Chapter Summaries

Chu Mu left the Orphanage after mourning the Old Director and gave Clara medicine for the vagrant shelter. Back at the Clinic, he found himself alone and unsure what to do until a child asked if he had seen the old witch.

• Chu Mu cleaned the Snow Globe, left it at the Orphanage, and mourned the Old Director outside the blocked building.
• Clara arrived with Perkins and asked Natasha for painkillers and other supplies for the vagrant shelter.
• Natasha and the others gave Clara medicine, and they escorted her out of Rivet Town.
• Natasha returned to the Clinic and began treating a crowd of patients, while Seele went out on patrol.
• Chu Mu stood outside the Clinic alone until a child asked whether he had seen the old witch.

Chu Mu met Hook, who recruited him into the Moles and planned to rescue her friends from Natasha’s Clinic. As Hook led him inside, Chu Mu considered the risks of Wildfire’s operation against Cocolia the next day.

• Hook introduced herself as the leader of the Moles and declared Chu Mu a new member.
• Chu Mu used his phone to tell Hook that phones would eventually be distributed to the people of Jarilo-VI, though she doubted him.
• Hook called Natasha an old witch and explained that she intended to rescue her friends from the Clinic while Natasha was away.
• Chu Mu reflected on the danger of tomorrow’s plan to capture Cocolia and hoped she was not secretly powerful.
• Hook gave Chu Mu the codename Blockhead and pushed open the Clinic door to begin their adventure.

Chu Mu visited Natasha at the Clinic and invited her to consider traveling with the Astral Express, while warning her about the dangers of interstellar travel. He then walked through Boulder Town, saw how hardship had worsened under the blockade, and stopped at the still-bustling Fight Club.

• Natasha explained Hook's family history and sent her to nap with the other children at the Clinic.
• Chu Mu told Natasha she could travel with the Astral Express, and she said she would gladly help save other civilizations with him.
• Chu Mu walked through Boulder Town and saw how shortages had made food more expensive and life harder for its residents.
• Chu Mu stopped at the Fight Club and reflected that it had survived even after he killed Scott.

Chu Mu questioned Dr. Juejue about the Fight Club, Luka, and whether children were involved in its matches. He learned that Wildfire had authorized the club to provide the Underworld with an outlet and reduce crime, leaving him with Dr. Juejue’s explanation for why it had reopened.

• Chu Mu entered the Fight Club and heard spectators complain that Luka was absent.
• Dr. Juejue led Chu Mu to the private room where Chu Mu had killed Scott, and Chu Mu asked whether children could watch matches.
• Dr. Juejue said children could watch but were forbidden from entering the ring, and he explained that Luka was the club’s champion and a member of the Moles.
• Chu Mu questioned whether the fighters were adults and why Luka spent time with children, and Dr. Juejue insisted the club followed Wildfire’s rules.
• Dr. Juejue explained that he had reopened the Fight Club with Wildfire’s permission after its closure left workers without a livelihood.
• Dr. Juejue said the Fight Club gave miners an outlet and helped curb crime, even though the poor medical care meant fighters sometimes died from their injuries.

Chu Mu learned that Kruzer had died in the Fragmentum and visited his widow to offer help, but she explained that Wildfire supported her and their son. After Chu Mu left, Kruzer’s widow remembered how he lost his Fight Club job after standing up for Chu Mu, then broke down in grief.

• Dr. Juejue told Chu Mu that Kruzer had joined Wildfire and died in the Fragmentum six months earlier, then gave him Kruzer’s family address.
• Chu Mu visited Kruzer’s widow and learned that Wildfire provided her with a survivor’s allowance and sewing work.
• Kruzer’s widow said their adult son had joined Wildfire and left on an urgent mission, which Chu Mu knew was connected to the operation against the Upper District.
• After Chu Mu left, Kruzer’s widow recalled the night Kruzer lost his Fight Club job and remembered him promising to protect his family.
• Kruzer’s widow collapsed in the doorway, sobbing over her husband’s memory.

Chu Mu spent the night at the Goethe Grand Hotel with Natasha before joining Wildfire, the Mechanical Settlement, and the vagrants for their assault on Kliperburg. The combined forces advanced toward the surface as the operation began.

• Chu Mu returned to the Clinic, where Natasha told him the next day's operation would determine the Underworld's future and thanked him for coming back.
• Hook reunited with her ailing father, Fissman, and Natasha told Chu Mu how his return had given her hope after thirteen years of waiting.
• Natasha took Chu Mu to the Goethe Grand Hotel, where Gertie recognized him and arranged the same deluxe room he had stayed in as a child.
• Chu Mu recalled that Yaoshi had blinded him to make him an Eyeless, but he still could not understand why Yaoshi had cried.
• At eight o'clock, Oleg's forces assembled at the Core Furnace Hub, and Svarog opened the repaired passage to the surface.
• Wildfire, the Mechanical Settlement, and the vagrants began advancing toward Kliperburg.

A young soldier and a veteran discussed their cushy post at Kliperburg as the defense force departed to search the Fragmentum for the abducted Commander Bronya. Just as the two guards congratulated themselves on staying safe, a cannon blast shook Belobog.

• A young soldier bribed a guard to let him reach his Kliperburg post late, where his veteran partner scolded him for taking their duty lightly.
• The veteran recounted an old attack on Kliperburg by people from the Underworld, while the young soldier privately reflected on why the Underworld had really been sealed off.
• An armored captain announced that Commander Bronya had been abducted and ordered most of Kliperburg's defense force to join the search.
• The veteran and the young soldier were told to remain at the entrance, and they celebrated their good fortune at avoiding the Fragmentum.
• A thunderous cannon blast rang out across Belobog before the veteran could finish saying Kliperburg was safe.

Svarog’s automatons and Underworld soldiers launched an assault on Kliperburg, where they captured the guards and surrounded Belobog’s councilors. Seele confronted Cocolia, who believed the attack was a trap, as the stellaron’s voice spoke to her again.

• Svarog led automatons and Underworld soldiers through the plaza and toward Kliperburg, where they met little resistance.
• A young gate guard tried to fight the assault force, but a veteran disarmed him and both men were captured.
• The assault force broke into Kliperburg and surrounded Belobog’s councilors, leaving their fate to the people.
• Seele searched the castle to keep Cocolia from escaping, then found her in her office and held a scythe to her throat.
• Cocolia told Seele she had expected the attack and believed the Astral Express Crew and the Underworld had conspired against her.
• The stellaron spoke in Cocolia’s mind, warning her not to trust the outsiders and claiming it alone could give her hope.

Natasha and Oleg interrogated Cocolia, who admitted she had sealed off the Underworld because she was tired of trying to save Belobog. Chu Mu confronted her about his past and learned that Bronya was with Stelle, March 7th, and Dan Heng, who had probably entered the Fragmentum.

• Cocolia revealed that she was an orphan from the Underworld who became the Eighteenth Supreme Guardian after her predecessor adopted her.
• Cocolia admitted that she deliberately sealed off the Underworld and wanted everyone to perish because she was tired of preserving Belobog for future generations.
• Oleg condemned Cocolia, and Natasha sent him away before questioning Cocolia about the Stellaron’s influence.
• Natasha told Cocolia that Chu Mu had always belonged among them, and Chu Mu entered the cell to question her.
• Cocolia said she had sent Chu Mu to the Underworld to get rid of him and his trouble, and revealed that Bronya was with Chu Mu’s three companions.
• Cocolia said Stelle, March 7th, and Dan Heng had probably entered the Fragmentum.

Chu Mu and Natasha left the interrogation room as the Silvermane Guards and Svarog's forces remained locked in a standoff. In the Administrative District, Wildfire's leaflets fueled doubts about Cocolia, and Serval urged Gepard to talk rather than escalate the conflict.

• Chu Mu declined Natasha's offer to search for Dan Heng and the others, suspecting Sampo had used smoke to take them and Xiao Bu away.
• The Silvermane Guards and Svarog's mechanical troops faced off near Kliperburg, where the assault team held the Supreme Guardian and enough supplies to maintain a stalemate.
• Wildfire's leaflets spread accusations that Cocolia was a stellaron's puppet, prompting the public and some Silvermane Guards to question her orders.
• Serval told Gepard that she cared about the person Cocolia had been before becoming Supreme Guardian, while Gepard insisted that duty required him to remain loyal.
• Pelageya Sergeyevna reported that hidden passages could give the Silvermane Guards access to Kliperburg, but Serval took the plans and urged the others to seek common ground instead of escalating the conflict.

Natasha and Oleg agreed to negotiate with the Silvermane Guards and release some low-risk prisoners as a show of good faith. While guarding captured soldiers, Kruzer’s son learned about the hardships and losses suffered in both the Underworld and Upper District, but one young guard defended the Upper District’s privilege as something earned by his ancestors.

• Natasha read the Silvermane Guards’ request to negotiate, and Oleg warned that the captors’ prisoners could still provoke an extreme response.
• Natasha decided to make their demands clear and release a few harmless prisoners; she and Oleg chose the guards rather than Kliperburg’s council members.
• Kruzer’s son guarded the captured soldiers and told a veteran that Rivet Town had been lost to the Fragmentum, though most residents had been evacuated.
• The veteran learned that the Underworld lacked food and everyday necessities, while Kruzer’s son heard how the Upper District’s fighting had cost many Silvermane Guards their lives.
• A young Silvermane Guard insisted that his ancestors’ work as Architects entitled him to enjoy the city’s prosperity, prompting the veteran’s pointed remark that he had life easier than anyone else he knew.

Oleg freed the prisoners and confronted a noble Silvermane Guard who had insulted the people of Belobog, then joined Gepard at the Kliperburg steps to begin negotiations. Oleg told Gepard that he had found the boy from their past and said their discussion concerned all of Belobog.

• Belobog's prisoners rebuked a young nobleman for claiming his ancestors' sacrifices entitled him to their gratitude.
• Oleg slapped the young man twice and left him behind while the assault team freed the other prisoners.
• Gepard arrived at the Kliperburg steps and reflected on Svarog's long-standing mission to preserve the Underworld.
• Oleg and his companions arrived, and the negotiations began after the prisoners' release eased tensions.
• Gepard greeted Oleg and asked whether he had found the boy from years ago.
• Oleg confirmed the boy was in Kliperburg and urged Gepard to discuss matters affecting everyone in Belobog.

Oleg and Serval explained the Underworld’s demands and challenged Gepard to confront Cocolia’s actions, while Gepard arranged a search for the missing Bronya and outsiders. In the Underworld, a newly awakened girl pretended to have a strange illness to pinch Hook’s cheeks, but Julian warned Hook not to fall for it.

• Oleg told Gepard the Underworld wanted equal treatment and for Cocolia to stand trial, while Gepard questioned the outsiders’ claims about the Stellaron.
• Serval reassured Gepard that his loyalty belonged to Belobog’s people and helped him accept that Cocolia might have betrayed them.
• Gepard put negotiations on hold until Bronya returned, then deployed soldiers to search for her and the outsiders.
• A gray-haired, golden-eyed girl woke in the clinic Hook and the Moles had taken over and pretended she needed to pinch Hook’s cheeks to survive.
• Julian entered and warned Hook not to fall for the girl’s trick.

After escaping to Boulder Town, Stelle and March 7th searched for Dan Heng and Chu Mu and encountered Bronya, the Silvermane Guard ordered to arrest them. Bronya refused to arrest them in the Underworld but said she would resume her duty in the Upper District, while Stelle reacted by asking her to arrest and torture her.

• Hook and Julian stayed at the Clinic to guard it, and Hook decided to recruit the girl who had visited as a new Mole.
• Stelle recalled how Cocolia had ordered the Astral Express Crew arrested after they proposed sealing the Stellaron, and how Sampo had helped them escape to the Underworld.
• Stelle and March 7th searched Boulder Town for Dan Heng and Chu Mu, whom March had last heard was at the Clinic.
• Stelle and March spotted Bronya on a platform and approached her, initially planning to knock her out from behind.
• Bronya introduced herself and explained that she would not arrest the crew in the Underworld but would obey Cocolia's order once they returned to the Upper District.
• Stelle asked Bronya to arrest, imprison, and torture her, leaving Bronya and March 7th baffled.

Stelle, March 7th, and Bronya agreed to cooperate in the Underworld while searching for their missing companions and the Stellaron. Bronya then told a cableway operator that the lockdown would remain in place, leaving her troubled by the thirteen-year abandonment and the worsening fight against the Fragmentum.

• Stelle and March 7th tried to convince Bronya to help them find the Stellaron, and Bronya agreed to cooperate while they were in the Underworld.
• Bronya explained that the Architects sealed the passage thirteen years earlier to concentrate Silvermane Guards on defending the Upper District from the Fragmentum.
• An elderly cableway operator mistook Bronya for a sign that the Guards and the passage were returning, and described waiting thirteen years without a reply from the Upper District.
• Bronya apologized and said she had no orders to lift the lockdown, while privately reflecting on the Silvermane Guards' heavy losses and the Fragmentum's continued expansion.

Bronya learned that the Underworld suffered from Fragmentum attacks and shortages while its people blamed the Upper District for abandoning them. She joined March 7th and Stelle to investigate, and Dan Heng returned with Sampo, who could explain why Wildfire had left Boulder Town.

• An Underworld miner accused the Silvermane Guards of protecting the Upper District and ignoring the people below, forcing Bronya to realize her mother had abandoned the Underworld.
• March 7th found Bronya shaken, and Bronya said she wanted to uncover the truth about Cocolia and the Architects by staying with the group.
• March 7th, Stelle, and Bronya investigated Boulder Town and learned about its scarce supplies, dangerous work, and Wildfire’s defensive tactics against the Fragmentum.
• Bronya grew troubled by Cocolia’s aggressive orders into the Fragmentum and sought to speak with someone from Wildfire, but the organization was nowhere to be found.
• Dan Heng returned carrying Sampo and said Wildfire had left Boulder Town.

Sampo explained that Underworld forces had gone to the Upper District, and Bronya hurried back to stop a clash. The group reached the Upper District, where the Silvermane Guards welcomed Bronya’s return.

• Sampo told March 7th, Stelle, Dan Heng, and Bronya that several Underworld armed groups had gone to the Upper District.
• Bronya insisted they return to prevent bloodshed, and March 7th agreed to meet their companions there.
• Sampo led the group toward the Core Furnace Hub as March 7th learned Dan Heng had become a Fight Club champion.
• At the Hub, the group met Clara, who was waiting for Svarog to return from the Upper District.
• Bronya looked back at Clara with growing worry, then led the group through the spiral passage to the Upper District.
• The Silvermane Guards stationed at the exit gained morale when Bronya returned.

Bronya rejected the nobles’ call for an assault and arrested them, preserving the peace between the Silvermane Guards and the Underworld’s Assault Team. She then went to Kliperburg to resume negotiations with the Assault Team’s leader, her mother Cocolia, while March 7th, Dan Heng, and Stelle served as intermediaries.

• The Architect descendants urged Bronya to storm Kliperburg, hoping their elders would die and leave them positions of power.
• Bronya asserted her authority as Acting Commander, ordered the nobles arrested, and chose peace talks over an assault.
• Bronya arranged to meet the Assault Team’s leader inside Kliperburg, with March 7th, Dan Heng, and Stelle acting as intermediaries.
• Gepard escorted Bronya to the steps of Kliperburg and promised not to use force if she did not return; Serval accompanied her inside.
• Bronya climbed the steps anxiously, while Puppet watched her from a window, troubled by thoughts she could not settle.

Chu Mu waited apart from Bronya while Natasha and Oleg negotiated with her over the Underworld’s demands. Bronya quickly agreed to reforms and cooperation on the Stellaron, then learned that her older brother was waiting to see her.

• Natasha urged Chu Mu to stay out of the negotiations so politics would not interfere with his reunion with Bronya, and Chu Mu thanked her.
• Chu Mu and Bronya were kept apart while Oleg represented the Assault Team in negotiations with her at Kliperburg’s Council Hall.
• Bronya agreed to reopen the passage between the districts, grant Underworld residents equal rights, remove district distinctions from identification documents, and let Underworld students apply to Upper District universities.
• Bronya agreed to cooperate with the Astral Express Crew’s Stellaron operation and said she would not hold the Underworld accountable if the claims proved false.
• After the negotiations, Oleg told Bronya that her older brother was waiting for her, and she asked who he meant.

Chu Mu, Natasha, and Svarog watched Bronya negotiate in the Council Hall as Svarog played encrypted recordings of Chu Mu’s childhood sacrifices for Xiao Bu. The memories ended with Bronya denying that she had an older brother and asking who Chu Mu was.

• Natasha praised Bronya’s understanding of the Underworld, and Svarog offered to show recordings of Chu Mu’s childhood.
• Chu Mu reluctantly let Svarog play the recordings after Natasha asked to see them.
• The recordings showed young Chu Mu saving money for Xiao Bu, enduring dangerous mine work, and insisting that Svarog keep living to protect the Underworld.
• Chu Mu recalled his past as Natasha hugged him and apologized for not understanding him back then.
• Watching the Council Hall feed, Chu Mu heard Bronya deny having an older brother and ask Oleg who Chu Mu was.