Chapter Summaries

Qin Siyang proposed forming a Joint Medical Association to divert attention from Dean Chen and Dean Zhao while bringing skilled doctors onto their side. He planned to protect and strengthen the doctors in exchange for coordinating their assignments, leaving Li Tianming convinced that Qin Siyang had become more decisive as his power grew.

• Qin Siyang explained that escalating violence in the Safe Zone made a Joint Medical Association necessary to reassure people and draw attention away from Dean Chen and Dean Zhao.
• Li Tianming agreed that the association could reduce pressure on Chen Fenghe, while Qin Siyang said he would reveal the Origin Sequence only to dependable allies after the group was running smoothly.
• Li Tianming described capable doctors who avoided public attention, and Qin Siyang argued that they stayed hidden because they lacked the combat ability and protection to defend themselves.
• Qin Siyang proposed offering the doctors artifacts, research, rare materials, and security to persuade them to join the association.
• Qin Siyang insisted that doctors who joined would have their assignments coordinated, even if some objected, because he intended to strengthen their side against Zone 1.
• Li Tianming contrasted Qin Siyang's new decisiveness with his former willingness to compromise, and Qin Siyang said his changed circumstances required him to prioritize the bigger picture.

After paying respects to Yang Dan, Qin Siyang met with Safe Zone leaders in District 2 to discuss cutting resources to Zone 1. The group debated whether Zone 1 would retaliate, while Xie Nanyun worried about putting his family at risk.

• Qin Siyang and Li Tianming found fresh flowers and offerings at Yang Dan's grave, and Li Tianming gave Qin Siyang Lu Daoxing's artifacts and Capsule Pod.
• Qian Wendao summoned Qin Siyang to District 2 for a meeting about resource supplies to Zone 1.
• Qin Siyang arrived at the United Government building in Lu Daoxing's Capsule Pod and joined Qian Wendao, Chu Zhongxiong, Qi Tian, Olof, Zhu Haifeng, Xie Nanyun, and Han Shuo.
• Qian Wendao proposed cutting Zone 1's resource supply by at least half, and Xie Nanyun asked what would happen if Zone 1 declared war.
• Olof and Qi Tian argued that Zone 1 would avoid war, while Xie Nanyun said he could not risk his family's safety.

Qin Siyang and the others discussed cutting Zone 1’s share of tax revenue and expanding grain distribution to States 13 and 14. He argued that their coalition had to exploit its current advantage and move quickly against Zone 1 before time eroded their unity.

• Olof proposed reducing the tax revenue allocated to Zone 1 and using the money to support public welfare and grain distribution, and Qin Siyang agreed to distribute the grain in Olof’s name.
• Qian Wendao revealed that Qin Siyang had arranged for Chen Zhongming to transfer to State 13 after Danny Warren resigned, prompting Qin Siyang to confirm that he planned to distribute grain in both states.
• Qin Siyang said his dividends and savings could cover the expanded effort, and Olof bowed to thank him on behalf of ordinary people.
• Qin Siyang praised Olof’s efforts to prevent unrest, and both men bowed to each other as the others listened in admiration.
• Qi Tian asked why Qin Siyang had provoked both factions, and Qin Siyang explained that they had to overthrow Zone 1 before their current unity and advantage faded.

Qi Tian explained to Qin Siyang that battlefield success depended on controlling tempo, then argued that Qin’s unprecedented rise had disrupted the Safe Zone’s established order. The chapter ended with Qi declaring that the entire Safe Zone was already moving to Qin’s tempo.

• Qi Tian praised Qin Siyang’s decisiveness but said his argument about human nature would not persuade the obsessive people gathered there.
• Qi Tian told Qin that acting and heat control could maintain balance in peacetime, but that war demanded the skill of tempo.
• Qi Tian explained that Gu Weiyang and Ander had been disrupted by unexpected developments that threw their plans off tempo.
• Qi Tian named Qin Siyang as the upheaval that had broken the Safe Zone’s old rules and listed his unprecedented achievements.
• Qi Tian declared that while the Safe Zone’s factions had faltered or fallen, Qin had risen and brought the entire Safe Zone to his tempo.

Qi Tian argued that Qin Siyang’s rapid, escalating decisions set the Safe Zone’s tempo, and the leaders agreed to let him lead their united front against Zone 1. Qin Siyang proposed broad resource cuts and ended by raising another way to weaken Zone 1.

• Qi Tian praised Qin Siyang’s speed and argued that the united front should keep acting at his pace against Zone 1.
• Qian Wendao endorsed Qi Tian’s view and asked Qin Siyang where they should cut resources supplied to Zone 1.
• Qin Siyang proposed reviving Zhou Bi’s stability maintenance fee order and requiring representatives to sign a protest and a petition to sharply reduce Zone 1’s resources.
• Chu Zhongxiong supported the plan, while Xie Nanyun questioned whether the leaders were ready to escalate the conflict.
• Qian Wendao backed Qin Siyang’s approach, and the leaders agreed to cut the resources sent to Zone 1 by half.
• Qin Siyang said he also wanted to discuss further curtailing Zone 1’s power.

The factions resisting Zone 1 deepened their cooperation by founding three joint organizations and signing a unified protest against Zone 1’s decree. Meanwhile, Governor Chen Zhongming used Qin Siyang’s backing to overcome State 13’s officials and rapidly distribute grain, leaving millions fed.

• Qian Wendao presided as the United Merchants' Association, the United Church, and the Joint Medical Association announced their establishment at Area No. 7’s grand gathering.
• Every faction signed a combined protest against Zone 1’s demands and a proposal for a new decree, ending Zone 1’s established authority over the Safe Zone.
• Chen Zhongming arrived in State 13 and declared that his priority was ensuring ordinary people received enough grain to eat.
• After State 13 officials obstructed Chen Zhongming’s effort to punish a corrupt official, he reported the case to Qin Siyang, who brought in Sun Linshou to arrest and convict the man.
• State 13’s officials began cooperating with grain distribution, and millions of people had eaten their fill by the time of the gathering.

The Zhao Family established the United Merchants' Association under Zhao Sifang's leadership, capitalizing on the weakened Three Major Merchants' Associations and Qin Siyang's advice. Qin Siyang received a vice presidency and was unanimously named First Vice President, despite missing the ranking meeting.

• Chen Zhongming successfully distributed grain in State 13, and Zone 1 did not interfere before news of three new organizations overshadowed it.
• After Qin Siyang suggested forming the United Merchants' Association, Zhao Sifang won wholehearted support from Zhao Longteng and Zhao Longfei.
• With Shan En's help, Zhao Sifang offered merchants' associations firm acquisition and equity terms, and the Zhao Family announced the United Merchants' Association a week later.
• Qian Wendao attended the launch to support the Zhao Family's effort to build a front against Zone 1.
• Zhao Longteng and Zhao Longfei reflected on the Zhao Family's newfound standing, while the association's vice presidents unanimously selected Qin Siyang as First Vice President in his absence.

The United Merchants' Association announced its vice presidents, including Georgia and Jiang Changfu, whose defections strengthened the new organization. Shan En explained that Jiang Changfu had joined after pleading for the Jiang Family's survival and offering its assets, leaving the Zhao Family and Qin Siyang little reason to refuse.

• Zhao Longteng and Zhao Longfei discussed how Qin Siyang's reputation had attracted merchants to the United Merchants' Association and praised Shan En for securing allies.
• Georgia joined the United Merchants' Association after leaving the Warren Merchants' Association, amid speculation about his split with his father over Jerry.
• Jiang Changfu joined the association and offered the Bright Sun Merchants' Association's assets, with Jiang Yuanzhe and Zhou Guang supporting the move to preserve the Jiang Family's cohesion.
• Shan En told Zhao Longju that Zone 1 had approached Jiang Changfu, but its terms had likely driven him to seek the United Merchants' Association's protection instead.
• Shan En recalled Jiang Changfu kneeling and kowtowing before Zhao Longteng, Zhao Longfei, Zhao Sifang, and Qin Siyang, who accepted his request to join.

Georgia asked Qin Siyang about Sally’s chances with him and learned that Qin would have been with her in a peaceful world, though he still refused a relationship under current circumstances. Their conversation ended with Qin reflecting that people had to take responsibility for the paths they chose.

• Georgia praised Jiang Changfu to Qin Siyang before asking whether Wen Shu had left Southern Glory and Area No. 7.
• Georgia explained that he was concerned for his daughter Sally, and Qin Siyang confirmed that he would not pursue a relationship with her while the world remained dangerous.
• Georgia brought up a rumor about Qin Siyang’s high-school past, but Qin denied being a simp and asked who had told him.
• Georgia said Sally would return to Southern Glory to study, and Qin agreed she would be safer there.
• Georgia asked whether Qin would choose Sally in a peaceful world, and Qin said he probably would.
• Georgia thanked Qin for his honesty, and Qin said people had to accept responsibility for the paths they chose.

At the United Church’s founding, Hu Chan made Qin Siyang its first vice president and tried to persuade Bruce Richar to bring the weakened Three Harmonies Church into the alliance. Bruce remained unconvinced, so Hu Chan threatened to kill him and his three guardians.

• After the United Merchants' Association was founded, Qian Wendao announced the founding of the United Church, with Hu Chan as president and Qin Siyang as first vice president.
• Hu Chan explained that Qin Siyang’s broad standing and lack of church ties would help unite the churches and prevent Zone 1 from manipulating them.
• Hu Chan invited Bruce Richar to join the United Church as second vice president, presenting the alliance as a way for churches to share resources and oppose Zone 1.
• Bruce questioned why the Three Harmonies Church should fund other churches or allow them to preach in its territory, and Hu Chan said he would permit it under the alliance.
• When Bruce said Hu Chan’s explanation could not persuade him or the church’s members, Hu Chan threatened to send Bruce and his three guardians to meet the dead Ulit.

Qin Siyang helped establish the United Church, lending it credibility as churches with differing beliefs agreed to join. At its founding ceremony, the Joint Medical Association was introduced under the leadership of the secretive doctor Zuo You, whose remarkable abilities astonished Qin Siyang.

• Bruce accepted Hu Chan's invitation and agreed that Qin Siyang would become the United Church's First Vice President.
• Hu Chan explained that member churches could worship their own gods, who were all recognized as real and peaceful with one another.
• Qian Wendao announced the United Church's founding, and Qin Siyang endured Hu Chan's lengthy speech before leaving the stage.
• Qian Wendao introduced the Joint Medical Association, whose president was Zuo You, a doctor recommended by Zhao Fengjun and Chen Fenghe.
• Chen Fenghe and Zhao Fengjun told Qin Siyang that Zuo You had secretly revived his daughter and her family after all four died in a car crash, despite a twenty-minute trip to the operating room.

Qin Siyang proposed a Joint Medical Association to protect doctors and improve care in the Safe Zone, offering members valuable benefits. After promising manuals for two affordable Tier Four Artifacts, he won the first doctors’ support and prepared to reveal additional benefits.

• Qin Siyang learned from Zhao Fengjun and Chen Fenghe why doctors kept Zuo You's exceptional skills quiet and asked them to help contact potential association members.
• The following evening, Qin Siyang met remotely with over a hundred doctors in Zhao Longfei's Principal's Office in Area No. 7 and proposed the Joint Medical Association.
• Qin Siyang offered members an interest-free one-gold-coin loan to help with relocation.
• Qin Siyang promised each member manuals for making Tier Four Armor and a Tier Four Weapon, and offered to supply the materials for free if they could not buy them.
• Several doctors agreed to join, and Qin Siyang began explaining further benefits available to association members.

Qin Siyang recruited more than a hundred doctors into the Joint Medical Association by offering flexible memberships, generous rewards, and tailored support, then helped establish the organization. At its ceremony, his growing influence across multiple factions made him a focal point of the forces preparing to oppose Zone 1 as upheaval loomed.

• Qin Siyang explained the Joint Medical Association's part-time and full-time memberships, including their missions, rewards, benefits, and monthly contracts.
• More than a hundred doctors applied to join, and over half signed one-month full-time contracts.
• Qin Siyang invited Zuo You and other skilled doctors to lead the association, addressed their individual needs, and became its First Vice President.
• Qin Siyang, Shan En, and Zuo You developed a trial contribution-points system, and the Joint Medical Association began operating within a week.
• At the association's ceremony, Qin Siyang appeared alongside leaders of multiple organizations, while observers recognized that he was uniting factions against Zone 1.

Zone 1's leaders discussed how rival zones had cut their resources and formed a united bloc, leaving them with little room to act. An Youlu proposed killing Qin Siyang to break the alliance, and the meeting ended with that plan on the table.

• Ma Liangdong angrily condemned the rival zones for cutting supplies and forming joint organizations, while Yang Xian criticized Zone 1's leadership for mishandling the situation.
• Yang Xian revealed that Royt had offered him better terms to work for the World-Destroying Church, and the others accepted that he might join Royt.
• An Youlu explained that Zone 1 had lost half its resource supplies and failed to secure new support or opportunities for expansion.
• Yang Xian argued that Zone 1 had no way to turn things around while the rival zones' alliance remained intact.
• An Youlu identified Qin Siyang as the alliance's linchpin and proposed killing him to make the alliance unravel.

Ma Liangdong proposed arresting people connected to Qin Siyang to pressure him, and Ander promised to protect those carrying out proper judicial procedures. Qin Siyang learned that several of his acquaintances had been arrested, but neither he nor Qian Wendao knew who ordered it.

• An Youlu, Ma Liangdong, Yu Jianyun, Black Cat, and Yang Xian discussed killing Qin Siyang, but the strongest men refused to take the risk.
• Ma Liangdong proposed arresting Qin Siyang's less powerful associates, and Black Cat agreed to shield the arrests if they followed judicial procedures.
• Zhao Longfei confronted Xiao Zhigang over Fu Wanli's arrest, but Xiao denied that the Ministry of Education had taken her.
• Qin Siyang told Zhao Longfei that He Kui and Cui Zhonghua had been arrested, then learned that officials had tried to arrest Rong Xin and Edward at his military camp.
• Qin Siyang called Qian Wendao about the arrests, and Qian said they likely came from Zone 1 and questioned why officials were targeting Qin's associates instead of Qin himself.

After Zone 1’s agents failed to capture Rong Xin, Qin Siyang learned that they had arrested people close to him as leverage. Zhao Longfei explained that Qin lacked a substantial force of his own, so Qin ordered the army’s recruitment drive accelerated.

• Qin Siyang learned from Edward that Zone 1’s agents had escaped after failing to capture Rong Xin, who had threatened to kill himself rather than reveal information about Qin and the Chosen Prodigies.
• Qian Wendao told Qin Siyang that Zone 1 claimed the arrested people had violated the law and was likely using them to pressure him.
• Zhao Longfei explained that Zone 1 had targeted Qin’s associates because Qin commanded fewer forces than the other faction leaders and could not directly protect them.
• Qin Siyang asked Edward about army expansion and ordered food distribution handed over to the United Merchants' Association so more effort could go toward recruiting soldiers.
• Qin Siyang instructed Edward to loosen background checks, recruit beyond the authorized strength, and screen recruits further after they reached the Military Camp.

Fu Wanli and Cui Zhonghua realized they had been imprisoned to pressure Qin Siyang, while He Kui resisted Ma Liangdong’s interrogation by insisting the investigation order was invalid. The interrogation was interrupted when Fu Wanli attempted suicide.

• Fu Wanli reasoned that his captors had taken him to target Qin Siyang and the others, then feared he might be forced to betray them.
• Cui Zhonghua concluded that Zone 1 had arrested him to use him against Qin Siyang.
• He Kui refused to answer Ma Liangdong’s questions, arguing that Ander’s investigation order lacked authority without Secretary-General Qian Wendao’s signature.
• An attendant reported that Fu Wanli had attempted suicide, and Ma Liangdong ordered that he be treated.

Ma Liangdong struggled to interrogate Fu Wanli, who repeatedly killed himself and had to be revived, while Zone 1 announced a public trial for Fu Wanli, He Kui, and Cui Zhonghua. Qin Yingguang challenged Ander over their failing alliance, and Ander secretly promised that Qi Tian was close to death and Qin Yingguang could soon lead the Legion.

• Ma Liangdong ordered Gao Tingyue to revive Fu Wanli, but Fu Wanli killed himself again shortly after waking, forcing Gao Tingyue to treat him once more.
• Ma Liangdong told Tan Biao to investigate Fu Wanli, He Kui, and Cui Zhonghua again after the interrogation made no progress.
• Zone 1 announced a public trial for He Kui, Cui Zhonghua, and Fu Wanli on January 18, prompting the major factions to attend because the case concerned Qin Siyang.
• Qin Yingguang confronted Ander about the failed promises and losses that had made him question their alliance with Zone 1.
• After Qin Yingguang enabled Conversation Shielding, Ander told him that Qi Tian was near death and the Legion would soon recognize Qin Yingguang as its leader.

Qin Yingguang learned that Qi Tian had only about a month left to act, while Qi Tian searched for Royt and Manderson and prepared to attend the public trial. Royt and Manderson stayed hidden and discussed the danger Qi Tian posed, then agreed to wait and see what happened at the trial.

• Ander told Qin Yingguang that Qi Tian would die within three months, with only about a month left in which he could act.
• Qi Tian questioned Qian Wendao, Zhao Longteng, Xie Nanyun, and Zhu Haifeng about Royt, Manderson, Zhong Dingming, and the arrests linked to Qin Siyang.
• Qi Tian said he would attend the public trial because each meeting with the people around him might be one of his last.
• Royt and Manderson met secretly in Area No. 4 and agreed to remain hidden from Qi Tian.
• Royt and Manderson discussed Qin Siyang and decided to wait and see how the public trial unfolded.

Qin Siyang attended the public hearing for Fu Wanli and insisted that Fu Wanli’s memories and free will be verified before questioning began. After the examination confirmed Fu Wanli had not been threatened or altered, Fu Wanli admitted the four missing students had been his girlfriends but refused to answer whether they had been killed.

• Qin Siyang sat beside Qi Tian and Olof as Ma Liangdong opened the hearing for Fu Wanli, He Kui, and Cui Zhonghua.
• Qin Siyang demanded that Fu Wanli be examined for memory alteration, coercion, or threats before the hearing proceeded.
• Sun Linshou arranged an examination, which confirmed that Fu Wanli retained his free will and had not been threatened or had his memories rewritten.
• Ma Liangdong questioned Fu Wanli about the four missing Nanrong University students, and Fu Wanli admitted they had been his girlfriends.
• Fu Wanli refused to confirm that the women had been killed, choosing silence to avoid bringing trouble on Qin Siyang and the others.