Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Ge Yuan defeats the man with the heavy sword and uses a precise sweep to sever the red threads controlling the four Executioners. Contrary to their expectations, they survive and regain much of their awareness.
• Ba Dawang and Ba Xiaomei explain that they came to rescue the Executioners and no longer blame them, since they had been forced to act against them.
• One Executioner opens a laboratory containing more than thirty former test subjects from Little Monkey Mountain. The group reunites with Ba Dawang and Ba Xiaomei, moved by the familiar faces and names.
• Ba Dawang offers the freed subjects two options: join him in serving under General Fu Junlin, or leave and live freely. Every person declines the offer, choosing instead to return home, pursue personal goals or help one another.
• The group leaves the base together. Outside, the former subjects take in the overcast sky and feel the reality of freedom. The chapter ends just as an alarming event begins to threaten Ba Dawang and Ba Xiaomei.

Character development and interactions

• Ge Yuan demonstrates exceptional skill and composure, confirming his reputation as a uniquely effective opponent of Zhao Yue’s methods.
• Ba Dawang shows compassion and a desire to give his former companions safety and purpose. Their refusal surprises and disappoints him, but he respects their choices. He also insists on his chosen name, rejecting the identity imposed by his past.
• Ba Xiaomei shares Dawang’s relief and emotional reunion with the others.
• The former test subjects reclaim their independence by choosing their own destinations rather than immediately following another authority. Their exchanges show lingering affection and solidarity.
• The four Executioners move from wary distance toward cooperation, helping the group leave the facility.

Significant themes

• Freedom and self-determination: Liberation means being able to choose one’s own path—even when that path is uncertain or dangerous.
• Identity after trauma: Ba Dawang’s rejection of his former name reflects his effort to define himself beyond his captivity.
• Forgiveness and reconciliation: Dawang and Xiaomei welcome former enemies once they understand those enemies were controlled.
• Belonging versus independence: Dawang offers the group a new place to belong, but they prioritize personal freedom and their individual obligations.

Key plot points and events

• After the rescue effort, the four Executioners and the other test subjects abruptly leave without saying goodbye to Ba Dawang and Ba Xiaomei. The siblings are left confused and hurt.
• Ba Xiaomei breaks down, mourning the family-like future she had imagined for the rescued subjects. Ba Dawang comforts her, while Ge Yuan quietly suggests that gratitude may be repaid when they meet again.
• The battle at Crimson Crown City’s Iron Hand Front lasts nine hours and ends with every monster in its ten combat zones destroyed. The Vortex is held, but over 7,000 soldiers die and tens of thousands are wounded. Cities across the region mourn the losses.
• The battle transforms the Iron Hand Front: only ten Light Gates and terrains remain, replacing the former thousand. The remaining sites are manageable with larger garrisons, though the possibility of future disasters remains.
• Several days later, Fu Junlin and Cheng Xiaoyu prepare to leave for A2 Main City. They ask Niu Yun to oversee their water plant in Crimson Crown City while they establish another in A2.
• Fu Junlin continues to withhold the soft-alloy manufacturing method, an essential part of the Phoenix project, keeping it as leverage before entering the Zhonghe Institute’s stronghold.

Character developments and interactions

• Ba Xiaomei’s grief exposes how deeply she believed the test subjects had become a family. Ba Dawang shares her disappointment but responds by tenderly comforting her.
• Ge Yuan remains reserved, offering only a cryptic reassurance that the others may repay their debt someday.
• Fu Junlin shows strategic caution: he agrees to keep his battlefield contributions from becoming an immediate public spectacle, avoiding political suspicion after his recent promotion to General.
• His refusal to reveal the soft-alloy process also shows his pragmatism and distrust of the power structure he is about to enter. Shangguan Mengzhi supports his cover story tying the process to Scholar Syndrome.
• Fu Junlin and Cheng Xiaoyu plan their move while ensuring their business in Crimson Crown City continues through Niu Yun.

Significant themes

• Unequal attachment and loneliness: Ba Dawang and Ba Xiaomei discover that the bonds they cherished may not have been shared equally.
• The cost of victory: The front succeeds, but the immense military losses make celebration impossible.
• Change and uncertainty: The Iron Hand Front is radically reduced, bringing some relief while leaving the future unclear.
• Power, secrecy, and self-preservation: Fu Junlin carefully manages his reputation and guards valuable technology as he prepares to enter a powerful institution.

Chapter Summary: “Loyal Hearts at the Crossroads”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Niu Yun announces that he will leave Thousand Energy Group and establish his own business in A2 Main City. He believes the group is nearing collapse and that the upcoming Phoenix spacecraft will create major commercial opportunities.
• He subtly suggests forming a partnership with Fu Junlin and Cheng Xiaoyu, whose water-plant profits have given them substantial financial resources. Cheng Xiaoyu recognizes the hint and assures Niu Yun that they will cooperate.
• Niu Yun introduces Jian Hongyan, whom Fu Junlin has not seen for nearly a year. He praises her exceptional business and administrative abilities, arguing that keeping her as his assistant wastes her talents.
• Niu Yun recommends that Jian Hongyan accompany Fu Junlin and Cheng Xiaoyu to A2 Main City to manage their affairs. Jian Hongyan readily agrees because it will bring her closer to Fu Junlin, while Cheng Xiaoyu has no objection.
• On the thirtieth, Phoenix One arrives in Crimson Crown City to collect the group and prepare for its long-distance flight to A2 Main City.
• Before departure, Mo Wufeng warns Fu Junlin that Xiao remains a serious threat and may soon become impossible to eliminate if he succeeds repeatedly. He orders Fu Junlin to take Luo Xiaotong and Ge Yuan ahead, acquire a Phase-Change Energy Core, and establish a foothold.
• Fu Junlin says farewell to the Rangers and other allies. Liang Liang reminds him that he still owes Fu Junlin a favor.
• Viper and the leaders of Iron Second Academy see Fu Junlin off. Viper gives him a protective sachet prayed over by his daughter and warns him that A2 Main City will be dangerous.
• Fu Junlin and Viper exchange symbolic words of loyalty, suggesting that Fu Junlin’s arrival in A2 may intensify the conflict between the Zhonghe Faction and the War Preparedness Faction.
• The spacecraft departs amid formal salutes, carrying Fu Junlin and his companions toward A2 Main City.

Character Developments

• Niu Yun reveals renewed ambition and confidence. After years of infiltrating Thousand Energy Group, he is ready to leave and pursue independent success. He also demonstrates loyalty and foresight by positioning Jian Hongyan for a better future.
• Cheng Xiaoyu shows tact and business awareness by recognizing Niu Yun’s indirect proposal and openly welcoming cooperation.
• Fu Junlin remains cautious and restrained, especially when he notices Jian Hongyan’s feelings. He accepts responsibility for the dangerous mission ahead and becomes a central figure in the Rangers’ broader hopes.
• Jian Hongyan has matured considerably, becoming a capable, confident professional. Although she remains emotionally attached to Fu Junlin, she expresses her feelings through practical support and a willingness to follow him to A2.
• Mo Wufeng entrusts Fu Junlin with an increasingly important mission, reflecting his belief that Fu Junlin can unite ordinary fighters and Rangers against greater threats.
• Viper displays deep respect and affection for Fu Junlin, treating him not merely as a commander but as a representative of the War Preparedness Faction’s hopes.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty and trust: Characters repeatedly demonstrate faith in Fu Junlin, from Niu Yun’s proposed partnership to the Rangers’ farewell and Viper’s protective gift.
• Ambition and opportunity: Niu Yun recognizes that the Phoenix spacecraft and the rise of A2 Main City will transform commerce, encouraging characters to act before the opportunity disappears.
• Political and factional conflict: Fu Junlin’s departure symbolizes his movement into hostile political territory, where his allegiance may challenge the dominant Zhonghe Faction.
• Growing responsibility: Fu Junlin is no longer simply pursuing personal goals; he is carrying the expectations of the Rangers, the War Preparedness Faction, and those who depend on him.
• Emotional restraint and unspoken affection: Jian Hongyan’s feelings for Fu Junlin are clear to everyone except herself, while Fu Junlin responds politely but maintains boundaries because he already has a girlfriend.
• Transition and change: The departure for A2 marks a major turning point. Characters leave familiar surroundings and prepare for a more dangerous and politically significant stage.

Important Character Interactions

• Niu Yun and Cheng Xiaoyu establish the foundation for a future business partnership.
• Niu Yun acts as an intermediary between Jian Hongyan and Fu Junlin, deliberately arranging for her to join Fu Junlin’s enterprise.
• Jian Hongyan and Fu Junlin reunite awkwardly, revealing her lingering affection and his careful emotional distance.
• Mo Wufeng gives Fu Junlin a grave mission briefing, emphasizing the danger posed by Xiao.
• Fu Junlin and Liang Liang reaffirm their personal bond through teasing and a reminder of an owed favor.
• Viper’s farewell transforms into a symbolic pledge between the Iron Second War Zone and Fu Junlin, ending the chapter with a strong sense of unity and impending upheaval.

Plot points and events

• Fu Junlin travels to A2 Main City aboard the Phoenix Flyer, sharing the cramped cabin with Zoo animals. The trip is marked by comic mishaps: the Flatheads have poisonous saliva, and Sixth Flathead makes a mess after drooling on Luo Xiaotong and squeezing a bottle of milk.
• Fu Junlin insists he has not dropped out of school: he has “graduated with honors” and sees no reason to keep studying after finding a useful role in society. Big Black teases him that he has dropped out anyway.
• The spacecraft passes through the electromagnetic interference clouds. An earlier attempt to fly above them revealed that they extend an unknown distance upward, growing more dangerous with altitude. Their ability to let sunlight through suggests they are an artificial ecological weapon rather than ordinary clouds.
• After more than three hours, the Phoenix Flyer emerges beneath the clouds and reaches A2 Main City, a highly advanced metropolis with futuristic buildings, elevated transport routes, and enormous flying vehicles. Its arrival draws a crowd because it has crossed the clouds.
• Fu Junlin is welcomed by Major General Li. Though Fu came at his own request, his new rank means he must report to the Central Military District and be assigned wherever his services are needed.
• On the rooftop, Fu asks how much weight a military flying car can carry. The chapter ends as the vehicle attempts to take off but instead blasts black exhaust from its tailpipe.

Character developments and interactions

• Fu Junlin is adjusting to his status as a general, returning Major General Li’s salute despite feeling unused to the deference. He remains confident that his work matters more than continuing school.
• Big Black needles Fu Junlin about leaving school; Fu refuses to concede that he has dropped out.
• Fu Junlin and Major General Li meet respectfully, with Li treating the much younger general naturally and welcoming him to the city.
• The animals provide comic relief: the Flatheads seek affection despite their poisonous saliva, while Sixth Flathead’s clumsy attempt to drink milk creates an embarrassing mess. Shi Hongyu and Qiao Zishu, meanwhile, happily hold the pandas.

Significant themes

• Duty and social role: Fu’s new military rank brings obligations and expectations that outweigh personal preference.
• Humanity confronting the unknown: The immense, artificial cloud barrier limits travel and understanding, while the Flyer’s arrival opens a route into unexplored territory.
• Modernity and inequality between cities: A2 Main City’s scale and technology make the other cities seem provincial by comparison.
• Humor amid serious stakes: Animal antics and the flying car’s malfunction contrast with the chapter’s ominous revelations about the ecological weapon.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fu Junlin’s vehicle struggles to move because he and Big Black are secretly wearing four-ton weights. The driver is initially blamed, creating a humorous misunderstanding.
• Major General Li personally delivers a letter from Liang Bin, Deputy Chief of the Central Army General Staff. Fu Junlin immediately suspects it is an invitation from the Zhonghe Faction to recruit him.
• Fu Junlin reasons that the opposing War Preparedness Institute would not risk sending such a direct private message before knowing his allegiance. The Zhonghe Faction, however, is confident enough to reveal itself and pressure him into choosing sides.
• During the journey, Major General Li explains the strategic importance of

A2 Main City

• It has six long-range Light Gates.
• Three lead northward toward territories the Federation is trying to reclaim.
• Two connect to major wasteland defense fronts under constant monster attack.
• One lies along the border with the hostile Red Sun Federation.
• A2 Main City therefore serves as a vital military, logistics, transportation, and defensive hub.
• Fu Junlin arrives at the military district, where senior officers receive him, inspect the young General, and show him the advanced facilities and weaponry.
• He and his companions are given temporary accommodations. His eventual assignment will be determined after he formally reports the next day.
• Fu Junlin opens Liang Bin’s letter and finds an invitation to a private meeting with several important Federation military figures. Though the letter is filled with praise, its real purpose is to force Fu Junlin to reveal his political allegiance.
• Fu Junlin decides to attend despite knowing that refusing would more clearly reject the faction’s approach. He wants to identify the people who may become his enemies.

Character Developments

• Fu Junlin remains calm, perceptive, and strategically cautious. He quickly recognizes the political purpose behind the letter and understands the competing factions’ methods.
• Rather than avoiding confrontation, Fu Junlin chooses to attend the meeting so he can assess the faction leaders directly. This shows his confidence and willingness to face danger strategically.
• Big Black continues to provide comic relief through teasing and exaggerated comments, while also showing familiarity with Fu Junlin’s situation.
• Major General Li acts as an official guide and intermediary, explaining the military and geopolitical importance of A2 Main City.
• The military officers’ curiosity about Fu Junlin emphasizes his unusual status as a twenty-year-old General.

Significant Themes

• Political factionalism and forced allegiance: Fu Junlin is being pressured to choose between powerful military factions almost immediately after arriving.
• Strategy and information: The chapter highlights the value of interpreting indirect actions. Fu Junlin deduces the letter’s origin based on how boldly it was delivered.
• Military power and national survival: A2 Main City represents humanity’s efforts to reclaim territory, defend against monsters, and protect its borders from rival nations.
• Courage versus caution: Fu Junlin does not recklessly declare his position, but neither does he hide from the faction meeting.
• Humor amid tension: The weight-related vehicle incident and Big Black’s banter lighten an otherwise politically serious chapter.

Character Interactions

• Fu Junlin’s hidden weights cause friction between Major General Li, the driver, and Big Black, though the misunderstanding is resolved humorously.
• Major General Li respectfully briefs Fu Junlin on the city’s strategic role and personally delivers the faction’s invitation.
• Big Black jokes about both the irritated driver and the uncertain motives behind the meeting, while Fu Junlin responds dryly.
• Fu Junlin and Big Black discuss whether the meeting will be a trap, comparing it metaphorically to different cooked dishes.

Chapter Summary: “Please Hand Over the Ticket”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Before dawn, Shi Hongyu visits Fu Junlin to express concern that Zhonghe Institute may target him after their arrival.
• Fu Junlin reasons that Zhonghe Institute is unlikely to assassinate him immediately. Instead, they would probably exploit his position, use him politically, frame him for a crime, or send him to die in battle.
• Shi Hongyu worries that his importance as both a promising war general and a member of the War Preparedness Institute could make him a special target.
• Fu Junlin subtly alters his appearance with Cellular Mimicry to look more handsome and reduce his resemblance to Luo Caichi, preparing for possible complications involving his identity.
• Ge Yuan and Luo Xiaotong interrupt the couple and remind Fu Junlin that they are waiting for information about the Phase-Change Energy Core. Their teasing about Fu Junlin and Shi Hongyu leaves both embarrassed but amused.
• Fu Junlin then attends a meeting at the Central Military District Deputy General Staff Command. He faces five high-ranking generals, including Deputy General Staff Liang Bin and Qi Dongqiang, the father of Qi Changkun.
• Liang Bin praises Fu Junlin’s military achievements and his contribution to the Phoenix Project, especially his method for producing Soft Alloy.
• Liang Bin then directly asks Fu Junlin to hand over the Soft Alloy production method so the military can take over manufacturing.

Character Developments

• Fu Junlin remains confident, calculating, and politically aware. He understands that Zhonghe Institute may want to exploit rather than immediately eliminate him, and he prepares for possible identity-related risks by altering his appearance.
• He also recognizes the strategic value of the Soft Alloy method and treats it as leverage—a “ticket” that can help him negotiate favorable terms with Zhonghe Institute.
• Shi Hongyu demonstrates strong concern for Fu Junlin’s safety. Her affection is balanced by practical judgment, showing that she is both emotionally close to him and alert to the political dangers surrounding him.
• Ge Yuan and Luo Xiaotong continue to serve as impatient companions seeking information about the Phase-Change Energy Core. Their blunt remarks provide comic relief.
• Liang Bin is polite and complimentary but clearly calculating. His praise serves as a prelude to demanding the Soft Alloy method.
• Qi Dongqiang is introduced as a hostile presence, likely because of Fu Junlin’s conflict with his son, Qi Changkun.

Significant Themes

• Political maneuvering and leverage: Fu Junlin’s Soft Alloy method is not merely technical knowledge; it is a bargaining chip that can secure influence and protection.
• Trust and hidden motives: The military leaders praise Fu Junlin while simultaneously attempting to strip him of his strongest negotiating advantage.
• Survival through preparation: Fu Junlin anticipates assassination attempts, political exploitation, and identity exposure, taking precautions before threats become obvious.
• Affection amid danger: Fu Junlin and Shi Hongyu’s playful intimacy contrasts with the serious political dangers awaiting them.
• Institutional power struggles: The tension between the War Preparedness Institute, Zhonghe Institute, and the military reflects a broader conflict over resources, authority, and strategic technology.

Character Interactions

• Fu Junlin and Shi Hongyu share a flirtatious but caring exchange. Her warning about Zhonghe Institute reveals her concern, while his teasing and reassurance strengthen their romantic bond.
• Ge Yuan and Luo Xiaotong interrupt the couple with reminders about the Phase-Change Energy Core and make embarrassing jokes about their intimacy, creating a humorous moment.
• Liang Bin treats Fu Junlin courteously but uses praise to pressure him into surrendering the Soft Alloy production method.
• Fu Junlin faces the generals calmly, aware that the meeting is not simply a formal welcome but an attempt to force him to give up his political advantage.

Chapter Summary: Everything Turned Upside Down, Assigned a Deputy Post

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fu Junlin meets with Liang Bin and several high-ranking military officials, who pressure him to hand over the Soft Alloy manufacturing method.
• Fu explains that the method depends on molecular structures beyond current equipment’s ability to observe, and that only his Savant Syndrome allows him to process it. He therefore claims he cannot teach them how to manufacture it.
• The officials interpret his response as deliberate refusal and become openly hostile. They imply that Fu is unwilling to cooperate, while Fu calmly refuses to yield.
• When asked about his ambitions, Fu declares that he wants to eliminate hunger, provide education for every child, strengthen national unity and the military, remove barriers between races, and end racial discrimination.
• After Fu leaves, the officials reveal their true intentions. They regard him as a dangerous political and military asset, especially because he may join the War Preparedness Institute.
• Qi Dongqiang, driven partly by personal anger over Fu’s conflict with his son, demands that Fu be eliminated. The others agree that Fu must first be forced to reveal the Soft Alloy method, after which he can be disposed of.
• Liang Bin approves a plan to send Fu to the wilderness border, where the officials hope he will be tormented into giving up the method.
• Fu receives an immediate transfer order to the wilderness border of the Second Outer Light Gate.
• Before leaving, Fu assigns Cheng Xiaoyu to remain behind and establish their organization, secure a Phase-Change Energy Core for Luo Xiaotong, manage construction and business arrangements, and receive Jian Hongyan when she arrives.
• Fu then travels through several teleportation stations and Arena Zones to Meng City, a border city facing three major war zones.
• Although Fu is a General and should logically command the First War Zone, his official appointment makes him only the deputy commander-in-chief, signaling that the authorities intend to limit and undermine him.

Character Developments

• Fu Junlin: Demonstrates composure, political awareness, and defiance. He uses the limitations of his Savant Syndrome as a shield while refusing to surrender his greatest asset. His stated ideals reveal an egalitarian vision that opposes racial discrimination and entrenched power structures.
• Liang Bin: Maintains a controlled outward manner but clearly views Fu as a threat. He ultimately authorizes the plan to send Fu to the front lines and exploit him before eliminating him.
• Qi Dongqiang: Shows the strongest personal hostility toward Fu, largely because of Fu’s earlier conflict with his son. His desire for revenge combines with fear that Fu could become a major asset to a rival institution.
• Cheng Xiaoyu: Is entrusted with important organizational responsibilities, indicating Fu’s confidence in his reliability and competence.
• The other officials: Shift from polite negotiation to intimidation and conspiracy once Fu refuses to cooperate.

Significant Themes

• Political coercion and institutional corruption: The officials present their demands as serving the “greater good,” but their real motives involve power, revenge, and suppressing a potential rival.
• Individual conviction versus entrenched authority: Fu refuses to compromise his principles despite being surrounded by powerful officials.
• Racial equality: Fu’s vision directly challenges the racial hierarchy and discrimination embedded in the society.
• Weaponization of knowledge: The Soft Alloy method gives Fu protection but also makes him a target. Scientific advancement becomes a source of political leverage.
• Subversion through reassignment: Sending Fu to the front and reducing him to a deputy post is portrayed as an attempt to weaken, isolate, and possibly destroy him.

Character Interactions

• Fu and the officials engage in a tense verbal confrontation disguised as a formal meeting. The officials use indirect threats, while Fu responds with calm, carefully worded defiance.
• Fu’s declaration of equality and national unity humiliates the officials by exposing the contrast between his ideals and their self-serving behavior.
• After Fu leaves, the officials openly conspire against him, with Qi Dongqiang pushing for immediate assassination and Liang Bin settling on coercion at the wilderness border.
• Fu’s meeting with his companions is practical and trusting: he divides responsibilities, sends several allies with him, and relies on Cheng Xiaoyu to build their base of operations.
• His appointment as deputy commander sets up a future conflict with the established military leadership in the First War Zone.

Chapter Summary: Leisurely Wasteland Frontier

Plot Points and Events

• Fu Junlin arrives at the First War Zone, a massive military transfer station and garrison district holding over thirty thousand regular Federation Army troops.
• Although Fu is a General, he has been appointed only deputy commander, while Lieutenant General Sun Musheng holds the chief commander’s position. This arrangement clearly limits Fu’s authority.
• The Supreme Marshal of Meng City escorts Fu personally but reveals nothing about his political allegiance, leaving Fu uncertain about who truly supports him.
• Sun Musheng welcomes Fu with deliberate informality and provocation, making it clear that he intends to undermine or control him.
• Sun arranges luxurious accommodations but tells Fu there is no need to report for duty immediately. Fu recognizes this as a delaying tactic designed to leave him unprepared when an emergency eventually occurs.
• Fu requests recent battle records and a supply of high-quality liquor. Sun interprets the liquor request as an attempt to curry favor and agrees to provide it, while secretly planning to give Fu useless military information.
• Sun privately instructs his subordinate to monitor Fu, extract the manufacturing method he seeks, and feed Fu false or worthless intelligence.
• At the villa, Fu and his companions inspect the accommodations for surveillance or other dangers. Fu explains that Sun is likely waiting for him to make a mistake so he can force him to surrender Soft Alloy’s immunity token in exchange for redeeming himself.
• Rather than wait passively, Fu announces an unconventional strategy: “shake the sieve” and use social interactions to distinguish genuine allies from opportunists.
• Several hours later, Fu invites Major General Li Lin to his villa—not for an official report, but for dinner, drinking, and gambling. This appears to be the first step in Fu’s plan to test and recruit the officers around him.

Character Developments

• Fu Junlin: Demonstrates political awareness, patience, and confidence. He immediately recognizes Sun’s attempt to deny him command and anticipates the trap being prepared. Instead of openly confronting Sun, Fu adopts a relaxed, sociable attitude while quietly gathering information and planning his counterattack.
• Sun Musheng: Establishes himself as Fu’s adversary. He is arrogant, manipulative, and confident that his superior position will allow him to control Fu. He plans to frustrate Fu, gather information about Soft Alloy, and exploit any mistake.
• Shi Hongyu: Acts as a cautious adviser, warning Fu to be careful and helping him assess the threat posed by Sun.
• Big Black: Provides blunt, humorous commentary on Fu’s humiliating appointment and reacts enthusiastically to the prospect of drinking and eating.
• Gai Yuan and Ba Dawang: Show increasing curiosity about Fu’s strategy, though Fu deliberately keeps his plans vague.
• Major General Li Lin: Has not yet met Fu directly in the chapter, but his reaction to the invitation suggests he is cautious and unsure whether Fu’s approach is official or social.

Significant Themes

• Power and authority: Fu’s formal rank is undermined by the military district’s command structure, showing that real power depends on control of troops rather than titles.
• Political maneuvering and deception: Both Fu and Sun conceal their intentions, use politeness as a weapon, and attempt to manipulate the other.
• Strategic patience: Fu avoids reacting emotionally to Sun’s provocations, preferring to observe the officers and build influence indirectly.
• Appearances versus reality: Fu acts carefree and possibly self-indulgent, but his requests for liquor, records, and social gatherings are calculated moves.
• Freedom and confinement: The First War Zone is compared to a prison, with soldiers treating brief trips into the wasteland as freedom. This reflects the oppressive nature of the military frontier.
• Alliances and loyalty: Fu’s “sieve” strategy suggests that he intends to identify which officers are trustworthy, hostile, or easily influenced.

Character Interactions

• The Supreme Marshal escorts Fu into the war zone but maintains political ambiguity.
• Big Black openly criticizes Fu’s reduced authority, while Fu suppresses his anger and focuses on strategy.
• Sun Musheng greets Fu with calculated disrespect, but Fu responds cheerfully, refusing to give him an emotional advantage.
• Sun and Fu engage in a polite but hostile exchange over accommodations, battle records, and liquor, with both sides concealing their true motives.
• Shi Hongyu warns Fu about Sun’s intentions, and Fu explains the trap he believes Sun is preparing.
• Fu then turns outward, inviting Major General Li Lin to a social gathering, beginning his effort to assess the military district’s officers and build his own network.

Chapter Summary: “A Seventh-Rank Official at the Chancellor’s Gate”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Five days after earlier events, Sun Musheng relaxes at his villa while his personal guard captain, Zhou Liantong, reviews photographs and personal information about young girls.
• The chapter reveals that Zhou operates an organized abduction and exploitation network targeting girls from less powerful families. His victims are drugged, kidnapped, and added to his large personal harem, with Sun Musheng knowingly tolerating his crimes.
• Sun discusses a possible upcoming battle against monster scouts. He plans to send a political rival or subordinate to the battlefield, intending to exploit the man’s inexperience and cause him to make a fatal mistake.
• Zhou reports that the target has spent the last several days gambling and appearing incompetent, but Sun suspects this behavior is merely a deliberate attempt to lower their guard.
• That night, Zhou receives an unconscious teenage girl brought in by an accomplice. He angrily orders that she be awakened, revealing that he takes pleasure in psychologically “taming” his victims rather than simply assaulting them.
• At the war-zone transit station, the girl’s injured younger brother desperately tries to enter the garrison district and demand her return. The guards refuse to help, despite clearly knowing that she has been taken by a military officer.

Character Developments

• Sun Musheng is established as powerful, calculating, and morally corrupt. He treats Zhou’s crimes as an eccentricity rather than a serious offense and uses military assignments as tools for political assassination.
• Zhou Liantong is revealed to be a sadistic predator with an extensive kidnapping operation and dozens of victims. His loyalty and efficiency have earned him Sun’s protection, allowing him to abuse ordinary families with impunity.
• The unnamed young man under suspicion appears outwardly lazy, incompetent, and addicted to gambling, but Sun recognizes that this may be an act designed to conceal his true intentions.
• The kidnapped girl’s younger brother is portrayed as desperate and powerless. Despite his injuries, he risks confronting the authorities to rescue his sister, emphasizing the vulnerability of common people.
• The guards and accomplices demonstrate institutional complicity. They know what is happening but either participate directly or refuse to intervene.

Significant Themes

• Abuse of power and corruption: Rank and political influence allow officials to commit crimes without consequences.
• Dehumanization of the powerless: The victims’ lives are treated as disposable by those protected by the ruling hierarchy.
• Institutional complicity: The guards, subordinates, and officials all enable Zhou’s crimes through obedience, silence, or personal benefit.
• Deception and hidden motives: The apparent gambling and incompetence of Sun’s target may conceal a strategic plan, creating tension between appearance and reality.
• Class inequality and impunity: Families without influential connections cannot obtain justice, even when their loved ones are abducted in plain sight.

Character Interactions

• Sun and Zhou interact as corrupt master and trusted subordinate, joking casually about Zhou’s predatory behavior.
• Sun warns Zhou not to underestimate the seemingly incompetent target, while Zhou dismisses the man as useless.
• Zhou’s treatment of his accomplice reveals his sadistic expectations and his desire to control victims psychologically.
• The injured boy pleads with the gate guards for his sister’s return, but they repeatedly hide behind official procedure and refuse to acknowledge the injustice, intensifying the chapter’s portrayal of helplessness.

Plot points and events

• A poor, injured boy begs the military guards to tell him why his little sister was abducted. He admits he tried to stop the kidnappers and was beaten badly.
• The guards heal his reopened head wound but warn him that entering the compound could get him killed—and that his sister is likely still alive. Staying alive may give him a chance to see her again.
• As the boy prepares to leave, Major Ba Xiaomei arrives and insists that he come with her. Despite the guards’ attempt to pass him off as a peddler, she takes him toward the General’s villa.
• The guards fear the new General may avoid confronting Zhou Liantong, the official responsible for the abductions, because Zhou is protected by the powerful Sun Musheng.

Character developments and interactions

• The boy moves from desperate pleading to fearful resignation. His love for his sister drives him, but the guards’ warning forces him to consider surviving rather than rushing into danger.
• The guards show compassion by treating the boy and quietly warning him, though they are afraid of the consequences of openly opposing their superiors.
• Ba Xiaomei uses her authority to override the guards and personally escorts the boy inside, suggesting she intends to help or investigate.
• The boy and the guards share a tense, guarded exchange: they want to protect him, but cannot safely reveal everything. Ba Xiaomei’s intervention breaks their impasse.

Significant themes

• Powerlessness and injustice: Vulnerable civilians can be abducted with impunity, while those in uniform feel unable to intervene.
• Survival and hope: The guards urge the boy to stay alive so he may reunite with his sister.
• Institutional corruption and fear: Political patronage shields Zhou Liantong, and even officers who resent him believe resistance is futile.
• Compassion under oppression: The guards’ healing and warning, and Ba Xiaomei’s decision to help, offer small acts of humanity within a compromised system.

Chapter Summary: “Sun Musheng Meets His Match”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhou Liantong keeps a young girl imprisoned in a secret room at his villa. She is tied to a chair and cries out for her brother, but receives no help.
• Outside the room, Zhou reads a disturbing book titled Handbook for Cultivating Stockholm Patients, suggesting that he intends to manipulate the girl psychologically into developing dependence or affection toward him.
• The next morning at General Fu Junlin’s villa, Fu plays Pai Gow with several Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels.
• The officers become uneasy because Fu appears to behave erratically: he curses, uses strange idioms, loses his temper, and eventually attacks the gambling tiles with his shoe after losing.
• Ba Dawang restrains and drags him away, while the other officers leave, believing Fu to be unstable, childish, or unwilling to pay his losses.
• The apparent outburst is revealed to be an act—or more precisely, the result of “Big Black,” an alternate personality or mental state, taking control while Fu wears sunglasses.
• Fu had deliberately used the gambling sessions to observe and screen the officers, determining whether they belonged to the War Preparedness Faction or the Zhonghe Faction. Big Black’s unruly behavior also helped conceal Fu’s true intentions.
• News of the incident reaches Sun Musheng. Although one Colonel mocks Fu’s behavior, Sun recognizes that it was probably deliberate.
• Sun argues that someone capable of mastering Intent, especially without Ranger Bloodline, must possess extraordinary willpower and self-control. Therefore, Fu would never genuinely lose control over a minor gambling loss; his outburst was almost certainly an act.

Character Developments

• Zhou Liantong: His actions reveal him as calculating, cruel, and psychologically manipulative. His interest in “cultivating” Stockholm Syndrome shows that he is not merely imprisoning the girl but planning to reshape her emotions.
• The imprisoned girl: She is frightened, helpless, and emotionally dependent on her missing brother, making her vulnerable to Zhou’s planned manipulation.
• Fu Junlin: He demonstrates strategic intelligence by using gambling as an informal interrogation and screening method. He hides his true observations behind a deliberately ridiculous persona.
• Big Black: He is shown as impulsive, aggressive, and enthusiastic about gambling. His uncontrolled temper contrasts sharply with Fu’s disciplined nature, though his behavior serves Fu’s larger plan.
• Ba Dawang: He is familiar with Fu’s unusual condition and helps contain Big Black without exposing the truth to outsiders.
• Sun Musheng: He displays perceptiveness and military insight. Unlike the other officers, he sees through Fu’s performance and understands the significance of his mastery of Intent.

Significant Themes

• Psychological manipulation and control: Zhou’s scheme centers on forcing emotional dependence, while Fu manipulates others by carefully controlling how they perceive him.
• Appearance versus reality: Fu appears unstable, but his behavior is calculated; the officers’ interpretation of events is completely different from the truth.
• Strength of will: Sun emphasizes that mastering Intent requires exceptional mental discipline, making genuine childish loss of control unlikely for someone like Fu.
• Observation and hidden agendas: Gambling becomes a tool for exposing people’s reactions and loyalties rather than simple entertainment.
• Power and vulnerability: The imprisoned girl is physically powerless, while Fu’s concealed psychological and strategic strengths allow him to control the situation around him.

Character Interactions

• Zhou enters the girl’s room after she cries for her brother, creating a tense captor-and-victim dynamic and implying the beginning of his psychological conditioning.
• Fu interacts with the officers through a staged gambling session, allowing him to study their reactions while they judge his apparent character.
• Big Black’s violent reaction to losing shocks the officers, while Ba Dawang acts as the intermediary who restrains and removes him.
• The officers later ridicule Fu, revealing their superficial judgment and lack of understanding.
• Sun Musheng corrects their interpretation, explaining that Fu’s battlefield achievements and mastery of Intent make such behavior implausible. His analysis establishes him as someone capable of recognizing Fu’s true nature.

Key plot points and events

• Sun Musheng realizes Fu Junlin’s earlier gambling antics were an act meant to make the officers lower their guard. He warns his subordinates not to give Fu any leverage.
• Fu invites Sun and more than twenty senior officers to dinner at his villa. Sun treats the banquet as a chance to confront Fu in front of both institutes’ factions and orders everyone to attend.
• The officers gather for a lavish meal. Fu and Sun exchange courteous but pointed remarks, each masking suspicion behind smiles. Fu highlights his own Subspecies status and that of those working for him.
• Fu brings forward a frightened boy whose sister has been abducted. He tells Sun that a predator has taken 132 girls, including the boy’s sister, and asks whether the law requires the offender’s execution.
• Sun recognizes that the accusation points to his associate, Zhou Liantong, but remains confident he can use his authority to suppress the case. Before he can do so, Ba Xiaomei suddenly attacks Zhou with a huge saber, striking through his shoulder and back.

Character developments

• Fu Junlin shifts from appearing foolish and submissive to revealing himself as a careful strategist. He uses the dinner to expose Sun’s connection to the crimes and to position the victim’s brother as a witness.
• Sun Musheng remains calculating and self-assured. Though he understands Fu’s trap, he believes his rank will protect him and the people around him.
• Zhou Liantong is unsettled when Fu reveals the exact number of abducted girls, but he shows little fear—until Ba Xiaomei attacks.
• The boy is visibly terrified and confused, but becomes central to Fu’s attempt to bring the abduction case into the open.
• Ba Xiaomei appears playful and easily scolded earlier in the banquet, then abruptly acts with lethal force.

Significant themes

• Deception and hidden intentions: Fu’s apparent incompetence was a deliberate performance, while the officers’ polite dinner conversation conceals a power struggle.
• Abuse of authority and impunity: Sun assumes that rank will let him bury even a well-documented crime.
• Prejudice and social status: Fu draws attention to the low status of Subspecies, using the boy’s vulnerability to contrast with the powerful men at the table.
• Justice versus power: The scene turns on whether the law can be enforced against someone protected by influence.

Character interactions

• Sun publicly commands his officers to attend, making the dinner a show of institutional pressure.
• Fu and Sun trade cordial remarks while testing each other’s intentions; Sun also watches Fu’s associates closely.
• Fu offers Sun the beef and lets Zhou taste it, provoking Sun to scold Zhou for presuming to protect him.
• Fu introduces the boy and directs him toward Sun, forcing the commander-in-chief to address the abduction allegation in front of witnesses.
• Sun and Zhou share a brief, revealing exchange of glances before Ba Xiaomei’s sudden attack interrupts Sun’s response.

Chapter Summary: “General Furiously Executes Zhou Liantong”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The War Preparedness Institute has avoided confronting the Zhonghe Institute because it lacks overwhelming individual strength. However, Fu Junlin and his allies possess enough power to challenge them.
• During a gathering, Ba Xiaomei and the others launch a surprise attack on Zhou Liantong, Sun Musheng’s Level-Five guard. Because Zhou is caught off guard and cannot activate his defensive shield, they kill him brutally at the table.
• Sun Musheng reacts furiously and attempts to attack Fu Junlin, but Ba Dawang swiftly restrains him and slams his head onto the table.
• Fu Junlin confronts Sun Musheng over Zhou Liantong’s crimes, including torturing and murdering civilians, abducting young women, violating military discipline, and damaging the army’s reputation.
• Sun Musheng denies involvement and desperately claims that Zhou deserved execution, insisting he would have punished him himself.
• Fu Junlin releases him but makes Sun publicly approve of Zhou’s execution and announces that Sun must withdraw from the investigation to avoid suspicion.
• Sun reluctantly agrees, realizing that Fu Junlin’s independent investigation could expose his connections to Zhou and cost him his position.
• Fu Junlin’s actions win the admiration of many War Preparedness Institute generals and soldiers, who see him as someone finally willing to confront corruption and abuse within the military.
• The chapter ends with Fu Junlin lightly criticizing the generals for ruining the meal he prepared, despite the violent confrontation that has just taken place.

Character Developments

• Fu Junlin reveals a dramatic transformation from the seemingly useless, drunken gambler seen earlier into a ruthless, calculating, and politically astute leader. He combines overwhelming force with legal and political pressure.
• Sun Musheng is exposed as cowardly and politically vulnerable. Though initially enraged, he quickly abandons pride and dignity to preserve his life, while recognizing that Fu Junlin threatens both his authority and his position.
• Zhou Liantong receives a violent execution for his notorious crimes. His death demonstrates that even powerful military subordinates can no longer act with impunity.
• Ba Xiaomei, Ba Dawang, and the others demonstrate their improved strength and loyalty to Fu Junlin by acting decisively and overwhelming Zhou and Sun.
• The War Preparedness Institute generals shift emotionally from shock to excitement, seeing Fu Junlin as a potential leader capable of restoring military justice and morale.

Significant Themes

• Justice versus entrenched power: Fu Junlin uses Zhou’s well-known crimes to challenge the Zhonghe Institute’s protection of corrupt officials.
• Political strategy and manipulation: Rather than simply killing Sun Musheng, Fu Junlin forces him to condemn Zhou and withdraw from the investigation, isolating him politically.
• Fear and authority: Fu Junlin’s ruthlessness establishes immediate dominance, while Sun’s terror shows that authority depends as much on psychological control as on strength.
• Restoration of military morale: Zhou’s crimes symbolize the corruption that has demoralized soldiers. His execution gives oppressed soldiers hope and turns public sentiment toward Fu Junlin.
• The limits of institutional unity: Fu Junlin exploits divisions within the Zhonghe Institute, recognizing that internal factional conflict may be more dangerous to Sun than direct military opposition.

Character Interactions

• Ba Xiaomei and the others ambush and kill Zhou Liantong.
• Ba Dawang physically restrains Sun Musheng, after which Fu Junlin takes control of the confrontation.
• Fu Junlin interrogates Sun, forcing him to deny complicity and praise Zhou’s execution.
• Fu Junlin then formally removes Sun from the investigation, turning Sun’s own concern for military justice against him.
• The surrounding generals silently assess the power shift, with many beginning to support Fu Junlin while others fear that their own involvement in Zhou’s abuses may be exposed.

Key plot points and events

• Fu Junlin and Shi Hongyu divide their forces to investigate Lieutenant General Zhou Liantong: Fu heads to the military headquarters, while Shi raids Zhou’s villa.
• Shi breaks into the villa and discovers Zhou’s wife, who appears complicit in his crimes. Ba Xiaomei and Ba Dawang lead the rescue team into the basement.
• More than a hundred girls are found imprisoned there. A fourteen-year-old girl, on the verge of taking her own life, is reunited with her brother, who had accompanied the rescuers. The girls’ collective relief and grief fills the villa.
• Shi confronts Zhou’s wife and knocks her unconscious. News of the raid and Fu’s move against Zhou spreads through the military districts, making Fu appear to openly challenge the Zhonghe Institute.
• That night, fifteen generals arrive at Fu’s villa. They are uncertain whether he is a genuine rebel or a trap, but one by one they express their willingness to follow him. They ask him to become a “lighthouse”—a clear source of direction and hope.

Character developments and interactions

• Fu Junlin acts decisively against Zhou and openly embraces the risk that others may distrust him. Rather than demand their faith, he tells the generals to keep questioning him, underscoring his caution and seriousness.
• Shi Hongyu is forceful and protective during the raid, focused on rescuing the girls. Their suffering intensifies her anger toward Zhou’s household.
• Ba Dawang accidentally hits several girls while breaking down the basement door, then apologizes; Ba Xiaomei scolds him for being reckless.
• The rescued girl and her brother reunite in an emotional embrace, giving the other prisoners the courage to understand that rescue has come.
• The generals move from hesitation toward commitment. Their plea for Fu to be a lighthouse reflects their frustration with isolation and their longing for a leader who can give their ideals direction.

Significant themes

• Leadership as a source of hope: The generals seek not just military success but a visible figure who can unite and guide them.
• Courage amid uncertainty: Fu does not ask for blind trust; the generals choose to follow despite the possibility of danger or betrayal.
• Resistance and solidarity: The raid’s public defiance helps give scattered opponents of the Zhonghe Institute a shared cause and identity.
• The consequences of exploitation: The imprisoned girls’ suffering exposes the brutality of those protected by power.
• Meaning versus distraction: Shi’s reflection on pre-Arena entertainment contrasts passive consumption with the need to think, accept responsibility, and act in a crisis.

Summary

Key plot points and events

• Marshal Sun Lang learns that Fu Junlin killed Zhou Liantong in front of Sun Musheng, leaving the Sun family to manage the political and personal fallout.
• Fu Junlin’s possession of the Soft Alloy manufacturing method makes him difficult to eliminate. Killing him could provoke public outrage and damage Sun Musheng’s position at the Zhonghe Institute.
• Sun Lang summons his second son, Sun Husheng, a highly intelligent strategist, to devise a response.
• Sun Husheng argues that the Sun family should avoid attacking Fu Junlin directly. Instead, they should manipulate the Lin and Lu families into confronting him.
• His plan is to frame Fu Junlin by using a captured Red Sun Federation spy’s identity to transfer money into Fu Junlin’s account, while having the Lin family provide financial records as evidence.
• The resulting accusation would implicate Fu Junlin in treason, enemy collaboration, and attempting to sell the Soft Alloy manufacturing method, allowing him to be sent before a military court.
• Sun Lang pretends to be enraged and approaches Deputy Chief of Staff Liang Bin, directing suspicion toward the Lin family and presenting the scheme as retaliation.
• Liang Bin accepts the plan and contacts the Lin family. Lin Beishan takes charge of the operation, while Lu Minghui becomes involved through his connection to the Lu family’s intelligence authority.
• Both Lin Beishan and Lu Minghui are excited by the opportunity to seize part of Fu Junlin’s Soft Alloy technology, especially because it could determine control over the strategically vital Phoenix spacecraft.

Character developments

• Sun Lang is shown as politically trapped: he wants revenge for the Sun family’s humiliation but recognizes that Fu Junlin’s technology protects him from a straightforward attack. He increasingly relies on Sun Husheng’s strategic insight.
• Sun Husheng emerges as a calculating and capable political tactician. He understands Fu Junlin’s defensive position and devises a scheme that turns the Sun family’s enemies against one another.
• Sun Musheng remains weakened by his earlier humiliation and is indirectly responsible for the Sun family’s current predicament, though he does not appear directly in the chapter.
• Fu Junlin is established as a dangerous, well-prepared opponent. His control of the Soft Alloy method gives him both immense value and protection, while his willingness to strike back makes others reluctant to confront him openly.
• Lin Beishan is revealed as ambitious and opportunistic. He sees the plot as a chance to gain influence, wealth, and access to the Soft Alloy technology.
• Lu Minghui is similarly motivated by the prospect of sharing the rewards and expanding his family’s influence through the intelligence investigation.

Significant themes

• Political manipulation and indirect warfare: The Sun family avoids direct confrontation and attempts to make rival factions destroy one another.
• Power of strategic resources: The Soft Alloy method and Phoenix spacecraft represent enormous military and political leverage, making Fu Junlin difficult to dispose of.
• Reputation and retaliation: The Sun family’s desire to recover its dignity drives the plot, even though revenge must be disguised as an official investigation.
• Deception and manufactured evidence: The proposed frame-up shows how financial records, intelligence agencies, and military courts can be weaponized for political ends.
• “Using tigers to devour wolves”: Sun Husheng’s strategy is to provoke the Lin and Lu families into attacking Fu Junlin, then benefit regardless of who is weakened.

Character interactions

• Sun Lang and Sun Husheng discuss the crisis, with the son taking control of the strategic planning.
• Sun Husheng persuades his father to use Deputy Chief of Staff Liang Bin and the Lin family rather than attack Fu Junlin personally.
• Liang Bin becomes the official channel through which the Sun family launches the scheme.
• Lin Beishan and Lu Minghui discuss the opportunity over drinks, united by their desire to profit from Fu Junlin’s downfall and obtain the Soft Alloy technology.

Summary: “Invited to the Military Court”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fu Junlin endures an intense sauna-like training session to refine and compress his Palm Energy. His body is severely burned, but he recovers rapidly.
• During his recovery, he teases Big Black with the ongoing absurd story about Lu Zhishen, White Bone Demon, Wu Dalang, Little Dragon Maiden, and Tang Sanzang. Big Black becomes emotionally invested and repeatedly demands to hear what happens next.
• Fu Junlin asks Big Black to predict the ability he will gain at 15% Gene Lock. Big Black admits he does not know, explaining that human genetic abilities become increasingly unpredictable at higher levels. He guesses the ability might involve sensing the past through touch or splitting consciousness.
• Fu Junlin continues manipulating Big Black with fabricated cliffhangers, amused by how gullible and honest he is.
• After leaving the sauna, Fu Junlin learns from Ba Dawang that an anonymous note was left at the door warning: “Zhonghe Institute is going to frame you.”
• Fu Junlin believes the Dark Court sent the warning and remains calm, confident that he has allies and will respond when the situation develops.
• He contacts Cheng Xiaoyu and others, asking them to monitor Zhonghe Institute’s activities in A2 Main City.
• The following day, the Military Court orders Fu Junlin to return to A2 Main City for investigation. Unlike most people summoned by the court, Fu Junlin responds calmly and without fear, startling the court officials.

Character Developments

• Fu Junlin demonstrates exceptional endurance, healing ability, and composure. Even after sustaining severe burns, he calmly continues cultivating his energy and joking with Big Black.
• He also shows psychological cleverness, deliberately keeping Big Black dependent on his ridiculous serialized story to control and entertain him.
• Fu Junlin’s calm response to the Military Court highlights his confidence and experience with danger. He neither panics nor resists the summons, suggesting he is prepared for the coming confrontation.
• Big Black remains naïve, emotional, and easily manipulated. His inability to predict Fu Junlin’s future ability frustrates him, but his honesty makes him trustworthy.
• Ba Dawang acts as a loyal aide, quickly bringing Fu Junlin the warning and seeking his guidance.
• The Military Court officials are surprised by Fu Junlin’s unusual composure, contrasting him with the fearful reactions they usually receive.

Significant Themes

• Composure under pressure: Fu Junlin treats physical pain, political threats, and a Military Court summons with the same calm attitude.
• Manipulation and control: Fu Junlin uses humor and storytelling to keep Big Black distracted and obedient.
• Uncertainty and evolution: Big Black’s inability to predict Fu Junlin’s 15% Gene Lock ability emphasizes the unpredictability of human genetic advancement.
• Hidden alliances and political intrigue: The warning about Zhonghe Institute suggests a larger conflict involving conspiracies, framing, and the Dark Court.
• Power and confidence: Fu Junlin’s lack of fear toward the Military Court indicates that he possesses both significant strength and powerful support.

Character Interactions

• Fu Junlin and Big Black engage in a comedic exchange centered on Fu Junlin’s deliberately nonsensical story. Big Black reacts with outrage and excitement, while Fu Junlin remains dry and amused.
• Fu Junlin and Ba Dawang discuss the threatening note. Ba Dawang worries about the situation, but Fu Junlin reassures him that they are not alone.
• Fu Junlin coordinates with Cheng Xiaoyu and the others to investigate Zhonghe Institute.
• The Military Court’s representatives expect fear and hesitation, but Fu Junlin’s relaxed acceptance of the summons leaves them confused and unsettled.

Chapter Summary: “Virtue Means Returning Favors”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fu Junlin returns to A2 Main City and is immediately escorted by Tribunal Hall officials to the Military Court, where he faces charges of colluding with the enemy, betraying the Federation, accepting money from Red Sun Federation spies, and attempting to sell national secrets.
• The Tribunal Hall, one of the Federation’s most powerful and relatively independent judicial institutions, oversees the trial. Its authority and overwhelming military strength make the accused officials deeply uneasy.
• The prosecution presents evidence showing that a verified spy transferred money to Fu Junlin. Fu Junlin exposes a flaw in the case: the spy’s records were falsified to make it appear that the transfer occurred recently, even though the spy had been arrested and under Federation surveillance nine days earlier.
• Fu Junlin submits alteration logs proving that the accusation was likely fabricated. The chief judge confirms the evidence appears valid and announces that the case requires further investigation, ordering Fu Junlin to remain in the main city.
• Just as Lin Beishan, Lu Minghui, and the other officials prepare to leave and cover their tracks, Fu Junlin stops the proceedings.
• He presents more than ten document bags containing evidence of serious crimes committed by the relatives and subordinates of powerful officials, including embezzlement, bribery, torture, rape, murder, abuse of authority, and falsification of military records.

Character Developments

• Fu Junlin remains calm and confident despite being treated like a criminal. He demonstrates exceptional preparation, intelligence, and investigative ability, turning the trial from a defensive battle into a devastating counterattack.
• His remark that “favors must be returned” reveals his strategic and slightly vengeful personality: he does not merely clear his name but ensures that those who framed him pay a heavier price.
• Lin Beishan, Lu Minghui, and their allies shift from confidence to panic. Their attempted frame-up collapses, and Fu Junlin’s hidden evidence exposes their broader corruption.
• The chief judge appears stern and impartial. Though initially accepting the prosecution’s evidence, he immediately investigates Fu Junlin’s claims and recognizes that the case may be a deliberate frame-up.
• The Tribunal Hall is portrayed as one of the few institutions capable of resisting the political power of the Zhonghe Institute, giving the trial genuine consequences for the conspirators.

Significant Themes

• Justice versus political corruption: The chapter contrasts the Tribunal Hall’s remaining judicial integrity with the corruption of powerful officials who manipulate records and fabricate accusations.
• Power through preparation and information: Fu Junlin succeeds because he uncovers the hidden weaknesses in the conspiracy and possesses evidence capable of exposing his opponents.
• The danger of abusing authority: The crimes revealed in the documents show how political power enables exploitation, violence, and the suppression of truth.
• Retribution and reciprocity: The title reflects Fu Junlin’s attitude that those who attempt to harm him will receive an equivalent—or greater—response.
• Appearance versus reality: Fu Junlin appears to be the accused criminal, but the proceedings gradually reveal that the real wrongdoing lies with the officials behind the case.

Character Interactions

• The chief judge questions Fu Junlin directly, while Fu Junlin responds with controlled sarcasm and evidence rather than fear.
• Fu Junlin’s backward glance makes the officials behind him feel exposed even before he reveals his counterevidence.
• Lin Beishan and Lu Minghui exchange worried looks as Fu Junlin dismantles their case, realizing that their scheme has been uncovered.
• The chief judge and Tribunal Hall officials validate Fu Junlin’s claims, shifting the courtroom’s attention toward the conspirators.
• Fu Junlin’s final presentation of documents transforms the courtroom into a threat against the corrupt officials, leaving them horrified and effectively trapped.

Chapter Summary: Little Loach Stirs Up the Mud Pit

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fu Junlin’s evidence causes the Tribunal Hall to abruptly adjourn his trial. The presiding judge is so shocked by the documents that he forgets to formally declare Fu Junlin not guilty.
• The Tribunal Hall discusses how to use Fu Junlin’s intelligence against the Zhonghe Institute. Although the evidence does not directly threaten the Institute’s oldest and most powerful leaders, it exposes crimes committed by their descendants and provides valuable leverage.
• Rather than publicly prosecuting everyone, the Tribunal Hall decides to punish a few carefully selected groups while retaining the rest of the evidence as a deterrent. This approach is intended to weaken the Zhonghe Institute without provoking a full-scale political conflict.
• The Tribunal Hall recognizes that Fu Junlin has disrupted the fragile balance between the Zhonghe Institute and the War Preparedness Faction. His actions may expose internal conflicts within the Zhonghe Institute and prevent it from becoming completely dominant.
• Fu Junlin visits Cheng Xiaoyu and the others at the factory. The water plant has begun trial operations, and Luo Xiaotong has stolen a Phase-Change Energy Core to search for a suitable Life-Cycle Enclosure.
• A mechanical spider delivers a walkie-talkie to Fu Junlin, allowing him to speak with his brother, Fu Junting. Junting reveals that he has been gathering intelligence inside the main city and plans to obtain even more damaging information.
• The chapter ends with a disturbing misunderstanding: Fu Junlin refers to a note warning him that the Zhonghe Institute intended to frame him, but Fu Junting insists he never sent such a note.

Character Developments

• Fu Junlin is shown to be calm, strategically minded, and increasingly influential. His evidence has given him leverage over a major political faction, but his willingness to disrupt the status quo makes the Tribunal Hall worry that he may become too radical.
• The Tribunal Hall’s leaders view Fu Junlin with mixed feelings. They recognize him as a useful force against the Zhonghe Institute, yet they are uncertain whether he is a blessing or a dangerous destabilizing influence.
• Fu Junting demonstrates intelligence, resourcefulness, and extreme caution. He has infiltrated the main city, collected sensitive information, and uses disposable technology to protect his identity and communications.
• Luo Xiaotong continues operating independently and boldly, having stolen an important energy core for the group’s larger technological objectives.
• The Tribunal Hall emerges as a pragmatic institution. It does not seek to overthrow the Zhonghe Institute outright, but instead aims to restrain and weaken it while preserving Federation-wide stability.

Significant Themes

• Political balance and controlled conflict: The Federation’s factions avoid open war because internal conflict would leave the population vulnerable. Power is maintained through calculated legal and political pressure rather than direct revolution.
• The danger of disrupting stagnation: Fu Junlin is compared to a “little loach” stirring up a muddy pond. His actions reveal hidden corruption and force powerful figures into the open, but they also risk provoking unpredictable retaliation.
• Information as power: The documents Fu Junlin provides are more valuable as leverage than as public revelations. Possessing secrets allows the Tribunal Hall to control and deter its opponents.
• Pragmatism versus idealism: The Tribunal Hall knows the Zhonghe Institute is deeply corrupt but cannot simply destroy it without causing greater disaster. Its response reflects compromise and strategic restraint.
• Mistrust and hidden agendas: The unidentified note raises the possibility that someone else is manipulating events or impersonating Fu Junting, adding a new layer of danger around Fu Junlin.

Important Character Interactions

• The presiding judge reacts with shock to Fu Junlin’s evidence, revealing the documents’ extraordinary political significance.
• Tribunal Hall officials debate whether to prosecute the exposed criminals, ultimately choosing a cautious, selective response.
• Fu Junlin and Fu Junting share a warm but teasing brotherly exchange. Junting’s confidence contrasts with Fu Junlin’s concern for his safety.
• Big Black praises Fu Junting’s ingenuity, while Fu Junlin recognizes that his brother has inherited his own earlier boldness and resourcefulness.
• The final conversation between the brothers turns tense when they realize that Fu Junlin received a warning neither of them can account for, suggesting an unknown third party is involved.

Chapter Summary: “Sun Musheng’s Poisonous Counterattack”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fu Junlin speaks with his younger brother, Fu Junting, trying to determine who secretly warned him about the plot against him. Since Fu Junting denies sending the warning, Fu Junlin suspects that an influential but hidden member of the War Preparedness Institute—or possibly someone connected to Zhonghe Institute—sent the note.
• Fu Junting reveals that Ma Xingkong from Crimson Crown City has arrived in A2 Main City. He encountered Ma Xingkong on the same spaceship but lost track of him because Ma Xingkong appears capable of using invisibility. Fu Junting plans to locate him, especially because Ma Xingkong possesses an Energy Block that Fu Junlin does not want Xiao to recover.
• Meanwhile, a massive monster tide is detected outside Meng City in the First War Zone. Patrol drones are destroyed, and the war zone’s alarms are activated. The other war zones also respond to the attack.
• Sun Musheng, commander-in-chief of the First War Zone, takes command. He is frustrated because Fu Junlin is away in A2 Main City, preventing Sun from using the battle to manipulate or punish him directly.
• Sun deliberately assigns the Fourth, Seventh, and Eleventh Combat Regiments—units led by officers loyal to Fu Junlin’s War Preparedness Faction—to positions where monsters are heavily concentrated. The locations are dangerously remote and difficult to reinforce.
• Major General Su Ming and the three regiments quickly become surrounded by overwhelming numbers of monsters. Su realizes that Sun Musheng has effectively sent them into a trap, but retreat is impossible because abandoning the position would expose Meng City.
• As the battle begins, Su Ming repeatedly requests reinforcements. Sun Musheng coldly mutes the regiment’s communication channel, deliberately ignoring their pleas.

Character Developments

• Fu Junlin becomes increasingly suspicious and politically cautious. He recognizes that the anonymous warning likely came from someone powerful who supports him but fears being exposed.
• Fu Junting is established as an exceptionally capable investigator with unusual luck. Although he lost Ma Xingkong, he successfully traced the conspiracy against Fu Junlin and remains confident he can find Ma again.
• Ma Xingkong is characterized as elusive and dangerous, possessing a form of invisibility and carrying the valuable Energy Block.
• Sun Musheng reveals himself as ruthless and vindictive. Rather than treating the monster attack solely as a military crisis, he uses it to eliminate Fu Junlin’s supporters and weaken the War Preparedness Faction.
• Su Ming demonstrates military awareness and loyalty to his troops. He immediately recognizes the disastrous position Sun has placed him in and desperately tries to obtain aid.

Significant Themes

• Political factionalism within the military: The battlefield is used as an extension of the struggle between Sun Musheng and Fu Junlin.
• Betrayal and hidden alliances: The anonymous warning suggests that loyalties are concealed, and even allies must operate secretly to survive.
• Abuse of authority: Sun Musheng exploits unquestionable military orders to send political enemies into danger while concealing his intentions behind legitimate command decisions.
• Human conflict amid external threats: Although monsters threaten the entire war zone, internal power struggles remain just as dangerous.
• Sacrifice and expendability: The soldiers of the targeted regiments are treated as disposable tools in Sun Musheng’s personal retaliation.

Character Interactions

• Fu Junlin and Fu Junting discuss the mysterious warning, Ma Xingkong’s arrival, and the danger posed by the Energy Block. Their conversation shows mutual trust, though Fu Junlin remains wary of the unknown informant.
• Sun Musheng interacts with his deputy commanders by issuing orders that appear strategic but are secretly intended to harm Fu Junlin’s faction. The deputies recognize his motives but cannot challenge the commands.
• Su Ming communicates with the command center during the battle, pleading for reinforcements. Sun Musheng responds not with assistance but by muting the channel, turning the conflict into a deliberate betrayal of his own troops.

Chapter Summary: “A Nobody Arranges Reinforcements”

Key Plot Points and Events

• During a chaotic battle, Major General Su Ming’s Fourth Combat Regiment sends an urgent request for reinforcements.
• Su Ming realizes that Commander Sun Musheng deliberately used his regiment as cannon fodder. Sun intends to let the regiment be annihilated, then send reinforcements just in time to preserve the final defensive line and conceal his betrayal.
• Sun has muted Su Ming’s communications, ensuring that no one at headquarters will hear the regiment’s pleas. Since most witnesses would die in the battle, Sun’s scheme would likely remain hidden.
• An unknown communications operator secretly connects to Su Ming’s channel and tells him to hold on. The operator then leaves his station and calls a trusted logistics soldier, Jiezi, instructing him to warn General Fu Junlin’s people that Sun Musheng is trying to kill Su Ming and his troops.
• Another soldier rushes into the restroom and provides a second set of coordinates, revealing that another position is also close to collapse. Old Xu passes this information to Jiezi before returning to his post.
• Old Xu understands that his actions will likely be traced and that he may be executed after the war, but he chooses to help anyway.
• On the battlefield, the Fourth Combat Regiment continues fighting despite exhaustion and overwhelming casualties. Su Ming coordinates a circular defensive formation while personally fighting at the front.
• A gigantic lizard BOSS breaks into the formation and massacres soldiers. Su Ming orders the assault team to eliminate it, but the unit is too overwhelmed to respond.
• Just as the lizard is about to cause further destruction, an unknown warrior arrives and kills it with a single devastating saber strike.

Character Developments

• Su Ming: Realizes he has been betrayed and manipulated by Sun Musheng, transforming his anger into grim determination. Despite emotional strain and mounting despair, he continues commanding effectively and protecting his soldiers.
• Sun Musheng: Is revealed as ruthless and politically calculating. He sacrifices an entire regiment to eliminate witnesses and preserve his own reputation.
• Old Xu, the operator: Changes from an insignificant, frightened communications worker into a courageous conspirator. Although terrified of punishment, he risks his life to expose Sun Musheng and seek help for Su Ming.
• Jiezi: Demonstrates loyalty and solidarity, immediately agreeing to carry the warning despite knowing that helping could lead to both men’s deaths.
• The unknown rescuer: Enters at the climactic moment, displaying overwhelming combat ability by killing the lizard BOSS in one blow.

Significant Themes

• Betrayal and political sacrifice: Soldiers are treated as disposable pieces in a power struggle, with Sun Musheng prioritizing secrecy and self-preservation over human life.
• Courage from ordinary people: The chapter emphasizes that heroic actions can come from seemingly insignificant individuals rather than high-ranking commanders.
• Loyalty and brotherhood: Old Xu and Jiezi accept enormous risks to help comrades, valuing shared sacrifice over personal survival.
• Truth versus concealment: Sun Musheng attempts to erase evidence through mass death, while Old Xu’s actions preserve the truth and create a chance for justice.
• Hope in desperation: The secret message and the sudden arrival of the rescuer provide hope just as Su Ming’s forces are nearing total collapse.

Character Interactions

• Su Ming and Sun Musheng: Their relationship is defined by hidden betrayal; Su Ming discovers that Sun has deliberately sacrificed him.
• Su Ming and Old Xu: Though they never meet directly, Old Xu’s brief message gives Su Ming the resolve to continue resisting.
• Old Xu and Jiezi: Their phone conversation highlights deep mutual trust. Jiezi accepts the danger without hesitation, while Old Xu apologizes for placing him at risk.
• Old Xu and the second soldier: The soldier’s frantic arrival shows that resistance to Sun Musheng exists within the command center and helps expand the rescue effort.
• Su Ming and his troops: Su Ming remains deeply invested in his soldiers, personally fighting and directing the defense even as their deaths overwhelm him emotionally.
• Su Ming and the unknown warrior: Their interaction is indirect but pivotal: the warrior’s spectacular intervention saves the regiment from the immediate threat of the lizard BOSS.