Chapter Summaries

March 7th met Chu Mu and learned he was a Strange Object who had taken human form. Stelle decided to leave the Space Station with March and bring Chu Mu along, disguising him as a Herta Puppet as they prepared to sneak out.

• March 7th arrived, met Chu Mu, and heard Stelle explain that he was a Strange Object in human form.
• March urged Stelle to travel with the Express and seek answers about her lost memories and Stellaron, and Stelle agreed to leave the Space Station.
• Stelle decided to take Chu Mu with them and warned that Herta might subject him to experiments.
• March accidentally pulled Chu Mu's arm off, while Stelle falsely told her he wanted compensation before Chu Mu retrieved and reattached it.
• Stelle picked Chu Mu up and concealed him as they planned to sneak past the researchers without alerting Herta.

Stelle carried a Herta Puppet toward the Astral Express, while Chu Mu reflected on March 7th’s lost past and her place among the crew. When Herta confronted Stelle at the Platform, Stelle revealed that the puppet was actually Chu Mu and called him a summoned beast.

• Stelle and March 7th crossed the space station toward the Platform while Chu Mu listened to March 7th talk about her past and the Astral Express Crew.
• Chu Mu felt kinship with March 7th because he had also struggled with questions about his origins.
• At the Platform, Stelle saw Asta, Arlan, Herta’s puppet, and Himeko waiting by the Astral Express and tried to turn back.
• Asta and Arlan confronted Stelle about the puppet she was carrying, and Stelle called it a local specialty from the space station.
• Herta demanded to see the puppet, so Stelle shook off the coat and shouted, “Go, summoned beast!”

Herta discovered Stelle’s scheme and considered dissecting Chu Mu, but Himeko persuaded her to let him join the Astral Express. As the train departed, Asta and Arlan silently said goodbye to Chu Mu and planned to prepare supplies for his next return.

• Herta revealed that she had watched Stelle sneak into the storage compartment and recognized Chu Mu as a transformed remnant of the Ambrosial Arbor.
• Asta stopped Arlan from greeting Chu Mu because she feared Herta would become curious and experiment on him.
• March 7th and Himeko intervened when Herta proposed dissecting Chu Mu, and Herta agreed to let the Astral Express take him.
• Stelle asked Herta for a reward for recruiting Chu Mu to the simulated universe, and Herta discussed using him to attract Yaoshi’s attention.
• Chu Mu boarded the Astral Express and waved goodbye as the train departed, while Asta and Arlan watched him leave.
• Asta told Arlan she wanted to buy travel supplies for Chu Mu before the train’s next return.

As the Astral Express headed for Jarilo-VI, Chu Mu revealed that he had left the planet over ten years earlier and offered to share what he knew about it. The crew welcomed his privacy and explained their trust in fellow passengers, leaving Stelle asking who could challenge Welt’s strength.

• The Astral Express crew welcomed Chu Mu and Stelle aboard, though Chu Mu viewed himself as a passenger while Stelle chose to join the Nameless.
• When Himeko announced Jarilo-VI as the next stop, Chu Mu became agitated and typed that he was from the planet.
• Chu Mu told Welt Yang that he had left Jarilo over ten years ago, declined to discuss the secrets behind his later experiences, and offered to explain the planet’s situation.
• Himeko explained that the crew respected passengers’ privacy and cited Dan Heng as a member whose complicated past they did not pry into.
• Welt said he would watch for anyone with ill intentions, and Himeko said he had no equal below an Emanator.
• Stelle squeezed over and asked who was stronger than an Emanator.

Himeko explained Aha’s fatal prank on the Astral Express and prepared the crew for a Stellaron-sealing mission on Jarilo-VI. Before the warp, March 7th offered to make Chu Mu clothes, and he began listing what he wanted.

• Himeko told Chu Mu and Stelle that Aha had once disguised themself aboard the Express and destroyed half the train and a planet, then reassured them that Aha was unlikely to return without Akivili.
• Chu Mu discussed Jarilo-VI’s Stellaron and Elio’s plans, wondering whether Stelle and he had both been drawn into the script.
• Himeko assigned Stelle, March 7th, Dan Heng, and Chu Mu to seal Jarilo-VI’s Stellaron while she and Welt stayed aboard the Express.
• March 7th accidentally pulled Chu Mu’s arm off when she tried to draw him into her room, and Chu Mu reattached it.
• March 7th offered to sew Chu Mu clothes, showed him the outfits she had made for Pom-Pom, and watched eagerly as he typed his requirements.

March 7th reconsidered Chu Mu’s outfit so it would make a striking impression when he returned to Jarilo-VI, while Stelle and Himeko interrupted the fitting with jokes. The scene ended with Dan Heng investigating the shuffled books in the Data Bank as Chu Mu approached him and Stelle braced for trouble.

• March 7th persuaded Chu Mu to choose a brighter outfit for his return to Jarilo-VI, and he agreed to her suggestion.
• March 7th began measuring Chu Mu, but Stelle opened the unlocked door and teased them about the scene.
• Himeko arrived with coffee and joked that March 7th had finally gotten a life-sized doll, then offered to help design Chu Mu’s clothes.
• Stelle drank Himeko’s bitter black coffee to persuade Chu Mu to try it, but Chu Mu pointed out that he was a puppet and could not drink.
• Dan Heng asked who had rearranged the books in the Data Bank, and Stelle nervously suspected Chu Mu would report her.

Chu Mu joined the Astral Express crew as they prepared to warp, wearing a formal outfit made by Himeko and March 7th. Pom-Pom reminded Stelle of the train’s rules, then the warp began and Chu Mu caught March 7th as she fell backward.

• Chu Mu told Stelle he did not know who had messed up the data bank, after making her finish her coffee to hear the answer.
• Himeko and March 7th finished Chu Mu’s formalwear, and he tried it on while March 7th took his picture.
• Welt called everyone to the parlor car, where Chu Mu met the Conductor, Pom-Pom.
• Pom-Pom questioned Stelle about the overturned trash cans and reminded her to follow the Express’s rules.
• Pom-Pom started the warp countdown, and Chu Mu steadied March 7th when she tipped backward.

Chu Mu returned to the icy planet Jarilo and prepared to reunite with the people he had left behind thirteen years earlier. The Astral Express was forced to stop because of a Stellaron, and Chu Mu set out with the others to investigate.

• Chu Mu arrived near Jarilo, reflected on the people he hoped to see again, and received encouragement from Himeko and March 7th.
• Pom-Pom announced that a Stellaron had disrupted the star rail and extended the Express's stop indefinitely, so Himeko assigned the Trailblaze mission to Stelle, Chu Mu, and March 7th after Dan Heng finished collecting data.
• March 7th wondered whether her unknown past was connected to the ice-covered planet.
• Stelle helped Pom-Pom clean the Express, and March 7th wrote in her diary about her new companions and her fear of forgetting them again.
• Dan Heng arrived with his spear, and Chu Mu wondered about the people who had been hunting him.

Chu Mu and the Astral Express Crew landed on Jarilo-VI and encountered Sampo on the snowfield outside Belobog. Sampo claimed he had stayed on the planet for years, leaving Chu Mu wondering whether the Sampo he had met elsewhere—and the news about the Old Director—had been false.

• Himeko sent Stelle and Dan Heng to Jarilo-VI while the Express remained in orbit, and Chu Mu joined them as they approached Belobog on foot.
• Dan Heng warned the group to stay alert for Fragmentum Monsters, and Chu Mu worried that the corruption might have reached the Underworld.
• March 7th and Stelle tried to stop a man running toward them, but he shouted for Chu Mu before Dan Heng held him at spearpoint.
• Sampo recognized Chu Mu as his big bro, and Chu Mu demanded two billion Credits before recording Sampo's promise to pay.
• Sampo claimed he had been in Belobog for thirteen years, prompting Chu Mu to question whether another Sampo had appeared on Deep Blue and Sand Sea and whether the Old Director might still be alive.

Chu Mu and the Astral Express crew were caught up in Sampo’s pursuit by the Silvermane Guards, and Sampo escaped with Chu Mu while the others faced Guard Captain Gepard. Chu Mu then dreamed of his arrival as a child from beyond the heavens and the uncertain woman who took him in.

• A Silvermane Guard squad confronted Chu Mu, Sampo, March 7th, Dan Heng, and Stelle, and the crew fought back rather than be arrested.
• Sampo used a Smoke Bomb to escape with Chu Mu as Gepard and several squads of reinforcements arrived.
• March 7th and Dan Heng stopped fighting and told Gepard that Sampo had tricked them and fled with Chu Mu.
• Chu Mu dreamed of nobles demanding his death and a woman gently taking him in as a child who had fallen from the heavens.

Chu Mu reunited with Natasha in the Underworld after waking from a dream that hinted at his forgotten past and Cocolia’s role in it. He learned that the Old Director had died and that Wildfire was preparing to break through to the surface, but Svarog had sealed the Core Furnace Hub and entered a standoff with them.

• Chu Mu dreamed of a kind woman who might have been Cocolia, leaving him confused about his past and her connection to Xiao Bu.
• Chu Mu woke in the Underworld, where Natasha embraced him and discovered that he had returned as a puppet.
• Chu Mu told Natasha through his phone that his body was an avatar and that Kafka had given him a home in the Sea of Stars.
• Natasha said she had used Chu Mu’s money to establish Wildfire and told him the Old Director had died the year after he left.
• Natasha explained that Wildfire wanted to lead the Underworld residents through the blockade to the surface, but Svarog had sealed the Core Furnace Hub, sparking a bitter standoff.

Chu Mu reunited with Oleg, Seele, and Natasha after returning to the Underworld, and decided to seek out Svarog to awaken his old friend's memories. The reunion left Seele, Natasha, and Oleg in tears, while the silent puppet stayed beside them to offer companionship.

• Chu Mu learned that Svarog had sealed off the Core Furnace Hub and allied with the vagrants, leaving Wildfire's plans in jeopardy.
• Chu Mu volunteered to visit Svarog and try to awaken his memories, as they had once agreed.
• Oleg rushed to Natasha's clinic, embraced Chu Mu, and urged him to come in his real body next time.
• Seele appeared at the doorway and tearfully told Chu Mu she had feared their reunion was only a dream.
• Natasha and Oleg cried as they comforted Seele, while the silent puppet stood quietly beside them.

Chu Mu decided to seek Svarog’s help with Wildfire’s planned uprising and traveled to the Mechanical Settlement with Natasha, Oleg, and Seele. At the settlement, the group encountered vagrants angry over Wildfire’s role in the recent mine conflict, and a boy begged Natasha to save his dying mother.

• Chu Mu learned that Natasha, Oleg, and Seele held Cocolia responsible for the Underworld’s suffering and decided to stand against her.
• Chu Mu insisted on visiting Svarog to persuade him to support Wildfire’s uprising, and Natasha, Oleg, and Seele accompanied him.
• The group reached the Mechanical Settlement, where vagrants sought Svarog’s protection amid worsening shortages and conflict with the miners.
• The vagrants confronted Oleg and Seele, but they lowered their weapons after Natasha stepped forward to negotiate.
• A little boy grabbed Natasha’s sleeve and begged her to save his dying mother.

Natasha and Chu Mu visited a Wanderers' Shelter, where Natasha could not save a dying mother despite trying CPR and examining medicine Clara had found. After arranging care for the woman's orphaned son, Natasha led Chu Mu to the Mechanical Settlement, where Clara said Svarog was waiting for him.

• Natasha examined the dying woman and learned from her son that his father had died in a mining accident and their family had fallen into poverty.
• Clara brought expired medicine, but Natasha found it could not treat the woman's failing heart and lungs.
• Natasha tried CPR, but the woman died, and her son collapsed into grief.
• Natasha arranged the woman's funeral and care for her son, then left with Chu Mu.
• Clara opened the way into the Mechanical Settlement and told Chu Mu that Svarog was waiting for him.

Chu Mu reunited with Svarog and met Clara, the girl Svarog had raised, as they discussed what it meant to be family. Svarog accepted Clara as his family, and Chu Mu reaffirmed their friendship.

• Clara recognized Chu Mu as Svarog's friend, and after some teasing, agreed to call him Big Brother Chu Mu.
• Natasha and Oleg described Clara's work repairing robots and helping the poor residents living near the Mechanical Settlement.
• Chu Mu reunited with Svarog, who carried him on his shoulder and shared how long he had waited for his friend to return.
• Svarog said he was still searching for Clara's real family, but Clara insisted she had already found her family.
• Chu Mu told Svarog that Clara was his family, and Svarog reasoned that their close bond made this true.

Svarog explained that he had sealed the Core Furnace Hub because his calculations predicted the Upper District would fall to Fragmentum Monsters, while Belobog’s dwindling geomarrow would soon run out. Natasha and Oleg insisted that Wildfire should help defend the Upper District, and Chu Mu prompted Svarog to reveal classified records about the Stellaron.

• Chu Mu asked Svarog why he had sealed the Core Furnace Hub and blocked Wildfire from reaching the Upper District.
• Svarog said the Supreme Guardian’s interference had depleted the Silvermane Guards and made the Upper District’s defeat by Fragmentum Monsters inevitable.
• Natasha and Oleg argued that Wildfire should help defend the Upper District, since both districts shared the same fate.
• Svarog revealed that the Underworld had only 231 days of mineable geomarrow left, after which Belobog’s heating would stop.
• Chu Mu mentioned the Stellaron, and Svarog offered access to the highest-classified research records he had stored.
• As Svarog played the records, Chu Mu worried that Clara might also have seen the embarrassing memories Svarog had recorded of him.

Svarog’s records revealed that Alisa Landau had awakened the Stellaron to repel the Antimatter Legion, triggering the Eternal Freeze, and that later Supreme Guardians secretly investigated ways to destroy it. After Natasha suggested the Stellaron might manipulate people, Chu Mu announced that his companions could help seal it.

• Svarog’s records revealed that Alisa Landau had destabilized the Stellaron to defeat the Antimatter Legion, causing the Eternal Freeze.
• Oleg, Natasha, and Seele reacted to the truth and discussed the cost of the Stellaron’s survival and Cocolia’s actions.
• Natasha suggested that the Stellaron might be alive and capable of manipulating Supreme Guardians.
• Chu Mu played a message saying that he had brought companions who could help seal the Stellaron.

Chu Mu and his companions planned how to reach the Upper District and rescue his friends, while Oleg urged Wildfire to launch an uprising against the district’s abandonment of the Underworld. The chapter ended with Natasha agreeing to consider the radical plan on the condition that they minimize casualties and protect innocent people.

• Chu Mu learned that his companions could seal the Stellaron but had been stranded in the Upper District after Sampo betrayed them, and he proposed rescuing them.
• Natasha and Oleg suggested that Sampo could use his secret passage between the districts, while Seele warned that he had disappeared and might be plotting another con against Chu Mu.
• Oleg rejected relying on Sampo and called for Wildfire to fight its way into the Upper District so its people could demand dignity and an answer from the Supreme Guardian.
• Oleg looked to Chu Mu to coordinate the Underworld’s forces, and Natasha supported considering an uprising if they kept casualties low and spared innocent people.

Chu Mu agreed that Wildfire needed to unite the Underworld and demonstrate its strength to force Supreme Guardian Cocolia to lift the lockdown. As preparations began for an uprising, Natasha explained that the factions’ eagerness to face danger came from finally having hope.

• Chu Mu weighed the risks of challenging Cocolia and asked Svarog to calculate the uprising’s chances; Svarog estimated that success was more likely than not if Wildfire, the Mechanical Settlement, and the vagrants united.
• Seele volunteered to lead the vanguard, and Svarog said he could reopen the passage between districts after a day of preparations.
• Oleg proposed summoning the faction leaders, while Svarog explained that he had stopped earlier clashes by driving both sides out of the Great Mine.
• Oleg coordinated a meeting at the Mechanical Settlement, where the factions argued over assignments and competed for places in the dangerous vanguard.
• Natasha sat beside Chu Mu outside the meeting and explained that the Underworld’s people were eager to fight because hope had finally arrived.

Chu Mu returned to Rivet Town with Natasha and Seele and revisited the Orphanage, where memories of Xiao Bu left him afraid she might have forgotten him. Unable to enter the ruined building, they gathered medical supplies for the next day’s operation against Cocolia, and Chu Mu found a Snow Globe.

• Chu Mu thanked Natasha for keeping the Underworld going and went with her and Seele to Rivet Town.
• The three crossed Rivet Town safely and climbed the Orphanage steps, where Chu Mu remembered walking there with Natasha and waiting for Xiao Bu.
• Natasha promised to ask about Xiao Bu in the Upper District, while Chu Mu worried she might have forgotten him and learned to see Cocolia as her mother.
• Chu Mu, Natasha, and Seele found the Orphanage entrance blocked by debris and Fragmentum corruption, so they sorted through the supplies Natasha had saved.
• Natasha checked the old gauze and alcohol for use, and Chu Mu found a Snow Globe.