Chapter Summaries

Moning announced that the finals would use the highest difficulty and a failure rate of at least forty percent, putting Dania, Sigelica, Linnai, and Aimis under collective punishment if any of them failed. Zhou Yu agreed to start a hardcore cram school to make sure they all passed.

• Moning announced the difficult final exams and warned that any failure by Dania, Sigelica, Linnai, or Aimis would revoke their squad’s Logistics Department benefits and reimbursements.
• Sigelica threatened to tutor the others herself after learning the squad’s special benefits and her remaining debt reimbursement were at risk.
• Linnai tried to sway Moning with a poem, and Aimis planned to bribe the grading system with an autographed photo, but Zhou Yu stopped her.
• Dania struggled to study while Zhou Yu brought her food, and Sigelica demanded that he solve their exam problem.
• The four students squatted outside Zhou Yu’s warehouse until he announced that the Logistics Department’s hardcore cram school would begin the next day, with everyone required to pass.

Zhou Yu used food, historical gossip, and idol economics to make Dania, Linnai, and Aimis study calculus and history for their final assessments. The students performed confidently on the exam while Zhou Yu arranged a seaside summer vacation.

• Zhou Yu sealed the warehouse and taught Dania energy conservation through a pork-rib recipe, inspiring her to study cafeteria optimization.
• Zhou Yu drew Linnai into history by sharing sensational stories about military supply lines and peace negotiations, and she eagerly annotated her thesis.
• Zhou Yu connected integral calculus to concert ticket sales, prompting Aimis to model fan loyalty and ticket prices.
• Dania, Linnai, and Aimis studied through the night, developing their own food, gossip, and ticket-revenue models.
• During the exam, the three students confidently applied their unconventional lessons, while Moning found no cheating devices in the room.
• Zhou Yu ignored an academic warning and emailed a hotel about renting a sea-view suite for the summer vacation.

After the Logistics Department’s students passed their exams, Zhou Yu celebrated with them at a hotpot feast and promised Dania he would get her a leave slip. As the group slept, a mysterious message challenged Zhou Yu’s firewall and hinted that the rules themselves could turn against him, but he refused to let it disrupt their vacation.

• Moning stared at the exam results, where Dania, Linnai, and Aimis had each barely passed, then left in frustration.
• Zhou Yu announced that the Logistics Department’s cram class had ended and served the group a celebratory hotpot feast.
• Sigelica and the others toasted their summer plans, while Zhou Yu wiped sauce from Dania’s mouth and promised to take her for a leave slip.
• After everyone fell asleep, Zhou Yu washed the dishes and received a message on his digital watch from an unknown sender that had bypassed his defenses.
• Zhou Yu dismissed the warning, tucked in Dania, and turned off the lights as the message remained embedded in the system.

Sigelica spent a rare weekend day at the library with Lu Hesi, researching Resonator rehabilitation and enjoying an unexpectedly comfortable conversation. The outing ended with a shy exchange over the rainbow candies he had made, while their friends’ secret surveillance was discovered.

• Linnai, Dania, and Aimis persuaded Sigelica to wear a floral dress and go without her gun for her library outing with Lu Hesi.
• Lu Hesi met Sigelica at the Central Library and gave her a warm, less-sweet oat milk latte, though she had never told him her preference.
• Sigelica and Lu Hesi discussed research on psychological rehabilitation for Resonators and the academy’s mental health screening system.
• Linnai, Aimis, and Chisaki secretly watched them from a flower bed, and Lu Hesi spotted them and nodded toward them.
• Sigelica offered Lu Hesi a rainbow candy, and she blushed after reminding him that he had created the formula.

Zhou Yu persuaded Lupa to approve leave for himself and Dania, arguing that Dania needed to experience life beyond the Academy’s protection. Lupa agreed but called in a white-haired woman with a blade to keep the trip under control.

• Zhou Yu visited Lupa with crab roe pastries and travel plans, then asked for leave for himself and Dania.
• Lupa refused, warning that Dania would be in danger outside the Flamebearers' Academy's barrier.
• Zhou Yu argued that keeping Dania confined would deny her the chance to live freely, and threatened to make the trip an official business trip if Lupa refused.
• Lupa approved the leave and summoned someone to help keep things under control.
• A tall, white-haired woman carrying a blade entered Lupa's office, and Zhou Yu watched her with interest.

Zhou Yu brought Chisa to the Logistics Department warehouse before their trip, where she shared a bowl of yangchun noodles with him and Dania. Chisa kept her condition that the group follow her lead in danger and added a rule requiring Zhou Yu and Dania to sleep separately overnight.

• Lupa told Chisa to accompany Zhou Yu and Dania on their holiday trip and to listen to Zhou Yu unless danger arose, while Chisa insisted that she would make the decisions in a crisis.
• Zhou Yu left with Chisa and brought her to the warehouse, where Dania greeted her and showed Zhou Yu her Huanglong Food Diary.
• Zhou Yu cooked yangchun noodles, and Chisa hesitated before eating the entire bowl and drinking the broth.
• Chisa said the noodles were good but maintained her rule about handling danger and required Zhou Yu and Dania to sleep separately from ten at night until six in the morning.

Zhou Yu prepared for the seaside trip with Dania and Chisa, negotiating their sleeping arrangements and buying supplies. As the group finished packing, Chisa quietly observed Dania’s dormmates’ warmth before confirming their departure time with Zhou Yu.

• Chisa insisted that Zhou Yu and Dania sleep separately after ten, and Zhou Yu agreed while counting the time before then as overtime.
• At the supermarket, Zhou Yu stocked up on food and supplies, bargained down the price of beef jerky, and bought ice cream for Dania and Chisa.
• Chisa remembered her sister Yulu saving money to buy her candy, then pushed the memory away.
• Dania’s dormmates packed for the trip, discussed Chisa’s combat ability and the separate-room rule, and teased Dania about fitting in a late-night snack before ten.
• Chisa listened to the laughter from the dorm, then asked Zhou Yu when they would leave; he said they would meet at the south gate at seven in the morning.

Zhou Yu took Sigelica, Dania, and Chisa on a slow train toward the South Sea, planning a food-filled vacation and arranging a stop for beggar’s chicken. When residual Aleph One fluctuations tried to overwrite the train with a battlefield, Zhou Yu erased the spatial intrusion before it could take hold, and the journey continued.

• Zhou Yu defended his choice of a private soft-sleeper carriage and revealed that he had arranged a two-minute stop at Yunling Valley for beggar’s chicken.
• Dania fell asleep on Zhou Yu’s shoulder while he quietly secured her potato chips, and Chisa explained that a ringing bell meant she had to draw her blade at the Reed Plain Frontline.
• Zhou Yu marked out the group’s South Sea food itinerary, while Sigelica hid a pink cat sticker on her terminal.
• In a tunnel, Zhou Yu’s watch warned that residual Aleph One fluctuations would pull the train into a replicated battlefield, and Chisa prepared to draw her blade.
• Zhou Yu used a hidden blocklist function to erase the spatial intrusion, and the train emerged safely into the sunlight.
• Dania mumbled that she wanted extra-spicy beggar’s chicken, and Zhou Yu added “extra spicy” to the map.

Zhou Yu brought Dania, Chisa, Sigelica, Linnai, and Aimis to a seaside hotel, where he urged Chisa to relax and join the group’s meals. During their beach barbecue, Aleph One’s residual fluctuations briefly took shape in the smoke, but Zhou Yu calmly struck the apparition away without alarming Dania.

• Zhou Yu checked the group into a top-floor suite, and Chisa accepted it after he explained its security features and reimbursement.
• Dania rushed to the window to see the sea while Chisa searched the suite for threats; Zhou Yu’s watch announced that the vacation area reset fatigue and blocked low-level hostile detection.
• Zhou Yu encouraged Chisa to eat watermelon and leave her guard post, and she eventually joined the group at the beach barbecue.
• As Zhou Yu grilled chicken wings, Aleph One’s residual fluctuations formed a scaled face in the smoke and reached for the food.
• Zhou Yu struck the apparition with his brush handle and handed the chicken wings to Dania, while Chisa silently witnessed the encounter and continued eating.

Zhou Yu hosted a beach barbecue where Aimis and Linnai’s song moved the gathered team, especially Chisa, and gave them a moment of rest. The evening ended with Zhou Yu scheduling weekly Friday gatherings, while Chisa returned to her watch with her sword planted upright in the sand.

• Zhou Yu cooked oysters and squid for the group and persuaded the on-duty Chisa to eat.
• Aimis sang while Linnai played guitar, and the song stirred memories and feelings among Chisa, Sigelica, and the others.
• Chisaki saved an audio file named "Paper Plane" as the song ended.
• Zhou Yu proposed weekly Friday-night beach barbecues and singing, and Linnai agreed when he promised unlimited food.
• Zhou Yu carried the sleeping Dania back to the hotel, while Chisa stood her sword upright in the sand and resumed her watch.

Zhou Yu used his appointment as Specially Appointed Security Director to stop a tsunami caused by tampered physical laws. After the sea became calm, Chisa investigated the disturbance but accepted Zhou Yu’s explanation, leaving the cause of the anomaly concealed from her.

• Zhou Yu saw warnings of a high-risk tsunami as the sea receded and a towering wave formed offshore.
• Zhou Yu used his digital watch and appointment letter to change the wave’s peak height to half a meter, causing the tsunami to collapse before reaching shore.
• Chisa woke when her bell vibrated, grabbed her saber, and went onto the balcony to investigate.
• Chisa found Zhou Yu with his thermos and saw that the sea was calm; Zhou Yu claimed the vibration might have come from the ice maker.
• Chisa returned to her room and left the balcony door slightly open, with her saber positioned toward the gap.

Zhou Yu took Dania and the others foraging on the beach, then arranged a meal and set out for Huanglong. The group headed toward Jinzhou, where Zhou Yu planned to eat hot pot and visit the heavily guarded magistrate.

• Zhou Yu altered Moning's South Sea report to hide the parameter fluctuations and submitted a thirty-thousand-star-coin reimbursement for safety-testing materials.
• Zhou Yu took Dania, Sigelica, Linnai, Aimis, Chisaki, and Chisa to the tidal flats, where they gathered shells and caught a turbot.
• At breakfast, Zhou Yu persuaded Chisa to eat shrimp dumplings and crab roe buns, while Dania packed snacks for the journey.
• Chisa carried Dania's snack bag and let the bell at her waist ring as the group left the hotel for the train station.
• Zhou Yu told the group they were going to Huanglong to eat hot pot and see the sights, and planned to visit Jinzhou's magistrate.
• The seven arrived at the station and headed inside to board train G73.

Zhou Yu refused to help with the Tacet Discord tide at first, but used the vacation budget and threat of a complaint to make Chisa and Sigelica clear the way while Jiyan led the Midnight Rangers. He waited beside the tracks with Dania, focused on making the seven o’clock hot pot reservation as the battle continued.

• A Tacet Discord tide and the Inferno Rider's energy eruption forced the train to stop indefinitely, leaving Zhou Yu worried about his tightly scheduled Jinzhou vacation.
• Zhou Yu stepped off the train with Dania and watched Thundering Mephis, Feilian Beringal, and smaller Tacet Discords approach as the Midnight Rangers prepared to fight under Jiyan's lead.
• Zhou Yu refused Sigelica's demand that he trap the monsters, arguing that the Midnight Rangers should handle their own territory and that intervening would undermine their performance.
• Zhou Yu threatened to return the security budget and file a complaint if the trip's activities were canceled, prompting Chisa to charge into battle and Sigelica to follow as cover.
• Zhou Yu sat beside the tracks, fed Dania mandarins, and watched Chisa, Sigelica, and Jiyan fight while counting down to the hot pot reservation.

Chisa, Sigelica, and Jiyan defeated Thundering Mephis and Feilian Beringal while Zhou Yu’s group supported them with tactical advice and music. After the battle, Jiyan approached Zhou Yu’s bizarrely casual group, unsure how to address them.

• Chisa struck Thundering Mephis’s exposed neck while Sigelica blocked Feilian Beringal’s attacks and Chisaki identified its weak point.
• Zhou Yu asked Linnai and Aimis to play “Little Miracle” over a megaphone for the fighters.
• Chisa shattered Thundering Mephis’s energy core, and Sigelica shot Feilian Beringal’s knee so Jiyan could strike its neck.
• The Midnight Rangers watched the monsters crumble as Chisa returned to Zhou Yu for room-temperature orange soda.
• Jiyan walked over to Zhou Yu’s group but struggled to decide whether to thank them or question them.

After the Tacet Discord tide receded, Jiyan waived martial-law screening so Zhou Yu and his group could reach their hotpot dinner in Jinzhou. As they rode into the city arguing about dipping sauces, the adjutant wondered how such ordinary life could follow a battle that had nearly wiped out the army.

• Jiyan told Zhou Yu's group that martial law would delay their entry into the city by at least three days, and Dania grew tearful at the thought of missing hotpot.
• Jiyan used his special authorization to waive their screening and arranged an escort into the city so they could make their dinner.
• Dania confirmed that the group still had six portions of tripe, and Zhou Yu gave Jiyan a can of Red Bull and urged him to rest sometimes.
• Zhou Yu led the group into the Midnight Rangers' vehicle, where Linnai, Sigelica, Aimis, and Chisaki argued about hotpot dipping sauces.
• As the group rode past the battle's aftermath, the adjutant listened to their casual chatter and wondered whether they had truly just survived a battle that nearly wiped out the army.

Zhou Yu and the others arrived at a luxurious inn in Jinzhou, where Chisa agreed to let Zhou Yu stay with Dania despite the ten o’clock curfew. Dania asked Zhou Yu to tell her a bedtime story and hold her until she fell asleep, leaving the group settled for the night.

• The adjutant welcomed Zhou Yu and the group to the Clear Radiance Courtyard, which General Jiyan had reserved with a meal and fresh clothes prepared.
• Sigelica and Linnai persuaded Chisa to make an exception to the curfew, and Chisa agreed to keep watch outside the courtyard.
• Dania clung to Zhou Yu and asked him to sleep beside her, explaining that she wanted a story and did not want him to sneak away after she fell asleep.
• Zhou Yu agreed to tell Dania a story and pat her back, while she bargained for two crab roe buns at breakfast.
• Dania fell asleep in Zhou Yu’s arms, and the courtyard grew quiet as Chisa warned Linnai and Sigelica to stop laughing.

Zhou Yu stopped Dania from escalating their closeness and promised to revisit her request in a year, once she was older and understood its meaning. Dania settled for sleeping in his arms, while Chisa kept watch outside and saw that Zhou Yu had held his boundary.

• Dania woke and tried to lift Zhou Yu's shirt, but he stopped her and tucked her back under the covers.
• Zhou Yu explained that Dania's feelings could be confused and set limits on what she could ask of him for now.
• Zhou Yu and Dania made a pinky promise to revisit her request in one year, and Dania added that he could not work overtime on their scheduled date.
• Dania cuddled up to Zhou Yu, teased him by calling him tasty, and settled down after he threatened to reduce her crab roe buns.
• Chisa listened from the courtyard, released her grip on her blade, and recognized that Zhou Yu had maintained his boundary.

Zhou Yu and his group explored Jinzhou and discovered wanted posters for an organized theft gang. When Qiu Yuan revealed that the thieves had stolen top-secret resonance materials from the Flamebearers' Academy, Zhou Yu agreed to investigate.

• Zhou Yu treated the group to breakfast and reassigned Chisa to help keep Dania safe while they shopped in Jinzhou.
• Linnai and Aimis sampled street food while Zhou Yu and Dania stopped to admire a sugar painting.
• Zhou Yu and Sigelica examined wanted posters describing a gang that repeatedly stole resonance equipment.
• Qiu Yuan introduced himself as a former Pacification Office commander now assisting Jinzhou with the theft investigation, with Changli's support.
• Qiu Yuan showed Zhou Yu a seal identifying stolen Grade A resonance materials from the Flamebearers' Academy, and Zhou Yu told him to lead the way.

Zhou Yu agreed to help Qiu Yuan investigate thefts linked to a traveling circus and led the team into its Curiosity Hall under the guise of tourists. A hidden message on Zhou Yu’s ticket revealed that Star Torch materials had entered, turning their investigation into an immediate confrontation.

• Qiu Yuan told Zhou Yu’s group that seventeen nighttime thefts had occurred in Jinzhou and that the circus emblem had appeared at the scenes.
• Zhou Yu suspected thieves were using the circus as a legitimate cover and agreed to investigate after securing reimbursement and other conditions from Qiu Yuan.
• Zhou Yu’s team bought tickets to the circus collaboration at Curiosity Hall and planned to inspect its attractions, sounds, and layout.
• The ticket taker’s touch caused a message to appear on Zhou Yu’s ticket stating that Star Torch materials had entered.
• Zhou Yu pulled the ticket away and prepared to enter Curiosity Hall as the team realized the case had become urgent.

Zhou Yu’s group tore through the Curiosity Hall’s escape-room stages and uncovered a criminal organization’s hidden rune beneath a circus emblem on a prop crate. After Zhou Yu sent evidence to Qiu Yuan, the hall’s mechanisms activated, isolation mist poured from a crate, and a note addressed to him appeared.

• Chisaki quickly opened the first mechanical lock, and Sigelica broke the second room’s wall to retrieve its key.
• Chisa caught the control line of a descending puppet, while Zhou Yu’s group continued through the escape room and entered the prop storeroom.
• Zhou Yu removed a fresh circus emblem from a crate and revealed a black rune that Sigelica identified as belonging to a wanted criminal organization.
• Chisaki found signs that the crate had concealed a Class A resonance material case, and Zhou Yu photographed the evidence and alerted Qiu Yuan.
• The hall went dark as its mechanisms and puppets activated, isolation mist poured from a crate, and Zhou Yu found a note reading “Cradle retrieval.”