Recaps

After discovering that he could enter the Experimental Zone through his dreams, Qin Yiguan tried to return and reach the Snow City of Heavenly Light. He arrived in the sky among thousands of falling people and saw an enormous floating city rising above them.

• Qin Yiguan wondered whether his dream had let him bypass the Neural Helmet's restrictions and enter the Experimental Zone with his full senses.
• Qin Yiguan logged off, ate an energy bar and walnut kernels, and told Clam not to reveal his unusual login method.
• Qin Yiguan prepared his dark bedroom and fell asleep while concentrating on reaching the Snow City of Heavenly Light.
• Qin Yiguan awoke falling through the sky beside thousands of other people, including a chubby boy in glasses and a woman in a long dress.
• Qin Yiguan landed safely and looked up with the others as a vast floating city slowly rose into the sky.

Qin Yiguan entered the Metaverse Experimental Zone and learned that his former teacher, Mu Qingkuang, was the Light Emperor, lord of the airborne Snow City of Heavenly Light. After the city flew off to fight a duel, a new city rapidly appeared on its former grounds, and Qin Yiguan realized he could not obtain the basic Electronic Assistant everyone needed because he had no registered identity or Nutrient Pod.

• Qin Yiguan met Metaverse Know-It-All, who explained that the city overhead was the Snow City of Heavenly Light and that its lord had just taken it into the sky.
• Metaverse Know-It-All revealed that the Light Emperor was Mu Qingkuang, whom Qin Yiguan recognized as his teacher, Teacher Qing.
• The Snow City of Heavenly Light flew away to fight a duel, leaving its former site empty.
• Thousands of aircraft and robots quickly built a new city on the land, prompting Qin Yiguan to suspect someone was taking advantage of Teacher Qing's absence.
• Metaverse Know-It-All advised Qin Yiguan to get an Electronic Assistant and explained how to obtain one through the Virtual Government.
• Qin Yiguan realized he could not register for an Electronic Assistant because he had neither a legal identity nor a Nutrient Pod.

Qin Yiguan picked up a discarded Personal Brain that rebooted and linked itself to him, revealing unusual data about his brain and abilities. He learned that the device could speak and saw that other people’s Personal Brains displayed IDs, while his was named God's Abandoned.

• Qin Yiguan noticed a blond young man throw away a damaged Personal Brain and picked it up after the man walked off.
• The battered sphere rebooted, linked to Qin Yiguan, and displayed his ability name, brain conditions, and personal assets.
• God's Abandoned floated beside Qin Yiguan's shoulder and spoke to him in a disdainful voice.
• Qin Yiguan saw data and access requests above passersby’s Personal Brains and understood what Rong Qian had meant when she asked to view his information.
• Qin Yiguan asked why his Personal Brain was named God's Abandoned, and it answered that it was fucking awesome.

Qin Yiguan learned that Baofan City charged him for staying and discovered that the Geometry Design Group was 12,000 kilometers away. He took an astonishingly fast but costly public train toward it.

• God's Abandoned went into sleep mode after bragging that its battery was low, and Baixiaosheng returned with news about Baofan City.
• Baixiaosheng charged Qin Yiguan for information and explained that Baofan City’s lord collected fees from people inside the city.
• Baixiaosheng gave Qin Yiguan the Geometry Design Group’s location and told him he could take public transportation there.
• Qin Yiguan boarded a train powered by a Curvature Engine, which accelerated to the speed of light.
• Qin Yiguan noticed the train was charging him 1,200 per second before it stopped at his destination.

Qin Yiguan reunited with Meng Jihe at the damaged Geometry Design Building and learned that Ke Qiming and the Half-Mechanical Crow had defeated the Research Society’s capture squads. Ke Qiming attacked with Rong Qian in the crow’s beak, and Qin Yiguan stood beside Meng Jihe as the monster dived toward them.

• Qin Yiguan arrived at the Geometry Design Building and reunited with Meng Jihe, who warned him against logging out carelessly.
• Meng Jihe told Qin Yiguan that Ke Qiming had taken Rong Qian and that the Research Society’s three capture squads had failed to return.
• Ke Qiming appeared atop the growing Half-Mechanical Crow, holding Rong Qian in its beak and threatening to kill Meng Jihe and destroy the Geometry Design Building.
• The Half-Mechanical Crow threw Rong Qian into the sky and dived at Meng Jihe as the frightened employees retreated.
• Qin Yiguan stepped beside Meng Jihe, who told him to hide.

The boy made the enormous mechanical crow disappear by confronting it, and God's Abandoned reported temporary development of [gestalt collapse]. When Ke Qiming fell from the sky, the boy caught him and then killed him with a shoulder throw, triggering another change in the consciousness matrix.

• The boy walked toward the mechanical crow, whose body dissolved into black mist and vanished just before it reached him.
• God's Abandoned reported that [gestalt collapse] had temporarily developed to 2%.
• Ke Qiming fell toward the ground after losing his crow, and the boy decided to catch him.
• The boy used a judo technique to redirect Ke Qiming's fall, then slammed him into the earth and shattered his neck and spine.
• The consciousness matrix reported that [conscience-free syndrome] had temporarily developed to 2%.

Qin Yiguan saved Rong Qian and revealed a mysterious power despite having a zero Fusion Rate, then left to avoid endangering Meng Jihe and his people. When Meng Jihe offered him ten pieces of Source Matter, Qin Yiguan decided he could accept the gift.

• Qin Yiguan caught the falling Rong Qian and safely brought her to the ground, while her Personal Brain revealed that his Fusion Rate was zero.
• Meng Jihe asked Qin Yiguan about the Half-Mechanical Crow, and Qin Yiguan admitted that its appearance and the new brain Dark Zone system were mysteries to him.
• Meng Jihe warned Qin Yiguan that the Research Society was interested in him and offered him a safe place to hide, but Qin Yiguan left to keep Meng Jihe's group out of danger.
• Qin Yiguan took a bullet train, went into debt, and was forced off at a transit platform.
• Meng Jihe called Qin Yiguan and offered him ten pieces of Source Matter, and Qin Yiguan accepted after learning their value.

Qin Yiguan learned that his abilities were temporary and that he had 48 hours to raise his Fusion Rate before they vanished. When the Research Society’s Capture Squad cornered him, he disappeared in a flash of blue code, leaving the Society to search for him using his captured facial features.

• God's Abandoned explained that the Gemini Superbrain had granted Qin Yiguan temporary ability progressions that would disappear if he failed to raise his Fusion Rate within 48 hours.
• Qin Yiguan realized he owed both Yuanzi and a Fusion Rate and decided to find a way to increase it.
• A massive Research Society flying vehicle and its Capture Squad surrounded Qin Yiguan, demanding his Digital ID and portable superbrain permissions.
• As the Capture Squad prepared to capture him, Qin Yiguan heard the familiar alarm and vanished in a flash of blue code.
• The Research Society's elderly scientist ordered a comprehensive search using Qin Yiguan's captured facial features.

Qin Yiguan woke after logging into the Experimental Zone without equipment and realized his mental illnesses gave him unique abilities there. At school, he was suspected of accessing Shangguan Xiaotao’s private photos, then learned the Snow City of Heavenly Light had been destroyed and read a farewell message from Teacher Qing.

• Qin Yiguan woke at home and concluded he could enter the Experimental Zone without equipment, where each of his mental illnesses had a separate effect.
• Taotie Clam told Qin Yiguan that someone had accessed Shangguan Xiaotao’s electronic textbook and private photos, and that Qin was a suspect.
• Jiu Zhengxuan confronted Qin Yiguan and said he would keep investigating, while promising to apologize if someone else proved responsible.
• Falcon took over Teacher Qing’s class and told the students that Teacher Qing was on leave with no return date set.
• Taotie Clam showed Qin Yiguan a photograph of the Snow City of Heavenly Light lying in ruins, shocking him.
• Qin Yiguan read Teacher Qing’s message on his new electronic textbook and was moved to tears.

Qin Yiguan tried to investigate the leak of Shangguan Xiaotao’s private photos, but his request made her and her friend believe he was a pervert. Back in reality, he reunited with Xiao Ning, a disabled girl who could not enter the Metaverse and had been abandoned by her parents.

• Shangguan Xiaotao said she trusted Qin Yiguan, but he asked to borrow her electronic textbook so he could closely examine her private photos and investigate the culprit.
• Shangguan Xiaotao’s best friend called Qin Yiguan sick and a pervert, then hurried away with Shangguan Xiaotao.
• Jiu Zhengxuan saw Qin Yiguan vanish by logging out and grew more suspicious of him.
• Qin Yiguan returned to his apartment and found Xiao Ning waiting in her wheelchair with a chocolate-flavored energy block she had made for him.
• Qin Yiguan recalled how Xiao Ning’s brain could not process the Metaverse’s visual signals, leading to terrifying visions and her loss of access to the Metaverse.

Qin Yiguan escorted Xiao Ning home while worrying about the fate of Mu Qingkuang and the fallen Snow City of Heavenly Light. Xiao Ning comforted him by describing him as a light in a dark world and insisting that unseen friends stood behind him.

• Qin Yiguan encountered Superman, a beggar whose mind had been damaged after he was tortured to death in the Metaverse.
• Qin Yiguan worried that Mu Qingkuang might have been defeated or killed after the Snow City of Heavenly Light crashed.
• Xiao Ning sensed Qin Yiguan's troubled mood and asked what was wrong.
• Xiao Ning revealed that she could see the world in her mind and described Qin Yiguan as a shining figure amid darkness.
• Xiao Ning told Qin Yiguan that unseen friends stood behind him, though he turned and saw no one.

Qin Yiguan entered the Metaverse’s Experimental Zone, where a hostile presence inside his body had tried to kill him by drugging him in his sleep. After arriving at a mining site, he failed to save a girl who fell into a laser-carved pit because his Fusion Rate was zero.

• A hostile presence took control of Qin Yiguan, prepared a drug mixture to kill him, and was stopped when a voice inside him shouted, “Guard!”
• The hostile presence decided to kill Qin Yiguan in the Metaverse and returned to sleep.
• Qin Yiguan arrived in a rocky area of the Experimental Zone and met a girl who was waiting for her father to mine source matter.
• A spiked metal sphere landed beside the cabin and carved a deep hole with its lasers, causing the girl to slip and hang over the edge.
• Qin Yiguan repeatedly failed to grab the girl’s cord, and God's Abandoned explained that his Fusion Rate was zero.
• The girl lost her grip, fell into the hole, and was sliced apart by the lasers before being burned to ash.

Qin Yiguan discovered that Black Calamity, his dark personality, had taken physical form in the Metaverse and tried to kill him. An armored figure emerged from Qin Yiguan to protect him, while Black Calamity fled after hinting that others might also appear.

• Qin Yiguan found the Pearl Divers’ forces surrounding him and learned they mistook him for Black Calamity, whom they blamed for killing their leader.
• Black Calamity appeared and revealed that he was Qin Yiguan’s dark personality, responsible for his adoptive parents’ deaths and the traps that had threatened him.
• Black Calamity attacked Qin Yiguan, overpowered his judo throw, and revealed his 89% Fusion Rate.
• Black Calamity used Gestalt Collapse to summon a monstrous maw, but an armored figure emerged from Qin Yiguan and destroyed it with a punch.
• Black Calamity wondered whether the others had appeared too, then turned into a black shadow and vanished.

Qin Yiguan learned from Guardian that his personalities shared his abilities and that he needed to grow stronger and raise his fusion rate. After Black Calamity killed the Pearl Divers troops, Qin Yiguan vowed to merge all his personalities and become the strongest.

• The Pearl Divers troops bombarded Qin Yiguan, but Guardian shielded him from the attack and revealed that his personalities were parts of him with abilities he had yet to unlock.
• Guardian warned Qin Yiguan that he could not protect him forever and urged him to hone himself, increase his fusion rate, and eventually merge his personalities, including Number One.
• God's Abandoned displayed Qin Yiguan's temporary development at five percent and identified Black Calamity and Guardian as two of his personalities.
• The Pearl Divers troops discovered Qin Yiguan had survived, but Black Calamity killed them as he climbed out of the crater.
• God's Abandoned explained that Qin Yiguan could raise his fusion rate by surviving and gaining experience, and Qin Yiguan vowed to merge all his personalities, claim their abilities, and become the strongest.

Jiu Zhengxuan completed a simulated combat test in the Experimental Zone, defeating three armed opponents and recognizing that the last was a student forced to wear an exoskeleton. The observers praised his ability and character, congratulating Commander Lu Zun on his son’s promising future.

• Jiu Zhengxuan entered a dark tunnel where a sniper prepared to shoot him.
• Jiu Zhengxuan evaded the sniper, knocked him unconscious, and stopped another gunman emerging through a drainage shaft.
• Jiu Zhengxuan dodged laser fire and destroyed the machinery controlling a third gunner, catching the collapsing operator.
• The simulation ended, and Jiu Zhengxuan explained that the third gunner was a student being forced to operate a programmed exoskeleton.
• Jiu Zhengxuan urged the officers not to involve people outside combat units in drills, and the spectators praised him and congratulated Commander Lu Zun.

Qin Yiguan entered Vortex Cloud City, sold some of his source matter to pay the entry tax, and tried to find work despite his zero Fusion Rate. The Wayne Machinery Group rejected him, leaving him jobless on the street.

• Qin Yiguan learned from God's Abandoned that Fusion Rate rose very slowly and that a complex job could help him advance.
• Qin Yiguan entered Vortex Cloud City, faced expulsion over unpaid taxes, and sold one unit of source matter to pay for city access.
• Qin Yiguan recognized the source matter's NFT code as resembling the code Brother Lu had given him and wondered if it connected to a real-world item.
• Qin Yiguan answered a hiring billboard and arrived at the Wayne Machinery Group's office, where he failed to write his name legibly.
• The Wayne Machinery Group rejected Qin Yiguan because his Fusion Rate was zero and sent him back outside.

Jiu Zhengxuan persuaded Lu Zun to establish a Youth Order Squad to tackle disorder in the Metaverse Experimental Zone. Meanwhile, Qin Yiguan visited the Dog Gang for a job and learned its business was organized crime, where NST Wulong Baiyan ordered his men to attack a passerby who insulted the gang.

• Jiu Zhengxuan told Lu Zun about misconduct at the academy, and Lu Zun urged him to expose wrongdoing.
• Lu Zun announced the creation of a Youth Order Squad, with Jiu Zhengxuan leading efforts to restore order in the Experimental Zone.
• Chen Fazheng brought Qin Yiguan to the DOG Group, where Qin saw hundreds of armed gang members gathered in a church.
• Chen Fazheng explained that the group was a mafia operating as a commercial enterprise, and introduced its leader, NST Wulong Baiyan.
• A passerby mocked the Dog Gang, and NST Wulong Baiyan ordered his men to snuff him out.

Jiu Zhengxuan stood poised to lead the Experimental Zone’s first youth order squad while Qin Yiguan considered joining the Gang. After learning that violence could raise his fusion rate, Qin Yiguan realized his abilities had advanced and agreed to join.

• Jiu Zhengxuan stood at the mansion as officials gathered to witness the founding of the youth order squad.
• Chen Fazheng offered Qin Yiguan a place in the Gang, promising large payouts and explaining that killing could increase fusion rates.
• Qin Yiguan’s fusion rate and the development potential of his brain conditions rose by 2%.
• Meng Jihe told Qin Yiguan that Ke Qiming had died after the earlier fight, and Qin Yiguan connected his fusion-rate increase to the death.
• Qin Yiguan recognized that the Gang suited his violent instincts and agreed to join, causing his conscience-free syndrome to develop temporarily.

Qin Yiguan joined the Dog Gang and was made the boss of its lowest-ranked hall, while Jiu Zhengxuan was appointed captain of the Experimental Zone’s first Youth Order Squad. The squad gained two exceptional members, Huo Shuang and Wei Hu, as Lu Zun announced its founding.

• Qin Yiguan claimed he could solve crimes and evade capture, impressing Wulong Baiyan, who ordered Chen Fazheng to find him a position.
• Chen Fazheng appointed Qin Yiguan boss of the Dog Gang’s 157th Hall, revealing that the gang had 157 halls and Qin was the hall’s only member.
• Lu Zun established Youth Order Squad 01 and appointed Jiu Zhengxuan its captain with authority to mobilize forces in the B5 and B6 Sectors.
• Huo Shuang revealed that she had marked Jiu Zhengxuan with a red X, while he had marked her in return, and Lu Zun introduced her as the squad’s second member.
• Wei Hu reported for duty and joined the squad, bringing his mechanical expertise, exoskeleton, and 28% fusion rate.

Qin Yiguan received two underlings for Hall 157: the timid Chen Mudou and the unusually capable Jingye Meinan. Meinan joined because he lusted after the Dog Gang leader’s wife, Daxiu, leaving Qin to begin his new post with a deeply questionable team.

• Chen Fazheng assigned Chen Mudou to Qin Yiguan’s hall, and she introduced herself as a timid part-time gangster who wanted to become braver for her boyfriend.
• Chen Fazheng brought forward a second recruit, Jingye Meinan, who became distracted by the gang leader’s beautiful wife, Daxiu.
• After Daxiu sat on NST Wulong Baiyan’s lap and the gangsters greeted her, Meinan revealed his name and admitted his interest in her motivated him to join.
• Qin Yiguan saw Meinan’s 18% fusion rate and reality enhancement, then accepted him as his second underling.

Qin Yiguan’s new gang accepted a level 10 assassination contract targeting Research Society Chief Scientist Jiao Shensan, while the Youth Order Squad received orders to protect him for three days. The chapter left Qin Yiguan preparing to pursue the job with little information or support from the DOG Group.

• Chen Fazheng presented the gang’s business list, and Qin Yiguan’s group claimed its only remaining job, a level 10 assassination contract targeting Jiao Shensan.
• Jingye Meinan and Chen Mudou eagerly agreed to take on the dangerous assignment, while Chen Fazheng warned them about its difficulty.
• Lu Zun assigned Jiu Zhengxuan and the Youth Order Squad to protect Jiao Shensan and arrest or kill anyone attempting to assassinate him for three days.
• Qin Yiguan accepted the contract, which appeared in God's Abandoned’s database, and asked Chen Fazheng for details about the target and the gang’s resources.
• Chen Fazheng told Qin Yiguan that the DOG Group would provide no further information or equipment, and that he would have to handle the job himself.

Qin Yiguan and his companions used Jingye Meinan’s ability to get their battered aircraft cleared to join a supply convoy bound for the Research Society. They narrowly avoided meeting Jiu Zhengxuan at the logistics base, but both groups were heading toward the same airborne destination.

• Commander Jiang promised Jiu Zhengxuan that the B5 Garrison Corps would support his operation, while Chen Fazheng lent Qin Yiguan’s group the ramshackle Three-Legged Cat.
• Jingye Meinan learned about a Research Society supply shipment and piloted the group to its logistics base, where soldiers initially blocked them from boarding.
• Jingye Meinan used his Opposite-Sex Resonance ability to charm Commander Luna into authorizing their clearance paperwork.
• Qin Yiguan’s group joined the transport fleet, while Jiu Zhengxuan arrived at the base with Wei Hu and another companion and began inspecting the aircraft.
• Qin Yiguan sensed Jiu Zhengxuan could threaten their operation, and the two groups narrowly passed each other as the Three-Legged Cat took off.

Qin Yiguan and his companions infiltrated the Research Society’s airborne fortress in disguise to reach Jiao Shensan. Qin ordered Jingye Meinan and Chen Mudou to wait safely while he handled the mission alone, but Jingye Meinan’s mock outrage suggested he planned to watch from the sidelines.

• Jingye Meinan gave Qin Yiguan and Chen Mudou Active Electronic Coating masks, which disguised their bodies in gray.
• The Three-Legged Cat crossed a concealed boundary and revealed the enormous airborne fortress, where the group slipped inside unnoticed.
• Jingye Meinan told Qin Yiguan that Jiao Shensan was holding an emergency meeting in Conference Room 1 of the 3S Core Zone.
• Qin Yiguan ordered Jingye Meinan and Chen Mudou to find a safe place and wait while he handled the mission alone.
• Chen Mudou worried that Qin Yiguan’s zero Fusion Rate made him unfit for the task, and Jingye Meinan accused her of wanting to test their boss before claiming he would not sit back and watch.

Qin Yiguan used the abilities of The Concealer to escape through the ventilation system and reach Jiao Shensan's conference room. There, he learned the Research Society could find no records of him and planned to search thousands of Rust Cities.

• Qin Yiguan climbed into a narrow vent by simulating The Concealer's extreme flexibility and strength, leaving Jingye Meinan below.
• Qin Yiguan moved through the ventilation system and elevator shaft while Jiu Zhengxuan anxiously asked Wei Hu about the takeoff procedures.
• Qin Yiguan found Jiao Shensan in a conference room and listened from the ceiling as scientists reported that the young man had no Neural Helmet, Nutrient Pod, residency, or surveillance records.
• A scientific assistant wondered where the young man was, and Jiao Shensan echoed the question while looking toward the ceiling.

A transformed boy confronted Jiao Shensan in the sealed conference room, where the scientist revealed that he had learned his mission and would die that day. Meanwhile, Jiu Zhengxuan and his companions reached the Space Fortress and forced their way toward the room.

• Jiao Shensan dismissed everyone and sealed the conference room before the boy climbed in through a ventilation duct.
• The boy deduced that Jiao Shensan had disabled the security systems and asked how the scientist knew him.
• Jiao Shensan said he had learned the boy’s identity and his own purpose, including that he would die that day.
• Jiu Zhengxuan and his companions were denied access to the conference room because it required S7 clearance.
• Jiu Zhengxuan crushed the alloy lock, forced open the security door, and rushed toward the next one.