Chapter Summaries

Jiang Yan Hai returned to China while the CIA and the underground world sought Liston Han Xiao, prompting several allies to warn him about the danger. At the airport, he reunited with Li Ruo Bai.

• The underground world’s assassins avoided taking the bounty on Liston Han Xiao because his record made him too dangerous to pursue.
• 47 called Jiang Yan Hai and warned him that he had been placed on a wanted list by the CIA and the underground world.
• Arthur told Jiang Yan Hai that Liston Han Xiao was being hunted and warned him that someone might still risk taking the bounty.
• Jason Bourne and Barney also called Jiang Yan Hai to check on him and offer support.
• Jiang Yan Hai arrived in China and met Li Ruo Bai at the airport, where she ran into his arms.

Jiang Yan Hai returned after more than three months away and reunited with Li Ruo Bai, who had missed him deeply. They went home together, where Li Ruo Bai eagerly asked him to carry her to the bath.

• Li Ruo Bai embraced Jiang Yan Hai and told him she had missed him, while he admitted he had missed her too.
• Li Ruo Bai noticed Jiang Yan Hai’s reddened eyes and roughened appearance, then took his arm and headed home with him.
• In the SUV, Li Ruo Bai kissed Jiang Yan Hai and explained that she had shared her daily life online so he could see what she was doing.
• Li Ruo Bai asked whether she should become a celebrity, but Jiang Yan Hai refused and privately teased her about the comments on her trending posts.
• After Sparrow drove them to Li Ruo Bai’s apartment, Li Ruo Bai jumped into Jiang Yan Hai’s arms and asked him to carry her to the bath.

Jiang Yan Hai spent a quiet morning with Li Ruo Bai before receiving a message that his old squad leader was retiring. He and Li Ruo Bai traveled to the former Iron Fist Regiment camp to visit him.

• Jiang Yan Hai watched Li Ruo Bai sleep, and they agreed to visit her parents that day.
• Jiang Yan Hai received a message about his old squad leader's retirement and told Li Ruo Bai he needed to go see him.
• Li Ruo Bai asked to come along, and Jiang Yan Hai agreed.
• Hound drove Jiang Yan Hai and Li Ruo Bai to the former Iron Fist Regiment camp, where Jiang Yan Hai recognized the old farm where he had once raised pigs.

Jiang Yan Hai and Li Ruo Bai returned to his former barracks, where they heard Squad Leader Liu Ming addressing the soldiers as their unit was retired and reassigned to logistics. Jiang Yan Hai greeted his former squad leader and embraced him, leaving Liu Ming astonished by how far his former recruit had risen.

• Jiang Yan Hai and Li Ruo Bai approached the barracks where Jiang Yan Hai had once served.
• They overheard Liu Ming telling his soldiers that their farm unit was being retired and that they would move to logistics work.
• Jiang Yan Hai reflected on the sacrifices and service of soldiers who had spent years supporting the military away from the front lines.
• The soldiers spotted Jiang Yan Hai and stood at attention to greet him.
• Jiang Yan Hai saluted the group, identified himself to Liu Ming, and hugged his former squad leader.

Jiang Yan Hai reunited with his former squad leader, Liu Ming, as Liu retired from military service. At the retirement ceremony, Jiang Yan Hai removed Liu Ming’s insignia, marking his return to civilian life.

• Liu Ming proudly introduced Jiang Yan Hai to the recruits as a soldier he had trained, and appointed Wang Peng as the new squad leader.
• Jiang Yan Hai introduced Liu Ming to his wife, Li Ruo Bai, and the three traveled together to the military subdistrict headquarters.
• Liu Ming told Jiang Yan Hai that he planned to use his retirement allowance to open a pig farm.
• At the retirement ceremony, Jiang Yan Hai removed Liu Ming’s rank insignia as the retiring soldiers said goodbye to military life.

Jiang Yan Hai and Li Ruo Bai witnessed veterans leave the military, and Jiang Yan Hai reflected on how soldiers pass their spirit and responsibility to the next generation. He and Li Ruo Bai recognized that soldiers endured their sacrifices to protect ordinary people.

• At the discharge ceremony, Jiang Yan Hai and the other soldiers saluted the veterans as they boarded buses and left the camp.
• Jiang Yan Hai realized the ceremony represented the inheritance of military spirit and responsibility from veterans to active-duty soldiers.
• Li Ruo Bai asked whether Jiang Yan Hai would someday leave the military, and he said soldiers would answer the country's call even after returning to civilian life.
• After eating with Li Ruo Bai's mother, Jiang Yan Hai and Li Ruo Bai returned to their home, where she said young soldiers rushed into danger for the veterans who came before them.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Li Ruo Bai that soldiers made their sacrifices for ordinary people, so they could live, work, study, and reunite with their families in safety.

After spending two weeks with Li Ruo Bai, Jiang Yan Hai returned to Great Qin to review reconnaissance and investigate a warning about the virus he had released. Satellite surveys showed a world with nearly twenty million survivors, dangerous wolf packs, and a possible second Stargate, while their source remained unknown.

• Li Ruo Bai comforted Jiang Yan Hai, who said he could never be a good husband, father, or son, and she told him he was a good soldier.
• After his leave, Jiang Yan Hai traveled toward the Stargate to investigate his new scanning authority and the information returned by the virus.
• Jiang Yan Hai reviewed reports showing Great Qin's geography, surviving population, and the distribution of Red Mad Wolves and other monsters.
• Black Hawk told Jiang Yan Hai that their forces could destroy large wolf packs but could not yet locate hidden nests or stop the packs' source.

Jiang Yan Hai and Black Hawk discussed the need to expand reconnaissance and secure the Great Wall before another power could enter the world through a Teleportation Gate. Jiang Yan Hai identified the location corresponding to Area 51 and began considering an aircraft mission to reach it, despite the likely one-way trip.

• Black Hawk explained that spring weather, reconnaissance equipment, and satellite coordination could help monitor a vast area and secure the second ring of the Great Wall.
• Jiang Yan Hai warned that the team needed to accelerate its progress because the United States had begun secret Energy Ore research at neighboring Area 51 and might open its own Teleportation Gate.
• Jiang Yan Hai asked Black Hawk to calculate where Area 51's coordinates would correspond on the Great Qin map, and Black Hawk quickly found the location.
• Jiang Yan Hai examined the forested plain and considered sending aircraft there, but noted that the trip might be one-way and that a safe landing site was uncertain.

Jiang Yan Hai learned from Er Dan that the Teleportation Gate was an activated Alpha 3 Type Invasive Star Gate, and that the Red Mad Wolves were meant to adapt to the planet’s viruses rather than destroy its civilization. He left the gate open for now, realizing that an unknown force might arrive after the wolves developed antibodies.

• Jiang Yan Hai arrived at the secret base as workers planned wider passages and new rail lines around the Teleportation Gate.
• Er Dan warned Jiang Yan Hai that the gate was an activated Alpha 3 Type Invasive Star Gate.
• Jiang Yan Hai met with Kang Lei and the others, then asked Er Dan what the gate was and whether it could be shut down.
• Er Dan said the gate could be shut down with energy from the Red Star Engine, but Jiang Yan Hai chose not to close it yet.
• Er Dan explained that the Red Mad Wolves were meant to become infected with local viruses and develop antibodies for the Star Gate’s deployers.

Jiang Yan Hai realized the Red Mad Wolves’ powerful immune systems might offer useful antibodies and urged Professor Zhou to investigate. He then asked Er Dan whether shutting the Alpha 3 Type Invasive Star Gate with the Red Star Engine would prevent it from reconnecting, and learned that it would.

• Jiang Yan Hai recognized that the Red Mad Wolves existed to adapt to viruses and that their immune systems could be their greatest strength.
• Jiang Yan Hai called Professor Zhou and learned that Red Mad Wolves carried antibodies to many viruses found in this world.
• Jiang Yan Hai suggested that Professor Zhou’s team look for antibodies from Red Mad Wolves that humans might use, like cowpox.
• Professor Zhou told Jiang Yan Hai that Dai Yuan’s genes were almost identical to those of humans.
• Jiang Yan Hai asked Er Dan whether using the Red Star Engine to close the Alpha 3 Type Invasive Star Gate would stop it from reconnecting, and Er Dan confirmed that it would.

Jiang Yan Hai learned how the Alpha 3 Type Invasive Star Gate selected worlds and confirmed that closing Red Mad Wolf’s gate would not affect the stable gate between Earth and Great Qin. He ordered a search for unusual terrain that might conceal the gate, while higher-ups prepared a North American mission using two modified Yun-20s.

• Jiang Yan Hai learned from Er Dan that the Alpha 3 Type Star Gate infiltrated civilizations unfamiliar with Star Gate construction materials and expanded autonomously.
• Er Dan told Jiang Yan Hai that closing Red Mad Wolf’s Star Gate would not close the stable gate between Earth and Great Qin, and explained that only a neutron star’s gravitational field could irreversibly alter it.
• Jiang Yan Hai ordered Bei Chen Xiang to prioritize searching satellite-detected unusual terrain for a possible underground Star Gate.
• Higher-ups decided to transport two modified Yun-20s into Great Qin and assemble them for a mission to North America, where Area 51 was conducting research.
• Jiang Yan Hai and the others planned to scan the terrain near Area 51 for an emergency landing site and calculated that five Yun-20s could carry supplies for building a short runway if needed.

Jiang Yan Hai and his team discovered a large pack of Red Mad Wolves traveling with infected gorillas and suspected they were heading toward a Teleportation Gate in North America. As the pack continued north, the first Yun-20 was assembled and prepared to carry personnel and supplies to the destination.

• Jiang Yan Hai learned that a group of about 2,000 Red Mad Wolves had appeared near the coast and was avoiding human settlements.
• Jiang Yan Hai and Bei Chen Xiang used a reconnaissance drone to find about a hundred infected gorillas traveling with the wolves.
• Jiang Yan Hai connected the wolves’ route to the earlier Teleportation Gate incident and ordered the team to stop them.
• Jiang Yan Hai helped the aircraft assembly team identify installation problems while drones and satellites tracked the wolves toward North America.
• Jiang Yan Hai’s team found possible emergency-landing ground near the destination, and the first Yun-20 completed assembly and testing.
• The first Yun-20 was loaded with personnel and supplies as tracking data confirmed that the Red Mad Wolves were heading for North America.

Jiang Yan Hai took control of the Yun-20 during the journey to the new continent to prepare for a safer landing, then handed the aircraft back to Nightingale. As the group continued toward its destination, He Chen Guang asked whether they might end up fighting the Americans in this world.

• Three days after preparations began, Jiang Yan Hai departed with twenty-three others, two Lynx assault vehicles, and supplies aboard a Yun-20.
• Jiang Yan Hai took over the controls from Da Peng and Nightingale, demonstrating his skill by steering the aircraft smoothly through turbulence.
• After an hour, Jiang Yan Hai let Nightingale take over and returned to the cargo hold.
• He Chen Guang asked Jiang Yan Hai whether they would fight in this world if they failed to stop North America and the Americans opened a Teleportation Gate.

Jiang Yan Hai and He Chen Guang discussed denying the Americans a foothold in the new world before Jiang Yan Hai piloted a Yun-20 toward a landing site. The aircraft touched down on rough grassland with its landing gear still intact, though the landing was not yet complete.

• Jiang Yan Hai told He Chen Guang that China should prevent the Americans from gaining an advantage and might first eliminate the Westerners in this world.
• Seven hours later, Jiang Yan Hai ordered the team to parachute out while he stayed aboard to attempt an emergency landing.
• Jiang Yan Hai scanned the grassland from low altitude, and He Chen Guang and Gong Jian inspected the proposed landing area from the ground.
• Er Dan calculated a landing route with an 82 percent chance of avoiding damage, and Jiang Yan Hai began his approach with Da Peng as copilot.
• The Yun-20 jolted violently as it landed on the grassland, but its landing gear remained intact.

Jiang Yan Hai and Da Peng landed their plane safely, and Jiang Yan Hai’s group surveyed and prepared a rough runway for future transport flights. Seven days later, a second plane arrived with supplies and special cement, while plans for a land route and river port remained under study.

• Jiang Yan Hai and Da Peng brought the plane safely down and taxied it away from the temporary runway.
• Jiang Yan Hai split the group, sending Gong Jian to secure the coordinates while the others surveyed and cleared the grassland.
• Jiang Yan Hai chose the best landing route and planned to reinforce its first 150 meters with special cement delivered by later flights.
• Jiang Yan Hai and the others considered a river port and a land route because the planes could not return without fuel.
• Seven days later, Jiang Yan Hai received a second transport plane carrying nearly thirty tons of supplies, including special cement.

Jiang Yan Hai and his team prepared to reach Area 51 while headquarters arranged a nuclear-powered freighter to deliver supplies. As more troops and equipment arrived, the team laid a minefield and faced the approaching Red Mad Wolves, who had gathered near their target.

• Jiang Yan Hai and his team began laying a path by hand while using the satellite window to contact headquarters.
• Bei Chen Xiang told Jiang Yan Hai that the Yangtze River could support an aircraft carrier and that headquarters would build a 4,000-ton nuclear-powered freighter to bring supplies.
• Jiang Yan Hai agreed to endure the two-month wait and asked the next plane to bring a list of supplies.
• Black Hawk and the others confirmed that the Red Mad Wolves were heading toward North America as Jiang Yan Hai's team continued preparing defenses.
• Two more supply planes arrived, bringing the team to thirty-two people, including eight pilots and twenty-four special operations soldiers.
• Jiang Yan Hai and Er Dan narrowed down Area 51's likely location and laid a minefield, while more than two thousand Red Mad Wolves and one hundred Mutated Gorillas gathered nearby.

Jiang Yan Hai’s team slaughtered the Red Mad Wolf pack guarding the suspected star gate and began preparing a concealed shelter around its location. He planned to keep the Americans from seeing through the gate and to pump aviation fuel into it if they opened it.

• Jiang Yan Hai ordered four team members to draw the Red Mad Wolves into an attack.
• Jiang Yan Hai detonated the buried mines and ordered the team to fire as the wolves charged.
• Jiang Yan Hai’s team killed the Red Mad Wolves and chimpanzees, then checked the bodies and treated the area with quicklime.
• Jiang Yan Hai ordered the team to build a dark tent over the suspected star gate and connect fire hoses to drums of aviation fuel.

Jiang Yan Hai and his team waited for the Alpha 3 Type Invasive Star Gate to appear while preparing to contain it. As the gate’s energy began building, an Energy Ore test at Area 51 triggered an evacuation, and a tiny point of light appeared before Jiang Yan Hai’s team.

• Jiang Yan Hai and his team set up a light-blocking tent, kerosene equipment, and other preparations to guard the Star Gate.
• Er Dan warned Jiang Yan Hai that the Alpha 3 Type Invasive Star Gate would activate in twenty minutes, and Jiang Yan Hai chose not to spend his special energy reserves to interfere with it.
• At Area 51, Energy Ore began accumulating energy, prompting Professor Deck to order an evacuation and preserve the laboratory’s research data.
• With five minutes remaining, a tiny white point of light appeared above the ground, and Jiang Yan Hai ordered everyone to prepare.

Professor Deck's team activated the ore and discovered that it had formed a Teleportation Gate, which poured aviation kerosene into the laboratory. Jiang Yan Hai's team then sent a powerful cylindrical object through the gate, and he ordered everyone to fall back.

• The ore collapsed into a point, then formed a dark circular gate that began spewing liquid.
• Professor Deck realized the liquid might be water, but his team identified its smell as kerosene and rushed to contain it.
• Jiang Yan Hai's team pumped five tons of aviation kerosene through the gate to lower the other side's guard.
• After the kerosene stopped flowing, a three-meter cylindrical object emerged from the gate and fell into the laboratory.
• Jiang Yan Hai ordered his team to retreat after sending the object through.

Jiang Yan Hai and his team detonated a one-megaton nuclear bomb through the Teleportation Gate, collapsing the mountain and burying the passage on the other side. They secured their side of the gate and began preparing a route to the coast, while the blast was reported as a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Nevada.

• Jiang Yan Hai and the others detonated the bomb, killing Professor Deck and engulfing the far side of the gate in flames and falling stone.
• Jiang Yan Hai declared the close-range nuclear test successful after his team detected no radiation on their side.
• The team dismantled their tents, burned the wolf carcasses, and pressed a fifty-centimeter alloy plate against the Teleportation Gate.
• Jiang Yan Hai planned to reinforce the gate with concrete and send a team to clear a route to the coast, about 420 kilometers away.
• The explosion caused Area 51's buildings and underground facilities to collapse, shook Las Vegas, and prompted the China Earthquake Networks Center to report a magnitude 7.2 earthquake.