Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Shangguan Feihong”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Aiou and Mani visit a tiny restaurant known as the “Secret Galangal Chicken” shop, which serves only four customers at a time.
• They encounter Tang Yihu, the defeated former leader of One Tiger Hall. His level has been reset to zero, and nearly all of his former “brothers” have abandoned him for a rival company.
• The shop owner forces Tang Yihu to finish his meal before leaving, revealing that she was once his teammate and classmate.
• Aiou learns that the rival company is run by Li Bingwen, Tang Yihu’s longtime classmate and rival. This suggests Li may have manipulated Tang into entering the competition that ruined him.
• After Aiou and Mani leave, they witness Li Bingwen arriving with flowers to confess or propose to the shop owner. He is rejected and slapped, then leaves in humiliation.
• Aiou jokes about the incident, but the shop owner overhears him, prompting Aiou and Mani to flee.
• They collide with a red-haired woman, Shangguan Feihong, a powerful fire mage known as the “Sharp-Tongued Fire Witch.”
• Shangguan is immediately attracted to Aiou, despite suspecting that he may possess some kind of charm or seductive ability. Mani interrupts and sharply discourages Aiou from flirting.
• Aiou and Mani continue searching for the elusive Nameless Shop, spending several days sampling various private dishes along the way.

Character Developments

• Tang Yihu is shown in a state of despair. His former confidence has collapsed after his defeat and the betrayal of his followers. He remains deeply hurt because he genuinely regarded them as brothers.
• Aiou displays curiosity and perceptiveness, quickly investigating Tang’s situation and recognizing that Li Bingwen’s rivalry with him may involve deliberate sabotage. He also continues to behave playfully and flirtatiously.
• Mani remains practical, protective, and blunt. She dismisses Tang’s self-pity, keeps Aiou from pursuing Shangguan, and acts as a moral restraint on his impulsiveness.
• The shop owner is revealed to have a long history with Tang Yihu and Li Bingwen. Her interactions with both men suggest unresolved romantic or personal tensions.
• Li Bingwen, despite his sinister appearance and rivalry with Tang, is revealed to be awkward and vulnerable when pursuing the shop owner.
• Shangguan Feihong is introduced as a powerful but physically fragile fire mage. Her unusual, immediate attraction to Aiou suggests that his charm may have supernatural effects, though she finds no evidence of mental magic or status manipulation.

Significant Themes

• Betrayal and false loyalty: Tang discovers that many of his supposed brothers valued his power and status more than their relationship with him.
• Long-standing rivalry: The conflict between Tang Yihu and Li Bingwen has lasted for more than ninety years and likely influenced the recent competition.
• Romance and rejection: Li’s failed courtship and Shangguan’s sudden attraction provide comic contrasts to Tang’s emotional collapse.
• Identity and reputation: The characters’ nicknames, histories, and public achievements shape how others perceive them, especially Shangguan’s reputation as a dangerous mage.
• Food and wandering: The small restaurants and private dishes offer Aiou and Mani a way to explore Infinite City while highlighting the city’s eccentricity and hidden locations.

Character Interactions

• Mani openly mocks Tang’s poor condition, while Aiou investigates and sympathizes with his downfall.
• The shop owner treats Tang firmly but compassionately, forcing him to eat and recalling their shared past.
• Aiou and the shop owner discuss Tang and Li, allowing Aiou to uncover the deeper history behind their rivalry.
• Aiou and Mani observe Li’s failed romantic approach and flee when the shop owner catches Aiou joking about it.
• Shangguan flirts with Aiou almost immediately, but Mani interrupts and warns him against seducing Infinite City’s women.
• The chapter ends with Aiou and Mani continuing their search together, maintaining their playful but protective partnership.

Chapter Summary: “The Mechanic Family”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Mani and Aiou explore another part of Infinite City while searching for its famous number-one dessert shop.
• They discover the home and workshop of Zhong Ke, a young mechanic, and enter after Mani throws a jelly cup at him to get his attention.
• Zhong Ke explains that he is building a secret weapon and invites them inside for Magic Beast soup.
• They meet his younger sister, Zhong Li, who uses a wheelchair and has extensively modified herself with mechanical limbs.
• Aiou examines Zhong Li’s mechanical leg, accidentally activating its sensory connection and embarrassing her.
• Zhong Ke reveals his own mechanical modifications, including a nanotech heart capable of enhancing his body and exploding like a powerful enchanted bomb.
• After Mani finishes her soup, Aiou initially discovers that Zhong Ke forgot to serve him, but Zhong Ke and Zhong Li persuade them to stay.
• Mani asks about Zhong Ke and Zhong Li’s parents. Zhong Li reveals that their parents are also mechanics who transferred their souls into Infinite City’s database and now serve as invisible attendants.
• A screen projection shows the parents secretly observing their children from within the house.

Character Developments

• Aiou remains polite, curious, and socially adaptable. He is fascinated by mechanical technology but sometimes acts without realizing how intimate or embarrassing his curiosity can be, as shown when he handles Zhong Li’s mechanical leg.
• Mani displays her mischievous, food-driven personality. She boldly forces her way into the household, quickly wins Zhong Ke’s affection, and uses Aiou for protection when frightened by the apparent “ghosts.”
• Zhong Ke is introduced as a shy, awkward, and exceptionally skilled mechanic. Though uncomfortable with guests and reluctant to discuss his secret weapon, he is kind and especially unable to refuse Mani. His mechanical heart demonstrates both his ingenuity and his willingness to take dangerous risks.
• Zhong Li is timid and easily embarrassed but friendly. Despite her physical disability, she has deliberately transformed her body through mechanical engineering and appears proud of her abilities.
• Zhong Ke and Zhong Li’s parents have sacrificed their physical bodies to become digital attendants, remaining involved in their children’s lives while allowing them independence.

Significant Themes

• Technology and self-transformation: The mechanics alter their bodies by choice, suggesting that identity and humanity in Infinite City are not limited to flesh-and-blood bodies.
• Individual paths and independence: Zhong Ke and Zhong Li emphasize that they have followed different mechanical paths, reflecting their distinct personalities and approaches to life.
• Family and unconventional parenthood: Although the parents no longer possess physical bodies, they continue watching over and caring for their children from the database.
• Curiosity versus social boundaries: Aiou’s innocent fascination with mechanical bodies creates awkward situations, while Mani’s shameless behavior repeatedly disrupts normal etiquette.
• Isolation and companionship: Mechanics are generally solitary because of their unusual practices, yet Zhong Ke and Zhong Li welcome Aiou and Mani, revealing their desire for connection.

Character Interactions

• Mani’s aggressive but effective attempt to gain Zhong Ke’s attention leads to the group’s meeting.
• Zhong Ke is immediately warmer toward Mani, offering her soup and allowing her to inspect his mechanical heart.
• Aiou’s questions create a bond with Zhong Li but also embarrass her when he unknowingly manipulates the leg connected to her senses.
• Zhong Li and Zhong Ke work together to make their unexpected guests feel welcome, despite their lack of experience with visitors.
• Mani’s question about the family exposes the hidden presence of the parents and reveals the close, if unconventional, relationship among all four members.

Aiou and Mani wandered into District 888 while searching for Infinite City's First Dessert Shop, then encountered a hunter and a giant sparring monkey. After Aiou endured the monkey’s attacks, it fled, and they continued toward the Academy District.

• Zhong Li explained that nanomachines let her detach and repair her body, while Aiou praised Zhong Ke’s soup and promised to watch his next match.
• Aiou and Mani left Zhong Ke’s home and accidentally entered District 888, where Chunchun saw them but hid behind a tree.
• Aiou and Mani found a muscular man who had knocked out a giant wild boar, but they declined his offer to share the meal.
• Aiou decided to leave District 888 for the Academy District, but a monkey challenged him to spar and grew into a three-meter giant.
• The monkey battered Aiou without seriously injuring him, hurt its own fists, and finally ran away.

Summary: “The Mechanic’s Battle”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Aiou and Mani spend the day teasing, chasing, and playfully fighting one another. Afterward, they return to the spectator stands so Aiou can watch Zhong Ke’s match.
• Aiou reunites with Zhong Li, who is now able to walk with prosthetic legs. They briefly discuss the mechanic class and how its strength depends more on learned knowledge than level.
• Zhong Ke faces Long Shan, a massive, 1,566-year-old Barbarian known for overwhelming strength, defense, and the powerful techniques Savage Roar and Death-Dealing Chain Axes.
• Zhong Ke begins by retreating and firing bullets, but Long Shan barely feels them. Long Shan catches a bullet and throws it back with enough force to create a large crater.
• Zhong Ke attempts to take to the air using transforming roller shoes, but Long Shan’s Savage Roar disrupts the equipment and destroys one shoe. Long Shan then punches Zhong Ke’s head apart, seemingly ending the battle.
• The spectators assume Zhong Ke has been defeated, but he survives because his body contains three vital cores: his brain, heart, and Soul Constrainer. He fires a beam from his neck, replaces his destroyed head, and repairs the wound with micromachines.
• Long Shan uses Savage Roar again, damaging Zhong Ke’s clothing and skin and revealing his mechanical body beneath.
• Zhong Ke activates his hidden trump card: a five-meter-tall exoskeleton armor connected to his nervous system. Long Shan welcomes the escalation, eager for a more direct physical fight.
• Their first armored clash splits the arena open, revealing an underground substance resembling magma. Zhong Ke scans it and discovers that it is actually an unknown liquid metal heated to roughly ten million degrees, making a fall into it potentially fatal.

Character Developments

• Aiou remains boastful, mischievous, and affectionate toward Mani. His teasing reveals their close, playful relationship, while his decision to cover Mani with a blanket shows his gentler, protective side.
• Mani demonstrates strong memory and knowledge despite her otherwise childish behavior. She becomes tired after their day of running and fighting, emphasizing her physical limitations and dependence on Aiou’s care.
• Zhong Li has progressed physically, no longer needing a wheelchair after receiving prosthetic legs. She remains shy but appears more confident and accepting of her situation.
• Zhong Ke is established as highly analytical, cautious, and exceptionally well-prepared. Rather than relying on brute force, he studies his opponent, avoids close combat, conceals his abilities, and uses multiple layers of technology and defensive systems.
• Long Shan is revealed to be immensely powerful, fearless, and enthusiastic about combat. He respects strength and becomes more excited when Zhong Ke finally reveals a worthy challenge.

Significant Themes

• Technology versus physical power: Zhong Ke’s machinery, intelligence, and preparation initially seem inferior to Long Shan’s raw strength, but his mechanical abilities allow him to survive devastating attacks and continue adapting.
• Preparation and hidden abilities: Zhong Ke’s victory chances depend on concealed safeguards, including his triple-core body and exoskeleton armor. The battle emphasizes that apparent weakness may conceal significant resources.
• Adaptation and resilience: Zhong Ke repeatedly changes tactics after Long Shan counters his weapons. His survival after decapitation highlights the extreme durability of advanced mechanical bodies.
• The uncertainty of appearances: The arena seems to be an ordinary plain, yet it hides deadly liquid metal beneath the surface. Similarly, Zhong Ke appears to be a fragile mechanic but is far more durable than spectators expect.
• Companionship and playful intimacy: Aiou and Mani’s quarrel is affectionate rather than hostile, while Aiou’s care for the sleeping Mani reveals the emotional bond beneath their constant bickering.

Character Interactions

• Aiou mocks Mani’s knowledge and pinches her cheeks; Mani responds by insulting him and stepping on his foot, prompting a playful chase.
• Aiou greets Zhong Li and checks whether she is nervous about Zhong Ke’s match. Zhong Li explains the mechanic class’s relationship to knowledge and experience.
• Aiou quietly looks after Mani while she sleeps, covering her with a blanket before turning his attention to the battle.
• Zhong Ke and Long Shan exchange mutual assessments: Zhong Ke has thoroughly researched Long Shan, while Long Shan dismisses knowledge without sufficient strength.
• After destroying Zhong Ke’s head, Long Shan becomes curious rather than complacent when Zhong Ke survives. Their rivalry intensifies once Zhong Ke reveals his mechanical body and armored exoskeleton.

Long Shan and Zhong Ke fought across a magma fissure, trading explosives, lasers, and brutal attacks as each tried to outmaneuver the other. Zhong Ke used his hidden equipment to reverse their positions, leaving Long Shan trapped beneath the magma.

• Long Shan threw an axe carrying a neutron bomb, destroying Zhong Ke's Exoskeleton Armor but leaving him alive and severely damaged.
• Long Shan bluffed with a second axe, crossed the fissure, and wounded his hand when Zhong Ke's body split apart and its lasers struck him.
• Long Shan activated Barbarian's Rage, smashed Zhong Ke, and hurled his ruined body into the magma despite Zhong Ke's heat-protective barrier.
• Zhong Ke assembled a mechanical arm and tried to escape, but Long Shan knocked his javelin into the magma.
• Zhong Ke used the Radiant Anti-Aircraft Cannon to propel himself upward, then used a ring to transport Long Shan beneath the magma and land safely.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The audience realizes that Zhong Ke’s javelin is actually a Spatial Anchor, intended to let him teleport above the fissure. Long Shan interrupts the plan, causing the javelin to fall into the lava, but Zhong Ke uses the situation to gain the advantage.
• Zhong Ke equips a spare Exoskeleton Armor and wields two Super-Heavy Anti-Ship Cannons, remaining alert for Long Shan’s return.
• Long Shan erupts from the lava, severely burned but still alive. His skin begins regenerating, demonstrating the extraordinary durability of the Barbarian class and his own monstrous physique.
• Long Shan crashes into Zhong Ke’s armor, but Zhong Ke teleports away, leaving Long Shan to fall into the lava while clutching the empty armor. Zhong Ke activates its self-destruct mechanism.
• The armor explodes with tremendous force, spreading molten Eternal Cold Iron throughout the arena as deadly lava rain. Long Shan survives yet another exposure to the lethal substance.
• Zhong Ke deploys Floating Cannons and attacks Long Shan with concentrated laser fire. Long Shan reaches Zhong Ke’s apparent body and destroys it with one punch, only to discover that Zhong Ke’s true core has been transferred into one of the cannons.
• Long Shan deduces Zhong Ke’s strategy and begins destroying the Floating Cannons one by one using pieces of metal and rock as improvised projectiles. The fight becomes a prolonged stalemate: Long Shan’s regeneration struggles against continuous laser fire, while Zhong Ke’s cannons are gradually being eliminated.
• During the drawn-out battle, Aiou leaves to use a public restroom. He meets a nervous competitor named Zhu Wei, who is suffering from severe flatulence before his match.
• Aiou searches for Zhu Wei afterward and bets against him, reasoning that Zhu Wei’s apparent illness gives his opponent an advantage. When Aiou returns, the battle has suddenly changed dramatically.

Character Developments

• Zhong Ke proves himself to be a highly strategic mechanic who relies on teleportation, decoys, remote weapons, self-destruct mechanisms, and a concealed core rather than direct combat.
• Long Shan demonstrates extraordinary endurance, regeneration, pain tolerance, and physical strength. Even molten Eternal Cold Iron, which would kill most players instantly, fails to stop him.
• Aiou remains irreverent, impulsive, and opportunistic. He mocks Long Shan, jokes about Zhong Ke’s supposed trump card, and turns a chance restroom encounter into a betting opportunity.
• Zhong Li continues to support her brother and insists that Zhong Ke has not yet revealed his true trump card, though she is increasingly confused by Aiou’s apparent lack of loyalty.
• Mani remains asleep throughout the audience scenes, leaving Zhong Li responsible for watching her.

Significant Themes

• Strategy versus overwhelming force: Zhong Ke survives through planning, deception, and technology, while Long Shan relies on immense physical power and resilience.
• Hidden abilities and misdirection: The Spatial Anchor, transferred core, decoy armor, and concealed mechanisms emphasize that appearances in the battle are misleading.
• The limits of endurance: Long Shan’s survival in lava and ability to regenerate underline the extreme durability of powerful players.
• Spectacle and entertainment: The audience initially celebrates the clever maneuvers, but the prolonged stalemate eventually becomes tedious.
• Comedy amid danger: Aiou’s absurd commentary, bathroom trip, and betting scheme contrast sharply with the brutal life-or-death battle.

Character Interactions

• Aiou and Zhong Li discuss Zhong Ke’s tactics and repeatedly debate whether he has used his trump card.
• Zhong Li is puzzled by Aiou insulting Long Shan despite apparently supporting Zhong Ke.
• Long Shan and Zhong Ke engage in a tactical duel, with each repeatedly countering the other’s methods.
• Long Shan recognizes that Zhong Ke’s core is hidden among the Floating Cannons and openly challenges him to see whether he can destroy the machines before they kill him.
• Aiou befriends Zhu Wei in the restroom, promises to cheer for him, then secretly bets on Zhu Wei’s opponent after learning of his apparent digestive problems.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Aiou returns to find Long Shan unexpectedly fighting Zhong Ke at close range. Zhong Li explains that Zhong Ke has activated his trump card, “Future Can Be Deceived.”
• Zhong Ke has analyzed enormous amounts of data from Long Shan’s current and previous battles, allowing him to predict Long Shan’s attacks and evade them flawlessly.
• Although Long Shan possesses greater raw strength, Zhong Ke has the tactical advantage and plans to use the arena’s magma against him.
• Long Shan realizes that his attacks are being predicted. To break the pattern, he activates a powerful area-wide explosive device, severely injuring himself and transforming the arena into a magma field.
• Zhong Ke survives by hiding inside a bullet-shaped shelter pod, revealing that he had also anticipated Long Shan’s destructive tactic.
• Long Shan attacks with technologically advanced axes, but Zhong Ke continues to evade him. Believing that conventional attacks are useless, Long Shan activates Barbarian’s Rage, surrendering his judgment to instinct and entering a true berserk state.
• His unpredictable, self-mutilating attack catches Zhong Ke off guard. Long Shan kicks Zhong Ke into the magma, then uses repeated axe explosions to restrict his movements.
• Long Shan locates Zhong Ke’s hidden shelter pod beneath the magma and destroys it. Zhong Ke disappears, ending the battle and giving Long Shan the victory.
• Aiou is surprised and mocks the apparent failure of Zhong Ke’s supposedly unbeatable trump card.

Character Developments

• Zhong Ke: Demonstrates extraordinary analytical ability through “Future Can Be Deceived,” using accumulated combat data to predict Long Shan’s movements. However, his reliance on past patterns leaves him vulnerable to actions that are irrational, unprecedented, or driven entirely by instinct.
• Long Shan: Shows remarkable combat experience and adaptability. Though initially trapped by Zhong Ke’s calculations, he recognizes the problem and changes his entire fighting style. By embracing self-destruction and berserk instinct, he becomes impossible to predict and defeats Zhong Ke.
• Zhong Li: Explains her brother’s strategy and correctly identifies both his advantage and his likely use of the magma. Even she is shocked when Long Shan overturns the battle.
• Aiou: Acts as the audience’s viewpoint, gradually understanding Zhong Ke’s ability but ultimately becoming frustrated and surprised when Long Shan wins.

Significant Themes

• Prediction versus unpredictability: Data and analysis can anticipate repeated behavior, but they are ineffective against genuinely new or irrational actions.
• Instinct versus strategy: Zhong Ke relies on calculation, while Long Shan ultimately abandons conscious reasoning and allows instinct to guide him.
• Adaptability in battle: Long Shan wins not through superior strength alone, but by recognizing that his original methods have been countered and radically changing tactics.
• The limits of data: Past experience can reveal patterns, but it cannot perfectly account for innovation, self-sacrifice, or behavior that breaks established logic.
• Self-destruction and resolve: Both fighters accept severe physical damage, but Long Shan’s willingness to risk his life gives him the decisive advantage.

Character Interactions

• Aiou repeatedly questions Zhong Li about the battle and her brother’s ability.
• Zhong Li explains that Zhong Ke’s predictions come from extensive data analysis and believes he will eventually use the magma to defeat Long Shan.
• Long Shan acknowledges Zhong Ke’s frightening predictive ability and admits that excessive scheming does not suit a Barbarian.
• Zhong Ke and Long Shan exchange brief, respectful remarks before resuming combat.
• After Long Shan’s victory, Aiou jokingly criticizes Zhong Li’s description of “Future Can Be Deceived,” while Zhong Li is left equally astonished by the unexpected outcome.

Chapter Summary: Commercial District 998

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhong Ke explains his defeat by Long Shan, blaming the limitations of his “Future Can Be Deceived” ability. Although Aiou, Mani, and Zhong Li find the explanation amusing or unreliable, Zhong Ke remains determined to continue researching it.
• Aiou and Mani return to Arena 202, where Aiou bets on Zhu Weiming. Zhu appears severely ill before the match but unexpectedly fights with great ferocity and wins by a narrow margin. His bizarre fart-powered acceleration causes Aiou to lose his entire bet.
• While traveling through District 888, Aiou carries the tired Mani and eventually rests with her in a small park.
• Two joggers, Li Miaocheng and Li Dongmo, mistake Aiou for a child kidnapper because of his suspicious-looking pairing with Mani. They secretly call the police rather than confront him.
• Two policewomen arrive and attack Aiou without properly investigating. One kicks him into a tree and accuses him of committing Infinite City’s gravest crime: kidnapping a minor.
• Mani wakes up and clarifies that Aiou is not her kidnapper. She jokingly calls him her “long-term meal ticket,” revealing that she travels with him partly because he pays for her food. She also confesses to stealing a Gold Coin from Zhong Ke, though the confession is mostly an attempt to distract the police.
• The policewoman apologizes for attacking Aiou. As compensation, Aiou asks her to provide a meal and help him visit Mobius Academy. However, because he entered the restricted Academy District without a visitor’s pass, he and Mani are escorted to Commercial District 998 and fined ten Gold Coins.
• In Commercial District 998, Aiou observes that the area permits flying vehicles and is filled with delivery workers. The police explain that Work Area 998 operates continuously, with workers using anti-fatigue potions to remain active throughout their contracts. The system is presented as both exploitative and, for some players, beneficial to spiritual development.
• After registering at the Enforcement Bureau, Aiou and Mani go to eat with the policewomen. Before they can finish ordering, a nearby skyscraper explodes. A blood-covered green flying dragon emerges from the destroyed building, creating a sudden and ominous cliffhanger.

Character Developments

• Aiou remains pragmatic and easily frustrated, particularly after losing all his money on Zhu Weiming. He also demonstrates protectiveness toward Mani and quick-thinking negotiation when dealing with the police.
• Mani continues to be mischievous, manipulative, and shamelessly honest. Her “meal ticket” remark exposes her playful exploitation of Aiou, while her quick improvisation helps defuse the kidnapping misunderstanding.
• Zhong Ke is shown to be stubborn and committed to improving his questionable predictive technique despite his defeat.
• Zhong Li remains skeptical of Zhong Ke’s ability and quietly accepts that he will continue pursuing it.
• Li Miaocheng and Li Dongmo are cautious but overly suspicious, judging Aiou and Mani’s relationship based on appearances.
• The policewomen initially act rashly and aggressively, prioritizing Mani’s safety, but later recognize their mistake and apologize. Their reaction also highlights the seriousness of kidnapping laws in Infinite City.

Significant Themes

• The dangers of incomplete information: Zhong Ke’s failed calculation, the joggers’ misunderstanding, and the policewomen’s premature attack all show how assumptions and insufficient evidence lead to mistakes.
• Appearance versus reality: Aiou looks like a kidnapper despite being Mani’s companion, while Zhu Weiming’s apparent illness is revealed to be deceptive or strategically useful.
• Humor amid danger: The chapter combines serious threats—kidnapping accusations, police violence, exploitative labor, and a building explosion—with absurd comedy involving fart-powered movement and Mani’s manipulative excuses.
• Institutional control and social systems: Infinite City tightly regulates movement, minors, employment, and access to districts. Commercial District 998 especially reveals a society where workers may labor continuously through the aid of potions.
• Exploitation and survival: Aiou and Mani’s relationship is partly based on Mani relying on Aiou for food, while workers endure extreme schedules for money and spiritual advancement.

Important Character Interactions

• Zhong Ke’s explanation of his defeat is met with restrained mockery from Aiou and Mani and quiet skepticism from Zhong Li.
• Aiou and Mani maintain their teasing, semi-dependent relationship, with Mani openly joking that Aiou is her “long-term meal ticket.”
• The joggers’ fear of Aiou leads indirectly to the police confrontation.
• The policewomen’s mistaken attack evolves into an apologetic and somewhat awkward negotiation with Aiou.
• The chapter ends by shifting from comedy and bureaucracy to a major crisis when a green flying dragon erupts from an exploding skyscraper.

Chapter Summary: “Hehe, Dragon Girl, Hehe”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Aiou, Mani, and two policewomen are unexpectedly caught in the chaos caused by a flying dragon rampaging through the business district. The dragon shatters windows, though everyone survives unharmed.
• The dragon is revealed to be Li Miaocheng, a powerful player who took Longfei Group’s experimental Dragonification Potion as part of a promotional endorsement.
• Li Miaocheng had insisted on testing the potion honestly before recommending it. Instead, it caused him to lose his mind and transform into a dragon, forcing Longfei Group and law enforcement to search for him.
• Aiou realizes Li Miaocheng still has a scheduled tournament match and bets on his opponent, believing that Li’s mental breakdown makes him almost certain to lose.
• At the tournament, Li has returned to human form but remains mentally deranged, constantly giggling and muttering about “dragon girls.”
• His opponent, Moonlit Lord, quickly attacks and repeatedly kills or dismembers him. However, the potion’s effects continue: Li regenerates, mutates, and develops dragon-like features across his body.
• Moonlit Lord uses increasingly powerful techniques, including his Scarlet Moon Flame Sword and even hundreds of nuclear bombs, but Li survives every attack.
• Each injury causes Li’s body to grow larger and more grotesque. He eventually becomes a gigantic, monstrous entity covered in strange creatures and dragon-like mutations.
• Spectators flee because of Li’s horrifying appearance, while Aiou and Mani calmly continue eating ice cream and watching.
• Longfei Group employees reveal that the potion was created using material extracted from a fossil containing extraordinarily powerful dragon bones. Although previous animals and volunteers suffered no obvious problems, Li is the first person to undergo this catastrophic transformation.

Character Developments

• Aiou remains opportunistic and pragmatic, using the crisis to place a bet against Li Miaocheng. His bitterness over Zhu Wei’s previous deception motivates him to seek an easy profit.
• Mani stays calm and unaffected by the frightening battle, sharing food with Aiou and treating the spectacle casually.
• Li Miaocheng changes from a respected martial-arts player into a mentally broken, regenerative dragon-like monster. Although his mind appears harmlessly foolish, his body becomes increasingly powerful and terrifying.
• Moonlit Lord begins with confidence because Li seems incapable of fighting intelligently. However, Li’s regeneration and mutations gradually create pressure and fear. Moonlit Lord becomes determined to win so he will not suffer the humiliation of being defeated by someone mentally incompetent.
• Li Miaocheng’s sister becomes visibly worried as she watches her brother’s horrifying transformation.
• Longfei Group shifts from confidence in its product to crisis management, facing possible legal consequences and reputational ruin.

Significant Themes

• The danger of uncontrolled experimentation: A product believed to be safe can produce disastrous results when used by a particular individual.
• Appearance versus true danger: Li appears mentally helpless and nonaggressive, yet his body becomes increasingly indestructible and monstrous.
• Commercial exploitation and responsibility: Longfei Group attempts to use a martial-arts tournament as advertising, but its promotional strategy exposes the product’s fatal flaw.
• The limits of physical strength: Moonlit Lord’s attacks repeatedly destroy Li’s body, but they cannot overcome his regeneration and abnormal vitality.
• Spectacle and entertainment: The players treat Li’s breakdown as both a crisis and a source of entertainment, while Aiou even turns the event into a betting opportunity.
• Unintended consequences of power: The dragon fossil’s immense vitality creates mutations far beyond what the potion’s developers expected.

Character Interactions

• Aiou and the policewomen discuss the dragon incident before the policewomen leave to help capture and treat Li.
• Aiou and Mani attend the tournament together and casually eat while observing the increasingly horrifying battle.
• Moonlit Lord repeatedly attacks Li, attempting to overcome his regeneration and prevent the humiliation of losing to an irrational opponent.
• Li’s sister watches anxiously from the stands, contrasting with the spectators’ morbid curiosity.
• Longfei Group employees explain the potion’s origins and admit that Li’s reaction was unprecedented, revealing the company’s uncertainty about the true risks of its product.

Chapter Summary: “Tiamat”

Key Plot Points and Events

• In District 233, Liu Wei and his family suddenly become hostile and prepare weapons after being affected by the drug-trial incident connected to Longfei Group. When enforcement officers arrive, the family attacks them with gunfire and is killed.
• The Central Enforcement Bureau concludes that the abnormalities may originate from a fossil connected to Longfei Group’s experiments. Ai Miye explains that more than a thousand test subjects—and many of their relatives—have been mentally controlled or corrupted.
• Ai Miye suspects Li Miaocheng’s unusual rampage may have exposed the hidden force inside the test subjects, causing it to abandon secrecy and infect people openly.
• During the ongoing match, Li Miaocheng grows to enormous proportions whenever he is attacked. His body mutates into a grotesque, animal-like form, while he continues grinning and mumbling about a “dragon girl.”
• Moonlit Lord realizes that Li Miaocheng’s presence itself is mentally contaminating. He stops trying to fight and instead retreats to meditate and protect his mind, deciding he may kill himself if the corruption becomes unavoidable.
• Spectators in the arena also begin to suffer nausea and mental effects, though the influence is temporarily suppressed by an unknown force.
• Aiou and Mani leave the arena after Aiou recognizes that Li Miaocheng’s condition is connected to a larger secret. They find a group of mutated players attacking enforcement officers transporting a silver briefcase.
• One attacker transforms into a bizarre dragon- or wolf-like creature and identifies the briefcase as “Tiamat.” Although an enforcer warns Amy to discard it, she is too late.

Character Developments

• Liu Wei and his family: Their transformation demonstrates that the drug-related corruption spreads beyond test subjects to families and communities. They lose their identities and attack without hesitation.
• Ai Miye: Acts as an analytical investigator, connecting Li Miaocheng’s abnormal state to the larger outbreak and suggesting that he may be more victim than culprit.
• Victor: Remains cautious and observant, withholding judgment while monitoring both the investigation and the match.
• Li Miaocheng: Evolves into a gigantic, grotesque creature whose body and mental influence become increasingly inhuman. Despite his terrifying state, he remains childlike and fixated on the “dragon girl.”
• Moonlit Lord: Displays good judgment and self-control by abandoning an impossible battle and prioritizing resistance to mental contamination.
• Aiou: Recognizes that the battle is only a distraction from a broader crisis. His usual humorous attitude, including his frustration over losing a bet, contrasts with his awareness of the danger.
• Amy and the enforcers: Attempt to protect the silver briefcase while under attack, suggesting that it contains a crucial object or secret.

Significant Themes

• Contamination and loss of identity: The drug trials unleash a force that corrupts minds, alters bodies, and spreads through social connections.
• The danger of knowledge and perception: Merely seeing, sensing, or mentally scanning Li Miaocheng may cause contamination, making understanding the threat dangerous in itself.
• Hidden forces and escalating consequences: The fossil, Li Miaocheng, the test subjects, and the briefcase appear connected to a much larger supernatural conspiracy.
• Self-control versus madness: Moonlit Lord’s meditation emphasizes the importance of maintaining mental discipline in a world where insanity can persist even after death and resurrection.
• Indifference and spectacle: Many powerful figures, including Hawkins and Aiou, observe the crisis as though it were entertainment, highlighting the detached culture of Infinite City.

Character Interactions

• Enforcement officers confront Liu Wei’s family and eliminate them to prevent further casualties.
• Victor questions Ai Miye, who explains her theory about the fossil and Li Miaocheng’s role in exposing the corruption.
• Moonlit Lord struggles against Li Miaocheng’s overwhelming physical presence and psychological influence, ultimately choosing retreat over combat.
• Aiou and Mani discuss the strange battle before moving to observe the attack on the enforcement team.
• The mutated player and the enforcers clash over the silver briefcase, with the player’s declaration of “Tiamat” triggering immediate alarm and implying that the object is central to the crisis.

A cracked fossil released prismatic energy that mutated players and transformed the surrounding area, prompting Victor and the enforcers to seal it off and investigate. Matt discovered that the creatures inside served a being called “Mother,” while Victor’s group pushed deeper into the dangerous zone.

• Amy was contaminated by the silver briefcase and mutated into a giant lizard as nearby players transformed into bizarre creatures.
• The enforcers established a spatial containment zone, and Victor learned that the Longfei Group chairman had disappeared.
• Matt entered the mutated forest, where a toad invoked “Mother’s plan” and swallowed him, but his save point ability brought him back to Victor.
• Victor and Ai Miye considered whether the fossil’s entity was Tiamat, while Victor warned that the name could refer to different beings across worlds.
• Ai Miye destroyed a gourd-shaped monster that attacked the group, and Victor ordered its remains sealed before they continued investigating.

Chapter Summary: “Outsider”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Spectators across District 998 watch the mysterious, pitch-black Sealing Zone, where controlled volunteers and mutated players have caused widespread chaos.
• Public opinion is divided: most believe the incident was an accident, while others suspect a deliberate conspiracy involving the Dragonification Potion and a stolen fossil.
• Victor’s team advances through the Sealing Zone, easily defeating mutated player-monsters. Their increased attributes do not translate into effective combat ability, making Victor suspect that a more dangerous force lies ahead.
• Victor orders Ai Miye to remain behind and establish formation traps while he leads the enforcement team forward.
• A mysterious invader attacks Victor using a shadow-puppet-like paper figure and sinister energy. Victor destroys the decoy and uses a powerful sword strike to split the mist, exposing a dwarf hidden within the zone.
• The dwarf appears to be only a subordinate and kills himself, suggesting that a larger conspiracy is underway.
• Victor then confronts a powerful, shield-bearing burly man. The man’s turtle-shell shield absorbs Victor’s attacks, while wooden spikes emerge from his body. Victor deduces that he may be a tree-like demon creature.
• The invaders identify themselves as outsiders and imply that they are working under a larger master. Victor suspects the Longfei Group’s chairman has betrayed Infinite City after entering an agreement with outside forces.
• While Victor battles the shield-bearing enemy, Ai Miye is attacked by a four-eyed, nonhuman woman in red armor. Ai Miye narrowly dodges a fireball, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

Character Developments

• Victor: Demonstrates exceptional combat skill, perception, and strategic judgment. He recognizes that the weak mutated players are likely distractions and remains calm when facing the invaders. His willingness to cut through the entire area rather than search methodically highlights his direct and ruthless fighting style.
• Ai Miye: Shows that she is both a skilled mage and tactician. She prepares defensive formations but remains alert enough to detect and evade a surprise attack.
• The invaders: Their confidence in their hidden master and their unfamiliar powers establish them as a serious external threat, though Victor repeatedly proves stronger and more perceptive than expected.
• Longfei Group’s chairman: Though absent, he is portrayed as someone who may have sacrificed loyalty to Infinite City for profit or survival, possibly triggering the crisis.

Significant Themes

• Conspiracy versus accident: The incident may be more than a disaster, with controlled volunteers, the stolen fossil, and the outsiders pointing toward deliberate sabotage.
• The danger of ambition and greed: Victor reflects that people often gamble everything when the possible rewards seem large enough, eventually trapping themselves in situations they cannot escape.
• Outsiders and invasion: The chapter introduces the unprecedented possibility of an external force invading Infinite City, challenging the city’s assumed security.
• Appearance versus true strength: The mutated players appear more powerful because of their enhanced attributes, but they are ineffective in battle. Conversely, Victor downplays his own reputation while displaying overwhelming ability.
• Responsibility and delegation: Hawkins does not intervene immediately because players are expected to handle player-related crises themselves, emphasizing the balance between authority and personal responsibility.

Important Character Interactions

• Aiou and Mani casually observe the crisis alongside other spectators, reflecting the public’s fascination with danger.
• Victor and Ai Miye cooperate tactically, with Victor advancing while Ai Miye prepares formations behind him.
• Victor confronts and verbally challenges the hidden invaders, refusing to be intimidated by their claims of superiority.
• The dwarf attempts to conceal himself and mislead Victor but is exposed and defeated.
• Victor and the shield-bearing demon engage in a tense battle while exchanging challenges about Victor’s reputation and the identity of the force behind the invasion.
• Ai Miye’s confrontation with the four-eyed woman begins at the chapter’s end, setting up the next major conflict.

Ai Miye battled the leather-clad woman as monsters broke free from the Sealing Zone and attacked Infinite City. Anna arrived, killed an intruder carrying Abyssal Flesh, and learned that the Abyss-corrupted Tiamat might require her and Ai Miye to fight together; meanwhile, Li Miaocheng regained his senses after defeating Moonlit Lord and discovered embarrassing footage of himself.

• Ai Miye and the leather-clad woman traded attacks until a multicolored flower burst through the Sealing Zone and monsters escaped.
• Lister confronted an armed man fleeing the chaos, but the man killed him before Anna and her playing-card soldiers appeared and killed the attacker.
• Anna found ominous flesh on the dead intruder, and Hawkins warned her that Tiamat was a powerful Abyss-corrupted enemy who might require her to join forces with Ai Miye.
• Monsters spread through the city as players and parents fought them, while Aiou and Mani watched the battles from above.
• Moonlit Lord succumbed to Li Miaocheng's mental corruption and died, allowing Li Miaocheng to absorb his experience and recover his senses.
• Li Miaocheng watched match footage and realized he had spent the fight acting foolishly and mumbling about the Dragon Lady.

Chapter Summary: “Mani Goes Berserk”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After a humiliating video makes him infamous among players, Li Miaocheng resolves to restore his reputation and vanishes from the battlefield.
• Players throughout Infinite City unite against the invading forces, transforming the conflict around the Sealing Zone into a massive group battle.
• Tiamat and Puppet Man emerge from a Spatial Passage through the Hundred-Eyed Demon Flower. The flower withers, and Tiamat destroys the fossil containing part of her former power.
• Puppet Man uses a replica Magic Mirror to ask how Infinite City can be conquered, but the mirror cracks, implying that the city’s power exceeds its ability to predict.
• Puppet Man’s causality-based ability reveals that both he and Tiamat will die in Infinite City. Tiamat also discovers that she can no longer reopen the Spatial Passage.
• Puppet Man prematurely opens Fairy-Tale King’s emergency pouch and finds Infinite Gold. Hawkins, observing from afar, explains that he subtly manipulated causality, causing Puppet Man to use the pouch too early and reducing their survival chance to zero.
• The Infinite Gold begins multiplying exponentially, forming an enormous mountain. Puppet Man and Tiamat leave to search for another escape route.
• Mani notices the gold and rushes toward it. Her ability, Getting By on Cuteness, causes countless other Manis to appear as they are drawn by the treasure.
• The Manis disrupt the ongoing battle, forcing players to protect them from harm. Their greed quickly escalates into a chaotic brawl among the Manis themselves.

Character Developments

• Li Miaocheng becomes determined to recover his dignity after being publicly embarrassed, showing pride and a strong concern for his reputation.
• Tiamat shifts from confident invader to fearful survivor once she realizes Infinite City is far more dangerous than expected and that escape is impossible.
• Puppet Man demonstrates caution and self-preservation. Despite being ordered to follow Fairy-Tale King’s plan, he chooses survival over obedience when his ability predicts his death.
• Hawkins displays subtle but immensely powerful control over causality. His minor interference completely undermines the invaders’ carefully prepared plan.
• Mani becomes consumed by greed after seeing the gold, transforming from a spectator into the catalyst for widespread chaos. Her copies amplify the situation beyond anyone’s control.
• Aiou acts protectively toward Mani, catching her when she nearly falls from the rooftop.

Significant Themes

• Causality and paradox: Hawkins’s intervention creates a self-fulfilling paradox in which Puppet Man’s attempt to avoid death becomes the reason his death is guaranteed.
• Fate versus free will: Puppet Man tries to defy Fairy-Tale King’s plan, but his own prophetic ability suggests that the outcome is already fixed.
• Overconfidence and miscalculation: Tiamat and Puppet Man underestimate Infinite City, while their carefully designed invasion collapses because of a seemingly minor disruption.
• Greed and chaos: The Infinite Gold draws the Manis away from the larger conflict and turns them against one another, showing how desire can overwhelm strategy and cooperation.
• Comedy amid danger: Serious cosmic threats are repeatedly undercut by absurd events, including Mani’s obsession with gold and the ridiculous fight that follows.

Character Interactions

• Tiamat and Puppet Man argue over the danger of Infinite City, with Tiamat urging caution and Puppet Man initially dismissing her concerns.
• Puppet Man’s predictions frighten Tiamat and force both invaders to reconsider their mission.
• Hawkins indirectly manipulates Puppet Man’s decisions without confronting him directly.
• Puppet Man and Tiamat eventually cooperate after losing access to the Spatial Passage, relying on each other to find another escape.
• Aiou saves Mani from falling, while the arriving Manis unintentionally receive protection from the players, who prioritize keeping them safe during the battle.
• The Manis quickly turn on one another over ownership of the gold, beginning a chaotic melee that further disrupts the battlefield.

Manis and their guardians battled over gold while Li Miaocheng entered the Sealing Zone and fell under Tiamat’s mind-altering power. After Su'er destroyed Tiamat and Puppet Man, Li Miaocheng absorbed their lingering concepts and awakened with a new Tiamat living inside him.

• A giant Mani tried to stop the fighting, while other Manis played cards for the gold and their guardians quickly ended the melee.
• Li Miaocheng put on a mask and headed toward the Sealing Zone, but Tiamat’s power warped his perception and left him grinning foolishly.
• Tiamat targeted the young woman following Mani, but Su'er revealed her overwhelming power and destroyed both Tiamat and Puppet Man when Puppet Man tried to flee.
• Su'er rushed after Mani, while Li Miaocheng crawled into the alley and absorbed the lingering concepts of Tiamat and Puppet Man.
• Li Miaocheng regained his senses and discovered that a memoryless Tiamat had become his symbiote, though he still fell under her influence whenever he thought of her.

Chapter Summary: “Aftermath”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Infinite City returns to peace after the invasion, while the player Forum erupts with speculation about the attackers’ origins, strength, and motives.
• Aiou keeps Mani restrained and watches her while eating breakfast. He refuses to release her until the Enforcement Team resolves the danger surrounding Infinite Gold.
• Forum discussions reveal that the invasion involved Tiamat, a notorious former Central Court criminal known as the “Mind-Enslaving Evil Enchantress,” and a large force of nearly ten thousand attackers.
• A circulated video shows a mysterious young girl, later recognized by Aiou as Su’er, destroying Tiamat and another powerful enemy in an alley. The post praises her as Infinite City’s savior.
• Players debate whether the attack exposed weaknesses in Infinite City’s supposedly absolute security and whether further invasions might occur.
• Aiou realizes that Su’er’s intervention was likely deliberately arranged by Hawkins rather than coincidental.
• Mani continues trying to convince Aiou to release her so she can pursue Infinite Gold and become wealthy. Aiou argues that Infinite Gold loses its “endless” property once placed in a treasury and questions whether Mani could resist its influence or defeat the other claimants.
• The chapter ends with Aiou concluding that Infinite Gold is almost certainly already in Hawkins’s possession.

2. Character Developments

• Aiou remains cautious, clever, and teasing. He restrains Mani not only to control her but also to protect her from the dangerous effects and competition surrounding Infinite Gold. His deductions show his growing suspicion of Hawkins’s schemes.
• Mani is revealed as greedy, impulsive, and stubborn. She remains fixated on obtaining Infinite Gold despite Aiou’s warnings and reacts angrily to being restrained. Her confidence contrasts with the fact that she was nearly defeated by the other Manis.
• Su’er gains public recognition as the apparent heroine who saved Infinite City, though Aiou suspects her actions were part of Hawkins’s larger plan.
• Hawkins does not appear directly but becomes more threatening through Aiou’s realization that he likely orchestrated Su’er’s involvement and now possesses Infinite Gold.
• Tiamat is identified as a powerful fugitive and the likely mastermind or major participant in the invasion. Her defeat transforms her from a hidden threat into a widely discussed figure.
• Li Miaocheng becomes the subject of humiliating reaction memes, suggesting that the previous events have damaged his public image.

3. Significant Themes

• The aftermath of crisis: Although the physical danger has ended, the invasion continues to affect public opinion, politics, and perceptions of Infinite City.
• False security: Players question whether Infinite City is truly invulnerable after outsiders successfully infiltrated it.
• Manipulation and hidden agendas: Aiou recognizes that apparent coincidences—especially Su’er’s intervention—may be carefully engineered by Hawkins.
• Greed and temptation: Mani’s obsession with Infinite Gold illustrates how wealth can override caution and reason.
• Public perception and spectacle: The Forum turns serious events into gossip, memes, jokes, and entertainment, showing how quickly tragedy becomes communal amusement.
• Protection versus control: Aiou insists that restraining Mani is an act of protection, while Mani sees it as bullying and interference.

4. Character Interactions

• Aiou and Mani engage in a sarcastic, antagonistic exchange throughout the chapter. Aiou mocks her greed and lack of judgment, while Mani threatens him, protests her innocence, and threatens to report him to Hawkins.
• Aiou uses Mani’s recent defeat to undermine her confidence, reminding her that she would have been overwhelmed without his rescue.
• Their argument also reveals Aiou’s genuine concern: he fears Mani will either lose to the other claimants or become unable to control herself if she obtains Infinite Gold.
• Aiou’s silent interpretation of Su’er’s appearance links the public narrative of the “heroic savior” with the hidden machinations of Hawkins, reinforcing the gap between what characters believe and what Aiou suspects.

Chapter Summary: “A Sword Beyond Comprehension”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Several days pass, and public attention shifts away from the recent disaster toward the ongoing First Martial Arts Tournament.
• Aiou and Mani reconcile after their previous argument and continue searching Infinite City for the elusive First Dessert Shop. Their search remains unsuccessful.
• The two revisit the Beast-Foot Private Kitchen, discovering that the day’s specialty is dwarf feet, before attending the tournament match between He E and Ma Yunlai.
• Ma Yunlai opens the battle with Cloud Sword, producing countless seemingly real Sword Qi from a single sword strike.
• He E attempts to defend himself with Wizard’s Hand, but Ma Yunlai’s attacks overwhelm and repeatedly destroy the conjured hands.
• He E counters with Myriad Forms Orb Volley, leading to a massive clash between colorful energy spheres and Ma Yunlai’s expanding Sword Qi.
• Spectators, including Aiou, struggle to understand Ma Yunlai’s abilities. His attacks appear to create something from nothing, suggesting an extraordinarily profound class.
• Ma Yunlai unexpectedly abandons swordsmanship and uses a powerful palm technique resembling Tathagata Buddha’s Five-Finger Mountain.
• He E responds by using Wizard’s Hand, maximum power, summoning a vast number of giant hands to resist the descending palm. The chapter ends as this confrontation reaches a critical point.

Character Developments

• Aiou and Mani: Their conflict has been completely resolved. They return to their playful routine of eating, joking, and searching for the dessert shop. Aiou shows a protective but mischievous side by joking that he would revive Mani only after photographing her corpse if she overeats.
• He E: He demonstrates caution, adaptability, and analytical skill. Unable to determine the source of Ma Yunlai’s Sword Qi, he fights defensively and attempts to uncover the technique’s mechanics before relying on overwhelming force.
• Ma Yunlai: He is revealed to be a highly mysterious and versatile fighter. His sword technique is beyond the spectators’ understanding, and his sudden transition to palm techniques suggests that swordsmanship is only one aspect of his true abilities.
• Aiou as observer: Aiou’s combat knowledge allows him to recognize that Ma Yunlai’s power is not ordinary swordsmanship or genuine creation from nothing. He remains skeptical and searches for the hidden principle behind it.

Significant Themes

• The fleeting nature of fame: Public attention quickly abandons past events in favor of the tournament’s most exciting stars.
• Persistence and regret: Aiou and Mani continue their search for the First Dessert Shop because they fear giving up just before success.
• The limits of understanding: Ma Yunlai’s abilities challenge the spectators’ assumptions about how skills and classes function.
• Adaptation versus overwhelming power: He E tries to analyze and counter Ma Yunlai’s technique, while both fighters repeatedly escalate their attacks.
• Hidden strength and deception: Ma Yunlai conceals the nature of his class and deliberately allows others to misinterpret his abilities.

Character Interactions

• Aiou and Mani banter casually about food and overeating, showing their restored friendship.
• Aiou watches He E’s match partly because He E once protected him, though he humorously hopes Ma Yunlai will defeat him.
• During the battle, He E presses Ma Yunlai for an explanation of his sword technique, but Ma Yunlai refuses to reveal his secret.
• The fighters exchange increasingly powerful attacks while testing each other’s defenses, with Ma Yunlai’s mysterious techniques forcing He E into a serious, high-powered response.

Chapter Summary: “Bankruptcy”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• He E and Ma Yunlai clash in a powerful opening exchange, injuring both but leaving He E at a major disadvantage because his energy expenditure is far greater.
• He E activates the special item [Three-Minute Daydreamer], which gives him three minutes of extraordinary inspiration and rapid mental calculation.
• During this state, He E deduces the secret of Ma Yunlai’s class, Future Martial Artist: Ma Yunlai borrows strength from his future self, effectively overdrawing his future power like a loan.
• Ma Yunlai unleashes massive numbers of attacks using borrowed strength and a wide variety of martial arts. He E survives by relying on his heightened calculations.
• As the three-minute effect ends, He E becomes extremely exhausted but executes a plan he devised in advance. He uses Forcewalker Insects, creatures that absorb external force, to cover his body and neutralize Ma Yunlai’s punches.
• He E combines the insects with potions, seemingly incorporating them into his body and developing a new form of witchcraft. The insects absorb impact and make physical attacks ineffective, though cutting attacks remain dangerous.
• Ma Yunlai switches to concentrated attacks and sword techniques. He E avoids the sword strikes with movement and his spell Wizard’s Hand, refusing to block Sword Qi with his transformed body.
• The battle becomes a war of attrition. Ma Yunlai continues borrowing power despite severe physical backlash, while He E conserves energy.
• After half an hour, Ma Yunlai exhausts all the power he can borrow from the future. With only overwhelming future “debts” remaining, he reaches the chapter’s decisive defeat: he has gone bankrupt.

2. Character Developments

• He E demonstrates exceptional intelligence, creativity, and adaptability. Rather than overpowering Ma Yunlai directly, he analyzes the limitations of his opponent’s ability and invents a countermeasure during the battle.
• His use of Three-Minute Daydreamer reveals both his willingness to endure severe exhaustion and his talent for turning inspiration into practical strategy.
• He E’s transformation with the Forcewalker Insects shows his increasingly unconventional approach to witchcraft. He is willing to alter his own body and experiment under extreme pressure.
• Ma Yunlai is revealed to be a powerful but reckless fighter. His Future Martial Artist class gives him enormous temporary strength, but its dependence on future reserves creates a dangerous debt system.
• Ma Yunlai becomes increasingly desperate as he realizes He E’s new defense invalidates his strongest blunt-force attacks. His determination to win leads him to overdraw power beyond safe limits, causing severe bodily backlash.
• Despite his defeat, Ma Yunlai displays extensive martial knowledge and impressive combat versatility, using palms, fists, claws, fingers, spears, and swords.

3. Significant Themes

• Power versus resource management: Ma Yunlai’s strength depends on borrowing from the future, while He E wins by conserving resources and exploiting efficiency.
• Debt and consequences: Ma Yunlai’s ability literalizes the idea of borrowing against the future. His temporary advantage ultimately collapses when the accumulated debt becomes impossible to sustain.
• Intelligence and preparation: He E triumphs not through superior raw power but through observation, calculation, and preparation made during a brief burst of inspiration.
• Adaptation and experimentation: He E’s use of the Forcewalker Insects reflects the theme of survival through transformation and unconventional problem-solving.
• Risk and desperation: Both fighters push their bodies beyond normal limits, but Ma Yunlai’s reckless escalation causes his defeat, whereas He E’s risks are more carefully calculated.
• Appearance versus reality: He E’s strange, frightening transformation initially appears to be a vulnerability, but it is actually the foundation of his defensive advantage.

4. Character Interactions

• He E questions Ma Yunlai about his class, prompting the revelation—or confirmation—of the Future Martial Artist’s unique power.
• He E deliberately provokes and unsettles Ma Yunlai by identifying the “future debt” behind his strength. Ma Yunlai admits the risk but insists that continued victories will eventually allow him to repay it.
• Ma Yunlai repeatedly attacks to end the fight quickly, while He E counters through prediction, evasion, magical barriers, and the Forcewalker Insects.
• Their final exchange becomes a contest between Ma Yunlai’s overwhelming borrowed force and He E’s economical defense. Ma Yunlai’s increasingly desperate attacks contrast with He E’s calm confidence.
• The chapter ends with Ma Yunlai physically and strategically exhausted, while He E’s analysis proves correct: Ma Yunlai’s power had a limit, and he has exceeded it.

He E defeated Ma Yunlai after Ma Yunlai could no longer borrow power from the future, while Aiou read forum discussions about the match and Forcewalker Insects. As Aiou and Mani resumed searching for the First Dessert Shop, he saw reports that He E was being hunted by a coordinated group of players.

• He E counterattacked after Ma Yunlai ran out of borrowed power and defeated him.
• Aiou read forum posts about Ma Yunlai's debts and He E's Forcewalker Insects, then searched for Butterfly Fairies.
• Aiou and Mani left the stands, rested at an inn, and resumed searching for the First Dessert Shop.
• Aiou opened a forum post showing He E cornered in Infinite City and later ambushed and pursued in another world.
• Forum users speculated that He E's attackers were coordinated enforcers from a major faction seeking his secret formula.

Chapter Summary: “Solving the Case”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Aiou, temporarily separated from his true body in the Myriad Universe, searches the Player Forum for information about Forcewalker Insects while exploring Infinite City with Mani.
• They discover a small shop called Corner Flavor, run by a gentle young woman who identifies herself as a Sweet Culinary God. Although the shop appears to be an ordinary dessert store, its strange decorations—including life plaques, fox masks, and eerie assassin-like masks—make Aiou suspicious.
• Aiou and Mani sample several desserts but find them merely average. After leaving, they conclude that the shop is likely connected to a mysterious organization.
• Aiou realizes that the shop treats Mani specially because of her unique status and her access to powerful figures, including Hawkins. He exploits this connection by posting photographs of the shop and Mani on the Player Forum, deliberately attracting attention to the establishment.
• Over the next three days, Aiou and Mani continue exploring Infinite City, discovering unusual food shops and making several of them popular through Aiou’s posts.
• Eventually, a breaking-news post reveals that Corner Flavor has been raided. The shop was actually a laundering center for stolen goods and a place where assassins accepted contracts. The shopkeeper is arrested and sealed by city enforcers.
• The incident becomes known as “Mani Solves a Stolen-Goods Transfer Case,” though Aiou’s mischievous post was largely responsible for exposing the shop.

Character Developments

• Aiou demonstrates his intelligence, observational skills, and playful, troublesome nature. Rather than confronting the suspicious shop directly, he cleverly uses the Player Forum to draw investigators and rival players toward it.
• He also shows a willingness to cause trouble simply for amusement, admitting that he acted without expecting personal benefit.
• Mani displays curiosity and growing perceptiveness. She initially enjoys exploring the shops but eventually recognizes that Corner Flavor is suspicious. Aiou teasingly credits his influence for making her “smarter.”
• Mani’s importance in Infinite City becomes clearer: her identity grants her access to powerful people and special treatment from organizations that would otherwise reject Aiou.
• The young shopkeeper’s gentle, harmless appearance contrasts sharply with her involvement in criminal activities.

Significant Themes

• Appearances versus reality: The peaceful dessert shop and its kindly owner conceal a criminal network involving stolen goods and assassins.
• Information as power: Aiou uses public posts, photographs, and community speculation to expose the shop indirectly.
• Reputation and influence: Mani’s identity gives her privileges and connections that ordinary players lack, allowing Aiou to enter places and situations normally inaccessible to him.
• Law and morality in Infinite City: The city permits professions such as theft and cultivation, but prohibits thieves from profiting by transferring or reselling stolen goods.
• Playfulness and unintended consequences: Aiou’s prank-like actions, motivated mostly by amusement, ultimately help uncover a serious criminal operation.

Character Interactions

• Aiou and Mani travel closely together, joking, teasing, and exploring the city as companions.
• They jointly choose and eat desserts, inspect the shop’s unusual objects, and discuss its suspicious nature.
• Aiou repeatedly teases Mani about her intelligence, while Mani provides the initial insight that something is wrong with the shop.
• The shopkeeper treats them politely and warmly, but her attention to the objects they touch hints at her hidden role.
• On the Player Forum, players debate Mani’s identity, recall childhood encounters with her, and speculate about the shop. Their discussion helps demonstrate both Mani’s popularity and Aiou’s success in attracting scrutiny.