Chapter Summaries

Xia Mi found Amon’s warning that he had gone to the United States to investigate a possible cure for her Dragon Blood erosion, then took leave from school. Chu Zihang decided to leave as well, while Raymond tracked down He Xiaomeng’s former neighbor and questioned him about He Weiguo’s past.

• Xia Mi read Amon’s note warning her to guard against recurring Dragon Blood erosion and to avoid discussing sensitive matters online.
• Xia Mi called her homeroom teacher and firmly requested several days off, which he approved.
• The homeroom teacher reported Xia Mi’s departure to Chu Zihang, who arranged cover for his classes and left too.
• Raymond searched the former neighborhood of He Xiaomeng’s family and found Wang Jianguo at his new apartment.
• Raymond posed as a supervisor from a talent assessment center and asked Wang Jianguo about He Weiguo’s Soviet background.

Raymond questioned Wang Jianguo about He Xiaomeng’s family and learned that He Xiaoyu had supposedly died and been cremated four years earlier. He left with the location of her grave, suspecting it could reveal whether the girl at Kassel’s Preparatory Class was really He Xiaoyu, and bought a shovel.

• Wang Jianguo let Raymond into his home and recalled that He Weiguo had come from the north, learned Chinese, and raised He Xiaomeng and He Xiaoyu.
• Wang Jianguo said He Xiaoyu had died of a serious illness four years earlier, and Raymond wondered how her Dragon Raja genes and apparent recovery fit that account.
• Raymond pressed Wang Jianguo about the funeral and learned that neighbors had watched He Xiaoyu’s body go into the cremation furnace.
• Raymond hid his alarm by claiming He Xiaomeng had spoken as though his sister were alive, then asked where her grave was.
• Wang Jianguo directed Raymond to the Old Cemetery in the West of the City, and Raymond bought him two bottles of baijiu before leaving.
• Raymond decided He Xiaoyu’s grave might be the breakthrough in his mission and bought a shovel.

Raymond exhumed He Xiaoyu’s grave and found cremated human remains, confirming that someone else was posing as the dead girl. Xia Mi confronted and killed him, then took the evidence bags and approached the grave.

• Raymond dug up He Xiaoyu’s grave and found genuine cremated human bones in the urn.
• He collected bone fragments and ashes as evidence, then returned the urn to the grave.
• Xia Mi appeared and revealed that she knew Raymond had been investigating her.
• Raymond tried to escape, but Xia Mi shattered her Monocle and killed him with its flying fragments.
• Xia Mi took the evidence bags from Raymond and headed toward He Xiaoyu’s grave.

Xia Mi caused a localized earthquake to bury Raymond’s body and erase the traces of their battle, then suspected He Xiaomeng had concealed inconsistencies in her identity. In the city, Mai Sakatoku and Su Enxi felt the tremor, and Su Enxi’s investigation suggested it was an unusual release of geological energy confined to one area.

• Xia Mi chanted Dragon Script and triggered a violent earthquake that swallowed Raymond’s corpse, the cemetery, and all evidence of the battle.
• Xia Mi realized someone had helped cover for her human identity and wondered whether He Xiaomeng had done so to preserve their false sibling bond.
• Mai Sakatoku woke Su Enxi as a tremor shook their Regent Hotel suite, and Su Enxi hurried to shelter in a corner.
• Su Enxi checked encrypted satellite sources and local posts, finding reports concentrated in the city’s western old district but no official earthquake records.
• Su Enxi concluded that the tremor was likely a localized point release of geological energy and sensed that something was wrong.

Naga feared that a cemetery collapse was a warning from the King of Earth and Mountains, but denied causing the earthquake when Wa Master and Zhou Minhao questioned her. Su Enxi and Mai Sakatoku learned that Naga had come to the city for business and worried that the city was drawing dangerous figures together.

• Naga learned that an earthquake had collapsed a cemetery and nearby buildings, and suspected the King of Earth and Mountains had sent her a warning.
• Wa Master and Zhou Minhao visited Naga to ask about the earthquake, but she denied causing it and drove them out.
• Wa Master told Zhou Minhao to investigate the city's archives, legends, and strange stories because she sensed a looming danger.
• Su Enxi and Mai Sakatoku discussed Naga's arrival and her possible involvement in the earthquake, then noted how many powerful figures were connected to the city.

Chu Zihang caught Lu Mingfei following him and learned that Lu had been assigned to assist with his investigation of Xia Mi and He Xiaomeng. The two broke into He Xiaomeng’s apartment to look for clues, unaware that digitalized Amon was watching them through the computer.

• Chu Zihang ambushed and subdued the person following him, then recognized him as Lu Mingfei.
• Lu Mingfei explained that he had followed Chu Zihang for a tracking exercise before revealing that the college had assigned him to assist with the investigation.
• Chu Zihang told Lu Mingfei that Xia Mi had taken leave after He Xiaomeng returned to China, and said they would investigate her rented home.
• Chu Zihang scanned the apartment, picked the lock, and searched He Xiaomeng’s room while Lu Mingfei looked through Xia Mi’s room.
• Digitalized Amon watched Chu Zihang through the computer as he opened a folder named “Study Materials,” and Lu Mingfei wondered what it contained.

Chu Zihang and Lu Mingfei searched He Xiaomeng’s files for clues about his investigations, then were arrested after entering the apartment they believed belonged to He Xiaoyu. At the police station, they discovered that the tenant was Lin Xiaoyu, who said Xia Mi had lent her the apartment.

• Chu Zihang and Lu Mingfei examined He Xiaomeng’s organized collection of reports about strange events and found records concerning the Arctic Ocean and Japan.
• Chu Zihang inferred that He Xiaomeng had taken the Yamal to investigate anomalies in the Arctic Ocean, but said the files did not prove He Xiaomeng was suspicious.
• A SWAT team arrested Chu Zihang and Lu Mingfei in Xia Mi’s apartment and took them to the police station.
• Chu Zihang explained that they had entered to check on He Xiaoyu, whom they believed was He Xiaomeng’s sister, after she had gone out of contact.
• The police brought in Lin Xiaoyu, who said Xia Mi had lent her the apartment and that she knew no one named He Xiaoyu.
• Lu Mingfei recognized the name Xia Mi and told Lin Xiaoyu that Xia Mi was He Xiaoyu.

Xia Mi cleared up the misunderstanding that had landed Chu Zihang and Lu Mingfei at the police station, then demanded to know why they had come looking for her. Meanwhile, Amon recruited Ronald Snape into a political partnership, offering to help him reach the presidency in exchange for a five-star general’s rank.

• Xia Mi arrived at the police station and recognized Chu Zihang, while Lin Xiaoyu explained that she had mistaken him and Lu Mingfei for intruders.
• The officer explained that Lin Xiaoyu had called the police after mistaking the two men, and the matter was settled as a misunderstanding.
• Xia Mi told Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang that she had moved to a new apartment and pressed them to explain why they had been at her old place.
• Amon met Ronald Snape through Commissioner Smith Winster and criticized American government agencies and school policies to win Ronald’s interest.
• Amon offered to help Ronald become president in exchange for a false-identity appointment as a five-star general, and Ronald agreed to cooperate.
• When Ronald asked his new partner’s name, Amon introduced himself as Mike Amon.

Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang investigated He Xiaomeng while learning that an Academy agent had vanished near Naga’s hiding place. Finn arrived with news of upheaval in America, including an attack by Snake-form Dead Servants, leaving the cause and consequences of the political crisis unclear.

• Lu Mingfei urged Chu Zihang to consider that He Xiaomeng’s travels might have been explained by his younger sister’s bloodline issue, while keeping his own suspicions about Amon private.
• Chu Zihang told Lu Mingfei that Agent Raymond had disappeared in He Xiaomeng’s hometown on the night a small earthquake occurred, and that both events might be connected to Naga.
• Chu Zihang explained that Naga was under Orthodox surveillance and that The Academy had no plans for a large-scale operation against her.
• Finn arrived and recounted how the American President had been killed, the Vice President attacked, and a new election had put Mr. Tang in office.
• Finn revealed that Snake-form Dead Servants had attacked the Vice President’s motorcade, causing him severe Mental Impact and contributing to the crisis affecting The Academy’s resources and connections.

Finn told Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang that the Academy suspected Dragon Kind was targeting human leaders and revealed their next mission: investigate the vanished Second Generation Dragon Kukulkan in Japan. The chapter ended with Lu Mingfei dreading another dangerous assignment as the Academy sent him to face the Feathered Serpent God.

• Finn warned Lu Mingfei not to compare the Orthodox's Wa Master to a Dead Servant and explained her stable bloodline.
• Chu Zihang and Lu Mingfei questioned whether Dragon Kind had infiltrated human society and orchestrated the attacks on political leaders.
• Finn arrived to extract Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang and brief them on their next operation, with Caesar also in Japan.
• Finn explained that the Second Generation Dragon Kukulkan, whose Spirit Word was Rhine, had vanished from the Brazilian rainforest and was likely crossing the Pacific toward Japan.
• Finn reported that an Academy recording detected a dragon's heartbeat deep in a Japanese trench, and Lu Mingfei lamented that the Academy was sending him after another Dragon King.

Finn briefed Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang on the suspected reasons Kukulkan had gone to the Japan Trench, its dangerous abilities, and the lack of reliable support for their mission. Chu Zihang learned that the Japan Branch was highly independent and potentially uncooperative, leaving the team facing both an Ancient Dragon and an uncertain ally.

• Finn explained that the college could offer little support because elite personnel were occupied protecting government figures and other global surveillance posts.
• Chu Zihang asked why Kukulkan had left the Amazon, and Finn outlined theories that it sought a safe deep-sea place to re-hatch or had been drawn to something in Japan.
• Finn showed footage of Kukulkan being struck by missiles and presented a report describing its Spirit Words, including an unusual form of Rhine and the possible threat of hidden mental abilities.
• Lu Mingfei recognized the footage from his enrollment trip and accused Finn of editing it to mislead him.
• Finn warned that the Japan Branch was unreliable, and Chu Zihang explained that it operated with great independence and was increasingly seeking complete self-rule.

Amon revealed how he had engineered the political crisis that helped Ronald rise to power, then learned Ronald had approved his appointment as a Five-Star General. He asked Heglon Sellers to accuse Japan of developing biological weapons, handing him laundry detergent as supposed evidence.

• Amon reflected on how he had manipulated political figures, created the attacks on the vice president, and helped Ronald gain an advantage in the election.
• Heglon Sellers told Amon that his Five-Star General appointment had been approved and asked whether he wanted a formal ceremony.
• Amon declined a ceremony and asked Sellers to raise an accusation against Japan at the UN Security Council.
• Amon told Sellers that Japan was studying the creatures involved in the vice president's attack and said the United States needed to respond.
• Amon gave Sellers a test tube as evidence, then admitted it contained laundry detergent.

Amon received five-star general shoulder boards from Ronald at Naval Base San Diego and prepared to lead a carrier strike group toward Japan. The Nimitz departed with its escorts as U.S. bases in Japan were ordered to prepare for Amon’s arrival.

• Ronald pinned five-star shoulder boards on Amon after arranging his command appointment and declaring the nation to be in a state of war.
• Ronald praised America and asked Amon whether he had considered becoming a true American, and Amon reminded him that he was born in Brooklyn.
• Amon boarded the Nimitz and settled into the captain’s quarters.
• The Nimitz departed San Diego escorted by cruisers, destroyers, submarines, and a supply ship.
• U.S. military bases across Japan received orders to prepare for the new commander-in-chief’s arrival and inspection.

Amon agreed to travel to Japan as the Academy’s representative to ensure the Japan Branch supported the hunt for Kukulkan. Meanwhile, Angers and Watchman debated whether Chu Zihang’s report cleared him of suspicion, then Angers confronted Watchman about inviting a Naga woman to the Academy.

• Amon spoke with Angers aboard the Nimitz, where Angers asked him to go to Japan because Kukulkan was believed to be heading there.
• Angers explained that Amon would make the Japan Branch cooperate with the Academy’s Dragon-Slaying Squad, and Amon promised to demonstrate the Headquarters’ authority.
• Angers warned Amon to be careful, and Amon said he would minimize collateral damage.
• Watchman urged Angers to trust Chu Zihang’s report and judgment despite Angers’s lingering unease.
• Angers reminded Watchman that he had invited a Naga woman to visit the Academy, and Watchman denied knowing she was an Ancient Dragon.

Angers and Watchman discussed whether Kassel College should lure Naga to campus, but Watchman urged him to leave her to the Orthodox and focus on the Feathered Serpent God. On a modified jet bound for Japan, Lu Mingfei and the others reviewed clues about a vanished Soviet icebreaker before an unseen woman challenged their readiness to slay a dragon.

• Angers proposed luring Naga to Kassel College, but Watchman warned that she might be too powerful to contain and advised leaving her to the Orthodox.
• Lu Mingfei, Caesar, Chu Zihang, and Finn flew toward Japan aboard the modified Gulfstream Sleipnir.
• Caesar opened Angers's briefing materials, which identified the missing Soviet icebreaker Lenin and linked its sinking site to the operation's abnormal heartbeat detection.
• NOMA reported that the Lenin had carried suspected Dragon Raja-related items and sank near Japanese waters after sending a distress signal.
• Lu Mingfei said the team should keep the Feathered Serpent God as its main objective and investigate the Lenin only if they found relevant traces.
• A woman behind the group asked whether they planned to slay a dragon dressed as they were.

Xia Mi secretly joined the Sleipnir’s mission to Japan, where the team agreed to bring her along under strict conditions. Amon listened in on the team’s conversation and found the situation interesting.

• Xia Mi appeared aboard the Sleipnir wearing an Oni Mask, startling Lu Mingfei, Chu Zihang, Caesar, and Finn.
• Xia Mi explained that she had followed the team because she wanted to learn what her brother He Xiaomeng was doing in Japan.
• Caesar allowed Xia Mi to accompany them on the condition that she stay with the team, obey orders, and avoid the mission’s core operations until they found her brother.
• Finn told Lu Mingfei that He Xiaomeng would likely be in Japan to watch the Japan Branch, and that Xia Mi was an A-Class Hybrid.
• Amon listened to the team’s conversation through Caesar’s open laptop and laughed that the situation was interesting.

Xia Mi bonded with the Dragon-Slaying Squad during their flight to Japan, turning mission tension into joking travel plans. Meanwhile, Minamoto Chisaki dealt with a rampaging Hybrid and hurried to meet the arriving Kassel headquarters agents.

• Xia Mi quickly won Lu Mingfei, Chu Zihang, Finn, and Caesar over with her teasing humor and easygoing manner.
• The group discussed sightseeing in Japan, and Xia Mi and Finn argued over how to split the profits from a hypothetical shrine-spitting stunt.
• Minamoto Chisaki killed a rampaging Hybrid and ordered Yasha and Crow to clean up the scene.
• Yabuki Sakura told Minamoto Chisaki that the Kassel headquarters agents' flight would soon land, and he left with her to meet them.
• Yasha and Crow remarked that Minamoto Chisaki seemed especially concerned about the visitors from headquarters.

Minamoto Chisaki prepared to receive the specialists from Kassel headquarters while concealing the Japan Branch’s true knowledge of the embryo in the Japan Trench. The Sleipnir landed in a dangerously short runway, and Chisaki watched the young arrivals emerge, wary of how calm they were.

• Kaguya-hime found little information about Caesar Gattuso, Chu Zihang, Lu Mingfei, and logistics officer He Xiaomeng because headquarters had concealed their records.
• Tachibana Masamune ordered Minamoto Chisaki to welcome the specialists courteously, while concealing that the Japan Branch knew the trench held an embryo of a god.
• After killing a malformed life-form, Minamoto Chisaki traveled with Sakura to the abandoned airport and prepared a champagne reception.
• Sakura parked the Hummer at the end of the short runway as the Sleipnir approached through the storm.
• The Sleipnir landed hard and narrowly avoided the Hummer, then its young passengers emerged smiling and curious.
• Minamoto Chisaki tightened his grip on Spider Cutter as he watched the calm arrivals.

Minamoto Chisaki prepared a menacing welcome for the Headquarters delegation, but Lu Mingfei, Caesar, Xia Mi, and Finn arrived behaving more like tourists than elite operatives. Their unexpected makeup convinced Minamoto that receiving them would be a grave challenge.

• Minamoto Chisaki waited at the runway, expecting Headquarters to send formidable Dragon King slayers.
• Lu Mingfei, Caesar, Xia Mi, and Finn descended from the plane, chatting about sightseeing and hospitality.
• Lu Mingfei, Caesar, and Xia Mi drank the champagne Sakura had set out, while Minamoto rebuked Xia Mi for drinking as a minor.
• Finn introduced himself as an Eighth Grade student, and Caesar explained that Finn had been held back for four years.
• Xia Mi revealed that she was only a Kassel College Preparatory Class student, leaving Minamoto furious about the delegation he had to receive.

Inuyama He prepared an elaborate reception and trap for Angers's envoy at an abandoned military port. Two B-2 bombers suddenly bombed the ruins around him, leaving him unharmed but utterly dumbfounded.

• Inuyama He waited at the abandoned dock with his trained foster daughters, intending to win over or subdue the arriving envoy.
• He watched two B-2 stealth bombers approach the port at low altitude and open their bomb bays.
• The bombers destroyed the ruins around Inuyama He and his daughters while their blasts stopped short of the group.
• His daughters urged him to flee, but Inuyama He remained frozen, unable to understand what had happened.