Chapter Summaries

Jonas met with the socially anxious Kyudai Li, reassured her about her place at the Alt Conglomerate, and encouraged her to lead the Virtual Reality Research Department project. Meanwhile, a helmeted woman and a young hacker arrived on the outskirts of the Alt District, where the hacker agreed to break in after getting food.

• Jonas found that Kyudai Li had been working alone in the laboratory before the project had officially been approved.
• Jonas asked Kyudai Li to remove her jacket, praised her figure, and told her he would select researchers and notify her when the project began.
• Kyudai Li promised to do her best on the research project, and Jonas offered to help if she encountered difficulties.
• A helmeted woman on a motorcycle asked the little girl riding with her to hack into a system on the outskirts of the Alt District.
• The little girl said she could hack the system but insisted on getting fried chicken and Pepsi before starting.

Anne Margaret, the hacker known as [Invincible Pink Rabbit], attacked the Alt Conglomerate’s network but was forced to withdraw after Iris helped repel her. After the attack, Iris asked Jonas for his healing energy and worried that he had avoided intimacy because she had a lousy figure.

• Anne Margaret boasted about her hacking ability, then struggled to breach the Alt Conglomerate’s three-layer security system.
• Iris helped the Alt Conglomerate’s Network Security Department hold off Anne’s attack, and Anne withdrew before her location could be pinpointed.
• Jonas asked Iris about the attack, and Iris estimated she had an eighty percent chance of repelling the hacker if they returned.
• Jonas praised Iris and offered to let her rest, but Iris asked him for his healing energy.
• Iris said she had seen surveillance footage of Jonas with Miss Eiffel and asked whether he avoided her because her figure was lousy.

Jonas discovered that the hacker who breached the Alt Conglomerate was Crimson Rabbit, a subordinate of the Void Realm Church, and planned to lure her out before she could disrupt the company’s Virtual Reality research. Meanwhile, An and Strett met the Church’s Executor after An admitted her failed mission, leaving An uneasy despite the Executor’s gentle response.

• Jonas agreed to Iris’s request to try master-and-collar roleplay with her, then reviewed the evidence from the Alt Conglomerate’s network breach.
• Eiffel identified the hacker as Crimson Rabbit, a former Federation Hacking Competition winner, and reported that she was subordinate to the Void Realm Church.
• Jonas decided he needed to capture or kill Crimson Rabbit before her next attack interfered with Virtual Reality research.
• In Durentis Second District, An complained to Strett about the failed hack and blamed the Alt Conglomerate’s security and support team.
• The Executor arrived to collect An and Strett, accepted An’s admission that the mission had failed, and said she would not punish her, making An more suspicious and uneasy.

An and Strett left Yushua after she warned An to copy scriptures and revealed that she intended to set Afanisi back on the right path. At the Alt Conglomerate, Jonas reviewed footage of Yushua killing his agents, then pressured Afanisi to disclose what she knew.

• Yushua told Sister Strett to take An to the Sanctuary and ordered An to copy the scriptures to relieve her stress.
• Yushua said she had cleared the way, and Strett took An away on the motorcycle.
• After they left, Yushua accused Afanisi of betraying the faith and resolved to set her back on the right path.
• Jonas watched footage showing a nun kill several Alt Conglomerate pursuers and estimated that she might outrank Afanisi in psionic power and control.
• Jonas punished Afanisi for withholding information, then demanded she reveal everything she knew, asserting that he was her master for now.

Jonas confronted Afanisi about concealing the truth about Yushua Delan and asserted that her god had given her to him. Afanisi accepted his authority and asked him to continue her punishment, while Jonas considered how close she was to submitting fully.

• Jonas deduced that Afanisi had hidden that Yushua Delan had abandoned their shared faith for greater favor from her god, and Afanisi admitted he was right.
• Jonas told Afanisi he was displeased with her conduct and used a strange sensation to reinforce that her god had transferred ownership of her to him.
• Jonas told Afanisi that her faith had no value to her god but could still be useful to him, and she agreed that he was the only place she had left.
• Jonas prepared to end the interrogation, but Afanisi asked him to continue her punishment, and he wondered if her submission was progressing faster than expected.
• Afanisi left the Alt Conglomerate office limping, while Jonas reviewed her documents and estimated her submission level at around seventy percent.

Jonas questioned Annis Erdoka about the threat posed by Yushua Delan and her deity, then pressured Annis to make amends for failing to warn him. Annis gave him her Mark, leaving Jonas back in his office with compound eyes and an unknown new ability.

• Jonas reviewed Afanisi's account of Yushua Delan and used the Black Ring to contact Annis Erdoka in the Void Realm.
• Jonas told Annis about Yushua Delan's actions and asked for information about the deity she worshipped.
• Annis warned Jonas that the deity was a dangerous and treacherous being trapped in the Interstice, like her.
• Jonas challenged Annis over her failure to warn him and demanded that she resolve the trouble caused by her oversight.
• Annis gave Jonas her Mark, saying he would share her endless life, and sent him back to the real world.
• Jonas recovered in his office and discovered that his eyes had become compound eyes.

After gaining a mark that enhanced his eyes and psionic abilities, Jonas discovered that Celine had been mistaken for a Qualified One by the deity Yushua Delan worshipped. He advised Celine to entertain the deity’s requests in her dreams and seek benefits, leaving him a chance to maneuver between the powers of the Void Realm.

• Jonas’s compound eyes awakened, greatly sharpening his perception and control of psionic energy before his eyes returned to normal with his senses still enhanced.
• Jonas recognized Celine disguised as Eiffel because Eiffel was away in Mika District, and Celine revealed she had come partly to spend time with him.
• Celine told Jonas that after reaching psionic energy level four, she repeatedly dreamed of a being who called her a Qualified One and offered her double what Annis Erdoka had promised.
• Jonas realized the being was likely the deity Yushua Delan worshipped, who had mistaken Celine for him, and advised Celine to agree to her requests, gain benefits, and escape.

Jonas warned Celine to be cautious while she impersonated Eiffel, then caught her hiding beneath his desk when Eiffel returned. A month later, Kyudai Li’s team completed the first-generation Virtual Reality prototype, and Kyudai asked Jonas for a used handkerchief as her reward.

• Jonas told Celine to report any contact from the Void Realm Church and warned her to stay safe while carrying out her mission.
• Celine hid beneath Jonas’s desk in Eiffel’s appearance when Eiffel arrived, and teased Jonas while Eiffel delivered Mika District documents and showed him affection.
• After Eiffel left, Jonas caught Celine beneath the desk and tried to punish her, but she excitedly asked to do it again.
• A month later, Kyudai Li’s team completed the first-generation Virtual Reality prototype, and Jonas inspected it but decided to wait until the finished product was ready before testing it.
• Jonas offered Kyudai a reward for completing the research stage, and she shyly asked him for a handkerchief he had used.

Kyudai Li received Jonas’s handkerchief as her reward and secretly preserved it in a shrine dedicated to him. Jonas then secured Chelsea’s support for the completed virtual reality and Dream Dive prototype before heading to meet Carol and seek better terms from the Arbitration Bureau.

• Kyudai Li impulsively asked Jonas for his handkerchief, then apologized, and Jonas gave it to her as the promised reward.
• Kyudai Li sniffed the handkerchief and placed it in a sealed shrine beneath a photograph of Jonas.
• Jonas told Kyudai Li the Research and Development Team could rest while the Publicity Department prepared a promotional plan.
• Jonas showed the prototype to Chelsea, who supported him and signed a contract with him at the Nathen Conglomerate.
• Jonas left Chelsea and drove to meet Carol, intending to negotiate greater benefits from the Arbitration Bureau.

Jonas approached Carol about cooperating on the Alt Conglomerate’s virtual reality project, but she assumed he wanted to offload the unfinished Oasis project and rejected him. When Jonas revealed he had brought a First-Generation Prototype, Carol reconsidered, but he withdrew the offer and ended the discussion.

• Jonas thanked Carol for warning the Alt Conglomerate about the Void Realm Church’s cyberattack, and Carol redirected the conversation to his proposed cooperation.
• Jonas said the Alt Conglomerate had acquired the Oasis project and wanted to restart it with the Arbitration Bureau.
• Carol rejected the proposal because she believed Jonas was trying to make the Arbitration Bureau take over a worthless project.
• Jonas mentioned the First-Generation Prototype he had brought, prompting Carol to ask him to discuss the matter further.
• Jonas apologized and said they had nothing left to discuss.

Jonas left the Arbitration Bureau after securing the contract and gave Esnie an improved Thermal Sword at the Alt Conglomerate. He then removed her collar and told her she was free, leaving her panicked and unsure how to respond.

• Jonas left Carol convinced that he might be bluffing about the First-Generation Prototype, though she remained distracted.
• Jonas returned from the Arbitration Bureau with Esnie and told her he had prepared something for her.
• Jonas revealed a new Thermal Sword made with technology from the Mika District's records and gave it to Esnie.
• Jonas removed Esnie's collar and told her she was free, causing her smile to freeze as panic filled her eyes.

Esnie asked Jonas to leave her Collar on because she wanted to remain by his side in their unequal relationship, and Jonas promised not to abandon her. Watching them, Beigong Ling wondered whether her own desires would lead her to submit to Jonas, but resolved that she would not.

• Jonas tried to remove Esnie's Collar, but she stopped him and asked to keep wearing it.
• Esnie told Jonas she did not want an equal relationship and confessed that she could not go back to life without him.
• Esnie embraced Jonas and asked him not to abandon his puppy, and he promised to stay with her.
• Beigong Ling secretly watched Esnie and Jonas, reflected on her growing desires after her experience with Jonas, and vowed not to submit.

Beigong Ling brought Jonas the latest Star of Dawn documents and learned that he planned to give her company some Virtual Reality projects, asking her to oversee them personally. His offer left her wondering whether she could still regard him as an enemy if she accepted his goodwill.

• Beigong Ling waited outside Jonas's office after eavesdropping on Esnie, then entered once Esnie had left.
• Beigong Ling delivered documents on Star of Dawn's new weapons loadout and the Virtual Reality research to Jonas.
• Jonas asked Beigong Ling what she thought of the First-Generation Prototype, and she admitted the Alt Conglomerate's research team far surpassed Star of Dawn's.
• Jonas offered Star of Dawn some Virtual Reality projects and asked Beigong Ling to handle them personally.
• Beigong Ling recognized Jonas was trying to win her over but hesitated, afraid accepting his help would make it difficult to see him as an enemy.

Jonas secured Beigong Ling’s cooperation and partnered with Rhein and Senna Life to develop and promote the Alt Conglomerate’s Virtual Reality project. The announcement named Senna Life and the Nathen Conglomerate as partners, leaving Carol alarmed that the Arbitration Bureau had been excluded.

• Beigong Ling signed Jonas’s proposal, and he told her he planned to work with Senna Life rather than the Arbitration Bureau on Virtual Reality.
• Jonas brought Beigong Ling to Senna Life, where he showed Rhein the first-generation Virtual Reality prototype and offered to work with her in exchange for her friendship.
• Rhein agreed to partner with the Alt Conglomerate, offered to keep the Arbitration Bureau from interfering, and took responsibility for the publicity campaign.
• Rhein’s campaign revived public interest in Virtual Reality and the Oasis Project, after which the Alt Conglomerate announced that it had achieved a preliminary implementation of the technology.
• Carol considered approaching Jonas to verify the technology, then learned that the Alt Conglomerate had announced the Nathen Conglomerate and Senna Life as its partners.

Carol struggled to respond after the Alt Conglomerate partnered with Senna Life, while the Void Realm Church weighed its next move. At the Alt Conglomerate’s virtual reality launch, a gunshot rang out as the lights failed and Rhein stood onstage.

• Carol realized Jonas had partnered with Senna Life and sent her secretary to question him, regretting that she had refused his earlier offer.
• Yushua Delan decided to approach Celine Nora before contacting the Alt Conglomerate, while An grew eager to sneak out and investigate its virtual reality technology.
• Jonas and Rhein presented the Alt Conglomerate’s virtual reality product at a press conference watched by millions, with Senna Life set to distribute it through its channels and Platinum Member experiences.
• Rhein felt that the deal had secured her place as heir, but the venue’s lights suddenly went out and someone in the crowd aimed a gun at the stage before a shot rang out.

At the Virtual Reality launch event, Jonas Wetting survived an assassination attempt by a cybernetic attacker and learned that she belonged to a mysterious Predecessor Civilization. The attacker’s consciousness returned to a white-haired girl underground, who received orders to observe Jonas and was scheduled for another mission in twenty days, while Jonas treated Esnie’s wounds and checked on Rhein.

• When gunfire erupted, Rhein fell in the open, and Jonas carried her behind cover before the attacker’s shots forced him to stay sheltered.
• The black-robed attacker used a speed-enhancing chip, killed security personnel, and fought Esnie as she tried to reach Jonas.
• Jonas subdued the attacker with Psionic Pressure, questioned her, and crushed her neck after realizing she was about to act against him.
• Underground, a white-haired girl learned that Copy T-2 had been destroyed and that the Central AI ordered observation of Jonas; she asked about him and learned the next mission would begin in twenty days.
• After the fight, Jonas treated Esnie’s wounds, and Rhein cautiously approached to ask about the attacker.

After an attacker was killed at the Virtual Reality launch event, Rhein suspected her family’s rivals had arranged the assault and felt guilty that Jonas had been endangered. Jonas reassured Yucas, sent her information to investigate, and decided to use the attack as an opportunity to reclaim control of the Wetting Conglomerate.

• Jonas pointed out the attacker’s corpse, and Rhein recovered from her shock and apologized for the danger he had faced.
• Rhein suspected opponents within her family had ordered the attack to prevent her from securing an Alt Conglomerate partnership, then silently resolved to repay Jonas.
• The launch event ended, the Alt Conglomerate’s Security Department handled the scene, and Rhein arranged free treatment for the injured.
• Yucas called Jonas to check on him and offered the Peacekeeping Forces’ help; Jonas teased her about an old flame and agreed to send information for an investigation.
• Jonas decided to use the attack to advance his plans and bring the Wetting Conglomerate fully back under his control.

Jonas prepared to take control of the Wetting Conglomerate before his Coming-of-Age Ceremony, while the assassination attempt on him brought the company and the Peacekeeping Forces into the conflict. After Yucas’s investigation implicated the Wetting Conglomerate’s board, Jonas confronted its members and demanded they give up their positions.

• Jonas decided to settle his conflict with the Wetting Conglomerate’s board before he reclaimed his assets, and he sent the injured Esnie for a medical examination.
• Jonas rejected a delay to the Alt Conglomerate’s product launch, while the assassination attempt increased public belief in the Virtual Reality project and prompted the Peacekeeping Forces to open a special investigation.
• Michael Curtis and the radicals supported Yucas’s investigation, hoping she would strike at the Alt Conglomerate and weaken their opponents.
• After three days, Yucas gathered evidence implicating the Wetting Conglomerate and arrested several board members for malicious business competition.
• Jonas met with the former board members and told them to resign willingly or face consequences.

Jonas forced the Wetting Conglomerate’s board to sell its shares and merged the company into the Alt Conglomerate. He discussed the launch-event attack and his plans with Chelsea, then offered to support her through Virtual Reality profits.

• Jonas threatened the Wetting Conglomerate’s board with fabricated evidence and pressured its members to sign an agreement selling their shares.
• The Wetting Conglomerate merged into the Alt Conglomerate, expanding its production capacity and strengthening its position in District 25.
• Jonas told Chelsea he planned to wait until Virtual Reality testing ended before trying to draw out the Void Realm Church.
• Chelsea said the Nathen Conglomerate could no longer sustain their old cooperation terms and asked to revise their agreement.
• Jonas offered the Nathen Conglomerate a share of Virtual Reality profits and teased Chelsea that he would support her from now on.

Jonas anticipated the Arbitration Bureau’s intervention in the Wetting Conglomerate case and used it to secure the Bureau a stake in the Virtual Reality project while balancing its influence against Senna Life. The Bureau’s takeover also confirmed Yucas’s findings and ended the turmoil surrounding the Wetting Conglomerate.

• Jonas reassured Yucas after she reported that the Arbitration Bureau had taken the arrested Wetting Conglomerate board members, and he chose to handle the matter himself.
• Carol contacted Jonas and demanded that the Arbitration Bureau join the Virtual Reality project in exchange for helping conceal the truth behind the attack.
• Jonas agreed to give the Arbitration Bureau part of Senna Life’s share, and Carol said she would visit the Alt Conglomerate.
• Michael Curtis’s faction lost its chance to undermine Yucas when the Arbitration Bureau upheld her investigation’s findings and took over the case.
• Yucas learned that the Arbitration Bureau and the Alt Conglomerate had exchanged interests, and the turmoil surrounding the Wetting Conglomerate ended.