Chapter Summaries

Afanisi prepared the Void Realm Church’s ritual and planned a strike against Jonas, believing the Alt Conglomerate had no knowledge of its movements. Jonas already knew what the church intended and waited for its next move.

• The Void Realm Church began its limited-time event, allowing beings from the void realm to control half of believers’ bodies and strengthen their psionic abilities.
• Afanisi prepared to finish the ritual at nine that night, then lure away the Alt Conglomerate’s forces and capture Jonas alive.
• Afanisi worried about provoking Jonas, whose past retaliation had driven the Void Realm Church from hiding place to hiding place in District 25.
• The Star of Dawn integrated into the Alt Conglomerate, freeing Jonas to focus on the Void Realm Church’s next operation.
• Jonas knew about the church’s ritual and planned strike through informants and chose to lie in wait.

On the Makeup Festival, Jonas and the Alt Conglomerate prepared for a suspected Void Realm Church attack while Afanisi used psionic energy to conceal her real plan. After losing contact with church forces in several districts, Afanisi committed herself to the Lord of the Void Realm and proceeded with the operation.

• Afanisi brought most of the Void Realm Church’s awakened core forces into the festival crowds near Alt District, while Jonas’s Intelligence Department monitored suspicious locations.
• Nora showed Jonas a photo of church members near Alt District, and he ordered her to send possible trouble spots to Carol.
• Nora encountered Eiffel leaving Jonas’s office, then Jonas and Eiffel teased each other about Nora becoming his secretary.
• Afanisi revealed that she had planted divine statues around Alt District and ordered the church forces in Stri District to begin their part of the plan.
• Afanisi learned that the church had lost contact with forces in Stri, Nariteran, Ost, and Carmen Districts, but ordered the original plan to proceed.
• Afanisi invoked the Lord of the Void Realm and unleashed her power, allowing the being to use her body.

Afanisi used the Void Realm Church’s statue-based teleportation to draw Alt Conglomerate forces away and reach Jonas, while Jonas anticipated the diversion and prepared defenses throughout headquarters. Afanisi reached his office demanding the Black Ring, but Jonas’s unseen countermeasure made her crouch and bark like a dog.

• Afanisi teleported herself and her believers through a statue, vowing to face her past failure, while Jonas ordered heightened security and had Iris block communications in the surrounding area.
• After Eiffel reported an attack on Alt Conglomerate territory, Jonas recognized it as a diversion meant to isolate him and decided to let Afanisi believe her plan was working.
• Afanisi teleported to Alt Conglomerate headquarters and sent her forces to attack other territories before leading an elite group toward Jonas’s office.
• Mechanical forces, [Nightingale], and Miss Yucas intercepted Afanisi’s advancing groups, but Afanisi reached the top floor and demanded that Jonas hand over the Black Ring.
• When Afanisi vanished to attack Jonas, she reappeared bewildered, crouched involuntarily, raised her hands, and said, “Woof!”

Jonas’s confrontation with Afanisi ended when an unknown force made her surrender control of her body and transferred purple mist into his Black Ring. After the Void Realm offered Afanisi as a gift and promised a future meeting, Jonas accepted the advantage while keeping his distance from its plans.

• Afanisi lost control of her body, and Jonas bluffed that the Void Realm was responsible while testing his influence over her with a command to kneel.
• A purple sphere left Afanisi and fused with Jonas’s Black Ring, after which a message from the Void Realm called her a gift and promised to explain everything when they met.
• Esnie emerged from hiding, checked that Jonas was unharmed, and asked about Afanisi’s strange behavior before Jonas suggested they check on Nora and Miss Yucas.
• The Alt Conglomerate eliminated most of the attacking Void Realm Church members and detained the survivors, including the unconscious Afanisi.
• Jonas accepted the Void Realm’s apparent goodwill but resolved not to become its hired hand, while still intending to keep Afanisi in his custody.

Jonas visited Beigong Ling to learn what the Star of Dawn had hidden beneath its former Mika District base, promising her his trust in exchange. Beigong Ling agreed to lead him and Eiffel to the secret, but Jonas used her Collar to weaken her before they went below.

• Jonas realized the Mika District base might reveal the origins of the Star of Dawn’s psionic research and went to question Beigong Ling.
• Beigong Ling worried about the Void Realm Church’s attack, then saw Jonas arrive unharmed and discussed the Star of Dawn’s past research with him.
• Jonas asked what was hidden beneath the Mika District, and Beigong Ling agreed to reveal it in exchange for his trust.
• Jonas brought Beigong Ling and Eiffel to the underground base, where Beigong Ling passed an Iris recognition scan and opened a concealed passage.
• Jonas activated Beigong Ling’s Collar to weaken her as a precaution, then asked her to lead them below.

Beigong Ling revealed the Predecessor Civilization’s hidden records to Jonas and negotiated greater autonomy for the Star of Dawn in exchange for sharing her research with the Alt Conglomerate. Jonas then learned Yucas was caught in a Peacekeeping Forces purge, went to confront her, and exposed that he knew her real identity.

• Beigong Ling showed Jonas and Eiffel the secret archive and explained that it held the Predecessor Civilization’s technology and psionic research.
• Jonas granted the Star of Dawn greater autonomy in exchange for Beigong Ling sharing all information she had deciphered and would decipher.
• Eiffel told Jonas that Afanisi remained unconscious, Void Realm Church Psionics had been imprisoned or sent to research, and Yucas belonged to the conservative faction being purged.
• Jonas decided to seek out Yucas despite Eiffel’s warning against getting involved in the Peacekeeping Forces’ power struggle.
• Jonas found Yucas at Nielgute Bridge, questioned her cover story about a family problem, and addressed her as Miss Yucas, revealing he knew her identity.

Jonas revealed that the Peacekeeping Forces had known Yucas’s identity from the beginning and had traded her undercover assignment for information. He left her free to choose her next move, and she agreed to seek the Director-General position and reshape the Peacekeeping Forces while Jonas pledged to support her.

• Yucas confronted Jonas about how he had discovered her identity, and he explained that the Peacekeeping Forces’ leadership had sold her undercover assignment to him to cover up their failures.
• Jonas told Yucas that he had traded psionic-energy information she accessed for an extension of her assignment, keeping her unaware of the arrangement.
• Yucas inferred that Jonas wanted her involved in the Peacekeeping Forces’ infighting, but he said no one there could command him and insisted that her choice was her own.
• Jonas offered to help Yucas end the unrest in District 25, and she said she would entrust the Peacekeeping Forces’ future to him if she became Director-General.
• Eiffel questioned Jonas’s manipulation of Yucas and warned that the Alt Conglomerate lacked resources to support her, but Jonas said he knew what he was doing and proposed an Alt-style shock.

Jonas appointed Beigong Ling deputy head of the Alt Conglomerate’s Security Department after receiving her records of advanced weapons and technologies, including a feasible virtual reality project. He was then summoned to the Interstice, where Annis Erdoka, ruler of the Zerg, asked him to rescue her and her people.

• Beigong Ling questioned Jonas’s unexpected job offer, reviewed the generous contract, and signed while keeping the Star of Dawn as her priority.
• Jonas examined Beigong Ling’s records and decided the virtual reality technology could help the Alt Conglomerate overcome its growth bottleneck.
• A Black Ring and a purple ball of light emerged from Jonas and merged, drawing him into a strange realm.
• Jonas encountered Annis Erdoka beneath a sky filled with enormous eyes and learned that she was the ruler of the Zerg.
• Annis explained that she and her people were trapped in the Interstice, between the material world and her ideal place, and asked Jonas to rescue them.

Jonas learned from Annis Erdoka that the Predecessor Civilization were trapped thieves seeking freedom through Beigong Ling, while Annis offered him Zerg Overmind authority in exchange for helping her escape. Back in the physical world, Jonas decided to keep both sides’ options open and began interrogating the awakened Afanisi.

• Annis told Jonas that the Predecessor Civilization were trapped and that Beigong Ling was unknowingly part of their escape plan.
• Annis granted Jonas access to the Zerg hive and promised to make him an Overmind if he helped her escape.
• Before Jonas left the Interstice, Annis told him he could do as he pleased with Afanisi.
• Jonas returned to his chair after only three seconds and decided to use the Predecessor Civilization’s technology while remaining wary of both sides.
• Jonas learned that Afanisi had awakened and entered her holding cell, where sedatives prevented her from using psionic energy.

Jonas kept Afanisi prisoner and revealed that he was an agent of Annis Erdoka, the being she worshipped. Afanisi realized that Jonas had become her master, and her faith collapsed.

• Afanisi awoke in shackles after a week of sedation and accused Jonas of being a heretic opposing her god.
• Jonas told Afanisi that he had no intention of killing her and claimed she had misunderstood the being she worshipped.
• Jonas released Afanisi's shackles, but stopped her attempts to attack him and take her own life with a command.
• Jonas revealed the presence of Annis Erdoka and identified himself as her agent and Afanisi's new master.
• Afanisi sensed Annis Erdoka's presence in Jonas and felt compelled to submit, causing her faith to collapse.

Jonas put Afanisi on probation, made her serve as his maid and call him Master, then rewarded her obedience with a brief experience of the Void Realm deity’s presence. Meanwhile, he considered the Alt Conglomerate’s next steps, including recruiting virtual-reality specialists and responding to Chelsea’s invitation.

• Jonas revoked Afanisi’s status as the Void Realm Church Saintess until she completed his assessment tasks.
• Jonas made Afanisi change into a maid outfit and address him as Master as punishment for her conduct.
• After Afanisi obeyed, Jonas briefly let her feel Annis Erdoka’s divine aura and promised more if she performed well.
• Chelsea invited Jonas to the Nathen Conglomerate to discuss the next phase of their cooperation.
• Jonas decided to recruit promising virtual-reality and braindance specialists himself during the Alt Conglomerate’s annual hiring drive.

Jonas selected Kyudai Li as a candidate for recruitment after reviewing Eiffel’s files, while Eiffel arranged a private dinner with him. Kyudai, a reclusive unemployed researcher who secretly relied on Alt Conglomerate welfare, was startled when Jonas appeared at her apartment.

• Jonas asked Eiffel to find candidates with virtual reality and bioengineering expertise, along with several personal traits, and reviewed her files with her.
• Jonas chose his preferred candidate that evening, and Eiffel offered him dinner after sharing chocolate with him in his office.
• Kyudai Li spent her isolated days in a shabby apartment and prayed before a photograph of Jonas, grateful for the welfare keeping her alive.
• Kyudai heard that the Alt Conglomerate had defeated the Star of Dawn remnants and the Void Realm Church, then panicked when someone knocked at her door.
• Kyudai barricaded the door, but it burst open, and she saw Jonas Wetting enter.

Jonas recruited Kyudai Li to lead the Alt Corporation’s revived Oasis Project and arranged a strategic partnership with the Nathen Group. Chelsea joined Jonas’s office as a secretary to pursue him, while Eiffel grew suspicious but failed to discover Chelsea hiding beneath his desk.

• Kyudai Li fainted when Jonas arrived, then confessed to fraudulently claiming Alt District welfare and offered to repay it with her organs.
• Jonas offered Kyudai Li leadership of the Oasis Project, and she accepted after he reassured her that he trusted her talent.
• Jonas planned a partnership between the Alt Corporation and the Nathen Group, then met Chelsea, who used a remote control to make their negotiations personal.
• Chelsea volunteered to serve as the joint venture’s secretary-general and spent three days working closely with Jonas, making Eiffel jealous and uneasy.
• Eiffel brought Jonas an urgent document but did not notice Chelsea hiding beneath his desk after he claimed she had left.

Kyudai Li joined the Alt Conglomerate after Shigure Ryoko brought her to headquarters, where she was thrilled with her new research lab. Meanwhile, Jonas struggled to focus while Chelsea served as his secretary, and Shigure Ryoko froze when she saw the new secretary beside him.

• Kyudai Li worried that the Alt Conglomerate had replaced her until Shigure Ryoko arrived and took her to headquarters to sign her contract.
• Shigure Ryoko showed Kyudai Li her research lab and told her the company had prepared an employee apartment for her.
• Jonas stayed at work with Chelsea as his secretary because she had continued clinging to him beyond the planned three days.
• Chelsea read Jonas's documents while teasing him, and he touched her feet as she sat in front of him.
• Shigure Ryoko returned from bringing Kyudai Li to headquarters and froze when she saw Jonas with Chelsea.

Shigure Ryoko walked in on Jonas and Chelsea in an intimate situation, then delivered Kyudai Li’s signed employment contract. Later, Carol warned Jonas that the Void Realm Church was targeting him, leaving him to consider whether the threat would force his plans for District 25 forward.

• Shigure Ryoko was shocked to find her former superior, Chelsea, with Jonas and feared she had discovered something dangerous.
• Jonas reassured Shigure Ryoko and told her to handle Kyudai Li’s work assignments and keep quiet about what she had seen.
• Alt Corporation’s reconstruction plan neared completion as Jonas received an encrypted call from Carol.
• Carol explained that the Void Realm Church was targeting Jonas and wanted to return to District 25 after he uprooted its local branch.
• Jonas concluded that the new threat might force him to accelerate his plan to unify District 25.

Jonas learned that the Kahn Family was backing the Void Realm Church’s return to District 25, then questioned Afanisi about the church. She revealed that the newcomers worshipped a different god and were considered heretics, leaving Jonas facing an unfamiliar religious faction.

• Carol told Jonas that the Kahn Family was supporting the Void Realm Church’s move into District 25.
• Jonas summoned Afanisi through Eiffel, since Afanisi had no communicator of her own.
• Jonas made Afanisi kneel in a maid outfit as punishment, then rewarded her with the aura of the Void Realm.
• Jonas questioned Afanisi about the church’s return, but she said she knew nothing about it.
• Afanisi told Jonas that the newcomers did not serve her god and that her people called them heretics.

Jonas learned that Litvica's faction worshipped a rival god and planned to send Beigong Ling to deal with the coming threat. Beigong Ling, already wary of Jonas after seeing Afanisi's humiliation, was summoned to his office.

• Jonas asked Afanisi whether the heretics differed in faith or allegiance, and she said they differed in both.
• Afanisi explained that Litvica's faction worshipped a rival of their Lord and had split from her faction within the Void Realm Church.
• Afanisi urged Jonas not to let Litvica escape, and Jonas considered assigning the problem to someone else.
• Beigong Ling worked through troublesome documents for Jonas, believing they were a test of her trustworthiness.
• Beigong Ling recalled seeing Afanisi in a maid outfit and feared Jonas could make her just as obedient.
• Beigong Ling received a message telling her to come to Jonas's office.

Jonas summoned Beigong Ling to his office and asked about her recovery, then used news of Miss Amau to pressure her into cooperating. He handed Beigong Ling an embarrassing cat-themed outfit and told her to put it on.

• Beigong Ling went to Jonas's office at the Alt Conglomerate, suspecting his summons had a hidden purpose.
• Jonas asked Beigong Ling how she was doing and confirmed that she had mostly recovered from the drug's effects.
• Jonas warned Beigong Ling that Miss Amau was not doing well, though he claimed she was now being well cared for.
• Beigong Ling asked what Jonas wanted her to do, and he handed her an outfit with cat ears, white stockings, and an insertable cat tail.

Jonas made Beigong Ling wear a cat-themed outfit as the price for his help, then secretly used its electric tail to stimulate and embarrass her. Beigong Ling discovered the tail was powered, but Jonas concealed the remote and continued controlling it.

• Jonas demanded that Beigong Ling wear an insertable cat tail and outfit, and she reluctantly agreed after asking him to keep his promise.
• Beigong Ling changed into the cat-themed clothes, and Jonas admired the contrast with her usual appearance.
• Beigong Ling realized the tail was electric when it moved and caused an unfamiliar sensation.
• Jonas used a remote to intensify the stimulation, leaving Beigong Ling struggling to stand as she accused him of deceit.

Jonas pressured Beigong Ling into performing a catlike pose and choosing to continue on her own terms. Meanwhile, he considered the Alt Conglomerate’s need to expand its economy, and Kyudai Li struggled to advance the virtual reality project before Jonas arrived at her laboratory.

• Jonas made Beigong Ling pose like a cat, and she crawled to him and said she would proceed herself while warning him she would repay the humiliation.
• Jonas judged the Alt Conglomerate’s military strength sufficient but recognized that it needed more resources and economic influence to sustain a prolonged war.
• Kyudai Li devoted herself to researching virtual reality technology, encouraged by a document Jonas had provided, but worried about asking for more researchers.
• Jonas entered Kyudai Li’s laboratory, startling her and prompting her to ask why he had come.