Chapter Summaries

Jiang Yan Hai turned Shao Xiao Jia into a soldier and assigned him a high-stakes assessment at a banquet. Shao Xiao Jia left with Hound to investigate a suspected intelligence transaction while Jiang Yan Hai followed their operation remotely.

• Jiang Yan Hai and Hound arranged a staged opportunity to push Shao Xiao Jia toward an active role in the military.
• Shao Xiao Jia changed into his military uniform, saw his Second Lieutenant insignia, and agreed to dye and cut his hair before taking a mission.
• After Shao Xiao Jia got a crew cut and changed into a suit, Jiang Yan Hai briefed him on a suspected intelligence transaction involving information about the J20.
• Jiang Yan Hai made Shao Xiao Jia the highest commander at the banquet and instructed him to lead Hound and inspect attendees' electronic devices.
• Hound drove Shao Xiao Jia to the banquet, while Jiang Yan Hai boarded a surveillance truck and ordered its crew to follow them.

Shao Xiao Jia traveled with Hound toward his new assignment, feeling unexpectedly changed by wearing a military uniform. Meanwhile, armed soldiers raided a private club banquet after receiving intelligence about a sale of state secrets, leaving the guests detained for questioning.

• Shao Xiao Jia asked Hound about the commander and learned that Hound considered him an outstanding soldier.
• Shao Xiao Jia reflected on how wearing the uniform made him feel grown up and ready for military life.
• A captain led armed soldiers to the private club and ordered teams to secure its exterior.
• The soldiers stormed Banquet Hall Number 1, surrounded the guests, and prohibited them from contacting anyone outside.
• The captain told the banquet's person in charge that the soldiers were investigating a suspected sale of state intelligence, and the guests agreed to cooperate.

Shao Xiao Jia arrived at a heavily secured clubhouse to inspect attendees’ phones for intelligence, and he encountered Liu Piaopiao among them. He began scanning the devices and uncovered intimate files on her phone.

• The captain ordered everyone at the clubhouse to surrender their phones and wait while the soldiers awaited their chief.
• Shao Xiao Jia and Hound arrived after police sealed off the area, and armed soldiers escorted Shao Xiao Jia into the banquet hall.
• The special forces soldiers stood at attention as Shao Xiao Jia entered, and he kept walking despite seeing Liu Piaopiao.
• Shao Xiao Jia set up his military laptop and began scanning attendees’ phones for information while soldiers checked them for concealed items.
• Shao Xiao Jia inspected Liu Piaopiao’s phone and found intimate photos and videos involving her and different men.

Shao Xiao Jia completed his mission and faced the end of his feelings for Liu Piaopiao, while Jiang Yan Hai pushed him toward reconciling with his parents. The next day, Jiang Yan Hai received an unexpected notice to report to the tactical training room ahead of the scheduled Battle Command Confrontation Training.

• Shao Xiao Jia finished inspecting Liu Piaopiao’s belongings, reported that he found no information, and left with the inspection team.
• The captain apologized to the people at the banquet, warned them not to reveal what happened, and departed.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Shao Xiao Jia to rest, go home the next day, and speak with his parents; Shao Xiao Jia thanked him for assigning him the mission.
• Jiang Yan Hai learned that Liu Piaopiao had called Shao Xiao Jia, but Shao Xiao Jia had refused to answer.
• After training and breakfast the next day, Jiang Yan Hai received a notice ordering him to report to the tactical training room.

Jiang Yan Hai toured a virtual battlefield command training facility and met Professor Wu Min, a computing expert he knew through Pantheon. He agreed to test the system, and his program immediately reported an error when he started it.

• Jiang Yan Hai visited two command center halls with Principal Zheng and learned that the training system was based on Glorious Mission and a supercomputer.
• Principal Zheng introduced Jiang Yan Hai to Professor Wu Min, whom Jiang Yan Hai recognized from Pantheon's files.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Wu Min that he was partly affiliated with Pantheon, and Wu Min praised his ability.
• Principal Zheng and Wu Min asked Jiang Yan Hai to test the battlefield command training system for bugs.
• Jiang Yan Hai started his program on a computer, and it immediately issued an error warning.

Jiang Yan Hai inspected Professor Wu Min’s battlefield command simulation system and discovered that its designers had partly changed the underlying machine-language architecture. The next day, he was selected to test the simulation against General Hu Shaofei, and began entering his information in the command center.

• Jiang Yan Hai ran diagnostics and found that his program could not scan the system’s underlying data.
• Professor Wu Min explained that her team had applied a different machine-language architecture to specially designed hardware.
• Jiang Yan Hai tested the system’s security, found no major issues, and left without trying the battlefield simulation.
• The next day, an instructor assigned Jiang Yan Hai and General Hu Shaofei to opposing command centers for a special simulation.
• Jiang Yan Hai entered his student ID into the system as three majors prepared to assist him.

Jiang Yan Hai configured a defending force for a simulated campaign against General Hu Shaofei, despite the observers’ doubts that his force could withstand the enemy. The battle began with both sides about a hundred kilometers apart, and Jiang Yan Hai had to use reconnaissance to locate the enemy.

• Jiang Yan Hai drew the red defenders’ side and configured a heavy mechanized division with naval support, an armored regiment, an artillery regiment, a Special Operations Regiment, air and information units, and logistics support.
• Professor Wu Min authorized adjustments as Principal Zheng and two two-star generals discussed Jiang Yan Hai’s unusual force composition and its weaknesses against the enemy’s armor, artillery, air force, and air defenses.
• Jiang Yan Hai’s opponent, General Hu Shaofei, completed his deployment, and Jiang Yan Hai put on his headset as the simulation prepared to begin.
• The generals in the observation hall predicted that General Hu Shaofei would win, while the simulation displayed both sides’ positions about a hundred kilometers apart.
• Jiang Yan Hai examined the real-time strategy-style map and learned that enemy positions would appear only after he sent out reconnaissance units.

Jiang Yan Hai ordered his forces to conceal themselves while his team tracked enemy satellites and prepared a submarine missile strike. The generals realized he was using the Type 095’s ballistic missiles to attack satellites, though Hu Shaofei’s response remained unknown.

• Jiang Yan Hai ordered his units to take defensive positions and commanded the satellite team to locate enemy satellites and calculate their orbits.
• The satellite team locked onto all enemy satellites, and Jiang Yan Hai ordered a Type 095 Attack Nuclear Submarine to prepare a ballistic missile attack.
• Hu Shaofei’s reconnaissance units began repositioning as a reconnaissance aircraft took off.
• The Type 095 surfaced and launched four ballistic missiles, surprising the generals watching the exercise.
• Liu Qiang realized that Jiang Yan Hai had targeted the enemy satellites.

Jiang Yan Hai opened the battle by targeting Hu Shao Fei’s military satellites with ballistic missiles, exploiting Hu’s inactive early-warning radars. As Hu scrambled to respond, Jiang prepared a naval cruise-missile strike and electronic warfare, leaving the generals stunned by his strategy.

• Jiang Yan Hai launched four ballistic missiles toward Hu Shao Fei’s satellites while Hu’s early-warning radars were still off.
• The generals realized Hu had not expected a naval attack and would struggle to detect threats from outside his defensive zone.
• Hu Shao Fei detected the missiles through his satellites and ordered his radars activated, air defenses readied, and two fighters launched.
• Jiang Yan Hai ordered a Type 055 destroyer and a Type 095 submarine to prepare cruise missiles, while an electronic-warfare aircraft and anti-radiation satellites prepared to locate and disrupt Hu’s defenses.
• The generals watched Jiang’s naval forces mobilize and wondered why his opening attacks were all coming from the navy.

Jiang Yan Hai opened the simulated battle by destroying Hu Shaofei’s satellites, suppressing his radar, and launching a surprise missile strike while using electronic warfare to fabricate a large enemy air formation. Hu Shaofei scrambled to recover intelligence and prepare an interception, but Jiang Yan Hai remained in control of the battle’s tempo.

• Principal Zheng and the other generals recognized Jiang Yan Hai’s unconventional opening and expected Hu Shaofei to lose the round badly.
• Jiang Yan Hai’s satellites targeted the enemy’s exposed early-warning radars, and missiles destroyed several of Hu Shaofei’s satellites as electronic interference disrupted his radar detection.
• Hu Shaofei ordered reconnaissance drones into the air, unaware that a Type 095 submarine and a Type 055 destroyer had launched sixteen cruise missiles toward the combat zone.
• Jiang Yan Hai’s cruise missiles flew at ultra-low altitude while his electronic warfare aircraft created false targets that appeared to be a large enemy fighter formation.
• Hu Shaofei ordered fighters and early-warning aircraft to assemble in B3 airspace and prepare to intercept, while strengthening radar and electronic countermeasures.

Jiang Yan Hai exploited Hu Shao Fei’s fear of an imminent attack to draw his fighter formation into the air, then prepared a coordinated missile strike against the enemy’s radar network and aircraft. The chapter ended as both sides launched air-defense missiles while Hu Shao Fei’s forces struggled to react to the incoming cruise missiles.

• Hu Shao Fei launched his fighter formation and an Early Warning Aircraft after Jiang Yan Hai used electronic warfare to create false targets.
• Jiang Yan Hai ordered his HQ-9C Air Defense Missile battalion to reveal itself, lock onto the enemy formation, and await orders.
• After satellites helped identify enemy radar sites, Jiang Yan Hai ordered sixteen Yingji-18B Cruise Missiles to attack the exposed radars.
• Hu Shao Fei detected the cruise missiles only thirty kilometers away and ordered his airborne formations to evade.
• Jiang Yan Hai ordered every air-defense missile launched, and twenty-four HQ-9 missiles fired as Hu Shao Fei’s defenses reacted too late.

Jiang Yan Hai’s forces destroyed Hu Shao Fei’s radars and air force in the simulated battle, earning an Epic Victory. Afterward, Hu Shao Fei accepted defeat and told Jiang Yan Hai that he was no longer his superior in the contest between them.

• Hu Shao Fei’s air defenses intercepted only two of the incoming Yingji-18Bs, and the rest destroyed his exposed radars and air defense regiments.
• Hu Shao Fei ordered his aircraft to attack Jiang Yan Hai’s formation, but their missiles targeted false electronic targets while Jiang Yan Hai’s air defenses destroyed the fighters and remaining aircraft.
• The system declared Hu Shao Fei defeated and awarded Jiang Yan Hai an Epic Victory.
• The generals applauded Jiang Yan Hai when the commanders left the simulated battlefield.
• Hu Shao Fei saluted Jiang Yan Hai and said that, from then on, he was the one Jiang Yan Hai had defeated, not his superior.

After the battlefield simulation, Jiang Yan Hai explained why a real conflict could favor his side if both sides lost their satellites and high-tech systems. The generals applauded his strategic perspective as the training program closed for adjustments.

• Hu Shao Fei agreed to treat the generals to a meal and invited Jiang Yan Hai, who accepted.
• The instructor ended the simulation session and led the group to the observation hall, explaining that the system needed adjustments.
• Liu Qiang said the generals needed to study new tactics and weapons, noting that Jiang Yan Hai's thinking was more current.
• Feng Mingliang asked whether Jiang Yan Hai could attack satellites in a real conflict and warned that the enemy could retaliate.
• Jiang Yan Hai argued that destroying satellites could lead to a contest of industrial recovery that favored his side, while a loss of high-tech systems would weaken an enemy fighting across an ocean.
• Feng Mingliang and the other generals applauded Jiang Yan Hai's explanation.

Jiang Yan Hai explained how he used Hu Shao Fei’s Army background to anticipate his choices and win their simulated battle through naval missiles, electronic warfare, and satellite attacks. The review ended with Hu Shao Fei discovering that Jiang Yan Hai’s fighters had stayed grounded while false targets drew his aircraft into a trap.

• The instructor compared both sides’ forces, and the audience saw that Jiang Yan Hai had chosen a small fleet and limited ground forces while Hu Shao Fei had a larger conventional force.
• Jiang Yan Hai explained that Hu Shao Fei’s Army background and the exercise’s land-war setting led him to expect conventional Army tactics, while Jiang Yan Hai used long-range cruise missiles to attack satellites and radar systems.
• Hu Shao Fei learned that Jiang Yan Hai’s fighter jets had not taken off during the middle phase and realized he had been fighting false targets simulated by Electronic Warfare Aircraft.
• Jiang Yan Hai explained that scrambling aircraft would let him exploit his superior surveillance and electronic warfare systems, while keeping them grounded would preserve them from being wiped out in one wave.

After the command simulation review, Jiang Yan Hai considered how the logical decision-making program in his saved Illusion Simulation Combat System data could improve Professor Wu Min’s training system. Er Dan confirmed the algorithm could be extracted and used on ordinary computers, leaving Jiang Yan Hai eager to combine it with Professor Wu’s program.

• The instructor ended the review, ordered everyone not to leak the top-secret battle footage, and dismissed the group.
• Jiang Yan Hai returned to his accommodations and recalled the Illusion Simulation Combat System data he had saved.
• Jiang Yan Hai asked Er Dan to search the data for a logical decision-making program, and Er Dan found one.
• Er Dan confirmed the program could be extracted separately, was 12.7342 GB, and was designed for ordinary computers.

Jiang Yan Hai realized that parts of the Illusion Simulation Combat System could be separated and adapted for practical use, especially its realistic scene-generation program. He visited Professor Wu Min and described an immersive VR combat-training system, leaving Professor Wu interested in hearing more.

• Jiang Yan Hai asked Er Dan to break down the Illusion Simulation Combat System and found its Real Scene Object Generation Program could produce realistic visuals in real time.
• Jiang Yan Hai decided the scene-generation program and the system's simulation data could strengthen existing programs, while most other components had little immediate use.
• Jiang Yan Hai went to the battlefield command simulation combat center and waited outside until Professor Wu Min came to meet him.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Professor Wu Min he had researched a similar program and proposed immersive VR training where soldiers could practice battlefield tactics in realistic virtual scenarios.

Jiang Yan Hai showed Professor Wu Min his logical decision-making algorithm, which Professor Wu Min tested and praised as far superior to his own. Professor Wu Min planned to incorporate it into his program, while Jiang Yan Hai left him to continue working and tried to ensure he got some rest.

• Professor Wu Min asked Jiang Yan Hai to bring over his logical decision-making algorithm so they could examine it together.
• Jiang Yan Hai returned with his laptop and copied the program to the supercomputer while Principal Zheng briefly observed.
• Professor Wu Min and Jiang Yan Hai tested the program and discussed it until nightfall, missing their dinner.
• Professor Wu Min praised the algorithm and asked permission to use it, and Jiang Yan Hai agreed without asking for a reward.
• Jiang Yan Hai urged the staff to make Professor Wu Min rest, but Professor Wu Min told Jiang Yan Hai to go home while he continued improving the program.

After leaving Professor Wu Min, Jiang Yan Hai contacted Principal Zheng and waited to submit another program. Black Hawk reached Jiang Yan Hai and agreed to join the military department, leaving Jiang Yan Hai to build his team while Black Hawk waited in the capital for Shao Xiao Jia.

• Jiang Yan Hai messaged Principal Zheng about Professor Wu Min's situation and planned to submit another program the next day.
• Black Hawk found that the number Jiang Yan Hai had given him connected only when he called from his mobile phone, then spoke with Jiang Yan Hai.
• Jiang Yan Hai explained that the job was with the military in Yu City, and Black Hawk agreed to join.
• Black Hawk told Jiang Yan Hai that Atanis was unsuitable because he often went back on his word, and Jiang Yan Hai arranged for Black Hawk to pass the information to his current department.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Black Hawk to remain in the capital and wait for Shao Xiao Jia to return.

Shao Xiao Jia returned to his family home after years away, accompanied by Hound and another soldier. His parents welcomed him in shock when they saw him in uniform, and his father asked when he had joined the army.

• Shao Xiao Jia worried that his parents might reject him if he returned, so Hound put on his captain’s uniform and offered to accompany him.
• Hound urged Shao Xiao Jia to call home, and Shao Xiao Jia told his relieved mother that he was coming back.
• Shao Xiao Jia arrived at his family’s apartment with Hound and another soldier, then gathered the courage to knock.
• Shao Xiao Jia’s mother opened the door and tearfully welcomed him, while his father came out to see what was happening.
• Hound led the three men in a salute and introduced them as Shao Xiao Jia’s comrades-in-arms, leaving his parents stunned.

Hound brought Shao Xiao Jia home and helped his parents accept that he had become a soldier, then Shao Xiao Jia left for the capital with him. Meanwhile, Jiang Yan Hai showed Professor Wu Min another simulation program and received a surprise phone call just as he was about to visit the Materials Research Institute.

• Hound explained to Shao Xiao Jia's parents that the state had recruited him as a soldier and showed them his Officer's Certificate.
• Shao Xiao Jia's father accepted that his son had changed, and Hound and the other soldier left to prepare for their mission.
• Shao Xiao Jia said goodbye to his parents, saluted them, and left for the capital with Hound the next morning.
• Jiang Yan Hai showed Professor Wu Min his other real-scene simulation program, and Professor Wu Min sent him away after seeing its effects.
• Jiang Yan Hai planned to visit the Materials Research Institute, but an unexpected caller reached him first.