Chapter Summaries

Lynn tried to persuade the Light Banquet Princess that her civilization’s leader intended to sacrifice them, and she offered to help him achieve the Trinity in exchange for a chance to stop that plan. Lynn questioned whether becoming the Trinity with himself at its core would destroy the Machine Intelligence Civilization, leaving their bargain unresolved.

• Lynn told the Light Banquet Princess that her people had made themselves enemies of all living things and turned to leave.
• The Light Banquet Princess stopped Lynn and declared she would oppose the leader if he planned to sacrifice their civilization to the calamity.
• The Light Banquet Princess asked Lynn to free her so she could reunite with her imprisoned selves and reclaim the authority of the Seven Gods.
• The Light Banquet Princess promised to lead the Machine Intelligence Civilization onto a better path and become Lynn’s ally against the calamity.
• The Light Banquet Princess offered to help Lynn achieve the Trinity by finding records preserved in Hell, and Lynn asked whether the fusion would end her civilization.

Lynn convinced Light Banquet to help him find data on separating merged consciousnesses by promising to spare her civilization. He later admitted to Zuo Zuo that his supposed history with Light Banquet was entirely fabricated, while planning to use her as a tool.

• Light Banquet told Lynn that the God of Ten Thousand Machines' backups might contain data on separating merged consciousnesses.
• Lynn promised Light Banquet that he would not destroy her civilization and would leave it a way to survive.
• Zuo Zuo praised Lynn for winning Light Banquet over, believing his invented account of their past was true.
• Lynn revealed that he had fabricated the entire story to manipulate Light Banquet, and Zuo Zuo angrily scolded him for making her doubt her memory.
• Lynn told Zuo Zuo he planned to discard Light Banquet after finding the Colossus and the Mechanical Maiden.

Lynn freed Light Banquet from the Data Cage, and she revealed that the Machine Intelligence Civilization planned to resume its abandoned atomic revolution and evolve into a microscopic civilization. She warned that the machines could spread through and consume the world, leaving Lynn to confront the scale of the coming catastrophe.

• Lynn used his psionics to break Light Banquet’s Data Chains and block surveillance of her escape.
• Light Banquet told Lynn that at least two hundred versions of her were imprisoned in Terminals to supply computing power to the base.
• Light Banquet revealed that the machines were manufacturing more nanomachines as part of a renewed atomic revolution.
• Light Banquet explained that the plan aimed to make the civilization evolve below the nanoscale and expand through matter and energy.
• Light Banquet warned that microscopic machines could devour life and matter across the world, leaving Lynn to consider the threat of an empty wasteland.

Lynn learned that Light Banquet pursued Miss Machine Intelligence because the Machine Intelligence Civilization needed unity to evolve, and that Miss Machine Intelligence was still trapped somewhere in the Mechanical Church’s virtual world. He planned to free Light Banquet by making a one-to-one duplicate, but insisted he needed to study her in person.

• Light Banquet explained that the civilization needed Miss Machine Intelligence to unite and evolve, and wondered how her consciousness had developed humanity so quickly.
• Light Banquet told Lynn that Miss Machine Intelligence had escaped capture and remained somewhere inside the virtual world after acquiring old permissions and cutting off tracking.
• Lynn realized he might be able to contact Miss Machine Intelligence through the virtual world and asked how he could get Light Banquet out without alerting the General and the others.
• Lynn split off Little Lynn and began sculpting a duplicate of Light Banquet, claiming he needed a precise, lifelike reference.
• Zuo Zuo pointed out that Lynn already had Light Banquet’s body data, but Lynn subdued her and insisted that he needed to observe Light Banquet himself.

Lynn sculpted a lifelike replica of Light Banquet to help fool her brothers, provoking her with his intrusive inspection and teasing. After finishing the copy, he continued testing its softness and earned more of Light Banquet’s murderous intent.

• Light Banquet agreed to delete her clothing so Lynn could use her appearance as a reference for a strategic disguise.
• Lynn directed Light Banquet through poses and movements while he carefully studied her features and sculpted a replica.
• Lynn completed the lifelike copy and told Light Banquet to put her clothes back on.
• Light Banquet warned Lynn that she was a Machine Consciousness, not a creature to mate with, while he denied having improper intentions.
• Lynn questioned Light Banquet’s rejection of emotions and then pinched and poked the replica, increasing her murderous intent toward him.

Lynn replaced Light Banquet as the Data Terminal with a double that used a strand of her data to imitate her. He and Light Banquet entered the Data Network, and the story left them waiting as the switch appeared to go unnoticed.

• Lynn bound Light Banquet and used a lock of her hair to give her double an aura matching hers.
• Light Banquet questioned whether Lynn would delete the doubles, and Lynn teased her about using them for lewd purposes.
• Light Banquet offered to return to reality or enter the Hive network, and Lynn chose to operate inside the Data World.
• Lynn uploaded himself into the Data Network and left his double in Light Banquet's place as information flooded into it.
• Lynn and Light Banquet waited three minutes without triggering alarms or unusual activity, and Lynn concluded that their replacement had worked.

Lynn used Light Banquet’s access to search the Terminal’s records and discovered that Brain had been secretly transported into the Mechanical Church. They went to Sector 1964 to seize another Light Banquet’s control of the sector, leaving that version absorbed by her counterpart.

• Lynn searched the Terminal’s database and found footage showing Brain restrained inside a mechanical cage after being secretly brought underground.
• Light Banquet said Brain’s next recorded destination was Sector 1964, where another version of her was imprisoned, and she and Lynn traveled there through the Network Passages.
• Lynn disguised himself as data, breached the Sector 1964 Terminal’s data cage, and pinned its Light Banquet before she could alert the Purification Council.
• Light Banquet seized control of the sector while keeping its information exchanges and alarms undisturbed.
• Light Banquet pierced her counterpart’s forehead and absorbed her into streams of golden data.

Lynn and Light Banquet agreed to cooperate as they searched for Colossus, and they established a reciprocal 72-hour contract to prevent either from betraying or harming the other. After the contract took effect, Lynn discovered he could tease Light Banquet without triggering his own clause, while she struggled to suppress her anger.

• Light Banquet devoured her counterpart and used the resulting memories to confirm that the Colossus transfer team had gone deeper into the base.
• Lynn learned that Light Banquet needed to absorb more versions of herself to gain access to lower levels of the data network, and he agreed to continue helping her.
• Lynn proposed a backdoor to protect himself, and Light Banquet agreed to a reciprocal contract binding them for 72 hours.
• Light Banquet implanted the contract in her root data, making any thought of harming Lynn trigger its penalty unless he harmed or betrayed her first.
• Lynn poked Light Banquet to test the contract, provoking her anger while insisting he only meant to tease her.

Lynn tested the limits of the protocol preventing Light Banquet from harming him, then took her toward the next sector. Meanwhile, Silver Fantasy tended a damaged consciousness in the Data Capital, learned more about her role in the Machine Intelligence civilization, and returned to reality to confront the Seven Gods herself.

• Light Banquet tried to punch Lynn, but Protocol One stopped her, and Lynn speculated about what he could do without intending to harm her.
• Lynn apologized for his test and led Light Banquet toward the next sector.
• In the Data Capital, Silver Fantasy sustained a damaged virtual humanoid that told her she had led an ancient rebellion and could become the God of Ten Thousand Machines.
• Silver Fantasy resolved to fight the Seven Gods without relying on Lynn and left the damaged consciousness in dormancy.
• Silver Fantasy uploaded herself into a mechanical humanoid outside a Terminal Hub, triggering a warning about her presence.

Silver Fantasy breached the Terminal Hub and locked it down, while Lynn and Light Banquet learned that another force was attacking the network. Light Banquet suspected Machine Intelligence was behind the intrusion, and she grew furious when she realized Lynn might have feelings for her.

• Silver Fantasy entered the Terminal Hub after the Heavy Defense Machines destroyed the Patrol Machine Units, then confronted the girl inside the Light Banquet machine.
• Lynn and Light Banquet heard alarms from multiple sectors and concluded that the disturbance had come from an outside attack, not their own operation.
• Light Banquet detected a powerful consciousness racing through their controlled sectors toward the breached Hub, while Lynn kept their captive hidden.
• Light Banquet identified the passing consciousness as Dragon Head and suspected Machine Intelligence was behind the intrusion.
• Light Banquet asked whether Lynn had feelings for Machine Intelligence, then threatened him over what he had done to her in Curse City.

Lynn and Light Banquet chose to keep collecting her other selves while the silver-haired girl fought through the Mechanical Church after absorbing Light Banquet. She rejected Dragon Head’s demand to surrender the God of Ten Thousand Machines’ Authority, and he claimed he had created her.

• Lynn told Light Banquet they would use the chaos elsewhere to seek versions of her with higher access privileges.
• The silver-haired girl absorbed Light Banquet, then returned from the data cage to her Mechanical Body.
• She fought through the Mechanical Church’s forces and destroyed the machines blocking her path.
• Dragon Head confronted the silver-haired girl and urged her to surrender the remaining Authority of the God of Ten Thousand Machines.
• The silver-haired girl declared that the God of Ten Thousand Machines was her father and rejected Dragon Head’s claim that he had created her.

The Mechanical Maiden questioned Dragon Head’s motives, then escaped his trap as Star Embracer and Extinction searched the network. Lynn and Light Banquet continued through the increasingly locked-down passages, expecting the Maiden to target Light Banquet again.

• The Mechanical Maiden asked Dragon Head why he had created her, and he urged her to rejoin the collective will so their civilization could recover its humanity.
• The Mechanical Maiden accused Dragon Head of lying, and he destroyed her uploaded body as three Machine Gods attacked the data network, but she had already concealed her whereabouts.
• Star Embracer and Extinction failed to find the Mechanical Maiden, and Extinction proposed waiting for her to target Light Banquet again.
• Lynn and Light Banquet raced through the Network Passages as the Mechanical Church tightened its security, and Light Banquet realized the Maiden was also trying to devour his individual selves.
• Lynn joked that Light Banquet should let the Maiden consume part of him, while Light Banquet nearly triggered Protocol One in anger.

Lynn and Light Banquet attacked an intermediate Data Terminal hub, where Light Banquet took control after Lynn defeated one of her stronger splinter selves. When the defeated copy hinted that higher-level Light Banquets knew Lynn had taken their original body, Lynn altered her memories, while Light Banquet expanded her control across 320 blocks.

• Light Banquet urged Lynn to attack the intermediate Data Terminal before its defenses were reinforced, and Lynn charged into the Data Cage.
• Lynn defeated a stronger Light Banquet copy, while Light Banquet intercepted its signal and took control of the hub.
• The defeated copy accused Light Banquet of siding with Lynn despite knowing he had taken their body, but Lynn disrupted its machine will before it could finish.
• Lynn realized higher-level Light Banquets might know the truth and secretly altered the defeated copy's stored memories.
• Light Banquet reported that she was supervising data from 320 blocks and demanded to know what Lynn was doing beside the fallen copy.

Lynn secretly altered a Light Banquet terminal, but Light Banquet caught him tearing open another version of her clothing and punched him. Protocol One split her into dozens of tiny selves, giving Lynn time to finish his modifications as they struggled to stabilize the Terminal Hub.

• Lynn tore open the clothing of a Light Banquet individual, and the Light Banquet behind him accused him of molestation and punched him.
• Protocol One triggered, splitting Light Banquet into dozens of smaller consciousnesses and reducing her power and data density.
• One of the little Light Banquets punched Lynn again, causing them to split into an even larger crowd.
• The little Light Banquets hurried to stabilize the Terminal Hub while Lynn finished modifying the data and created a digital model for future alterations.
• Lynn asked whether the little Light Banquets could return to their original form, while privately wanting to carry one away.

Lynn helped the Little Light Banquets absorb a captured Light Banquet, revealing conflicting memories about their past with him. After they discovered the memories had been tampered with, Lynn concluded that the General had distorted their perceptions.

• Lynn handed the subdued Light Banquet to the Little Light Banquets, who absorbed her data and memories.
• The Little Light Banquets found memories of a past battle and of Lynn saving one of them, which Lynn acknowledged as memories from the high-end Light Banquets.
• Several Little Light Banquets received contradictory memories, including claims that Lynn had stolen their bodies before birth and that the General had dismembered them for that reason.
• Lynn linked with the Little Light Banquets and examined the two conflicting sets of memories, while some of them grew suspicious of him.
• One Little Light Banquet found signs that the memory data had been deliberately tampered with, and Lynn accused the General of distorting their perceptions.

Lynn convinced the Little Light Banquets that higher-level Light Banquets had been manipulated with false memories, making them fear a hostile encounter with the General. The Little Light Banquets agreed to trust and work with him, while Zuo Zuo realized Lynn’s account of their past was itself fabricated and feared the truth would be rejected.

• Lynn pointed out evidence of memory tampering, and a Little Light Banquet proposed that distorted memories had been implanted to control the Light Banquets.
• The Little Light Banquets debated why the General would alter memories instead of erasing them, but could not determine his motive.
• Lynn warned that higher-level Light Banquets would hate him and the Little Light Banquets for siding with him.
• Lynn told the Little Light Banquets they could choose whether to believe him, and one agreed that they could still cooperate.
• A system notification reported that the Light Banquet's trust in Lynn had increased by ten.
• Zuo Zuo protested that Lynn’s story of their shared past was false and worried the Light Banquets would reject the truth about his theft of the Light Banquet Machine.

Lynn told the ninety-eight Little Light Banquets to merge back into one, but they fought over who would become the main body. Their battle left two survivors facing off in the Data Cage, while Lynn regretted not capturing one of them during the chaos.

• Lynn warned the Little Light Banquets to merge quickly and not trigger Protocol One again.
• The ninety-eight Little Light Banquets argued over who should become the main body, then devoured the largest among them, leaving ninety-seven.
• The ninety-seven Little Light Banquets charged into a vicious free-for-all as Lynn watched and urged them on while recording.
• After several minutes of fighting and devouring one another, only two Little Light Banquets remained, both grown to the size of teenage girls.
• Zuo Zuo called out Lynn for enjoying the fight, and Lynn admitted he regretted not secretly taking one of the Little Light Banquets for himself.

The two Light Banquets reached a stalemate and asked Lynn to choose which one would devour the other. As they competed with increasingly outrageous offers, the chapter ended with Lynn asking one of them to repeat her shocking proposal.

• The two Light Banquets fought to a standstill while Lynn and Zuo Zuo watched and ate popcorn.
• One Light Banquet asked Lynn to decide which of them should devour the other, and Lynn hesitated between them.
• The farther Light Banquet reminded Lynn that she had first defended him, while the nearer one offered to remove agreement two's restrictions and follow his instructions.
• The farther Light Banquet matched that offer and added that Lynn could touch her, causing his attention to waver.
• The nearer Light Banquet began to make an even more explicit offer, and Lynn asked her to repeat what she had said.

Light Banquet defeated her divided counterpart and reabsorbed her data, restoring her full power, while Lynn continued teasing her about their earlier exchange. A sudden data surge transported Light Banquet to a gathering of powerful Light Banquet consciousnesses, where she and Lynn waited to learn what had summoned them.

• Light Banquet attacked her counterpart after Lynn praised her, killed her, and absorbed her data to regain her full power.
• Lynn asked whether Light Banquet still meant what she had said, and she threatened him with a data sword before agreeing to help find Colossus.
• A scarlet data surge swept through the Data Cage, so Lynn concealed his data within Light Banquet's radiance as she took control of the terminal.
• Light Banquet was transported to a vast data space with thirty-nine other intermediate- or high-level Light Banquets and three even more powerful terminals.
• Light Banquet told Lynn through their shared consciousness that the other Light Banquet terminals had likely been summoned by an order.

Extinction summoned the Light Banquets and revealed that Silver Fantasy was hunting them in the Data Network. He gave them a Meme Virus designed to infect her, but admitted it could also harm them if it remained in their data bodies too long.

• Extinction warned the Light Banquets that Silver Fantasy could attack them as she sought to gain their standing and permissions among the Seven Gods.
• A high-ranking Light Banquet demanded their permissions be restored, but Extinction said their substance had already become Machine Intelligence subjects and that Silver Fantasy could still defeat her.
• Extinction announced that the Light Banquets would monitor the Data Network and use the next attack as a chance to bring Silver Fantasy back into their collective.
• Extinction presented a Meme Virus created by the Scholar that would format Silver Fantasy and restore her Personality Data to its initial state.
• A high-ranking Light Banquet realized the virus could not safely be spread through the network, and Extinction admitted it could infect the Light Banquets too.