Chapter Summaries

Lin Qi tried to persuade Chen Xiao to continue his studies at Shenzhou Nova Academy and pursue the chance to awaken superpowers, but he refused. As Lin Qi wondered whether Chen Xiao already knew something, he left the café and remained set on his choice.

• Lin Qi urged Chen Xiao to attend Shenzhou Nova Academy, citing the chances of awakening superpowers and the government jobs available to graduates, but he refused.
• Lin Qi recalled their childhood and their long friendship, while Chen Xiao remembered transmigrating into a parallel world where supernatural powers had become public knowledge.
• Chen Xiao told Lin Qi that neither his family nor his own lack of ambition would change his decision to skip the academy and disregard awakening superpowers.
• Chen Xiao paid for their café orders and left, prompting their classmates to question Lin Qi about his choice.
• Lin Qi wondered whether Chen Xiao already knew something.

Chen Xiao returned home and learned Mahiru was grateful that he had turned down Lin Qi’s invitation to enroll, while he found comfort in his figures. The chapter then traced how his figures first began appearing as real people, beginning with Saeko Busujima, and left the cause of the phenomenon unexplained.

• On his way home, Chen Xiao wondered why governments were publicly revealing superpowers and decided to focus on living peacefully with his figures.
• Chen Xiao arrived home to find Mahiru cooking, and she hugged him after learning he had turned down Lin Qi’s invitation to enroll.
• Chen Xiao reassured Mahiru that having a wife like her was enough, then returned to his bedroom, where the display compartment labeled Mahiru Shiina was empty.
• Chen Xiao recalled that four years earlier he had begun recording characters from his previous life and learned to make figures of them.
• After Chen Xiao completed his first figure at university, Saeko Busujima appeared in his kitchen as a real person, but later only her figure remained.
• Chen Xiao wondered why his figures became real people, since he had no awakened superpower and school tests had shown no change.

Chen Xiao used surveillance footage to confirm that his anime figurines could take physical form, then discovered they might have been watching him all along. He ended the chapter horrified after finding his bedroom footage deleted and realizing the girls had changed his clothes while he slept.

• Chen Xiao installed cameras and saw Alice Landlot take physical form to clean his apartment before reverting to her figurine form.
• Chen Xiao watched Asuna Yuuki, Kuroneko, and Elf Yamada materialize, and saw Anna Yamada and Nanami Aoyama join them before all four reverted together.
• Chen Xiao inferred that the figurines shared a limited supply of time for staying materialized and confirmed that no outsider had entered his home.
• Chen Xiao fell asleep at his desk, and Alice carried him to bed and turned off his computer.
• Chen Xiao found footage of Alice carrying him to bed but discovered that the bedroom recording had been deleted, then realized the figurines might have seen him naked and changed his clothes while he slept.

Chen Xiao learned that the figurine girls loved him because he had given them life, and Mahiru Shiina confessed and kissed him. He chose to give up attending Shenzhou Nova Academy so he could remain with the girls.

• Chen Xiao found that Alice had restrained herself while dressing him in the bedroom footage, then met Nanami Aoyama, who asked him to call her Nanami.
• Over the next two months, Chen Xiao grew accustomed to the figurine girls materializing and decided against continuing his studies at Shenzhou Nova Academy.
• Alice teased Chen Xiao at breakfast, but Mahiru Shiina interrupted and led him to dinner.
• Chen Xiao asked Mahiru Shiina why the girls loved him, and she explained that he had created their bodies, personalities, and souls.
• Mahiru Shiina kissed Chen Xiao, then hurried away when her time was up.
• After seeing an advertisement for Shenzhou Nova Academy, Chen Xiao called his father and said he would not attend.

Chen Xiao and Mahiru Shiina learned that a string of mysterious comas in Magic City targeted future Nova Academy students. As the task force struggled to find the attacker, Lieutenant Colonel Huang Qingque arrived and claimed she knew where the perpetrator was.

• Chen Xiao watched a report about young adults falling into unexplained comas and discussed the rise of superpower crimes with Mahiru Shiina.
• Chen Xiao showed Mahiru online deductions identifying the victims as students who would soon attend Nova Academy.
• Mahiru worried that Chen Xiao might be targeted, but he laughed off the possibility.
• Liu Yaowen told the Superpower Crime Task Force to catch the attacker within a week, while Li Rongbin and Lin Feng questioned how they could find someone with no leads.
• Liu Yaowen introduced Lieutenant Colonel Huang Qingque, who reviewed the attack report and declared that she knew where the perpetrator was.

A hooded criminal accepted one last assignment to target Chen Xiao, unaware of the full reason Old K had chosen him. At home, Chen Xiao felt a sudden shiver as Sora Kasugano tried to comfort him, leaving him puzzled by his own unease.

• The hooded man complained that the authorities kept finding him, and Old K said a new woman named Huang might be a Diviner helping the countermeasures team track him.
• Old K gave the hooded man Chen Xiao's details and promised doubled final payment and escape to the Alabachia Federation if he completed the job.
• Old K supplied a talisman to block divination and an ability enhancer, and the hooded man agreed to attack Chen Xiao before leaving for the Federation.
• After the hooded man left, Old K revealed a fuller file on Chen Xiao and said he suspected Chen Shifeng's grandson was hiding his true potential, while also seeking revenge for an old grievance.
• Chen Xiao shivered while watching television with Sora Kasugano, who climbed onto the sofa to comfort him, and he recognized the sensation as fear.

Chen Xiao was trapped in a dream by a hooded superpowered criminal hired to target him over Shenzhou Nova Academy. He fought back and pinned the attacker, but began losing his grip as the criminal entered a second phase.

• Chen Xiao explored a dream recreation of his childhood home and confronted a hooded man who mocked his background.
• The hooded man admitted he was the superpowered criminal behind the coma attacks and said a client had hired him to target Chen Xiao because of Shenzhou Nova Academy.
• The hooded man revealed that Chen Xiao was trapped in the dream and that the authorities would not arrive in time, then approached him to attack.
• Chen Xiao punched the hooded man, battered him with a fighting combo, and threw him into a duck pen.
• Chen Xiao provoked the furious hooded man into charging, caught his fist, slammed him into the dirt, and pinned him down.
• The hooded man threatened Chen Xiao as Chen Xiao began to lose his hold on him.

Chen Xiao was nearly killed by the hooded man in the dream, but visions of his treasured figurines being destroyed awakened a power that severed the attacker’s hand. A mysterious girl in a black trench coat appeared between them, and Chen Xiao recognized her as Black Rock Shooter.

• The hooded man entered the dream with his real body, overpowered Chen Xiao, and began strangling him.
• As Chen Xiao neared death, he saw a vision of his figurines being discarded and destroyed after his own death.
• Chen Xiao’s fear and grief awakened a dazzling light that cut off the hooded man’s hand.
• The hooded man realized someone else had entered his domain, and both men looked up at the sound of a flapping coat.
• A pale girl in a black trench coat landed between them with azure flames in her eyes, and Chen Xiao identified her as Black Rock Shooter.

Chen Xiao learned that the figurines had recognized his dream invasion and prayed for him as he suffered in bed. Their prayers coincided with his supernatural ability awakening, increasing their materialization level and allowing Black Rock Shooter to enter his dream and save him.

• Alice summoned Shizuka Marikawa to examine Chen Xiao, but she could not identify what was wrong.
• Mari explained that a superpowered intruder had invaded Chen Xiao's dream and attacked his mind.
• Alice, Shizuka Marikawa, and the other figurines prayed beside Chen Xiao's bed because they could not reach him in the dream.
• Chen Xiao's awakening caused his materialization level to rise, letting the praying figurines remain manifested and sparking a chaotic race to enter his dream.
• Black Rock Shooter dodged the other figurines, merged into Chen Xiao, and showed him how she had saved him.

Chen Xiao possessed Black Rock Shooter in the dream, where she brought him into her domain and attacked the hooded man. The man drank a power-enhancing potion and transformed, leaving Black Rock Shooter facing his stronger second phase.

• Chen Xiao realized he could think and see through Black Rock Shooter’s body, then floated beside her when she reclaimed control.
• The hooded man suspected Chen Xiao’s spirit had survived and hesitated to fight Black Rock Shooter as his red talisman ran out.
• The dream’s old country house vanished, and the hooded man and Black Rock Shooter fell into Black Rock Shooter’s domain of chains, crosses, and black-and-white tiles.
• The hooded man reattached his severed hand and prepared to drink a potion, but Black Rock Shooter attacked him with black crosses and blue energy bullets.
• The hooded man crushed the potion vial in his teeth, gained immense power, and transformed into a muscular figure whose air waves deflected Black Rock Shooter’s shots.
• Chen Xiao asked whether Black Rock Shooter could handle the transformed hooded man, and she calmly nodded.

The hooded man used a corporate enhancer to invade Chen Xiao’s dream with greatly increased powers, but Black Rock Shooter overpowered him. The enhancer transformed him into a monstrous hybrid, and he fled after spotting Black Rock Shooter.

• The hooded man celebrated his enhanced dream powers and attacked Black Rock Shooter with a fast charge and lightning spears.
• Black Rock Shooter dodged his charge, destroyed his lightning spears, and struck him with a massive black-rock sword.
• The injured hooded man muttered deliriously before transforming into a winged, fire-breathing beast.
• After spotting Black Rock Shooter, the transformed hooded man turned and ran, leaving Chen Xiao and Black Rock Shooter stunned.

Chen Xiao and Black Rock Shooter pursued the mutated hooded man through dreams while the Countermeasures Team tracked him and woke nearby sleepers. After his dream collapsed, Black Rock Shooter dragged him into reality, where he charged toward the authorities begging for help.

• The hooded man tore into another person's dream, and Black Rock Shooter rescued Chen Xiao's neighbor before pursuing him again.
• As the drug wore off, the hooded man lost strength and realized he had forgotten the red talisman concealing him from divination.
• Huang Qingque located the hooded man, and Liu Yaowen ordered military-satellite calls to wake sleeping residents and prevent him from jumping between dreams.
• Black Rock Shooter chained the hooded man as he opened a passage into reality, and Chen Xiao followed her when the dream collapsed.
• Liu Yaowen's team and the Armed Police Brigade surrounded the building, then saw the chained half-monster charge downstairs and plead for them to save him.

Liu Yaowen’s team identified the mutated hooded man as the culprit behind the coma-inducing dreams and learned that he had taken an enhancement serum from someone called “K.” When bullets failed to stop him, a mysterious girl arrived on a combat motorcycle, pulling him back with chains as her blazing blue eye came into view.

• Huang Qingque identified the hooded man as the dream-invading culprit and found that he had taken an enhancement serum from someone known as “K.”
• Liu Yaowen’s team retreated from the building while civilians gathered in nearby high-rises to film the operation.
• The hooded man broke free and charged outside, so Liu Yaowen ordered the SWAT officers and snipers to open fire.
• The hooded man lunged at a SWAT officer, but taut chains yanked him to the ground before he could attack.
• A petite girl rode a black combat motorcycle out of the building while holding the chains, and Huang Qingque recognized her as the girl revealed by her brilliant blue eyes and azure flame.

Black Rock Shooter captured the superpowered criminal Luo Yuan and handed him over to Liu Yaowen’s task force, while Chen Xiao worried about keeping his identity secret and getting back home. Their problem was interrupted when a mysterious girl appeared through a glowing wooden door and called Black Rock Shooter home.

• Black Rock Shooter’s dramatic arrival stunned the task force and the livestream viewers.
• Liu Yaowen introduced himself, identified the captured criminal as Luo Yuan, and asked Black Rock Shooter to hand him over.
• Black Rock Shooter checked with Chen Xiao before agreeing to transfer Luo Yuan to the task force.
• Luo Yuan attacked Black Rock Shooter, but his claws broke against her body, and she knocked him unconscious before giving Liu Yaowen the chain.
• Chen Xiao worried that Black Rock Shooter could not return to the dream world or safely separate from him.
• A glowing wooden door appeared, and a petite girl called to Black★Rock Shooter to come home.

Mari appeared through a glowing doorway and brought Black Rock Shooter home, while Liu Yaowen withdrew with Luo Yuan to investigate the incident. Back at Chen Xiao’s home, he petted Black Rock Shooter and Mari, unaware that someone in his bedroom was growing displeased.

• Mari opened a doorway, called Black Rock Shooter home, and both girls vanished through it.
• Liu Yaowen ordered his team to pull out and took Luo Yuan to the Anomalous Incident Management Bureau for questioning.
• Footage of Black Rock Shooter spread online, making her a sensation as people argued over the incident.
• Chen Xiao returned to his body and stroked Black Rock Shooter’s face until Mari interrupted and asked for attention too.
• Chen Xiao petted Black Rock Shooter and Mari while an angry aura built from his bedroom.

Chen Xiao recovered from his encounter with Black Rock Shooter and Merry Nightmare while a youkai sage secretly spied on him. At the secret base, Liu Yaowen and Huang Qingque discussed their limited clues about Black Rock Shooter, the mysterious girl, and the approaching Great Catastrophe.

• Chen Xiao went to shower, unaware that a spatial rift let a youkai sage watch him while other gaps blocked Black Rock Shooter and Merry Nightmare from seeing.
• Researchers reported that Luo Yuan's body and brain had mutated beyond recognition, leaving Liu Yaowen with no useful lead after the warehouse raid came up empty.
• Huang Qingque told Liu Yaowen that she had reported what she saw of Black Rock Shooter and the mysterious girl to the director.
• Huang Qingque described Black Rock Shooter fighting red, green, gray, and yellow girls, and the mysterious girl guarding a huge doorway with a ring of keys.
• Huang Qingque warned that their appearance might mark the beginning of the Great Catastrophe, and Liu Yaowen listened as she shared the burden of her visions.

K considered whether Black Rock Shooter had appeared to protect Chen Xiao after K’s attack failed and Luo Yuan was captured. The next day, Chen Xiao woke to find Rem and Ram materialized and ready to serve him.

• K paid a prophet for information about Black Rock Shooter and the mysterious pointy-eared girl, learning they had left no previous trace in the world.
• K told his shorter companion that Shenzhou might sell the Enhancement Serum data to competing companies rather than use it for human experimentation.
• K wondered whether Black Rock Shooter had intervened to protect Chen Xiao, but dismissed the possibility and vowed to seek revenge later.
• Chen Xiao woke at noon and met Rem and Ram, who had materialized after his power level increased when he awakened his superpower.
• Rem and Ram told Chen Xiao they would serve him.

Chen Xiao discovered that his superpower let him borrow his figurines’ abilities, but using Rem’s oni powers triggered an embarrassing side effect. The chapter ended with Ram revealing that their household had only 5,033 left in its account.

• Rem explained that Chen Xiao’s superpower could let him borrow figurines’ abilities and possess them.
• Chen Xiao borrowed Rem’s oni transformation, then felt dizzy and feverish from the ability’s side effect.
• Rem kissed Chen Xiao and called it his reward before leaving.
• Ram returned from shopping and showed Chen Xiao a message stating that the household account balance was 5,033.

After realizing his family had cut off his allowance, Chen Xiao found his savings card and weighed ways to earn money without crossing his ethical lines. He discovered that Black Rock Shooter had become famous overnight, but decided not to use her public image to make money or reveal her casually.

• Chen Xiao remembered his father had stopped sending him money after he quit school and searched his wardrobe for a savings card.
• Chen Xiao found the card in an old coat, and Ram revealed its PIN was 114514, making him suspect the figurines had been watching him.
• Chen Xiao linked the card and found a balance of 83,150, then told Nanami Aoyama he would not let her work herself to exhaustion.
• Ram suggested hacking for money, but Chen Xiao refused unless they had no other choice.
• Chen Xiao saw an announcement about a 100,000-yuan scam using Black Rock Shooter's name and learned she had become popular overnight.
• Chen Xiao decided he would not profit from Black Rock Shooter's image or let her appear publicly unless necessary.

After finding that his friends had stopped worrying about his decision to leave school, Chen Xiao considered writing novels to make money, but Utaha Kasumigaoka rejected the idea because her romance writing did not fit the popular webnovel market. Elf Yamada and Ruri Gokou fought over writing and ended up wrestling on Chen Xiao, and the chapter left Ram kissing him while the other two protested.

• Chen Xiao read the QQ messages about his decision to stop attending school and relaxed when he saw that his friends had moved on.
• Chen Xiao decided to make money by writing novels, but Utaha Kasumigaoka refused because Love Metronome would not suit the webnovel scene.
• Elf Yamada appeared and offered to write a wish-fulfillment novel, then insulted Ruri Gokou and sparked a fight.
• Ruri Gokou and Elf Yamada wrestled on Chen Xiao until Ram pulled them off him.
• Ram asked Chen Xiao for a reward, kissed him, and drew angry protests from Ruri Gokou and Elf Yamada.