Recaps

Calamity used his authority to create a dark-matter vortex that mimicked a black hole, destroying the Wanderers’ fleet during his ascension ceremony. Old Feis arrived in time to witness the massacre and prepared to take Calamity away once the ceremony ended.

• Old Feis noticed a warship belonging to the Mother Goddess Elves but continued rushing toward Calamity to protect him during his ascension.
• Calamity intensified the spatial tremors and created a dark-matter vortex he called “Seemingly Black Hole.”
• The terrified Wanderers pushed their engines to escape the vortex, but their spacecraft were pulled apart and their crews were dragged in and stripped of their divinity.
• Old Feis arrived and watched Calamity destroy the fleet, calling him a freak.
• Old Feis judged that the struggle over the Crystal Skull was likely nearly over.

Luolin arrived to help Old Feis and Calamity, while Lu Xiao and his companions faced two Great Old Ones attacking their warship over the Crystal Skull. Liu Guang tried to split the Great Old Ones by ordering the warship to fire on their ships.

• Old Feis prepared to take Calamity away before the fighters over the Crystal Skull returned, but Luolin arrived aboard a Silicon-Based Race warship after receiving Lu Xiao's message.
• Luolin recognized Calamity and realized he was likely completing an act of consciousness; Old Feis and Calamity relaxed when they saw him.
• Two Great Old Ones revealed their true forms and attacked Lu Xiao's warship after Marnal's ship was destroyed and eight of his members died.
• Liu Guang kept the warship in the area because Lu Xiao wanted the Crystal Skull, then ordered it to fire on the two Great Old Ones' ships to break their alliance.

As the Mother God Elf warship fled two Great Old Ones and two battling warships, Marnal proposed a way to seize the Authority Weapon and escape. Liu Guang and Lu Xiao supported his plan, leaving the commander to carry it out.

• The commander explained that the warship could exploit a brief gap in an enemy shield, but Liu Guang and Lu Xiao lacked the skills to aim manually.
• Marnal volunteered to operate the weapons, explaining that his people often used manual targeting, and Liu Guang ordered the commander to let him try.
• Marnal called for full speed, but the commander objected that the warship would soon enter a subspace lane and could not reliably hit a moving, shielded warship.
• Marnal clarified that they should target the stationary, unshielded Authority Weapon instead, using the tractor beam to pull it aboard before entering subspace.
• Lu Xiao understood the plan and praised Marnal's idea.

Lu Xiao and Liu Guang’s crew captured the Crystal Skull with Marnal’s precise shot and escaped into subspace. The Mother Goddess Elves invited Marnal to join their fleet, but Liu Guang offered to help rebuild his species in exchange for ten universe years of service to humanity, prompting Marnal to ask whether they could do so even if the Silicon-Based Race had destroyed his people.

• The warship accelerated toward subspace while Lu Xiao and Liu Guang watched the Great Old Ones fight over the Authority Weapon.
• Marnal used the tractor beam to pull the Crystal Skull into the warship just before it entered subspace.
• The warship escaped before the Great Old Ones realized the Authority Weapon had vanished.
• The commander invited Marnal to join the Mother Goddess Elves’ fleet, impressed by his ability to hit a target at nearly one-tenth the speed of light.
• Marnal asked whether the Mother Goddess Elves would help rebuild his species, and Liu Guang offered humanity’s help for ten universe years of service.
• Marnal asked what would happen if the Silicon-Based Race had destroyed his people.

Liu Guang learned that Particle Organisms had destroyed Marnal’s species, and Marnal hoped to rebuild it through technology. After swearing before Truth that his people would serve humanity in return, he was told that Truth had heard the oath and breaking it would bring consequences.

• Marnal explained that Particle Organisms had destroyed his species and could not enter the Woll Galaxy because its rules were distorted.
• Liu Guang told Marnal that technology would eventually challenge the Particle Organisms, giving Marnal hope of rebuilding his species.
• Marnal asked to study technology at Galaxy Academy so he could rebuild his people.
• Marnal swore before Truth that his people would become humanity’s faithful vassals, or that he himself would become humanity’s loyal slave.
• Liu Guang tried to dissuade Marnal, but the warship commander confirmed that Truth had heard the oath and that breaking it would have consequences.

After Marnal joined humanity, Lu Xiao and Liu Guang learned that their warship was trapped in Subspace because its engine could not be shut down, leaving them with no reliable way to escape. As they considered a desperate repair attempt, a planet-sized, clothed anglerfish appeared ahead.

• Lu Xiao realized he could use Truth as a witness to expose difficult-to-detect lies, while the commander nervously disclaimed his joke about fooling Truth.
• Marnal joined humanity for life, and the original crew chose to keep following him despite the warship’s engine being stuck at full power.
• Lu Xiao proposed restarting or hitting the faulty engine, but Liu Guang dismissed the idea and asked the commander what her training advised.
• The commander explained that escaping Subspace required stopping the ship with reverse thrust, but the engine could not be shut down and no one aboard knew how to repair it.
• Lu Xiao and Liu Guang considered using Instigation to get the mechanics to attempt a repair, though the crew’s training described suicide as the only alternative to madness if they remained stranded.
• A planet-sized anglerfish wearing Western cowboy-style leather clothing appeared in front of the warship.

Old Feis rescued Lu Xiao and the others by carrying their damaged warship out of subspace. At the Logistics Point, Liu Guang persuaded Luolin that headquarters had sent him to earn a promotion, leaving Lu Xiao skeptical of their assumptions.

• Old Feis found Lu Xiao's warship entering subspace and caught up with it.
• Old Feis weakened the flesh at the point of impact, enveloped the warship, and carried it out of subspace, though the ship was nearly wrecked.
• Liu Guang asked whether Luolin could deploy Postmen to guard the Logistics Point, and Luolin confirmed that he could.
• Liu Guang told Luolin that headquarters wanted him to build credentials and that his subordinates could handle the dangerous work.
• Luolin believed Liu Guang's explanation and felt reassured, while Lu Xiao doubted that either of them knew headquarters' true intentions.

Liu Guang persuaded Luolin to pursue the company's interests in the Woll Galaxy by presenting the assignment as a chance to earn a major promotion. Luolin agreed, while Liu Guang and Lu Xiao planned to use his warship, authority, and strength to make their own journey easier.

• Luolin told Liu Guang that he wanted to appoint a subordinate in his place and return to his Home Planet for a carefree life.
• Liu Guang argued that Luolin still needed to work in the Woll Galaxy and could earn a promotion by securing the company's interests there.
• Liu Guang pointed to Luolin's warship and the Logistics Point's maximum protection as evidence that the company expected him to succeed.
• Lu Xiao warned Luolin that the company's investment could mean the assignment was difficult, but his warning reinforced Liu Guang's explanation.
• Luolin agreed to take on the assignment, and Liu Guang saw a chance to benefit from Luolin's resources, authority, and strength.

Lu Xiao and his companions brought Calamity to Zirconium Death Star, where he advanced toward becoming a Great Old One. While waiting, Old Feis explained Death’s work in the Woll Galaxy and received a star chart from Lu Xiao, which he suspected might signal new arrangements.

• Luolin secured the Logistics Point, returned his people to safety, and took Lu Xiao and the others to Zirconium Death Star, leaving Marnal at the Mother God Elves’ base.
• Lu Xiao and the others watched Calamity’s nebula-like original body surrounded by Ravens, then returned to their warship because the planet’s reflected colors strained their eyes.
• Old Feis explained that Death had sent him and Calamity to the Woll Galaxy to collect souls, where constant warfare and the Species Ranking Tournament had overwhelmed them with work.
• Lu Xiao offered to have Old Feis’s mech built from nuclear waste, prompting Old Feis to excitedly remind him that he was still owed one.
• Lu Xiao handed Old Feis a star chart from one of his colleagues, and Old Feis wondered what new arrangement it might represent.

Lu Xiao and his companions decided to seek information about a life-related Authority at the Central Black Market, despite having little Star Source to spend. After Calamity advanced to a Great Old One, the group traveled there and reached the edge of its star system.

• Old Feis told Lu Xiao that the Central Black Market was the Woll Galaxy’s intelligence hub, run by the powerful Star Chasers, who sold information and goods and offered assassination services.
• Luolin explained the Star Chasers’ reach, and Liu Guang asked about selling the Crystal Skull, though he had no intention of giving up its Authority.
• Lu Xiao realized the group lacked enough Star Source for the market and considered robbing Source-Bearing People they encountered along the way.
• After more than half a month, Calamity completed his advancement to a Great Old One and reunited with the group, briefly creating an awkward moment when he appeared wearing Liu Guang’s face.
• The group traveled toward the Central Black Market but found no Source-Bearing People; Luolin routed the warship through a Subspace Lane, and they eventually reached the edge of the market’s star system.

Lu Xiao, Liu Guang, and Luolin visited the black market’s seventh planet, where Luolin considered buying an emerald-green piece of Wood Heart from a stallholder. After Liu Guang exposed the stallholder’s dubious story about its origins, Lu Xiao and Calamity joined the argument, leaving the group in a confrontation with the seller.

• Lu Xiao and his companions arrived at the black market’s free-trading market on the seventh planet, intending to buy information elsewhere in the system.
• Luolin examined an emerald-green piece of Wood Heart and balked when the stallholder demanded one billion Star Source.
• Liu Guang challenged the stallholder’s claim that the Wood Heart had survived inside a black hole, and the stallholder admitted it had been spat out.
• Luolin recognized that the stallholder was lying and started to leave, but Lu Xiao stepped in to calm the seller while pretending to scold Liu Guang.
• Lu Xiao told the stallholder he would collect Liu Guang’s body if his brother died in space, then signaled Calamity to join the argument.
• Calamity challenged the stallholder for insulting Lu Xiao, despite Lu Xiao’s group having avoided harsh words.

Calamity bargained the stallholder down to sell Luolin the Wood Heart for four hundred thousand Star Source. Over dinner, the group discussed ways to earn money and Lu Xiao asked Luolin to invest, learning that he had at least eighty billion Star Source.

• Calamity convinced the stallholder to sell the Wood Heart for four hundred thousand Star Source, and Luolin happily bought it.
• Luolin treated the group to dinner at an Angel Race restaurant, where Lu Xiao ordered every signature dish for one billion Star Source.
• Lu Xiao and Liu Guang discussed the group's shortage of Star Source, and Old Feis suggested buying goods to resell at stalls.
• The group considered selling goods on planets closer to the black market's center and pooled their funds, which totaled less than three million Star Source.
• Lu Xiao asked Luolin to invest, and Luolin said he had at least eighty billion Star Source.

Lu Xiao and his companions abandoned their time-consuming search for bargains and planned to sell their existing goods with persuasive packaging and invented stories. The group split up again, and Lu Xiao set up a secluded stall using a skin said to belong to a Star God.

• Luolin invested Star Source in the group, and they divided their work between scouting stalls, haggling, and coordination.
• Lu Xiao browsed stalls for several days without finding anything, while Liu Guang, Calamity, and Old Feis bought several items cheaply.
• The group realized stall browsing was too slow and haggling had become difficult after word of their efforts spread.
• Liu Guang proposed that they sell their existing goods by giving each item attractive packaging and a convincing story.
• The group assigned Lu Xiao to run the stall, the former haggling trio to spread rumors, and Luolin to coordinate.
• Lu Xiao set up a secluded stall and spread out a creature's skin that Luolin said belonged to a Star God.

Lu Xiao used rumors and Luolin’s staged promotion to attract wealthy buyers to his black-market stall, then sold Calamity a charcoal-like lump as a black-hole Singularity. After Calamity began pretending to study it, the onlookers watched for over a month until a powerful suction suddenly appeared.

• Lu Xiao arranged the goods on a Star God’s skin and prepared stories to sell them.
• Luolin wore his Postman Group Leader uniform and helped spread rumors that a buyer from the stall had earned a promotion.
• Wealthy alien life-forms gathered at Lu Xiao’s stall but hesitated over the high prices and ordinary-looking goods.
• Calamity recognized the charcoal-like lump as the cheapest item and paid one trillion Star Source for Lu Xiao’s explanation.
• Lu Xiao claimed the lump could help someone comprehend and create black holes, while the onlookers doubted him and Calamity feigned studying it.
• More than a month later, a powerful suction suddenly appeared.

Calamity fled after creating what appeared to be a black hole, leaving Lu Xiao exposed to the suspicious onlookers at his stall. When a metallic life-form challenged him over the costly item called “Gilded Years,” Lu Xiao stood his ground.

• Calamity turned pitch-black, created a black-hole-like effect, and escaped before the onlookers could pursue him.
• The onlookers focused on Lu Xiao’s stall, believing its items could bring them great fortune, while Lu Xiao sensed that he was in danger.
• A metallic life-form picked up an iron ingot priced at 1.6 trillion Star Source and asked Lu Xiao what it was and how to use it.
• Lu Xiao called the ingot “Gilded Years” and refused to explain its use before it was bought, adding that he would not offer refunds.
• The metallic life-form released a faint Star God aura as the crowd watched Lu Xiao for signs of weakness.
• Lu Xiao dropped his smile, told the metallic life-form to buy the item or leave, and challenged it to stop obstructing his business.

Lu Xiao negotiated with a Metallic Life Star God over the price of the Gilded Years, using the confrontation to secure payment and an apparent bribe. After taking the Star Source, he began inventing an explanation for the metal ingot’s abilities.

• The Metallic Life Star God offered Lu Xiao 1.5 trillion Star Source, but Lu Xiao insisted the price was 1.6 trillion.
• Liu Guang recognized Lu Xiao’s predicament and left with Calamity to arrange an escape route while Luolin watched the confrontation.
• The Metallic Life Star God offered his Old One-level weapon to cover the remaining hundred billion, but Lu Xiao returned it and framed the gesture as proof of the buyer’s sincerity.
• The Metallic Life Star God silently put away the weapon, and Lu Xiao accepted the black-and-gold chip containing 1.5 trillion Star Source.
• Lu Xiao claimed that the Gilded Years resisted changes caused by time and could give Metallic Life a defense against time if fused with their bodies.

Lu Xiao persuaded the metallic life-form that Gilded Years could be resold to Silicon-based Life, while Luolin stepped in to buy it and take on the risk. The metallic life-form agreed to sell it to Luolin for 100 billion Star Source.

• The metallic life-form demanded a refund, but Lu Xiao suggested he resell Gilded Years to Silicon-based Life for a profit.
• The metallic life-form considered the potential buyers and wondered whether Gilded Years really could defend against the Time Rule.
• Luolin, a Postman Group Leader, appeared in the crowd and offered to buy Gilded Years.
• The metallic life-form agreed to resell Gilded Years to Luolin if the price was suitable.
• Luolin offered 100 billion Star Source, saying he would not stand on ceremony since they were making friends.

Luolin used his Universe Logistics Company status to help Lu Xiao handle the metal lifeform, then bought a battered chip after Lu Xiao claimed it contained a virus that could destroy silicon-based life databases. The crowd identified the chip as a relic of the Machine Intelligence Life Clan, and someone offered ten trillion Star Source for it.

• Luolin showed his registered employee chip and mocked the metal lifeform for haggling over the Gilded Years.
• A voice from the crowd offered 101 billion Star Source for the item, while Lu Xiao offered to compensate the metal lifeform with another 100 billion if it transferred the Gilded Years to Luolin.
• Luolin told Lu Xiao that a previous recommendation had earned him a promotion, then asked for another item to help him advance.
• Lu Xiao handed Luolin a battered chip marked at three trillion Star Source, and Luolin charged the price to his registered card.
• Lu Xiao claimed the chip contained a virus that could destroy silicon-based life databases, and Luolin identified the treasury as belonging to the Machine Intelligence Life Clan.
• The crowd discussed the clan's downfall, and one onlooker offered ten trillion Star Source for the chip.

Lu Xiao realized the bidding for the supposedly dangerous chip had drawn the attention of a Neutral Lifeform, who offered ten trillion Star Source and the Neutral Faction’s friendship. As Lu Xiao and Luolin faced a choice that could expose their scheme or entangle them in a wider factional conflict, Lu Xiao feared the chip might be a pretext for unleashing chaos across the universe.

• Lu Xiao knew the chip only held spaceship navigation data, while the history of the Mechanical Intelligence Race and the Woll Galaxy’s war explained why a genuine virus threat would draw fierce retaliation from Silicon-based Life.
• The bidders and onlookers searched for the buyer who had offered ten trillion Star Source, then saw a mysterious phantom that Luolin identified as a Neutral Lifeform.
• The Neutral Lifeform approached Lu Xiao and offered the Neutral Faction’s friendship if Lu Xiao sold him the chip.
• Lu Xiao realized his planned staged sale with Luolin had turned into a struggle between factions, and Luolin lacked the Star Source to match the offer without seeking support.
• Lu Xiao worried that the Neutral Lifeform might know the chip was fake and intend to use it to introduce a real virus threat, bringing disorder that could also harm humanity.

Lu Xiao escaped a Neutral Lifeform’s attempt to buy his stall when Mad Tiger appeared and drove the Phantom away. Back at the Hotel, Lu Xiao learned Luolin had lied about contacting the company, while Liu Guang returned with a Wanderer to serve as a fall guy for their scam.

• The Neutral Lifeform offered Lu Xiao ten trillion Star Source for the chip, then offered to buy everything at his stall, while Lu Xiao suspected it had seen through his deception.
• Luolin claimed the company would buy the entire stall, and Lu Xiao saw the Neutral Lifeform silently mouth the word “human.”
• Mad Tiger arrived, causing the Neutral Lifeform to vanish; Mad Tiger then vanished after it, and Luolin told Lu Xiao to pack up and leave.
• At the Hotel, Lu Xiao discovered Luolin had never contacted the company and urged him to report the incident, suspecting the Neutral Lifeforms had plans of their own.
• Liu Guang and Calamity returned with a Wanderer, and Liu Guang asked Lu Xiao to use his Authority to disguise him as a fall guy for their group scam.

Lu Xiao used a Wanderer to distract the black market’s onlookers while his group escaped with the proceeds from their scam. After splitting the profits with Luolin, they reached the intelligence-trading planet, where Luolin introduced them to a Dream Clan woman.

• Lu Xiao altered a Wanderer’s appearance, gave him a hundred billion Star Source, and sent him to spend it at the Angel Clan’s restaurant.
• The Wanderer’s spending drew attention, but the onlookers realized he was only a scapegoat and that the incident had been a scam.
• Lu Xiao and his group escaped to another planet with a net profit of 1.4 trillion Star Source; Lu Xiao gave Luolin four hundred billion and kept the rest for intelligence purchases.
• The group arrived on the Central Black Market’s fifth planet, which Luolin called the Starry Sky Demon Cave, and explored its bustling streets.
• Luolin pointed out a Dream Clan woman who could create dreamscapes, and she greeted Lu Xiao’s group with a traditional gesture.

Lu Xiao spoke with Nuan Meng, a Dream Clan dream-weaver, and learned how her people rebuilt their species with the Mother Goddess Elves’ help. He asked why the elves had intervened and what price the Dream Clan had paid, leaving Nuan Meng’s answer unresolved.

• Luolin led Lu Xiao, Liu Guang, Calamity, and Old Feis to Nuan Meng to ask about local services and information.
• Nuan Meng explained that the Dream Clan was a wealthy, small-to-medium species whose members wove dreams for clients.
• When Lu Xiao’s turn came, he declined a dream and asked to talk; Nuan Meng said another clansman had already asked her about the Central Black Market, the Star Chasers, and buying intelligence.
• Nuan Meng told Lu Xiao that a Great Old One connected to the Dream Clan’s dreamscape abilities had enlightened her people and willingly become nourishment for their World Will.
• Nuan Meng explained that the Dream Clan abandoned species registration to rebuild the destroyed Dream Clan, but suffered heavy losses until the Mother Goddess Elves sent forces to help them defeat their enemies.
• Lu Xiao asked Nuan Meng why the Mother Goddess Elves had helped and what the Dream Clan had given in return.

Lu Xiao learned that the Dream Clan had chosen to accept distorted faces as a compromise to rebuild their people after the Mother God Elves stripped them of their beauty. After Nuan Meng left, Lu Xiao suspected the Mother God Elves had a deeper motive and thought of Yi Hao, who wielded the authority of beauty.

• Nuan Meng revealed her distorted face and told Lu Xiao that the Dream Clan had accepted it as a compromise to rebuild their people.
• Nuan Meng explained that the Holy Maiden Spider Clan had also been stripped of its beauty before choosing to fuse with positional genes for power.
• Lu Xiao suggested he might help restore the Dream Clan's beauty, and Nuan Meng questioned what price he would demand.
• Nuan Meng left, and Lu Xiao considered why the Mother God Elves had stripped beauty from multiple species.
• Lu Xiao thought of Yi Hao and his authority over beauty.

Lu Xiao and Liu Guang considered whether the Mother God Elves were trying to create a Rule Controller by monopolizing the authority of beauty, then learned how information trading worked on the Star Chasers' planet. After reserving information about the authority of life, the group set off to explore and arrived at a restaurant called Fallen Angel's Kiss.

• Lu Xiao told Liu Guang about his conversation with Nuan Meng and conjectured that the Mother God Elves were trying to monopolize the authority of beauty.
• Liu Guang considered whether humanity could pursue a similar long-term plan, then explained the planet's information market and its factions to Lu Xiao.
• Lu Xiao and Liu Guang decided to reserve information about the authority of life after Luolin and the others finished experiencing their dreams.
• Two days later, Luolin and the others emerged from their dreams, and the group said goodbye to Nuan Meng before heading to the public information office.
• After waiting two days in line, Lu Xiao and his group reserved information about the authority of life, then wandered the streets looking for ways to spend Young Master Luo's wealth.
• The group arrived at Fallen Angel's Kiss, a restaurant that appeared to be operated by the Fallen Angel race.

Lu Xiao and his group visited a restaurant run by a Fallen Angel, where Musical Race performer Menglite played dissonant music that gradually became captivating. Lu Xiao tried a flower bouquet appetizer and discovered it was delicious, though its petals had opened tiny eyes.

• An Angel Clan waiter led Lu Xiao and his group into a vast, folded private room filled with Musical Race instruments.
• Menglite appeared as a golden, tentacled ball of flesh and performed music that first repulsed Lu Xiao and the others, then drew them in.
• The group took their seats at a table decorated with purple flower bouquets that the waiter presented as appetizers.
• Lu Xiao examined a bouquet without noticing the tiny eyes opening on its petals, then tasted it and praised its rich flavor and juicy texture.