Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Su Yi uses his remaining Bandwidth to heal nearly all his injuries, deliberately leaving the wound above his eyebrow untouched. He also gains substantial experience overnight.
• He and Sefni visit an impoverished orphanage run by the Kalbanyan couple, whose debt to Su Yi’s company has grown after the company’s former enforcer arranged for the father to be injured.
• Su Yi identifies the teenage orphan Kilman as a promising future ally. When the children confront him, he pretends to threaten them, giving Winter and 108 a chance to arrive and theatrically drive him off.
• Kilman secretly follows the heroes and discovers that Su Yi is actually funding the children’s relief: he gives Winter thirty Void Abyss Coins for the orphanage and explains that he has secretly covered debts for the poor.
• Su Yi’s genuine injury from saving a child the previous day confirms his identity to Kilman, forcing the boy to question his belief that everyone connected to the company is evil.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi shows both strategic cunning and compassion. He carefully stages the encounter to reach Kilman, while accepting that his company’s reputation makes direct charity hard to trust.
• Kilman begins as a fierce, protective opponent who despises the company and offers to work in exchange for his parents’ freedom. After witnessing Su Yi’s generosity and recognizing him as the child-saving hero, Kilman’s certainty collapses into confusion and reflection.
• Sefni supports Su Yi’s visit and reacts sympathetically to the parents’ desperation. Kilman mistakes her for a vulnerable woman and urges her to escape.
• Winter and 108 play along with Su Yi’s staged confrontation, then sincerely praise his generosity and express concern about his injury. Their heroic reputations grow among the children.
• The Kalbanyan parents and orphans are frightened but determined to protect one another; Kilman and several older children offer themselves to spare the parents.

Significant themes

• Prejudice and moral complexity: Kilman’s black-and-white view of the company is challenged by Su Yi’s actions.
• Trust and reputation: Su Yi uses the heroes as intermediaries because people would distrust help offered directly by the company.
• Protection and sacrifice: Kilman is willing to take responsibility for his family, while Su Yi risks his reputation to help those in need.
• Strategic kindness: The staged rescue is a calculated plan, but it is grounded in real aid rather than empty performance.

Key plot points and events

• Two Human Alliance Heroes clear the orphanage’s debt and donate thirty Void Abyss Coins. The family celebrates, and the Heroes gain reputation.
• Kilman resolves to earn money and build a better life for his family. He also wants to find the corporate lackey and understand whether the man was truly wicked or simply trapped in bad circumstances.
• Sefni returns to offer help for Molly’s infected facial burns. Kilman agrees, but insists that his family remain present.
• Su Yi arrives disguised and heals Molly’s face completely. The family is overwhelmed with gratitude; Sefni is astonished by his healing ability and sees hope for two other disfigured women, Dora and Annie.
• Kilman recognizes Su Yi by a scar near his brow and decides to follow him, believing he can repay Su Yi’s kindness and stay true to his purpose. Su Yi and Sefni regroup in an alley, then continue toward twelve more families, where Winter and 108 have already gone.

Character developments and interactions

• Kilman shows maturity and a strong sense of justice: he is grateful to the Heroes but remains thoughtful about the lackey’s motives. Su Yi’s kindness inspires him to follow.
• Su Yi reveals a compassionate, spontaneous side by healing Molly, while remaining modest and unconcerned with recognition.
• Sefni is surprised by Su Yi’s power and begins imagining how it might help Dora and Annie. She also questions whether the act was worthwhile, prompting Su Yi’s reflection on goodwill.
• Molly and her family move from fear and illness to joy and relief. Kilman protects Molly’s interests by insisting the healing happen in front of everyone.

Significant themes

• Kindness and reciprocity: The donation and Molly’s healing ease the family’s hardship; Kilman responds by resolving to repay kindness.
• Moral complexity: Kilman wonders whether the corporate lackey is evil or merely forced onto a bad path.
• Hope and healing: Material support and supernatural healing offer the family—and potentially Dora and Annie—a chance at a better life.
• Goodwill and future consequences: Su Yi believes acts of kindness may matter later, even when their outcomes cannot be predicted.

Key plot points and events

• Kilman, grateful that Su Yi secretly helped his family, asks to join Su Yi’s company. He offers his local knowledge, combat experience, tracking skills, and loyalty.
• Su Yi recruits him and invites him to bring other young people, warning that the work will be dangerous and involve fighting gangs and corrupt nobles. Kilman eagerly accepts.
• Su Yi introduces Sefni as a powerful Level 21 Gifted who will train Kilman.
• Kilman asks permission to tell others what Su Yi has done. Su Yi agrees, and Kilman rushes home to share the truth with his family.
• The Evil God arrives at the Kalbanyan home, posing as a priest, and pretends to search for the anonymous benefactor so people can thank him. He leads Kilman, Molly, and other children after Su Yi.
• As they travel, Kilman spreads the real story of Su Yi’s actions, while the Evil God amplifies it with an invented tale about grateful followers. Rumors grow into a much grander account of Su Yi’s generosity and plans.
• By the time Su Yi returns to the orphanage, more than fifty teenagers have gathered to admire him and hope to join his cause.

Character developments and interactions

• Kilman moves from grateful witness to committed recruit and organizer. He sees Su Yi as an idealistic leader and helps recruit other local youths.
• Su Yi demonstrates both sincere compassion and political savvy: he gives people help while accepting public blame, and frames his recruitment pitch around the young people’s desire for purpose and change.
• The Evil God shows skill at shaping public opinion, turning a private good deed into a persuasive public story by exploiting rumor and repetition.
• Sefni is established as a formidable mentor figure, strengthening Kilman’s confidence in joining.
• The Kalbanyan family learn who their benefactor was and begin to believe his actions may improve life in the borderlands.

Significant themes

• Public image and truth: Su Yi’s good deeds are hidden or misunderstood, but stories about them reshape how the community sees him.
• Hope as a recruiting force: The promise of a better future draws young people toward Su Yi’s dangerous cause.
• Rumor and persuasion: The Evil God deliberately manufactures and spreads a narrative, showing how public belief can be built through repetition.
• Leadership and sacrifice: Su Yi presents himself as willing to endure blame and hardship to challenge exploitation and restore order.

Key plot points and events

• Su Yi recruits a group of orphanage youths, led by Kilman, promising training, education, equipment, room and board, and a monthly allowance of five Void Abyss Coins. He tells them to consult their families and decide by the next day.
• He arranges a visit to his company’s territory with Winter and Mountain Dog, while 108 and Evil God stay behind for practical reasons.
• Su Yi negotiates a large weapons sale with Cole Paris of the Hound Gang: forty Casey 191s, 3,000 armor-piercing rounds, and 9,000 standard capacitor rounds. He brings Sefni along and proposes bringing Emma too, arguing that she is stronger and more capable than Sefni assumed. The deal totals 7,100 coins.
• Because Su Yi lacks enough personal funds to cover the goods, Aolong agrees to provide 700 coins from company funds.
• Su Yi asks Colt to patrol near Ryan Street during the deal. At the patrol bureau, Webber separately gives Colt Su Yi’s file and orders him to investigate him as a suspected cult associate.
• Colt pretends to accept Webber’s assignment, but privately sees it as an attempt to use him as a scapegoat. Webber, meanwhile, intends to sacrifice Colt to protect his own interests and carry out pressure from his brother-in-law.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi shows himself as a pragmatic recruiter and expanding businessman: he offers the youths a future, treats the weapons transaction as routine, and delegates security and financing.
• Kilman and the youths eagerly accept the opportunity, especially after hearing about the pay, but are given time to reconsider.
• Sefni is shocked by the scale of the deal and learns that Emma has secretly grown stronger, reaching level 20 with Su Yi’s help. Su Yi urges her to recognize Emma’s resilience and expects the witches to contribute to his enterprise.
• Aolong demonstrates trust in Su Yi by readily lending company money; Su Yi considers him dependable enough to manage a shop later.
• Colt outwardly plays along with both Su Yi’s request for patrol coverage and Webber’s order to investigate Su Yi, while privately distrusting Webber.
• Webber reveals himself as calculating and manipulative: he wants Su Yi targeted but plans to use Colt as a disposable fall guy.

Significant themes

• Opportunity and pragmatism: Su Yi offers the orphanage children genuine material support, but makes clear that their future work will serve his business.
• Trust and exploitation: Aolong’s trust contrasts with Webber’s cynical use of Colt.
• Ambition and power: The large sale and Su Yi’s recruitment plans show his growing operation, while Webber and Colt maneuver for advancement and survival.
• Hidden strength and underestimated people: Emma is more capable than Sefni realized, and Colt is more perceptive than Webber assumes.

Plot points and events

• While Su Yi arranged a large arms shipment, he found Aolong a useful role: managing applications for a hospital and school, charitable projects to be placed in Miss Barrett’s name, and the creation of shell companies.
• Su Yi contacted Iron Beetle and arranged a covert pickup. Pumpkin, a cheerful but eccentric assassin and sweets enthusiast, escorted him to Iron Beetle’s warehouse.
• Su Yi spent 3,900 Void Abyss Coins on forty-four reliable Casey 191 pistols and ammunition, then carried the roughly 110-kilogram load himself.
• Sefni and Emma joined him that evening. Wearing disguises, the three slipped through the city, passed a Patrol Bureau checkpoint with help from an officer Su Yi knew, and reached the Nomadic Market by a hidden route.
• Cole, anxious about the deal, welcomed Su Yi with great relief. The Hound Gang urgently needed dependable weapons after many members had died because their existing guns were faulty.

Character developments

• Su Yi demonstrates practical leadership, careful planning, and extensive connections. He also shows an ability to win over Pumpkin with a well-chosen, playful compliment.
• Aolong is anxious about being of little use, but Su Yi reassures him by assigning him substantial administrative responsibilities.
• Sefni and Emma arrive with red eyes after apparently sharing an emotional conversation. They seem closer and more understanding of each other.
• Pumpkin is introduced as a powerful future asset: a stealth-focused assassin with a fondness for sweets and an approachable, peculiar manner.
• Cole is intensely invested in Su Yi’s arrival, reflecting both the gang’s desperation and his dependence on the promised shipment.

Character interactions

• Su Yi reassures Aolong by entrusting him with important work.
• He quickly builds rapport with Pumpkin by matching his unusual question about the sky with a candy-themed answer.
• Sefni and Emma are impressed by Su Yi’s access to a Patrol Bureau officer and his knowledge of concealed routes.
• Cole greets Su Yi warmly, relieved that the crucial arms deal has gone ahead.

Significant themes

• Trust and loyalty: Su Yi earns confidence by giving people meaningful roles and following through on promises.
• Resourcefulness and influence: His connections, disguise, route planning, and ability to manage people help him move through a dangerous city.
• Preparation amid danger: The masks, weapons, and covert journey foreshadow the “tough fight” Su Yi expects that night.
• The cost of poor equipment: The Hound Gang’s casualties underline how unreliable weapons can decide life-or-death struggles.

Plot points and events

• Su Yi, Emma, and Sefni inspect and sell forty guns and ammunition to Lisa, deputy leader of the Hound Gang, for exactly 7,100. Lisa pays as promised and warns them that robberies and gunfire have become common.
• After leaving the market, Sefni detects twenty-one armed pursuers. They ambush the trio with suppressed submachine guns, but Su Yi leads his companions through a drainage channel toward the desert’s edge.
• Su Yi reveals that he knows the area well, though he jokes that he is the emperor of the Human Alliance. Emma sees through the boast, while Sefni responds with familiar resignation.
• At the edge of the city, Su Yi tells the two women to handle the attackers. The pursuers split into teams and close in without attempting negotiation.
• Emma turns invisible and silently incapacitates one group with her Boon. Sefni confronts another two teams, using a ghostly blue-green flame that leaves eight attackers motionless and burning. She reflects on how long it has been since she could freely decide mortals’ fate.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi is confident and strategically minded: he trusts the trade enough to enter the Hound Gang camp, keeps the sale businesslike, and chooses a location for the fight where disposing of bodies will be less troublesome. His teasing also shows his playful rapport with Emma.
• Emma is impressed by the money but later teases Su Yi about his lack of a sales pitch. Under attack, her excitement at using her Boon reveals a fierce, vengeful side.
• Sefni proves observant and composed, spotting the ambush early. Her deadly power and calm manner contrast with the attackers’ confidence; her final reflection hints at a more powerful or consequential past.
• Lisa is terse but honorable in business, paying the agreed sum and offering a warning. Cole, eager to earn Su Yi’s trust, interprets Su Yi’s polite confidence as proof that he has succeeded.

Significant themes

• Trust and deception: The arms deal is conducted honorably, but the trio is immediately betrayed by unknown attackers.
• Power and vulnerability: Even high-level Gifted remain physically vulnerable to bullets, yet their Boons can make them terrifyingly lethal.
• A changing world: The fading Dark Universe Surge is prompting factions to pursue ancient technology, while growing violence signals conflicts ahead.
• The past resurfacing: Sefni’s remark about her long-dormant ability, along with the coming interest in pre-Cataclysm ruins, suggests old powers and technologies are returning to importance.

Key plot points and events

• Sefni and Emma use their powers in a silent fight, exhilarated by finally unleashing abilities they usually hide. Su Yi recognizes Sefni’s attack as Soul Abyss Flame, a powerful S-Class skill that burns spiritual bodies.
• Gunfire draws the group to a nearby scene where a middle-aged man is the sole survivor of a larger squad. Sefni and Emma explain that a strange force field around his soul is disrupting their abilities.
• The man insults the women as “Ecstasy Witches.” Su Yi defends them, then shoots him twice—but the bullets have little effect.
• The man transforms, growing into a towering, metal-skinned figure. Su Yi identifies the creature within him as a Silicon-Based Symbiote, an alien organism that grants strength and near-steel durability while secretly helping the Wildfolk locate human populations.
• Knowing the Wildfolk are trapped for decades, Su Yi realizes the symbiote can be useful before they return. When the transformed man attacks, Su Yi’s invisible defense blocks his blows.
• Su Yi eventually touches the man and unleashes Thornfire. The symbiote’s vulnerability to extreme heat gives Su Yi a way to hurt it.

Character developments and interactions

• Sefni reveals the scale of her power and demonstrates a sharp understanding of the force field protecting the man.
• Emma and Sefni are moved when Su Yi takes their side. They step in to protect him when the enemy’s transformation becomes apparent, showing growing trust and solidarity.
• Su Yi shifts quickly from defender to tactician: he recognizes the symbiote, weighs the risks and benefits of using it, and exploits its weakness rather than relying on brute force.
• The middle-aged man’s contempt for the witches and boast that he is “the protagonist” contrast with Su Yi’s calm confidence and practical approach.

Significant themes

• Prejudice and solidarity: The witches face entrenched hostility, making Su Yi’s defense of them personally significant.
• Power and hidden danger: The symbiote appears to offer an almost perfect enhancement, but it serves as a means for an alien race to find human prey.
• Knowledge as an advantage: Su Yi’s familiarity with future versions of the world lets him identify both the symbiote’s threat and its weakness.
• Adaptation versus vulnerability: The symbiote resists many forms of harm, yet its dependence on a particular biological structure leaves it vulnerable to Thornfire.

Plot points and events

• Su Yi’s Thornfire overwhelms the steel-skinned attacker, burning through his chest and killing him. The fire spreads through the man’s body like a parasite.
• Sefni recognizes the flames as the Black Cinders Goddess’s Thornfire and realizes Su Yi is God-Blessed. Emma is equally shocked: she had believed Su Yi was merely a low-level smuggler.
• Su Yi uses the moment to reassure the women that he can protect them. Seeing his power, they begin to view his promise as credible rather than empty.
• After the fight, Su Yi searches the ground and finds a silicon-based symbiote. It enters his body and attaches to his left arm, but Thornfire’s divine power can control it.
• Su Yi recalls that Molly will eventually uncover the symbiote’s secrets, though her defining encounter is still two years away. He resolves to help her develop sooner.
• When the women worry about his darkened hand, Su Yi restores it with a casual claim about “self-reward,” leaving Emma bewildered.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi reveals the true extent of his power and deliberately uses it to impress Sefni and Emma. He also shows confidence in his ability to manage the symbiote and treats his transformation as unremarkable.
• Sefni shifts from doubting Su Yi’s protection to believing his strength and status may give them a path to security and dignity.
• Emma moves from suspicion to awe, openly questioning what Su Yi can do and expressing concern when his hand changes.
• The women’s fear and uncertainty turn into renewed hope as they witness Thornfire and connect it with Su Yi’s promise.
• Su Yi’s teasing response to Emma restores a light, playful tone after the violent encounter.

Significant themes

• Power and credibility: Su Yi’s promise gains meaning once the women see the supernatural strength behind it.
• Hope amid despair: Thornfire becomes a symbol of light and a better future for Sefni and Emma.
• Control and adaptation: Su Yi’s divine power allows him to contain and potentially manipulate a dangerous symbiote.
• Fate and intervention: Knowing Molly’s future, Su Yi considers changing the timing of her development.

Key plot points and events

• After killing a Silver Snake Legion raiding platoon, Su Yi’s group gathers the bodies. Emma wants to keep the weapons, but Su Yi destroys them, explaining that registered serial numbers and possible trackers could expose anyone who took them.
• Sefni finds a dog tag marked with the Legion’s venomous-snake emblem. Su Yi recognizes the group and decides to leave them alone for now, viewing their eventual destruction as useful to his career.
• Su Yi burns the bodies and returns to Rootvine District with Emma and Sefni. Lisa and Cole arrive afterward, see the wreckage, and realize Su Yi could have overwhelmed their camp at any time.
• Meanwhile, Ilis struggles to secure her promotion. Despite a successful publicity campaign, potential donors renege on their promises and seek favors from the Navigation Department, apparently backing her rival, Cairns. With little funding, her plans to destabilize the Rhodes Alliance and gain control of the region are in jeopardy.
• Ilis tells Rick to seize control of the Rootvine City Defense Force and eliminate the Silver Snake bandits. Rick reports that Captain Liu En has agreed to meet him.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi shows caution and strategic awareness by destroying the weapons, and keeps his abilities and plans private. He prioritizes survival now while seeing the Legion’s defeat as a future career opportunity.
• Emma is eager to profit from the guns but learns that apparent valuables can be dangerous. She wants to ask about Su Yi’s power, but Sefni’s look stops her.
• Sefni remains protective of Su Yi’s authority and helps uncover the clue identifying the attackers.
• Lisa and Cole reassess Su Yi after witnessing the aftermath; Cole is especially shaken, realizing Su Yi’s earlier restraint was not weakness.
• Ilis is exhausted and increasingly frustrated by political betrayal. She dismisses Su Yi as insignificant and focuses on institutional power, while Rick supports her plans and reports progress with the City Defense Force.

Significant themes

• Caution and hidden risks: Weapons and political promises can both carry unseen costs.
• Power and perception: Lisa and Cole’s understanding of Su Yi changes dramatically once they see what he can do.
• Ambition and institutional rivalry: Ilis’s promotion depends not only on her plans but on money, departmental competition, and shifting alliances.
• Conflicting scales of importance: Ilis sees Su Yi as irrelevant, while the events in Rootvine suggest he may become more consequential than she expects.

Key plot points and events

• Su Yi arrives at work exhausted after his usual Self-Reward, which has improved his attack speed. He notices two thugs following him but loses them by taking a winding route.
• He brings Sefni, Emma, and Rijia to Kalbanyan Orphanage, where more than seventy impoverished children—and four Players—are waiting anxiously for him.
• Su Yi leaves Sefni and Emma to look after the children and introduces Rijia to the Players. Rijia and the religiously enthusiastic Tentacles Aren’t Evil God quickly bond, and Su Yi assigns Rijia to help with church affairs.
• Su Yi explains that the orphanage will become the school’s base, providing work for the Kalbanyan Couple. Since the area is dangerous, he hires 108 as temporary security for fifteen Void Abyss Coins a day.
• He invites the four Players to join his newly founded guild, the Moon-Drinking Azure Wolf. After a private discussion, all four accept.
• The Kalbanyan Couple celebrate Su Yi’s plan, and Kilman is overcome with emotion at the prospect of his adoptive parents receiving respectable jobs.
• Molly silently blesses Su Yi. Her prayer awakens the Bright Totem in her dreams, transforming her into a powerful, headless angel. At the same time, the Stigmata Totem notices Su Yi, leaving him terrified because he remembers its possessive, disastrous attention from his previous life.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi continues building influence through practical support for the orphanage, paid work, and his new guild, while concealing the true extent of his resources from the Players.
• 108 eagerly accepts the security job and celebrates the generous pay. Mountain Dog is delighted by the guild name, while Winter is more measured but recognizes that joining is advantageous.
• Rijia becomes Su Yi’s link to the Players’ religious activities and bonds with Tentacle over their shared zeal.
• Molly shifts from gratitude to deep reverence for Su Yi; her blessing triggers a major supernatural change.
• The Players are stunned to learn Sefni and Emma are both above level twenty, and their admiration for Su Yi’s power and connections grows.

Significant themes

• Community-building and mutual aid: Su Yi turns the orphanage into a foundation for education and employment.
• Influence and loyalty: The guild and paid security formalize Su Yi’s growing network.
• Faith’s unpredictable power: Molly’s sincere devotion awakens a totem and changes her.
• Power as a double-edged blessing: Divine attention may be dangerous rather than reassuring, especially for Su Yi.

Plot points and events

• Su Yi unexpectedly jumps from Level 8 to Level 11 after Molly’s gratitude awakens her Void Abyss Projection. The Stigmata Totem notices Su Yi as well, marking him and changing his Talent.
• Su Yi discovers that Matter Rune can now reconstruct shallow material beneath an object’s surface. He suspects divine interference can reshape his Talent in different ways.
• The nearby Players notice Su Yi’s sudden level gain and Molly’s awakening, but misunderstand the source of the divine attention. Su Yi gives Sefni and Emma pistols and promises to protect them if they use them.
• Su Yi takes Winter and Mountain Dog to Gray Bridge, pays them in advance, and sends them to investigate Aien Logistics Company and retrieve its records.
• Meanwhile, Patrol Bureau Chief Webber’s ally Cairo bribes company manager Robert Carey to undermine Aolong’s promotion and block his rise. Robert recruits four resentful coworkers, including Marn, who proposes accusing Su Yi of killing Camel gang members as a pretext for action.

Character developments

• Su Yi is frustrated by the unexpected level-up but quickly turns it to his advantage, recognizing that his Talent may be shaped by contact with different gods. He also shows confidence in his allies and willingness to back Sefni and Emma.
• Molly awakens her Void Abyss Projection and sees Su Yi as someone connected to her divine blessing. Her reverence reflects her gratitude for his earlier kindness.
• Winter and Mountain Dog accept Su Yi’s trust and become covert operatives, eager to carry out his orders.
• Sefni and Emma gain confidence from Su Yi’s support and the weapons he provides.
• Robert Carey, Cairo, and Marn reveal their greed and resentment: they conspire to protect their interests by smearing Aolong and targeting Su Yi.

Significant themes

• Fate and unintended consequences: Su Yi’s intervention brings Molly’s destined awakening forward, which unexpectedly draws divine attention to him.
• Power and transformation: Su Yi’s level and Talent change through supernatural influence, suggesting that divine forces can reshape abilities.
• Trust and patronage: Su Yi supports allies with money, weapons, and protection, building loyalty for future operations.
• Corruption and envy: Bribes and workplace resentment drive the opposing faction’s scheme.

Character interactions

• Molly’s grateful gaze connects her awakening to Su Yi, though she keeps quiet and returns to the lesson.
• The Players joke and speculate about Su Yi’s sudden growth, while Sefni and Emma mistake the Stigmata Totem’s attention for a blessing from the Goddess of Black Cinders.
• Su Yi equips Sefni and Emma, then entrusts Winter and Mountain Dog with a covert investigation.
• At the gang meeting, Cairo bribes Robert to obstruct Aolong; Robert then pays and incites Aolong’s former coworkers, and Marn supplies a false accusation aimed at Su Yi.

Plot points

• Ironhand takes over Aien Logistics after Bell’s death, tightens company rules, and prepares to use his brother to manage the accounts.
• Mountain Dog ambushes and kills Ironhand at the office. Winter hacks Ironhand’s computer, encrypts its videos, and copies the company’s records. The pair also eliminate the remaining low-level thugs and leave with the ledgers.
• Cairo arrives to find the company’s staff dead and its account books missing. A message from the masked “Moon-Drinking Azure Wolf” demands that the House of Loving Kindness’s crimes be exposed in exchange for the encrypted data.
• Cairo learns that the same pair attacked a logistics station, killed its manager, and seized the goods. They warn the station’s staff to abandon the cult and urge its leader to change course.
• Cairo suspects the attackers are an outsider Ranger group, not Gheros’s gang. He decides to approach Scarface and offer help hunting them.
• Cairo dismisses Gheros’s effort to establish a school in Miss Barrett’s name, expecting to take it over after Gheros dies.
• Su Yi calls Rick, describing the House of Loving Kindness as a “precious blade” he intends to present to Miss Barrett.

Character developments and interactions

• Ironhand begins the chapter confident in his new authority, but his complacency leaves him vulnerable. He is killed before he can understand why he was targeted.
• Mountain Dog and Winter act as a coordinated, efficient team: Mountain Dog handles the violence while Winter secures and copies the records.
• Cairo shifts from shock to anger and strategy. He seeks a hacker to recover the files and plans to enlist Scarface against the masked attackers.
• Gheros is not directly present, but his decision to establish a school is mocked by Cairo, who sees it as an opportunity to seize the property later.
• Su Yi’s final call frames his campaign against the cult as a deliberate offering to Miss Barrett.

Significant themes

• Justice and resistance: The Moon-Drinking Azure Wolf presents its attacks as punishment for aiding the cult and gives others a chance to break away.
• Power, corruption, and exploitation: Cairo treats both people and charitable work as resources to control or take over.
• Information as leverage: The stolen ledgers and encrypted files become tools for pressuring the House of Loving Kindness.
• Irony and misjudgment: Cairo mocks the attackers’ name and Gheros’s charity, while failing to grasp the larger threat gathering around him.

Key plot points and events

• Rick’s negotiations with City Defense Force captain Liu En Malay collapse: Liu demands 80% of the Rebellion Suppression Merit, while Charlie Keynes openly taunts Rick and reveals that he has influence inside the Debt Collection Company.
• Su Yi contacts Rick on a secure line with a plan to give Ilis political leverage. The Wolf Fang Gang’s ledgers show it has been transporting Living Sacrifices for the extremist House of Loving Kindness, a cult with many followers, including at least fifty Gifted.
• Su Yi proposes making an unnamed villain appear responsible for colluding with the cult, leaving Ilis’s reputation untouched and positioning her as the hero who defeats it. Rick approves and agrees to arrange the Ember Seed skill Su Yi wants after reaching level ten.
• Su Yi continues testing his Matter Rune, which lets him program changes to objects using preset runes and conditions. He turns a dagger into a tuning-fork-shaped device and looks forward to combining the ability with Ember Seed.
• Meanwhile, Mountain Dog and Winter battle the Wolf Fang Gang. After taking down nearly twenty pursuers, both are badly depleted and cornered by thugs ordered to capture them alive. A blond ally arrives at the last moment, kills the attackers, and says Gheros sent him.

Character developments and interactions

• Rick’s frustration at being publicly undermined gives way to approval when he recognizes Su Yi’s politically useful plan. He also agrees to support Su Yi’s development by securing Ember Seed.
• Su Yi shows himself to be both inventive and ruthlessly strategic: he experiments with his new power while arranging a scheme that shields Ilis from blame and turns the cult threat to her advantage.
• Mountain Dog and Winter relish a rare, intense fight against an enemy faction, but their injuries and exhaustion leave them vulnerable. Their gratitude toward Su Yi’s organization is emphatic when help arrives.
• Iron Beetle agrees to look after two of Su Yi’s men and help them move goods, extending Su Yi’s network.
• Rick’s rivals, Liu En Malay and Charlie Keynes, demonstrate that Ilis’s opposition has influence both in the City Defense Force and within the Debt Collection Company.

Significant themes

• Power and political maneuvering: Merit, promotions, and institutional influence are treated as tools in a struggle for control.
• Plausible deniability and reputation: Su Yi’s scheme separates Ilis’s public image from the dirty work done in her interests.
• Innovation and preparation: Su Yi’s programmable Matter Rune and careful planning turn new abilities and information into practical advantages.
• Loyalty and mutual support: Su Yi backs Rick and Ilis’s plans, while his people risk themselves in battle and are rescued by allies.

054: Catching Bullets Barehanded, the Might of Su Yi - Summary

Plot points and events

• Su Yi sends Level 15 assassin Pumpkin to rescue Mountain Dog and Winter, who were prepared to stage a bloody distraction for the Wolf Fang Gang and then use their one-time resurrection. The rescue costs extra, but Pumpkin also offers Mountain Dog possible combat instruction for an additional fee.
• Su Yi reaches Loving Kindness Hospital, a decaying building where sick-looking people enter while apparently rejuvenated patients leave. The nurse alerts her superiors, and an attacker threatens Su Yi with a dagger.
• Su Yi uses a rune to break the dagger and his silver-gray symbiote arm to overpower the attacker. When the nurse fires at him, he catches the bullet barehanded, frightening both women.
• Jon, a hospital associate, intervenes and escorts Su Yi to Bishop Martin Cares. Su Yi presents records exposing the hospital’s illicit dealings. Martin recognizes that Su Yi’s agent attacked the Wolf Fang Gang and questions whether he can be trusted. Su Yi replies that he came in person rather than sending an Ember Executor from the Black Sun Group.

Character developments

• Su Yi displays confidence and formidable abilities, while revealing a strategic, hands-on approach to negotiations.
• Mountain Dog and Winter are moved by Su Yi’s generosity and rescue, strengthening their admiration for him. Mountain Dog also seeks training from Pumpkin.
• Pumpkin is shown to be a capable assassin and a blunt, transactional mentor.
• Jon resents the Wolf Fang Gang for misleading him about Su Yi’s backing and rapid advancement.
• Martin Cares, a level 28 bishop and one of the closed beta’s final bosses, remains composed despite the evidence against his operation.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and patronage: Su Yi’s help earns the players’ devotion.
• Power and intimidation: Su Yi’s rune, enhanced arm, and bullet-catching demonstrate how overwhelming strength shapes encounters.
• Corruption beneath respectability: The hospital’s grim atmosphere and incriminating ledgers suggest a sinister operation behind its charitable name.
• Trust and negotiation: Su Yi and Martin test each other while weighing the risks of an alliance.

Character interactions

• Mountain Dog and Winter praise Su Yi privately; Mountain Dog then asks Pumpkin for guidance.
• Su Yi confronts the hospital’s guards, demanding to meet its bishop.
• Jon apologizes for the attack and leads Su Yi through the hospital.
• Su Yi and Martin exchange accusations and questions over the records, ending with Su Yi emphasizing that he chose to negotiate face-to-face.

Plot points

• Su Yi negotiates an alliance with Martin of the House of Loving Kindness: Martin will provide a steady supply of sacrifices and give Su Yi a new area to operate in; in return, Su Yi will help eliminate troublesome rivals such as the Wolf Fang Gang.
• Martin agrees, but asks Su Yi to deal with the Patrol Bureau Chief first. During their handshake, Martin secretly tries to implant his controlling “Loving Energy.” Su Yi’s hidden Silicon-Based Symbiote consumes it without Martin noticing.
• Su Yi plans to arrange the chief’s death during an expedition against bandits, making the outcome appear legitimate.
• Alton reports that he has recruited five former comrades and discovered that suspicious retired militia members have joined the Silver Snake Legion and are planning a major operation.
• At the company, Su Yi finds Alton, Aolong, and the five recruits being beaten by Camel and his thugs, while an L7 company official, Robert, threatens to take them in.
• Su Yi shoots the attackers, including Camel, then catches Robert’s bullet between his fingers. He reveals he is a Level 11 Gifted, leaving the crowd stunned.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi shows himself to be a calculating negotiator, confident that Martin needs him more than he needs the alliance. He also demonstrates fierce loyalty to his people, responding brutally when Alton and Aolong are attacked. His concealed power surprises even those close to him.
• Martin accepts the partnership while attempting to control Su Yi through his signature ability, but his attempt fails unnoticed.
• Alton proves resourceful by recruiting old comrades and investigating the retired militia. His recruits’ trust in him is restored when Su Yi intervenes.
• The five recruits shift from resentment and doubt to admiration, convinced that Su Yi is a powerful boss who will protect them.
• Aolong moves from helplessness to hope when Su Yi arrives, then to disbelief at Su Yi’s strength.
• Camel and Robert provoke Su Yi’s retaliation: Camel’s gang is killed, and Robert’s attempt to shoot Su Yi exposes the vast difference in their power.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and protection: Su Yi’s willingness to defend his people earns him the allegiance of Alton’s recruits.
• Power and intimidation: Su Yi uses both overwhelming force and strategic planning to shape events.
• Deception and hidden motives: Martin’s covert control attempt and Su Yi’s carefully staged plan for the Patrol Bureau Chief highlight the chapter’s political maneuvering.
• Status and hierarchy: The recruits’ awe at Su Yi’s Level 11 rank shows how dramatically Gifted power defines social standing.

Key plot points and events

• Su Yi confronts Robert and his men after they threaten Aolong. He catches a bullet bare-handed, demonstrating his immense power, then heals Aolong’s scalp wounds with Skin Healing Runes.
• Aolong recognizes that retaliation could get Su Yi in trouble with the company. He calls the violence a misunderstanding, giving Su Yi a way to de-escalate while protecting his authority.
• Robert blames the dead Camel, pays Aolong 100 Void Abyss Coins, and tries to leave. Su Yi makes Robert’s men clean the blood from the ground before they go.
• Su Yi heals the bruised Alton and gives him 100 coins to treat himself and five comrades. At a bathhouse, the group enjoys an extravagant private room and “full service.”
• Alton later introduces his five capable former training-unit comrades to Su Yi. They pledge themselves to him, and Su Yi promises wealth and recognition to those who follow him.

Character developments

• Aolong shows growing judgment and loyalty. Rather than indulge in revenge, he considers the consequences for Su Yi and helps him avoid a damaging confrontation.
• Su Yi combines fearsome force with care for his allies. He heals the injured, rewards loyalty, and uses controlled intimidation to assert authority without escalating the dispute.
• Alton gains status among his comrades and confidently recruits them into Su Yi’s circle.
• The five newcomers are impressed by Su Yi’s power and generosity, and quickly commit themselves to him.

Character interactions

• Su Yi shifts from a cold confrontation with Robert to a gentle, reassuring manner with Aolong.
• Aolong’s calm intervention lets Robert retreat; Robert then appeases the group with money and blames Camel.
• Su Yi asserts control by ordering Robert’s men to clean up, then rewards Alton and his comrades.
• At the bathhouse, Alton’s generosity and the men’s excitement strengthen their camaraderie and their loyalty to Su Yi.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and leadership: Su Yi earns allegiance through protection, generosity, and confidence.
• Growth through judgment: Aolong learns that restraint can serve his allies better than revenge.
• Power and authority: Su Yi’s abilities make him intimidating, but his choices show that power also involves controlling when not to fight.
• Class and scarcity: The men’s poverty makes Su Yi’s generous reward and luxurious outing especially meaningful.

Chapter Summary

• Plot/events: This is an author’s note rather than a story chapter. The author thanks readers for their support, explains that reading difficulties make it hard to catch typos, and promises to correct mistakes when found. They announce a schedule of two chapters daily at 7:30—about 4,500 Chinese characters total—with longer updates after the book becomes premium, including 40,000 characters on its first premium day. The author also asks readers to keep up with new chapters, since readership may affect the book’s promotion, and mentions detailed worldbuilding notes and spreadsheets for equipment and skills. The note closes with acknowledgments to recent tippers.
• Character development: The author comes across as candid and appreciative, while also anxious that the story’s initially slow pace might lose readers. Their enthusiasm for writing and confidence in the book’s preparation are clear.
• Themes: Reader–author support, persistence, creative passion, and the importance of consistent readership.
• Interactions: The author speaks directly to readers, asks them to continue reading and vote, invites patience about editing errors, and publicly thanks specific supporters for their tips.

Key plot points and events

• Su Yi welcomes five new men into his group and tells Alton to find them a large, sunny place to live.
• Aolong warns that Robert and his people may retaliate. Su Yi welcomes the trouble: he wants Chief Webber to be drawn out of the city so he can pursue the bandits. Su Yi has Colt report him for colluding with them.
• Colt secretly follows Alton and obtains a muffled recording suggesting a weapons exchange with the Silver Snake Legion in three days. Webber treats it as grounds for a major operation and decides to lead the raid himself, hoping to secure a promotion.
• Both Colt and Webber privately believe the other will die in the operation. Colt has been manipulated into provoking Webber to take charge.
• Su Yi visits the injured Winter and Mountain Dog. Winter has lost an arm, so Su Yi offers to pay immediately for a cybernetic replacement. He also offers Mountain Dog assassination training and a Boon.
• Su Yi tells them a major fight is coming in three days. He asks them to contact an ally who has fought the Silver Snake Legion, and plans to equip him to lure at least three platoons of bandits to a chosen location.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi shows himself as both generous and strategic: he supports his new recruits and injured allies while deliberately setting events in motion against Webber and the bandits.
• Winter accepts her injury pragmatically, but is moved by Su Yi’s offer to pay for her implant.
• Mountain Dog is intensely grateful for Su Yi’s support and eagerly accepts the chance to gain new skills and a Boon.
• Colt and Webber cooperate outwardly while each schemes against the other. Webber wants promotion; Colt is pleased that his manipulation has made Webber take the dangerous lead.
• Winter and Mountain Dog readily agree to help Su Yi recruit their lone-wolf ally, trusting that he will provide the necessary resources.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and mutual support: Su Yi rewards people who risk themselves for the group and treats Winter’s sacrifice as the group’s responsibility.
• Manipulation and ambition: Colt and Webber’s rivalry shows how personal advancement can turn cooperation into a trap.
• Strategic preparation: The approaching confrontation is being shaped through intelligence, bait, and alliances rather than brute force alone.
• Hope and reward: Su Yi’s aid—housing, medical care, training, and equipment—offers his allies a more secure future and strengthens their commitment.

Plot and events

• Su Yi recruits Iron Beetle into a plan to kill Weber Nigel within three days and destroy the Wolf Fang Gang within five, giving the Moon-Drinking Azure Wolf control of the local weapons market.
• He asks Iron Beetle to invest in his crew: an S-grade KV-100 cybernetic implant for Winter and Pumpkin’s training and Shadow Assault Boon for Mountain Dog. In return, Su Yi promises substantial weekly purchases and help opening the Lal City market.
• Iron Beetle’s boss approves, with the condition that Su Yi buy at least 9,000 Void Abyss Coins’ worth of goods each week. Pumpkin is won over by Su Yi’s elaborate layered lollipops and agrees to train Mountain Dog.
• Winter receives the implant and is deeply grateful, silently pledging loyalty to Su Yi.
• Meanwhile, the Friend of the Sorceress hunts Silver Snake Legion bandits for experience and bounties, hoping to save enough for a reconnaissance drone. Winter messages him and shows off her new arm. Seeing its quality and price, he is stunned by how far behind his own progress seems.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi demonstrates confidence and strategic ambition, using business promises and personal charm to secure valuable upgrades for his team.
• Iron Beetle is initially wary but agrees to invest after Su Yi offers a persuasive commercial opportunity.
• Pumpkin shifts from cautious interest to enthusiasm after tasting Su Yi’s candy, and commits to helping Mountain Dog.
• Winter gains powerful new equipment and becomes fiercely devoted to Su Yi.
• The Friend of the Sorceress remains resourceful and focused on survival, but Winter’s show-and-tell leaves him envious and demoralized.
• Winter and the Friend exchange teasing messages; her casual boast about the implant turns their conversation into a sharp comparison of fortunes.

Significant themes

• Ambition and calculated risk: Su Yi pursues power through planning and investment rather than direct violence.
• Loyalty and patronage: Better equipment and opportunities deepen the team’s devotion to Su Yi.
• Envy and comparison: The Friend’s hard-won dog tags and modest savings feel insignificant beside Winter’s expensive upgrade.
• Persuasion and trust: Su Yi uses business promises, confidence, and small personal gestures to win cooperation.

Key plot points and events

• Winter proudly shows Girlfriend his new custom mechanical arm: a powerful cybernetic limb with hacking ports, a projection function, and a blade transformation. He says Godfather—Su Yi—paid for it.
• Girlfriend learns Mountain Dog has received an A-Rank combat skill and assassin training from Godfather. Jealous and struggling in the desert, he is told Su Yi needs him to lure the Silver Snake Legion. He agrees to return and meet Su Yi, though he worries about handling the task alone.
• The next morning, Su Yi checks that his Void Abyss Projection has grown slightly, then heads to work. The Wolf Fang Gang has stopped harassing him, partly because Webber needs Su Yi free to conduct an upcoming deal.
• Su Yi asks Sefni and Emma to accompany him on a major operation the night after next, mainly as hidden backup. He also wants to obtain the high-level Boon Soul Suppression, normally reserved for core members.
• After Sefni explains the 500-coin offering, Su Yi gives her 700 coins, telling her and Emma to use the extra to improve their lives.

Character developments and interactions

• Winter is delighted by his new arm and proud to share that Su Yi provided it.
• Mountain Dog openly embraces his loyalty to Su Yi, boasting about his skill and training while teasing Girlfriend.
• Girlfriend moves from envy and despair to renewed hope when offered a role in Su Yi’s plan. His willingness to help suggests he is ready to join the group rather than pursue a lone-wolf path.
• Su Yi continues investing in his allies and treats his employees generously, while preparing for a high-stakes operation.
• Sefni and Emma are deeply moved by Su Yi’s trust and generosity. They agree to support him and are struck by being protected while also treated with respect.
• The friends’ banter highlights their closeness: Winter and Mountain Dog joke about Girlfriend’s bad luck, but ultimately bring him into their plans.

Significant themes

• Money as power and leverage: Su Yi’s resources buy equipment, skills, influence, and allies, shaping the balance of power.
• Loyalty and reciprocity: His generosity earns genuine commitment from Winter, Mountain Dog, Sefni, and Emma.
• Belonging versus isolation: Girlfriend’s abandoned “lone wolf” ambition gives way to joining a supportive team.
• Respect and dignity: Su Yi’s treatment of Sefni and Emma contrasts with a purely transactional relationship, making his kindness especially meaningful.