Chapter Summaries

Han Xiao used his status as the Germinal Organization’s first surviving Valkyrie test subject to study mechanical theory and become a Mechanic. As Hila prepared to have him brainwashed, he gained experience by assembling a guard’s pistol and leveled up, leaving him with a chance to resist.

• Han Xiao learned that Hila planned to brainwash him and realized he needed more Intelligence to resist it.
• He found Tom's Basic Mechanical Theory in the laboratory and studied it until he unlocked the Mechanic Class and gained new skills.
• Han Xiao pretended to be dazed and took apart and reassembled Three Hundred Thousand's pistol while Hila and Lin Weixian watched.
• He earned experience from repeated pistol assembly and leveled up Mechanic Novice just before Hila ordered the brainwashing to begin.

Han Xiao resisted the Germinal Organization’s brainwashing by pretending it had worked, then endured brutal combat and shooting training under Hila and Balotta. The chapter left him injured but determined to bide his time inside the organization’s base.

• Han Xiao spent two points to raise his intelligence to seven and became immune to the twelve-hour brainwashing, but he feigned obedience when Hila tested him and accepted the identity of Zero.
• Hila confirmed Zero’s condition to the leader, who ordered her to train him; the leader also refused to let Hila visit her sister more often than once every two months.
• Hila began Zero’s combat training and repeatedly struck him, while Han Xiao gained five percent progress in Basic Combat.
• Balotta forced Han Xiao to shoot at a moving target and cut him whenever he failed, while Hila and Lin Weixian watched from behind a one-way mirror.
• Han Xiao endured more than a dozen cuts without screaming and resolved to wait for a chance to make Balotta pay.

Han Xiao spent six months secretly gaining experience and improving his mechanical skills while the Germinal Organization neglected him in favor of Test Subject Number One. After accumulating 600,000 experience points, he learned that Lin Weixian had finally received approval to dissect him, while Number One’s squad was scheduled to leave for training.

• Han Xiao used the laboratory’s firearms and materials to gain experience through assembly and enhancement while hiding his abilities and saving his potential points.
• The researchers lost interest in Han Xiao, and Test Subject Number One replaced him as the organization’s favored experiment, leaving Han Xiao with fewer resources.
• Han Xiao learned the laboratory’s layout and personnel, developed his combat and mechanical skills, and accumulated 600,000 experience points.
• The leader approved Lin Weixian’s request to dissect Han Xiao and ordered Number One’s squad sent to Night Owl Base for training.
• Hila objected to the timing because she planned to visit her younger sister, but the leader told her she did not need to accompany the squad.

Hila revealed that the Germinal Organization had approved Han Xiao’s dissection, while a photograph of her sister Aurora triggered a mission that exposed Hila’s tragic future. Han Xiao prepared to escape by leveling his classes and crafting a Light Power Arm, leaving him ready to arm himself.

• Hila trained Han Xiao, then told him the leader had agreed to let Lin Weixian dissect him.
• Han Xiao picked up a photograph of Hila and her white-haired sister, Aurora, and triggered the D-rank mission [Night Owl Plan].
• Han Xiao recalled that Germinal would exploit Aurora’s healing power and that her fate would drive Hila to become the feared Goddess of Death.
• Han Xiao spent his saved experience leveling his Mechanic Trainee and Agent classes, then learned mechanic knowledge and fused it to develop the Light Power Arm blueprint.
• Han Xiao raised his Intelligence to meet the blueprint’s manufacturing requirement and prepared to arm himself for his escape.

Han Xiao secretly crafted weapons and prepared to escape the laboratory, then attacked the guards outside the monitoring room. After killing two guards, he entered and found Three Hundred Thousand and Constipation Bro in an intimate embrace.

• Hila and the test subject squad left the farm with Night Owl Third Squad, while Hila flew away by helicopter and felt an uneasy premonition.
• Han Xiao completed a light powered arm, enhanced a Wasp pistol, crafted a tactical dagger, and used experience to raise his strength enough to wield the arm.
• Han Xiao overheard agents discussing Hila’s superhuman abilities and decided it was good that he would not have to face her directly.
• Han Xiao blocked a corridor camera with bread and killed the two guards outside the monitoring room, gaining experience and four pistol magazines.
• Han Xiao entered the monitoring room and found Three Hundred Thousand and Constipation Bro holding each other intimately.

Han Xiao killed the guards in the surveillance room and destroyed the cameras, then followed a guard to Lin Weixian’s laboratory. Lin Weixian tried to dissect him, but Han Xiao killed him and revealed that he had been pretending to be brainwashed for half a year.

• Han Xiao knocked out Three Hundred Thousand and Constipation Bro, then killed them and took their pistol magazines.
• Han Xiao moved the guards’ bodies into the surveillance room, wiped away the blood, and destroyed the surveillance screens.
• A guard told Han Xiao that Lin Weixian wanted to see him, and Han Xiao went to Lin Weixian’s private laboratory.
• Lin Weixian ordered a guard to restrain Han Xiao and prepared surgical tools to dissect him, but Han Xiao killed the guard and stabbed Lin Weixian in the heart.
• Han Xiao told Lin Weixian that the surveillance room guards were dead and confirmed that he had pretended to be brainwashed for half a year before killing him.

Han Xiao tried to reach the mechanical modification room in disguise, but Balotta recognized him and forced him into a fight. Han Xiao killed Balotta and the guards who pursued him, then stood ready for reinforcements to arrive.

• Han Xiao took Lin Weixian’s identity card and planned to disable the base’s communications, but he needed equipment from the mechanical modification room first.
• Balotta stopped Han Xiao and became suspicious, so Han Xiao revealed himself as Number Zero and attacked him before nearby guards could intervene.
• Han Xiao dodged gunfire and reached the mechanical modification room, where he equipped the Exoskeleton Light Power Arm and burst through the door to strike Balotta.
• Han Xiao shot the three guards, using his mechanical arm to deflect one guard’s bullet, then confronted the wounded Balotta.
• Han Xiao defeated Balotta in close combat and killed him by smashing and grinding his head against the wall.

Han Xiao destroyed the Valkyrie research data and fought his way through Groups C and B, using grenades, a human shield, and a booby trap to overcome the guards. After realizing Han Xiao might be manipulating their communications, Group A’s captain ordered his team back to the main gate to prevent his escape and wait for reinforcements.

• The guards found Balotta and Dr. Lin Weixian dead, and Group A’s captain organized the remaining personnel to search for Han Xiao.
• Han Xiao set the laboratory on fire with homemade grenades, destroying the Valkyrie research data and drawing Group C into a firefight.
• Han Xiao killed Group C’s guards, then tricked Group B into entering the laboratory and killed nearly all of them with a grenade trap and gunfire.
• Han Xiao impersonated Group B over the walkie-talkie and called for backup, prompting Group A to head to the laboratory.
• Group A’s captain realized Han Xiao might have faked the radio calls and ordered his team to return to the main gate and wait for reinforcements.

Han Xiao escaped the laboratory by infiltrating Group A and locking the guards inside, but Germinal’s forces soon began pursuing him. After abandoning his SUV in the forest, he was discovered by a Night Owl squad and wounded by Silver Blade’s sniper fire.

• Han Xiao disguised himself as a Group A guard, opened the main gate, and locked the guards inside before escaping with a nearby SUV.
• Hila learned that Han Xiao had killed guards, Balotta, and Dr. Lin Weixian, and the leader ordered her to turn back and pursue him.
• Silver Blade led the Night Owl Squad back to the base, where Number One joined the pursuit with his test subject squad.
• Han Xiao abandoned the SUV, took food and water from its trunk, and continued through the forest on foot.
• Silver Blade’s Night Owl Third Squad spotted Han Xiao and shot him in the shoulder, forcing him to take cover as he assessed their equipment.

Han Xiao used his upgraded combat skills, stolen gear, and grenades to fight off the Night Owl Squad, killing several operatives despite taking serious wounds. Silver Blade ordered the last three men to bombard his hiding place, and they approached what appeared to be Han Xiao’s charred corpse.

• Han Xiao spent his attribute points and experience to raise his endurance, strength, and combat skills before charging the nearest Night Owl operative.
• Han Xiao killed the operative in close combat, but a sniper shot wounded him and inflicted ongoing bleeding.
• Han Xiao used stolen equipment, grenades, and a rock feint to kill two more operatives while suffering another leg wound.
• Silver Blade ordered the three surviving operatives to throw grenades at Han Xiao’s hiding place.
• The operatives approached a charred body they believed was Han Xiao, but Silver Blade noticed something was wrong and shouted for them to get down.

Han Xiao survived the ambush by setting off a corpse-bomb trap, then defeated Silver Blade, wiping out the Night Owl Third Squad. At the Germinal Organization base, investigators uncovered Han Xiao's original identity as Xiao Han and the leader ordered Number One to capture him, dead or alive.

• Han Xiao used a dead agent as a shield, planted grenades beneath the corpse, and killed two Night Owl agents when he detonated the trap.
• Han Xiao charged Silver Blade before the agent could escape and killed him in close combat.
• Hila arrived at the battlefield, found all six Night Owl agents dead, and examined the broken power arm and the evidence of the fight.
• The Germinal Organization leader learned that Zero had escaped and heard the researcher identify him as Xiao Han, the overlooked third son of the Ofmera Family's second-in-command.
• The researcher speculated that the Valkyrie Experiment had restored Han Xiao's memories and given him extraordinary abilities, while the leader ordered experiments suspended and subjects re-brainwashed.
• Number One volunteered to hunt Han Xiao, and the leader ordered him to bring Zero back dead or alive.

After escaping the Night Owl squad, Han Xiao reached a wanderer settlement seeking food, water, and a map. He defended himself from a would-be robber, then faced a greedy merchant who demanded far too many bullets for his supplies.

• Han Xiao spent seven days in the jungle, treating his wounds and surviving on rabbits before finding a wanderer settlement.
• A long-haired young man tried to rob Han Xiao with a blade-net trap and a homemade shotgun, but Han Xiao disarmed and tied him up before knocking him unconscious.
• Han Xiao entered the settlement and found a market where residents traded goods by barter.
• Han Xiao offered ammunition for a map, water, and food, but the bearded merchant demanded 150 bullets, prompting Han Xiao to object to the price.

Han Xiao refused Kailo’s offer to buy his weapons, then accepted Hu Hongjun’s hospitality and stayed at his tent. As Han Xiao learned about Hu Hongjun’s life and the wanderers’ place in Planet Aquamarine’s upheaval, Hu Hongjun questioned the costs of the transition from the old era to the new.

• Kailo raised the price of Han Xiao’s supplies and tried to sell him an old pickup truck, but Han Xiao declined to trade away the Germinal weapons.
• Hu Hongjun returned Han Xiao’s bullets, offered him a place to stay, and took him to his tent.
• Han Xiao met Hu Hongjun’s blind wife, An, who prepared food while the men talked.
• Hu Hongjun explained that he had stayed with the wanderers to care for An and regarded them as fellow survivors despite their different races and homelands.
• Hu Hongjun described the rise of the Six Nations, the wanderers, and Germinal amid Planet Aquamarine’s transition, then wondered whether the new era’s upheaval had been worth its cost.

Han Xiao stayed with Hu Hongjun and An after sharing dinner and learned about their wartime past. While Han Xiao slept, Hu Hongjun’s nephew Hu Fei recognized him and stole two pistols from his bundle.

• Hu Hongjun told Han Xiao that he had served in the army and preferred peace to joining Germinal, while An described how Hu Hongjun had helped her after she was blinded.
• Hu Hongjun showed Han Xiao his old Saber Rifle, and An cooked them a hearty meat soup before they invited Han Xiao to stay overnight.
• Han Xiao secured his spare firearms in a bundle, hid a leaf inside to detect tampering, and fell asleep with a pistol under his pillow.
• Hu Fei returned to the tent, where Hu Hongjun scolded him for causing trouble, and Hu Fei recognized Han Xiao as the man who had beaten him earlier.
• Hu Fei sneaked back into the tent at night and stole two Type 73 Wasp Pistols from Han Xiao’s bundle.

Han Xiao returned to the wanderer settlement after realizing a Type 73 Wasp was missing, only to find that the Germinal Organization had massacred its residents. Kailo blamed the slaughter on Han Xiao’s connection to the settlement and urged him to seek revenge.

• Han Xiao left Hu Hongjun and An’s home with food and recovered one Type 73 Wasp from Hu Fei, who secretly kept another pistol.
• After spotting that a gun was missing, Han Xiao hurried back toward the settlement.
• Number One questioned the wanderers, found the stolen pistol on Hu Fei, and learned from Hu Hongjun which way Han Xiao had gone.
• Number One killed Hu Hongjun and An, then ordered his squad to slaughter the remaining wanderers.
• Han Xiao returned to the blood-soaked settlement and found Hu Hongjun and An dead.
• Kailo survived the massacre and told Han Xiao that the Germinal Organization had killed the wanderers, urging him to avenge them.

After learning Hu Hongjun had never betrayed him, Han Xiao modified the old Saber Rifle and set out to avenge the settlement. He ambushed the Test Subject Squad, but their survivors charged him in an armored vehicle, leaving him in grave danger.

• Hu Fei warned Han Xiao that Kailo had sold out Hu Hongjun, and Han Xiao killed Hu Fei and Kailo.
• Han Xiao discovered Hu Hongjun had sent the Test Subject Squad in the opposite direction, then accepted a revenge mission and modified Hu Hongjun's Saber Rifle into a sniper rifle.
• Han Xiao ambushed the returning Test Subject Squad, blew out their vehicle's tire, and killed several members with precise shots.
• Number One rallied the surviving squad members, who spotted Han Xiao's muzzle flash and charged him in their remaining armored vehicle.

Han Xiao ambushed and wiped out Number One’s test subject squad, then rejected the Germinal leader’s offer to return. After declaring that he would destroy Germinal, Han Xiao decided to seek help from Stardragon.

• Han Xiao used a rope-and-grenade trap to stop Number One’s armored vehicle, then killed the squad members with his Sabre rifle.
• Han Xiao wounded Number One and left him alive to suffer before the Germinal leader contacted him through a terminal.
• Han Xiao rejected the leader’s offer to return to Germinal, declared the organization his enemy, and killed Number One.
• The Germinal leader threatened Han Xiao and ended the call, while Han Xiao received experience and completed the Revenge mission.
• Han Xiao’s Sabre rifle broke down, and he decided to use his knowledge of the future to seek Stardragon’s help against Germinal.

The Germinal Organization placed a million-dollar bounty on Zero and resurrected Number One to use him in the Super Soldier Project. Han Xiao accepted an A-class mission to damage Germinal and traveled toward Stardragon’s West Capital, planning to seek out the Thirteenth Bureau.

• The leader ordered a million-dollar dark-web bounty for Zero and demanded that he be captured for study.
• The leader ordered Number One to be resurrected with the Aurora Resurrection Potion and chosen for the Super Soldier Project, and the revived Number One roared Zero’s name.
• Han Xiao unlocked hostile relations with Germinal and accepted the long-term A-class mission to damage the organization.
• Han Xiao decided to follow Planet Aquamarine’s main storyline rather than hide, since its conflicts offered opportunities to grow stronger.
• Han Xiao rode a livestock train to West Capital and set his sights on the Thirteenth Bureau.

Han Xiao bypassed West Capital’s checkpoint by paying a smuggler with his guns and entered the city without inspection. After cleaning up and changing clothes, he used pickpocketing to get money and justified stealing a passerby’s wallet as a necessity.

• Han Xiao avoided the checkpoint inspection by giving a smuggler his backpack of guns as payment.
• During the ride into the city, Ma Jie bragged about his cousin’s ties to the gray zone and invited Han Xiao to join him, but Han Xiao refused.
• The smuggler bribed an officer, who led Han Xiao and the other passengers through an arms-transport gate and out of the checkpoint base.
• After reaching West Capital, Han Xiao went to a department store, changed clothes, and unlocked Pickpocketing lv1.
• Han Xiao stole a passerby’s wallet and privately rationalized the act as necessary under the circumstances.

Han Xiao chose to join the Six Nations and went to a hidden repair shop in West Capital to pursue a rare opportunity for mechanical advancement. After Lü Qian welcomed him as a potential apprentice, Old Man Lü intervened and insisted that Han Xiao pass his own test before he could stay.

• Han Xiao decided that joining the Six Nations would give him access to the advanced knowledge and protection he needed.
• Han Xiao found the inconspicuous repair shop where two old men were playing five in a row and met Lü Qian, the shop owner.
• Han Xiao asked Lü Qian for an apprenticeship and introduced himself as a twenty-one-year-old with basic mechanical skills.
• Lü Qian prepared a faulty household appliance to test Han Xiao, but Old Man Lü interrupted and declared that he owned the shop and would decide whether Han Xiao could stay.
• Old Man Lü walked over to test Han Xiao, while the tall old man complained that Old Man Lü had cheated at their game.