Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Fu Junlin and Cheng Xiaoyu discuss Cheng’s recent expenditure of over forty thousand on Energy-Gathering Eggs and Meat. Cheng argues that money is insignificant compared with improving their chances of survival on the battlefield.
• Cheng reflects on the paralysis he suffered, explaining that it taught him to “live in the moment.” Since the world is dangerous and death could come at any time, he now wants to spend money, act decisively, and avoid future regrets.
• At four in the morning, the emergency assembly alarm sounds. Fu Junlin and Cheng Xiaoyu realize that the predicted crisis has arrived and rush to prepare.
• Because Cheng is paralyzed and Fu helps dress him, they waste time struggling with his pants and arrive late to the rear-field barracks.
• A middle-aged Federation Army commander rapidly organizes the students into assault, clearing, and reconnaissance teams for deployment through Gate Thirty. The operation is chaotic but highly disciplined, and over a hundred students leave for battle within minutes.
• Fu, Cheng, and the other latecomers are ordered to remain behind. The commander confronts them, especially Cheng, and harshly questions whether Flying Cloud Vine sent them merely to embarrass themselves.
• Cheng tries to protect Fu by explaining that Fu was late because he helped him dress. The commander becomes even angrier, insisting that Cheng cannot use his disability as an excuse if he wishes to be treated as a soldier.
• The chapter ends with the commander declaring that Cheng’s disability is his responsibility: if he cannot overcome the difficulties it creates on the battlefield, he should withdraw rather than risk getting his teammate killed.

Character developments

• Cheng Xiaoyu shows a more determined and positive outlook after his paralysis. He accepts that life is uncertain and resolves to act without hesitation, but his inability to dress independently exposes the practical limits of his condition.
• Fu Junlin demonstrates loyalty and responsibility by helping Cheng despite the risk of being late himself. His immediate concern is Cheng’s safety rather than his own reputation.
• The commander is introduced as stern, ruthless, and uncompromising. He values battlefield readiness and personal accountability above sympathy or excuses.

Significant themes

• Living in the present: Cheng’s paralysis forces him to recognize the fragility of life and reject excessive concern for the future.
• Responsibility and survival: The commander emphasizes that personal limitations can endanger an entire team, especially in war.
• Friendship and sacrifice: Fu’s willingness to assist Cheng shows the strength of their bond, while also raising the question of how much one person can rely on another in combat.
• Disability versus military duty: The chapter explores whether determination alone is enough to compensate for physical limitations in a life-or-death environment.
• Discipline and urgency: The emergency deployment illustrates the military’s organized efficiency and the constant threat facing the students.

Character interactions

• Fu and Cheng share a close, teasing friendship, but their conversation becomes serious as Cheng reveals how his paralysis changed his values.
• During the alarm, Fu actively assists Cheng, though their hurried cooperation causes delays.
• The commander’s confrontation with Cheng shifts from reprimand to a brutal challenge: Cheng must either prove he can function as a soldier or leave the battlefield.

Chapter Summary: “Keep Your Legs, Keep a Way Out”

Plot Points and Events

• After arriving late, Cheng Xiaoyu and Fu Junlin are harshly reprimanded by the commander. The commander’s anger is aimed not only at Cheng Xiaoyu’s mistake but also at the danger his actions could pose to the other students.
• The Flying Cloud Vine students are shocked by the severity of the scolding and attempt to comfort Cheng Xiaoyu, though he remains deeply affected.
• Back in the dormitory, Cheng Xiaoyu blames himself for holding Fu Junlin back and suggests that Fu Junlin amputate his useless lower legs.
• Cheng explains that his paralyzed lower legs complicate the design of his mecha. Removing them would create space for internal components, reduce the mecha’s bulk, and make it more agile and adaptable.
• Fu Junlin angrily rejects the idea. He insists that Cheng keep his legs because future medical advances may cure his paralysis, while amputation would eliminate that possibility permanently.
• Fu Junlin then considers how to obtain the rare Federation-controlled materials and equipment needed for Cheng’s improved mecha.
• He realizes that Iron Second Academy’s Battle Points system may provide a way to acquire them. Students can earn points through Delegated Missions and Special Assignments, then exchange them for military merits, advanced materials, training resources, and equipment.
• Early the next morning, Fu Junlin goes to inspect the Points Exchange Center and determine how many Battle Points the necessary materials will cost. Cheng chooses to remain behind.

Character Development

• Cheng Xiaoyu is shown as deeply discouraged and burdened by guilt after the commander’s reprimand. His suggestion of amputation reflects both his practical understanding as a Mecha Master and his growing despair about his paralysis.
• Fu Junlin demonstrates strong loyalty and protectiveness toward Cheng. Although he understands the engineering advantages of amputation, he refuses to sacrifice Cheng’s chance of future recovery and begins actively searching for another solution.
• The Flying Cloud Vine students reveal their concern for Cheng by comforting him, despite being shaken by the commander’s public criticism.
• The commander is established as severe and abrasive but ultimately concerned with student safety rather than merely punishing them.

Significant Themes

• Hope versus despair: Cheng sees amputation as a practical way to move forward, while Fu Junlin insists that the future may still bring a cure.
• The value of preserving options: The title reflects Fu Junlin’s belief that Cheng must keep his legs—and therefore retain the possibility of recovery—even if they currently seem useless.
• Friendship and responsibility: Fu Junlin’s refusal to accept Cheng’s self-sacrifice shows the depth of their bond, while the commander’s reprimand emphasizes the consequences individuals can have for an entire group.
• Technology and sacrifice: The chapter explores the tension between bodily modification and technological advancement, especially when physical limitations interfere with mecha design.
• Resource and merit systems: Battle Points are presented as a means of converting battlefield contributions into access to otherwise unobtainable materials, training, and opportunities.

Character Interactions

• The commander publicly scolds Cheng and the late-arriving students, leaving them embarrassed and subdued.
• The Flying Cloud Vine students try to reassure Cheng after the incident.
• Cheng confesses his guilt to Fu Junlin and proposes amputation as a solution.
• Fu Junlin reacts angrily, rejecting the proposal and encouraging Cheng to retain hope for medical treatment.
• The two remain together in the dormitory, with Fu Junlin thinking through technical and financial solutions rather than abandoning Cheng’s goals.
• The chapter ends with Fu Junlin taking the first concrete step toward obtaining the needed mecha materials through the academy’s Battle Points system.

Chapter Summary: “A Different Kind of Rich Kid”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fu Junlin visits the crowded points exchange hall at Iron Second Academy to obtain the list of regulated materials and equipment. After verifying his student identity, he downloads a confidential app containing information on more than a thousand restricted materials, advanced alloys, chemical substances, black technology, and limited AI authorizations.
• He becomes deeply absorbed in studying the list, impressed by the resources available to Mecha Masters, despite the high point costs. Big Black eventually complains that Fu Junlin has spent the entire morning reading.
• Fu Junlin receives an unexpected call from Iron Second Hospital informing him that Cheng Xiaoyu’s bilateral lower-leg amputation has been completed and that he is the only emergency contact.
• Shocked and distressed, Fu Junlin rushes to the hospital. He reflects that Cheng Xiaoyu could have lived comfortably as a wealthy heir, but deliberately chose amputation to preserve the possibility of entering the battlefield.
• Cheng Xiaoyu is wheeled out after surgery, both legs amputated below the knees. Rather than showing fear or regret, he jokes that his removed legs are his first “collectible,” trying to lighten the situation.
• Fu Junlin is devastated and blames himself for not creating a better mecha that might have allowed Cheng Xiaoyu to fight without sacrificing his legs. However, he suppresses his anger and recognizes that Cheng needs support rather than criticism.
• The chapter ends with the two friends exchanging crude jokes and leaving the hospital together, reinforcing their close brotherly bond.

Character Developments

• Fu Junlin: Demonstrates intense curiosity and dedication to mecha development by carefully studying restricted materials. His reaction to Cheng Xiaoyu’s surgery reveals his deep loyalty, guilt, protectiveness, and emotional attachment to his friend.
• Cheng Xiaoyu: Shows extraordinary determination and willingness to sacrifice his body for his battlefield ambitions. Even after losing both lower legs, he remains humorous and optimistic, using jokes to conceal or manage the seriousness of his condition.
• Big Black: Provides comic relief through sarcastic commentary, but briefly recognizes the severity of Cheng Xiaoyu’s decision, calling him ruthless toward himself.
• Their friendship: Fu Junlin and Cheng Xiaoyu’s relationship becomes more clearly defined as one based on mutual trust, teasing, and emotional support rather than pity or blame.

Significant Themes

• Sacrifice and ambition: Cheng Xiaoyu gives up his legs to pursue a life on the battlefield, showing how far he is willing to go to achieve his goal.
• Wealth versus purpose: Although Cheng could have lived a luxurious life as a rich heir, he rejects comfort in favor of a dangerous and meaningful ambition.
• Technology and human limitation: The restrictions on AI and mecha design explain why Cheng’s injury has such serious consequences and emphasize the importance of Fu Junlin’s future inventions.
• Friendship and responsibility: Fu Junlin feels responsible for Cheng’s condition because he believes a better mecha might have prevented the amputation. Yet he ultimately understands that Cheng needs companionship and encouragement, not blame.
• Humor as emotional protection: Cheng’s jokes about his amputated legs allow him to maintain dignity and ease Fu Junlin’s distress despite the severity of the event.

Important Character Interactions

• The young exchange-hall clerk assists Fu Junlin in accessing the restricted materials database, establishing the confidential and highly regulated nature of advanced technology.
• Big Black mocks Fu Junlin’s intense reading and later reacts soberly to Cheng Xiaoyu’s self-inflicted sacrifice.
• The hospital staff treat Cheng Xiaoyu’s surgery as routine, contrasting their professional detachment with Fu Junlin’s emotional devastation.
• Cheng Xiaoyu deliberately jokes with Fu Junlin after the surgery, while Fu Junlin responds with anger, grief, and finally silent acceptance.
• Their final exchange—teasing each other about dressing and leaving together—shows that their bond remains intact despite Cheng’s life-changing injury.

Chapter Summary: “Support Had to Wait for the Limiter”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ling Xiaobing, Ba Xiaomei, and their teams are harshly reprimanded by Commander Viper after a failed clearing mission.
• Ba Xiaomei’s Tourette syndrome disrupts an ambush. Although the ambush kills more than twenty monsters, several teammates are injured, and the captain blames her for weakening the team.
• Ling Xiaobing’s pets release a strong scent that attracts two monster groups, forcing her team to retreat through the Light Gate. She realizes afterward that she should have used odor eliminator on them.
• Viper angrily condemns both students and suggests that Flying Cloud Vine’s exchange students are unprepared for real combat.
• An emergency alarm announces the appearance of a Fourth Layer Deformed Species BOSS at the Sixteenth Light Gate, accompanied by a large swarm.
• Qiao Zishu is revealed to be inside with the Fourth Squad, which, along with the Ninth Squad, is struggling to survive and requesting reinforcements.
• Commander Viper orders the Research Department to bring a Substitution Energy Core Limiter, a device capable of weakening monsters empowered by Substitution Energy Cores. He also summons the powerful upperclassmen from the Ninth Dormitory District.
• Although the reinforcements assemble quickly, the limiter has not yet arrived. Viper refuses to send them in prematurely because doing so could trigger further monster spawns and cause even more casualties.
• Ling Xiaobing and Ba Xiaomei, unaware of the full situation, secretly message Fu Junlin for help.

Character Developments

• Ba Xiaomei is shown struggling to control her Tourette syndrome under battlefield pressure. Her involuntary sounds make her team reluctant to accept her and cause her to be excluded from the ambush, leaving her feeling humiliated and blamed.
• Ling Xiaobing learns a painful tactical lesson: her pets’ scents can reveal the team’s position and attract additional monsters. Her emotional distress affects the animals, who mirror her shame and sadness.
• Commander Viper is established as severe, pragmatic, and unwilling to tolerate carelessness. Despite his cruelty, his decision to delay reinforcements is based on preventing an even larger disaster.
• Qiao Zishu is placed in immediate danger as a member of the Fourth Squad, raising the stakes for Ling Xiaobing and Ba Xiaomei.
• Fu Junlin becomes the students’ chosen source of outside assistance when official support is delayed.

Significant Themes

• The cost of inexperience: Good intentions and enthusiasm are not enough on a lethal battlefield; preparation and tactical awareness are essential.
• Discrimination and misunderstanding: Ba Xiaomei’s condition and Ling Xiaobing’s unintentional mistake lead others to treat them as liabilities, intensifying their shame.
• Leadership and sacrifice: Viper must choose between risking reinforcements or abandoning the endangered squads temporarily, highlighting the brutal decisions required during war.
• Institutional and individual responsibility: The chapter contrasts personal mistakes with the commander’s responsibility for the lives of entire teams.
• Power and preparedness: The limiter represents the technological advantage necessary to confront powerful monsters, while its delayed arrival leaves everyone vulnerable.

Character Interactions

• Viper harshly reprimands Ba Xiaomei and Ling Xiaobing, making them feel they have disgraced Flying Cloud Vine.
• Their teammates’ reactions reveal discomfort and distrust toward their perceived weaknesses.
• Ling Xiaobing’s pets respond emotionally to her distress, emphasizing their close bond.
• The officer urges Viper to send reinforcements, but Viper rejects the idea until the limiter arrives.
• Ling Xiaobing and Ba Xiaomei silently cooperate by contacting Fu Junlin, demonstrating their shared concern for Qiao Zishu and the trapped squads.

Summary: “To Go to Battle, First Pass a Test”

Key Plot Points and Events

• A Deformed Species outbreak traps two student teams inside the Light Gate. Their classmates and relatives gather outside the rear training ground, demanding that Commander Viper send reinforcements.
• Viper refuses to deploy large-scale forces until a Restrictor arrives, explaining that careless intervention could provoke the monsters into respawning or going berserk, killing both the trapped students and any rescuers. He also cannot abandon the broader defensive line, since doing so could endanger the entire city.
• When an enraged student tries to enter, Viper blocks the Light Gate with a powerful Super-Energy Barrier and declares that anyone unable to break through it has no right to volunteer for battle.
• Fu Junlin, Ling Xiaobing, Ba Xiaomei, and Ba Dawang step forward. Fu uses his spear, apparently employing Spear Intent, to strike a precise weakness in the barrier. Ba Dawang follows with a powerful punch that shatters it completely.
• The group enters the Light Gate. Commander Viper, impressed but still skeptical, orders the stationed troops inside to provide them with coordinates, treating their rescue attempt as a last chance to save the trapped teams.
• Inside the Light Gate, the landscape is a relatively mild, hilly region. In a mountain hollow, approximately twenty students—including Qiao Zishu—are surrounded by dozens of Deformed Species.
• The trapped students have already killed many monsters but are exhausted and unable to retreat because a powerful Deformed Species BOSS is holding them in place. The BOSS appears capable of devouring parts of slain creatures and becoming stronger as a result.

Character Developments

• Commander Viper is portrayed as stern and unsympathetic on the surface, but his decisions stem from responsibility for the entire defensive line. He prioritizes preventing a larger catastrophe over rescuing a small number of students and accepts the possibility that the trapped teams may already be doomed.
• Fu Junlin demonstrates exceptional combat ability and precision by using his spear to exploit a weakness in the commander’s barrier. His controlled, confident behavior establishes him as a capable leader.
• Ba Dawang reinforces Fu’s attack with overwhelming physical strength, revealing his effectiveness as a direct and powerful combatant.
• Cheng Xiaoyu shows maturity by recognizing that he is not ready for battle after surgery, with an incomplete new mech and a malfunctioning old one. Rather than becoming a liability, he stays behind.
• Qiao Zishu and the trapped students are shown to be resilient but increasingly desperate. Their experience with the unusually powerful Deformed Species reveals that they are facing a threat beyond what they expected.

Significant Themes

• Duty versus personal loyalty: The students outside want to rescue friends and family, while Viper must consider the safety of the entire city and defensive front.
• The cost of command: Viper’s refusal to act makes him appear cold-hearted, but the chapter emphasizes that commanders must sometimes make decisions that sacrifice individuals to prevent far greater losses.
• Courage and competence: True bravery is presented not as blindly rushing into danger, but as possessing the strength and skill to survive it. Viper’s barrier functions as a test of whether volunteers are capable of helping rather than merely adding to the casualties.
• Teamwork and complementary abilities: Fu Junlin’s precision and Ba Dawang’s brute force combine effectively, allowing them to overcome a barrier neither might have broken as efficiently alone.
• Escalating danger: The Deformed Species are more powerful than expected, and the BOSS’s ability to grow stronger by devouring corpses suggests that the threat may continue intensifying.

Character Interactions

• The frightened students confront Viper, accusing him implicitly of failing to rescue those inside. Viper responds harshly, forcing them to confront the realities and consequences of military decisions.
• Fu Junlin and Ba Dawang cooperate seamlessly to destroy the barrier, while Ling Xiaobing and Ba Xiaomei accompany them into danger.
• Cheng Xiaoyu chooses not to join the mission, demonstrating consideration for the team rather than allowing pride or desperation to endanger everyone.
• Viper remains distrustful of the group but still supports their attempt by ordering the stationed troops to guide them.
• Outside observers initially criticize Viper’s apparent cruelty, but some acknowledge that his position leaves him no easy or humane choice.

Chapter Summary: “A Thousand-Jun Backing, a Returning Spear Thrust”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The two Iron Second Academy teams are trapped by a massive Deformed Species BOSS, a five-meter-tall, physically overwhelming monster with immense strength, speed, durable claws, and the ability to replenish itself by consuming nearby corpses.
• Seven students hold the BOSS back while the others fight surrounding monsters. When a teammate is dragged toward the horde, Qiao Zishu saves him by shooting the attacking monster with her heavy sniper rifle.
• A brief Flicker plunges the area into darkness. The students use the moment to kill several monsters, but the noise risks attracting even more enemies.
• As the BOSS continues overpowering them, the captains debate whether to remain together or scatter. The BOSS suddenly attacks Team Nine’s captain, severely injuring him and another student, forcing Team Four’s captain to order a retreat.
• The students flee toward the garrison, abandoning those who cannot keep up. One person is swallowed by the monster horde, demonstrating the brutal consequences of the retreat.
• Qiao Zishu refuses to abandon the injured teammate she previously rescued. She carries him while falling behind the main group.
• The retreating students soon discover another monster horde approaching from the front, including wolves, tigers, and two terrifying giant flying creatures. They are trapped between enemies.
• Just as despair sets in, a group of armed people appears among the approaching monsters. At the front is a spear-wielding figure surrounded by purple lightning, carrying a Battle Banner. Rather than ordering a retreat, he commands the students to follow him and fight their way back.

Character Development

• Qiao Zishu displays growing compassion and personal resolve. Although she understands the academy’s ruthless battlefield logic, she chooses not to abandon the injured student, even at the risk of her own survival.
• She also gains insight into Iron Second Academy’s seemingly cold personality. She realizes their emotional distance may come from the need to make harsh, practical decisions during combat rather than from genuine indifference.
• The captains are shown struggling between solidarity and survival. Team Nine’s captain clings to the hope of reinforcements, while Team Four’s captain ultimately accepts the necessity of splitting up.
• The injured student reveals the psychological cost of this battlefield culture. Though he tells Qiao Zishu to leave him and claims he has abandoned others before, his trembling voice shows that he is frightened and conflicted.
• The mysterious spear-wielder is introduced as a powerful, aggressive figure whose arrival immediately challenges the defeated group’s instinct to flee.

Significant Themes

• Survival versus loyalty: The teams must choose between saving comrades and maximizing the number of survivors. Retreat becomes an act of abandoning the weak.
• The emotional cost of warfare: The students’ coldness is portrayed as a defense against the pain of repeatedly sacrificing companions.
• Practicality versus compassion: Qiao Zishu’s decision to carry the injured student contrasts with the academy’s ruthless battlefield calculations.
• Despair and sudden hope: The group collapses psychologically once retreat begins, but the spear-wielder’s arrival transforms the situation from a doomed escape into a possible counterattack.
• Strength and leadership: The BOSS’s overwhelming power exposes the teams’ limitations, while the new fighter’s confident command suggests that true power can restore morale.

Character Interactions

• Qiao Zishu saves a trapped teammate with a sniper shot and later carries him when the retreat begins.
• The injured student urges Qiao Zishu to abandon him, while she insists that the situation has not yet reached its final moment.
• The two captains argue over whether reinforcements might arrive and whether the teams should scatter. Their disagreement reflects the tension between hope and realistic survival strategy.
• The BOSS attacks Team Nine’s captain, injuring both him and another student and forcing the teams to retreat.
• At the chapter’s climax, the spear-wielding newcomer addresses the fleeing students directly, ordering them to stop running and join him in killing their way back through the monsters.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fu Junlin’s group arrives as students flee from a swarm of monsters. Their appearance restores everyone’s morale, prompting the retreating students to turn back and rejoin the battle.
• Qiao Zishu remains behind to protect an injured student from a charging Savage Bull. After shooting the bull through the skull with her heavy sniper rifle, she is still threatened by its momentum.
• Ba Dawang intervenes, using his immense strength and gauntleted fists to collide with and flip the half-ton Savage Bull.
• A Fourth-Level Mutation BOSS catches up and attacks. Fu Junlin intercepts it in midair, piercing its powerful body with a single spear strike—far more effectively than the other fighters had managed.
• Although the monster claws into Fu Junlin’s shoulder, he counters with Spear Intent and Secondary Energy, causing severe internal damage. He then stuffs a small robot into the monster’s mouth, disrupting its attack, and prepares another move.
• Meanwhile, drone footage reveals an enormous, chaotic battle involving both humans and monster companions:
  • Two giant pandas protect a little girl by repeatedly shoving enemies away.
  • A turtle-like creature fights as a fast assassin with twin bone forks.
  • Eight bear-like monsters attack indiscriminately and spit highly corrosive saliva.
• The Fourth-Level Mutation BOSS is killed and the surrounding monsters are cleared. The garrison reports the victory with astonishment, while personnel begin dissecting the corpse to search for its Substitution Energy Core.
• A Replacement Energy Limiter arrives too late. The military had hoped to capture the monster alive for experimentation, but Commander Chen confirms that it has already been killed.

Character Developments

• Fu Junlin demonstrates exceptional combat ability, piercing a monster whose defenses had previously resisted both blades and spears. He also shows toughness by ignoring his own serious shoulder injury and continuing the fight.
• Qiao Zishu proves her courage and loyalty by refusing to abandon an injured companion. Her decisive sniper shot is crucial in stopping the Savage Bull.
• Ba Dawang reveals overwhelming physical strength and fearlessness, meeting the Savage Bull head-on and protecting Qiao Zishu and the injured student.
• The student accompanying Qiao Zishu initially tries to save her by urging her to flee, but becomes a witness to the extraordinary strength of Fu Junlin’s allies.
• Fu Junlin’s monster companions are shown to possess highly specialized abilities, functioning as coordinated combatants rather than ordinary pets.
• The military observers, particularly Viper and the command staff, become increasingly impressed and unsettled by how quickly and efficiently the students defeat the monsters.

Significant Themes

• Courage and mutual protection: Qiao Zishu refuses to leave an injured ally, while Ba Dawang and Fu Junlin risk themselves to protect others.
• Unity under pressure: The arrival of Fu Junlin’s team transforms a fleeing crowd into a counterattack, showing how leadership and example can restore collective morale.
• Unexpected strength and specialization: The monsters are not merely enemies; many possess unusual, highly effective abilities. The battlefield’s “pets” are portrayed as powerful partners with distinct combat roles.
• Chaos versus coordination: Although the battle appears absurd and disorderly, the fighters’ varied strengths combine to overwhelm a powerful BOSS.
• Human underestimation of the students: The military expects to study or contain the monster, but the students eliminate it before the authorities can act, highlighting their rapidly growing power.

Character Interactions

• Fu Junlin’s group inspires the fleeing students to turn around and fight.
• Qiao Zishu protects an injured student, while Ba Dawang arrives to shield both of them from the Savage Bull.
• Fu Junlin confronts the Mutation BOSS directly, while Big Black urges him from inside his body to let him fight.
• Fu Junlin rejects Big Black’s help and defeats the monster through his own strength, spear technique, and tactical use of the small robot.
• The students’ human-and-monster teams fight alongside one another, creating a bizarre but effective battlefield alliance.
• The military command center observes the battle remotely and reacts with disbelief when the students kill the monster before the upgraded containment equipment arrives.

Chapter Summary: “Expedition Squad Clears Blights”

Key Plot Points and Events

• In the barracks’ command center, Commander Viper angrily reprimands Fu Junlin for violating military discipline during a previous rescue operation. He threatens to deduct Fu’s Battle Points and academic credits.
• Fu Junlin remains calm and unbothered, silently staring back at Viper. Their standoff amuses the surrounding commanders and staff, since Fu managed to challenge Viper while still being justified.
• After venting and saving face, Viper offers Fu an opportunity to “redeem” himself. Fu accepts, suspecting that the task will be dangerous and unpleasant.
• Viper explains the growing threat of Blights within the Light Gates. Energy Cores have appeared more often, and some powerful monsters have vanished after a black-red Flicker instead of appearing in the expected combat zone.
• These missing monsters may have gained Energy Cores, developed greater intelligence, or be secretly accumulating strength. Because Light Gate terrains are enormous and difficult to search, the monsters pose hidden dangers.
• More than a dozen Light Gates have reached yellow Blight alert levels, while three have reached red alert.
• Viper reveals that he has spent months forming four special Expedition Squads from powerful Iron Second Academy students. These teams operate deep inside Light Gates without support and must be capable of scouting, breaking through obstacles, eliminating targets, and adapting to unexpected situations.
• He asks Fu Junlin to form a fifth Expedition Squad, believing that Fu’s companions may lack compatibility with others but trust and willingly follow Fu.
• Fu’s first concern is the reward rather than the danger. The staff explains that Expedition Squads receive several benefits:
  • Five Energy-Gathering Eggs at most regular breakfasts, plus nutritious Energy-Gathering Milkshakes for lunch and dinner.
  • Exemption from ordinary dormitory-area assemblies and deployments unless specially assigned.
  • Free access to the Heavy-Pressure Training Room, though the squad must pay energy costs and complete a combat mission after every sixteen or more hours of training.
  • Separate Battle Point calculations for expedition missions, usually worth several times—or even dozens of times—more than normal missions.

Character Developments

• Fu Junlin demonstrates confidence, composure, and an unwillingness to be intimidated by authority. He treats Viper’s anger with deadpan indifference and immediately evaluates the practical benefits of the assignment.
• Commander Viper is shown as strict and prideful but also pragmatic. Though embarrassed by Fu, he recognizes Fu’s leadership ability and trusts him to command a difficult mission.
• Big Black continues to provide blunt, humorous commentary from inside Fu’s body, questioning whether strength naturally permits someone to act without restraint.
• The commanders and staff increasingly view Fu as difficult but entertaining, while also recognizing that his team may possess the rare unity and trust needed for an Expedition Squad.

Significant Themes

• Strength versus authority: Fu’s power and confidence allow him to resist Viper’s disciplinary pressure, challenging the usual hierarchy while remaining technically justified.
• Leadership and trust: Viper values not only individual strength but also coordination, loyalty, and the ability to function as a complete team.
• Hidden threats and preparedness: Blights represent dangers that cannot be easily detected or controlled, emphasizing the need for vigilance and specialized teams.
• Pragmatism and negotiation: Fu approaches the assignment by asking what he will gain, showing his practical, self-interested attitude rather than blindly accepting orders.
• Merit and institutional power: The chapter highlights the military reward system and Viper’s authority, including his rumored Platinum Medal and exceptional record.

Important Character Interactions

• Fu Junlin and Commander Viper: Their tense confrontation shifts into a reluctant partnership. Viper scolds Fu to preserve discipline and dignity, then recruits him because he recognizes Fu’s value.
• Fu Junlin and Big Black: Big Black voices naive but amusing observations, while Fu responds matter-of-factly and keeps him from derailing the conversation.
• Fu Junlin and the command staff: The staff members find Fu’s defiance and deadpan attitude hilarious, especially when he focuses on benefits immediately after being offered the mission.
• Viper and the Expedition Squad proposal: Viper appeals to Fu’s leadership potential, acknowledging that Fu’s companions trust him enough to form a cohesive fifth squad.

Chapter Summary: “An Obsession with Flying”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fu Junlin accepts the commander’s offer to join a newly formed Expedition Team. In exchange for dangerous missions, members will receive greatly increased resources, Energy-Gathering Eggs, and unrestricted access to the Heavy-Pressure Training Method.
• Fu contacts his teammates, and Cheng Xiaoyu, Qiao Zishu, Ling Xiaobing, Ba Dawang, and Ba Xiaomei all agree to join. Shi Hongyu also joins after eagerly learning that the team may receive combat missions.
• The group is officially registered as the Fifth Expedition Team.
• The commander assures Fu that Cheng Xiaoyu’s double amputation will not prevent him from participating. A high-quality mecha could restore his mobility, and Cheng’s exceptional skill as a Mecha Master makes him valuable rather than burdensome.
• Fu is given contact information for Dr. Ma Xingkong, who wants a detailed account of how Fu killed several monsters. Dr. Ma is revealed to be the brilliant but eccentric creator of the Substitution Energy Core Limiter.
• The team members separate the following morning to prepare:
  • Cheng Xiaoyu travels with Qiao Zishu while his father’s trusted staff begin establishing a factory for him.
  • Ling Xiaobing and Ba Xiaomei buy pet deodorizer and emergency food supplies for future expeditions.
  • Fu Junlin and Ba Dawang travel to the Crimson Crown Research Institute to meet Dr. Ma.
• During the aerial-rail journey, Ba Dawang repeatedly suggests jumping from the elevated track, claiming to have an “obsession with flying.” Fu correctly identifies this as an obsession with falling to his death.

Character Development

• Fu Junlin becomes more willing to accept danger for the sake of substantial growth and resources. He also takes initiative as the team’s leader, recruiting members and organizing their preparations.
• Cheng Xiaoyu is shown to remain valuable and determined despite losing both legs. His expertise as a Mecha Master is emphasized, and a mecha may allow him to regain his mobility.
• Qiao Zishu displays strong emotional attachment to Cheng, crying when she sees the severity of his injuries. Her reaction suggests deep concern and affection.
• Shi Hongyu is eager to escape her exhausting teaching responsibilities and return to combat. Her enthusiasm also highlights how poorly prepared Iron Second Academy is in several academic and technical subjects.
• Ba Dawang continues to provide comic relief through his reckless enthusiasm and bizarre fascination with jumping from heights.
• Viper/the commander appears practical and supportive, particularly toward Cheng Xiaoyu, while also recognizing the potential value of Fu’s team.
• Dr. Ma Xingkong is introduced indirectly as a genius researcher with an eccentric, possibly dangerous personality.

Significant Themes

• Risk versus reward: The team accepts life-threatening expedition missions because ordinary life is already dangerous and the benefits offer a major opportunity for advancement.
• Adaptation and resilience: Cheng Xiaoyu’s disability does not make him useless; technology and determination can allow him to continue contributing.
• Teamwork and loyalty: Members willingly join together, prepare for one another’s needs, and commit to facing future dangers collectively.
• Institutional weakness and survival culture: Iron Second Academy prioritizes combat ability while neglecting general education, tactical analysis, healing techniques, and mecha research.
• Humor amid danger: Lighthearted jokes and absurd behavior, especially Ba Dawang’s fixation on “flying,” relieve the tension surrounding the coming expeditions.
• Scientific and technological advancement: Mechas, energy cores, training methods, and research into monster-killing techniques are central to humanity’s ability to survive.

Character Interactions

• Fu negotiates with the commander and confidently confirms the team’s membership.
• He contacts each teammate, including Shi Hongyu, whose roommate begs to join combat missions rather than continue preparing lesson plans.
• The commander and Fu discuss Cheng Xiaoyu’s future, with Fu defending Cheng’s capabilities and the commander explaining how a mecha could compensate for his lost legs.
• Viper hints that Cheng’s successful mecha might help other injured comrades, though he leaves the subject unresolved.
• Qiao Zishu reacts emotionally to Cheng’s injuries, while the team later celebrates together after becoming the Fifth Expedition Team.
• Fu and Ba Dawang travel together to meet Dr. Ma, with their conversation highlighting Fu’s exasperation at Ba’s suicidal “flying” jokes.

Chapter Summary: “Dr. Ma Xingkong, the Mad Genius”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fu Junlin and Ba Dawang arrive at the Crimson Crown Research Institute after traveling through the Arena Zone. Fu warns against reckless flying, since the Black Hand Rules can summon flying monsters to punish airborne targets.
• The institute is unexpectedly located above Smile Psychiatric Hospital in a relatively small building. The research floors are clean and technologically advanced but sparsely staffed, with many unused laboratories.
• At reception, Fu identifies himself as the Iron Second Academy student who instantly killed a fourth-floor Deformed Species. This immediately attracts Dr. Ma Xingkong’s attention.
• Dr. Ma welcomes Fu and Ba Dawang with excessive enthusiasm, though his erratic movements, facial tics, confusion, and repeated actions make his reputation as a “mad genius” believable.
• Fu cautiously negotiates before discussing the combat technique he used to kill the monster. He also seeks payment and hopes to question Dr. Ma about Energy Cores.
• Dr. Ma locks the office door several times, creating a secretive atmosphere, and claims he is about to reveal a major truth.
• He asserts that Energy Cores contain the remnants of ancient alien civilizations—including Gendaya, Lemuria, Atlantis, and Mesopotamia—which supposedly fled Earth while being pursued by the Black Hand.
• According to Dr. Ma, these civilizations left behind their strongest energies as decoys, causing the Black Hand to target Earth instead. He concludes that humanity was manipulated and “plotted against” by the alien civilizations.

Character Developments

• Fu Junlin remains practical, skeptical, and opportunistic. He evaluates risks, observes Dr. Ma’s unusual behavior, and attempts to turn the exchange into a mutually beneficial deal rather than simply giving away his combat knowledge.
• Ba Dawang appears more nervous and impressionable, especially when Dr. Ma locks the door and begins whispering about conspiracies. Fu continues to treat him as a younger brother and keeps him close.
• Dr. Ma Xingkong is introduced as brilliant but highly eccentric. His erratic physical behavior and scattered manner suggest mental instability, yet his sophisticated research center and detailed theories imply genuine scientific knowledge.
• Big Black, speaking through comic commentary, provides humorous skepticism and compares Dr. Ma’s mannerisms to a monkey while mocking the possibility that he will reveal an absurd conspiracy.

Significant Themes

• Science versus madness: Dr. Ma’s bizarre behavior makes it difficult to distinguish nonsense from groundbreaking scientific insight.
• Hidden truths and conspiracy: The chapter suggests that the origins of Energy Cores and humanity’s relationship with the Black Hand may be far more complicated than publicly known.
• Negotiation and self-interest: Fu refuses to provide valuable information for free and seeks both compensation and access to Dr. Ma’s research.
• Humanity’s uncertain place in the universe: The idea that Earth was used as a decoy raises questions about whether humans are victims, inheritors, or pawns in a larger alien conflict.
• Humor amid danger: Fu’s teasing, Big Black’s sarcastic remarks, and Dr. Ma’s exaggerated behavior lighten an otherwise ominous revelation.

Character Interactions

• Fu jokingly challenges Ba Dawang about flying and later protects him from being overwhelmed by Dr. Ma’s strange behavior.
• Fu and Dr. Ma engage in a cautious verbal negotiation, with Fu testing Dr. Ma’s intentions before agreeing to share information.
• Dr. Ma’s intense enthusiasm contrasts with Fu’s controlled skepticism, creating tension between scientific obsession and practical calculation.
• Big Black’s constant commentary undercuts the seriousness of the meeting while highlighting how bizarre Dr. Ma appears to outsiders.

Chapter Summary: “Blue Star Treasure Energy Core”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Dr. Ma reveals his theory that ancient civilizations once used Blue Star as a shield or hiding place from the Black Hand. Their underground ruins remain in the Inner-Earth World.
• The ruins emit unique forms of energy, which rise toward the surface and condense into Energy Cores—crystallized versions of each civilization’s most powerful or representative technology.
• Dr. Ma claims the Black Hand sends monsters to destroy or consume these cores because it fears humanity will obtain and use them.
• He explains several Energy Cores:
  • Black-Eyed Energy Core: Can absorb and assimilate other energies, greatly enhancing the human body.
  • Phase-Change Energy Core: Can transform the Life-Cycle Arena into a Death-Cycle Arena and potentially alter the Black Hand’s rules.
  • Substitution Energy Core: Increases the conversion rate of Passive Energy in the Energy Gland and may have more dangerous applications.
• When Dr. Ma suggests injecting Energy Core power directly into the human body, Ba Dawang violently confronts him. Fu Junlin stops the attack but warns Dr. Ma not to mention the idea again.
• Fu Junlin asks about the dangers of Black-Eyed Energy infection, referring indirectly to Shi Hongyu. Dr. Ma correctly deduces that her ability to absorb the core was probably connected to Secondary Energy, the Black Hand’s unique and strongest energy.
• Fu Junlin realizes that Dr. Ma’s deductions align with events involving Shi Hongyu, Liu Zhiyin, Little Seven-Eight, and the destruction of the Phase-Change Energy Core. He begins questioning whether Dr. Ma is truly insane or possesses genuine, advanced insight.

Character Developments

• Fu Junlin remains cautious and analytical. Although he distrusts Dr. Ma’s unstable behavior, he takes the scientist’s claims seriously and recognizes that several of his theories are accurate.
• Dr. Ma/Ma Xingkong appears erratic, obsessive, and possibly mentally unstable, but demonstrates remarkable knowledge and deductive ability. His theories about Energy Cores and Secondary Energy increasingly seem credible.
• Ba Dawang displays intense protectiveness and a violent reaction to the idea of experimenting on human bodies, suggesting a strong personal or moral objection to such procedures.
• Big Black remains wary and provides comic relief, while also reinforcing the suspicion that Dr. Ma is mentally abnormal.
• Shi Hongyu and Liu Zhiyin, though absent, become important through discussion of their Black-Eyed Energy infections and the role of Secondary Energy.

Significant Themes

• Madness versus insight: The chapter questions whether Dr. Ma’s bizarre behavior invalidates his ideas, or whether his apparent madness allows him to see truths others overlook.
• Humanity’s struggle for power: Energy Cores represent technologies far beyond humanity’s previous capabilities, raising the possibility of enormous advancement as well as catastrophic misuse.
• Conspiracy and hidden history: The buried civilizations, the Inner-Earth World, and the Black Hand’s efforts to suppress Energy Cores suggest that Blue Star’s history is far more complicated than humanity realizes.
• Ethics of experimentation: The prospect of injecting Energy Core energy into humans introduces concerns about bodily harm, exploitation, and the limits of scientific research.
• Secondary Energy as ultimate power: Secondary Energy is presented as uniquely connected to the Black Hand and superior to all other known forms of energy.

Character Interactions

• Fu Junlin and Big Black react suspiciously to Dr. Ma’s claims but allow him to explain his theory.
• Dr. Ma enthusiastically demonstrates his Energy Core research to Fu Junlin, treating him as an important listener.
• Ba Dawang attacks Dr. Ma when he suggests human experimentation, forcing Fu Junlin to intervene.
• Fu Junlin later questions Dr. Ma about Black-Eyed Energy’s effects, leading to Dr. Ma’s deduction that Secondary Energy enabled Shi Hongyu’s infection and abilities.
• The interaction leaves Fu Junlin unsettled: despite Dr. Ma’s frightening instability, his reasoning may be reliable and potentially dangerous.

Chapter Summary: “Dr. Ma Seemed a Little Off”

• Energy Cores and Dr. Ma’s beliefs: Dr. Ma Xingkong explains that Energy Cores are remnants of ancient civilizations and vital weapons in humanity’s battle against the Black Hand. His enthusiasm and claims about injecting energy into the human body remind Fu Junlin of Xiao’s similar theories and experiments, making Fu suspicious of a possible connection.
• Fu tests Dr. Ma: Because Ma seems mentally unstable yet highly knowledgeable, Fu carefully observes him while explaining that he used Intent to kill the monster. Ma’s reaction convinces Fu that he does not know Xiao: Ma has only heard of Intent, whereas Xiao’s understanding is much more advanced. Ma’s excitement leads him to ask Fu to demonstrate Intent by stabbing him. Fu lightly taps Ma’s thigh with a broken rod, but Ma dramatically collapses, pretends to be badly hurt, and limps afterward. Ba Dawang recognizes the performance as exaggerated, while Ma appears delighted by the experience.
• A potentially useful ally: Ma exchanges contact information with Fu and offers access to his unpublished Energy Core research, boasting that it could win major awards if released. Fu accepts the connection because Ma may be the only person capable of helping if Shi Hongyu suffers problems related to Energy Cores. Although Fu doubts Ma’s sanity and morality, he believes Ma is not directly affiliated with the powerful research organizations connected to Xiao.
• Dr. Ma’s sinister secret: After Fu and Ba Dawang leave, Ma returns to his office and obsessively sniffs the sofa where they sat, wearing a greedy, thoughtful expression. A mysterious young man then arrives, and Ma nervously prepares to continue some secret experiment. His incoherent speech, strange behavior, and reference to Fu and Ba Dawang as “two” subjects imply that he has been experimenting on students from Iron Second Academy. He leads the young man into a dark laboratory, confirming that his eccentricity conceals something dangerous.
• Fu’s caution: On the train, Ba Dawang says Ma seems like a bad person. Fu agrees and promises to monitor him closely, noting that Ma resembles Xiao too much to be trusted completely.
• New development: Fu receives an unexpected message from Niu Yun of Flying Cloud City, who has arrived in Crimson Crown City and asks whether Fu is busy. The message is significant because communication between cities is difficult and expensive due to Interference Clouds and Arena Zone energy.

Character Developments and Themes

• Fu Junlin becomes more cautious and perceptive, balancing Ma’s usefulness against the danger he represents.
• Dr. Ma Xingkong is revealed as both a brilliant Energy Core researcher and a disturbing, possibly unethical experimenter. His apparent madness may be partly an act, but his true motives remain unclear.
• Ba Dawang provides blunt moral judgment and comic relief while reinforcing Fu’s suspicions.
• Themes: scientific power without ethical restraint, hidden affiliations, the difficulty of judging sanity and trustworthiness, and the danger of repeating Xiao’s experiments.
• Key interactions: Fu interrogates and tests Ma; Ma eagerly probes Fu’s abilities; Ba Dawang challenges Ma’s performance; and Fu and Ba Dawang agree that Ma must be watched.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Niu Yun contacts Fu Junlin and invites him to lunch at the Fresh Harvest Hotel in Crimson Crown City. Fu agrees, recognizing that Niu likely has an important reason for visiting.
• Fu Junlin meets Niu Yun, his wife Guan Yun, Cheng Xiaoyu, Qiao Zishu, and Ba Dawang. Cheng has just completed arrangements to establish a water-treatment factory by renovating an abandoned wastewater plant.
• Niu Yun explains that he came to Crimson Crown City because he wants to help rebuild Flying Cloud City. He is angry that Thousand Energy Group, a Federation enterprise, has invested heavily in Crimson Crown City while neglecting Flying Cloud City during its reconstruction.
• Suspecting corruption and inaction within Thousand Energy Group’s local branch, Niu Yun has arranged to transfer himself into its procurement department. He openly admits that he spent a large amount of money to secure the position, intending to use his influence to expose or overcome the company’s internal parasites.
• His actions resemble the historical example of someone who “donated money to buy an office” in order to become an honest and effective official.
• Guan Yun reveals that she has entrusted the affairs of Flying Cloud City to her capable younger brother while Niu Yun works in Crimson Crown City.
• Fu and Cheng then introduce Niu Yun to Soft Alloy, a valuable material whose supply has mysteriously stopped despite its ability to reduce industrial costs and improve manufacturing efficiency.
• Niu Yun is shocked to learn that Fu and Cheng may be the developers of Soft Alloy. Fu offers to show him the patent documents, suggesting a major business or industrial partnership may follow.

Character Developments

• Fu Junlin continues acting as a connector between influential figures and emerging enterprises. He recognizes Niu Yun’s motives and respects his willingness to spend heavily for the sake of Flying Cloud City.
• Niu Yun is portrayed as principled, ambitious, and willing to take unconventional risks. Though he uses money to obtain his position, his goal is to combat corruption and ensure resources reach the people who need them.
• Guan Yun appears practical and outspoken. She scolds Niu Yun for taking risks but ultimately supports his mission and demonstrates her own competence by arranging for her brother to manage Flying Cloud City.
• Cheng Xiaoyu advances his family’s industrial plans by establishing the water-treatment factory. He also becomes involved in the potential expansion of Soft Alloy production.
• Qiao Zishu accompanies Cheng, indicating her continued involvement in his activities, while Ba Dawang remains part of Fu Junlin’s trusted group.

Significant Themes

• Idealism versus corruption: Niu Yun seeks to oppose officials and corporate managers who neglect their responsibilities.
• Practical patriotism: The characters do not merely express concern for Flying Cloud City; they invest money, accept risks, and create businesses to help rebuild it.
• Power and influence: The chapter explores how money can be used either for personal corruption or, in Niu Yun’s case, as a tool to enter a flawed system and reform it.
• Industrial innovation and economic recovery: Soft Alloy and the water-treatment factory represent technological and commercial solutions to the region’s broader reconstruction problems.
• Trust and cooperation: Fu, Niu Yun, and Cheng begin moving toward a partnership based on shared goals and complementary resources.

Character Interactions

• Fu and Niu Yun share a warm, familiar relationship, though Fu correctly suspects Niu has a business purpose for contacting him.
• Guan Yun frequently teases and criticizes her husband, creating a humorous contrast with his serious speeches about public responsibility.
• Cheng Xiaoyu notices similarities between Niu Yun and his own father, especially their tendency to combine grand ideals with concrete action.
• Fu introduces Cheng and Qiao to Niu Yun, while Cheng presents the Soft Alloy sample. Niu’s stunned reaction establishes the material’s importance and sets up the next stage of their collaboration.

Chapter Summary: “Zhonghe Institute Cannot Be Displayed”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Aunt Guan and Niu Yun react enthusiastically to Fu Junlin and Cheng Xiaoyu’s proposal to supply Soft Alloy through Thousand Energy Group.
• Niu Yun realizes that Thousand Energy Group’s arrival in Crimson Crown City gives them a chance to secure a local foothold, while his connections can help them enter the market.
• The group agrees to offer Niu Yun Soft Alloy at a reduced price. In return, he will contact them once he has settled into his position and can help finalize the business arrangement.
• The deal is especially important because Fu Junlin has little cash remaining, the water plant has not begun operating, and the group needs funding for an upcoming expedition.
• After the banquet, Cheng Xiaoyu asks Fu Junlin to build him a new lower-body mecha that will allow him to walk, run, and jump despite losing his lower legs. Fu Junlin promises to eventually make it capable of flight once they obtain an energy converter.
• Big Black immediately expresses interest in flying as well.
• Fu Junlin, Cheng Xiaoyu, and Qiao Zishu spend the afternoon in the academy laboratory constructing Cheng Xiaoyu’s new mecha.
• Fu Junlin demonstrates extraordinary mastery of mecha engineering, rejecting inferior substitute materials and calculating the precise stress, durability, and lifespan requirements of individual components.
• The mecha relies heavily on Supermagnetic Lock energy fields and complex force interactions. Fu Junlin completes most of the work in a single afternoon, leaving Cheng Xiaoyu and Qiao Zishu to handle the finishing touches.
• That night, Fu Junlin investigates Energy Core research and searches for information about the mysterious Zhonghe Institute.
• Every search for “Zhonghe Institute” produces a 404 error before the page crashes, while all other searches function normally. This convinces Fu Junlin that the institute is deliberately concealed and may be connected to a conspiracy.
• Big Black complains that Fu Junlin is wasting the evening on technical research instead of finding something entertaining to watch.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Fu Junlin continues acting as the group’s strategist, inventor, and financial planner. He recognizes the commercial value of Soft Alloy and understands that the group needs a stable income source.
• Niu Yun shifts from uncertainty to eager cooperation after realizing how valuable Soft Alloy could be to Thousand Energy Group and how the partnership could benefit his own position.
• Cheng Xiaoyu shows optimism and determination about overcoming his disability. His request for a new mecha reflects his desire for greater independence and mobility.
• Qiao Zishu gains a deeper appreciation for Fu Junlin’s abilities. Although she is a trained Mecha Master, she is astonished by the speed, precision, and sophistication of his work.
• Big Black provides comic relief, enthusiastically demanding the ability to fly and later criticizing Fu Junlin’s serious research.
• The close teamwork among Fu Junlin, Cheng Xiaoyu, and Qiao Zishu strengthens their professional respect and camaraderie.

Significant Themes

• Resourcefulness and survival: The Soft Alloy deal offers the group a way to fund their operations and prepare for their expedition.
• Technological mastery: Fu Junlin’s meticulous engineering highlights the gap between ordinary expertise and his exceptional talent.
• Disability and adaptation: Cheng Xiaoyu’s new mecha represents technological empowerment and his refusal to remain limited by his injuries.
• Hidden knowledge and conspiracy: The inaccessible Zhonghe Institute and the uncertain state of Energy Core research suggest that important scientific information may be controlled or suppressed.
• Ambition and progress: The characters seek not merely to recover from their circumstances but to expand their influence through business, technology, and exploration.

Chapter Summary: Shi Hongyu Invites Fu Junlin to Meet Her Parents

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fu Junlin jokes with Big Black about wanting “explosive content” when he receives an unexpected message from Shi Hongyu asking him to meet her parents the next day.
• Shocked and delighted, Fu Junlin agrees, then cheekily asks whether he will receive a reward for being obedient. Shi Hongyu sends him a suggestive photograph of her leg in black stockings, though she later reveals the stockings belong to her roommate.
• Big Black misinterprets the image and humorously assumes Shi Hongyu’s legs are dirty, leading to a quarrel with Fu Junlin.
• Fu Junlin excitedly tells Cheng Xiaoyu about the meeting. Cheng immediately takes the situation seriously and insists that Fu Junlin buy appropriate gifts, especially expensive pure-brewed liquor, and wear respectable clothing.
• The two go shopping during the night. The next morning, Fu Junlin appears in a new Tang suit, believing it makes him look mature and dignified, though Shi Hongyu finds his appearance amusing.
• While walking to meet her parents, Fu Junlin struggles to act confidently. Big Black urges him to be bolder, and Fu Junlin eventually holds Shi Hongyu’s hand after accidentally touching her inappropriately and being pinched by her.
• Shi Hongyu teases him about how she will introduce him, saying she will describe him as an idiot she must take responsibility for. Fu Junlin is thrilled rather than offended.
• The destination turns out to be the Blazing Sun Cemetery District. Shi Hongyu leads Fu Junlin through the densely packed cemetery, where numerous people appear to live among the graves.
• They arrive at Section C19, where several stone houses stand mostly empty and an elderly man waits outside one of them, presumably one of Shi Hongyu’s parents or relatives.

Character Development

• Fu Junlin: His usual joking confidence gives way to nervous excitement as he prepares to meet Shi Hongyu’s parents. He makes an earnest effort to appear mature and respectful, buying gifts and wearing formal clothing, while remaining comically awkward and easily flustered.
• Shi Hongyu: She continues to display her playful, sharp-tongued personality, teasing Fu Junlin while allowing greater intimacy between them. Her willingness to introduce him to her parents signals that their relationship is becoming more serious.
• Cheng Xiaoyu: He acts as an enthusiastic and practical friend, helping Fu Junlin prepare and emphasizing the importance of proper gifts and etiquette.
• Big Black: He provides comic commentary and pushes Fu Junlin to behave more boldly, though his misunderstandings frequently create additional humor.

Significant Themes

• Relationship progression: Meeting the parents marks an important step toward a more committed relationship between Fu Junlin and Shi Hongyu.
• Nervousness beneath humor: Fu Junlin hides his anxiety behind jokes and exaggerated excitement, but his careful preparations reveal how seriously he takes Shi Hongyu.
• Friendship and support: Cheng Xiaoyu’s involvement shows the importance of friendship in helping Fu Junlin navigate unfamiliar emotional situations.
• Contrast between ordinary romance and an unusual setting: The conventional event of meeting one’s parents is placed within the strange, unsettling environment of a cemetery inhabited by living people, creating suspense and dark humor.
• Comedy through misunderstanding: Big Black’s comments about the photograph and Fu Junlin’s awkward attempts at romance provide much of the chapter’s comic energy.

Character Interactions

• Fu Junlin and Shi Hongyu exchange flirtatious, teasing messages, with Shi Hongyu alternately encouraging and threatening him.
• Fu Junlin and Big Black argue over the photograph, highlighting Big Black’s bluntness and Fu Junlin’s embarrassment.
• Cheng Xiaoyu enthusiastically celebrates the relationship milestone and takes on the role of Fu Junlin’s adviser.
• During their walk, Fu Junlin and Shi Hongyu move from playful banter to physical intimacy when they hold hands.
• The chapter ends with Shi Hongyu leading Fu Junlin toward the elderly man at C19, setting up the actual meeting with her family.

Chapter Summary: “Gravekeeper, a Family of Loyal Martyrs”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fu Junlin and Shi Hongyu visit Grandpa Wang, an elderly, partially blind veteran who guards the graves of Shi Hongyu’s parents.
• Grandpa Wang warmly welcomes them and immediately assumes Fu Junlin is Shi Hongyu’s boyfriend. Fu Junlin confidently confirms it, while Shi Hongyu proudly agrees that he is “amazing.”
• Grandpa Wang urges Shi Hongyu to pay respects to her deceased parents and jokingly suggests she introduce her “son-in-law” to them.
• At the shared tomb of Jin Liuying and Shi Qianyue, Fu Junlin learns that they were ordinary garrison soldiers who died as martyrs during the disastrous Glacier Chain Battle at the Iron Hand Front.
• Shi Hongyu burns paper offerings but remains unusually quiet and emotionally restrained. Fu Junlin places gifts before the grave and solemnly promises her parents that he will protect her with his life.
• On the way back, Shi Hongyu becomes emotional when Fu Junlin begins calling her “Hongyu” rather than using a formal address. She cries, then laughs through her tears when she sees his awkward concern.
• They meet Mud Egg, Grandpa Wang’s lively and filthy young great-grandson. Shi Hongyu gives him candy, and Fu Junlin comically feels jealous of the child’s affection toward her.
• Through conversation, Fu Junlin learns the tragic history of both families: Shi Hongyu’s parents died more than ten years earlier during a catastrophic military disaster, while five members of Grandpa Wang’s family—including his sons and grandsons—also died in battle.
• Grandpa Wang remains at the graves because his sons had been comrades and close friends of Shi Hongyu’s parents.
• The chapter ends with Fu Junlin witnessing something shocking, creating a cliffhanger.

Character Developments

• Fu Junlin: Shows confidence by openly claiming to be Shi Hongyu’s boyfriend and demonstrates sincerity by promising to protect her. His emotional sensitivity becomes evident as he recognizes her grief and feels helpless when she cries. His jealousy toward Mud Egg adds humor and reveals his growing attachment to Shi Hongyu.
• Shi Hongyu: Displays her usual straightforward, proud personality while interacting with Grandpa Wang. Beneath that confidence, however, she carries deep grief and loneliness stemming from losing her parents at a young age. Her tears when Fu Junlin calls her “Hongyu” suggest that his growing intimacy and commitment affect her deeply.
• Grandpa Wang: Is introduced as kind, welcoming, and humorous despite his blindness and immense personal losses. His strength and continued dedication to guarding the graves portray him as a resilient veteran.
• Mud Egg: Appears as an energetic, affectionate child who brings warmth and comic relief to the somber setting.

Significant Themes

• Sacrifice and patriotism: The chapter emphasizes the enormous human cost of defending society, portraying both Shi Hongyu’s parents and Grandpa Wang’s family as ordinary people who became martyrs.
• Grief and remembrance: The graveyard, paper offerings, and Grandpa Wang’s lifelong duty highlight how the living preserve the memory of those lost.
• Family beyond blood: Grandpa Wang’s connection to Shi Hongyu’s parents and his care for the graves show how comradeship can create lasting familial bonds.
• Love and commitment: Fu Junlin’s promise to protect Shi Hongyu marks a serious emotional step in their relationship, while Shi Hongyu’s reaction suggests that she longs for dependable companionship.
• Humor amid tragedy: The flirtation, Mud Egg’s antics, and Fu Junlin’s jealousy balance the chapter’s heavy subject matter and make the characters’ relationships feel intimate and human.

Important Character Interactions

• Grandpa Wang teasingly questions Fu Junlin about his relationship with Shi Hongyu, prompting Fu Junlin’s bold confirmation.
• Shi Hongyu proudly praises Fu Junlin, reinforcing their mutual affection.
• Fu Junlin addresses Shi Hongyu by her personal name, triggering an emotional response and deepening their intimacy.
• Shi Hongyu lovingly welcomes Mud Egg and gives him candy, while Fu Junlin reacts with playful jealousy.
• Grandpa Wang shares the history of the martyrs with Fu Junlin and Shi Hongyu, giving Fu Junlin a deeper understanding of Shi Hongyu’s past.

Chapter Summary: “Yao Jinying Flees Flying Cloud”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fu Junlin observes Mud Egg playing with a half-grown black cat in an obstacle-filled wooden structure. Rather than chasing the cat, Mud Egg skillfully evades it, using the obstacles to maneuver, counterattack, and even knock the cat aside.
• Impressed by Mud Egg’s agility and reflexes, Fu Junlin realizes the area could serve as a training ground. He considers renting the nearby vacant stone buildings as private laboratories and constructing specialized facilities for training and mechanical research.
• Big Black objects that using the area might disturb the heroic spirits resting there, but ultimately agrees that bringing activity and life to the quiet location could be beneficial.
• Fu Junlin and Shi Hongyu prepare to leave after visiting Old Wang. Old Wang welcomes Shi Hongyu to return and asks her to bring bright red paint so he can restore the color on a gravestone. His failing eyesight prevents him from mixing the correct shade himself.
• Old Wang’s request deeply moves both Fu Junlin and Shi Hongyu, who leave while he remains beside the gravestone, gently touching it and watching them depart.
• The scene shifts to Flying Cloud City, where the Red Carpet District is slowly recovering around the rebuilt War Banner Factory. Production has resumed, and merchants are beginning to return despite the lingering rubble.
• At home, Yao Jinying is exhausted from kneading a huge amount of dough while Fu Junting secretly handles business calls. Fu Xiaoya suddenly returns in a panic.
• Xiaoya communicates through gestures that a woman resembling Fu Junting and his brother had asked her for directions. After Fu Junting translates her signs, Yao Jinying realizes the woman had four dots on her forehead.
• The description causes Yao Jinying to panic violently. She orders Fu Junting and Xiaoya to pack immediately and flee, revealing that the woman’s identity or appearance is connected to a serious danger from her past.

Character Developments

• Fu Junlin: Demonstrates keen observation and strategic thinking. He recognizes Mud Egg’s play as an effective combat-training method and begins planning private laboratories and training grounds.
• Mud Egg: Reveals remarkable agility, intelligence, and tactical awareness for his young age. His ability to exploit the environment and deliberately toy with the cat suggests unusual physical and mental capabilities.
• Old Wang: Appears warm and welcoming but also deeply attached to the heroic dead. His request for red paint highlights his declining eyesight and his emotional devotion to preserving the gravestone.
• Shi Hongyu: Shows compassion and emotional sensitivity toward Old Wang, promising to help him restore the gravestone.
• Fu Junting: Has been studying sign language so he can communicate with Xiaoya, showing care, patience, and a willingness to support her. He is also secretly expanding his business operations.
• Fu Xiaoya: Is increasingly comfortable in her female form and communicates urgently through sign language and gestures. Her panic signals the arrival of a major threat.
• Yao Jinying: Shifts abruptly from an ordinary domestic role to a terrified, commanding protector. Her extreme reaction to the four-dotted woman implies hidden knowledge, trauma, or a dangerous connection to her family’s past.

Significant Themes

• Training through play: Mud Egg’s game demonstrates how ordinary activity can become intense physical and tactical training.
• Rebuilding and renewal: Flying Cloud City’s recovering district symbolizes life gradually returning after destruction.
• Memory and remembrance: Old Wang’s care for the gravestone emphasizes loyalty to the dead and the importance of preserving their memory.
• Hidden identities and buried history: The mysterious woman resembling Fu Junting’s family, combined with Yao Jinying’s terror, suggests unresolved secrets and a threatening past.
• Family protection: Yao Jinying’s immediate command to flee shows her instinct to protect her children, while Fu Junting’s study of sign language reflects his own concern for Xiaoya.

Character Interactions

• Fu Junlin and Big Black debate whether converting the heroic spirits’ quiet surroundings into laboratories and training grounds would be disrespectful, ultimately agreeing that it may bring welcome liveliness.
• Fu Junlin and Shi Hongyu share an emotional farewell with Old Wang, whose request for paint creates a poignant connection between them.
• Fu Junting communicates with Fu Xiaoya through his newly learned understanding of sign language, allowing him to interpret her warning.
• Yao Jinying questions Xiaoya about the woman’s identifying forehead marks. Upon learning there were four dots, she reacts with sudden terror and orders both children to escape, ending the chapter on a sharp cliffhanger.

Chapter Summary: “The First Expedition Begins”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Yao Jinying, Fu Junting, and Xiaoya secretly leave the laboratory carrying several belts, disguising themselves with hats and taking precautions against being followed.
• An unidentified young woman with four Gene Particles watches them from across the street. She resembles Fu Junlin and possesses mysterious abilities, including remotely unlocking doors and moving objects with invisible force.
• The woman enters the abandoned laboratory and finds a family photograph of Yao Jinying, Fu Junlin, and Fu Junting. She studies and tenderly touches the image before taking it with her, suggesting a personal connection to the family.
• Fu Junting asks about the woman, but Yao Jinying urgently warns him never to trust anyone claiming to be his sister. She insists that he has no sister and must flee from the woman if they encounter her.
• Yao Jinying plans to hide at a transfer station along Fu Junlin’s return route and eventually travel to Crimson Crown City if necessary. She also forbids contacting Fu Junlin, fearing the mysterious woman will track him through them.
• Meanwhile, Fu Junlin and his teammates undergo six or seven hours of intense training daily while consuming large quantities of Energy-Gathering Eggs, Meat, and Milkshakes. Within five days, most of the group reaches Level-Three Beginner strength, while Fu Junlin pushes toward Level-Three Elite.
• On the sixth day, their first expedition mission is announced. The area beyond Light Gate 70 has reached a red Blight level and consists of unexplored subtropical rainforest with dangerous weather, dense vegetation, and potentially powerful monsters.
• Viper stresses that the mission’s priority is survival and permits the team to retreat if possible. Shi Hongyu, already at Level-Four Beginner, stays behind to teach because her level would disrupt monster spawning.
• Fu Junlin, Cheng Xiaoyu, Qiao Zishu, Ling Xiaobing, Ba Dawang, and Ba Xiaomei are selected for the expedition. They receive twenty remotely linked drones for aerial surveillance and emergency communication, along with more than a hundred Energy Crystal Blocks.
• Viper encourages the team with the warrior’s blessing: “May your energy be limitless!”

Character Developments

• Yao Jinying becomes increasingly fearful and protective, revealing that she knows more about the mysterious woman than she is willing to explain. Her warnings show that she considers the woman an extreme threat.
• Fu Junting begins to confront the mystery surrounding his family and the woman who may be connected to him, but he remains frightened and obedient toward his mother.
• The mysterious woman is established as powerful, enigmatic, and emotionally connected to Yao Jinying’s family. Her resemblance to Fu Junlin and apparent interest in the photograph strongly imply a hidden familial relationship.
• Fu Junlin and his teammates make rapid early progress through severe training and enhanced nutrition. Their growth prepares them for their first serious expedition.
• Shi Hongyu assumes a teaching and support role, remaining behind because her higher level would interfere with the mission’s conditions.
• Viper acts as both commander and mentor, emphasizing caution while providing the team with advanced equipment and emotional support.

Significant Themes

• Family secrets and hidden identity: The mysterious woman’s resemblance to Fu Junlin and Yao Jinying’s insistence that Fu Junting has no sister create a major unresolved mystery.
• Protection versus truth: Yao Jinying hides information from Fu Junting to keep him safe, demonstrating how fear and love can lead characters to withhold the truth.
• Preparation and growth: The team’s intense training and use of energy-enhancing resources illustrate the importance of preparation before confronting unknown dangers.
• Exploration and survival: The expedition represents a transition from controlled training to genuine danger, where retreat and survival may be more important than victory.
• Isolation and uncertainty: Both the family and expedition team are entering unfamiliar territory, facing threats they cannot fully understand or control.

Important Character Interactions

• Yao Jinying repeatedly urges Fu Junting and Xiaoya to move quickly and avoid detection.
• Fu Junting questions his mother about the mysterious woman, prompting Yao Jinying’s severe warning about never trusting anyone who claims to be his sister.
• The mysterious woman silently interacts with the family photograph, revealing an emotional bond with the people pictured despite never confronting them directly.
• Viper briefs Fu Junlin’s team, balancing stern warnings with permission to retreat.
• Viper personally encourages Cheng Xiaoyu before the mission, reinforcing the team’s morale and sense of purpose.

Chapter Summary: Deep into the Rainforest in Search of the Blight

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fu Junlin’s group enters the Light Gate but initially arrives in a fortified clearing rather than directly in the rainforest.
• The garrison has established a semicircular wooden fortress near a massive black Vortex emitting an eerie purple-black haze. Around two hundred soldiers live there permanently, defending the area and fighting monsters.
• After saying goodbye to the garrison, the group proceeds into the rainforest. The terrain is intensely humid, hot, dark, and densely overgrown, suggesting that the Light Gate connects to a distant or artificially altered region rather than a location near Iron Second Academy.
• The rainforest becomes increasingly strange and enormous as they advance. Towering trees, gigantic vines, oversized insects, and massive butterflies make the environment feel almost like another world.
• The group travels roughly twenty kilometers before stopping to rest on a huge vine. Their surroundings have grown so immense that Fu Junlin can no longer tell whether the forest is expanding or they are somehow becoming smaller.
• Fu Junlin realizes that the abnormal retreat of monsters deeper into the rainforest likely indicates either an intelligent BOSS that has consumed an Energy Core or an Energy Core currently forming farther inside. This confirms that the group is probably nearing the Blight’s location.
• Just as the group begins eating, the surrounding area suddenly plunges into darkness, signaling an imminent threat or major event.

Character Developments

• Fu Junlin acts as the group’s cautious leader. He studies the Light Gates and their connection to different terrains, assesses the rainforest’s abnormalities, and correctly interprets the monsters’ behavior as evidence of a powerful presence deeper inside.
• Cheng Xiaoyu uses his new mech to travel through the difficult terrain and jokes about the rainforest’s damaging humidity. His role remains practical and lightly humorous.
• Ling Xiaobing displays her energetic, childlike enthusiasm by showing Fu Junlin the butterflies attracted to her animals’ deodorizer. She helps maintain the group’s sense of wonder despite the danger.
• Ba Xiaomei contributes to the group’s preparations and humorously improves their unpleasant rations with crispy noodles.
• Ba Dawang reacts with disbelief to the improvised food, providing comic relief.
• The pandas are portrayed as tired and uninterested in the scenery, while Poka and Peanut remain playful, chasing the enormous butterflies.

Significant Themes

• Exploration of the unknown: The rainforest is presented as a bizarre, alien environment whose scale and ecology constantly defy expectations.
• The artificial and fragmented world: The Light Gates appear to connect Iron Second Academy to distant or altered terrains, implying that the Black Hand Rules have reshaped reality into separate Arena Zones.
• Escalating danger: Ordinary wildlife gradually becomes gigantic, creating an atmosphere in which even harmless creatures could potentially become deadly.
• Signs of intelligence and power: The monsters’ retreat from the garrison suggests the influence of a highly evolved BOSS or a forming Energy Core, raising the stakes of the expedition.
• Camaraderie and humor under pressure: The group’s jokes, food, animals, and casual interactions provide warmth and relief amid the increasingly threatening environment.

Character Interactions

• Ling Xiaobing excitedly grabs Fu Junlin’s arm and shows him the butterflies surrounding her animals, highlighting her closeness and comfort with him.
• Fu Junlin carefully tests the butterfly pollen before allowing the group to continue, demonstrating his protective caution.
• Cheng Xiaoyu comments on the rainforest while operating his mech, blending practical concerns with humor.
• Ba Dawang criticizes Ba Xiaomei and Ling Xiaobing’s unusual ration combination, while Ba Xiaomei defends it as a clever way to improve the food.
• The group functions cohesively, combining scouting, observation, supplies, and humor as they advance toward the Blight.

Chapter Summary: Lost in Illusion After the Downpour

Key Plot Points and Events

• A sudden bang and brief blackout put Fu Junlin’s group on high alert, though no monster appears.
• The real threat turns out to be Ba Dawang’s accidentally released foul-smelling gas after he becomes startled while eating. The wind carries the gas toward a gigantic beehive.
• Fu Junlin’s unstable senses mutate again, giving him an unusually clear view of the bees. The gas kills the bees inside and outside the hive, effectively destroying the entire colony.
• Heavy rain begins, forcing the group to shelter in a tree hollow. Fu Junlin confirms that the raindrops themselves have not grown, suggesting that the surrounding plants and animals have mutated or enlarged.
• The group spends the afternoon and night waiting out the storm. Fu Junlin worries that the giant rainforest may indicate Earth’s ecosystem is reverting to a prehistoric state.
• After the rain stops before dawn, the forest transforms into a beautiful, glowing landscape filled with fireflies, luminous pollen, giant plants, butterflies, and strange flowers.
• The butterflies gradually appear to Fu Junlin and the others as alluring butterfly-like women. Most of the group becomes mesmerized, revealing that the beautiful scene is likely a mental illusion.
• Fu Junlin recognizes that something is wrong but cannot force himself to reject the illusion. Big Black suddenly shouts, “Wake up!!,” breaking through the enchantment and ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Character Developments

• Fu Junlin: His sensory instability continues, granting him remarkable vision but also increasing his concern about the mutations around them. He remains observant and cautious, correctly suspecting that the beautiful butterfly realm is an illusion, though he struggles to resist it.
• Ba Dawang: His nervous accident creates an unexpectedly powerful weapon, annihilating the giant bee colony. His embarrassment adds comic relief.
• Cheng Xiaoyu: He maintains his irreverent humor, joking about his “blessed” mouth and openly enjoying the illusion’s seductive appearance.
• Qiao Zishu: She remains more resistant or less visibly affected by the butterfly illusion, striking Cheng Xiaoyu to snap him out of his daze even though she herself appears mentally distracted.
• Ling Xiaobing, Ba Xiaomei, and the others: They become entranced by the supernatural scenery, showing how powerful the illusion is.
• Big Black: He once again proves crucial to the group’s survival. His cry of “Wake up!!” cuts through the mental spell and may save everyone from being completely consumed by the illusion.

Significant Themes

• Mutation and ecological transformation: Giant organisms, altered senses, and the extermination of the enormous bee colony suggest that the environment is undergoing massive, possibly prehistoric changes.
• The danger hidden within beauty: The glowing forest initially appears magical and peaceful, but its beauty masks a potentially deadly illusion.
• Perception versus reality: Fu Junlin knows the butterfly women are not real, yet his mind cannot act on that knowledge, emphasizing how easily perception can be manipulated.
• Comedic relief amid danger: Ba Dawang’s gas and Cheng Xiaoyu’s jokes contrast with the serious threats, strengthening the group’s camaraderie while keeping the tone lively.
• Dependence on teamwork: Fu Junlin’s awareness alone is insufficient; Big Black’s intervention is needed to help the others resist the illusion.

Character Interactions

• The group silently blames Ba Dawang after the gas spreads, while Big Black exaggerates his reaction despite being unable to smell it.
• Fu Junlin and Cheng Xiaoyu exchange jokes while sheltering from the rain, using humor to ease the tension.
• Cheng Xiaoyu is openly captivated by the butterfly illusion, and Qiao Zishu responds by smacking him, though she is also affected in her own way.
• Ling Xiaobing alerts Fu Junlin to the spectacular post-rain scenery.
• Big Black’s forceful warning finally interrupts Fu Junlin’s mental paralysis and provides the group with a possible escape from the illusion.