Chapter Summaries

The players embraced Veyne Cards while Han Xiao trained to raise his energy and tested a new mechanical combat style against Harmon. Han Xiao gained the upper hand, but Harmon continued fighting with a war hammer, leaving their duel unresolved.

• The players became engrossed in Veyne Cards, and Han Xiao considered holding a faction tournament and selling card packs once they reached space.
• Han Xiao learned Melos's Sunil Energy Gathering Method and trained it until it added 320 energy.
• Harmon agreed to share his energy training method if Han Xiao beat him in a fight, so they faced off in the spaceship's combat training room.
• Han Xiao used enormous mechanical hands and a transforming mechanical foot to batter and restrain Harmon, while prisoners watched from the sidelines.
• Harmon endured Han Xiao's attacks, threw his battle axe at him, then rose and drew a war hammer, eager to continue the fight.

Han Xiao tested his new elite machines and electromagnetic combat technique in a spar with Harmon, defeating him and learning the Luhan Tempering Method. Afterward, Melos asked Han Xiao to arrange for Aurora to restore his severed arm, and Han Xiao agreed to ask her first.

• Han Xiao deployed the Oathkeepers Fighter and Gunner, then used an electromagnetic cage to shock Harmon unconscious and win their spar.
• Harmon woke up, taught Han Xiao the Luhan Tempering Method, and accepted the defeat as experience for a future rematch.
• Han Xiao reviewed his combat styles and tested his equipment, then left the training room and found Melos waiting outside.
• Melos asked Han Xiao to make good on his promise to have Aurora restore his severed arm, and Han Xiao agreed to take him to ask her.

Hila protected Aurora during a tense refugee screening, while Aurora persuaded an armed father to let his infected son enter quarantine. Afterward, the sisters debated kindness and Hila’s debt to Han Xiao, who overheard them with Melos and discouraged him from asking Hila out.

• Aurora identified infected refugees at a Sanctuary checkpoint, but the crowd grew chaotic as guards tried to take them to quarantine.
• A refugee threatened Aurora with a gun to demand immediate treatment for his son, and Hila shielded Aurora and destroyed the gun.
• Hila released the father and son when the father refused quarantine, but Aurora persuaded them to stay and wait for the boy’s treatment.
• The refugees calmed down and accepted quarantine, while Hila and Aurora argued about helping strangers and discussed Hila’s debt to Han Xiao.
• Han Xiao and Melos overheard the sisters, and Han Xiao told Melos to give up on asking Hila out.

Han Xiao asked Hila and Aurora to heal Melos, and Aurora confronted Hila over her attempts to control her before restoring Melos’s arm. Afterward, Han Xiao learned that DarkStar had leaked news of the Mutation Disaster to pressure Goddora into responding, and suspected its agents were already on Planet Aquamarine.

• Han Xiao asked Aurora to heal Melos, but Hila refused because Aurora’s ability consumed her life force.
• Aurora stood up to Hila, explaining that her past suffering made her want to help others; Hila reluctantly let her proceed.
• Aurora used her life energy to regrow Melos’s severed arm, and he happily tested his restored hand.
• Han Xiao checked regional news and saw that public attention was pressuring Goddora to send a rescue team.
• Han Xiao concluded that DarkStar had leaked news of the Mutation Disaster and suspected its agents were already on Planet Aquamarine.

DarkStar’s hidden team watched the Mutation Disaster on Planet Aquamarine and dismissed Han Xiao’s arrival as a coincidence, while Goddora sent a relief fleet to the planet. The fleet bypassed the Six Nations’ reception to investigate Han Xiao’s ships, and Nagokin reunited warmly with Han Xiao at the Sanctuary.

• DarkStar’s covert squad monitored the Mutation Source’s radiation and reported Han Xiao’s arrival, but its leaders decided not to expose themselves or alter their plan.
• Goddora dispatched relief fleets to disaster-stricken planets, and the Six Nations prepared to welcome the force arriving at Planet Aquamarine.
• The Goddora fleet changed course from the Six Nations’ landing site and headed for the Sanctuary after spotting Han Xiao’s spaceships.
• Nagokin questioned Bennett about the ships, then recognized Han Xiao and greeted him like an old friend.
• Han Xiao told Nagokin that Planet Aquamarine was his homeworld and invited him inside to discuss stopping the disaster.

Han Xiao coordinated with Nagokin and Goddora to aid Planet Aquamarine, while withholding what he knew about DarkStar’s plans. The relief effort improved, but Han Xiao feared the Mutation Source would worsen, and Nagokin’s search for Hannes’s Goddoran contact uncovered an unexpected truth.

• Han Xiao told Nagokin how the Mutation Disaster worked, suggested DarkStar might be responsible, and proposed treating refugees and developing an antidote.
• Nagokin deployed Goddora’s researchers and worked with the Six Nations to expand suppressant production and guide refugees toward safety.
• Nagokin issued missions to the Inhumans, while Han Xiao used his connections to secure better-paying Goddora work for members of his mercenary group.
• Goddoran relief efforts improved conditions on Planet Aquamarine, but researchers made little progress and Han Xiao anticipated the Mutation Source’s increasingly dangerous effects.
• Han Xiao asked Nagokin to investigate the Goddoran in Hannes’s portrait, and Nagokin identified the person, revealing a truth far beyond Han Xiao’s expectations.

Han Xiao investigated Angley’s past, sent leads to a Sky Ring mercenary, and obtained the life-support pod seized by the Six Nations. While relief efforts on Planet Aquamarine expanded, rumors began undermining support for Goddora’s response, and the chapter ended with three elderly Goddorans gathered in a residence on Gauting Colony Planet.

• Han Xiao reviewed Angley’s citizen file with Hannes and Bennett, confirming Angley was an unremarkable Goddoran whose records had gone quiet decades earlier.
• Han Xiao hired a Sky Ring mercenary to investigate Angley on Gauting, while Bennett arranged for the Six Nations to hand over the life-support pod.
• Han Xiao hacked the pod, found its product number and account records, and forwarded the information as additional leads before returning his attention to other matters.
• Bennett, Nagokin’s rescue team, the players, and the Six Nations continued relief work as the Sanctuary expanded and several beast attacks were repelled.
• Rumors spread among Goddoran citizens that the disaster might be tied to weapons experiments or DarkStar, while speculation about relocating refugees fueled resistance to the rescue effort.
• On Gauting Colony Planet, three elderly Goddorans gathered in a modest apartment to play cards and chat.

Han Xiao questioned Keton about Angley and uncovered that Keton had helped incite Planet Aquamarine’s old wars while working for Goddora’s Investigation Bureau. Keton revealed that Angley had posed as the alien envoy, leaving Han Xiao suspicious about why an ordinary citizen had been chosen for the role.

• Keton planned to revisit Planet Aquamarine, but Sky Ring mercenaries arrived and took him to meet Black Star.
• Han Xiao confronted Keton with Angley’s portrait, and Keton denied knowing him until Han Xiao tortured him into agreeing to talk.
• Keton confessed that he had secretly arranged for an envoy to stir up war on Planet Aquamarine decades earlier.
• Keton explained that he posed as the envoy’s handler and that the intervention helped trigger the great war that left the Six Nations.
• Keton revealed that his childhood friend Angley had impersonated the envoy, prompting Han Xiao to question Angley’s identity.

Han Xiao learned that Keton and Angley had started Planet Aquamarine’s war for their own amusement, not on Goddora’s orders, and handed Keton over to Bennett. As the disaster relief continued, Nagokin decided that Goddora should recruit the Inhumans rather than leave them all to Black Star.

• Keton confessed that he and Angley had provoked Planet Aquamarine’s war for entertainment, exploiting their status as Goddorans.
• Hannes and Bennett struggled to accept that the planet’s suffering had resulted from two outsiders’ whim; Han Xiao knocked Keton unconscious and left him in Bennett’s custody.
• Bennett and Hannes thanked Han Xiao for uncovering the truth, while Han Xiao privately considered how to use Keton.
• At the Black Phantom Sanctuary, Nagokin observed the Inhumans’ potential and decided Goddora should issue them a recruitment notice.

Han Xiao completed his level 120 advancement and specialized as a Virtual Mechanic, greatly increasing his attributes and combat strength. After Melos warned him that Nagokin was recruiting the Inhumans, Han Xiao decided to investigate and respond.

• Han Xiao returned to the Sanctuary, reviewed his rewards, and exchanged his three Medals of Honor for a special medal that boosted all attributes by 12%.
• Han Xiao completed [Secret of Energy], chose virtual technology as his specialty, and advanced to Virtual Mechanic after maximizing Advanced Virtual Intelligence Technology.
• Han Xiao upgraded his new skills and levels, reaching total level 130 with a combat energy level of 8945 Ona and Grade B+ status.
• Melos told Han Xiao that Nagokin had announced a recruitment drive for the Inhumans, and Han Xiao said he would go see what was happening.

Bennett revealed the truth about the Old Era War to the leaders of the Six Nations, who accepted that Han Xiao was Planet Aquamarine’s only hope. Meanwhile, Nagokin’s attempt to recruit players for Goddora fell flat, and Han Xiao arrived as the players flocked to him.

• Bennett told the leaders of the Six Nations how Goddora had deceived Planet Aquamarine, with Hannes and Keton confirming the account.
• Bennett declared that he would support Han Xiao, and the Six Nations leaders agreed to sincerely submit to him for their civilization’s future.
• Han Xiao headed to meet Nagokin after Melos told him Goddora was trying to recruit his people.
• Nagokin introduced Goddora’s power and technology to the players, but they dismissed the presentation as boring and unimpressive.
• Players abandoned the Goddora camp to crowd around Han Xiao, leaving Nagokin’s recruitment effort overshadowed.
• Nagokin greeted Han Xiao, believing Goddora could still attract players and that recruiting them would not anger Black Star.

Han Xiao reassured Nagokin that he was not upset about Goddora recruiting Inhumans, then planned ways to strengthen his mercenary group and undermine its competition. He summoned four trusted players to interrogate a captured Goddoran, leaving them to face the nervous prisoner.

• Han Xiao and Nagokin discussed relief efforts before Nagokin asked for advice on recruiting Inhumans, and Han Xiao explained his approach.
• After leaving the camp, Han Xiao considered adding ranks and rewards to the Black Star Mercenary Group and using the player forum against Goddora.
• Han Xiao summoned Frenzied Saber, Meat Bun, Hao Tian, and Maple Moon to a secret interrogation room, where Bennett was waiting.
• Han Xiao gave the four players an [Interrogation] mission and showed them the captured Goddoran through one-way glass.

Han Xiao undermined Goddora’s recruitment by guiding Meat Bun to expose the truth about Planet Aquamarine’s old era, turning players against the faction. After establishing a competitive rank system for the Black Star Mercenary Group, Han Xiao learned that DarkStar had attacked several planets affected by the Mutation Disaster.

• Meat Bun released a serious video revealing Keton’s confession and the truth about Planet Aquamarine’s old era.
• Players condemned Goddora and abandoned its faction, leaving Nagokin baffled as recruitment collapsed.
• Han Xiao established six mercenary ranks, including the competitive Black Star’s Eighteen Riders, and designed contribution requirements that encouraged players to spend.
• Han Xiao monitored the players’ progress and planned to grow the mercenary group over time.
• Han Xiao received news that DarkStar had attacked several planets affected by the Mutation Disaster and realized the organization’s operations had begun.

DarkStar attacked Goddora’s relief forces across several disaster planets, forcing Goddora to spread its fleets thin and prepare for further strikes. As Han Xiao readied the Sanctuary and his mercenaries for a possible space battle, DarkStar commander Norcap’s fleet set its next target on Planet Aquamarine.

• DarkStar attacked three disaster planets, heavily damaging Goddora’s relief teams and undoing most of their progress before withdrawing from the arriving reinforcements.
• DarkStar launched a second wave of attacks, clashing directly with reinforced Goddoran fleets and again wiping out relief efforts on the targeted planets.
• Nagokin warned Han Xiao, Bennett, and the Six Nations that DarkStar would keep attacking, while Goddora redeployed forces and continued its relief work.
• Han Xiao put his mercenary group on alert, moved supplies into the Sanctuary’s secret base, and prepared for a potential space battle as the Sanctuary dispersed refugees and built basic defenses.
• Norcap led an elite DarkStar fleet toward its next target, Planet Aquamarine.

The Mutation Source reached Germinal’s irradiated ruins and began absorbing radiation through the remains of Germinal’s leader. Meanwhile, Norcap’s DarkStar fleet prepared to attack Planet Aquamarine and opened fire on the Goddoran escort fleet.

• The Mutation Source controlled Germinal’s leader’s skeleton and absorbed the radiation in the ruins, growing faster than before.
• Norcap learned that Planet Aquamarine was defended by Goddoran ships, Nagokin, and the Black Star Mercenary Group, then chose plan four for the attack.
• Battet ordered the Goddoran escort fleet to remain alert as DarkStar’s fleet approached and stopped at firing range.
• The Goddoran radar detected DarkStar’s fleet, and Norcap launched a long-range barrage of ion cannon fire.

DarkStar attacked Planet Aquamarine from orbit, while the Goddora fleet shielded the planet and the Six Nations rushed to evacuate civilians. Han Xiao deployed mercenaries to protect the surface, and Norcap ordered DarkStar’s fleet to prepare to jump away.

• Norcap’s fleet bombarded Planet Aquamarine, and Battet ordered the Goddora fleet to form shields and return fire.
• The Six Nations began evacuating refugees as an ion cannon strike damaged a city and panic and riots spread through the Sanctuary.
• Han Xiao told Nagokin to stay in contact, then sent mercenaries to the Six Nations to shield them from further bombardment.
• Nagokin joined the Goddora fleet and urged Battet to maintain the standoff, but Battet wanted to close in and attack DarkStar.
• Battet noticed DarkStar’s fleet moving away, while Norcap ordered all units to prepare to jump.

Battet and Nagokin pursued Norcap’s DarkStar command fleet, leaving forty Goddora ships to defend Planet Aquamarine against a second DarkStar force. When the remaining Goddora ships came under attack, Battet chose to press the pursuit, and Han Xiao took responsibility for facing the assault force.

• Battet convinced Nagokin to join an eighty-ship pursuit of the retreating DarkStar fleet, while forty Goddora ships stayed near Planet Aquamarine.
• Norcap sent a second DarkStar fleet of more than a hundred assault ships to attack the Goddora ships left behind.
• The DarkStar assault force overwhelmed the remaining Goddora formation, which called for help from Battet.
• Battet refused to turn back, ordering the pursuing fleet to focus on Norcap’s command formation and telling the defenders to abandon Planet Aquamarine and join him.
• Nagokin contacted Han Xiao, who said he would handle the assault force, as the two pursuing fleets closed for battle.

Han Xiao used his Virtual Mechanic skills to infiltrate a DarkStar assault ship while his allies defended Planet Aquamarine’s capitals and Sanctuaries. He disabled the ship’s shields and gained control access, leaving the remaining assault ships still attacking the planet.

• Nagokin boarded and destroyed a Tu Shu DarkStar battleship from within before moving on to another target.
• Battet ordered Goddora’s garrison to withdraw, and Norcap split the DarkStar forces, leaving thirty assault ships to bombard Planet Aquamarine.
• Han Xiao’s mercenary spaceships shielded the Six Nations’ capitals and Sanctuaries as DarkStar’s bombardment frightened refugees and disrupted players’ mission progress.
• Han Xiao had Jinda pilot the Blacklight Stealth and assigned Sylvia as co-pilot while he and Resta worked to crack the assault ships’ firewalls.
• Han Xiao infiltrated assault ship D065 and shut down its shield generator, allowing the Blacklight Stealth’s lasers to damage it and send it crashing into a companion ship.

Han Xiao used Resta to disable DarkStar assault ships, then led mercenaries in boarding and capturing them while personally cutting through enemy crews. The Black Star Mercenary Group gained control of the battle, and the Six Nations and Sanctuary watched Han Xiao defend the planet.

• Han Xiao infiltrated a DarkStar assault ship and steered it into nearby vessels, drawing ten enemy ships away from the surface.
• Han Xiao used Resta to paralyze four assault ships, allowing mercenaries to board and capture them.
• Han Xiao and the mercenaries boarded six more disabled ships, and Han Xiao slaughtered the guards before taking command of one vessel.
• Han Xiao rammed his stolen ship into another assault ship and boarded it, while DarkStar ships fell or were captured across the battlefield.
• The Black Star Mercenary Group surrounded the remaining DarkStar ships, as the Six Nations and the Sanctuary watched Han Xiao's forces take control.

After driving DarkStar's assault team from Planet Aquamarine, Han Xiao pursued its retreating fleet to attack the Bloody Gaol command ship. He disabled its AI and left Nagokin poised to board, while Norcap panicked aboard the crippled ship.

• Norcap ordered DarkStar's assault team to retreat after learning Black Star was defeating them, and the surviving ships fled Planet Aquamarine.
• Han Xiao returned to the Blacklight Stealth, told his companions to stay behind, and set off to strike DarkStar's command ship.
• Han Xiao contacted Nagokin and Battet, proposing to hack the command ship so Nagokin could board it while Battet's fleet drew enemy fire.
• Han Xiao piloted through the battlefield under concentrated fire as DarkStar moved the Bloody Gaol to keep it out of his hacking range.
• Han Xiao infiltrated the Bloody Gaol and disabled its AI, engines, and communications, leaving it at the rear of the formation as impacts struck its hull.
• Norcap recognized that Nagokin was attacking the command ship and panicked.