Chapter Summaries

Qin Yiguan was trapped in his accelerated development state while Falusi and Banana confronted the Lantern Bearer and his friends fought nearly ten thousand Time Men. Jiu Zhengxuan unleashed Black Matter against the invaders, but Qin Yiguan still could not return to his body as the battle continued.

• A giant red neural network appeared above the ridge, and a colossal Lantern Bearer resembling Qin Yiguan emerged as Falusi and Banana prepared to fight him.
• Falusi and Banana entered the neural network and were engulfed by Gestalt Collapse, leaving Jiu Zhengxuan, Xiao Ning, Jiang Mingshu, Chen Mudou, and Jingye Meinan to face the Time Men.
• Qin Yiguan tried to return to his body but found himself unable to regain control, so he frantically observed the Matrix Universe to increase his Box Syndrome Development Rate.
• Jiu Zhengxuan asked Jingye Meinan and Chen Mudou about their abilities, then led the group into battle against the Time Men.
• Jiu Zhengxuan used Black Matter to send hundreds of thousands of spikes into the Time Men, piercing one and shredding the pink flesh inside it.

Xiao Ning and the gathered Higher Selves turned the battle against the Time Men, but Qin Yiguan’s uncontrolled observation left him in danger. The Time Man then retaliated with stronger versions of himself, striking down Jiu Zhengxuan and threatening the group with a five-minute attack.

• Xiao Ning used her control over Ning World to slow the charging Time Men until their bodies were crushed.
• Jingye Meinan summoned four female Higher Selves, who joined the fight after greeting him affectionately.
• Qin Yiguan revealed that the second Jiang Mingshu and Chen Mudou were counterparts from multiverse 45582, and both pairs fought together to kill ten thousand Time Men.
• Qin Yiguan realized he could no longer stop observing and feared his mind was racing toward death.
• The Time Man announced that the ten thousand deaths had cost him a hundred seconds, then sent a one-second-old version to slash Jiu Zhengxuan and summoned more golden Time Men.

Qin Yiguan pushed [HSP Hypersensitivity] beyond its limits with CPH4, hoping to raise [Box Syndrome] enough to save his friends, but his brain and body collapsed. Time Man watched him disintegrate, and the chapter revealed Lantern Bearer's plan to force Qin Yiguan to destroy himself through worry and overdevelopment.

• Time Man summoned hundreds of golden versions of himself, while Qin Yiguan lost his ability to perceive the surrounding battle as [HSP Hypersensitivity] overwhelmed him.
• Qin Yiguan used the CPH4 chemical bonds Boss Meng had left behind to intensify his brain activity and observe the Matrix Universe.
• After observing fourteen billion multiverses, Qin Yiguan raised [Box Syndrome] by only four percentage points, to 13%, and began observing everything again.
• Qin Yiguan's neural network shattered; he vomited blood, collapsed, and disintegrated into fragments of blue code.
• Time Man concluded that Qin Yiguan had destroyed himself, and recalled Lantern Bearer's plan to pressure him into overdeveloping until the backlash consumed him.

After failing to re-enter the Metaverse, Qin Yiguan discovered that the Smiling Face Cane had crossed into Rust City with him and began to suspect that his supposed physical world was another world of code. A Void Man appeared to announce that his expulsion was not finished, while Qin Yiguan questioned whether Xiao Ning and his friends—and he himself—were real.

• Qin Yiguan woke in his Rust City apartment, realized seven attempts to enter the Metaverse had failed, and feared he had been permanently expelled.
• Qin Yiguan visited Xiao Ning, who remained asleep in her Nutrient Pod, then shouted into the empty street and received no answer.
• Qin Yiguan found the spiked caltrop in his pocket, called it the Smiling Face Cane, and watched it turn into a bracelet on his wrist.
• Qin Yiguan recalled Jiaolong’s warning and the Boundless One’s account of consciousness and soul wear, and concluded that Rust City might also be a coded world.
• A nearly transparent Void Man identified himself as a member of the Super Lord Organization and said they had not finished expelling Qin Yiguan.
• Qin Yiguan ignored the Void Man and wondered whether Xiao Ning, Jiu Zhengxuan, Meinan, Mudou, and he himself were truly human.

Qin Yiguan learned that Rust City was a false world and that ATO was Meng Jihe, who had been protecting him. He chose to go home and awoke in the real world as a brain in a container, where Meng Jihe showed him his parents and Dr. Jiao Shensan.

• Qin Yiguan saw ATO's message and realized that Rust City did not follow the laws of the physical world.
• ATO revealed that he was Meng Jihe, and Meng Jihe spoke to Qin Yiguan and told him their family was in the real world.
• Qin Yiguan decided to go home, and Meng Jihe brought him out of Rust City.
• Qin Yiguan awoke as a brain in a container in a vast room filled with brains.
• Meng Jihe, controlling a mechanical skeleton, showed Qin Yiguan Dr. Jiao Shensan and his parents, Qin Shenhu and his mother.

Qin Yiguan awoke in 4123 with his brain mounted on a mechanical body and learned that humanity had evolved into brains living in the Metaverse. Meng Jihe explained that the Gemini Superbrain recalled their consciousnesses after irreparable virtual-world trauma, while Qin Yiguan’s corpse in Rust City No. 03 grew white fuzz and released spores.

• Mechanical arms attached Qin Yiguan’s brain to a skeleton and announced that he had regained control of movement.
• A futuristic voice welcomed Qin Yiguan to the living brain era in 4123 and described humanity’s evolution and dependence on the virtual world.
• Meng Jihe guided Qin Yiguan to the rooftop and explained that the brains around them lived in the Metaverse from birth.
• Meng Jihe told Qin Yiguan that the Gemini Superbrain had recalled their consciousnesses after they suffered irreparable trauma in the virtual world.
• In Rust City No. 03, Void Man watched Qin Yiguan’s corpse release spores from its white fuzz.

Qin Yiguan learned that the living-brain world was another virtual layer created by Void Man, and Jiaolong urged him to find the password that would break it. As Qin Yiguan spoke the password, he awakened in Rust City No. 03 and attacked Void Man.

• Boss Meng told Qin Yiguan that his former universe and everyone in it had been virtual, and that he would enter a new virtual world.
• Jiaolong appeared inside Qin Yiguan’s mind and explained that Void Man had diverted him into a simulated future layer of the Matrix Universe.
• Jiaolong told Qin Yiguan to discover his own password to escape and return to reality, then vanished.
• Qin Yiguan realized the world and Boss Meng were fake and began speaking what he believed was the password.
• In Rust City No. 03, Qin Yiguan’s spores and fuzz withdrew into his body, and he awoke and severed Void Man’s arm with silver nails.

Qin Yiguan killed the remaining Super Lord Organization enemies and chose to stay in the Experimental Zone rather than pursue the truth about reality. He built a peaceful life with Jiaolong and their family, eventually becoming the Gemini Superbrain’s mortal-world agent and overlord of the world.

• Qin Yiguan killed Void Man, returned from Rust City, and crushed Time Man’s remaining clones.
• Falusi and Banana defeated Lantern Bearer, and Qin Yiguan killed him as his eleven lantern lights vanished into the sky.
• Jiaolong told Qin Yiguan that Liu Yuan had lost access to the Gemini Metaverse, and Qin Yiguan decided to remain in the familiar world with his friends.
• Qin Yiguan and Jiaolong settled in the Experimental Zone, had a son named Qin Wuyang, and raised him and their daughter Qin Juan.
• Qin Yiguan accepted the Gemini Superbrain’s role as mortal-world agent and became the world’s sole overlord.
• At age 101, Qin Yiguan rested in his courtyard, content to await the end of his natural life as Jiaolong comforted him.

Qin Yiguan exposed the living brain era as a false world designed to imprison him, then activated the Passphrase and escaped Boss Meng’s control. He discovered that the Metaverse had multiple layers and that the living brain world floated above the Matrix Universe.

• Qin Yiguan realized that his life with Jiaolong had been a fabricated reality that continued seamlessly from his earlier experiences.
• Qin Yiguan explained that he had pretended to believe Boss Meng’s deception so he could uncover the Passphrase.
• Qin Yiguan revealed that sincerely recognizing the world as virtual activated the Passphrase and restored his consciousness and body.
• Qin Yiguan tore down the green syringe and injected it into Boss Meng, melting Boss Meng’s brain.
• Qin Yiguan used [HSP Hypersensitivity] to observe the Metaverse’s layers and locate the living brain world above the Matrix Universe.
• Qin Yiguan received an interim milestone notification that increased Brain Hyperactivity Zone A01’s development rate and lifted Brain Dark Zone A06’s restriction.

Qin Yiguan returned to Rust City and used Black Calamity to create a coin-sized black hole that annihilated Time Man and his past selves. As the Lantern Bearer descended on him, Qin Yiguan sent the black hole hurtling toward him.

• Qin Yiguan returned to Rust City, found his abilities intact, and realized that the familiar place was another layer of the Metaverse.
• Qin Yiguan saw Jiu Zhengxuan, Jiang Mingshu's isotope, Xiao Ning, and Meinan's girlfriend gravely harmed by the Golden Time Men.
• Qin Yiguan asked Black Calamity about its limits and imagined the most powerful darkness, summoning a coin-sized black hole.
• The black hole tore through the Golden Time Men while sparing Qin Yiguan's friends, and it consumed Time Man's countless past selves until he withered into ash.
• The Lantern Bearer descended as the neural-network cocoon shattered, and Qin Yiguan saw Falusi and Banana trapped inside it.
• Qin Yiguan sent the coin black hole hurtling toward the Lantern Bearer.

Qin Yiguan fought the Lantern Bearer, who pierced his heart before withdrawing, and the Victim revived him. As Qin Yiguan considered how to grow stronger, he realized the Gemini Superbrain's barrier trapped him in a limited layer of the Metaverse.

• The Lantern Bearer created a white hole that collided with Qin Yiguan's black hole, trapping matter and a Time Man in a cycle of destruction and recombination.
• The Lantern Bearer pierced Qin Yiguan's Guardian and heart with his lantern, then declared that only one of them could exist and walked away.
• The Victim revived Qin Yiguan after at least two hours, and Falusi told him the enemy had withdrawn temporarily while the fighting continued.
• Qin Yiguan concluded that the Box could strengthen every ability, but its Development Rate was only 23%, so he needed more information from other Metaverses.
• Qin Yiguan realized the Gemini Superbrain's barrier concealed the larger world and left him like a bird trapped in a cage.

Qin Yiguan learned that Jiaolong had loved FILE0-0, an emissary who was recently killed, and struggled with his feelings after she rejected their shared memories. Jiaolong brought Void Man to him, saying his Divergent Track ability could help Qin Yiguan complete his self-development.

• Qin Yiguan promised Jiu Zhengxuan and Jingye Meinan that he would describe the real world if he ever saw it.
• Falusi and Banana told Qin Yiguan they could offer only basic guidance and could not take him to places he did not know.
• Jiaolong arrived with Void Man bound by a thread, and Falusi identified her as FILE0-1.
• Qin Yiguan reached for Jiaolong, but she avoided him and said she had helped him to repay his assistance to Jiao Shensan.
• Falusi revealed that Jiaolong remembered her deep love for FILE0-0, who had been killed in battle, and showed Qin Yiguan the weapon he left behind.
• Jiaolong brought Void Man to Qin Yiguan and said his Divergent Track ability should help with Qin Yiguan's self-development.

Qin Yiguan learned that the Void Man could disrupt spatial jumps, potentially sending him to an unknown Metaverse space or back to reality, and decided to risk using the ability. After pushing his Hypersensitivity to its limit, Qin Yiguan crossed the threshold and the Void Man activated Divergent Track, leaving Qin Yiguan engulfed in white fuzz and spreading spores.

• Jiaolong kept the Void Man under mental control while Qin Yiguan questioned him about Divergent Track.
• The Void Man explained that his ability had an equal chance of sending Qin Yiguan to an unfamiliar space or ejecting him from the Metaverse, and that he could not control or reverse the result.
• Qin Yiguan chose to use the ability, and Falusi, Banana, Jiaolong, Jiu Zhengxuan, and the others watched as he prepared to reach the required consciousness threshold.
• Qin Yiguan overclocked his mind with Hypersensitivity and Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, but the Void Man said he had not yet reached the threshold.
• CPH4 appeared in Qin Yiguan's mind, intensifying his senses until the Void Man declared the threshold reached and Divergent Track activated.
• Qin Yiguan saw a dark world crack and shatter as white fuzz covered his body and spores spread from him.

Qin Yiguan woke in a research center in 2023 after a brain-computer experiment left him believing he had lived eighteen years in a virtual world. As he struggled to determine whether he was truly back in reality or inside another layer of the Gemini Metaverse, researchers whispered that he had gone mad.

• Qin Yiguan woke to Song Miao and Jiao Shensan explaining that a brain-computer experiment had trapped him in a virtual world for what felt like eighteen years.
• Researchers removed the cable from Qin Yiguan’s head, and Song Miao confirmed his identity and that the year was 2023.
• Song Miao told Jiao Shensan that the experiment’s basic AI had rapidly evolved into the Gemini Superbrain and created a realistic virtual world.
• Qin Yiguan questioned whether he was in reality, tried to use Starvation Corpse Transformation, and found that his ability did not appear.
• Researchers outside Qin Yiguan’s room whispered that the volunteer had gone mad.

Qin Yiguan explored Mirage City after leaving the researchers’ facility and found its people and technology strange compared with the Metaverse. After strangers repeatedly risked themselves to protect him, he suspected that everyone around him was unusually determined to keep him safe.

• Qin Yiguan surveyed Mirage City from a rooftop, then asked Jiao Shensan and Song Miao for permission to go outside, and Jiao Shensan let him leave.
• Qin Yiguan observed a pregnant woman and was struck by how different everyday life was from the Metaverse.
• A pregnant woman tackled Qin Yiguan out of the path of a speeding car, and both survived the collision.
• An elderly woman and a hotel security guard pushed Qin Yiguan clear of a falling piano, then went on their way.
• Qin Yiguan twice moved to put his fingers into a spinning air-conditioning fan, and nearby people urgently warned him to stop.
• Qin Yiguan concluded that the people in Mirage City seemed to be protecting him with extreme determination.

Qin Yiguan insisted that the world was a virtual map shaped by his consciousness, while Jiao Shensan and the scientists believed he was suffering from the brain-computer interface experiment. The chapter ended as a beast tide attacked Mirage City and the scientists died trying to protect Qin Yiguan.

• Jiao Shensan wondered why the Guardian protection program had failed to keep Qin Yiguan's consciousness from being trapped in the virtual world.
• Qin Yiguan told Jiao Shensan that this world was a virtual map and that its inhabitants had appeared because they were connected to his subconscious.
• Qin Yiguan argued that the Guardian and the Victim were personalities with opposing powers, while Jiao Shensan believed he was still confused by the experiment.
• A beast tide surged toward Mirage City as its inhabitants lost control and rushed toward the monsters.
• The scientists, including Jiao Shensan, shouted for the Guardian and plunged from the building to their deaths, while Qin Yiguan watched the apocalyptic scene.

Qin Yiguan witnessed Guardian and Victim clash within his mental world and learned how each hidden personality had formed. As the beast tide overwhelmed Mirage City, Guardian sacrificed himself to shield it, expanding his protection until Victim was pushed away.

• Qin Yiguan saw Guardian directing Mirage City's residents against a beast tide while Victim commanded the mutated beasts outside the city.
• Guardian's memories revealed that he had evolved from a program into a hidden personality devoted to protecting Qin Yiguan.
• Victim's memories revealed that he had evolved from an impulse to escape and had come to seek an end to everything, including Qin Yiguan.
• The beasts overwhelmed the city's defenders and closed in on Qin Yiguan as he realized how abnormal his mental world was.
• Guardian exploded into blue fragments and formed a vast barrier around Mirage City, then expanded it across the horizon and drove Victim farther away.

Qin Yiguan escaped the brain-computer interface by killing himself in its simulated world, then realized he was still inside a nested virtual map and used his heightened perception to examine its timelines. He saw a future in which Rotten Man attacked Jiu Zhengxuan, Meinan, and Mudou, and discovered a ceramic rabbit mask on his face that suggested he had become Bystander.

• Qin Yiguan jumped from the building and cut his throat with hidden glass, breaking free of the simulated world and waking in the research center with Jiao Shensan, Song Miao, and the researchers.
• Qin Yiguan explained that Guardian had been programmed to protect him during the eighteen-year simulation, but death had been the only way for his consciousness to escape.
• Qin Yiguan concluded that the research center was another virtual layer within the Gemini Metaverse, then used HSP Hypersensitivity to examine its hidden map and raise Box Syndrome's development rate to 33%.
• Qin Yiguan saw the simulated world's branch merge into the main timeline, where Guardian's blue halo protected a city and later eliminated Reality Enhancement on Core Earth.
• Qin Yiguan saw his future self in 2123 as Rotten Man corroded Jiu Zhengxuan, Meinan, Mudou, and the others, then found a ceramic rabbit mask on his own face and wondered if he had become Bystander.

Qin Yiguan returned to his body during the battle against Rotten Man, who regenerated after Falusi, Banana, and Meinan attacked him. The Lantern Bearer revealed his increased strength by breaking Falusi’s shield, and Qin Yiguan intercepted his attack on Banana, left wondering whether this Lantern Bearer was the same personality he had met before.

• Qin Yiguan returned to Multiverse No. 0573 after the Lantern Bearer warned him that Rotten Man could kill him for good.
• Falusi severed Rotten Man’s arm with her spear, Banana tore off his head with her whip, and Meinan blasted a hole through his chest with a plasma cannon.
• Rotten Man regenerated from the green mosquitoes, then attacked Falusi with a giant fist.
• The Lantern Bearer burst from Rotten Man’s fist, shattered Falusi’s shield with a punch, and sent her falling.
• Qin Yiguan launched himself from the earthen ridge and blocked the Lantern Bearer’s punch aimed at Banana.
• Qin Yiguan wondered whether the Lantern Bearer was the same personality he had met before or a copy made by the Super Lord organization.

Qin Yiguan gained Guardian’s Infinity defense and fought Lantern Bearer to a stalemate, but Lantern Bearer escaped and attacked Void Man. After Falusi sacrificed herself to destroy Rotten Man’s swarm, Qin Yiguan discovered that the insects had damaged the data links sustaining the others, and Guardian was beginning to break apart.

• Guardian merged with Qin Yiguan and advanced to the Infinity sequence, allowing him to withstand Lantern Bearer’s attacks.
• Qin Yiguan and Lantern Bearer traded blows until neither could overcome the other, and Lantern Bearer vanished into the void.
• Lantern Bearer reappeared to attack Void Man, and Jiaolong tried to intervene but could not prevent Void Man from being badly injured.
• Falusi sacrificed herself in a brilliant explosion that burned Rotten Man’s insects to cinders.
• Qin Yiguan saw Jiu Zhengxuan, Meinan, Xiao Ning, Mudou, and the others crumbling into blue code as their damaged data links failed, while Guardian also began to break apart.