanent strength, but the chapter emphasizes that not every opponent is worth fighting.
  • Teamwork and support: Dragon Country’s victories depend not only on individual skill but also on healing, enhancement, protection, and carefully chosen team formations.
  • Family and new responsibilities: Ye Wanqing’s pregnancy introduces a personal dimension to the increasingly dangerous tournament, contrasting domestic happiness with violent competition.
  • Entertainment and national pride: The commentator and audience celebrate Dragon Country’s spectacular techniques, reinforcing the tournament’s role as both international competition and public spectacle.

Important Character Interactions

  • Xiao He and Butcher engage in a battle of speed and psychological frustration, with Xiao exploiting Butcher’s growing panic.
  • Xie Haining repeatedly humiliates Heavy Artillery by calmly neutralizing his punches and using his own strength against him.
  • Li Zhengliang and Dragon Hawk battle through rapidly changing martial arts and animal manifestations, creating one of the match’s most visually impressive fights.
  • Li Zhengliang treats Qin Weize and Li Xue after their injuries. Li Xue flirts with him, while he responds with visible embarrassment.
  • Cui Man organizes the next lineup and explains the protective strategy around Xiao He.
  • Taro targets Han Tianyu first, recognizing that disabling the team’s support abilities can cripple the entire formation. Xiao He responds immediately, forcing a direct clash with Blastproof Man.

Ch. 300Order and Chaos

Chapter Summary: “Order and Chaos”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Xiao He learns the origin of Han Xin’s threat and recognizes why the Special Response Department chose to monitor rather than eliminate him. Han Xin had committed no clear crimes, but his power grows by harvesting fear, making him increasingly dangerous once he gains an initial group of terrified followers.
  • Han Xin’s ability appears difficult to develop independently because, when inactive, he is physically no different from an ordinary person. This raises the question of who helped him obtain his first source of fear.
  • Xiao He and Cui Man suspect either a traitor within the Special Response Department or outside assistance. They plan to use Truth Listener to investigate internal betrayal.
  • Xiao He travels through the Dimensional Walker to confront Han Xin’s Clone in his apartment. Han Xin admits that he has deliberately remained quiet under surveillance for a year and has only recently chosen to act.
  • Han Xin argues that both he and the Special Response Department impose their own rules through superior power. He questions why Xiao He was “chosen” while he was not.
  • Xiao He rejects Han Xin’s ideological justifications, claiming that Han Xin simply acts because he wants to. Han Xin responds by defending “Chaos,” survival of the fittest, and the strong devouring the weak, contrasting them with Xiao He’s belief in imposed Order.
  • Han Xin refuses to reveal his real body or fight immediately. His Clone dissolves into pixel-like fragments, and he promises that their eventual battle will determine whether Order or Chaos is correct.

Character Developments

  • Xiao He becomes more understanding of the Special Response Department’s difficult position, acknowledging that surveillance and restriction are more ethical than preemptive execution. However, he remains direct, confident, and impatient with Han Xin’s philosophical excuses.
  • Cui Man shows vulnerability and distress over the situation, but she remains committed to investigating the possible source of Han Xin’s power. Her trust in Xiao He is evident as she shares classified concerns with him.
  • Han Xin is revealed as calculating and ideologically driven rather than impulsive. He has spent a year waiting under surveillance and now seeks to justify his actions as part of a broader conflict between Order and Chaos. His resentment toward Xiao He and the Special Response Department stems partly from feeling overlooked or denied power in the past.
  • Xiao He and Han Xin are established as ideological as well as physical opposites. Xiao He refuses to accept Han Xin’s worldview as a moral justification, while Han Xin views Xiao’s authority as no different from his own.

Significant Themes

  • Order versus Chaos: The chapter frames the central conflict as a clash between systems imposed by power. Xiao He represents protection, rules, and social stability, while Han Xin embraces domination and natural selection.
  • Power and legitimacy: Both characters use force to shape the world, raising the question of whether power itself makes their actions equivalent or whether the purposes behind that power matter.
  • Morality and law: The Special Response Department cannot execute someone merely because he may become dangerous. The chapter explores the tension between preventing future harm and respecting legal and ethical limits.
  • Fear as a source of power: Han Xin’s ability depends on creating fear, making public perception and psychological manipulation central to his growth.
  • Resentment and self-justification: Han Xin’s ideology may partly conceal personal bitterness over not being selected or recognized, while Xiao He argues that villains often disguise personal desire with grand principles.

Character Interactions

  • Xiao He comforts Cui Man by wiping away her tears and reassures her that he will handle Han Xin, strengthening their emotional bond.
  • Xiao He and Cui Man discuss the mystery of Han Xin’s first followers and possible organizational betrayal, combining emotional support with strategic investigation.
  • During the confrontation, Xiao He mocks Han Xin’s theatrical behavior and challenges him to appear personally rather than hide behind a Clone.
  • Han Xin attempts to provoke Xiao He into a philosophical debate, accusing him of imposing rules through superior strength.
  • Xiao He refuses to be drawn fully into Han Xin’s justification, but acknowledges that Han Xin has made a valid point before demanding a direct confrontation.
  • The encounter ends without a battle, with Han Xin maintaining control of the timing and promising a future contest to settle their opposing beliefs.

Ch. 301Billion Fears

Chapter Summary: “Billion Fears”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • After surveilling the suspicious woman, Xia Yu reports to Cui Man that nothing unusual occurred. Cui Man remains uneasy and orders continued observation.
  • Over six months, Han Xin travels through technologically undeveloped regions, spreading terror and gaining the fear and worship of more than a billion people. He prepares for his final confrontation with Yinglong.
  • Han Xin attacks William Moriarty’s hideout, overpowering his bodyguards, Oliver and Ivan. He seeks “Teacher,” the hidden personality within William, because he wants to obtain the Superpower known as Dominance.
  • Han Xin brutally fights through Moriarty’s various personalities—Claude, Wade, Anika, Lecter, and others—using overwhelming physical strength, gravitational control, and monstrous tentacles.
  • Teacher finally emerges after Han Xin threatens the other personalities. Teacher refuses to surrender Dominance, insisting that Yinglong remains a hero despite failing to protect William at that moment.
  • Han Xin defeats Teacher and takes his Superpower, declaring that this is the final preparation needed before challenging Yinglong and the “Strongest Couple in History.”
  • At the same time, Ye Wanqing gives birth to Xiao He’s daughter, Xiao Yun. The Special Response Department celebrates, and Xiao He and Ye Wanqing share a warm, playful moment as new parents.
  • Han Xin’s attack interrupts the celebration. Xiao He leaves immediately to confront him, arriving at the devastated Moriarty hideout after Han Xin has already departed.
  • Lecter/Claude tells Xiao He that Teacher was killed and blames him for failing to protect William. Claude warns that Han Xin is now the embodiment of humanity’s fear and may be impossible to defeat as long as people fear him.
  • Xiao He realizes that someone inside the organization leaked Moriarty’s location. He prioritizes protecting Ye Wanqing, Xiao Yun, and the others while investigating the suspected traitor before the final battle.
  • Han Xin returns to his apartment to recover. He tells Zhang Yuxin that he will act as soon as his strength returns, while she begins preparing her own plan.

Character Developments

  • Han Xin grows from a powerful villain into a global threat. By spreading terror worldwide, he transforms himself into an object of mass fear and gains confidence bordering on arrogance. Obtaining Dominance brings him closer to his planned battle with Yinglong.
  • Xiao He/Yinglong becomes both a new father and the leader responsible for protecting everyone around him. Although eager to fight Han Xin, he recognizes the danger of the internal betrayal and puts his family’s safety first.
  • Ye Wanqing becomes a mother. Her anxiety about childbirth and about failing to give Xiao He a son is eased by his affectionate reassurance, strengthening their intimate and humorous relationship.
  • Teacher is revealed to have withdrawn because he believed his purpose had been fulfilled. However, he returns to protect William and refuses to aid Han Xin, ultimately sacrificing himself.
  • Moriarty’s personalities demonstrate their differing traits under pressure: Claude remains witty and manipulative, Wade and Anika fight through grotesque abilities, and Lecter resists Han Xin directly. Their inability to stop him emphasizes the villain’s overwhelming strength.
  • Cui Man shifts from investigating Han Xin’s movements to confronting the possibility that a trusted insider has betrayed the organization.
  • Zhang Yuxin appears to be cooperating with Han Xin while secretly preparing a separate plan, suggesting that her role in the coming conflict may be independent and potentially dangerous.

Significant Themes

  • Fear as power: Han Xin’s strength is no longer merely physical. He draws power and authority from the fear of billions, making humanity’s terror itself part of the threat.
  • The cost of protection: Teacher condemns Yinglong for not being present when William needed him, while Xiao He struggles with the responsibility of defending both the world and his family.
  • Family and domestic happiness amid crisis: Xiao Yun’s birth provides a moment of warmth and hope, contrasting sharply with Han Xin’s violence and the approaching final battle.
  • Trust and betrayal: The revelation that Moriarty’s location was leaked from within the organization creates a threat closer to home than Han Xin himself.
  • Heroism versus villainy: Teacher still considers Yinglong the world’s best hero despite his failure, while Han Xin presents himself as an “evil god” empowered by the fears of ordinary people.
  • Identity and personality: Moriarty’s shifting personalities highlight questions about individuality, purpose, and whether a person’s identity can survive when one personality or power is removed.

Important Character Interactions

  • Cui Man and Xia Yu: Cui Man remains suspicious of the unidentified woman and orders Xia Yu to continue monitoring her.
  • Han Xin and Moriarty’s personalities: Han Xin taunts and attacks each personality, trying to force Teacher into revealing himself. Teacher ultimately confronts Han Xin to protect William and the others.
  • Han Xin and Teacher: Their ideological clash centers on Yinglong’s heroism and Dominance. Teacher refuses to surrender his power, leading Han Xin to take it by force.
  • Xiao He and Ye Wanqing: Their affectionate teasing after Xiao Yun’s birth shows their close marriage and mutual emotional support.
  • Xiao He and Xiao Yun: Xiao He’s first meeting with his daughter gives him a deeply emotional connection and reinforces what he is fighting to protect.
  • Xiao He and Lecter/Claude: Lecter blames Xiao He for Teacher’s death, while Claude warns him that Han Xin’s power is rooted in the fear of humanity itself.
  • Xiao He and Cui Man: Xiao He urges Cui Man to find the internal traitor and prioritize the safety of the organization and his family.
  • Han Xin and Zhang Yuxin: Han Xin announces his imminent attack, while Zhang Yuxin prepares a separate plan, hinting at future conflict and hidden motives.
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