Recaps

Lorn arrived at the Warden’s office and became his student, but his resemblance to the dead Jailer made the Warden suspect that Augusis might have sent him with a hidden purpose. The Warden began testing Lorn while waiting for Augusis to fulfill his promise.

• The Warden was grieving over his inability to bring his student back when Lorn entered and greeted him as his teacher.
• The Warden questioned Lorn about his appearance and race, and Lorn said he was a humanoid, a vassal race of silicon-based life.
• Lorn chose the codename Jailer, prompting the Warden to wonder whether the choice was deliberate.
• The Warden ordered Lorn to memorize the obsolete Warden Regulations as a test, then considered whether Augusis could know about Jailer and his death.
• The Warden called Augusis, praised Lorn’s politeness, and mentioned that he resembled an old acquaintance; Augusis told him not to go easy on the boy.

The Warden inspected C01 Containment Facility, where the Doctor had improved Biological Printing, then visited the Director’s lavish new office in Kyoto. He decided to supervise the Director there and revealed that the number of Doctors had reached two hundred.

• The Warden failed to learn anything useful while probing the Postman, then set the matter aside.
• The Warden found that the Doctor had put C01 Containment Facility in order and corrected Biological Printing, while the Doctor’s first substitute body had been destroyed.
• The Warden visited the Director’s new office and was angered by its extravagant furnishings and the Director’s relaxed manner.
• The Warden ordered another desk for himself and said he would supervise the Director’s work from the office.
• The Director and the Warden discussed the department’s Implementation Plan, and the Warden revealed that the number of Doctors had reached two hundred.

The Warden reassured the Director that the Doctor’s work and humanity’s external threats made him unlikely to turn against humanity. In Hell, Lu Xiao watched Tina’s Swarm multiply at a staggering rate, then learned Luolin was being replaced at the Logistics Point and worried that Lu Xiao’s people might clash with the new Postman.

• The Warden argued that the Doctor’s loyalty and contributions to humanity made him a lesser danger than alien life-forms, and the Director agreed.
• Lu Xiao watched Tina’s Zerg devour an abandoned Outsider race and rapidly reproduce, while his thirteen Heavenly Worm subordinates looked tiny beside her billions.
• Lu Xiao recalled Tina’s view that even deity-level Zerg were cannon fodder, and found her cuddling with Driver inside a Nest Worm.
• Luolin told Lu Xiao that another Postman would take over the Logistics Point, prompting Lu Xiao to tease him about lacking severance pay.
• Luolin asked whether Lu Xiao’s people might clash with the new Postman because they did not know Him.

Lu Xiao explained the human route into Hell to Luolin, who decided to send his clan’s forces through it to protect Tina. Lu Xiao secured his first delivery job, and the arrivals’ presence was likely to reveal the route to other races.

• Luolin asked Lu Xiao to help protect Tina, since he could not intervene directly without risking the rules of the war in Hell.
• Lu Xiao explained how humans sent people into Hell through a Logistics Point in the Present World, and Luolin realized he could use the route to send his own forces.
• Luolin chose to stake his clan’s future on protecting Tina and arranged to send ten gods and an initial million Star-level Life forms into Hell.
• Lu Xiao offered Luolin delivery at cost, charging one tenth of Universe Logistics’ price and offering free delivery for Star-level Life.
• Lu Xiao realized the job would help expand his business, while other races would likely investigate the ten newly arrived gods and discover the human route.

Luolin arranged for a million star-level beings and ten gods from his clan to arrive at the Present World’s Logistics Point as customers bound for a war in Hell. The Warden and the Director prepared Chang'an City’s Planned District to receive them and maximize their spending, while Augusis began buying up the mall.

• Luolin used a Network Communicator to summon his clan’s reinforcements, who would reach the Logistics Point in less than a day through the VIP Passage.
• Lu Xiao informed the Warden of the incoming million star-level beings and ten gods, and the Warden and the Director headed to Chang'an City to prepare for them.
• The Warden coordinated with local authorities as the Planned District’s businesses, hotels, and tourist services rushed to prepare for the visitors.
• The Director and the Warden planned to sell luxury goods and delay the Teleportation Gate setup so the customers would spend their star source before leaving for Hell.
• Augusis went on a spending spree and left the mall with more than a dozen semi-trucks loaded with purchases.

The Warden arranged to spend Star Source through Augusis and welcomed Luolin’s arriving clanspeople. In Hell, Lu Xiao learned that the Zerg reproduce to harvest powerful species’ genes, and Luolin revealed that they possessed Gene Fragments from nearly every living creature in the Universe.

• The Warden told the Director that a charter plane carrying supplies from Northern Europe was already on its way.
• Augusis showed the Warden and the Director his purchases, including three semitrailers of plush toys, then agreed to help the Warden spend Star Source for a one-thousandth commission.
• Luolin’s clanspeople arrived, paid the teleportation fee with a black card, and entered the Planned District.
• Lu Xiao asked Luolin about Driver and Tina, and the Postman explained that Zerg Empresses reproduced with powerful species to obtain their Species Gene Fragments.
• Lu Xiao suspected Tina wanted Driver’s genes because Driver was connected to Fantasy, and Luolin said the Zerg possessed Gene Fragments from every living creature in the Universe.

Lu Xiao heard Luolin’s account of the Zerg’s genetic ambitions, then the Omniscient Mirror warned him that Tina’s arrival in Hell had been inevitable. By piecing together the clues, Lu Xiao suspected Fate had arranged for the Mirror to alert him, but he lacked enough information to learn the full truth.

• Luolin told Lu Xiao that the Zerg sought powerful beings’ genes to strengthen their reproduction, and the Postman warned him not to spread the information.
• The Omniscient Mirror said the Zerg’s genetic ambitions were widely known and that Tina’s appearance in Hell had been inevitable.
• Lu Xiao left Luolin, then demanded an explanation from the Omniscient Mirror, which said he could infer the answer from its clues but could not afford to ask directly.
• Lu Xiao reasoned that the Zerg had entered Hell despite already qualifying for the Species Ranking Tournament because Tina’s deal with Fate served another purpose.
• Lu Xiao suspected Fate had paid the Mirror to warn him and that Luolin had been used as a pawn, but he could not draw a firm conclusion.

Lu Xiao and Driver watched Tina’s Swarm grow to ten billion Zerg while Driver reflected on humanity’s weakness beside the great races. The chapter ended with Lu Xiao asking whether Driver’s despair was personal or spoke for Fantasy.

• Driver told Lu Xiao that he believed Tina was using him, and Lu Xiao repeated Luolin’s words about Driver’s genes.
• Driver advised Lu Xiao to remain with the Swarm because the assembled Outsiders might soon attack it.
• The Swarm stayed calm for more than half a day as its numbers nearly doubled, and Driver flew Lu Xiao over its immense variety of Zerg.
• Driver said the Swarm’s power made humanity’s prospects seem hopeless and suggested humanity might be better off staying hidden.
• Lu Xiao asked Driver whether he was speaking for himself or on behalf of Fantasy.

The Warden and the Director turned the plant people’s demand for carbonated drinks into a profitable business, then sent them through the Triumphal Arch to Hell. Lu Xiao met Luolin’s clansmen at the Group Army Base and delivered Luolin’s message, leaving them to gather around him.

• The Warden and the Director reopened a bottling factory and earned over a hundred million Star Source selling drinks to the plant people.
• The Warden arranged for humanity to make teleportation and support industries its main business, while the Director asked where his father was.
• The plant people entered Hell through the Triumphal Arch in two batches, and the Director hoped they would return safely as customers.
• Luolin received word that his clansmen had arrived above the human Group Army Base, gave Lu Xiao a twig-like token, and asked him to pass on a message.
• Lu Xiao teleported to the base, raised the token to get the plant people’s attention, conveyed Luolin’s message, and walked toward the onlookers.

Lu Xiao approached Weidiya to propose that the Mother Goddess Elves partner with humanity to profit from teleporting people into Hell, but she warned that humanity’s weakness made the plan dangerous. The chapter ended with Lu Xiao arguing that an alliance with her people could protect his race.

• Lu Xiao learned that Yi Hao and Gambler had been harassing Weidiya and her people while claiming to be his good buddies, and Weidiya blamed him for their behavior.
• Lu Xiao apologized for his unsettling look and proposed that humanity and the Mother Goddess Elves work together to teleport people into Hell for the war against the Zerg Empress.
• Weidiya refused, warning that the plan threatened the Universe Logistics Company and could attract hostility from stronger races.
• Lu Xiao explained that 'Space' had tacitly approved humanity’s teleportation, but Weidiya warned that other major races might still target the weak human race.
• Lu Xiao said humanity needed to partner with the Mother Goddess Elves for protection.

Lu Xiao proposed that the Mother Goddess Elves police the Teleportation business in exchange for ten percent of its revenue, and Weidiya agreed to bring the proposal to her Clan for review. Zhang Weidong then warned Lu Xiao that the Elves seemed to treat Liu Ni less like a goddess and more like a captive.

• Lu Xiao proposed that the Mother Goddess Elves maintain order around Teleportation in exchange for ten percent of its revenue.
• Weidiya said an Old One was silently watching over Lu Xiao’s Star System, but the Mother Goddess Elves could not afford to provoke Him.
• Weidiya said she would submit Lu Xiao’s proposal to her Clan’s think tank, with a decision possible as early as the next day.
• Zhang Weidong told Lu Xiao that reports from female soldiers suggested the Mother Goddess Elves were arrogant and chiefly concerned with their goddess.
• Zhang Weidong said the Elves’ respect for Liu Ni seemed superficial and that she appeared to him like a canary locked in a cage.

Lu Xiao investigated whether Lu Qian was a Zerg after Driver raised the possibility, and learned that her species and abilities might let her command the Swarm. Antie agreed they should test Doctor’s theory, leaving the group considering whether Lu Qian could control the Zerg Empress’s forces.

• Zhang Weidong warned Lu Xiao that the Mother Goddess Elves might not be as pure as they appeared, though he had no evidence and urged caution rather than ending their cooperation.
• Driver asked Lu Xiao whether Lu Qian counted as a Zerg because of her life-form’s nature, prompting Lu Xiao to hurry to Doctor’s office.
• Antie identified Lu Qian as an arthropod and insect, while Gambler recounted how Niclade obtained a Ghost-Faced Moth Empress’s egg and sent the Pope to plant it in Magic City before Shadow moved it to a distant town.
• Lu Xiao connected Lu Qian to a giant moth he remembered on the moon and worried that she could not challenge the Zerg Empress for control of the Swarm.
• Doctor suggested that Lu Qian’s pheromone-based Attraction and sound-based Screech might let her control the Zerg, and Antie supported testing the idea because insects use high-frequency vibrations to communicate.

Lu Xiao, Antie, the Doctor, and the Gambler considered making Lu Qian the new Zerg Empress, but feared retaliation from the Zerg and Postman Luolin. They realized that Luolin’s orders might protect Tina only until Hell’s war ended, and Antie suggested that Space might want the Heavenly Insect Clan in the Species Ranking Tournament without Tina leading them.

• The Doctor proposed that Lu Qian could become the new Zerg Empress by devouring Tina, and Lu Xiao reluctantly agreed to a vote on the plan.
• The Gambler, Antie, and the Doctor voted in favor, but Lu Xiao warned that Luolin would attack them if they harmed Tina.
• The Gambler questioned whether Luolin had been ordered to protect Tina only while she stayed at the Logistics Point, and Lu Xiao recalled the order applied until the war in Hell ended.
• Antie noted that the Postmen had spoken their instructions aloud in front of bystanders, suggesting they intended to convey important information.
• Antie reasoned that Space wanted the Heavenly Insect Clan to enter the Species Ranking Tournament, but might not want Tina to lead them.

Lu Xiao and the others agreed to gamble on making Lu Qian the Zerg Empress and planned to win Luolin’s cooperation with improved genes for his species. After preparing for the plan and taking Lu Qian out, Lu Xiao told Driver that most female insects ate their mates after mating.

• Antie, Gambler, and Lu Xiao agreed to gamble on Lu Qian becoming the Zerg Empress, with Doctor left to help conceal the plan from watchers in the stars.
• Antie and Gambler suggested bribing Luolin with better genes for his Plant Life species, and the group planned to act after the war ended.
• Lu Xiao arranged an extended leave for Lu Qian, and Ivan concealed the aura of her Bone Carving Castle with an Alchemy Array.
• Lu Xiao took Lu Qian to the Transforming Vehicle, where Driver welcomed her and learned the plan through Lu Xiao’s consciousness.
• Lu Xiao told Driver that Antie had said most female insects ate their mates after mating.

Lu Xiao returned with Driver to the Swarm, where Tina seized Driver, while Lu Xiao negotiated a massive cola trade with Luolin. The deal promised Lu Xiao enormous compensation, and he ended by asking what resource Luolin would exchange for cola.

• Lu Xiao falsely told Driver that female insects ate their mates after mating, and Driver teleported the Transforming Vehicle into the Swarm with Lu Xiao and Lu Qian.
• Tina arrived and had the Zerg drag Driver to her, while Luolin asked Lu Xiao about the progress of the negotiations.
• Lu Xiao warned Luolin that his advancing army needed to speak with Tina Empress before approaching the Swarm.
• Luolin proposed exchanging his Home Planet's sole resource for cola, and Lu Xiao agreed to arrange a supply despite claiming it was scarce and difficult to produce.
• Luolin offered an extra Star Source per liter for the first hundred million cubic meters of cola, and Lu Xiao accepted enthusiastically.
• Lu Xiao asked Luolin what effects the resource he planned to exchange for cola had.

Lu Xiao negotiated with Luolin to trade Cola for Mother Tree Leaves, then introduced a plant gene that made Luolin eager to learn more. He instead used the gene to approach a more serious request, reminding Luolin that his duty to protect Tina Empress ended when the war in Hell was over.

• Luolin explained that Mother Tree Leaves could quickly raise carbon-based life to star level and might grant mastery of a random authority, then offered to trade them for Cola.
• Lu Xiao agreed to the Mother Tree Leaf deal and introduced a plant gene developed by a Wise One in his clan, which Luolin wanted to buy.
• Lu Xiao explained that he had not brought the gene to sell, but wanted Luolin to turn a blind eye and deaf ear at a critical moment.
• Lu Xiao reminded Luolin that the Postman had told him to protect Tina Empress only until the war in Hell ended.
• Luolin confirmed that his protection would no longer be required after the war and that Tina Empress would quickly return to Her original ontological rank.

Lu Xiao asked Luolin to conceal his plan to take Tina Empress’s place, but Luolin warned that the company could extract his memories and expose him. Lu Xiao argued that Tina’s mission in Hell was part of a larger conspiracy, leaving Luolin to reconsider the plan in light of Lu Xiao’s inside knowledge.

• Lu Xiao told Luolin he would not sell the genetic material and wanted him to look the other way while he replaced Tina Empress.
• Luolin objected that Tina’s death would bring upheaval and the company could extract his memories, making his silence useless.
• Lu Xiao questioned why Tina had come in person and lowered her rank, and Luolin suggested she had made herself bait for the species in Hell.
• Lu Xiao argued that Tina’s baiting strategy made little sense for the Zerg and that Fate’s involvement pointed to a larger conspiracy.
• Luolin realized Lu Xiao had inside information and began reconsidering his claims.

Lu Xiao persuaded Luolin that Fate and Space might want Tina Empress to die after she helped the Heavenly Insect Clan qualify for the Species Ranking Tournament. Luolin considered turning a blind eye but worried that the Universe Logistics Company would extract his memories if Tina fell.

• Lu Xiao argued that Fate had sent Tina to Hell because she could die there, and claimed that Space had tacitly permitted humans to send living beings into Hell.
• Driver joked to Tina that Lu Xiao and Luolin looked sleazy, then took her away so Lu Xiao could talk privately with Luolin.
• Lu Xiao told Luolin that Tina's role was to qualify the Heavenly Insect Clan, after which she would enter another scheme, and suggested Fate wanted the clan in the tournament but not under Tina's leadership.
• Luolin recalled that Fate had registered the Heavenly Worm species and considered Lu Xiao's theory, especially after hearing his account of Space's involvement.
• Luolin asked how he could conceal his actions from the company's memory extraction if Tina fell, since the Zerg would demand an explanation from the Universe Logistics Company.

Lu Xiao convinced Luolin that Universe Logistics Company would protect him if he helped Lu Xiao deal with the Zerg, since the company and the Silicon-Based Race were far stronger. Luolin agreed to cooperate and asked for the promised plant genes, then warned Lu Xiao that Tina Empress’s Swarm might be listening.

• Luolin explained that the Silicon-Based Race overwhelmed the Zerg with superior technology and spatial authority, while the Observer Race countered them by rewinding time.
• Luolin said the Observer Race’s position as the universe’s strongest race came from its ability to counter the Silicon-Based Race, which surpassed every other race.
• Lu Xiao argued that Universe Logistics Company could disregard the Zerg’s demands and would protect Luolin for helping the Lord save face.
• Luolin recalled the Postman’s encouragement, realized it had foreshadowed the plan, and agreed to cooperate while asking Lu Xiao for the promised plant genes.
• Luolin pointed out that Tina Empress’s Swarm could hear them plotting against her.

The Doctor explained to Antie the risks of consciousness uploading and his theory that fully embracing digital consciousness could make him become “Technology.” He gave Antie an Old One’s gravity-touched eye and urged him to ask Lu Xiao for the First Prototype, leaving Antie to consider the proposal.

• Lu Xiao asked Luolin to protect his interests, and Luolin agreed to turn a blind eye at a critical moment.
• Antie questioned the Doctor about whether consciousness uploading preserved a person’s identity, and the Doctor described the dangers of splitting and merging consciousness.
• The Doctor explained that he limited his stand-ins’ lifespans and filtered their experiences to keep his main consciousness stable.
• The Doctor speculated that letting his consciousness split into countless versions could make him become “Technology,” and Antie asked whether that would drive him mad.
• The Doctor gave Antie the remnant eye of an Old One and explained that its gravity authority had passed to the First Prototype.
• The Doctor told Antie to speak with Lu Xiao about obtaining the entire First Prototype, not merely access to gravity.

Antie accepted an Old One’s remains from the Doctor and prepared to integrate another authority, while Liv sought a succubus contract with him to gain strength. After Antie rejected her, Liv tried asking the Doctor instead, but he said his body could not sign the contract.

• The Doctor told Antie that the First Prototype was too conspicuous, warned him not to eat the remains, and handed him the eyeball after confirming its divinity had been annihilated.
• Antie told Futiya he planned to integrate another authority over the next two days, and Liv asked whether succeeding might give him another slot for a succubus contract.
• Antie rejected Liv’s advances and offered to introduce her to someone else, while Liv insisted she wanted strength and did not care if a contract meant sharing his death.
• Futiya warned Liv against pursuing Antie, and the two argued over whether the Succubus Clan should seek strength through contracts.
• Liv entered the Doctor’s office and asked him to sign a succubus contract with her, but he explained that his body could not do so.

Yi Hao showed the Prison Doctor his portraits of Mother Goddess Elves and explained that he painted them to capture their natural beauty, not to pursue them. He then designed a formal gown for the elves and went to Liu Ni’s room to seek Weidiya’s support for producing it.

• Liv left the office, frustrated that finding someone from another race to sign a contract was so difficult.
• The Prison Doctor visited Yi Hao’s room and saw his many portraits of Mother Goddess Elves, learning that Yi Hao painted them for their beauty.
• The Prison Doctor suggested Yi Hao explain his intentions to the elves, but Yi Hao said he wanted to capture them in natural moments; he refused to paint the Prison Doctor.
• After the Prison Doctor mentioned that Yi Hao received nothing but bad reviews, Yi Hao began designing a white, angel-inspired formal gown for the Mother Goddess Elves.
• Yi Hao finished revising the design and went to Liu Ni’s room, planning to ask Weidiya for a deposit to begin mass production.

Yi Hao visited Weidiya to discuss something important, but the Mother God Elves mistook his portrait sketches for suspicious behavior and treated him as a scumbag. After he showed Weidiya his clothing design, she was dazzled by how well it suited the Mother Goddess Elves.

• Yi Hao rang Liu Ni's doorbell, and a Mother God Elf from the Personal Guard punched him after calling him a scumbag.
• Weidiya let Yi Hao into the room, where Nico greeted him as the big brother who could draw and Liu Ni clarified that Nico had only introduced the word scumbag.
• Weidiya demanded to know why Yi Hao had been secretly drawing portraits of her people, and Yi Hao realized they had found his sketches.
• Yi Hao showed Weidiya his clothing design, and she was dazzled by its lines and how it accentuated the Mother Goddess Elves' qualities.

Weidiya tried to buy the exclusive rights to Yi Hao’s outfit design, but he refused and left after deciding the Mother Goddess Elves had no connection to his work. Nico then told Weidiya about her imperial father destroying a Great Old One, leaving Weidiya eager to meet him and Liu Ni worried Nico’s claims would reach him.

• Weidiya offered to buy the exclusive rights to Yi Hao’s design, but Yi Hao said it had been made for the Mother Goddess Elves and was not for sale.
• Yi Hao crumpled the drawing, left Weidiya’s room, and said he would not return.
• After waiting an hour, Weidiya accepted that Yi Hao would not sell the design and asked Nico where she had been.
• Nico described her imperial father defeating a Great Old One with a single slap, and Weidiya listened seriously.
• Weidiya asked Nico to introduce her to her imperial father, and Nico teased her about wanting to become his wife.
• Liu Ni warned Nico that her imperial father might hear her claims and slap her, making Nico cover her face and wonder if he would.

Yi Hao planned to sell his clothing designs to the wealthy Mother Goddess Elves through high-end bespoke work, while Weidiya’s growing desire for his design pushed her to ask Liu Ni to buy it for her. Liu Ni agreed on the condition that she speak with Yi Hao alone, then hurried to his room.

• Yi Hao returned to his room, decided his hard-to-get act had worked as intended, and began designing more clothes for the Mother Goddess Elves.
• Weidiya kept thinking about Yi Hao’s design and wanted it, but her pride stopped her from approaching him to apologize or negotiate.
• Nico left after telling Liu Ni she had been watching a show called “Country Love: My Pretty Big-Footed Widow Neighbor.”
• Weidiya asked Liu Ni to buy Yi Hao’s design for her, offering to pay any price.
• Liu Ni agreed to help only if she could speak with Yi Hao alone, and Weidiya let her go without the Personal Guard.
• After leaving Weidiya’s room, Liu Ni hurried toward Yi Hao’s room.