Recaps

Kafka and Herta built the Southern Women's Mutual Aid Association into a thousand-member organization and sent its recruits to jobs in Giantwood City, where the factory would serve as their base and domestic workers could gather intelligence. Number Seven set out to reunite with her sisters, while the chapter introduced Goff, the newly appointed director of Military Uniform Factory 516, who planned to profit from its materials.

• Kafka's association recruited over a thousand members by offering free job-application advice.
• Kafka and Herta chose Military Uniform Factory 516 as the association's base and sent some members to the Domestic Service Association to develop an intelligence channel.
• The association's recruits boarded a train for Giantwood City, but Number Seven arrived after it had departed and drove there in her conspicuous red sports car.
• Number Seven reflected on her late father and younger sister as she drove toward the city, hoping her sisters would recognize her car and reunite with her after eight years.
• Goff, a former management trainee, became the director of Military Uniform Factory 516 through his marriage and connections, and considered skimming resources to build his savings.

At the 516 Military Uniform Factory, Kafka and the southern workers confronted Director Goff and forced him to accept their self-management. Goff agreed to stay out of the workshop and let them control the accounts, taking only a fifth of the under-the-table income.

• Goff was praised by his colleagues for the factory’s disciplined workers and celebrated his apparent success.
• Drunk, Goff returned to the factory intending to give the workers a speech, but found them waiting silently in the dark workshop.
• Kafka and two workers covered Goff’s head with a black bag and proposed that they cooperate.
• Kafka persuaded Goff that the workers could meet production quotas without management from above.
• Goff agreed to stay in his office, leave the factory accounts to the workers, and take twenty percent of the under-the-table income.

Goff lost control of the 516 Military Uniform Factory as the Southern Women's Mutual Aid Association took over its operations, while Herta became a celebrated public figure in Giantwood City. After Herta's growing fame brought her to the attention of Chu Mu's family, she was abruptly summoned to meet him and asked to bear a child for them.

• Goff was pushed aside as the Mutual Aid Association took over the 516 Military Uniform Factory, improved workers' conditions, and managed its finances.
• Goff received commendations for the factory's performance but grew uneasy about the association's influence and felt trapped in his role as its figurehead and scapegoat.
• Reporters and broadcasters made Herta a media sensation, and she accepted business endorsements while declining a movie role.
• Herta used her growing public profile to try to attract Chu Mu's attention, but officials in black took her to meet him after a radio recording.
• A mature woman introduced Chu Mu as her younger brother, then asked Herta whether she had reached puberty and could give their family a child.

Number One pressured Chu Mu and Herta into a marriage and children, while Chu Mu and Herta pretended to be strangers under her watch. Herta boldly played along, and Chu Mu suggested they get to know each other by sharing stories about the south.

• Number One told Chu Mu she wanted him and Herta to have children, offering them a pasture in the south afterward.
• Chu Mu objected that the marriage was absurd and asked to get to know Herta first, so Number One left them alone while listening outside.
• Chu Mu pretended not to know Herta and warned her not to take Number One's demands too seriously.
• Herta acted as if she would gladly have several children with Chu Mu, then sat on his lap and urged him to make one immediately.
• Chu Mu pushed Herta away and said he wanted their souls to connect before their bodies, then asked her to tell him stories about the south.

Herta told Chu Mu a southern folktale about a shepherd who freed the grassland from a wolf, using the story to convey a request to Number One. Number One took Herta aside, asserted control over their arranged marriage, and asked when she would have a baby.

• Herta recognized that Chu Mu wanted to hear a story about a shepherd and told him a folktale about a shepherd defeating a wolf and freeing the grassland.
• After the story, Number One entered and asked Herta to speak with her outside the room.
• Herta noticed the iron-barred windows and reflected on how difficult it would be to escape or pass her location to Kafka.
• Number One praised Herta's obedience, called them family, and warned her that she was fortunate to have been chosen as Chu Mu's match.
• Number One asked whether Herta liked Chu Mu, then asked when she would have a baby.

Herta pretended to accept Number One’s matchmaking plans while probing for a way to leave and investigating a cook named Lina. The chapter ended with Herta pulling Chu Mu toward his bedroom after insisting they try to make a baby.

• Herta acted shy and interested in Chu Mu as Number One advised her to win him over with stories, then asked whether she could return to her companions.
• Number One refused to let Herta leave and hurried away after learning that Number Seven had entered the city.
• Herta explored the guarded residence, went downstairs, and met Lina, a southern cook whose name reminded her of Charles’s daughter.
• Herta ordered Lina to prepare a lamb dish, then returned to Chu Mu’s room and urged him to come inside with her.

In the dark bedroom, Herta questioned Chu Mu and concluded that they were reenacting a memory from his past life, with her role offering a way out. Chu Mu revealed that he was a Fallen Aeon born after his previous incarnation fell, leaving Herta wondering whether that incarnation’s return would erase him.

• Herta had Chu Mu answer questions by squeezing her hand and inferred that he was an amnesiac Aeon inside a memory of his past.
• Herta proposed that she and Chu Mu work together to study him and discussed two possible ways to escape the memory.
• Herta described a possible escape route involving the daughter of an old man she had rescued, and Chu Mu suggested the coincidence came from his past-life memories.
• Chu Mu told Herta that he had come into being after his previous incarnation fell and explained that Yaoshi might want to resurrect and kill that incarnation.
• Herta asked Chu Mu whether his previous incarnation’s awakening would cause Chu Mu to cease to exist.

Chu Mu told Herta that he did not resent Yaoshi for keeping him alive, but Herta urged him to live for his family and himself. As Herta’s meal-time plan brought Lina into their room, Lina’s memories revealed the painful history behind her relationship with her father, Charles.

• Chu Mu said he felt grateful to Yaoshi for saving him and hoped she could live well, while Herta warned him that his family needed him alive.
• Herta explained her plan to use Lina to contact Charles and have him reach Kafka and the others at the Military Uniform Factory.
• Herta kept the armed guard outside by claiming that his presence could endanger her unborn baby, then invited Lina to sit and eat with them.
• Herta asked Lina whether her father was Charles, and Lina remembered being taken from him and learning to obey after he was abandoned and she was abused.

Herta told Lina that her father Charles was alive and worked for the Funeral Association in Giantwood City, and Lina agreed to keep the information secret. After Lina left, Herta and Chu Mu discussed geniuses, ordinary people, and loneliness before Herta asked Chu Mu about his Path.

• Herta asked Lina whether she hated her father, then revealed that Charles was alive and worked for the Funeral Association in Giantwood City.
• Herta warned Lina not to tell anyone about Charles, explaining that she had saved him, and Lina resolved not to betray Herta and Chu Mu.
• Lina pushed the meal cart past security, who found no contraband and assumed Herta had eaten most of the dish.
• Herta explained that she had used the meal to create more chances to interact with Lina, then discussed her social skills and the differences between geniuses and ordinary people with Chu Mu.
• Herta described the loneliness of geniuses and some exceptions among the Aeons, then asked Chu Mu what his Path was.

Chu Mu and Herta teased each other before agreeing to share a bed in the cold room. Meanwhile, Number Seven returned to Giantwood City and asked Number One whether she had found their father’s hibernation base.

• Chu Mu dodged Herta’s question about his Path and joked that she was mentally a granny, prompting her to bite his shoulder.
• Herta explained that Chu Mu should not call her Granny Herta while she was in her young-girl body.
• Chu Mu and Herta decided to share the bed, and he fell asleep while she stayed awake in the cold room.
• Number One and Number Seven discussed their father’s hidden hibernation base beneath the glacier that once covered Giantwood City.
• Number Seven, after a difficult two-week journey, reunited with Number One at Giantwood Tower and asked whether she had found the base.

Number Seven learned that Number One planned to keep Ah Mu for ten more months in exchange for his child, leaving her unable to secure a family gathering. Meanwhile, Stelle and March 7th struggled to get back to the Military Uniform Factory after Herta’s disappearance and found themselves one resource point short of bus fare.

• Number Seven asked Number One about Ah Mu and pleaded for a coming-of-age celebration, but Number One said she would pass the proposal to the others.
• Number One told Number Seven that Ah Mu’s eyesight was failing and that he had agreed to give her a child before she let him leave in ten months.
• Stelle and March 7th worried about how to explain Herta’s disappearance to Kafka and bought discounted lamb chops with their remaining resource points.
• Stelle frightened March 7th with a story about young women disappearing across Giantwood City, and they hurried to the bus stop.
• Stelle and March 7th discovered the heated night bus cost one extra resource point, leaving them unable to afford a ride for both of them.

After Charles mistook Stelle and March 7th for acquaintances in the dark, he offered them a ride to the city center in his truck. They discovered he was transporting a murdered woman’s body, and Charles warned them that Giantwood City had become dangerous at night.

• Charles startled Stelle and March 7th on the road, then offered to take them to a bus stop because they had no money for the bus.
• Stelle and March 7th rode in Charles’s truck beside a stretcher carrying a young woman’s corpse, which was briefly uncovered during a turn.
• Charles explained that the woman had been killed by a robber and that her poor family might not be able to claim her body.
• Charles brought the body to the Funeral Association and offered Stelle and March 7th hot food, but they declined.
• Charles warned the girls to avoid going out at night and said that boys were also being killed in the chaotic city.

March 7th and Stelle helped Lina reunite with her father, Charles, at the Funeral Association. Lina revealed that Herta was being held with Chu Mu beneath Giantwood Tower, where Lina worked.

• Charles explained that he was working extra shifts to save money for a missing-person notice to find his daughter, Lina.
• Lina arrived at the Funeral Association looking for Charles, and March 7th and Stelle brought her inside to find him.
• Charles emerged from the elevator and reunited with Lina after warning them away from the Chemical Pool.
• Lina revealed that she knew Herta and described Herta’s plans involving Chu Mu, prompting Stelle and March 7th to react with surprise.
• Charles offered to take March 7th and Stelle to the Bus Stop, and they learned that Lina worked in Giantwood Tower, beneath which Herta and Chu Mu were being held.

March 7th and Stelle returned to the Military Uniform Factory after gathering information about Herta and Chu Mu, and Kafka welcomed them with gentle concern. Stelle began explaining what they had learned, including the claim that Herta was having Chu Mu's baby.

• March 7th and Stelle met Number Seven at a bus stop in Giantwood City, where Number Seven learned they worked at the 516 Military Uniform Factory and planned to investigate it.
• Number Seven declined March 7th's offer to stay with them and waited alone for her sports car to be repaired so she could visit her older sisters.
• March 7th and Stelle arrived at the Military Uniform Factory and found Kafka waiting for them at the gate.
• Kafka explained that she had worried when they failed to return on time, then offered them hot tomato and beef brisket soup without scolding them.
• Stelle apologized to Kafka and reported what Lina had told them; Silver Wolf spluttered when Stelle mentioned that Herta was having Chu Mu's baby.

Kafka, Silver Wolf, Stelle, and March 7th planned to rescue Chu Mu from Herta, who was holding him in Giantwood Tower, while discussing the dangers and the weapons they would need. Kafka also realized that March 7th had revealed the Stellaron Hunters’ factory hideout to Number Seven, prompting her to tighten security as Number Seven returned to her hotel.

• Silver Wolf laughed at the news about Herta and Chu Mu, but Kafka insisted they needed to rescue them rather than wait ten months.
• Kafka recalled how she had tried to keep Chu Mu connected to others, first through Asta and later through Tingyun, as his growing divinity made him more withdrawn.
• Kafka warned that Number One might kill Chu Mu and Herta to silence them, and said the group needed to scout Giantwood Tower and obtain guns before attempting a rescue.
• Stelle suggested borrowing Number Seven’s gun, and Silver Wolf clarified that she meant taking it without returning it.
• March 7th admitted she had invited Number Seven to visit the factory, and Kafka took responsibility while ordering the factory’s security strengthened.
• Number Seven returned exhausted to her hotel and sneezed, wondering why the night felt so cold.

Lina received the head chef’s encouragement and learned that the diners had enjoyed her cooking. Herta woke from a nightmare in which Chu Mu had controlled her, then teased and bit the real Chu Mu, while wondering whether the dream reflected her thoughts or memories.

• The head chef asked Lina about staying away from the dorm and promised to protect her from the man who had harassed her.
• The head chef praised Lina’s cooking and urged her to pursue bigger opportunities, and Lina thanked him for caring about her.
• Herta dreamed that Chu Mu had manipulated and restrained her as part of a plan involving the kitchen.
• Herta woke to find herself tangled in the blanket while Chu Mu had slept with only clothes for covers.
• Herta asked Chu Mu why he had let her keep the blanket, bit his shoulder after his answer, and kept her dream to herself.

Herta used her food demands to arrange for Lina to cook upstairs, while the head chef taught Lina about navigating hierarchy and developing her culinary career. The chapter ended with the head chef encouraging her to master southern cuisine before eventually forging her own style.

• Herta found Lina still working in the kitchen and asked for a different meat served thirteen ways that evening.
• The head chef explained to Lina that people at the bottom had to stay on good terms with those above them to avoid trouble.
• The head chef advised Lina to prepare suckling pig for Herta’s dinner and warned her to treat the request as a test.
• During lunch, Lina watched the head chef cook and wondered why he stayed in the underground kitchen despite his skill.
• The head chef advised Lina to focus on southern cuisine, then learn northern cuisine once she had established herself.

Number One visited Chu Mu and Herta, insisting they stay together for ten months until the child was born and dismissing Chu Mu's objections. Herta's carefully staged peacemaking won Number One's trust, and the chapter ended as Lina delivered food while reflecting on Number One's age.

• Number One arrived late and asked Herta whether she and Chu Mu had done it, then said she cared only about the result.
• Number One told Chu Mu that Number Seven had returned and wanted to hold his Coming-of-Age Ceremony, but insisted he wait ten months until the child was born.
• Chu Mu accused Number One of always controlling him under the pretense of protecting his health, while Herta tried to calm their argument.
• Herta promised Number One she would complete the mission, and Number One advised her to enjoy the process instead of treating it as a mission.
• Number One stayed to wait for Chu Mu's medicine to be absorbed, and Herta invited her to share the food she had ordered.
• Lina brought the food cart and, seeing Number One up close, reflected that even the Alliance's supreme leader would face aging and death.

Herta arranged for Lina to pass her intelligence to Kafka, while Number One promised Lina a future as a grand hotel chef. That night, Herta tied her arm to Chu Mu’s under the blanket as her proposed solution to their problem.

• Number One praised Lina’s cooking, promised to arrange for her to head a grand hotel kitchen, and left Herta’s home.
• Herta learned Lina had seen Stelle and March 7th, then instructed her to tell Kafka about Herta’s situation when Lina visited her father.
• Lina told the head chef about Number One’s promise, and he celebrated her future while Lina felt ashamed that she could not follow his hopes for her.
• Herta entered Chu Mu’s bedroom, put a blanket over him, and tied his left arm to her right arm as her solution for the night.

Herta tied her arm to Chu Mu’s so she would not roll away with the blanket, while Kafka’s group arranged a nearby base to monitor Giantwood Tower. On the way to the Funeral Association, they noticed a chemical-smelling man but dismissed him after learning a Chemical Pool worker had just finished his shift.

• Herta tied her arm to Chu Mu’s with a towel so she would not roll the blanket away, and they fell asleep beside each other.
• Kafka, Silver Wolf, Stelle, and March 7th chose an apartment overlooking Giantwood Tower and planned to have Goff sign the lease the next day.
• Kafka assigned Silver Wolf to watch the tower from the apartment while she continued overseeing the Military Uniform Factory and the Southern Women's Mutual Aid Association.
• Near the Funeral Association, the group passed a man muttering that everything was fake, and Stelle recognized the chemical smell from the Chemical Pool.
• March 7th asked Charles about the man and learned the Chemical Pool worker had just finished work, so the group set the incident aside and focused on rescuing Herta and Chu Mu.

Herta tried to stop herself from stealing Chu Mu’s blanket by tying her hands to the bed, but Number One found them bound and accused Chu Mu of treating her like a plaything. Chu Mu blamed Number One for ordering Herta to bear a child and revealed that he knew about a contingency she had hidden in the downstairs kitchen.

• Lina delivered Herta’s information to Kafka, who told her to reassure Herta that they were working on a rescue and warn her not to steal Chu Mu’s blanket.
• Herta woke up in bed with Chu Mu after tying her arm to his, and discovered she had rolled on top of him instead of taking the blanket.
• Number One warned Herta that she might separate her from Chu Mu if she was pregnant, then told Chu Mu to stop putting Herta through so much at night.
• Herta tied both hands to the bed with bath towels to keep from rolling over and stealing Chu Mu’s blanket.
• A week later, Number One found Herta bound to the bed and accused Chu Mu of treating her as a plaything.
• Chu Mu told Number One that she had ordered Herta to have a child for her and accused her of being like their father, then revealed that she had hidden a contingency in the downstairs kitchen.

Number One confronted Chu Mu and Herta with the Head Chef, whose secret efforts to help Chu Mu escape were exposed. The Head Chef died charging security, leaving Chu Mu grieving and Lina hidden nearby.

• Number One brought Chu Mu and Herta into the living room and had security bring in the Head Chef.
• Number One accused the Head Chef of betraying her by bribing guards to help Chu Mu escape.
• The Head Chef explained that he wanted to free Chu Mu because the young master had always eaten his food, and Chu Mu nodded through his grief.
• The Head Chef charged the security personnel after telling Chu Mu to keep eating well, and they shot him dead.
• Lina watched from a hidden partition, remembering how the Head Chef had taught her dishes and prepared her to continue his plan.

After the head chef died protecting Chu Mu, Herta chose to stay with him, while Lina quietly took over the cook’s role. That night, Chu Mu reflected on how his past self’s coldness might have grown from a different family and a life in a cage.

• Number One offered Herta a chance to leave, but Herta chose to stay until the child was born and asked Number One to treat Chu Mu better.
• Herta comforted Chu Mu as he grieved for the head chef, whose face and reasons for helping him Chu Mu could not remember.
• Herta discovered that Lina had remained in the kitchen and taken up the head chef’s work, while the guards underestimated both Lina and Herta.
• Herta planned to question the strange Chu Mu in her dream about her own identity and why she had come north.
• Chu Mu told Herta he feared becoming as cold as his past self, then wondered whether that self had lacked the loving family Chu Mu had in this life.

Herta listened to Chu Mu’s account of his past life and dreamed of his grief after A-Yuan died. She woke with a clearer sense of how his past and present selves differed, and how Kafka’s support had kept his present life from repeating the tragedy.

• Herta wondered how Chu Mu had gained Aeon power and how his past self differed from him now, then fell asleep.
• In her dream, Herta watched the past Chu Mu silently grieve while eating the meals A-Yuan had cooked for him.
• Past Chu Mu told Herta that he had used her to reach A-Yuan and that A-Yuan had been the family who gave him warmth.
• Herta invited past Chu Mu to the Southern Region, and he warned that Number One might threaten her family there.
• Herta woke before she could learn what her family did, then reflected that Kafka’s care had helped Chu Mu avoid another tragic life.

Number Seven struggled to reunite with her sisters and met Number Six at Giantwood University. She explained that she had returned to bring the family together and hold a coming-of-age ceremony for their little brother, and Number Six asked her to walk around campus first.

• Silver Wolf refined her plan to infiltrate the Giantwood Tower while Number Seven failed to reach her older sisters.
• Number Seven visited Giantwood University and remembered that she and her sisters had studied there.
• Number Six met Number Seven and confirmed that Number One had told their sisters to avoid her.
• Number Seven told Number Six she had returned to reunite their family and hold a coming-of-age ceremony for their little brother.
• Number Six fell silent and invited Number Seven to walk around campus with her.