Chapter Summaries

Hila struggled with feeling empty after achieving her wish to save her sister, but Han Xiao urged her to embrace her drive for strength. As Germinal was cornered, Han Xiao met Bennett and learned that the Six Nations had stalled over the danger of nuclear fallout and hostages, while Germinal ignored their surrender ultimatum.

• Hila told Han Xiao that she felt lost now that her sister was safe and no longer needed her protection, and Han Xiao warned her not to deny her desire for battle and strength.
• Han Xiao startled Hila with a threatening display and urged her to train; after he left, Hila smoked his cigarette and resolved to accept what she was.
• On December 7, 688, news reached Han Xiao that Germinal had been driven back to its headquarters, and Bennett summoned him to the First Sanctuary.
• Bennett told Han Xiao that the Six Nations had surrounded Germinal but hesitated to attack because its remaining nuclear warheads could poison the climate and its troops held wanderers hostage.
• Bennett explained that the Six Nations favored an ultimatum and would intercept any nuclear launch, but Germinal had not responded.

With Germinal cornered by the Six Nations, its leader tried to launch the nuclear missiles while the executives opposed him and prepared to stop him. As the Six Nations waited for Germinal’s surrender, their officers discussed their secret contacts with Germinal executives and their inability to uncover the leader’s identity.

• Germinal’s leader ordered the launch of all nuclear missiles, but the executives objected and argued that surrender offered a chance to survive.
• The bald executive revealed that the launch required two keys and claimed the deputy leader had the second one, but Germinal’s leader produced both keys.
• Germinal’s leader exposed the executives’ secret deals with the Six Nations, and dozens of executors surrounded him at the bald executive’s signal.
• The Six Nations’ officers waited for Germinal’s response to their ultimatum and discussed their attempts to persuade its executives to surrender.
• The Six Nations’ officers reviewed what they knew about Germinal’s leader and found no record confirming his identity or his connection to Golan.

The leader recounted to Han Xiao how Golan’s defeat and his desire for revenge led him to rebuild Minmok as Germinal. After Han Xiao destroyed the organization, the leader hesitated over launching a nuclear missile and faced the end of his cause.

• After killing Germinal’s executives, the leader brought up the nuclear launch controls but stopped before turning the keys.
• Han Xiao called the leader, saw the corpses in the control room, and asked about the Child of Destiny and the leader’s origins.
• The leader described joining Golan’s resistance, surviving Raylen’s invasion, and vowing to avenge his homeland.
• The leader said he forged his strength in the wilderness, assassinated Minmok’s leader, and renamed the organization Germinal.
• The leader explained that Germinal grew by recruiting people driven by war and hatred, then blamed Han Xiao for cutting down the organization.

The leader launched Germinal’s nuclear missiles, and the Six Nations intercepted some but failed to prevent the destruction of headquarters and a global environmental crisis. Han Xiao learned that his A-grade main storyline mission had been completed, leaving him with the rewards still being tallied.

• Han Xiao spoke with the leader, who refused to surrender and turned the nuclear launch key despite the hostages and the environmental consequences.
• The Six Nations ordered an immediate missile interception as Germinal’s missiles launched.
• Interceptors struck some missiles, but the remaining explosions destroyed Germinal headquarters and devastated the surrounding area.
• The Six Nations’ leaders assessed the nuclear winter and long-term global pollution, then decided to announce the disaster and unite against its effects.
• Bennett paced in distress while Han Xiao checked his interface and received notice that he had earned the planetary legend [Germinal Burier] and completed [The Seed Sleeps in the Dust] with an Incredible evaluation.

After earning an Incredible rating for helping destroy Germinal, Han Xiao received substantial rewards, including powerful character cards and an Esper Potential Enhancement Fluid. He also unlocked Dungeon Generation rights, which let him create Dungeon Crystals from major storyline events, and left eager to use this new NPC feature in future missions.

• Han Xiao received a Planetary Legend rating and an Incredible mission reward, along with experience, points, attributes, and improved relations with the Six Nations.
• Han Xiao obtained character summon cards for the Germinal Leader, Child of Destiny, Aurora, and Hila, plus a Medal of Honor that he equipped.
• Han Xiao used the Child of Destiny card to predict a time and location for an opportunity to travel into space.
• Han Xiao chose the Esper Potential Enhancement Fluid as his random reward and decided to save it for later.
• Han Xiao discovered that his NPC template could generate Dungeon Crystals from segments of the Six Nations and Germinal storyline, allowing him to offer them as mission rewards.

After Germinal's defeat, Han Xiao prepared for Planet Aquamarine's peaceful period and planned to use the war's aftermath to attract players while building resources for his eventual departure. When the Ofmera Family sent Xiao Quan to summon him, Han Xiao demanded that Xiao Jin come to the Third Sanctuary in person, forcing the family to prepare an apology.

• Han Xiao and Bennett discussed the Six Nations' recovery, future threats, and the expansion of the Sanctuary Plan.
• Han Xiao planned to turn the Germinal war into combat instances for players and to stockpile experience before leaving Planet Aquamarine.
• Former Germinal players chose new destinations, with nearly seventy percent heading to the Southern Continent to join Han Xiao.
• Xiao Quan visited Han Xiao on Overmela's behalf, but Han Xiao told him that Xiao Jin and the others would have to come to the Third Sanctuary themselves.
• Xiao Quan reported Han Xiao's demand to Xiao Jin, who told Xiao Hai to prepare an apology and make amends.

Han Xiao tested the dungeon generation function by creating a Dungeon Crystal for the Dark Crow Valley Operation and sending five players into it. After their first attempt ended in a quick failure, he realized he could use the crystals for business without selling them directly.

• Han Xiao found Frenzied Saber, Hila, Aurora, and the others, showed Hila images of Germinal's ruined headquarters, and reassured her that the Six Nations would not pursue her while she was with him.
• Han Xiao generated a level-thirty Dark Crow Valley Operation Dungeon Crystal and gave crystals to Frenzied Saber, Hao Tian, Maple Moon, Meat Bun, and Huang Tian Dang Li.
• The five entered the time-reversal dungeon as Dark Crow Valley soldiers and received missions to survive, protect intelligence, keep Pan Kuang and Ji Jie alive, and repel the invading forces.
• During a night patrol, Meat Bun and Hao Tian were killed by Black Phantom, then the remaining players were also shot and the dungeon failed.
• After confirming the dungeon worked, Han Xiao realized that he could use Dungeon Crystals to benefit his plans without selling them directly.

Han Xiao launched a paid dungeon mission based on the Germinal storyline, then used players’ struggles to sell specialized equipment that made the dungeon easier. The dungeon became a lasting source of income and helped establish the Sanctuary as a main city for players.

• Han Xiao offered Dungeon Crystals in exchange for contribution points earned by spending money on his goods and services, increasing his sales by 30%.
• Players ran the Dark Crow Valley dungeon, struggled to survive, and shared recordings and strategies while speculating that the optional missions required a hidden route.
• After studying the players’ reports, Han Xiao realized he could profit by selling equipment tailored to the dungeon’s challenges.
• Han Xiao mass-produced anti-sniping helmets and forest-movement devices, which quickly sold out and helped players clear the dungeon.
• Players adopted the specialized equipment as standard gear, and Han Xiao planned to release more dungeons as they leveled up.
• The [Dark Crow Valley Operation] dungeon became popular at the Sanctuary, strengthening its role as a player hub.

Han Xiao used Overmela’s need for protection to secure its money, manpower, and relocation to the Sanctuary. He also planned to bring Lü Cheng to the Sanctuary and keep Overmela from becoming too powerful.

• Han Xiao identified Overmela as a potential source of funding and manpower for the Sanctuary’s transportation network and population growth.
• Xiao Jin brought Overmela’s representatives to meet Han Xiao, but Han Xiao rejected their attempt to restore family ties and stopped Xiao Hai’s apology with a bullet fired from his finger.
• Xiao Jin explained that Overmela needed protection from the Six Nations, and Han Xiao demanded money, manpower, and the relocation of Overmela’s people near the Sanctuary.
• Xiao Jin accepted the terms, agreeing that Overmela would fund transportation routes and move its personnel and the refugees under its rule to the Sanctuary.
• Han Xiao told Xiao Jin to stop Overmela’s Southern Continent branch from troubling Lü Cheng, whom Han Xiao planned to bring to the Sanctuary as a counterweight to Overmela.

Han Xiao returned to Stardragon’s West Capital and visited Lü Qian’s repair shop to retrieve Old Man Lü’s four rare blueprints. He obtained them by replacing the contents of a safe, but the Thirteenth Bureau agents watching the shop realized their field agent had gone silent and rushed to investigate.

• Han Xiao told Lü Cheng that Overmela had joined his faction and that their dispute was settled, then encouraged Lü Cheng to join him and learned Lei Zhenyu had left Black Pine Settlement.
• Han Xiao returned to Lü Qian’s repair shop in disguise and persuaded her to stay open late by offering a lucrative custom order.
• A Thirteenth Bureau field agent watched Han Xiao, so Han Xiao used a probe spider to locate Old Man Lü’s safe under Lü Qian’s bed.
• Han Xiao knocked out the field agent, opened the safe, took the four rare blueprints, and replaced them with ordinary mechanical blueprints.
• Han Xiao carried the unconscious agent downstairs and told Lü Qian he had knocked him out after the agent followed him to the bathroom.
• The Thirteenth Bureau team lost contact with the field agent, and its captain led the agents toward the repair shop.

Han Xiao visited Lü Qian’s workshop, drove off the field team pursuing him, and returned to the Sanctuary with four blueprints. He built and tested a new Sonic Attack Sphere combat system, expanding his tactical options.

• Han Xiao spoke with Lü Qian at her workshop and left her stacks of cash before slipping away from the field team.
• Han Xiao knocked out the field operatives who confronted him, then returned to the Sanctuary by helicopter.
• Han Xiao used Potential Points to meet the requirements for the Magnetic Shield Chain Floating Shuttle and three Sonic Attack Sphere blueprints.
• Han Xiao built the three Sonic Attack Spheres and tested their offensive, control, and detection functions.
• Han Xiao decided the new system complemented his existing tactics and wondered how Lü Cheng would react to the replacement blueprints.

Four months after the war, Han Xiao completed the Third Sanctuary and earned an A+ reward while preparing for his journey into space. The S1 Galaxy Professional League was announced, with the Third Sanctuary chosen as Planet Aquamarine’s venue, giving Han Xiao a major business opportunity as players began preparing to compete.

• Han Xiao completed the Third Sanctuary’s construction, earned an A+ rating, and increased his standing with the Dark Net.
• Han Xiao spent the peaceful months training, making equipment, and preparing Frenzied Sword, Meat Bun Hits Dog, Maple Moon, and Hao Tian for the professional league.
• The World Esports Federation announced the S1 Galaxy Professional League’s format, stages, and participating regional divisions.
• The announcement named Black Phantom's Third Sanctuary as the venue for Planet Aquamarine’s individual and arena matches.
• Han Xiao realized the league would bring players and business to his sanctuary as excitement spread among contestants worldwide.

As tournament qualifiers opened, Long Sky and Jiangcheng prepared their players for the competition, while Hao Tian and Frenzied Saber entered the individual event. Players flocked to the Third Sanctuary to compete and watch, and Han Xiao anticipated profiting from the tournament before heading into the galaxy.

• Long Sky reviewed its selected roster, prepared for the five-stage tournament, and decided that Hao Tian would enter the individual competition while Long Sky focused on team matches.
• Frenzied Saber secured Jiangcheng's approval to enter the individual competition despite captain Xing Duhe's repeated attempts to block his application, and he set his sights on a strong result.
• Tournament registration drew huge crowds, with more than a hundred thousand individual entrants in each regional division and many players gathering at the Third Sanctuary.
• Maple Moon skipped the qualifiers, while Meat Bun Hits Dog entered with a team of streamers.
• Han Xiao noted that Hao Tian, Frenzied Saber, and Meat Bun Hits Dog were competing under him and looked forward to earning experience and profits from the tournament.

Han Xiao watched the Galaxy Times analyze the first Professional League, including the Planet Aquamarine division and its leading clubs. As the qualifiers approached, registration closed and the Sanctuary filled with players preparing for the tournament.

• The Galaxy Times introduced the tournament format and invited Li Ge, Tai Erzi, Hao Tian, and Sun Eggplant to assess the Planet Aquamarine division.
• The four guests discussed the division’s clubs and the single-elimination qualifiers, while Tai Erzi boasted that Dynasty would win and Sun Eggplant challenged him.
• Han Xiao recalled that foreign challengers such as Ilex had entered other divisions to defeat local clubs.
• Registration for the qualifiers closed, with the tournament set to begin in three days.
• Han Xiao surveyed the crowded Sanctuary plaza and said it was time.

Han Xiao offered Advanced Knowledge for Pugilist and Esper players, drawing a huge crowd of players and professional competitors and earning hundreds of millions of experience. News of his unprecedented offer spread beyond Planet Aquamarine, making players across the planets take notice of him.

• Jingzhe visited Han Xiao’s stall to learn skills and discovered that Han Xiao was selling Advanced Knowledge for the Pugilist and Esper classes.
• Jingzhe posted a screenshot of the shop on the forum, prompting veteran players and professional competitors including Li Ge, Hao Tian, and Sun Eggplant to rush over.
• Players bought Han Xiao’s Advanced Knowledge for several hours, earning him three hundred million experience in one day.
• Players across Planet Aquamarine and other planets discussed Han Xiao’s offer and began recognizing him as a uniquely versatile NPC.

Players gathered for the opening of the Galaxy Professional League, where Li Ge and Hao Tian clashed over their ambitions and the veteran Kings and Generals arrived. After the qualifiers began, Hao Tian faced returning veteran Starry Chess Piece in the opening individual match, whose interview ended with him implying that he would teach the younger players.

• Li Ge resented Han Xiao's sale of Advanced Knowledge for weakening his competitive advantage, while Hao Tian rebuked him for speaking as if he represented everyone.
• Kings and Generals arrived, dragged Tai Erzi away, and drew Li Ge's cold attention as Li Ge resolved to challenge for first place.
• Han Xiao calculated that his sales had raised his experience reserve to 1.5 billion and watched the league's opening ceremony begin.
• Host Red Luan Bird announced the qualifier format and introduced Hao Tian and the returning Starry Chess Piece as the opening individual match contestants.
• Starry Chess Piece recalled his return to the professional stage, denied that his failed business had prompted it, and hinted that he hoped to guide young players such as Hao Tian.

Hao Tian and Starry Chess Piece began their Pugilist match, and Starry Chess Piece landed the first combo with a rare launch skill. Hao Tian escaped with a difficult reversal and counterattacked, revealing damage and skill levels boosted by Han Xiao’s training and rewards.

• Hao Tian dismissed Red Luan Bird’s interview question, and the commentators introduced the evenly matched Pugilist showdown.
• Hao Tian and Starry Chess Piece exchanged careful attacks until Starry Chess Piece launched Hao Tian with Concussive Stomp and chained a combo.
• Hao Tian waited for an opening and used Flying Cloud Reversal to escape the combo, despite the difficult check.
• Hao Tian stunned Starry Chess Piece and began a counter-combo that rapidly cut down his health.
• Hao Tian’s unusually high damage came from skill levels he had raised with experience Han Xiao had rewarded him.

Hao Tian defeated Starry Chess Piece in the opening exhibition match and publicly mocked his return from retirement, while Han Xiao watched the tournament for promising players and useful combat techniques. As the qualifiers continued, Han Xiao made money and focused on the increasingly varied team battles.

• Hao Tian released his aura and used a charging skill to knock Starry Chess Piece off the arena, winning the match.
• Starry Chess Piece praised the younger generation in his post-match remarks, and Hao Tian asked why someone who retired to cash in had returned before walking away.
• Han Xiao approved of Hao Tian’s skill and attitude, and considered how players’ techniques and reactions could help him prepare for future fights.
• The tournament began its simultaneous qualifiers, and Han Xiao watched matches while players praised Hao Tian’s victory on the forum.
• A few days later, Han Xiao continued earning money and studying team battles, which featured varied class roles, tactics, and randomly generated terrain.

Han Xiao watched Frenzied Saber win his first individual qualifier with a mechanized pugilist build, and the player gradually drew attention as he advanced through the rounds. Long Sky dominated both competitions, while Meat Bun's all-gunner team was eliminated in the first round.

• Frenzied Saber used his mechanical armor, powered legs, and equipment to defeat an ice-controlling Esper player in his first individual match.
• Han Xiao recognized Frenzied Saber's skill with mechanized pugilist equipment and believed he could make an impact in the first league.
• Frenzied Saber advanced through the qualifiers and attracted attention as one of the few mechanized pugilists still competing.
• Hao Tian and Long Sky crushed their opponents, emerging as leading contenders in both the individual and team competitions.
• Meat Bun's all-gunner team lost in the first round after drawing jungle terrain and a foreign professional team.
• Han Xiao judged Hao Tian the strongest contender, while he doubted whether Frenzied Saber's team could qualify.

Frenzied Saber’s ambush helped Jiangcheng qualify for the regular season, where he became a fan favorite and drew attention to Han Xiao. The group draw then placed three powerhouse clubs together in Group A, setting up a fiercely contested regular season.

• Frenzied Saber proposed an ambush against Ilex’s ranged team, but Xing Duhe secretly undermined the plan to shift blame onto him.
• Ilex’s team chased Xing Duhe’s group into the ambush, where Frenzied Saber and his teammate attacked; Jiangcheng won after Frenzied Saber took down two opponents.
• Jiangcheng qualified for the regular season, while Frenzied Saber also advanced individually and gained fans for his performance and unusual mechanical pugilist style.
• Han Xiao reviewed the qualifiers and was pleased that his support for Frenzied Saber had produced better results than in his previous life.
• The secondary league filled the remaining regular-season slots, and organizers announced the group draw.
• Fish-Fragrant Eggplant, Dynasty, and Long Sky landed in Group A alongside other strong teams, creating a group of death in which several major clubs would compete for only two places.