Chapter Summaries

Shigure Ryoko woke bound and gagged in a moving vehicle, struggling to understand how she had been captured. When she realized Jonas was there and heard his plans for the harbor, she fainted.

• Shigure Ryoko woke in darkness with a severe headache, bound and gagged in a moving vehicle.
• Shigure Ryoko struggled against her ropes until Esnie struck her head and ordered her to stay still.
• Shigure Ryoko recognized Esnie and realized her capture was being carried out on Jonas's orders.
• Jonas told Esnie they were going to the harbor and ordered her to prepare cement and a sand dredger.
• Shigure Ryoko heard Jonas's plan and passed out.

Shigure Ryoko remembered being bound and taken to a lake by Esnie, who injected her with a green liquid before throwing her into a barrel. She woke in her bedroom and found a cement-barrel charm on her ID key ring, confirming that the terrifying events had not been a dream.

• Shigure Ryoko lay bound on a boat while Esnie and a man discussed whether to dispose of her at the lake.
• Esnie paralyzed Shigure Ryoko with a chop, injected her with a green liquid, and tossed her into a barrel.
• Shigure Ryoko woke in her bedroom with no visible injuries and wondered whether the previous night had been a dream.
• Shigure Ryoko found a resin cement-barrel charm on her ID key ring and realized the events had been real.

Jonas maneuvered to exploit the political turmoil in District 25 and investigated suspicious visitors to the Alt Conglomerate. When a signal from the Predecessor Civilization overwhelmed Beigong Ling, Jonas intervened to stop it from taking her.

• Jonas told Eiffel to delay Senna Life's request for cooperation and ordered her to release Huacheng evidence implicating the Peacekeeping Forces' senior leadership.
• Jonas summoned Beigong Ling, confirmed he had arranged equipment for the Star of Dawn, and asked her to provide a list of suspicious visitors for Nora to investigate.
• Beigong Ling withheld her concerns about the Predecessor Civilization, then suffered sudden agony after an ethereal voice ordered her to connect.
• Jonas sensed a signal calling to Beigong Ling, manifested the Black Ring, and prepared to interfere with it using psionic energy.

Jonas altered a consciousness link to follow the force summoning Beigong Ling, hoping to discover who was behind it. He arrived in an abandoned laboratory and introduced himself to a white-haired girl who resembled the android that had attacked him.

• Jonas found the node in the consciousness link and used his psionic energy to enter it, triggering a powerful surge that drew his consciousness away.
• An reached out to pull Jonas toward her, but he severed their connection and followed the other force into the abyss.
• Jonas awoke in an abandoned laboratory filled with unfamiliar technology and encountered a petite, white-haired girl.
• Jonas recognized that the girl looked almost identical to the android that had attacked him at the virtual reality launch event.
• Jonas introduced himself to the girl as Jonas Wetting and the “Thief” she had spoken of.

Jonas entered a hidden chamber beneath the earth and met Zero, the sole survivor of the predecessor civilization and executor of the Forerunner Project. After learning that only one candidate would be selected, Jonas vanished before Zero could discover where his knowledge came from.

• Jonas confronted Zero in the ruins, and she failed to destroy his consciousness with a magnetic field.
• Jonas proposed that they exchange information under the Central AI's supervision, and Zero identified herself as the sole survivor of the predecessor civilization.
• Jonas learned that only one candidate would ultimately be selected for the Forerunner Project and that outsiders could not join later.
• Zero asked Jonas where his psionic energy and knowledge of consciousness links came from, but Jonas told her to guess.
• An unknown force disrupted the magnetic field, and Jonas Wetting vanished before Zero's eyes.

Jonas escaped Zero’s Dream Link by using psionic energy, prompting Zero to mark him for elimination. He and Beigong Ling later woke in a hospital, where Jonas let her infer that he had been hurt protecting her.

• After Jonas escaped, Zero raised his threat level and ordered the Central AI to formulate an elimination plan.
• Jonas woke in his office, checked on the unconscious Beigong Ling, and arranged for her to be taken to the hospital.
• Jonas suffered intense pain and exhaustion from using psionic energy to break the link with the Superbrain.
• Beigong Ling woke in the hospital and found Jonas recovering in a nearby bed.
• Jonas teased Beigong Ling, then withheld details about his condition so she could draw her own conclusions.

Beigong Ling realized the Forerunner may be punishing her for sharing its technology with Jonas, then insisted on caring for him while he recovered in the hospital. Esnie arrived to take over, revealing that Beigong Ling had misunderstood Jonas’s reluctance, and she was left mortified.

• Beigong Ling recalled fainting after hearing the title Forerunner and suspected the Predecessor Civilization was reacting to her betrayal.
• Jonas told Beigong Ling he expected to remain in the hospital for two or three days and said the Star of Dawn members were upset about her disappearance.
• Jonas said Amau Sueko had taken over Beigong Ling’s work, but Beigong Ling pulled out her IV and insisted she had recovered.
• Beigong Ling offered to care for Jonas, ignored his objections, and fed him an apple.
• Esnie arrived and said she would care for Jonas, explaining why he had told Beigong Ling he did not need her help.
• Beigong Ling realized Jonas had expected someone else to look after him and blushed with embarrassment.

Jonas sent Beigong Ling away to rest and relied on Esnie to care for him in the hospital. After returning home, Beigong Ling fell asleep from exhaustion and woke to find a warm cup of tea and a note waiting for her.

• Beigong Ling left after Jonas teased her, and Jonas asked Esnie how long she had been waiting outside his room.
• Esnie offered to meet Jonas's needs, but he told her to settle down and care for him normally.
• Beigong Ling realized she was unusually exhausted and returned to her apartment to rest.
• Beigong Ling fell asleep shortly after lying down and later woke to find tea and a note left for her.
• Beigong Ling called the gesture gross but smiled as she picked up the teacup.

After recovering from the strain of contacting the Void Realm, Jonas returned to speak with Annis Erdoka, who had been ignoring him because he had severed their life link. He apologized and revealed that he had promised the Predecessor Civilization he would help revive it, leaving Annis stunned.

• Jonas rested under Esnie's care until he felt mentally recovered.
• Jonas contacted the Interstice of the Void Realm and found Annis Erdoka sitting silently on her throne amid her tentacles and compound eyes.
• Annis ignored Jonas because she resented that he had unilaterally severed their life link.
• Jonas apologized to Annis, who opened her eyes and asked what he needed.
• Jonas told Annis that he had met with the Predecessor Civilization and promised to help revive it, and she lost her composure.

Jonas challenged Annis Erdoka over the secrets she was withholding and used the Predecessor Civilization’s offer to make her reveal more. Annis agreed to show him the truth by transmitting scenes directly into his consciousness.

• Jonas questioned why Annis Erdoka concealed her reasons for being trapped, her knowledge of the Predecessor Civilization, and the Zerg’s origins.
• Annis warned Jonas that the Predecessor Civilization was not benevolent and was only using him.
• Jonas pointed out that Annis also withheld information and asked what the Predecessor Civilization had told him.
• Annis realized Jonas had used the offer to test her, then decided she had to reveal the truth so he would believe her.
• Annis sent psionic tentacles into Jonas’s temples, and scenes began unfolding before him.

Jonas experienced Annis Erdoka’s memories of the ancient Zerg struggle to contain rifts into the Void Realm, then learned that the Predecessor Civilization had disrupted their ascension ritual and triggered the catastrophe. He left the vision questioning how the ancient humans related to present-day humanity.

• Jonas watched memories of the Zerg sustain the Void Realm rifts with engines and fleets, sacrificing themselves as the galaxy was consumed.
• Jonas regained consciousness in the shattered void and struggled to piece together Annis Erdoka’s memories.
• Annis Erdoka told Jonas that the Predecessor Civilization had caused the rifts to open prematurely by interrupting the Zerg’s ascension ritual.
• Jonas asked whether present-day humans were the same as the Predecessor Civilization, and Annis Erdoka said they were not even the same species.

Jonas learned from Little An about the threat posed by the predecessor civilization before returning to reality. Meanwhile, Noel Misen approached Yucas with a plan to weaken the Peacekeeping Forces’ radical faction by targeting the Alt Conglomerate at an upcoming banquet.

• Annis Erdoka shared energy with Jonas through what she called dual cultivation, then warned him to beware of the predecessor civilization.
• Jonas returned to reality, weighed the danger of the predecessor civilization, and decided he needed to rest.
• Noel reviewed Karin’s report on the Peacekeeping Forces and chose to approach Yucas as a potential partner.
• Yucas initially resisted Noel’s friendly overtures, wary because someone had previously persuaded her to work without compensation.
• Noel asked Yucas to attend a virtual reality banquet as a Peacekeeping Forces representative and follow her instructions to weaken the radical faction.

Noel Misen tried to recruit Yucas to represent the Peacekeeping Forces at the Alt Conglomerate's Virtual Reality conference, while Karin investigated the gangs around the Alt District. Yucas told Jonas Wetting about Noel's plans and reaffirmed her trust in him, and Jonas ended the chapter by telling Eiffel, "I love you too."

• Noel Misen asked Yucas to consider joining her side and representing the Peacekeeping Forces at the Alt Conglomerate's conference.
• Noel told Karin to investigate the gangs around the Alt District and fan the flames if necessary.
• Yucas called Jonas Wetting to share Noel's offer and ask what she should do, but she said she had not agreed to it.
• Jonas advised Yucas to accept Noel's terms for her safety, while assuring her he trusted her not to betray him.
• Jonas told Yucas he had missed her, and she ended the call while trying to hide how pleased she was.
• After Eiffel teased him about his sweet talk, Jonas told her, "I love you too."

Jonas deliberately leaked information about the Chamber of Commerce gathering to draw Noel out, while Noel struggled with her fear of butterflies. Karin brought Noel intelligence about the gathering’s location, leaving Noel uncertain whether the suspicious information was genuine.

• Jonas told a gang leader to keep passing information to Karin and delete their communications account after the call.
• Noel tried to touch a butterfly in the garden, panicked when it landed on her finger, and shook it away with a scream.
• Karin came to check on Noel, and Noel changed the subject by asking what Karin had learned near the Alt Conglomerate.
• Karin shared information about the attending conglomerates and the gathering’s location, which could help Noel plan an ambush.
• Noel recognized the location as the secure site she had suspected the Alt Conglomerate would choose and wondered whether the intelligence was genuine.

Jonas and Eiffel shared dessert, and Eiffel persuaded him to have dinner with her. After she served him a Chinese meal she had learned to cook for him, she hinted that she had something else in mind, leaving Jonas curious.

• Eiffel fed Jonas cake and teased him about remembering her past sweets with Esnie.
• Eiffel told Jonas she had gone two months without dessert because he had piled work on her, then asked him to have dinner with her.
• Jonas agreed to dinner, partly because he found Eiffel's affection difficult to refuse.
• Eiffel served Jonas a spread of Chinese dishes she had learned to cook after hearing he wanted to try them.
• Eiffel said dessert was not her favorite food, declined to say what she liked most, and let her shoulder strap slip as Jonas finished eating.

Jonas spent the morning with Eiffel, who worried about the security of his plan for the Chamber of Commerce, and he reassured her that he had safeguards in place. Meanwhile, Yucas agreed to meet Noel in Ganstel District while secretly preparing to gather evidence of Noel’s plan.

• Eiffel woke beside Jonas, greeted him, and then served him a special breakfast.
• Jonas and Eiffel discussed her cooking practice before Eiffel asked how he had secured the Chamber of Commerce operation.
• Jonas reassured Eiffel that the plan had two layers of safeguards and that Yucas would remain protected.
• Yucas read Noel’s message telling her to come to Ganstel District the next afternoon so Noel could arrange the next steps.
• Yucas replied that she understood, deleted her account, and continued her double-agent mission to obtain evidence against Noel.

Noel met Yucas in an indoor garden and gave her a file that contained an edited recording instead of the Chamber of Commerce’s plan. The recording immobilized Yucas, and Noel revealed that she had uncovered Yucas’s deception before Yucas lost consciousness.

• Yucas arrived late to meet Noel in the indoor garden, and they discussed the safety of the location before turning to business.
• Noel handed Yucas a file, which Yucas opened and found contained an edited audio clip rather than an ambush plan.
• The recording played and left Yucas unable to move, while Noel confronted her about the information she had shared.
• Noel suggested that Jonas Wetting might have provided the recording, but Yucas refused to believe he had betrayed her.
• Noel said the Misen Conglomerate’s infiltration of District 25 ran deeper than Yucas had imagined and declared that Yucas had chosen the wrong side.
• The file’s contents spread through Yucas’s body, and she lost consciousness.

Noel captured Yucas and sent Jonas evidence of her capture, using their relationship to threaten his standing. Jonas decided to rescue Yucas and moved up his plans against Noel, ordering Esnie to bring Beigong Ling in to prove her loyalty.

• Karin asked Noel what to do with the unconscious Yucas, and Noel recorded her with a hovering Metal Ball and sent the footage to Karin.
• Noel ordered Karin to send the footage to the Alt Conglomerate and to spread the story that Jonas had sent someone to kill Yucas if he refused to cooperate.
• Jonas received the footage and realized Noel had learned of his relationship with Yucas.
• Eiffel warned Jonas that Noel's request to meet in the Ganstel District was a trap, but Jonas said he would not abandon Yucas.
• Jonas told Eiffel to stall Noel's people, summoned Esnie, and ordered her to tell Beigong Ling it was time to prove her loyalty.

Yucas woke after Noel’s virus disabled her cybernetic implants and learned Noel planned to use her to bargain with Jonas, who had already agreed to Noel’s terms. Jonas tried to locate Yucas’s real position and sent Iris to gather intelligence, encouraging her with promises of a reward.

• Yucas regained consciousness and cursed her malfunctioning implants, which had been hacked rather than disabled by a toxin.
• Noel told Yucas she intended to use her as a bargaining chip, then revealed that Jonas had agreed to her terms.
• Jonas reviewed the address Eiffel traced from an IP and acknowledged it might be false information.
• Iris offered to find Yucas’s actual location, and Jonas encouraged her before she went to the Cybersecurity Studio.
• Eiffel teased Jonas for motivating Iris with promises, and Jonas offered to encourage Eiffel the same way.

Jonas prepared to meet Noel despite Eiffel’s concern about the danger and traveled with Beigong Ling and Esnie to an outpost in the Artemis District. There, he and Noel exchanged veiled threats over Yucas and his earlier gift, leaving the meeting tense and hostile.

• Eiffel warned Jonas about Noel’s threats and the danger of entering her territory, while Jonas reassured her he would stay safe.
• Jonas met Beigong Ling at the Alt Conglomerate’s Security Department, and Esnie drove them to the agreed location.
• Jonas and Beigong Ling entered an outpost in the Artemis District, where Noel had strong control over information.
• Noel recalled Jonas’s wheelchair gift and said she preferred the gift he had sent afterward, Yucas.
• Jonas hinted that his next gift might please Noel more, and the meeting turned openly tense as Beigong Ling sensed a trap.