Chapter Summaries

Hela and Keke chose their Night Star squads as they prepared to leave the training camp, then witnessed Ye Yiqing and Han Xiaoxiao clash over Han’s decision to join. After Han entered the instructors’ office to submit her application, Ye Yiqing learned Hela had chosen the Special Investigation Squad and marked his own form.

• Hela chose the Special Investigation Squad, while Keke picked the squad stationed in City B, Nanchuan, and they headed to submit their forms.
• Keke and Hela found Ye Yiqing arguing with Han Xiaoxiao, who insisted she was strong enough to become a Night Star.
• Ye Yiqing warned Han Xiaoxiao that her disability put her at greater risk and threatened to disown her blade training if she joined.
• Han Xiaoxiao walked into the instructors’ office to submit her application despite Ye Yiqing’s warning.
• Ye Yiqing explained that he had tried to stop Han Xiaoxiao because he feared for her safety, then learned Hela had chosen the Special Investigation Squad and marked his own form.

Ye Yiqing, Ye Ciqing, Hela, and Keke submitted applications to join the Special Investigation Squad, and Li Hu returned Ye Yiqing’s sword. After they left, Li Hu and Instructor Hongwei discussed Han Xiaoxiao’s determination to join the Night Stars despite their concerns.

• Ye Yiqing and Ye Ciqing chose the Special Investigation Squad, and Hela confirmed she would join them while Keke hesitated over her application.
• The group encountered Han Xiaoxiao leaving the instructors’ office, and she avoided Ye Yiqing as she passed him.
• Instructor Hongwei approved and stamped the four applications, including Keke’s choice to join a different squad.
• Li Hu returned Ye Yiqing’s black katana and teased him about inviting the instructors to his wedding with Hela.
• Li Hu explained that he had relied on Ye Yiqing to discourage Han Xiaoxiao from becoming a Night Star, while Hongwei argued that they should let her join if she insisted.

After teasing Ye Yiqing about marrying Hela, the story shifted to a Night Stars leadership meeting examining footage of the Light God Society's attack on the recruit training camp. The officials debated the attackers' abilities and questioned whether Hela was truly a human girl in symbiosis or a Variant.

• Ye Yiqing flustered when Keke asked what the instructor had said, and Ye Ciqing teased him about inviting the instructor to his wedding with Hela.
• A middle-aged Night Stars official showed the gathered leaders satellite footage of [Night Kill] fighting Hela and a black-clad man before both disappeared.
• The officials assessed [Night Kill] as a Variant Human near the peak of the 'King Master' realm and debated whether the black-clad man's disappearance came from an ability or a [Variant Artifact].
• The middle-aged official recalled the deaths of over a million people in City C, Shan'an, and said Hela's shapeshifting and independently thinking severed limbs called her identity into question.
• Lei Yong rejected the possibility that Hela was a Variant, arguing that Variants could not blend into human society without hostility toward people.

Lei Yong showed the executives footage confirming that Hela had survived by entering symbiosis with [HeLa Cell], and the meeting ended with the middle-aged executive doubting his judgment. After training camp ended, Hela and her classmates left, where Xing Lan arrived to collect Hela and became fascinated by Ye Yiqing’s eyepatch and sword.

• Lei Yong had [Satellite] restore footage showing [HeLa Cell] entering symbiosis with Hela and Hela regenerating after being buried beneath rubble.
• The middle-aged executive accepted the footage, and Lei Yong left the meeting before the executive dismissed it.
• Keke, Ye Yiqing, Hela, and the others left the training camp while waiting for their official Night Star notices.
• Xing Lan arrived in a stealth aircraft, flew down using wings, and embraced Hela.
• Xing Lan excitedly questioned Ye Yiqing about his eyepatch, sword, and supposed ninja skills, then noticed Ye Ciqing’s eyepatch.

Xing Lan and Feng Xuan arrived to take Hela back, and Hela asked them to bring Ye Yiqing and Ye Ciqing along as new members of the Special Investigation Squad. Before the group departed, Ye Yiqing gave Keke money to help her stay in City A, and Keke and Hela said goodbye.

• Xing Lan excitedly mistook Ye Yiqing and Ye Ciqing's matching eyepatches for signs of a shared, extraordinary bond, and Ye Ciqing joined in her playful act.
• Feng Xuan arrived by plane, greeted Ye Yiqing, and prepared to take Hela back.
• Hela asked Xing Lan and Feng Xuan to bring Ye Yiqing and Ye Ciqing along, and Xing Lan welcomed the brothers into the Special Investigation Squad despite Feng Xuan's reminder to consult the captain.
• Keke declined a ride and said she would wait in City A for a notice from the stationed squad, so Ye Yiqing transferred her ten thousand yuan to help with expenses.
• Ye Yiqing and Ye Ciqing said goodbye to Keke, and Hela hugged her and told her she would miss her.

Xing Lan and Hela returned to the Special Investigation Squad with Ye Yiqing and Ye Ciqing, whose arrival prompted teasing and surprise during the flight. At the Star Barbershop, the squad welcomed Hela back and learned she had reached the King Master realm, leaving Xing Lan disappointed that she could no longer protect her as before.

• Keke said farewell and left alone, and Xing Lan led the others onto the squad's plane.
• During the flight, Feng Xuan noticed Ye Yiqing's closeness with Hela, while Ye Ciqing revealed he had a girlfriend in the Nihon Nation.
• Xing Lan and Hela jumped from the plane and flew down to the Star Barbershop roof, where Si Xiaobei, Nan Shi, Liu Xiaogang, and Sun Hai welcomed them.
• Liu Xiaogang asked Hela about recruit training, and she said she had enjoyed it and been treated well.
• Sun Hai recognized that Hela had reached the King Master realm, and Xing Lan slumped against her, disappointed that Hela was now as strong as she was.

Ye Ciqing and Ye Yiqing arrived at the Special Investigation Squad, and Sun Hai accepted them as recruits despite their unusual reasons for joining. Liu Xiaogang challenged Ye Yiqing to a spar, and the group headed to the underground training ground to begin.

• Ye Ciqing fell from the air, and Xing Lan caught him before he hit the ground.
• Ye Ciqing introduced himself and Ye Yiqing as recruits who had joined the Special Investigation Squad.
• Sun Hai questioned Ye Yiqing about his King Master cultivation realm, and Ye Yiqing explained that he was an ordinary person who had trained for years.
• Ye Ciqing revealed that he had joined because Hela was in the squad, while Ye Yiqing had followed his brother; Sun Hai welcomed them both.
• Liu Xiaogang proposed a spar with Ye Yiqing, and Sun Hai agreed as long as they did not fight too late.
• At the underground training ground, Ye Yiqing declined Si Xiaobei's offer of a Variant Artifact and said he would use his own saber.

Ye Yiqing demonstrated his swordsmanship and Sword Intent while fighting Liu Xiaogang, then proposed that they settle the match with one final move each. The chapter ended as both launched their strongest attacks at one another.

• Ye Yiqing drew his ancestral blade and opened the fight by sending sword qi at Liu Xiaogang, then rushed in with a swift slash that scratched Liu Xiaogang's spear.
• Liu Xiaogang and Ye Yiqing traded attacks, with Liu Xiaogang gaining an edge in close combat and forcing Ye Yiqing's katana down.
• Liu Xiaogang thrust at Ye Yiqing's throat, but felt the sensation of being cut by Sword Intent and retreated unharmed.
• Feng Xuan explained Sword Intent, and Ye Ciqing confirmed that Ye Yiqing could use it to make opponents feel as if they had been cut.
• Ye Yiqing promised not to use Sword Intent again and suggested they each use their strongest move to decide the winner.
• Liu Xiaogang swung his spear with all his strength as Ye Yiqing unleashed a vast barrage of blade lights.

After Ye Yiqing defeated Liu Xiaogang in a spar, the Special Investigation Squad gathered for a welcome banquet for Hela and the Ye brothers. The celebration ended with the squad sharing a lively meal, and Sun Hai accepted a piece of cake from Si Xiaobei.

• Ye Yiqing overwhelmed Liu Xiaogang with blade light, and Si Xiaobei bandaged Liu Xiaogang’s wounds.
• Xing Lan excitedly praised Ye Yiqing’s saber technique before Sun Hai reminded everyone to prepare for Hela’s celebration banquet.
• Nanming, Hela, and Ye Ciqing arranged dozens of dishes, and the squad waited until Si Xiaobei and Liu Xiaogang arrived before eating.
• Sun Hai welcomed Hela and the Ye brothers as new members of the Special Investigation Squad, and everyone raised their glasses together.
• Hela eagerly ate the roast suckling pig while the squad joked and bickered over dinner.
• Si Xiaobei offered Sun Hai his favorite cake, and Sun Hai accepted it with a smile.

Hela dreamed of her father’s death in a car accident and woke crying, while Xing Lan comforted her and noticed she seemed to be recovering. Later, Xing Lan and Hela helped Ye Yiqing move his large collection of blades into Star Barbershop and toward the dormitory.

• Hela dreamed of her childhood with her parents and learned again that her father, Mr. Yegel, had died in a car accident.
• Hela woke from the nightmare confused about her memories and tears, and Xing Lan comforted her.
• Xing Lan told Hela she seemed to have recovered emotionally, though Hela still felt little for others.
• Xing Lan and Hela found Ye Yiqing unloading a truck packed with blades from his old home.
• Ye Yiqing offered Xing Lan a blade, then had the Lalamove workers unload the collection into Star Barbershop.
• Xing Lan and Hela volunteered to help Ye Yiqing carry the blades and racks to the dormitory.

Ye Yiqing and the squad prepared to respond to an investigation mission involving a village whose residents seemed to be brainwashed into worshipping a god. As the team flew toward the village, Ye Ciqing revealed his first-tier Variant Artifact and hinted that his badminton racket was powerful in his hands.

• Ye Yiqing showed Feng Xuan and Xing Lan his second-tier Variant Artifact, [Fire Imbuement], and Hela hid from it because it reminded her of a flaming blade that had nearly killed her.
• An alarm summoned the Special Investigation Squad, and the members rushed to board their plane while Ye Yiqing stayed behind to carry the still-unconscious Ye Ciqing.
• Nanming told the team that travelers had reported a strange village where residents spoke of offering sacrifices to a god and appeared to be performing a suicide ritual, prompting the authorities to suspect a Variant.
• Sun Hai warned the team to protect their lives during the investigation, and Hela asked whether they could kill the villagers if necessary.
• Ye Ciqing revealed that his life-bound magic treasure was a first-tier Variant Artifact in the form of a badminton racket, then suggested it was more effective in his hands.

Ye Ciqing showed the team how his Variant Artifact changed shape, and Xing Lan gave Hela a mental-type gemstone before the team reached a remote village. Liu Xiaogang convinced the villagers that the group had come to help them, and they were welcomed into the village chief’s house.

• Ye Ciqing demonstrated how his bone-controlling ability transformed the badminton racket into a blade and a sickle.
• Feng Xuan landed the plane in a mountain forest, set it to invisible mode, and led the team toward their destination.
• Xing Lan gave Hela a sea-blue mental-type Variant Artifact that could hide her aura and resist mental damage, while the group saved another gift for after the mission.
• The team hiked for nearly two hours and reached a backward village, where Sun Hai approached the villagers cautiously.
• Liu Xiaogang told the villagers the government had sent the team to help fight poverty, and they welcomed the group to the village chief’s house.

Liu Xiaogang and the Special Investigation Squad questioned Chief Mo about Chicken Village and learned that the villagers worshiped a god who lived in a nearby valley. They stayed overnight so they could join the villagers’ offering trip the next day, then split up to investigate the village.

• Chief Mo introduced himself and described Chicken Village’s population, chicken raising, and other circumstances to Liu Xiaogang and the squad.
• Ye Ciqing noticed Xiaohua peeking at him through a window and decided she was captivated by his charm.
• Liu Xiaogang asked about the village’s customs, and Chief Mo explained that the villagers worshiped a mysterious god who liked rice wine and chicken.
• Xing Lan and Hela said they were hungry, and Chief Mo invited the squad to eat, stay overnight, and join the offering trip the next day.
• Sun Hai agreed to stay, and Chief Mo led the squad to an empty house and called for Xiaohua to prepare their meal.
• After Chief Mo suggested they stroll around while the meal was prepared, Sun Hai ordered the squad to investigate in pairs, and they set out.

The investigators found a vast feast and barrels of rice wine prepared as an offering to the village god. The next morning, they joined the villagers carrying the offerings into a maze-like mountain forest, while Sun Hai grew wary of the bearers’ cultivation levels.

• Si Xiaobei tried to calm Sun Hai after villagers joked that he would struggle to find a wife.
• Hela, Liu Xiaogang, and Ye Yiqing found a huge pile of fried rice and two barrels of rice wine, which Ye Yiqing suspected were offerings to the village god.
• Sun Hai checked the investigators’ meal for drugs, and Xing Lan ate more than ten bowls before finishing their food.
• The investigators agreed to follow the villagers to see the god, and the next morning the village gathered to carry the offerings away.
• Sun Hai noticed that the nine bearers, including Xiaohua, had high cultivation realms, with an average of King Master.
• The group followed the palanquin into a vast mountain forest that formed a natural maze.

The Special Investigation Squad discovered that Ye Ciqing and Hela had vanished while following the palanquin through the maze. Meanwhile, Xiaohua lured Ye Ciqing to a mountain and attacked him, but after they wounded each other, he trapped her and raised a war hammer to deliver the final blow.

• Ye Yiqing confronted the lead bearer when he realized Ye Ciqing was missing, and Xing Lan discovered that Hela had disappeared too.
• Xiaohua asked Ye Ciqing to give her his head as an offering to the deity, then attacked him with a knife.
• Ye Ciqing ran from Xiaohua and fought back with bone spikes and a javelin, but she used a tree and her knife to wound him and pin him beneath it.
• Xiaohua approached Ye Ciqing to cut off his head, but he impaled her with a bone spike and escaped from beneath the tree.
• Ye Ciqing mocked the trapped Xiaohua and raised a war hammer, asking if she had any last words.

Ye Ciqing killed Xiaohua and followed a black mantis, while Hela lured two men into the mountains and attacked them after confirming they were malicious. Hela killed the burly man and continued fighting the tall, thin man.

• Ye Ciqing smashed Xiaohua's head with his hammer and deduced that her runes let her control marked objects.
• Ye Ciqing caught a black mantis, realized it was leading him somewhere, and followed it.
• Hela stopped in the mountains and confronted the two men who had led her there, then attacked them with bone whips.
• Hela knocked the burly man unconscious by deflecting a grenade toward him.
• The tall, thin man pinned one of Hela's bone whips with a pitchfork and stabbed the burly man to activate his ability.
• Hela severed the pinned bone whip and impaled the burly man through the chest, killing him as his blood stained the whip red.

Hela survived the tall, thin man's attacks, killed him, and discovered that his corpse released a vast cache of stored objects. She stood atop the pile of weapons and miscellaneous items, examining her unexpected loot.

• Hela used an eyeball on the ground to track the tall, thin man after he severed her head.
• The tall, thin man burned Hela with Molotov cocktails and repeatedly attacked her with a rocket launcher, but she survived and regrew her head.
• Hela impaled the tall, thin man's launcher, then hurled a bone whip that destroyed his right hand.
• The tall, thin man relaxed as Hela appeared to burn to ashes, but Hela's transformed bone whip stabbed through his mouth and killed him.
• Hela pulled the bone blade from the corpse, causing clothes, appliances, weapons, and other objects to burst out and bury her.
• Hela climbed atop the heap and examined the weapons and miscellaneous items.

Hela scavenged weapons and learned how to use blood to strengthen her body before Ye Ciqing joined her and realized that a Variant might be the god seeking her. They hurried toward the others, where Sun Hai ordered the Special Investigation Squad to prepare for battle against the sedan-chair bearers.

• Hela ate the meat left by her attackers, discovered that the burly man's blood strengthened whatever it coated, and consumed his corpse.
• Ye Ciqing found Hela with a pile of weapons, returned her mantis clone, and learned that she could not control clones too small to understand her orders.
• After Ye Ciqing asked about the people who wanted to offer Hela's head to their god, Hela confirmed she knew where the others were and led him toward them.
• The lead sedan-chair bearer claimed the missing companions were safe and urged the Special Investigation Squad to cooperate, but Ye Yiqing demanded their location.
• Sun Hai drew a black hilt, transformed it into a huge scythe, and ordered the Special Investigation Squad to prepare for battle.

Ye Yiqing, Xing Lan, Liu Xiaogang, and Sun Hai fought the sedan chair bearers as the Special Investigation Squad tried to subdue them. Sun Hai knocked out two opponents and faced the laser man, who began charging an attack.

• Ye Yiqing attacked the wind man, but the wind man used gusts and tornadoes to dodge and put him in danger.
• Xing Lan caught Ye Yiqing, switched opponents, and cut through the wind man's tornado, injuring his ear.
• Ye Yiqing shattered the muscular man's boulder and wounded his fist, but was blasted backward into Liu Xiaogang.
• Liu Xiaogang charged the boxer, while a vine-wielding woman blocked his spear; Sun Hai appeared behind her and knocked her unconscious.
• Sun Hai used shadows to evade the laser man's attack, recovered his scythe, and knocked out another opponent without killing him.
• The laser man gathered an orange-red ball of light between his fingers as Sun Hai raised his hand to face him.

Sun Hai and his companions pursued the wind-wielding ability user, who lured them to a mountain clearing and summoned a gigantic Variant he worshipped as a god. The Variant seized the wind man and turned its attention to Sun Hai and Xing Lan.

• Sun Hai defeated the laser user, while Ye Yiqing killed the muscular man and Xing Lan reported that the wind user had escaped.
• Si Xiaobei located the fleeing wind user, and Sun Hai and Xing Lan flew after him while the others followed on foot; Liu Xiaogang carried Feng Xuan on his shoulder.
• Sun Hai and Xing Lan caught up with the wounded wind user in a mountain clearing, where he shouted that he had brought an offering for his god.
• A powerful pressure descended as a gigantic blue-green Variant emerged from behind a mountain, and Sun Hai identified it as a Super Aberrant.
• The wind user offered Sun Hai and Xing Lan as better tribute, but the Variant grabbed him in one hand.