Chapter Summaries

Federation officials and researchers praised the Primordial Data Federation’s supportive workplace and Luo Li’s leadership while trading stories about the disruptions caused by Shiyu and Shiyi. After a broadcast showed Luo Li enjoying a warm family afternoon as the Federation prospered, the people in Morning Star Square agreed that his life and the society he built were deeply enviable.

• Supervisor Murphy and other officials discussed how Shiyi’s transit update and Shiyu’s time-field experiment had caused work for their departments.
• Licha described how the Federation valued his contributions, and the group discussed researchers seeking to join from the Genius Society and other factions.
• A public screen showed Luo Li, Castorice, Shiyu, and Shiyi spending time together in the family courtyard as the sisters collaborated on a project.
• The officials praised Luo Li’s care for his family and subordinates and the Federation’s balance of order, freedom, and opportunity.
• People in Morning Star Square echoed the saying, “Envy neither lovers nor immortals, but every day of Luo Li’s life,” then returned to work with renewed hope.

Luo Li and Castorice reflected on their family and discussed having another child, deciding together to try for one. The chapter ended with them embracing in their courtyard beneath the stars.

• Castorice used her River of Souls power to revive a wilting Starry Night Lily of the Valley.
• Luo Li and Castorice recalled their life together and their joy in raising Shiyu and Shiyi.
• Luo Li told Castorice that he wanted the liveliness of caring for a young child again and asked if they should have another baby.
• Luo Li explained that their secure home and experience made raising another child feel possible.
• Castorice agreed to Luo Li's proposal, and they kissed beneath the stars.

Castorice experienced pregnancy-related forgetfulness, changing senses, and heightened emotions while Luo Li, Lu Jingheng, Shiyu, and Shiyi cared for her. After briefly losing track of why she had gone to the market alone, she returned safely and joined her family in the courtyard, reassured by their support.

• Luo Li checked Castorice’s oddly layered breakfast supplement, confirmed its ingredients were safe, and helped her blend it.
• Castorice’s unusual smell sensitivity made her nauseous, so Luo Li adjusted the dining room’s ventilation and Lu Jingheng upgraded the palace’s odor systems.
• Castorice cried while reading about an extinct flower that reminded her of her mother, and Luo Li comforted her as Shiyu and Shiyi created ways to help her feel at ease.
• Castorice secretly teleported to the Marble Fair for honey-brewed sour plums, forgot why she had come, and found her way back after the vendor recognized her.
• Luo Li asked Castorice to tell him before going out again, and the family gathered in the courtyard as Shiyu and Shiyi entertained her.

Castorice gave birth to a son whose uncontrolled power nearly destroyed the operating room, but Luo Li contained the energy storm. The family named the newborn Luo Chen, though his first moments suggested he would bring more trouble than his older sisters.

• Castorice went into labor early, and Luo Li detected unusually chaotic energy gathering around their unborn child.
• As the baby was born, violent energy waves shattered the operating room’s barriers and equipment and began distorting space.
• Luo Li used [Define] to restore order, repair the damage, and compress the energy storm into a harmless sphere.
• The newborn boy continued to disrupt the room with bursts of energy until Luo Li soothed him with data power.
• Luo Li called his son a little demon, and he and Castorice named him Luo Chen.

Luo Li cared for Luo Chen as the boy’s chaotic powers slowly developed, then reunited with Qingqiu Ze and celebrated Luo Chen’s sixth birthday with family and friends. The chapter ended with Luo Li realizing that his answer to the meaning of existence lay in the people and world he loved and protected.

• Luo Li discussed Luo Chen’s destructive powers with Herta, who sent research notes to help guide the child’s abilities.
• Luo Li brought his family to the Yaoqing, where Qingqiu Ze welcomed them and the old friends caught up over a private feast.
• Luo Li held a sixth-birthday party for Luo Chen, where the boy played with friends and began studying Ruan Mei’s amber seed.
• Luo Li watched Luo Chen’s powers gradually shift toward greater control and creation as his family and friends celebrated together.
• Luo Li told Castorice that his answer lay in loving his family, friends, and the Federation, and she embraced him.