Chapter Summaries

Plot and key events

• Su Yi demonstrates his thornfire to Ilis. Thrilled by the rare power, she praises him and interprets it as a sign of the Goddess’s favor.
• Su Yi flatters Ilis by framing their meeting, his power, and his service as events ordained by the Goddess. Ilis accepts the idea that he is blessed through her and declares him her blade against her enemies.
• Ilis reviews Su Yi’s management and social-reform ideas. They discuss how better conditions for Rootvine District’s working class could boost productivity and prevent unrest and Void Abyss corruption. Ilis cites Planet 145 as a disastrous example of exploitation leading to a cult uprising and planetary destruction.
• Ilis shares her plans to improve life for the lower classes and weaken the Rhodes Alliance from within. Su Yi’s suggestions—including providing Medical Cybernetics as an employee benefit—impress her.
• Ilis assigns Su Yi two missions: build an armed force to keep unrest under control, and support and control a Resistance Army while provoking divisions within the Noble Alliance. Su Yi says his existing border school and hospital are already operating, and estimates ten days for the first effort and fifteen for the second.
• As rewards, Ilis gives him two Data Cards that add 800 daily bandwidth in total, a secure communicator for direct contact, and a custom Gun Glove with ranged attacks and a repulsion ability.

Character development and interactions

• Ilis grows excited and increasingly confident in Su Yi, seeing him as both unusually powerful and ideologically aligned with her. She invests in him with promotions, confidential assignments, and valuable equipment.
• Su Yi performs loyalty and deference while privately manipulating Ilis as well. He uses religious language to make their relationship seem divinely ordained, while keeping his own plans and knowledge strategically concealed. He is pleased to gain bandwidth and equipment that will be much more useful to him than Ilis realizes.
• Their relationship is built on mutual advantage: Ilis believes Su Yi is a devoted, Goddess-blessed ally; Su Yi recognizes her influence and cultivates her trust.

Significant themes

• Manipulation and loyalty: Both characters use flattery and belief to strengthen their positions.
• Power and patronage: Ilis rewards service with status, resources, and access.
• Social exploitation and instability: The chapter links workers’ hardship to poor productivity, cult growth, and catastrophic corruption.
• Faith as political justification: Su Yi turns belief in the Goddess into a rationale for their alliance—and potentially their future relationship.

Plot points and events

• Ilis rewards Su Yi with two Data Cards and a Gun Glove. The cards raise his Bandwidth to 1,110, and the new equipment strengthens his ability to advance her plans for the Revolutionary Army. Su Yi leaves Vine City determined to return to the Rootvine District and build up his influence.
• In Central City, 108, Winter, and Mountain Dog visit Marilyn, a noblewoman 108 previously rescued. They find her parents murdered in a ritualistic scene marked with fire. Marilyn then suddenly catches fire and dies in 108’s arms.
• Alliance Mounted Police arrive, and the trio realize they have been lured into a trap. While Winter and 108 escape, Mountain Dog stays behind to draw off the officers. He fights fiercely, but is caught in an electrified net and killed when his grenades explode.
• The Alliance turns the incident into propaganda, blaming the Black Cinders Cult and rebels for the nobles’ deaths. Players learn of Mountain Dog’s death, and Winter warns them to avoid the cities.
• Winter and 108 flee through the city and sewers, fighting off pursuing agents before reaching the Border District. Lost and still hunted, they contact Su Yi for help. Their pursuer taunts them over a hijacked phone, boasting about Marilyn’s death and Mountain Dog’s corpse; Winter’s secure phone lets them reach Su Yi, who promises the guild will stand by them.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi gains powerful new equipment and remains confident in his alliance with Ilis, framing his departure as a necessary step toward future growth.
• 108 is devastated by Marilyn’s death and furious at the people who orchestrated it. He protects Winter during their escape and turns to Su Yi when they are cornered.
• Winter stays practical under pressure, restraining 108 when he is about to rush into danger and helping lead their escape. She ultimately asks Su Yi for assistance.
• Mountain Dog proves both selfless and formidable, choosing to sacrifice himself so his companions can escape. His final boast—“Agile Dog in the Mountains”—shows his defiant humor even in the face of death.
• Su Yi’s reassurance gives Winter and 108 a brief sense of safety and belonging amid the pursuit and humiliation.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and mutual support: Mountain Dog risks his life for his companions, while Su Yi treats the guild as a community responsible for protecting its members.
• Cruelty and dehumanization: Marilyn’s desperate death and Mountain Dog’s public display reveal the brutality of the Alliance’s enemies.
• Propaganda and political manipulation: The Alliance uses a staged crime to condemn its opponents and justify a crackdown.
• Powerlessness and resistance: The fugitives are hunted and taunted, yet continue fighting and seeking allies rather than surrendering.

Key plot points and events

• Su Yi guides Winter and 108 along a hidden route toward the border. As they flee, 108 admits he tried to save Marilyn, whose death has left him feeling guilty and furious; Winter comforts him and vows they will avenge her.
• They are intercepted by Jack Kane, a ruthless Investigation Bureau deputy chief, and a squad of mounted police. Jack mocks Marilyn and accuses the pair of being traitors. He uses telekinetic control to disarm and pin them, preventing them from escaping or fighting back.
• Su Yi arrives and confronts Jack. He resists Jack’s telekinetic pull with his silicon-based symbiote, catches Jack’s sword barehanded, and knocks him down with a punch. He refuses to kill Jack, knowing from a prior walkthrough that Jack’s later actions—and eventual fate—matter.
• Colt and a force of Patrol Bureau officers arrive, turning the standoff in Su Yi’s favor. Jack recognizes the odds are against him and withdraws, threatening to remember Su Yi. Su Yi mocks him as he leaves.
• Winter and 108 thank Su Yi and the patrol officers. The group returns to the Rootvine District, where Winter and 108 clean up at the Moon-Drinking Azure Wolf’s new company building. They are astonished by how much the organization has grown in a week.
• Winter notices that her fresh clothes fit her unusually well and wonders whether Su Yi knows her measurements because he is attracted to her. In reality, he knows them because players had calculated her measurements in his previous life.

Character developments and interactions

• 108 reveals his emotional investment in Marilyn and feels ashamed that he could not save her. Seeing Su Yi stand up for him turns Su Yi into more than an ordinary NPC in his eyes.
• Winter reassures 108, then feels deep gratitude and admiration for Su Yi’s decisive defense of them. His knowledge of her clothing sizes also sparks an unexpected, possibly romantic, suspicion.
• Su Yi acts protectively toward his guild members, calmly counters Jack’s powers, and uses both tactical knowledge and the loyalty he has built with the Patrol Bureau to rescue the pair.
• Jack Kane is introduced as a cruel, ambitious antagonist who uses intimidation and telekinesis. Despite his menace, he retreats when confronted with Su Yi’s strength and Colt’s forces.
• Colt and the patrol officers show their loyalty to Su Yi and the guild, while also repaying Winter for previously helping Cami and Tom.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and reciprocal support: Su Yi’s allies rally to protect Winter and 108, and the patrol officers’ intervention reflects relationships built through earlier acts of help.
• Powerlessness and vindication: The pair’s humiliation under Jack’s control is reversed when Su Yi and the patrol arrive.
• Immersion and emotional attachment: The players’ grief, anger, and excitement blur the line between game and genuine feeling.
• Foreknowledge and changed outcomes: Su Yi’s knowledge of the original storyline helps him make strategic choices, even as his interventions alter events.
• Comedy amid tension: Winter’s speculation about Su Yi knowing her measurements provides a playful ending after the violent confrontation.

Plot points and events

• Winter and 108 recover at Su Yi’s headquarters, enjoying real food and new clothes. They tell Su Yi that the Black Cinders Cult may be preparing a provocation to conceal its internal problems. Winter also says Mountain Dog was attacked but that the attackers believe they killed his double, keeping the Players’ ability to respawn secret.
• The Players exchange messages in their secure channel. Evil God and Rijia are inventing scripture for the church they plan to establish for Su Yi, while the group jokes about its name and vows revenge for Mountain Dog.
• Su Yi asks Rijia to investigate fire-related sacrifices through the Church of the Goddess of White Frost and checks on the Revolutionary Army’s arms supply. He sees an opportunity to support and unite its scattered factions, and warns Rijia and Evil God that the Investigation Bureau may be watching them.
• Jack, humiliated by his clash with Su Yi, obtains intelligence on him and plots to frame Su Yi’s organization as a dangerous cult. He plans to use the Black Cinders Cult and border violence to provoke war, hoping mass death will win him favor with the Black King and help him become a god.
• Su Yi suspects the real force behind the supposed Black Cinders Cult may be followers of the King of Frenzied Fire, whose influence has appeared earlier than expected. Rather than report immediately, he decides to investigate personally and seize the enemy’s useful abilities.
• Su Yi calls an emergency meeting and assigns defenses: Aolong and Alton will manage Rootvine District; Mota and Michelle will reinforce Sefni at the border and protect the children; Emma and Dora will watch for trouble. Winter and 108 accompany Su Yi to confront their attackers.

Character developments and interactions

• Winter and 108 shift from relief and embarrassment to anger and eagerness for revenge. Their bond as siblings comes through in their teasing.
• Su Yi remains strategic and pragmatic: he protects the Players’ secret, anticipates political manipulation, and treats the Revolutionary Army’s disunity as an opportunity to build influence.
• Evil God’s grandiose religious schemes contrast with the Players’ irreverent humor; Rijia readily supports him, while Winter and others mock his proposed church name.
• Jack’s humiliation exposes his deeper ambition: he cares little for his family or the Alliance and wants power, worship, and immortality. The Black King encourages his plans.
• Su Yi’s team responds confidently to his orders, showing loyalty and trust, while Winter and 108 eagerly join the mission.

Significant themes

• Manipulation and propaganda: Jack intends to manufacture a crisis and cast Su Yi’s group as the enemy.
• Changing timelines and foreknowledge: Events are unfolding earlier than Su Yi expected, challenging his knowledge of the future.
• Power and ambition: Jack seeks godhood through violence, while Su Yi seeks leverage through investigation and political organization.
• Found family and solidarity: The Players rally around Mountain Dog, and Su Yi’s allies mobilize to protect one another—especially the children.
• Dark stakes mixed with comedy: The Players’ crude jokes and absurd schemes provide levity amid looming cult violence and war.

Key plot points and events

• Su Yi, Winter, and 108 visit a Revolutionary Army hideout after authorities tighten surveillance and launch raids. The movement has lost fighters, weapons, money, and several bases; its leaders are arguing over whether to fight or retreat.
• Su Yi offers support, explaining that the Investigation Bureau may target the hideout because he recently defeated Jack Kane while rescuing Winter and 108.
• He proposes making money by approaching wealthy nobles for “friendship fees”—a euphemism for extorting them—then using the proceeds to buy weapons and supplies from his company. In return, his people will provide muscle, safe houses, training space, and medical help. Winter and 108 vouch for him, and the new phones he brings win the group’s gratitude.
• While the officers deliberate, Su Yi heals the injured young fighter Wrench. Wrench reveals that fear and betrayal are undermining the movement. Su Yi encourages him, promising that a major victory is near.
• The Revolutionary Army accepts the proposal. Their first target is Sir Kashan, a depraved businessman who runs brutal underground fights involving children and pregnant women.
• Su Yi recruits Bishop Martin, inviting him to expand his religious organization’s influence into the Alliance.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi shifts from arms merchant to strategist and patron. He uses money, practical aid, personal loyalty, and force to gain the rebels’ cooperation, while also arranging outside support.
• Winter and 108 strengthen their alliance with Su Yi: they defend his intentions, agree to join the operation, and help restore trust between him and the rebels.
• Enns moves from wary desperation to cautious agreement after hearing what Su Yi did for Winter and 108 and seeing his tangible help.
• Wrench is proud of his courage but troubled by the movement’s decline. Su Yi’s healing and encouragement give him renewed hope.
• Marn voices distrust and anger toward Su Yi, embodying the rebels’ suspicion of wealthy outsiders.
• The rebels’ internal debate exposes their strained morale and divisions; Su Yi’s proposal gives them a shared goal.

Significant themes

• Pragmatism and compromised ideals: The rebels’ immediate need for money and supplies pushes them toward a plan involving extortion and dependence on a commercial backer.
• Trust built through action: Su Yi earns support not through promises alone, but through phones, healing, protection, and the commitment of Winter and 108.
• Power and class conflict: Su Yi redirects the rebels’ resentment from poor communities toward the wealthy elite.
• Hope amid disarray: Despite losses, surveillance, and betrayal, Su Yi frames a decisive victory as a way to restore the movement’s confidence.

Plot points and events

• Iron Pillar helps Pero Kashan, a spoiled and sadistic noble, leave home for an evening at his underground boxing arena. Though outwardly loyal, Iron Pillar is secretly coordinating with Su Yi’s group and signals them once Pero is on the move.
• Su Yi, Winter, 108, Enns, and six members of the House of Loving Kindness ambush Pero’s convoy. Flesh-based mines disable its hovercars with Void Abyss contamination, and the attackers kill the bodyguards and both Gifted escorts.
• The House members use grotesque, disease-like abilities to subdue the survivors. Pero is captured, while Iron Pillar stages a convincing struggle: he attacks Su Yi, loses an arm, and is left behind to report the kidnapping. The attackers demand 100,000 Void Abyss Coins and destroy the vehicles before escaping with Pero.
• Iron Pillar reports that the House of Loving Kindness was responsible. Investigators find evidence supporting the story, including traces of its drugs and footage of the attack. Kasan decides to pay the ransom, despite suspecting he may be cheated, because Pero knows too many family secrets.

Character developments and interactions

• Iron Pillar proves to be a double agent, feigning pain and loyalty so he can return to Kasan with a credible account. His staged injury persuades Kasan to trust him and helps conceal the conspiracy.
• Su Yi shows strategic control, assembling a capable force and exploiting the House of Loving Kindness’s willingness to take responsibility for the kidnapping. Though he relies on their disturbing methods, he remains visibly repulsed by them.
• Jon and the House members eagerly participate, viewing the operation as a chance to spread their faith. Their devotion contrasts with the practical motives of Su Yi and his allies.
• Kasan and Jack clash over responsibility for security, but Jack focuses on the investigation and argues that paying the ransom is the best way to secure Pero’s release. Kasan ultimately accepts the advice.

Significant themes

• Deception and performance: Iron Pillar’s staged betrayal and the fabricated evidence make the kidnapping appear to be the House’s work.
• Faith as a tool: The House’s zealotry and grotesque powers are used to further Su Yi’s plan.
• Power, privilege, and vulnerability: Pero’s noble status and heavy escort cannot protect him from a carefully planned ambush.
• Ransom and reputation: Kasan pays not because he trusts the kidnappers, but because refusing risks losing his son and revealing that ransom promises cannot be relied upon.

Plot points and events

• Kasan agrees to pay a 100,000-coin ransom for his son, Pero, and promises he will be released the following day. Jack recognizes Su Yi’s group but hides this from Kasan, intending to pursue his own agenda.
• At the group’s warehouse base, Su Yi and his allies decide Pero should not be released without consequences. Su Yi secretly places a concealed Fat Bomb inside him, using his Rune Power to cut and then heal the wound. The bomb is intended to detonate only after Pero returns home.
• Pero is awakened and interrogated. Winter and 108 rough him up while posting photos to the Players’ channel, whose members enjoy the spectacle.
• Su Yi explains that Pero is in Vine City, beyond his family’s reach, and demands information about Jack Kane, the Kashan Family’s informants in law enforcement, and Pero’s social circle.
• When Pero withholds information, Jon summons a grotesque Healing Companion to frighten him. Pero reveals what he knows about Jack and his associates, but claims he has no knowledge of the informants.
• Su Yi sees through Pero’s confidence that he can survive torture and recover through genetic engineering. He uses a Mutation Rune to give Pero conspicuous growths, threatening to ruin his reputation by exposing him as having contracted a disease associated with displaced people. The chapter ends with Pero terrified by the social disgrace this could bring.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi demonstrates precise Rune Power, strategic cunning, and a ruthless sense of revenge. He claims he will keep his promise to release Pero alive, while arranging consequences for after the return.
• Winter and 108 enthusiastically help punish Pero and turn the interrogation into entertainment for the Players. Their shared delight reinforces their loyalty to Su Yi’s unconventional methods.
• Jon contributes the Fat Bomb and his Healing Companion, revealing another Talent and serving as a particularly effective source of intimidation.
• Pero shifts from arrogant threats to fear, then tries to conceal what he knows by relying on the prospect of medical recovery. Su Yi ultimately targets what matters most to him: his standing among nobles.
• Kasan agrees to the ransom, while Jack secretly recognizes the group and keeps that information to himself.
• The Players’ group chat turns Pero’s humiliation into a communal spectacle, while Enns and the others listen uneasily from nearby and are relieved that Su Yi’s cruelty is directed at their enemies.

Significant themes

• Revenge and power: The group rejects simple ransom and seeks to make Pero pay for his family’s abuses.
• Social status as vulnerability: Su Yi recognizes that disgrace among the nobles may frighten Pero more than physical harm.
• Promises and loopholes: Su Yi technically honors his word by planning to release Pero alive, even as he arranges a hidden threat.
• Cruelty as entertainment: The Players’ gleeful reactions show how violence and humiliation have become spectacle within their community.

Plot points

• Su Yi terrorizes Pero with a planted bomb and a disturbing ability that makes diseased growths appear on his body. After threatening to make them grow on Pero’s face or inside his eyes and mouth, Su Yi breaks him and obtains a detailed list of corrupt Investigation Bureau officials and mounted-police captains, including their addresses and misconduct.
• Jon witnesses the interrogation and is astonished by Su Yi’s abilities, strategic thinking, and insight into human nature. He sees Su Yi as an ideal model for the House of Loving Kindness and hopes to learn from him.
• Su Yi encourages Jon to call him “Constantine,” then claims his power came from receiving a glimpse from Loving Father. He praises Jon’s faith and frames their business partnership as a shared mission to spread the deity’s compassion.
• Jon becomes convinced that Su Yi trusts and recognizes him. The Players watching the exchange discuss how Su Yi’s preferred names—“Horus” for intimates and “Constantine” for business associates—seem to mark degrees of trust.
• Su Yi receives 100,000 Void Abyss Coins from the captives’ families. He plans to divide the money: 10,000 for himself, 30,000 for the House of Loving Kindness, and 60,000 for the workers. He promises the workers a meal and a bath, hoping to win their loyalty while ultimately using them for his purposes.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi demonstrates not only frightening power but also deliberate psychological manipulation. He flatters Jon, gives him a sense of special trust and shared purpose, and secures his enthusiasm for their partnership. He also plans to use money and hospitality to bind the workers to him.
• Jon shifts from awe and envy to intense admiration, then to fervent loyalty. Su Yi’s praise and claimed religious connection make Jon feel chosen and validated.
• Winter and 108 are entertained by Su Yi’s tactics and discuss why Jon is so susceptible: he craves recognition, guidance, and a path to advancement.
• Pero is reduced from bluster to terror and cooperation. Enns and the workers are stunned by the ransom money and excited by Su Yi’s promised rewards.

Significant themes

• Power through psychological insight: Su Yi’s ability to read people and exploit their needs is as formidable as his supernatural power.
• Faith and manipulation: Religious language and shared ideals become tools for building trust and influence.
• Money, loyalty, and control: Su Yi uses generosity and promised comforts to secure the workers’ allegiance, while treating the arrangement as a calculated investment.
• Trust as a strategy: The Players interpret Su Yi’s forms of address as signs of carefully managed relationships and differing levels of trust.

Key plot points

• Alton arrives at the hideout with Harkness and takes Enns and the other rescued workers to Moon-Drinking Azure Wolf territory, promising them protection. Su Yi stays behind, then escorts Pero toward the Border District.
• Su Yi releases Pero with a map, but secretly leaves the Fat Bomb inside him, relying on Pero’s vanity and fear of disgrace to prevent a thorough examination.
• Evil God, Mountain Dog, Winter, and 108 discuss how to retaliate against Jack Kane. Evil God plans to ruin Kane’s reputation with humiliating rumors, while the others react with disgust and disbelief.
• A sniper shoots at Su Yi, but his bullet-blocking device protects him. He escapes into the Border District and watches as Sir Kashan’s armed convoy retrieves Pero.
• Pero reunites with his father and demands revenge on the “commoners.” Sir Kashan embraces him and vows to punish them. The bomb then detonates, killing Pero and infecting Sir Kashan and nearby bodyguards with rapidly spreading, corrosive growths.
• A bodyguard uses frost-based powers to slow the growths on Kashan, and a medical team is called. Su Yi believes Kashan is gravely injured and expects the Kashan family to descend into a succession struggle. He destroys the remote switch and heads back.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi shows himself to be a patient, calculating strategist: he uses Pero’s pride to conceal the bomb and treats the attack as a way to destabilize the Kashan family, not merely exact revenge.
• Pero remains entitled and vindictive, pleading for his father’s protection and demanding the deaths of the lower classes; his arrogance helps prevent the checks that might have exposed the bomb.
• Sir Kashan is affectionate toward his son but openly contemptuous of commoners. His protective embrace places him directly in the blast.
• Alton demonstrates his new authority by reassuring Enns and taking charge of their safe relocation.
• Evil God plots a crude reputational attack on Kane, while 108 corrects his assumptions about the Goddess and Mountain Dog joins in teasing him.
• The bodyguard intervenes decisively after the explosion, shifting from caution to emergency action.

Significant themes

• Class conflict and noble arrogance: Kashan’s promise to kill “lowborn wretches” embodies the hierarchy Su Yi is trying to destabilize.
• Revenge and political calculation: Su Yi turns Pero’s death into a means of weakening an entire family and creating an opening for wider turmoil.
• Pride as vulnerability: Pero’s concern with hiding his condition helps Su Yi’s plan succeed.
• Chaos as opportunity: The chapter frames the injury to Kashan and the resulting succession dispute as the beginning of broader noble instability.

Key plot points and events

• Farn, the former Ironclad Gang accountant, asks Su Yi to meet him that night about buying thirty rifles and at least six thousand armor-piercing rounds. Su Yi suspects the gang may be planning something serious, especially after its recent losses in a police ambush.
• At Loving Kindness Hospital, Jon tells Martin about his encounter with Su Yi and the sign of divine favor Su Yi received. Martin believes Su Yi may possess an unknown S-Class Boon and tells Jon to stay close to him, hoping he could help their plan.
• Meanwhile, Alton and Enns welcome the Revolutionary Army recruits with luxury baths and an extravagant meal. The recruits—especially Wrench and Marn—are impressed by Su Yi’s generosity and begin to trust him and his people.
• At the District Six border, Evil God and several Players spread a fabricated, scandalous rumor that noble Jack Kane has a sexual fixation on men and contracted Proliferation Disease from a nobleman. They use a photograph of Pero Kashan as supposed proof. The story quickly spreads among local residents, and the group plans to carry it across the border and through church networks.
• At the Grand Cathedral of the Goddess of White Frost, Rijia—disguised as Cleric Malik—prays alongside Bishop Kenan Parker, his partner in plans to gain money, influence, and a foothold in the borderlands. Rijia presents his devotion as sincere and claims prayer leaves him immune to temptation.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi continues juggling business and alliances: he responds to Farn’s weapons request while his associates work to earn the Revolutionary Army recruits’ loyalty.
• Jon conceals Su Yi’s praise of him and uses the meeting to advance his own standing. Martin sees Su Yi as a potentially valuable asset but is also driven by greed for an S-Class Boon.
• Alton and Harkness reinforce the recruits’ positive impression of Su Yi through lavish hospitality. The recruits’ initial doubts give way to gratitude and admiration.
• Evil God and the Players act as a coordinated disinformation team, recruiting ordinary people to spread the rumor. Their scheme exploits existing resentment toward the nobility.
• Rijia and Bishop Parker maintain a mutually beneficial partnership: Parker seeks promotion and expansion, while Rijia uses church connections to distribute the rumor.

Significant themes

• Influence through generosity: Food, comfort, and hospitality quickly build loyalty among the recruits.
• Rumor as a weapon: The Players turn class resentment and supposed “evidence” into a fast-moving campaign to damage a noble’s reputation.
• Ambition and self-interest: Martin, Parker, and others pursue power and advantage even while presenting themselves as allies or believers.
• Faith as performance and leverage: The cathedral setting contrasts Rijia’s calculated partnership with his public display of devotion.

Summary

• The author reports 1,720 first-day subscriptions—below the previously mentioned goal of 2,000, but well above expectations and the roughly 1,400 the author would have considered a success.
• Having exhausted the chapter backlog, the author is writing intensively and plans to publish three chapters a day through the end of the month, together at 7:30 p.m.
• The author says the story’s climax is near and promises readers an unusual new way for a boss character to die.
• A new reward policy is announced: tips above the Helmsman tier earn bonus chapters, with each higher tier adding another; League Leader tips are capped at five extra chapters, since each chapter is 4,000 Chinese characters.
• The author thanks readers for their subscriptions, tips, and monthly votes, and says this will be the last full list of tipsters because the demanding schedule requires more time for writing.

Character and interaction notes

The “characters” here are the author and the readers rather than figures in the story. The author expresses excitement, gratitude, and determination, while readers’ subscriptions and tips encourage the author to increase updates and offer bonus chapters.

Key plot points and events

• Acting on Su Yi’s instructions, Rijia visits Bishop Parker and asks about recent cult sacrifices. He offers money and presents himself as a devoted Gifted willing to help the Church.
• Applying Su Yi’s lessons in reading people and recognizing their needs, Rijia realizes Parker wants both a capable force and a chance to advance within the Church. Rijia proposes that his wanted brothers—many of them Gifted—serve under Parker.
• Rijia describes Jack Kane’s abuses and shows Parker evidence implicating the noble family in a scandal. Parker sees an opportunity to challenge the nobles’ influence, though he knows the evidence may be questionable.
• Parker appoints Rijia head of the Pure Blade’s border branch, with diocesan-director status, and grants his men junior cleric ranks. After Rijia’s baptism and registration, Parker assigns him to investigate the production and transport of addictive Yin Demon Bone Powder, which could help Void Abyss creatures enter the Material World.
• Back at the border, Rijia heads eagerly to report his success to Su Yi. Meanwhile, Su Yi visits the newly improved Barrett Horus Charity School, praises the children’s projects, and sees Molly’s homemade mechanical toad.
• Su Yi demonstrates his Silicon-Based Symbiote by letting Molly and Kilman watch him catch a bullet unharmed. He then offers Molly a Boon—and a task.

Character developments and interactions

• Rijia grows more confident and politically perceptive, using Su Yi’s advice to turn a simple inquiry into official status and protection for his group. He remains devoted to his “big brother” and returns eager to share the news.
• Parker shifts from cautious churchman to an ambitious ally. He gives Rijia a powerful position because the arrangement supplies the Gifted force he needs and may further his rise to Archbishop.
• Su Yi balances strategic planning with personal attention to the school. He encourages Molly’s mechanical talent and plans to give her part of his symbiote, both to protect her and to support his larger aims.
• Molly shows initiative and inventiveness by building a jumping mechanical toad. Su Yi’s praise strengthens her enthusiasm, and she eagerly accepts his proposed Boon and task.
• The children and teachers share in the school’s improved conditions; their pride and excitement contrast with the political scheming beyond its walls.

Significant themes

• Mentorship and learned judgment: Rijia succeeds by applying Su Yi’s practical lessons rather than relying on direct confrontation.
• Power, patronage, and political expediency: Parker and Rijia form an alliance because their needs align; religious authority becomes a route to protection, legitimacy, and influence.
• Faith versus corruption: The Church’s mission to oppose cults and defend the Goddess is entangled with ambition and conflicts with the nobility.
• Talent nurtured through opportunity: Molly’s curiosity and creativity flourish in the supportive school, while Su Yi’s investment in her suggests that care and strategic goals can coexist.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• Su Yi gives sixteen-year-old Molly a portion of a Silicon-Based Symbiote, a living substance that consumes excess fat and can harden the body against bullets and blades.
• He makes Molly responsible for studying it over the long term, especially how it might be propagated and integrated with humans. Molly accepts the task as a lifelong duty.
• Gunfire signals an attack on the orphanage. Mota and Michelle lead forces outside, but a second, better-equipped group—at least twenty attackers—breaks in.
• Su Yi sends the children indoors to watch from behind bulletproof windows. He confronts the attackers alone, stopping their gunfire and an ice-wielding Gifted’s attack with apparent telekinetic powers.
• Su Yi summons two blazing Treefolk, which tear through the armed attackers. He also kills enemies with invisible strikes and disables a gun with a gesture.
• The ice Gifted escapes the courtyard, but Su Yi kills him from a distance with a finger-gun gesture. All twenty attackers are dead within minutes.

Character developments

• Molly is eager to prove herself useful. Receiving the symbiote gives her both a remarkable ability and a serious scientific responsibility; she responds with determination.
• Kilman admires Su Yi’s composure and power, imagining that he might one day become like him. He also shows protective instincts toward Molly.
• Su Yi acts as both benefactor and leader: he protects the children from the battle while presenting his abilities as an example of what they might aspire to become.
• The children move from curiosity to awe and excitement as they witness Su Yi’s power firsthand.

Significant themes

• Power paired with responsibility: Molly’s gift is also a demanding task, while Su Yi insists the children’s future is greater than serving as cannon fodder.
• Hope and long-term purpose: Su Yi wants the children to become Gifted, lead others, and save lives.
• The contrast between care and violence: Su Yi’s role as healer and protector coexists with his overwhelming brutality toward threats.
• Inspiration through example: The children’s view of what they might become is reshaped by watching Su Yi fight.

Character interactions

• Su Yi reassures Molly and Kilman that the symbiote is a gift entrusted to Molly because he trusts her ability and curiosity.
• Kilman gently chides Molly about her excitement over staying slim; Su Yi humorously sides with her.
• Su Yi addresses the children’s wish to fight, praising their courage but ordering them to stay safe.
• Sefni warns Su Yi about the second wave of attackers and follows his instructions to shelter the children.
• From the windows, the children cheer and react with growing amazement as Su Yi defeats the attackers.

Plot points and events

• Su Yi’s brief, overwhelming battle against a group of Gifted ends with the attackers dead or burned to ash. His two Ember Scions—towering, Thornfire-covered summons—stand obediently beside him.
• The children and staff, who had previously thought of Su Yi mainly as a kindly healer and gang leader, witness the fight and are stunned by his hidden strength, unusual abilities, and calm command of the situation.
• Su Yi’s returning Players find the smoke-filled courtyard and inspect the Ember Scions’ status panels. They learn the summons are level 13 bosses with extremely powerful fire attacks, and that Su Yi possesses Thornfire, a blessing usually associated with much higher ranks.
• Su Yi dismisses the Scions, which shrink into seeds and vanish. He explains that he fought partly to stay sharp and partly to show the children what battle is like.
• He tells the children they are not meant to be expendable fighters: for now, they should study and train until they are strong enough to fight beside him. The children eagerly pledge themselves to that goal.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi reveals a far more formidable side than his gentle demeanor suggested. He remains relaxed after the battle, then reassures the children and frames their training as a path toward strength rather than sacrifice.
• The children, especially Kilman and a scarred, one-eyed child, come to regard Su Yi as a protector and even a deity, believing he has succeeded where the gods ignored them. Their awe turns into fierce motivation.
• Sefni is shaken by the extent of Su Yi’s abilities and grateful she chose to work for him. She recognizes that her understanding of her boss was badly incomplete.
• The returning Players are amazed by the Scions’ power and by the rarity of Thornfire. They joke and speculate about Su Yi’s growing “divinity,” while the children’s reverence becomes especially apparent.
• Molly silently resolves to develop the miraculous power she senses within herself and not make Su Yi wait.

Significant themes

• Appearances and hidden strength: Su Yi’s warm, approachable persona coexists with extraordinary, ruthless combat ability.
• Faith and protection: The children replace their sense of abandonment by the gods with devotion to Su Yi, whose actions make him seem divine to them.
• Training instead of expendability: Su Yi emphasizes preparation and growth, insisting the children become capable before entering battle.
• Power as inspiration and responsibility: His display terrifies the witnesses but also gives them a concrete ideal to pursue—and risks deepening their worship of him.

Plot points and events

• After the attack on Rootvine District, Tom arrives with a patrol squad. Mota thanks the officers and gives them money for a meal; the exchange shows both his growing social confidence and the patrol’s goodwill toward Su Yi’s group.
• The attackers are identified as members of two gangs that fled to the Alliance after plotting against Director Arthur. Su Yi orders Mota and Michelle to clear the area and assures Michelle that he will protect her if the company retaliates.
• Rijia returns in the uniform of a Pure Blade director. By using Su Yi’s advice—and an outrageous piece of material sent by Evil God—he won Bishop Parker’s trust, became a director for the border diocese, and received authority to recruit members and establish a Demon-Hunting Bureau. Su Yi sees this as giving the Moon-Drinking Azure Wolf legitimate standing on both the company and Alliance sides.
• Su Yi rewards Rijia with a promised A-rank Boon. He also reassures the envious Mota that he has an A-rank Talent and a suitable development path planned for him. Su Yi then assigns Mota to investigate Yin Demon Bone Powder: its sellers, backers, spread, and effects. Completing the task will earn Mota an A-rank Boon.
• As Su Yi leaves for a meeting with Farn of the Ironclad Gang, Sefni returns with three dead spies who had been watching the district.
• Meanwhile, the Players review footage of Su Yi’s fight frame by frame. Leg Kicker leads a focused analysis, identifying signs of high-end equipment, a custom gun glove, a Treefolk transformation tied to the Goddess of Black Cinders, and a possible divine gift. The Players are struck by how much Su Yi can do despite being only level thirteen.

Character developments and interactions

• Mota shows progress in handling people, warmly thanking and rewarding the patrol officers. Though briefly jealous of Rijia’s reward, he is reassured by Su Yi and eagerly accepts a challenging investigation.
• Rijia has moved beyond his original role as an intelligence-gatherer, securing a major position through persuasion and Su Yi’s coaching. Su Yi embraces and praises him, while Mota and Michelle react with astonishment and admiration.
• Su Yi acts as both strategist and mentor: he recognizes the political value of Rijia’s appointment, rewards achievement, encourages Mota, and protects Michelle. His leadership inspires loyalty and gives his allies paths to grow.
• The Players treat Su Yi’s abilities as a practical lesson. Leg Kicker’s disciplined analysis draws on the group’s knowledge, while Winter organizes the discussion and Madman supplies equipment information.

Significant themes

• Achievement, reward, and growth: Su Yi makes rewards conditional on meaningful contributions while ensuring each ally has a role suited to their strengths.
• Influence and legitimacy: Rijia’s appointment expands the group’s reach into Alliance institutions, complementing its existing standing with the company.
• Learning through observation: The Players convert combat footage into useful knowledge about abilities, equipment, and possible career paths.
• Competence beneath humor: Comedic banter and absurd materials sit alongside serious political maneuvering, violence, and supernatural investigation.

Key plot points and events

• The Players discuss the world’s divine influence system: a Glimpse can cause sudden level gains, a Gaze can awaken a Void Abyss Projection and signal potential sainthood, and a Divine Gift is reserved for a true Saint. They conclude Molly received a Gaze, while the Ember Divine Flame is genuine but its origin remains unclear.
• They puzzle over Godfather’s apparent range of abilities—healing, mutation, and invisible attacks. Iron Root suggests these may be effects of a single, unusually versatile Talent or rune, possibly with no cooldown.
• Leg Kicker is harassed by his dorm supervisor, who demands his phone. Encouraged by news that Rijia has become director of the Pure Blade and that the Players will gain official membership, Leg Kicker stands up to the supervisor and refuses to be intimidated.
• At the Moon-Drinking Bar, Farn and Ironclad Gang leader Yao meet Su Yi, disguised as the gun dealer Arthas. Yao wants him to help kill Jack Kane of the Alliance, offering an A-grade Boon and the Ironclad Gang’s friendship. He also threatens to expose Su Yi’s gun-selling to the Moon-Drinking Azure Wolf.
• Yao and Farn try to pressure Su Yi into accepting. Su Yi instead orders a drink, and the bartender suddenly kneels and addresses him as Guild Leader. The stunned pair realize Arthas is actually the Moon-Drinking Azure Wolf’s leader, Mr. Gheros; Raptor arrives to pay his respects.

Character developments and interactions

• Leg Kicker shifts from simmering frustration to open defiance, newly confident because of his promised promotion and powerful backing.
• Iron Root offers a plausible explanation for Godfather’s many abilities by comparing them to his own multi-effect rune Talent.
• Yao and Farn attempt to corner Su Yi with a mix of reward and threat, but their confidence collapses when his true identity is revealed.
• Su Yi/Gheros stays calm and in control throughout the meeting, letting the attempted coercion play out before the reveal.
• The Players’ group discussion shows their growing ability to analyze supernatural rules and strategize together.

Significant themes

• Power and status: New connections and rank transform Leg Kicker’s willingness to confront authority; Su Yi’s concealed identity instantly reverses the balance of power at the bar.
• Knowledge and uncertainty: The Players build theories about divine influence and Talents, while recognizing that Godfather’s abilities and the Ember Flame remain only partly understood.
• Coercion versus control: Yao believes Su Yi has no choice, but his threat backfires when he discovers he is bargaining on the Azure Wolf’s own turf with its leader.
• Order amid violence: The Azure Wolf’s strict control has made the neighborhood safer, even as gang conflict and lethal force remain central to life there.

Key events

• Raptor and Harkness have awakened Void Abyss Projections; Raptor is now following the Gray Shadow Venerable and has begun developing evasive movement techniques.
• Yao and Farn discover that the seemingly low-level “Arthas” is actually Su Yi, leader of the Moon-Drinking Azure Wolf. Their earlier threats and bargaining leave them mortified. Su Yi nevertheless hears Yao out and accepts his offer—with the condition that the Ironclad Gang’s assets and business become part of his organization.
• Yao refuses to serve under anyone again, but agrees to hand over the gang’s Boon, accounts, and channels. Su Yi promises Jack Kane will die within a week. Yao warns that Jack is using his tobacco route to move highly addictive contraband toward the border.
• Suspecting a connection to the strange odor and Yin Demon Bone Powder, Su Yi tells Rijia to keep Jack occupied the next morning. He explains to Raptor that trust should be offered only in amounts one can afford to risk, turning Yao’s situation into a lesson about testing potential allies.
• At the White Frost Cathedral, Rijia introduces six wanted companions to Bishop Parker. Five are Rank Nine Gifted, and Winter has a powerful mechanical prosthesis. Parker welcomes them as high-ranking Church recruits, giving them protection and authority. Rijia plans to carry out Su Yi’s mission before helping avenge Leg Kicker.
• Jack Kane arrives at the Investigation Bureau to find coworkers whispering about him. He learns that the people he targeted—and the spies watching them—have all been killed, their bodies burned. As Jack realizes he underestimated his opponents, someone loudly confronts him.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi shows composure and pragmatism: despite Yao’s earlier disrespect, he negotiates on useful terms and is willing to extend limited trust. His influence over his subordinates is so great that they treat his advice as scripture.
• Yao is humbled but retains his independence. He rejects joining Su Yi’s organization while keeping his promise and sharing intelligence about Jack.
• Raptor and the other subordinates demonstrate intense loyalty, eagerly recording Su Yi’s advice because Rijia has encouraged them to preserve his words.
• Rijia uses his standing in the Church to secure protection and rank for his wanted companions. The group’s respect for him is matched by their enthusiasm to serve under his leadership.
• Parker is delighted by the recruits and recognizes their exceptional abilities. Jack, meanwhile, grows suspicious and angry as evidence mounts that his plans are being disrupted.

Significant themes

• Trust as calculated risk: Su Yi advocates testing allies with limited, recoverable stakes rather than relying on promises.
• Power and earned loyalty: The Moon-Drinking Azure Wolf’s improved safety and living conditions have won genuine admiration from its lower-level members.
• Protection through institutions: Joining the Church gives the Players cover from arrest and access to authority.
• Humor and irony: Yao and Farn’s confidence collapses when they realize they threatened the very leader they hoped to negotiate with; the subordinates’ near-religious reverence for Su Yi adds further comic contrast.

Plot points and events

• Su Yi arrives at the border and learns that more than 50,000 residents have smoked free cigarettes distributed through the Ironclad Gang’s smuggling routes. The substance—Yin Demon Bone Powder—barely harms their bodies but corrupts their souls, drawing the attention of Void Abyss beings.
• Spirit Witch Kashasha confirms there is no cure: the affected are effectively kindling for an approaching supernatural catastrophe. While Michelle and Lisa stake out a delivery, they report that the distributors are Gifted.
• Su Yi reaches the drop site to find residents violently inhaling spilled powder and the Moon-Drinking Azure Wolf’s fifteen men dead. Michelle and Lisa are severely burned while protecting the area. Two attackers ambush Su Yi; he kills one and disables the other, whose flames cannot overcome Su Yi’s defenses.
• Su Yi discovers that Michelle and Lisa’s injuries have destroyed tissue down to the bone and marrow. They ask for cybernetic implants, and Su Yi promises them the best.
• The corrupted residents mutate into Void Abyss parasites. Su Yi orders a lockdown, warns Colt to keep the Alliance Investigation Bureau out, and sends Ember Scions to kill the transformed victims and burn away the powder.
• Su Yi interrogates the captured attacker. The man identifies his group as Shadow Soul Hunters, says their mission is to “kill those who threaten the future,” and names Phantom Shadow as their employer before his head suddenly explodes.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi shifts from investigating the contamination to managing an immediate mass-casualty crisis. He shows concern for his injured allies but suppresses his grief to direct the response. His knowledge of the attackers and their motives suggests he understands more than he reveals.
• Mota has worked through the night and remains committed to the community. He coordinates the investigation, responds to the attack, and helps subdue the surviving assailant.
• Kashasha, introduced as a level-thirteen Spirit Witch and Mota’s childhood friend, uses spirit communion to assess the victims. Her findings establish that their corruption cannot be reversed.
• Michelle and Lisa are badly injured while confronting the smugglers, yet meet their losses with humor and resolve, asking for stylish cybernetic replacements.
• Colt arrives with Patrol Bureau officers and follows Su Yi’s orders to secure the scene.

Significant themes

• Escalation and unintended consequences: An attempt to prevent a smaller disaster has failed, leaving tens of thousands endangered.
• Sacrifice and loyalty: The Moon-Drinking Azure Wolf’s fallen members are honored as heroes, while Michelle and Lisa risk themselves to protect others.
• The limits of rescue: Some victims cannot be saved, forcing Su Yi to choose containment and destruction over a cure.
• Hidden forces and political distrust: The attackers’ cryptic mission and Phantom Shadow’s involvement hint at a broader conspiracy; Su Yi’s warning about the Alliance Investigation Bureau underscores his suspicion of outside authorities.

Plot points and events

• After fighting off two Shadow Soul Hunters, Su Yi realizes their appearance may be linked to the Shadow Puppet Sanctum, a powerful faction that once guided Players—and killed him repeatedly in his previous life.
• He concludes that the Sanctum has noticed an anomaly somewhere in the Border District but has not identified him or his True God Bloodline. Since observing the future can lock its outcome in place, the Sanctum may have seen a limited glimpse of the fire without daring to investigate further.
• Rather than hide, Su Yi decides to use the crisis to accelerate his rise. He proposes letting the disaster escalate until a powerful Flame Demon appears and multiple organizations are forced to intervene.
• Su Yi persuades Ilis that the crisis can become the basis for her promotion: her schools, hospitals, and allies will help residents; she can publicly defeat the monster; and reconstruction—including a superfactory—will showcase her leadership.
• Ilis approves the plan. Rick agrees to lead an Assault Squad in a dramatic high-altitude Drop Pod deployment, and Su Yi arranges for the operation to take place the morning after tomorrow.
• Su Yi also contacts Rijia and gives the Evil God a separate assignment connected to the coming operation. The chapter ends with the Evil God enthusiastically accepting it.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi moves from alarm at the Shadow Puppet Sanctum’s possible involvement to calculated confidence. He treats the impending catastrophe as both a threat and an opportunity, carefully tailoring his pitch to Ilis’s ambitions.
• Ilis is energized by Su Yi’s plan and sees him as an exceptionally capable, loyal investment. She hopes the success will secure her promotion and prove her father wrong, revealing how strongly their strained relationship motivates her.
• Rick supports Ilis and Su Yi, offering a practical alternative to a full Orbital Drop and volunteering his troops.
• The Evil God responds to Su Yi’s assignment with eager loyalty, though the task itself is not detailed in the excerpt.

Significant themes

• Turning danger into opportunity: Su Yi plans to shape a disaster into a public triumph and a path to political advancement.
• The cost of foreknowledge: Observing the future can make its possibilities fixed, so even powerful factions must act cautiously.
• Power, reputation, and governance: Ilis’s promotion depends on saving lives and rebuilding—but the plan also treats the resulting destruction as a means to secure support and avoid disputes.
• Manipulation and ambition: Su Yi frames the plan as service to Ilis, while openly thinking of it as a way to gain influence over her.

Plot points and events

• After reporting to the Evil God, Su Yi learns that Michelle and Lisa are in the hospital. Their eyes may be saved, but their arms and legs cannot; Kashasha is stabilizing their injuries. He tells Mota to ensure the families of fallen Moon-Drinking Azure Wolf members are cared for.
• At the border, Colt faces Alliance mounted police and Investigation Bureau agents trying to interfere with his operation. Su Yi persuades their leaders to stand down with 1,000 Void Abyss Coins and the promise of future work. He then hints that the border will soon become a major development zone and urges Colt to prepare dependable personnel.
• Su Yi heads to the Alliance side and signals Rijia that the plan can begin. Outside the Investigation Bureau, Rijia and the Pure Blade publicly challenge Jack Kane, accusing him of abusing his authority to frame 108 and Winter.
• 108 accuses Jack of sexual misconduct with men from the lower classes and of contracting and spreading a disease. When Jack demands proof, the Pure Blade presents photographs and provokes him into exposing his arms.
• Jack first shows a clear left arm, but his right arm bears numerous bright-red, cauliflower-like growths. The crowd witnesses the evidence, turning the allegations into a public scandal. Rijia then orders the bystanders to leave so the Pure Blade can proceed with its duties.

Character developments

• Su Yi shows both concern for his injured allies and strategic skill: he supports their families, neutralizes opposition with money and promises, and coordinates the public operation against Jack.
• Colt demonstrates resolve in defending his people and grows excited at the prospect of a larger role in the coming border development.
• 108 moves from public accuser to avenger, taking satisfaction in exposing Jack and linking the revelation to Marilyn’s death.
• Jack shifts from confident authority to panic and humiliation as his own attempt to demand proof exposes the incriminating growths.
• Rijia uses the Pure Blade’s authority and a carefully framed investigation to turn Jack’s accusations against him.

Significant themes

• Power, money, and self-interest: Underpaid officials abandon a dangerous assignment when Su Yi offers a better deal.
• Public reputation as a weapon: Rumors, photographs, and a staged confrontation transform Jack’s alleged misconduct into a public spectacle.
• Justice and revenge: 108 frames the exposure as retaliation for Marilyn’s death, while the Pure Blade presents its actions as an official investigation.
• Manipulation and role reversal: Jack’s demand that 108 prove the allegations leads him to reveal the strongest evidence himself.

Character interactions

• Su Yi and Mota discuss the injured and fallen, while Su Yi later wins over the mounted police and Investigation Bureau leaders with money and future prospects.
• Colt and Su Yi share confidence about the border’s future; Colt agrees to prepare reliable recruits.
• Rijia confronts Jack over his treatment of 108 and Winter, while 108 and Winter publicly challenge Jack’s credibility.
• Jack’s exchanges with 108 escalate from denial to a demand for proof, which 108 exploits. The crowd’s reaction amplifies Jack’s humiliation, and Rijia uses the resulting commotion to clear the area.