Recaps

Han Shu redirected his convoy to rescue the people sending distress signals despite suspecting a trap, while Chen Liu and Highland Eagle entered a ruined complex to investigate. The rescue team reached the signal’s source and found a person crouched beside a cabinet, repeating a plea for help.

• Chen Liu dismissed Han Shu’s warnings and set out to rescue the distress callers, prompting Han Shu to turn his convoy toward their coordinates.
• Han Shu’s convoy stopped beside a vast ruined complex, while Chen Liu and Highland Eagle advanced inside with a Fifth-Generation Armament.
• Tianyang and Old Xu watched the live footage and identified the spherical building as a likely arena.
• Liang Sen received another distress signal and led Highland Eagle toward its location.
• Liang Sen’s team entered a room lined with seats and lockers, where they found someone repeating a distress message.

Liang Sen’s squad killed a Child of Darkness that had lured them into a trap, then became trapped among Wanderers. As Han Shu rushed to help, Captain Lida organized the remaining forces, and Tianyang joined the front line against an approaching pack of Mad Dogs.

• Liang Sen approached a strange figure transmitting a distress call, and it revealed itself as a Child of Darkness with a human face inside its gaping torso.
• Liang Sen and his squad shot the monster, then he destroyed its will cage and ended its life.
• Wanderers emerged from the corridor and a ventilation shaft, forcing Liang Sen’s squad to retreat into a room while Han Shu led the Raven Squad to help.
• After the Raven Squad departed, Captain Lida formed a defensive perimeter around the convoy and positioned the heavy armament.
• A sentry reported at least a hundred Mad Dogs approaching, and Tianyang joined the War God Class Ascenders at the front of the defensive line.

The convoy's defenders fought off several packs of Mad Dogs, while Tianyang showed surprising speed and rescued Xun during an attack from behind the line. Lida spotted a mutated Mad Dog directing the coordinated assault and ordered the Fifth-Generation Armament to fire at it.

• The Fifth-Generation Armament destroyed an initial pack of Mad Dogs, and Lida directed the convoy to engage new packs approaching from several sides.
• Tianyang fought off a Mad Dog that broke through the defensive fire, and another Ascender showed him how to kill the creatures by destroying the cages beneath their skulls.
• Mad Dogs attacked the plaza behind the defensive line, injuring Recovery Team members and throwing the Recovery Team and Medical Team into chaos.
• Tianyang rescued Xun from a charging Mad Dog and then rushed toward another target, startling Lida with his speed.
• Lida realized the packs were coordinating their attacks, spotted their mutated leader through binoculars, and ordered the Fifth-Generation Armament to fire at it.

Lida sent Tianyang to assassinate the Demon Hound leader after the convoy’s weapons failed to kill it. Tianyang discovered its will cage and killed it with a precise strike as the Mad Dogs attacked the defensive line.

• A pilot fired a shell at the Demon Hound, but a dozen Mad Dogs intercepted it and the leader survived the blast.
• Lida asked about other weapons, then assigned Tianyang to assassinate the Demon Hound.
• Tianyang stealthily approached the leader using a spray that disguised his scent from the Mad Dogs.
• Tianyang saw the Demon Hound’s will cage inside its abdomen and waited for its guards to leave for the assault.
• Tianyang used his stealth ability to strike between the Demon Hound’s ribs and destroy its will cage, killing it.

After killing the Demon Hound, Tianyang withdrew toward the defensive line and was nearly killed when Zhou Wang deliberately interfered with his escape from a pack of Mad Dogs. Back at the square, Han Shu showed concern for Tianyang and warned Lida to keep his background private.

• Tianyang found that killing the Demon Hound raised his ascension progress by only four percent, then collected its eyes and began withdrawing along Lida’s route.
• A pack of Mad Dogs surrounded Tianyang, and star essence arrows helped him break free before the monsters resumed their chase.
• Zhou Wang fired an elemental spear past Tianyang and claimed it had been an accident, then a Falcon vehicle destroyed the pursuing Mad Dogs.
• Lida questioned Zhou Wang’s claim, warned him not to let it happen again, and Tianyang returned to the square without confronting him.
• Han Shu scolded Tianyang for taking the mission, sent him for a medical examination, and told Lida not to discuss the boy’s background.

Ling Feng discussed Tianyang’s unusual abilities and the political stakes surrounding the Ascenders with Lin Yang. After his medical examination, Tianyang learned why Xun had chosen dangerous work rather than an easier way to earn money, and left reflecting on her independence.

• Ling Feng told Lin Yang that Tianyang’s speed and precision suggested he was an Assassin, and said the City Lord already knew about his new class.
• Ling Feng and Lin Yang discussed Minister Wade’s effort to cut resources for Ascenders and how Tianyang’s abilities might obstruct his plans.
• Tianyang encountered the injured Strategic Department official Chen Liu before entering the field medical vehicle’s examination room.
• Xun examined Tianyang and found only minor muscle strains, then explained that she worked in the Inverse Realm medical service to earn contribution points for her ill father.
• Tianyang realized Xun had rejected easier ways to support herself because she wanted to preserve her freedom.

After the convoy returned to the Star Marrow Pillar, Han Shu pushed through Chen Liu’s objections and arranged for the team to touch it. In the tunnel, Zhou Wang provoked Tianyang by threatening Xun, leaving Tianyang facing a personal conflict.

• The convoy traveled back to the Star Marrow Pillar without encountering any Wanderers, and Tianyang wondered where they had gone.
• Han Shu arranged for everyone involved in the recovery to touch the Star Pillar, while Chen Liu objected and threatened to report the Nightwalkers’ tradition.
• Tianyang explored the tunnel and encountered Zhou Wang, who blocked his way and claimed his earlier shot had been accidental.
• Zhou Wang threatened to have his way with Xun after they returned, and Tianyang listened as he walked away.

Tianyang confronted Zhou Wang over his intentions toward Xun, but their clash was interrupted before it turned violent. Xun awakened the rare Radiance Class and became Luo Shan’s student, leaving Zhou Wang furious that Tianyang had thwarted his plans.

• Tianyang warned Zhou Wang that he would have to face Tianyang’s blade if he tried to touch Xun, and the two nearly fought before a Gray Dove recruit interrupted them.
• Xun touched the Star Pillar, which blazed with silver light and surrounded her with streams of starlight.
• Xun revealed that she had awakened the Radiance Class, astonishing the team and delighting Han Shu and Chen Liu.
• Luo Shan embraced Xun, declared her student, and promised to give her private lessons.
• Zhou Wang blamed Tianyang for ruining his chance to gain power through Xun and angrily wished he could attack him.

Tianyang and Han Shu’s group escaped the collapsing tunnel, only for a Ghost Car—a grotesque monster fused with train carriages—to burst from the rubble and charge them. As the convoy prepared to fight, Tianyang realized his Weakness Sense might reveal the creature’s hidden Will Cage.

• After the Star Marrow Pillar recovery, Tianyang noticed wind in the tunnel, and Han Shu ordered everyone to leave as the tunnel began to collapse.
• Tianyang saw what looked like train headlights in the darkness before the tunnel and nearby road caved in.
• A huge creature burst from the rubble and crashed into a building, prompting Han Shu to ready the convoy’s weapons and defenses.
• The Ghost Car emerged, revealing a body fused with train carriages and human corpses, and Old Xu identified it as a dangerous underground Child of Darkness.
• Han Shu explained that previous Nightwalkers had failed to locate the Ghost Car’s Will Cage, while Tianyang considered using Weakness Sense to find it.
• The Ghost Car lit up its fleshy growths and charged the defensive formation.

Ghost Car shrugged off the convoy’s heavy bombardment with a deflection force field and devoured Chen Liu as he tried to flee. Han Shu then led the War God Class in a charge to cripple the monster’s arms, with Tianyang joining the assault.

• Han Shu ordered everyone to scatter as Ghost Car charged through the convoy and destroyed a Falcon combat vehicle.
• The convoy’s Ascenders, vehicles, and Three-Dimensional Armaments unleashed a massive barrage, but Ghost Car survived behind a deflection force field.
• Chen Liu fled in a car, but Ghost Car smashed through a shopping mall and swallowed him and the vehicle.
• Han Shu told the convoy that Chen Liu had drawn Ghost Car away, then ordered the War God Class to target its arms while the others provided covering fire.
• Han Shu led Cang Du, Old Xu, Tianyang, and the other War God Class Ascenders toward Ghost Car and activated Vortex Force Field.

Han Shu and the Ascenders crippled Ghost Car, but the monster transformed, unleashed fire, and spawned a host of Wanderers from the black sludge it vomited. Tianyang realized the Wanderers they had fought earlier had come from Ghost Car.

• Han Shu drilled through Ghost Car's arm, and a squad captain severed another arm as the Ascenders attacked.
• Tianyang tried to use [Weakness Sense] on Ghost Car but could not see beyond its skin, while Han Shu warned everyone to duck as the monster swept its tail overhead and killed an Ascender.
• The Ascenders destroyed several more arms, but Ghost Car's fleshy growths turned red and erupted in flames, burning two Ascenders as the others retreated.
• Ghost Car's arms burned away, insectlike legs emerged, and the monster vomited black water before shrinking and freeing its tail from the Train carriages.
• Wanderers climbed from the black sludge and formed a barrier between the Ascenders and Ghost Car, and Tianyang recognized them as the Wanderers who had disappeared earlier.

Ghost Car broke free of Lida’s frost attack and continued attacking the Ascenders, leaving them unsure how to stop it. Tianyang spotted a possible location for its will cage, and Han Shu ordered the Shooter Model’s pilot to target it with the Falling Star sniper cannon.

• Ghost Car attacked the Ascenders and destroyed the Heavy-Armored Model and two Falcon combat vehicles, while the pilot who ejected from the armament was killed by its scythe-like forelimb.
• Lida used Withering to freeze Ghost Car, but the monster melted the ice, broke free, and cut her combat vehicle in half.
• Tianyang noticed that Ghost Car could no longer use its deflection force field and saw a faint red glow above its mouthparts, which he believed marked its will cage.
• Han Shu told the Shooter Model’s pilot where Tianyang thought the will cage was and urged him to fire the Falling Star sniper cannon.

Tianyang volunteered to enter Ghost Car’s body cavity and destroy its will cage after the monster resisted the team’s attacks. With Lida preparing to use Withering to open a brief window, the Ascenders began distracting Ghost Car while Tianyang waited for her signal.

• The Shooter Model Armament’s sniper cannon failed to penetrate Ghost Car’s heat field, and the monster damaged the cannon before the Ascenders drove it away.
• Captain Yellow Dragon identified a gap in Ghost Car’s heat field and suggested attacking from inside its body cavity.
• Han Shu offered to enter the monster, but Lida warned that the heat would kill him; Tianyang volunteered instead, and Ling Feng approved the attempt.
• Lida agreed to use Withering to let Tianyang enter, though the heat field would return inside the monster in about five seconds.
• Han Shu directed the Ascenders and combat vehicles to lure Ghost Car away from the Recovery Team and Medical Team while Lida prepared her ability.
• Lida unleashed Withering as Ghost Car destroyed another combat vehicle.

Tianyang destroyed the Will Cage inside Ghost Car, killing the monster but suffering severe burns. After recovering enough to leave intensive care, he learned that a funeral was about to begin, though he did not know whose funeral it was.

• Lida froze Ghost Car long enough for Tianyang to enter its body cavity and locate the Will Cage.
• Tianyang slashed the Will Cage with his Particle Warblade, and Ghost Car's body burned from within as he escaped.
• Lida extinguished the flames on Tianyang, and he collapsed after seeing Ghost Car dissolve.
• Tianyang woke in the field medical vehicle's intensive care unit, where Xun and Luo Shan treated him and Han Shu visited.
• After three days of healing, Tianyang left intensive care and Cang Du told him to come to the funeral.

After the convoy mourned the soldiers and Ascenders killed by Ghost Car, Han Shu told Tianyang that his actions had saved lives and promised to seek materials for a replacement weapon. The convoy then returned to Lighthouse Outpost Base, and Tianyang boarded a train for the Fortress, where he unexpectedly shared a carriage with Luo Shan, Xun, and Zhou Wang.

• Tianyang attended the Nightwalkers’ funeral for those killed in the battle with Ghost Car and grieved at Shattered Star’s grave.
• Han Shu spoke with Tianyang after the funeral, thanked him for saving lives, and offered to seek Ghost Car materials for a Material Weapon.
• Two days later, the convoy left Metropolis for Lighthouse Outpost Base, where Han Shu received another assignment and Tianyang boarded a train for the Fortress.
• Tianyang discovered that Luo Shan and Xun were on the same train, while Zhou Wang sat between him and Xun and spoiled his mood.

Tianyang checked his ascension progress and learned that killing the Ghost Car had raised it to 40%. When Zhou Wang tried to force Xun into marriage aboard the train, Tianyang intervened and knocked him unconscious.

• Tianyang checked his status and saw that his Avenger class was Rank 1: Assassin, with 40% ascension progress and Eradicator as his next rank.
• Xun reflected on becoming an Ascender and looked forward to her family receiving better prospects after she returned to the Fortress.
• Zhou Wang apologized to Xun, proposed marriage, and boasted about his rank and the Zhou Family’s strength, but she refused him.
• Zhou Wang grabbed Xun and covered her mouth, threatening to force her into marriage before Tianyang entered the corridor.
• Tianyang punched Zhou Wang, dodged his attempt to form an elemental spear, and knocked him unconscious as Xun warned him to watch out.
• Luo Shan came out of the dining car and asked Xun whether the men were fighting over her.

Zhou Wang was arrested and expelled from the Nightwalkers after assaulting Xun, while Tianyang returned to the Lower City eager to see his mother. He found the Volcano Bar closed and learned Kaidi had been badly beaten, leaving him worried that his mother had gone missing.

• Luo Shan and the Train Conductor confronted Zhou Wang, and the Train Conductor revealed that the Nightwalkers had expelled him and handed his case to Iron Wall.
• Zhou Wang learned that his family had abandoned him and blamed Tianyang for his downfall.
• Tianyang returned to the Fortress, discovered his ascension progress had reached 42%, and looked forward to Xun cooking for him in three days.
• Tianyang bought food for his mother and found the Volcano Bar shut, then learned from a homeless man that Kaidi had been beaten and taken to Cripple on East Street.
• Tianyang raced home, saw dust on his front door, and grew more anxious about what had happened to his mother.

Tianyang discovered that his mother, Nanfei, had been taken and rushed to the Black Mine after Kaidi revealed where she was. He reached the mine at night and faced its guards at the main gate.

• Tianyang found his home ransacked and his mother missing.
• Tianyang went to Cripple’s shop and found Kaidi badly injured.
• Kaidi told Tianyang that someone had taken Nanfei to the Black Mine.
• Tianyang rode out of the Fortress and reached the mine’s main gate.
• A guard challenged Tianyang and asked why he had come to the mine.

Tianyang forced his way into the Black Mine to find his mother, Nanfei, and discovered she had been brutally abused and left without medical care. As he recognized her, mine manager Yingqi realized her imprisonment might be part of a conspiracy involving an Ascender.

• Tianyang opened the Black Mine's gate with his rifle and ordered manager Yingqi to search the records for Nanfei.
• Yingqi found that Nanfei had been transferred from the Fortress four days earlier and assigned to work area three.
• Tianyang and the supervisors found Nanfei injured and neglected in the workers' quarters, where a scarred supervisor was dragging her through the rubbish.
• Tianyang shot the supervisor in the knee, kicked him down, and recognized the badly injured woman as his mother.
• Yingqi realized that an Ascender's mother being imprisoned at the mine suggested a dangerous conspiracy.

Tianyang watched his mother Nanfei die and nearly killed the Mine overseers in grief, but Ling Feng persuaded him to lower his weapon and promised an investigation. Ling Feng ordered Lin Yang to identify who had sent Nanfei to the Mine, suspecting powerful officials but needing evidence.

• Nanfei mistook Tianyang for Lie before she died, then imagined Lie leading her into the light as she left her grieving son behind.
• Tianyang pointed his rifle at the male overseer but spared him because Nanfei had taught him not to let hatred rule him, then shot through the man's right arm after he admitted whipping her.
• Tianyang shot Yingqi in the shoulder and demanded to know who had sent Nanfei to the Mine.
• Ling Feng told Tianyang to lower his rifle and promised a medical examination and an investigation that would identify the responsible person within three days.
• Tianyang agreed to trust Ling Feng, who ordered Lin Yang to investigate and said he would inform the Commander.

After learning that Tianyang’s mother, Nanfei, had died in the Black Mine, Chu Yan ordered an investigation and wondered whether she was someone from his past. Tianyang returned home and mourned Nanfei, regretting that he had never apologized to her.

• Song Qiao told Chu Yan that Ling Feng wanted to speak with him, and Chu Yan agreed when he heard Ling Feng’s name.
• Ling Feng told Chu Yan that Tianyang’s mother, Nanfei, had died in the Black Mine and warned that Tianyang might clash with whoever was responsible.
• Chu Yan told Ling Feng to find the mastermind, then privately wondered whether Nanfei was someone he knew and sent a message asking about women with that name.
• Tianyang returned home after the hospital took Nanfei’s body away, then looked at her photograph and remembered the injuries she had suffered protecting him.
• Tianyang realized he had put off apologizing to Nanfei and sobbed alone in the dark.

After learning that his mother had died in the Black Mine, Tianyang discovered Qin Jie had framed her and arranged her imprisonment. Ignoring Ling Feng’s warning to leave the matter to the authorities, Tianyang prepared to seek revenge, while Kaidi understood what he intended.

• Kaidi visited Tianyang, learned Nanfei had died, and struck Tianyang when he refused to reveal who was responsible.
• Tianyang stopped Kaidi from seeking revenge and said he would handle it himself, as Nanfei’s son.
• After waiting two days for news, Tianyang learned from Ling Feng that Qin Jie had planted restricted items in his home and bribed an Examiner to send Nanfei to the Black Mine.
• Tianyang ate his first meal in three days, put on armor, took his rifle, and went to the Volcano Bar for a blade.
• Kaidi gave Tianyang a blade and watched him leave, recognizing that he was going after the people responsible.

Xun prepared a lavish dinner for Tianyang, unaware that he was heading to the Upper City to confront Qin Jie over his mother’s death. Qin Jie prepared an ambush, but Ling Feng and the others blocked Tianyang’s path and urged him to let the Nightwalkers handle the matter.

• Xun prepared dinner for Tianyang and waited with her brother Xiao Jie, while Luo Shan’s guards watched over her.
• Qin Jie recalled ordering Tianyang’s mother sent to the Black Mine, where she died, and readied Gold Hunters, a rank-3 Ascender, and Security Office personnel to kill Tianyang.
• Qin Jie learned Tianyang had entered the Upper City and eagerly anticipated his arrival.
• Tianyang drove toward the Qin Residence, but Ling Feng, Han Shu, Old Xu, Cang Du, and Ji Yu blocked the road with their cars.
• Ling Feng urged Tianyang to leave Qin Jie to the Nightwalkers and pursue justice through proper procedures.

Tianyang refused Ling Feng’s warnings and set out to kill Qin Jie, insisting he had to avenge his mother despite the risks to himself and the Nightwalkers. Ling Feng let him go with a warning about Qin Jie’s hired sniper, while Han Shu lent Tianyang Cang Du’s sword, Spring Water.

• Tianyang rejected Ling Feng’s offer to secure Qin Jie’s imprisonment and removed his Nightwalkers gear, saying he would act as an ordinary citizen.
• Tianyang explained that he had to avenge his mother, who had sacrificed everything to raise him in the Lower City.
• An elderly voice called Ling Feng and told him to let Tianyang go, so Ling Feng warned Tianyang about Qu Gao, a rank 3 Master Sniper hired by Qin Jie.
• Ling Feng allowed Tianyang to take his armor and Stellar Essence Rifle, and Han Shu gave him Cang Du’s sword, Spring Water.
• Tianyang traded the blade Kaidi had given him to Cang Du and rode toward the Qin Residence on his Electromagnetic Motorcycle.

Tianyang studied the enemy’s identities and the Qin Residence before devising a plan to kill Qin Jie. Unable to locate Qu Gao or confirm whether Qin Jie was inside, he left his hiding place after rehearsing his next moves.

• Tianyang memorized the photographs of Qu Gao and Qin Jie, then deleted the message and images.
• Tianyang surveyed the family district and assessed the open terrain and the strength of Qin Jie’s forces.
• Tianyang formed a plan to eliminate Qu Gao first, kill Qin Jie, and escape before public security arrived.
• Tianyang climbed into a plaza sculpture and used thermal imaging to watch the Qin Residence.
• Tianyang suspected Qu Gao was hiding inside the residence but could not identify the motionless figure in a second-floor room.
• Tianyang rehearsed his next moves for ten minutes, then climbed down from the sculpture.