Chapter Summaries

Invaders massacred over a thousand defenders, and District Chief Xia Qiuyu urged War Readiness Zone 931 to fight rather than submit. An invader attacked the command room during Xia’s broadcast, but Xia continued to defy him as he was strangled.

• William dismissed the slain people as worthless, while Sima Ji challenged his contempt for Huaguo and recalled the First Domain’s past defeat.
• Invaders at War Readiness Zone 931 disparaged the local defenders, including the elderly, women, and children, after killing more than a thousand people.
• Rong Xin grieved for the dead as Xia Qiuyu addressed the zone, warned that surrender meant slaughter and enslavement, and called on everyone to fight for freedom.
• An invader burst into the command room, pinned the United Government officials down, and lifted Xia Qiuyu by the neck during the live broadcast.
• Xia Qiuyu defied the invader, declaring that he could kill him but not the people, and that they would fight for freedom and prevail.

After invaders killed Xia Qiuyu during their assault on War Readiness Zone 931, Qiu Human refused to surrender and declared that she would fight for dignity and freedom. The chapter left her confronting Bill as the battered zone’s remaining personnel watched.

• An invader snapped Xia Qiuyu’s neck and threw his body aside in the command room.
• Kav told Qian Wendao that Xia Qiuyu’s death had been broadcast throughout the Safe Zone, and Qin Siyang spotted Kav’s wounded son Norman among the casualties.
• Bill asked who could take charge of War Readiness Zone 931, and Qiu Human identified herself as its first deputy district chief.
• Bill released Qiu Human from the pressure pinning her down and offered to accept her surrender.
• Qiu Human refused to surrender, defended Xia Qiuyu as a hero, and affirmed that women had the right to die fighting for dignity and freedom.

After Bill killed Qiu Human, Norman Richarl pretended to surrender to the invaders and instead trapped them inside the command building. He called on Commander Rong to open the shield in one direction and concentrate fire on the building, accepting that he and his colleagues would likely die.

• Bill killed Qiu Human after she urged viewers to keep fighting for freedom.
• Wei Rulai led tens of thousands of troops toward War Readiness Zone 931, grieving the deaths of Xia Qiuyu and Qiu Human.
• Norman Richarl claimed he had the authority to surrender Zone 931, then used the command computer to activate the headquarters' Inner Defensive Shield.
• Norman revealed his deception to Bill and told Commander Rong that the invaders were trapped inside the building.
• Norman urged Commander Rong to open the shield in one direction and direct concentrated fire at the command building.

Norman and the surviving officials trapped the Invaders inside the command building and prepared to die fighting for freedom. Rong Xin opened the shield and ordered the forces outside to fire, leaving the building engulfed in flames as the broadcast went dark.

• Bill and the other Invaders failed to break through the shield while Norman and the surviving officials gathered around Xia Qiuyu's body and Qiu Human's remains.
• Norman recalled learning Chen Gongrang's tactics and told the officials they had to fight for freedom themselves.
• Rong Xin recognized Norman's plan, prepared the firepower arrays, and opened the shield above the building.
• Rong Xin ordered all forces to fire at the command building as Norman and the officials shouted for freedom.
• Crimson flames consumed the building, and the War Readiness Zone 931 broadcast screens went black.

The leaders of the United Government watched War Readiness Zone 931’s defenders die resisting the invaders, and their sacrifice awakened the Safe Zone to the need to defend its freedom. After grieving Norman, the leaders considered how to stop the invasion, but Qian Wendao’s options both seemed impossible.

• The officials in War Readiness Zone 1 watched the defenders of War Readiness Zone 931 stand together and die shouting “Freedom,” inspiring resistance throughout the Safe Zone.
• Qian Wendao praised the heroes, and Kav said he took comfort in Norman’s sacrifice while mourning him.
• Judy accused Kav of sending Norman to his death, but Kav revealed that Norman had chosen to go to War Readiness Zone 931 himself.
• Qian Wendao said they could either find a way to break through to the domain sequence or negotiate with the invaders.
• Old Johnny argued that breaking through was impossible because the invaders were too strong and no suitable target was available.

Qian Wendao and the leaders in War Readiness Zone 1 accepted that they could not break the invaders’ encirclement or negotiate yet, and waited for the enemy to make the first move. In War Readiness Zone 931, Rong Xin ordered the defenders to regroup and keep fighting, while allowing anyone who wished to surrender to leave the front lines.

• Qian Wendao abandoned hope of Qin Siyang ambushing an invader and decided that negotiation was their only option.
• Chu Zhongxiong and Qin Siyang warned that the invaders would not negotiate until they had secured Zone 931, and Qin Siyang said they were likely keeping its people alive as hostages.
• Qian Wendao and the others agreed to wait for the invaders to initiate talks, while Olof lamented that they could not save the people of Zone 931.
• Rong Xin ordered the defenders to split into smaller units, reinforce local defenses, and continue resisting the invaders.
• Rong Xin told anyone who wanted to surrender to leave the trenches and urged the remaining defenders to fight to the end.

Rong Xin’s forces fought back against the invaders, but the Eighth Battalion was annihilated and the Fifth Battalion sacrificed itself to kill one attacker. William’s two-hundred-fighter invasion plan had already fallen apart before the invaders conquered even a thousandth of the Eighth Domain.

• Rong Xin rallied the defenders as the invaders attacked the linked Defensive Shields around War Readiness Zone 931.
• The invaders shattered the Eighth Battalion’s shield and crushed its position, killing more than a thousand soldiers.
• The Fifth Battalion commander announced that his troops would follow Norman’s example and fight to the death, then cut communications.
• The Fifth Battalion dropped its shield and detonated its Sequence Potion Pool as an invader charged into its position, killing themselves and the attacker.
• Sima Ji called the exchange a bad trade, and William realized his plan to conquer the Eighth Domain had fallen apart.

The invaders destroyed the defending battalions until only Rong Xin and the First Battalion remained, and they eventually killed him after a brutal last stand. Before dying, Rong Xin crushed a stamp-shaped tool, causing the shattered blast-resistant glass overhead to return to its original state.

• The defending battalions were wiped out, with only the First Battalion under Rong Xin surviving; defenders killed ten invaders in total, including three at Rong Xin's command.
• William ordered his troops to kill Rong Xin and everyone around him with brutal methods.
• As invaders surrounded the First Battalion, Rong Xin continued directing attacks and defenses while his people were killed one by one.
• Rong Xin reflected on how his ideals had shifted from living honorably to fighting for the Safe Zone, and accepted that he was about to die for his convictions.
• After the last defender fell, an invader knocked Rong Xin down, but Rong Xin crushed a stamp-shaped tool with his final strength before dying.
• The shattered blast-resistant glass overhead returned to its original state, astonishing the invaders.

After watching War Readiness Zone 931 fall, the Safe Zone’s leaders debated whether to negotiate with the invaders or keep resisting. As Chu Zhongxiong insisted that they must never negotiate, William addressed Qian Wendao and invited him to talk.

• Safe Zone leaders watched War Readiness Zone 931’s defenders, including Rong Xin, die fighting, and Chu Zhongxiong urged the enraged officials to remain calm.
• Yu Renjie reported that the enemy was too powerful to defeat directly, but the eleven invaders killed in Zone 931 showed that the Safe Zone could wear them down by holding every defense zone.
• Qian Wendao raised the possibility that the invaders would use the lives of more than two hundred thousand people in Zone 931 as leverage in negotiations.
• Yu Renjie recommended refusing negotiations, and Chu Zhongxiong backed him, insisting that the Safe Zone must keep resisting even if Zone 931 or Zone 1 fell.
• Olof accused Chu Zhongxiong of being safe from the consequences, so Chu Zhongxiong put a Lie Detector on the table and declared he would die rather than negotiate.
• William addressed Qian Wendao through the surveillance feed and asked whether he was willing to talk.

After the invaders captured War Readiness Zone 931, Qian Wendao decided to negotiate with William to save more than two hundred thousand hostages and preserve the Safe Zone’s resolve. He began the talks while Qin Siyang remained unable to strike at the invaders.

• After Rong Xin died, the invaders took control of War Readiness Zone 931, while its people destroyed their own factories and production lines rather than let the invaders seize them.
• The invaders gathered more than two hundred thousand people in the zone’s largest square and reported their capture to William.
• William called for talks, but Qin Siyang could not attack because the invaders’ petal-like skill linked them and prevented a surprise strike.
• Qian Wendao chose to negotiate despite Chu Zhongxiong’s objections, explaining that abandoning the hostages could turn the Safe Zone’s people against the United Government.
• After William threatened to kill a thousand hostages, Qian Wendao opened the communication channel and asked what William wanted to discuss.

Qian Wendao publicly confronted William over the fate of the people in War Zone 931, rejecting his proposal and condemning the Outsiders’ treatment of human life. Their broadcast argument rallied the Safe Zone’s frightened citizens behind the United Government as the standoff continued.

• William asked Qian Wendao to appear in person and negotiate over the lives of more than two hundred thousand people in Zone 931.
• Qian Wendao ordered Kav to broadcast his conversation with William across the Safe Zone, and both men appeared on public screens.
• William proposed meeting face-to-face, but Qian Wendao refused, warning that William’s group could take him hostage.
• Qian Wendao denounced William and the Outsiders for treating human lives as disposable and mocked their claim to be peaceful guests.
• William argued that the negotiation should involve only the rulers, but Qian Wendao declared that the Safe Zone’s people gave him the right to resist the invaders.
• The Safe Zone’s citizens watched Qian Wendao’s defiance and drew renewed resolve to fight for the United Government.

Qian Wendao confronted William, a powerful enemy from the First Domain who held more than two hundred thousand people hostage. Qian offered to trade his own life for their unconditional release, and the Lie Detector confirmed his promise as the people of the Safe Zone watched.

• William introduced himself as the strongest person Qian Wendao had ever encountered and revealed that he came from the First Domain.
• William demanded a face-to-face meeting with Qian and threatened to kill hostages if Qian refused.
• Qian used the Lie Detector to expose William’s evasions and challenged him to guarantee the unconditional release of everyone in War Readiness Zone 931.
• Qian declared that he would meet William and give up his life if William ensured the hostages survived, and the Lie Detector confirmed his sincerity.
• The people throughout the Safe Zone heard Qian’s promise, and the hostages in War Readiness Zone 931 responded with tears and renewed trust in their leaders.

Qian Wendao confronted William during a live broadcast, rejecting his offer to spare only half the hostages and challenging his contempt for ordinary people. William argued that Qian’s principles would not survive him, while Qian remained confident that the Eighth Domain would not fall into the hands of someone like William.

• William admitted he could not conquer the Eighth Domain outright and offered to let half the people in War Readiness Zone 931 live if Qian Wendao came out to negotiate.
• Qian Wendao refused to accept the deaths of the other half and demanded to know whether ordinary people counted as people; William called them ants compared with the powerful.
• Qian Wendao reminded William that the Eighth Domain’s fighters had killed more than a dozen of his elites and argued that ordinary people united could resist invaders.
• Qian Wendao claimed the invaders had suffered disproportionate losses and asked what forces William had left to continue the war.
• William insisted that Qian’s ideals were an exception and that his successor would not protect ordinary people after his death.
• Qian Wendao laughed at William’s assumption and rejected the idea that the Eighth Domain’s future leader would resemble him.

Qian Wendao exposed William’s plan to kill over a hundred thousand hostages and turn their corpses into protective gear for a future invasion. Facing heavy losses and dwindling morale, William accepted Qian Wendao’s offer to trade his life for the hostages.

• Qian Wendao refused to let William kill the hostages and threatened to keep fighting unless William traded his life for everyone’s release.
• Qian Wendao revealed that William wanted the hostages’ corpses to make protective gear and prepare for a full-scale invasion, sparking outrage in War Readiness Zone 931.
• William recognized that his forces had suffered severe losses and could no longer continue the battle that day.
• Qian Wendao urged William to accept defeat and warned that the Safe Zone would grow stronger under his leadership if they delayed.
• William agreed to Qian Wendao’s proposal, surprising Qian Wendao with his willingness to accept advice.

Qian Wendao negotiated with William to free more than two hundred thousand hostages in exchange for leaving the city, arguing that keeping his word mattered because breaking it would destroy the Safe Zone’s trust. The Lie Detector repeatedly confirmed his statements, leaving Qin Siyang wondering whether Qian Wendao had used his countermeasure at all.

• Qian Wendao proposed that William release the hostages first, promising to leave the city immediately afterward.
• The Lie Detector declared Qian Wendao’s promise truthful, and William remained unwilling to trust him despite the result.
• Qian Wendao explained that breaking his promise would let William blame future massacres on him and shatter the Safe Zone’s trust.
• The Lie Detector confirmed Qian Wendao’s explanation, and Qin Siyang began to suspect that Qian Wendao had not used the item that could manipulate its results.

Qian Wendao revealed his past with Sima Ji to the Safe Zone, explaining that they had once been brothers who founded a government together before Sima Ji betrayed their ideals. The Lie Detector confirmed Qian Wendao’s account, leaving the people of the Safe Zone more convinced of his devotion to them.

• William considered Qian Wendao’s proposal and asked Sima Ji what he thought.
• Sima Ji recognized Qian Wendao as Wen Daoqian, and Qian admitted his identity before the Lie Detector.
• Qian Wendao told the Safe Zone that he and Sima Ji had once fought together and founded an organization to restore freedom to their people.
• Qian Wendao accused Sima Ji of betraying their ideals, enslaving their followers, and joining others to hunt him down.
• Qian Wendao described fleeing to the current Safe Zone, where he helped Gu Weiyang, Chao Ding, Qi Tian, and others establish the United Government.
• The Lie Detector verified Qian Wendao’s account, and the people of the Safe Zone responded with renewed reverence for him.

Qian Wendao convinced Sima Ji and William that he was the Domain Master and negotiated the release of more than two hundred thousand hostages in exchange for meeting the invaders. After the invaders withdrew, he returned to arrange the rescue operation, where Old Johnny confronted him about his identity as Mr. Wen.

• Qian Wendao warned the people that the invaders would enslave humanity and said their attack on Zone 931 proved his claims.
• Sima Ji questioned whether Qian Wendao could be the Domain Master, and Qian Wendao explained that he had changed bodies and that his domain had merged with the current one.
• William agreed to release the hostages, while Qian Wendao insisted they first be safely moved to other War Readiness Zones and warned that any unjustified casualties would void the deal.
• William ordered his squads to withdraw and release the hostages, then Qian Wendao ended the communication and returned to organize the rescue.
• Old Johnny asked why Qian Wendao had not revealed he was Mr. Wen earlier, and Qian Wendao replied that he was both Wen Daoqian and Qian Wendao, but that Wen Daoqian was not Qian Wendao.

Qian Wendao prepared to meet the enemy and arranged for the evacuation of War Readiness Zone 931, while explaining that his death could doom the Safe Zone because he was its Domain Master. He began choosing a successor as secretary-general, rejecting several candidates before Gu Weirong volunteered.

• Old Johnny learned that Qian Wendao was the Mr. Wen he had admired, while Qian Wendao confirmed he would honor his deal with William and meet the enemy.
• Olof and Chu Zhongxiong began coordinating the evacuation of more than two hundred thousand people from War Readiness Zone 931.
• Old Johnny revealed that Qian Wendao's life was tied to the Safe Zone's survival, but Qian Wendao insisted on proceeding and urged everyone to trust others rather than rely blindly on power.
• Qian Wendao rejected Olof, Old Johnny, Chu Zhongxiong, Han Shuo, and Xie Nanyun as successors for various reasons.
• Gu Weirong volunteered to become secretary-general and asked whether Qian Wendao had anticipated the crisis when he transferred him to War Readiness Zone 1.

Gu Weirong volunteered to succeed Qian Wendao as secretary-general, accepting that the position might cost him his life, while the leaders settled plans for the Safe Zone’s future. After Qian Wendao called Qin Siyang to speak privately, Qin asked him why he was leaving.

• Gu Weirong explained why his background and circumstances made him a suitable successor to Qian Wendao.
• Qian Wendao proposed Gu Weirong as the next secretary-general, and the others accepted the decision; Olof said he would take the position after Gu Weirong if he had not reached the Domain Sequence.
• Olof prepared to lead a team to War Readiness Zone 931 to retrieve more than two hundred thousand hostages, and Qian Wendao warned him not to create complications.
• Qian Wendao urged the leaders to resist the invaders without compromise, and Gu Weirong agreed to maintain that stance.
• Qian Wendao asked to speak with Qin Siyang alone, and Qin asked him why.

Qian Wendao explained why he planned to die posing as the Domain Master, hoping to convince Qin Siyang that his survival mattered more than one person's life. He left Qin to judge for himself whether to live or die, as the Invaders continued attacking the Safe Zone.

• Qian Wendao told Qin Siyang that he was choosing to die to protect more than two hundred thousand people and preserve their resolve.
• Qian Wendao praised Qin Siyang for staying calm and said that his survival as the true Domain Master was more valuable than Qian's life.
• Qian Wendao argued that Qin could not defeat the powerful Invaders now, but might break through to the domain sequence after they believed the Domain Master was dead.
• Qin Siyang questioned whether he was truly so important, and Qian Wendao said he mattered more than any other individual in the Eighth Domain.
• Qian Wendao told Qin to use his own judgment about whether to live or die, reminding him that the Eighth Domain would remain even if its Domain Master died.