Recaps

Xu Anbang confronted Smith and rejected Skull and Bones’ threats, rallying the Dragon Kingdom’s soldiers. When Smith’s tattoo triggered a deadly explosion, Yue Xiaofei leaped to shield Xu Anbang, leaving his fate unclear.

• Xu Anbang mocked Smith’s claim that Skull and Bones could intimidate the Dragon Kingdom and rallied the soldiers with a declaration that they would fight until complete victory.
• Xu Anbang revealed that the Dragon Kingdom knew of Skull and Bones’ Twelve Thrones and demanded to know why the organization wanted Yue Xiaofei.
• As Smith began to waver, an alarm sounded and his Eye of Omniscience tattoo glowed red, driving him to proclaim Skull and Bones’ supremacy.
• Smith’s chest exploded in white fire, and Xiao Tian Ce shouted for everyone to get down.
• Yue Xiaofei threw himself toward Xu Anbang and spread his arms to shield him from the blast.

Smith detonated himself on the High Platform, but Yue Xiaofei shielded Elder Xu and survived. Chen Mo took the blast meant for Yue Xiaofei, then lost consciousness after asking him to save Chen Mo’s sister.

• Smith’s suicide blast engulfed the High Platform, and Hou Liangbing began planning to blame his crimes on Smith and Skull and Bones.
• The smoke cleared to reveal Smith dead, Elder Xu unharmed, and Yue Xiaofei shielding him.
• Chen Mo was found lying on Yue Xiaofei, his back torn apart after he blocked the blast.
• Yue Xiaofei asked why Chen Mo had saved him, and Chen Mo reminded him of his promise to rescue and cure Chen Mo’s sister.
• Chen Mo said his life was worth trading for his sister’s future, then lost consciousness.

Chen Mo survived sacrificing himself to save Xu Anbang, who promised to cure Chen Mo's sister and hold the Jun Family responsible for her safety. Yue Xiaofei identified Hou Liangbing as the remaining lead and confronted him, ending with a threat to get rid of him.

• Chen Mo was rushed to the Military Region General Hospital after medics confirmed his injuries were serious but not immediately life-threatening.
• Yue Xiaofei told Xu Anbang that Chen Mo had acted for his sister, whom the Jun Family was holding, and Xu Anbang ordered Jun Zhengde to provide her the best possible treatment.
• Xu Anbang and Xiao Tian Ce suspected Skull and Bones had monitored the gathering and remotely detonated Smith's implanted device to silence him.
• Yue Xiaofei pointed out that Hou Liangbing was still alive, and Guards dragged the terrified man before Xu Anbang.
• Hou Liangbing denied knowing Skull and Bones' secrets, but Yue Xiaofei said that getting rid of him mattered.

Hou Liangbing revealed that Yue Changlong was known as the [Black Emperor], prompting a search for the secret behind the codename. While [Man-Rat] failed to break into Eagle Country’s heavily protected archives, Xu Anbang ordered the captured agents taken for trial and stayed at the cemetery to toast the soldiers.

• Hou Liangbing told Yue Xiaofei that [Skull and Bones] wanted him because his father, Yue Changlong, was the [Black Emperor].
• Elder Xu ordered Xiao Tian Ce to search the classified archives, but the SSS+ records returned no results.
• [Man-Rat] infiltrated the Octagon’s server and found a file on the [Black Emperor], but a trap and powerful defenses stopped her from opening it.
• Elder Xu ordered Hou Liangbing and the Eagle Country Agents sent to the military tribunal for trial.
• Xu Anbang refused to leave the cemetery and asked Xu Sihai to bring liquor so he could toast the soldiers.

At his hundredth birthday celebration in the Cemetery, Xu Anbang honored the soldiers and fallen heroes before ordering the military to return to camp. He then followed up on Yue Xiaofei’s search for the truth about his father, and learned that Ye Jincheng had presided over Yue Changlong’s case and ordered it sealed.

• Xu Anbang made three toasts to himself and the soldiers, the martyrs, and the heroes who had built and defended the Dragon Kingdom.
• Xiao Tian Ce reported the mission complete, and Xu Anbang ordered the Navy, Army, and Air Force to return to camp.
• After the troops departed, Yue Xiaofei urged Xu Anbang to continue investigating who had judged his father, Yue Changlong.
• Xu Anbang called Xiao Ma, who revealed that Ye Jincheng had presided over Yue Changlong’s case and personally ordered his file sealed five years earlier.

At the cemetery, Xu Anbang explained Ye Jincheng’s extraordinary scientific achievements and the persecution he endured before returning to the Dragon Kingdom. Yue Xiaofei struggled to believe that the revered scientist had sent his father, Yue Changlong, to prison, and the chapter ended with him insisting there had to be a mistake.

• The name Ye Jincheng stunned Jin Dapao, Ouyang Jian, Yue Xiaofei, and the others at the cemetery.
• Xu Anbang recounted how Ye Jincheng became a brilliant scientist in Eagle Country and was imprisoned for five years when he tried to return to the Dragon Kingdom.
• Xu Anbang described Ye Jincheng’s return and his role in building the Dragon Kingdom’s aerospace and missile industries, earning him the National Medal.
• Xu Anbang revealed that Ye Jincheng had personally sent Yue Changlong to prison five years earlier and ordered the files sealed.
• Yue Xiaofei rejected the revelation and insisted that his father and Ye Jincheng could not have become enemies.

Yue Xiaofei learned that Ye Jincheng had sealed his father Yue Changlong’s file, but discovered a new lead in Han Xiao, an S-Level prisoner tried at the same Secret Court. He resolved to visit Han Xiao at Blue Bridge Prison, and Xu Anbang ordered preparations for the journey.

• Xiao Tian Ce revealed that Ye Jincheng was the supreme Chief Designer of the Nantianmen Project, but Xu Anbang said Ye’s sealed file was beyond his authority to access.
• Xiao Ma reported that Han Xiao had been tried at the same Secret Court as Yue Changlong five years earlier and was imprisoned at Blue Bridge Prison.
• Xiao Ma identified Han Xiao as the Butcher, an S-Level offender who had killed more than a hundred people in one night.
• Yue Xiaofei insisted on meeting Han Xiao to learn the truth about his father, despite Jin Dapao and Ouyang Jian warning him of the danger.
• Xu Anbang ordered Xiao Tian Ce to clear the roads to Blue Bridge Prison and deploy a company of security guards to accompany them.

Yue Xiaofei and his companions went to Blue Bridge Prison to question Han Xiao, the Butcher, about his connection to Yue Changlong and Ye Jincheng. They reached Han Xiao’s isolated cell and learned why the prison kept him chained and without clothes.

• Xiao Tian Ce issued orders as Xu Anbang insisted on accompanying Yue Xiaofei despite his family’s concerns.
• The convoy reached Blue Bridge Prison, where the warden begged them not to meet Han Xiao, claiming he could manipulate minds and drive people insane.
• Xu Anbang ordered the warden to lead them to the Black Box, where Han Xiao was the only S-Level prisoner.
• Yue Xiaofei and the others saw Han Xiao calmly sitting in his cell, bound in shackles and wearing only a scrap of cloth.
• The warden explained that Han Xiao had nearly strangled two guards with a prison uniform, so the prison no longer gave him anything he could use as a weapon.

Yue Xiaofei entered Han Xiao’s cell to learn why his father appeared before the Secret Court with the Butcher five years earlier. Han Xiao claimed that Yue Changlong, not himself, had committed the massacre attributed to the Butcher.

• Han Xiao fixed his gaze on Yue Xiaofei and demanded to know who he was.
• Yue Xiaofei identified himself as Yue Changlong’s son and asked what crime his father had committed.
• Han Xiao challenged Yue Xiaofei to enter the cell alone, threatening to bite through his tongue if Yue Xiaofei refused.
• Xu Anbang ordered the warden to open the cell, and Yue Xiaofei went inside despite warnings from the others.
• Han Xiao denied committing the massacre and revealed that Yue Changlong had killed the civilians.

Han Xiao told Yue Xiaofei that his father had willingly stood trial and began explaining his own past as a Night Watcher. He described the secret organization’s shadowy mission, while Xu Anbang recognized its name.

• Yue Xiaofei punched Han Xiao after he claimed Yue’s father had massacred civilians, but Han Xiao enjoyed the blow and did not fight back.
• Han Xiao told Yue Xiaofei that his father had entered the courtroom of his own free will, just as Han Xiao had.
• Han Xiao recounted becoming an orphan after an earthquake and being recruited into a secret organization when he was eighteen.
• Han Xiao revealed that the organization was called the Night Watchers, prompting Xu Anbang to react with shock.
• Han Xiao explained that the Night Watchers secretly eliminated threats to the Dragon Kingdom through infiltration, assassination, and other covert operations.

Han Xiao told Yue Xiaofei how his father, Yue Changlong, became a strategist for the Night Watchers and helped the organization uncover the Skull and Bones. After a traitor inside the Night Watchers caused devastating losses, Han Xiao revealed that they launched a dangerous plan called Operation Underworld.

• Han Xiao recounted the Night Watchers’ covert missions and described how their founder, Xiao Pojun, united its lone-wolf members.
• Han Xiao revealed that Yue Changlong had joined the Night Watchers and earned respect as its brilliant strategist.
• Yue Xiaofei learned that the Night Watchers traced the forces behind their enemies to the Skull and Bones.
• Han Xiao explained that a mole inside the Night Watchers had repeatedly exposed their operations and caused severe losses.
• Han Xiao said that he, Xiao Pojun, and Yue Changlong devised a dangerous plan requiring a great sacrifice, codenamed Operation Underworld.

Han Xiao revealed that Yue Changlong volunteered for [Operation Underworld] to infiltrate [Skull and Bones] and secretly protect the Dragon Kingdom. Yue Xiaofei learned that his father had delivered genuine but obsolete fighter blueprints, though Han Xiao warned that the real test was still to come.

• Han Xiao explained that Yue Changlong chose to become a supposed traitor and infiltrate [Skull and Bones] so Boss Xiao could remain with the [Night Watchers].
• Han Xiao said [Skull and Bones] demanded the sixth-generation fighter blueprints, threatening to expose or kill Yue Changlong if he failed to provide them.
• Han Xiao revealed that Yue Changlong handed over genuine blueprints, leaving Yue Xiaofei believing his father had betrayed the Dragon Kingdom.
• Han Xiao explained that the blueprints were for an obsolete model because researchers had secretly finalized a superior design called [White Emperor].
• Yue Xiaofei celebrated his father's success, but Han Xiao warned that the enemy's real test would be far more brutal.

Han Xiao revealed how Yue Changlong’s assignment for [Skull and Bones] forced him to interrogate his former subordinate, Ye Cunxin, after she was captured while working for Bureau 7. The chapter ended with Ye Cunxin refusing to betray her country and condemning Yue as a traitor.

• Han Xiao told Yue Xiaofei that [Skull and Bones] ordered Yue Changlong to torture a captured Bureau 7 agent and kill her if she refused to talk.
• Han Xiao revealed that the captured agent was Ye Cunxin, a former Ironblood Division soldier and Fire Phoenix operative who had joined Bureau 7.
• Yue Changlong recognized Ye Cunxin in the interrogation room, but told her he had joined [Skull and Bones] and demanded intelligence about Bureau 7 and its operations.
• Ye Cunxin rejected Yue Changlong’s claims, accused him of betraying his oath and fallen comrades, and spat bloody saliva at him.
• Ye Cunxin dared Yue Changlong to kill her and swore she would never reveal any information to a traitor.

Han Xiao described how Skull and Bones forced Yue Changlong to choose between killing Ye Cunxin and watching her be abused, leaving Yue Xiaofei frozen as two Japanese torturers approached her. Gunshots rang out just as they reached for her uniform, but Han Xiao had not yet revealed what Yue Changlong chose.

• Han Xiao recounted how Ye Cunxin called Yue Changlong a traitor and spat at him while he remained motionless.
• A Skull and Bones envoy arrived and ordered two Japanese torturers to frighten Ye Cunxin and test Yue Changlong.
• Ye Cunxin begged Yue Changlong to kill her rather than let the torturers abuse her.
• Yue Xiaofei and the soldiers outside the cell reacted with fury and horror as Han Xiao continued his account.
• The two Japanese men reached for Ye Cunxin's uniform, and gunshots suddenly rang out.

Han Xiao recounted how Yue Changlong killed the men assaulting Ye Cunxin and then risked leaving Skull and Bones rather than compromise his principles. The envoy revealed that Yue had passed the organization's ultimate test, though the superior's instructions left the consequences of failing it clear.

• Han Xiao told Yue Xiaofei that Yue Cunxin and two Japanese men died in the interrogation room, and that Ye Cunxin had smiled before she died.
• Yue Changlong told the Skull and Bones envoy that he would not associate with the Japanese men and tossed down his gun, declaring he would rather not join the organization.
• Yue Changlong turned his back on the envoy and walked toward the exit, betting that Skull and Bones valued him too much to let him go.
• The envoy applauded Yue Changlong, apologized for testing him, and welcomed him to Skull and Bones.
• Han Xiao explained that the envoy's superior had ordered Yue Changlong executed if he failed to intervene, since that would prove his defection was a ruse.

Han Xiao recounted how Yue Changlong passed Skull and Bones’ final test and infiltrated the organization to secretly protect the Dragon Kingdom. Yue Changlong’s search for the mole led him to discover the Adam Project, a plan to create superhuman soldiers.

• Yue Changlong passed Skull and Bones’ final test by proving he retained no moral hesitation, then asked the special envoy about the mysterious superior.
• Han Xiao said the special envoy refused to identify the superior but Yue Changlong gained high clearance and began sending the Dragon Kingdom classified intelligence.
• Han Xiao explained that Yue Changlong’s warnings thwarted plots against the Dragon Kingdom and helped undercover teams escape capture.
• Yue Changlong pushed deeper into Skull and Bones to find the mole and uncovered the Adam Project.
• Han Xiao revealed that the Adam Project used horrific experiments to create superhuman soldiers capable of overturning the world order.

Han Xiao revealed that Yue Changlong had joined the Adam Project, become the Black Emperor, and betrayed the Night Watchers and Dragon Kingdom. He then told Yue Xiaofei that Yue Changlong—not Han Xiao—had killed 117 elite Night Watchers.

• Yue Xiaofei demanded to know why the Night Watchers had let Yue Changlong be secretly tried and imprisoned.
• Han Xiao said Yue Changlong had fallen to the Adam Project, joined its core team, helped advance its research, and participated in human experimentation as the Black Emperor.
• Yue Xiaofei rejected Han Xiao’s account and insisted Yue Changlong might have been pretending to serve the Skull and Bones.
• Han Xiao revealed that the 117 people he was convicted of killing were elite Night Watchers, not civilians.
• Han Xiao told Yue Xiaofei that Yue Changlong had killed the 117 Night Watchers.

Han Xiao told Yue Xiaofei that his father, Yue Changlong, had become the Black Emperor and slaughtered 117 Night Watchers agents at South Mountain. Yue Xiaofei rejected the accusation but asked why his father had spared Han Xiao.

• Han Xiao said Yue Changlong had turned against the Night Watchers after the Adam Project transformed him into the Black Emperor.
• Han Xiao described how a message sent in Boss Xiao's name summoned all 117 undercover agents to South Mountain under false pretenses.
• Yue Changlong welcomed the agents by saying they had come to attend their own funeral, then killed all 117 in a one-sided massacre.
• Han Xiao said he and Boss Xiao arrived after the slaughter, and Yue Changlong killed Boss Xiao after boasting about the Adam Project.
• Yue Xiaofei asked Han Xiao why Yue Changlong had left him alive.

Han Xiao claimed Yue Changlong orchestrated the Nanshan Massacre and lured Yue Xiaofei close by promising to reveal why his father fell. After Han Xiao whispered the secret, Yue Xiaofei was shocked, and a concealed flash of cold light shot from Han Xiao’s mouth.

• Han Xiao accused Yue Changlong of arranging the Nanshan Massacre and framing Han Xiao to preserve his standing as the Black Emperor.
• Yue Xiaofei, Jin Dapao, Ouyang Jian, and the others rejected Han Xiao’s accusations, but Yue Xiaofei demanded to know why his father had fallen.
• Han Xiao offered to reveal the secret behind Operation Underworld only to Yue Xiaofei and lured him closer despite warnings from the prison warden and the others.
• Yue Xiaofei approached the shackled Han Xiao and bent down to listen as Han Xiao whispered the secret in his ear.
• Yue Xiaofei reacted with disbelief, and Han Xiao suddenly sent a nearly imperceptible flash of cold light from his mouth.

Han Xiao took Yue Xiaofei hostage with a hidden blade and demanded that his shackles be removed. Yue Xiaofei defied him, seized the blade in a sudden counterattack, and stabbed Han Xiao in the heart.

• Han Xiao pulled a tiny blade from between his teeth and held it against Yue Xiaofei's neck.
• Han Xiao demanded that everyone lower their guns and remove his shackles, while the warden refused.
• Yue Xiaofei told Jin Dapao and the others not to approach or release Han Xiao, declaring he would not trade the country's safety for his life.
• Han Xiao prepared to cut Yue Xiaofei's throat, but Yue Xiaofei struck his forehead and snatched the blade from his teeth.
• Yue Xiaofei thrust the blade into Han Xiao's heart.

Yue Xiaofei stabbed Han Xiao in front of the prison officials, then rode with him in the ambulance to learn whether Han Xiao would reveal the truth about Yue Changlong. Han Xiao revealed that Yue Xiaofei had struck a carefully chosen spot and confirmed his father was no traitor.

• Yue Xiaofei stabbed Han Xiao, and a doctor reported that the wound had struck his heart and left him near death.
• The warden ordered Han Xiao rushed to a hospital, and Yue Xiaofei insisted on accompanying him while Jin Dapao stayed behind.
• Han Xiao suddenly recovered in the ambulance and knocked out the doctor and guards, taking control of the vehicle.
• Han Xiao praised Yue Xiaofei for striking him with precision and explained that the wound was not fatal.
• Han Xiao revealed that he had whispered, "Yue Changlong isn't a traitor. If you want the truth, stab me in the heart!"

Han Xiao revealed that he had staged his escape from prison transport to evade surveillance and speak privately with Yue Xiaofei. After warning Yue Xiaofei about the danger of learning the truth about his father, Han Xiao prepared to tell him another version of the Nanshan Massacre.

• Yue Xiaofei asked why Han Xiao had orchestrated the apparent escape, and Han Xiao said he had no need to escape from Blue Bridge Prison.
• Han Xiao found a tiny listening device hidden in the ambulance and crushed it before speaking to Yue Xiaofei.
• Han Xiao explained that someone had monitored him throughout his five years in prison, so he had staged the escape to talk without being watched.
• Yue Xiaofei insisted on learning the truth about his father, Yue Changlong, despite Han Xiao's warnings about the danger.
• Han Xiao approved of Yue Xiaofei's resolve and offered to tell him another version of the Nanshan Massacre.

In the ambulance, Han Xiao revealed that Yue Changlong had been trapped into choosing between killing the Night Watchers and allowing Skull and Bones to destroy them and tens of thousands of civilians. Han Xiao recounted how Stone chose to die so Yue Changlong could remain undercover and protect the country, ending with Stone’s final oath and gunshot.

• Han Xiao told Yue Xiaofei that a hidden mole had lured the Night Watchers to South Mountain and Skull and Bones had ordered Yue Changlong to kill them.
• Han Xiao explained that Skull and Bones had sealed the area and planted 108 explosives that could kill the Night Watchers and tens of thousands of civilians.
• Boss Xiao ordered Yue Changlong to kill his comrades to preserve Operation Underworld and save the civilians, but Yue Changlong broke down and refused.
• Stone, the youngest Night Watcher, saluted Yue Changlong and declared that the team would die without regrets for their country.
• Stone told Yue Changlong to keep living, recited the Night Watchers’ oath, and shot himself.

Han Xiao revealed that the [Nanshan Massacre] was a staged sacrifice in which more than a hundred [Night Watchers] died to protect [Operation Underworld] and help Yue Changlong infiltrate the [Skull and Bones]. He explained how Boss Xiao and the others died, leaving Yue Changlong to carry their mission and the blame, and ended by telling Yue Xiaofei the full truth.

• Han Xiao recounted how Stone and the other [Night Watchers] killed themselves rather than force Yue Changlong to choose between them and the mission.
• Han Xiao explained that Boss Xiao stopped him from joining the dead and ordered him to pose as the escaped traitor, take the blame for the [Nanshan Massacre], and serve as bait for the mole.
• Han Xiao told Yue Xiaofei that Boss Xiao named Yue Changlong the [Black Emperor] and urged him to live on and destroy the mole and the [Skull and Bones].
• Boss Xiao shot himself, leaving Yue Changlong alone among the bodies of his 117 fallen comrades.
• Yue Changlong swore to expose the mole and destroy the [Skull and Bones], while Han Xiao told Yue Xiaofei that this was the truth behind the massacre.

Han Xiao revealed that Yue Changlong had staged the Nanshan Massacre to infiltrate the Skull and Bones, and that the mole remained active in the Dragon Kingdom. He named Sun Xiaochuan, the King of Jinling, as one of the forces behind the massacre.

• Yue Xiaofei grieved as he realized his father had sacrificed his reputation and comrades to carry out Operation Underworld.
• Yue Xiaofei asked where Yue Changlong was, and Han Xiao said he had received no news since being sent to Blue Bridge Prison.
• Han Xiao explained that his constant surveillance suggested the mole was still alive and Operation Underworld had not succeeded.
• Han Xiao said the South Mountain bombing required powerful backing from at least two domestic forces.
• Han Xiao identified Sun Xiaochuan, the King of Jinling, as the first force involved.