Recaps

Fenn briefed the Cleaners on Mr. Night’s threat and launched the first phase of Operation City Beautification to recover his anomalous collection. Xia Xiu received a solo mission to recover the Adaptive Hat from Ivan Jeffrey.

• Fenn warned the Heaven Lineage members to flee if they encountered Mr. Night, whose Dominion Avatar made him a severe threat.
• Fenn explained that the Cleaners had authority to recover Mr. Night’s anomalous items and execute their holders.
• Fenn assigned the tactical squads to retrieve thirty-eight collection items scattered throughout Flower City while keeping the operation quiet.
• Xia Xiu learned that he had a solo mission to recover the Adaptive Hat from Ivan Jeffrey.
• Xia Xiu read Ivan’s profile and learned that Ivan had used the hat to spy on powerful people and gather intelligence on business rivals.
• Fenn began phase one of Operation City Beautification.

Ivan Jeffrey used a magical blue fedora to manipulate business partners and advance his interests, while a mysterious blond boy repeatedly crossed his path. Ivan returned home to find someone had broken into his residence.

• Ivan Jeffrey ate breakfast at the Basque Restaurant and planned visits to Longxiang Racecourse and the Venice Chamber of Commerce.
• At Longxiang Racecourse, Ivan rode an Andalusian horse and realized his blue fedora was making the fat merchant speak without restraint.
• Ivan rode alongside a blond boy in a black suit, then later saw him mailing a complaint letter that appeared to implicate the merchant.
• Ivan met with the Venice Chamber of Commerce and secured information for a liquor contract while promoting drinks from Mr. Night’s auctions.
• Ivan returned to his residence and heard music playing from his record collection, suggesting someone had broken in.

Xia Xiu captured Ivan Jeffrey’s [Adaptive Hat], gathered information on his associates, and executed him before destroying his mansion. He delivered the hat and a sealed file to Captain Fenn in District 10, where they discussed the mission and Ivan’s money.

• Xia Xiu used the terror of his golden eyes to immobilize Ivan, took his handgun and [Adaptive Hat], and reported that he had collected information on Ivan’s associates.
• Xia Xiu shot Ivan with [Euryale] after reading Heaven’s directive, then left as Ivan’s mansion burned behind him.
• Xia Xiu met Captain Fenn at Running Fountain Open-Air Square and handed over the [Adaptive Hat] and a sealed file containing Ivan’s contact list.
• Fenn gave Xia Xiu dinner and teased him about splitting the money he had taken from Ivan, while Xia Xiu refused to share it.

Xia Xiu accepted a final solo assignment to eliminate the Parasitic Man-Eating Spiders while investigating Mr. Night’s connection to Samson’s death and the coming danger in Gevaudan. The chapter ended with Lemuel Gaumont confronting Roland over the Balmung Holy Sword as they prepared to fight.

• Xia Xiu paid Fane five thousand Youyang Currency and received a mission to destroy the Parasitic Man-Eating Spiders currently hosted by nineteen people.
• Fane told Xia Xiu that the cleanup was only twenty percent complete and that the hunt in Gevaudan had stalled, with Albert Lauengen participating.
• Xia Xiu told Fane that Deer College had hired him to capture a Gevaudan Beast, but he planned to continue his assignment before returning to the Unknown Lands.
• Xia Xiu connected Mr. Night’s past in Farlan, the Fog City Great Smog Incident, and the death of Lemuel Gaumont, concluding that he might need Najiaken’s help to counter a Dominion Avatar.
• At Flower City’s outskirts, Roland accused Lemuel Gaumont of taking Farlan’s holy sword, while Gaumont insisted the Balmung Holy Sword was now Heaven’s Armament.
• Roland swung his sword at Gaumont as a vast phantom appeared behind Gaumont.

Xia Xiu used [Laser Phase Positioning] to locate Albert Stanley in a casino VIP room and attacked him with [Gorgon]. He killed Albert and immobilized two other men, then announced that the room was being raided.

• Xia Xiu watched Albert Stanley at the casino while waiting for him to meet other parasitized hosts.
• Xia Xiu tracked Albert to Room 0-9 and detected two men with abilities similar to Albert’s inside.
• Xia Xiu fired [Stheno] through the wall and blew apart Albert’s upper body.
• Xia Xiu immobilized the two other men with [Medusa] and entered the room.
• Xia Xiu told the terrified occupants, “Everyone, this is a vice raid.”

Xia Xiu abducted Harvey and another man after incapacitating them and erasing the witnesses’ memories. He interrogated Harvey with a cruel game, demanding the identities and addresses of the others of their kind.

• Xia Xiu sprayed the witnesses with Grade A Memory Erasure spray and knocked out the two petrified men whose limbs he had broken.
• Xia Xiu used a fire started by [BIO-202 Model] as a distraction, packed the two men into sacks, and drove away in Albert Stanley’s car.
• Harvey woke bound to a chair in an abandoned building, remembered the orgy and Albert Stanley’s explosion, and recognized Xia Xiu.
• Xia Xiu struck Harvey for giving the wrong answers to simple questions, then offered him choices about revealing the others of their kind.

Xia Xiu tricked Harvey into revealing information about his companions, verified it by interrogating Westan, and killed them both before setting out to eliminate fifteen Parasitic Man-Eating Spiders. He then watched the extraordinary fighter Balu win a match at an underground arena and began waiting for a chance to target him.

• Xia Xiu used a game based on Nash equilibrium to pressure Harvey into confessing information about his companions.
• Xia Xiu knocked Harvey unconscious, tortured Westan to verify Harvey's confession, and killed both men.
• Xia Xiu cremated the bodies and reviewed two lists that matched on fifteen spider hosts, leaving one meticulous host unidentified.
• Xia Xiu went to Flower City's District 18 Underground Boxing Arena and bought its entire stock of Fresh Breath Candy.
• Balu won a brutal boxing match, and Xia Xiu watched him while waiting for an opportunity to attack.

Xia Xiu planted an explosive under Balu’s car, killed him after the blast, and continued working through Fenn’s target list. After a fifth target was found dead in a clothing store, Xia Xiu left a university where students discussed Professor Harry Joe’s murder and its strange indigo crystal spikes.

• Xia Xiu avoided the guarded room where Balu was meeting the boxing ring’s owner and planted a [Thaumaturgy Recoil Device] beneath Balu’s car.
• Xia Xiu detonated the device after Balu and two bodyguards got into the car, then shot the badly injured Balu with [Stheno].
• Xia Xiu complained about Fenn’s tedious assignment and moved on after confirming Balu was the fourth target.
• A headless corpse was discovered in a VIP fitting room at an upscale clothing store, and Xia Xiu left with the departing customers after identifying the fifth target as executed.
• At University City, students discussed Professor Harry Joe’s death and indigo crystal spikes at the crime scene; Xia Xiu passed them unnoticed and continued on.

Xia Xiu reported that he had eliminated eighteen Parasites and planned to hunt the last one that night. He found Beck Orlaura, a spider-like predator tied to Beilai’s suffering, and shot her after confronting her with her victims’ names.

• Xia Xiu argued with Fenn about the complaints and expenses caused by his hunt, then said he would deal with the final Parasite that night.
• Beck Orlaura recalled how Mr. Night had exposed her nature and given her a spider in a glass jar after she arranged for Beilai and her mother to be framed and killed.
• Beck learned that her food suppliers, Ms. Martha and Professor Harry, had died, leaving her increasingly hungry and frightened.
• Xia Xiu appeared at Beck’s bedroom window, and Beck spat out a huge spiderweb before trying to flee.
• Xia Xiu pinned Beck with indigo crystals, condemned her for her victims’ suffering, and fired his azure handgun at her.

Xia Xiu learned that Heaven’s second-phase operation would target hidden production sites and Great Demon Hounds, then tried to enlist Professor Albert Lauengen to help against Mr. Night. The chapter ended with Lemuel Gaumont confronting Mr. Night on Senghor Bridge as their Dominion Avatars clashed and the bridge collapsed.

• Fenn arrived at the cathedral battered after encountering Mr. Night near the Louvre Museum and gathered Heaven’s members to discuss the next phase of their cleanup operation.
• Fenn announced that six teams would sweep Old Diva production sites and eliminate Great Demon Hounds in Flower City.
• Xia Xiu shared intelligence about Mr. Night and the Great Demon Hounds with Fenn, then decided to contact Professor Albert Lauengen for help.
• Fenn told Xia Xiu that Lemuel Gaumont, an Inquisition agent carrying the Balmung Holy Sword, had already gone to confront Mr. Night.
• Lemuel Gaumont faced Mr. Night on Senghor Bridge, where their Dominion Avatars Samson and Nephilim joined the fight.
• Mr. Night summoned endless mist cavalry as Lemuel Gaumont and Samson attacked, and the 106-meter Senghor Bridge collapsed.

Xia Xiu and his team launched an assault on the Factory’s glass factory, an aboveground front for Old Diva’s underground facilities. Xia Xiu cut through the security forces while Fenn used a heavy sniper rifle to eliminate guards heading for the alarm system.

• Fenn assigned Xia Xiu to assault the ground forces, while Two and Four infiltrated the factory, Five prepared ground strikes, and Three was tasked with suppressing the Great Demon Hounds.
• Xia Xiu jumped from a tower and killed a nearby security patrol with his thaumaturgy and Gorgon.
• Xia Xiu attacked the assembled security teams with Stheno and charged into their formation.
• Four guards ran toward the factory’s alarm system, but Fenn shot each of them from 3,500 meters away with the Chiron Type IV Heavy Sniper Rifle.

Xia Xiu and the Cleaners destroyed the Glass Factory’s underground laboratory and surface facilities while fighting off its security forces. With the mission complete, Xia Xiu reported that the ground forces had been dealt with.

• Fenn directed Xia Xiu to draw enemy forces away using guerrilla tactics while Two and Four prepared the underground laboratory for demolition.
• Two reported finding 104 live-specimen units and confirmed that the pulse bombs and thaumaturgic recoil devices were installed.
• Five activated the Small Titan Type III and fired on the Industrial Park as the underground explosives detonated.
• Xia Xiu defeated security personnel, then used Enhanced Paralysis and the Suppression Field to fight three werewolves and four Great Demon Hounds with Three.
• The Cleaners confirmed the underground laboratory and surface strike were complete, and Xia Xiu reported that the ground forces had been dealt with.

After the Cleaners completed their operations in Flower City, Xia Xiu celebrated with Heaven Lineage members and advanced his abilities. He returned to his inn and prepared for the next stage of his plans by directing Mr. Night and Wand People Communications toward an impending event.

• Fenn treated the Heaven Lineage team to an expensive barbecue celebration after they finished the City Beautification project, while Xia Xiu encouraged everyone to order freely.
• Xia Xiu told Fenn that the mission might soon end and he would return to Deer College, and Fenn warned him that Mr. Night remained in Flower City and the team was still on partial standby.
• Xia Xiu returned to his inn and reviewed his strengthened EVE Particle content and newly formed Entries after the Cleaners cleared Old Diva facilities across Flower City.
• Xia Xiu considered the letters he had sent to the professor and Mr. Night, including information intended to draw Mr. Night toward Najiaken.
• Xia Xiu contacted Wand People Communications through the Life Guide app and asked them to pass information to Lemuel Gaumont, expecting to earn an intelligence fee if events unfolded as anticipated.

Albert Lauengen arrived in Flower City after receiving Xiu Abraham’s warning about Mr. Night and the Great Demon Hound. At the Prague Doll Shop, Mr. Night, Lemuel Gaumont, and Najiaken came face-to-face, while two penguins watched the escalating encounter from a rooftop.

• Albert Lauengen arrived in Flower City after recalling Xiu Abraham’s email urging him to come before Mr. Night disappeared.
• Mr. Night entered the Prague Doll Shop with a letter accusing the Church of the Flesh of plotting to sacrifice him and Heaven’s lackey.
• Lemuel Gaumont followed a tip from Wand People Communications to the shop and confronted Najiaken, whom he recognized from the Church of the Flesh.
• Najiaken and Lemuel Gaumont prepared to fight, but Mr. Night entered and froze at the sight of them.
• Two penguins watched the confrontation from a rooftop and praised the customer known as [I'm Not an Undercover Cop] for creating the spectacle.

Xia Xiu bought securities and anticipated a crash in Flower City Gas Company as fog covered the city. In District Ten, a gas explosion brought Lemuel Gaumont, Mr. Night, Najiaken, and Albert Lauengen into a destructive battle, while two penguins watched from nearby.

• Xia Xiu bought securities and asked whether work had begun on the Fog City Railway Project in Farlan.
• Xia Xiu saw thick fog outside and expected Flower City Gas Company to suffer after the actions of four Dominions.
• An explosion devastated District Ten, where Lemuel Gaumont, Mr. Night, and Najiaken faced off as Albert Lauengen arrived.
• Mr. Night fled into mist as Lemuel Gaumont and Najiaken attacked, and Albert Lauengen joined the battle against Mr. Night and Shifeile.
• Penguins Boss and Penguins Junior watched from a collapsed building, complained about their scorched feathers, and examined Samson’s profile.

Mi'er and the penguin boss watched a battle among four Dominions devastate Flower City's District Ten. Farlan's protective systems finally expelled the fighters, leaving Professor Laugen with the bound Great Demon Hound, Shock.

• The penguin boss explained to Mi'er that Dominion strength depended on their manifested authorities, not just their stats.
• Najiaken's clay puppets demolished a landmark in District Ten as Annasaglas summoned a tornado that drew in smog.
• The penguin boss opened a dimensional passage and pulled Mi'er to safety as the four Dominions' battle unleashed a smog downburst, meteors, and a blinding explosion.
• Mr. Night, Professor Laugen, Najiaken, and Lemuel Gaumont prepared to fight again in the crater, with Shock bound beside Laugen.
• Farlan's EVE particle recoil device and repulsion field activated, expelling all four Dominions from Flower City.

After the Gevaudan incident was declared resolved, Xia Xiu said goodbye to Fenn and returned to Three Portlands, where Camille welcomed him back. He opened Eden’s settlement template and received an S rating for the mission.

• Xia Xiu discussed the Flower City cleanup and his departure with Fenn, who explained that the Inquisition and Knight Guard had covered up the explosion’s supernatural causes.
• Fenn told Xia Xiu that the four Dominions had been expelled or recalled, and that Three Portlands would leave Farlan for the Berlin Region the day after tomorrow.
• Xia Xiu returned to Three Portlands, where Camille met him with an umbrella and walked him toward his dorm while sharing news from Deer College.
• Xia Xiu arrived at Anderson Dormitory, opened Eden’s Settlement Template for the Gevaudan Sweep Order, and received an S mission rating.

Xia Xiu earned enough Gospel Points to be promoted to Great Angel, unlocking the Heavenly Armory and receiving the Dilasium Ray Thaumaturgy. He linked to the armory, chose an elegant-style Chainsword, and drew it from the void.

• Xia Xiu’s mission reward raised his Gospel Points and met the requirements for promotion to Great Angel.
• The Red Book completed Xia Xiu’s promotion, linked him to the Heavenly Armory, and granted him the Dilasium Ray Thaumaturgy.
• Xia Xiu recited the required scripture to activate his first link to the Heavenly Armory.
• Xia Xiu selected an elegant-style Chainsword from the available designs and summoned it from the void.
• Xia Xiu tested the Chainsword’s spinning blades and considered its advantages in combat and maintenance.

Xia Xiu joined Professor Laugen in a Meme Surgery experiment to change the sex of a Black Demon Hound, learning how its materialized body could be altered. The surgery succeeded, and the hound woke to find herself changed and Xia Xiu beside her.

• Xia Xiu arrived at Deer College’s research area to collect credits for the intelligence he had given Professor Laugen about the Great Demon Hounds.
• Professor Laugen explained that the captured Great Demon Hounds were copies of Xiu Ke and showed Xia Xiu the Black Demon Hound he had once cared for.
• Professor Laugen said Deer College and Three Portlands planned to change the Black Demon Hound’s sex instead of altering Xiu Ke, whom they intended to return to the Ghost Spirits.
• Professor Laugen and Xia Xiu performed Meme Surgery on the sleeping Black Demon Hound, using a Gender-Transformation Meme and adjusting her internal organs.
• Two hours later, the Black Demon Hound woke and realized the surgery had changed her, while Xia Xiu told her it had succeeded.

After Professor Laugen told Xia Xiu about an upcoming extermination operation at the Flame Beast Interface, Xia Xiu became eager to study the flame beasts’ organs. In Three Portlands, he learned the Penguins were seeking customer information and arranged for a message from [Wand People Communications] to be collected, sanitized, and delivered to Deer College.

• Xia Xiu and Professor Laugen discussed the Black Demon Hound’s recovery and planned transfer to Xiu Ke, and Professor Laugen confirmed Xia Xiu’s exam schedule.
• Professor Laugen told Xia Xiu that Three Portlands would join an extermination operation at the Flame Beast Interface near Amsterdam in about a week.
• Xia Xiu became interested in the flame beasts’ thaumaturgical organs because the flesh [BIO-006] in his body let him perform organ shaping.
• At Prometheus Plaza, Quinn told Xia Xiu that fat Penguins had sought customer information from Alice at the [Nature Ghost Sanctuary].
• Xia Xiu asked Jarvis to post a five-thousand-Youyang-Currency task for the Community Safety Officers to collect, sanitize, and deliver the mail from [Wand People Communications] to Deer College.

Xia Xiu received the payment from Wand People Communications and recorded a sword-enhancing Thaumaturgy spell as he prepared for the coming Reprise Performance. In Anomalous Arts class, Professor Nimus criticized his Emoticon Mask, then gave him a Mimesis and told him to contract a familiar so he could make his first hat.

• Xia Xiu received payment from Wand People Communications in the form of the Zorro's Z-Swordsmanship spell and recorded its weave in the Red Book.
• Xia Xiu reviewed his plans to become a second-stage Manifestor and collect three sets of multi-structure Modules before Reprise Performance began.
• Professor Hiero Nimus scolded Xia Xiu for making three Emoticon Masks instead of the requested Living Portrait, but accepted them as Art Installations.
• Professor Nimus corrected errors in Xia Xiu's Thaumaturgy code while he worked on a Living Portrait of a Black Demon Hound.
• Professor Nimus gave Xia Xiu the Gestalt Collapse Impression Art Mimesis and advised him to contract a familiar in H Wing so he could make his first hat.

Xia Xiu recognized Camille’s six rabbits as the future combat module Mr. White Rabbit and realized they were tied to the deadly Alice Game. He decided not to kill them yet, instead considering how to infect them before Agul awakened.

• Camille told Xia Xiu that she had contracted Rudolph, and she shared new field guide entries with him.
• Xia Xiu recognized Camille’s six rabbits as the Mr. White Rabbit module, which belonged to Agul, one of the Seven Alices.
• Xia Xiu asked Camille to let him handle the rabbits’ meals and warned her not to seek them out when he was away.
• Back in Anderson Dormitory, Room 404, Xia Xiu recalled how the rabbits had slaughtered players during the Alice Game.
• Xia Xiu decided to keep the rabbits alive for now and considered infecting them with flesh from [The Boundless Covered by It].

Xia Xiu cared for the six rabbits at Canyon House while considering how to secretly weaken their combat module, then returned to his dormitory to begin forming a new meme entry. He prepared to exchange for gifts before contracting familiars.

• Xia Xiu fed and groomed the six rabbits, building a friendly rapport with them while considering which rabbit to use for a backdoor.
• Xia Xiu ruled out Mili and decided Baixue was the most strategically important rabbit to target.
• Xia Xiu injected the [Gestalt Collapse Impression Art] meme and began forming its entry with the Red Book.
• Xia Xiu opened [Fig Fruit Tree] in the Three Saints Number App to exchange for gifts before contracting familiars.

Xia Xiu accessed Deer College’s Bird Collection and entered the ether sea to negotiate a familiar contract with a Holy Spirit Dove leader. He contracted 65 Holy Spirit Doves and obtained their dimensional summoning coordinates, then returned to the present world with a black silk ribbon.

• Xia Xiu used the Red Book and Albert Lauengen’s authorization to access the Bird Collection database.
• Xia Xiu entered the ether sea using an olive branch ring, a Fig Fruit, and a small bell as offerings.
• Xia Xiu met the Holy Spirit Dove leader and negotiated benefits, including 100 Fig Fruits per month in exchange for its dimensional summoning coordinates.
• Xia Xiu formed a familiar contract with 65 Holy Spirit Doves and received their dimensional summoning coordinates.
• Xia Xiu logged out, stored the black silk ribbon, and read the Red Book’s entry about the Holy Spirit Doves’ traits and summoning costs.

Xia Xiu completed the [Pigeon Top Hat] and registered it in the "Art Handbook" application, learning how registered Art Installations could be listed for sale. The lesson ended with Xia Xiu keeping the [Emoticon Mask] private and leaving after Professor Nimus charged his grade points for the materials and processing.

• Xia Xiu showed Professor Nimus the [Pigeon Top Hat], which used the [Holy Spirit Dove]'s dimensional coordinate and included practical features he had added.
• Professor Nimus explained the "Art Handbook" registration benefits and warned Xia Xiu that making an Art Installation public could attract sale inquiries.
• Xia Xiu installed the "Art Handbook," chose the nickname "Art Is Patrick Star," and registered the [Pigeon Top Hat].
• Xia Xiu reviewed the hat's abilities and ratings, then browsed public Art Installations in the application.
• Xia Xiu asked whether the [Emoticon Mask] would sell well, and Professor Nimus predicted space bandits and pirates would be interested in it.
• Professor Nimus ended the lesson and deducted the material and processing fees from Xia Xiu's grade points, and Xia Xiu left.