Chapter Summaries

Han Xiao led Hila, Aurora, and the unconscious Cerberus through Germinal headquarters while fighting off the pursuing soldiers and officers. After Han Xiao swiftly killed a powerful officer, the leader realized he had underestimated him and decided to confront him personally.

• Hila revealed a hidden passage four floors below and led the group toward it while keeping the details of her escape plan secret.
• Han Xiao knocked Cerberus unconscious to keep him alive, then killed a squad of Germinal soldiers blocking their route.
• Han Xiao told Hila to protect Aurora while he dealt with the powerful enemies closing in.
• Han Xiao killed a level-forty-four strength-enhanced officer with a combination of grenades, machinery, and melee attacks, earning one trial point.
• The leader heard the officer's defeat, recognized that Han Xiao was stronger than expected, and ordered his forces to hold him until he arrived.

Han Xiao fought through Germinal headquarters while Hila used her still-unknown traitor status to escort Aurora toward a secret passage. Han Xiao drew the pursuers away and dismantled Number One and the other super soldiers, leaving Number One furious and unable to stop him.

• Han Xiao fought his way downstairs, killing Germinal soldiers, executives, super soldiers, and players while Hila protected Aurora.
• Hila proposed splitting up to evade the approaching main force, and Han Xiao agreed to draw the pursuers away while she led Aurora to a secret passage.
• Hila gave Han Xiao the passage location, then left with Aurora as he planted explosives to attract the leader and his forces.
• Han Xiao encountered Number One and dismantled his exoskeleton and those of the surrounding super soldiers, leaving them immobilized.
• Number One demanded that Han Xiao recognize him as his nemesis, but Han Xiao did not remember him and flipped him face down before continuing on.

Hila rescued Aurora and led her through a secret passage while Han Xiao drew Germinal’s forces away. Han Xiao used an invisibility ability to follow them, and Germinal’s leader realized Hila had betrayed the organization and ordered a wider search.

• Hila reached the hidden passage with Aurora and waited for Han Xiao, while Aurora asked why he had come to save her.
• Han Xiao appeared in the passage after using Dean’s Character Card to slip past Germinal’s pursuers and follow Hila.
• Han Xiao learned that Hila had given him the genuine passage location and followed her as she led Aurora toward an abandoned underground tunnel.
• Germinal’s leader discovered that Aurora was missing and that Hila had helped Han Xiao escape, then ordered his forces to find them.
• Cerberus told the leader that Han Xiao had taken confidential intelligence and Aurora, and suggested that Han Xiao might be an Inhuman.
• The leader ordered Germinal to expand its encirclement, vowing that Han Xiao would not escape the continent.

Han Xiao, Hila, and Aurora escaped through an abandoned tunnel, but Han Xiao realized Germinal's forces had surrounded the headquarters area. As they made for the perimeter, the leader ordered Cordell to kill Han Xiao and showed no concern for Aurora's survival.

• Hila carried Aurora through the abandoned tunnel with Han Xiao, and the three spoke as they traveled toward the hidden exit.
• After more than three hours, Hila opened a hatch into a supply warehouse, where Han Xiao realized the leader's forces might still have them surrounded.
• A trigger mine Han Xiao had left in the tunnel killed a Germinal soldier, alerting them that pursuers were close as they set out toward the perimeter.
• The leader mobilized troops around the headquarters and ordered Cordell to kill Han Xiao, Hila, and Aurora if necessary.

Han Xiao and Hila searched for a way through Germinal’s heavily guarded southern position, but Han Xiao revealed that he was Black Phantom and charged in alone. The soldiers opened fire too late to stop him, and he smashed into the position as chaos erupted.

• Hila judged that the southern position was too well guarded to cross unnoticed, while Han Xiao said they would force their way through.
• The players at the position discussed Zero, and White Hunter explained how the escaped test subject had secretly harmed Germinal.
• Han Xiao donned his Viper Kai armor, and Hila realized that he was the legendary Black Phantom.
• Han Xiao walked into the searchlights, revealing to the soldiers that Zero was Black Phantom.
• Cordell ordered the soldiers to attack, but Han Xiao blasted into the position and knocked soldiers aside, throwing it into chaos.

Han Xiao revealed himself as Black Phantom while breaking through Germinal’s southern position, killing Cordell and escaping with Hila and Aurora. Germinal ordered a full pursuit as players spread footage of his identity reveal across the forum.

• Han Xiao fought through Germinal troops and vehicles, then shot down an armed helicopter with his Ghost Gauss Sniping Rifle.
• Players realized Zero was Black Phantom, and some uploaded footage of the reveal to the forum despite losing favorability with him.
• Han Xiao used a repulsive-force punch to scatter Cordell and his officers, then killed Cordell with a rifle shot.
• Han Xiao cleared a path through the position, and he, Hila, and Aurora escaped in an armored off-road vehicle.
• The Germinal leader ordered troops and high-level combat forces to hunt Han Xiao, authorizing short-range missiles.
• The players’ footage of Han Xiao’s identity reveal caused an uproar on the forum.

After the players learned that Black Phantom and Zero were the same person, Han Xiao and Hila fled Germinal headquarters with Aurora and began crossing enemy territory. With Germinal pursuing them and their supplies running low, Han Xiao modified their vehicle and considered how to defend against missiles.

• A pinned forum post revealed that Han Xiao was both Black Phantom and Zero, and players celebrated his role in the war against Germinal.
• The players' excitement drove Han Xiao's fame and reputation to a new peak.
• Han Xiao, Hila, and the sleeping Aurora escaped Germinal headquarters in an off-road vehicle.
• Han Xiao got out to apply anti-radar and camouflage coatings while Hila took over driving.
• Hila warned that they faced days of pursuit through Germinal territory and had little fuel, food, water, or ammunition.
• Han Xiao planned to take supplies from their pursuers and considered how to survive a possible missile attack.

Han Xiao revealed to the Six Nations that he was both Zero and Black Phantom, and traded Germinal’s stolen intelligence for their military support. With the alliance agreed, he and Hila headed toward a rendezvous while Germinal hunted them, and the coming dawn promised more fighting.

• Han Xiao rejected building a missile-defense device himself and decided to leave that work to the professionals.
• Germinal launched a massive search for Han Xiao, prompting the Six Nations to investigate and raise their alert levels.
• Han Xiao contacted the Six Nations and offered Germinal’s stolen plans and missile locations in exchange for protection and support.
• Han Xiao proved his intelligence was genuine by sharing details of the Dead Hand System, then revealed that Zero and Black Phantom were both identities he used.
• The Six Nations accepted Han Xiao’s terms and planned to pressure Germinal while arranging a rendezvous for their troops to meet him.
• Han Xiao removed his Simulation Mask, and news of his true identity spread across Planet Aquamarine as he and Hila prepared to face the coming fighting.

As war spread across Planet Aquamarine, Bennett and Stardragon learned that Black Phantom was Han Xiao, who was also the wanted traitor Zero. The revelation left Bennett furious and stunned Han Xiao’s former teammates, while Stardragon prepared an extraction team to protect him.

• Bennett learned that Germinal and the Six Nations were hunting Zero for stolen intelligence that could decide the war.
• Bennett discovered that Zero was Han Xiao and that Black Phantom was one of his identities, then smashed the tablet in anger at being deceived.
• Stardragon agents seized a Germinal transport convoy carrying warheads and brought it to Position Four.
• Li Yalin and her teammates read the report identifying Han Xiao as both Black Phantom and Zero, and realized why the higher-ups had concealed his identity.
• The commander told Li Yalin’s team that Stardragon had assembled an extraction team to protect Han Xiao, but refused Zhang Wei’s request to join because the group was not strong enough.

Xiao Jin struggled to secure his leadership of Overmela until the faction heads learned that Black Phantom was his son, Xiao Han, and rushed to pledge their allegiance. Xiao Hai was shaken by his younger brother’s rise and feared Han Xiao would seek revenge for the past.

• Xiao Jin told Xiao Hai that Overmela’s factions resisted his authority and that Xiao Han’s Germinal bounty threatened the Xiao Faction.
• Saqi and Todd unexpectedly visited Xiao Jin and offered their factions’ support, followed by more than a dozen senior members.
• Todd revealed intelligence identifying Black Phantom as Xiao Jin’s son, Xiao Han, who was also known as Zero.
• Xiao Jin and Xiao Hai were stunned by Xiao Han’s identity, while the other factions pledged allegiance because they feared his influence.
• Xiao Hai felt helpless about the gulf between himself and Han Xiao and worried that his younger brother would settle accounts with him.

Han Xiao and Hila continued fleeing Germinal forces, using their modified vehicle and equipment to survive repeated pursuits. After defeating another convoy and salvaging its parts, they escaped before reinforcements arrived, while Hila’s powers continued to grow despite her exhaustion.

• Han Xiao’s identity as Zero and Black Phantom spread among the major factions, drawing attention to the Ofmera Family and Dark Net Organization.
• Han Xiao and Hila drove through the wilderness with Aurora as Germinal’s thirteenth search squad pursued them.
• Han Xiao turned the Viper Kai into a ranged combat suit and fought the encircling convoy while Hila attacked its troops with her Esper ability.
• Han Xiao defeated the convoy, gained additional Limit Trial progress for fighting outnumbered, and salvaged its equipment.
• Han Xiao and Hila left before reinforcements arrived, and Germinal’s troops found only the wreckage.

Han Xiao used Germinal players’ forum posts to stay ahead of the organization’s pursuit, while players invented romantic stories about him and his companions. A massive Germinal encirclement awaited him in the New Stone Wasteland, and the leader expected the trap to force Han Xiao into a decisive battle.

• Han Xiao learned from Germinal players’ forum posts that the organization was tracking him and used their shared intelligence to evade its deployments.
• Players turned screenshots of Han Xiao traveling with Hila and a young girl into fanciful romance stories, earning him the nicknames “Eloping with girls, Black Phantom” and “Tenderhearted toward beauties, Technician Han.”
• Han Xiao saw a player’s post revealing a large Germinal force assembled along his escape route and realized the situation was dangerous.
• The Germinal leader learned that an encirclement in the New Stone Wasteland was ready and that Han Xiao was expected to reach it in sixteen hours.
• The leader prepared eighty executives, six hundred super soldiers, thousands of troops, hundreds of vehicles, thirty helicopters, and five veteran executives to eliminate Han Xiao.

With Germinal encircling the New Stone Wasteland, Han Xiao planned a breakout with help from a hidden Six Nations rescue force. He and Hila left Aurora concealed inside the encirclement, intending to return for her after the fight.

• Han Xiao told Hila and Tu Shu that Germinal had sealed off the New Stone Wasteland and ruled out escaping through the encirclement alone.
• Han Xiao called the leader, taunted him about Germinal’s decline, and challenged him to face Han Xiao himself, but the leader ended the call.
• Han Xiao learned that the Six Nations rescue force had secretly reached the eastern edge of the wasteland and arranged to break out the next afternoon with its support in reserve.
• Han Xiao and Hila agreed to leave Aurora behind because taking her along would put her in danger and hinder their escape.
• Han Xiao enlarged and reinforced a natural hole, camouflaged its entrance, and left most of the group’s food supplies there for Aurora.

Han Xiao and Hila prepared a breakout from Germinal’s encirclement, using Hila in the Viper Kai armor as a decoy while Han Xiao planned a real attack elsewhere. Hila drew Germinal’s forces to the eastern sector, where Derwent discovered that the supposed Black Phantom was weaker than expected.

• Han Xiao hid Aurora in a cave with supplies, then reassured Hila and told her that Six Nations support was nearby as a fallback.
• Han Xiao gave Hila the Viper Kai armor and taught her to use it, explaining that she would pose as him and draw the enemy’s attention while he attacked their vehicles and ammunition under cover of invisibility.
• After training through the night, Han Xiao and Hila set out to begin their plan as Germinal’s forces maintained a tight encirclement of the New Stone Wasteland.
• Hila drove an armored vehicle toward Germinal’s eastern troops, then charged into their lines after the vehicle was destroyed, prompting the command center to send reinforcements toward the eastern sector.
• Derwent transformed his body with bone armor and struck Hila, but she barely withstood the blow, making him realize that the apparent Black Phantom was weaker than he expected.

Han Xiao used Dean’s invisibility to plant bombs among the Germinal troops’ vehicles while Hila drew their attacks in the Viper Kai. After the explosions, Han Xiao reclaimed the suit and swiftly defeated Derwent, leaving the other executives afraid to approach.

• Derwent and the executives attacked the weakened-seeming Black Phantom while Hila endured an assault from Germinal’s forces in the Viper Kai.
• Han Xiao used his remaining Character Summon Card ability to become invisible and plant bombs beneath the troops’ vehicles.
• Han Xiao told Hila to meet him after the explosion, then detonated the bombs and created an opening for their escape.
• Hila returned the Viper Kai to Han Xiao and drove away in an armored off-road vehicle he had spared.
• Derwent charged Han Xiao, who activated Mechanical Force Surge and Overload, pinned him down, and shattered his bone armor with a punch.
• The executives halted their advance after seeing Han Xiao defeat Derwent, and the leader’s confidence collapsed.

Han Xiao and Hila escaped the encirclement but were intercepted by Germinal’s rapid response force and five veteran executives. After losing their vehicle, they fought together as enemy reinforcements closed in, leaving them surrounded and struggling to hold their ground.

• Han Xiao and Hila broke through the Germinal troops’ encirclement in an armored vehicle, but three Black Harrier Helicopters pursued them.
• Han Xiao’s sniper shot was stopped by Jeroz’s force field, while Inris raised a rocky slope that trapped the vehicle; the helicopters destroyed it with rockets.
• Five veteran executives jumped from the helicopters, and Han Xiao pulled Hila along as they fled and waited for their team’s support.
• When Hila offered to stay behind, Han Xiao refused and threatened to leave her sister behind if Hila sacrificed herself.
• After the executives caught up, Han Xiao and Hila fought them in the wilderness, but their coordinated attacks overwhelmed the pair.
• Germinal troops closed in behind them as more Black Harrier Helicopters arrived, surrounding Han Xiao and Hila with reinforcements.

Han Xiao and Hila fought five Germinal executives while reinforcements and military forces closed in. Hila helped Han Xiao kill Inris, but the remaining enemies badly wounded her, leaving Han Xiao to decide whether to escape alone.

• Han Xiao held off the five executives and asked Hila to disrupt Jeroz’s force field while he targeted Inris.
• Hila tricked Jeroz with a mental attack, dropping the force field, and Han Xiao killed Inris with a critical shot.
• Germinal helicopters and tanks attacked Han Xiao, damaging his mech suit, while Jeroz restrained him again.
• Hila stepped in front of the Pugilists to protect Han Xiao, but their blows and Jeroz’s force-field attack left her gravely wounded.
• Han Xiao found Hila unresponsive and, seeing the enemy forces closing in, considered escaping alone.

Han Xiao and the critically wounded Hila escaped Germinal’s encirclement with help from a Six Nations rescue team. After the group crossed into a desert and believed they had evaded pursuit, the Leader revealed he had anticipated their route and surrounded them with a much larger force.

• Gray mist streamed from nearby corpses into Hila, and her wounds healed enough for her to survive, though she remained gravely weak.
• Han Xiao prepared to leave Hila behind, but a Six Nations rescue team arrived and broke through Germinal’s encirclement with fire and smoke.
• Han Xiao carried Hila into the lead SUV, where Tang Tang introduced himself and the other rescuers, Dannina and Aropaigo.
• The rescue team drove through the desert for two hours and believed they had put distance between themselves and Germinal’s pursuers.
• The Leader contacted Han Xiao and revealed he had tracked the rescue team and predicted their route.
• Han Xiao saw Germinal forces surrounding the dunes ahead, with attack helicopters, machine-gun positions, and more than a hundred soldiers.

The Germinal leader ambushed Han Xiao’s extraction force, forcing the Six Nations’ fighters into a fierce battle against Germinal’s troops and executives. Just as Han Xiao prepared to face the leader, Bennett arrived with Dark Net allies and challenged him, leaving the two powerful fighters colliding on the battlefield.

• The Germinal leader revealed that he had secretly arranged an ambush in the desert, trapping Han Xiao and the extraction force.
• Han Xiao received the C-class mission The Traitor's Counterattack, which required him to defeat the leader while dealing at least 60% of the damage.
• Germinal troops opened fire on the three vehicles, but Fardrod shielded the extraction force as its espers charged into the enemy positions.
• Dannina, Aropaigo, Tang Tang, and other experts fought Germinal’s soldiers and executives while Han Xiao helped Hila out of a vehicle.
• The Germinal leader advanced toward Han Xiao, but Bennett and four other high-level espers emerged from the last vehicle to support the extraction force.
• Bennett confronted the leader, and the two charged at each other, their auras colliding in a thunderous impact.

Han Xiao exploited the stalemate between Bennett and Germinal’s leader to farm trial points, then fled the battlefield once he completed [Limit Trial]. After escaping long enough for combat to end, he advanced to level 60 and evolved into a Type I Cosmic Human, gaining new attributes, a racial trait, and a skill.

• Bennett and Germinal’s leader fought evenly while Han Xiao calculated that the battlefield could help him complete [Limit Trial].
• Han Xiao picked off weakened enemies to gather trial points, ignoring his teammates’ orders and their growing suspicion of him.
• Germinal reinforcements joined the battle, and the group’s condition worsened as Tang Tang and the beast-summoning Esper came under concentrated attack.
• Han Xiao saved Tang Tang from Jeroz’s attack, then killed the wounded Trejo and gained enough trial points to complete [Limit Trial].
• Han Xiao fled toward the weaker defenses behind him, drawing Jeroz and other pursuers away while his teammates debated his motives.
• After five minutes of flight, Han Xiao left combat, completed [Limit Trial], advanced to level 60, and evolved into a Type I Cosmic Human, gaining [Adaptive Group] and [Mechanical Continuation].