Chapter Summaries

Jiang Yan Hai learned that his plane’s windshield might be compromised, but he refused to change course and used Er Dan to investigate the passengers and airport inspections. While waiting for takeoff, he explored how the Data Analysis System could predict materials with precisely specified properties.

• Er Dan warned Jiang Yan Hai that a windshield problem raised the accident probability to 38.78%, but Jiang Yan Hai insisted on keeping the itinerary after Er Dan recalculated the risk at 1% if he intervened.
• Jiang Yan Hai ordered Er Dan to obtain passenger records and ground-crew surveillance footage through Dark Blade’s command center and flag anything suspicious.
• Jiang Yan Hai sat with He Lu aboard the airliner and began testing the Data Analysis System while they waited for takeoff.
• Jiang Yan Hai discovered that the system could calculate material compositions to meet specified benchmarks for properties such as superconductivity, heat resistance, strength, and hardness.

Jiang Yan Hai used his data analysis program to search for new alloy materials while He Lu and the others kept watch during their flight. The plane suddenly jolted and plunged into an emergency maneuver just as a new option appeared on Jiang Yan Hai’s screen.

• Jiang Yan Hai reviewed hundreds of alloy candidates and studied why their materials had particular properties.
• He Lu watched the passengers while Jiang Yan Hai and his team traveled in the plane’s full first-class cabin.
• Er Dan reported that passenger records showed no abnormalities.
• After the plane flew smoothly for more than ten minutes, it jolted violently and a new option appeared on Jiang Yan Hai’s computer.
• The plane plunged down and to the left, terrifying the passengers as Jiang Yan Hai stared at the new option.

Jiang Yan Hai stayed focused on newly calculated material data while the plane made a sharp descent, reassuring his protectors that the pilots had the situation under control. As the aircraft stabilized, he continued examining the material’s promising properties while covert observers watched him.

• The plane plunged sharply, and Jiang Yan Hai caught his laptop while passengers cried out in alarm.
• Ye Cunxin and the other women steadied themselves and unfastened their seat belts as the flight attendant urged passengers to remain seated.
• He Lu and Qu Bi'a Zhuo urged Jiang Yan Hai to pay attention to the plane, but he told them not to mind him and continued examining his data.
• Jiang Yan Hai explained that the pilots could handle the problem and that worrying would not help if the plane crashed.
• Jiang Yan Hai recognized that the pilots had stabilized the plane and noted that the new material could absorb radar waves and withstand heat and thermal expansion.

After the plane developed trouble, Jiang Yan Hai stayed calm and helped the chief flight attendant contact the outside world. The plane landed safely, and Jiang Yan Hai arranged to visit a local research institute before continuing his journey.

• Silver Fox checked on Jiang Yan Hai, who told him to return to his seat and remain calm.
• He Lu, Qu Bi'a Zhuo, Shen Lan Ni, and Ye Cunxin prepared their pistols while the passengers waited for news about the plane.
• Fan Tian Lei called Jiang Yan Hai, who gave the phone to the chief flight attendant so she could contact Control Tower.
• The chief flight attendant told Jiang Yan Hai that the plane would make an emergency landing at a nearby airport, and the plane landed safely about half an hour later.
• Jiang Yan Hai told He Lu to inform President Ren and the others that they would arrive a day late because he needed to visit a local research institute.

Jiang Yan Hai investigated the unexplained interference that shattered a plane windshield, then traveled to an Air Force research institute to test a material he had calculated for the next-generation Phantom. The tests confirmed that S4-82 met or exceeded its proposed benchmarks, and Jiang Yan Hai began discussing new designs with the experts.

• Jiang Yan Hai left the safely landed plane and saw that the copilot's windshield had been completely shattered, though he suspected the incident had been caused by human interference.
• Er Dan found no suspicious records among the passengers, and Jiang Yan Hai remained unsure of the attackers' objective while He Lu, Silver Fox, and the others believed the incident was an accident.
• Jiang Yan Hai and his group continued by high-speed rail and arrived at an Air Force research institute near Yangcheng.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Old Liu, Professor Hu, and the other experts that his calculations suggested promising properties for material S4-82, and asked them to produce and test it.
• Twelve hours later, Old Liu and the experts confirmed that S4-82 met or exceeded the proposed benchmarks and could be used for Phantom's outer shell.
• Jiang Yan Hai asked to discuss several new designs based on the material.

Jiang Yan Hai proposed using a new heat-resistant, radar-absorbing material across the next-generation Phantom to generate electricity from its hot exterior and cool the aircraft. Professor Liu and the other experts agreed to test the idea, while Jiang Yan Hai offered to calculate how the material could be optimized for Controlled Nuclear Fusion.

• Jiang Yan Hai explained that the Phantom's speed was limited by its materials and proposed integrating thermoelectric power generation and cooling into an airframe made from the new material.
• Professor Liu and the other experts considered how thermoelectric power could supplement the Phantom's electrical supply and use heat generated during high-speed flight.
• Jiang Yan Hai asked the professors to test the material's potential and said he would calculate ways to optimize it for Controlled Nuclear Fusion.
• Professor Liu and the other experts took the fusion possibility seriously and agreed to handle the research.

Jiang Yan Hai discussed the promise of controlled fusion and space development, then continued his trip to Pengcheng for a visit to Huawei. Suspecting that the group which had entered the country might be tracking his itinerary, he ordered He Lu to summon Silver Fox for a meeting.

• Jiang Yan Hai told Professor Liu and the others to review the materials, design something, and consult Pangu if needed.
• Jiang Yan Hai and his group left the research institute and drove toward Pengcheng.
• He Lu told Jiang Yan Hai that Huawei had arranged a hotel and scheduled a two-day visit to its laboratories and meetings with Director Yu and senior executives.
• Jiang Yan Hai decided not to wait for the group that had entered the country and asked He Lu to bring Silver Fox to a meeting after they reached the hotel.

Jiang Yan Hai arrived at the hotel with his security team, where a knife-wielding attacker ambushed him. He Lu and Silver Fox fought the man while Ye Cunxin kept Jiang Yan Hai shielded, and the attack was still underway when the chapter ended.

• He Lu contacted Silver Fox and told him that Jiang Yan Hai wanted him in the room later to announce something.
• Er Dan warned Jiang Yan Hai that a dangerous armed man was approaching the hotel.
• The attacker transformed his suitcase handle into a dagger and lunged at Jiang Yan Hai, but He Lu and Silver Fox intercepted him.
• Silver Fox pulled Jiang Yan Hai behind him, and Ye Cunxin, Shen Lan Ni, and Qu Bi'a Zhuo formed a protective barrier around him.
• Ye Cunxin ordered the women to stay with Jiang Yan Hai until reinforcements arrived, while He Lu continued fighting after the attacker slashed her shirt.

Ye Cunxin led Jiang Yan Hai toward cover in the hotel lobby as the attacker broke away from He Lu and Silver Fox and charged at him. Qu Bi'a Zhuo shot the attacker to save Silver Fox, and the chapter ended with He Lu and Silver Fox checking each other's injuries.

• Security personnel sealed off the hotel lobby, evacuated civilians, and aimed their pistols at the attacker.
• Ye Cunxin directed Jiang Yan Hai and the others toward the emergency passage while they avoided leaving the hotel in case of accomplices outside.
• The attacker cut He Lu's arm, escaped her and Silver Fox, and lunged toward Jiang Yan Hai.
• Silver Fox grabbed the attacker to stop him, but the attacker stabbed him in the shoulder hollow.
• Qu Bi'a Zhuo shot the attacker in the head, and He Lu and Silver Fox checked each other's injuries.

After an attacker was killed at the hotel, Jiang Yan Hai and his protectors moved to a secure location and evacuated under Black Hawk’s guidance. As the group escaped in separate vehicles, Jiang Yan Hai remained puzzled by the attacker’s apparent lack of accomplices and the choice to use only cold weapons.

• Qu Bi'a Zhuo led Jiang Yan Hai, Ye Cunxin, and Shen Lan Ni into a defensible meeting room while security personnel guarded them.
• Qu Bi'a Zhuo contacted headquarters and learned that the attacker was not a hotel guest; Black Hawk was sweeping the hotel’s monitoring systems.
• Headquarters ordered the group to leave for the B2 garage, where they took three remotely started Mercedes-Benz S-400s and exited through separate routes.
• Ye Cunxin told Jiang Yan Hai that the attacker appeared to have no accomplices and that nobody was following them.
• Jiang Yan Hai wondered why the attacker had carried only cold weapons and whether he had overlooked a later move.

Jiang Yan Hai relied on the subprogram’s secure systems as his team changed vehicles and moved to a National Security safe house. After arriving, he learned that Silver Fox and He Lu had only suffered minor injuries and could continue the mission.

• Jiang Yan Hai’s team avoided checking the surveillance feeds because Black Hawk and the others controlled the secure systems and could detect intrusions.
• Jiang Yan Hai ordered Ye Cunxin to keep his Huawei itinerary unchanged while someone else investigated the company.
• Ye Cunxin drove Jiang Yan Hai and the others to a National Security safe house after they switched to an ordinary SUV.
• Jiang Yan Hai’s team checked the safe house and found it equipped with hidden weapons and other security supplies.
• Qu Bi'a Zhuo reported that He Lu and Silver Fox had received treatment and could return to the mission.

Jiang Yan Hai questioned the unexplained attacks against him while using the Illusion Simulation Program to raise the fusion device’s average Q value to around 3.5. He then went to Huawei with He Lu and the others to review its preliminary 3-nanometer chip designs.

• Jiang Yan Hai concluded that the attacks were unlikely to have been leaked by Huawei and wondered whether someone was trying to intimidate him.
• Jiang Yan Hai spent the night simulating one million fusion reactor units and increased the device’s average Q value to around 3.5.
• Er Dan stored Jiang Yan Hai’s simulation data, and he headed to Huawei with He Lu and the returning security team.
• President Ren apologized for the danger Jiang Yan Hai had faced, but Jiang Yan Hai said the attackers would have followed him anywhere.
• President Ren led Jiang Yan Hai into Huawei’s Chip Laboratory to examine its preliminary 3-nanometer chip designs and discuss compensation.

Jiang Yan Hai examined Huawei’s nearly complete 3-nanometer Kirin chip designs and gave its engineers improvements to test. Domestic 3-nanometer lithography machines were being sold abroad at low prices, though new legislation prohibited exporting them.

• Jiang Yan Hai explained that scientific research still required substantial funding, even when his methods made it more efficient.
• Jiang Yan Hai asked Huawei’s researchers for the next-generation Kirin chip blueprints and reviewed their 3-nanometer design.
• Jiang Yan Hai suggested improvements to the Kirin architecture, and Huawei’s engineers began verifying them through simulations and later chip tests.
• Domestic 3-nanometer lithography machines entered production, and foreign foundries sought to buy them at prices far below those of ASML machines.
• The Ministry of Commerce next door repealed its chip and lithography machine embargo rules, while domestic legislation prohibited exporting 3-nanometer lithography machines even as sales were allowed.

Jiang Yan Hai optimized Huawei’s latest chip design, and Huawei prepared to tape it out and test its performance. President Ren offered him 200 million yuan for his work.

• Jiang Yan Hai completed Huawei’s chip design in one day, correcting twenty-two flaws and optimizing seventeen areas to raise performance by about 13.8%.
• Huawei’s engineers saw that the optimized chip still lagged Li Ruo Bai’s institute by about 8% in overall performance, despite having more transistors.
• Jiang Yan Hai told President Ren and Director Yu to proceed with the tape-out and said he would stay to test the results the next day.
• Director Yu asked Jiang Yan Hai and his team not to challenge Huawei’s plan to promote the chip through transistor-count and computing-speed figures, and Jiang Yan Hai agreed to keep silent.
• President Ren offered Jiang Yan Hai 200 million yuan in compensation, twice what CEO Lei had offered.

Jiang Yan Hai returned to a secure residence after the attack and planned to travel to Institute 508 to continue developing a material for Controlled Nuclear Fusion. The chapter ended with the team preparing for his next steps as the potential energy breakthrough’s importance was explained.

• Jiang Yan Hai told Silver Fox to contact the higher-ups and arrange his trip to Institute 508, where he had a lead on a new material for Controlled Nuclear Fusion.
• Jiang Yan Hai and Qu Bi'a Zhuo returned to a different safe house, and Silver Fox promised to coordinate the trip after they arrived.
• He Lu reported that the attack appeared to have been carried out by a lone assailant, and Jiang Yan Hai left the investigation to her and the others.
• The chapter explained how solving Controlled Nuclear Fusion’s material and magnetic-field problems could give China abundant energy and a major advantage over other countries.

Jiang Yan Hai's revised chip design passed testing at Huawei, earning the engineers' respect, and he established the Jiang Ling Foundation to support disadvantaged students with scientific potential. The foundation would use Er Dan to identify recipients and provide aid directly without investing its funds for profit.

• Silver Fox contacted the higher-ups, and Ye Cunxin and the others received orders to protect Jiang Yan Hai at all costs.
• Jiang Yan Hai's revised chip design passed tape-out testing, and Huawei tested it alongside its original design over the next two days.
• Huawei's engineers applauded Jiang Yan Hai after the revised chips showed far better performance and stability.
• Jiang Yan Hai left Huawei, and President Ren thanked him and arranged his compensation.
• Jiang Yan Hai established the Jiang Ling Foundation, which would use Er Dan to find students from difficult circumstances with the potential to become scientists and provide them direct assistance.

Jiang Yan Hai and his escorts began a carefully planned trip to Yangcheng, but Silver Fox betrayed them during a vehicle switch on Riverside Expressway. Silver Fox abducted Jiang Yan Hai and Qu Bi'a Zhuo, and Jiang Yan Hai realized the earlier plane attack had been staged to make him trust Silver Fox.

• Silver Fox explained the convoy’s security plan, including switching vehicles on Riverside Expressway, and the group set out for Yangcheng Military Airport.
• At the designated midpoint, Jiang Yan Hai and Qu Bi'a Zhuo waited with Silver Fox while Ye Cunxin and the others drove on.
• Silver Fox injected Qu Bi'a Zhuo with a drug, then threatened Jiang Yan Hai at gunpoint and forced him into the front passenger seat.
• Silver Fox told Jiang Yan Hai that he was assigned to take him out of China and warned him to cooperate.
• Jiang Yan Hai deduced that the earlier attack on the flight to Pengcheng had been staged to injure Silver Fox and win his trust.

Jiang Yan Hai forced Silver Fox to release Qu Bi'a Zhuo in exchange for cooperating, then deduced Silver Fox’s plan to escape by driving into the river. Silver Fox rammed through the Riverside Expressway barriers and plunged the car into the river with Jiang Yan Hai and Jiang Ling inside.

• Jiang Yan Hai refused to cooperate unless Silver Fox let Qu Bi'a Zhuo go, and threatened to make them die together if Silver Fox refused.
• Silver Fox agreed, stopped on the expressway, left Qu Bi'a Zhuo beside the guardrail, and drove off with Jiang Yan Hai and Jiang Ling.
• Jiang Yan Hai deduced that Silver Fox planned to escape through the river and explained how he had figured it out.
• Silver Fox drove through the central guardrail and the opposite barrier, sending the car plunging into the river below.

Jiang Yan Hai and Silver Fox survived a staged car crash and were taken underwater by a well-prepared group using a hidden escape route upstream through the Pearl River. After crossing Yangcheng and coming ashore at night, Jiang Yan Hai remained in their custody while the crash triggered alarm outside.

• Silver Fox pulled Jiang Yan Hai from their sinking armored car, and a group of divers gave them equipment and tied Jiang Yan Hai to one of their members.
• Jiang Yan Hai used Er Dan’s scans to learn that the group was traveling upstream rather than escaping toward the open sea.
• The group changed submersibles and oxygen tanks at prepared underwater relay stations as they traveled past islands and waterways across Yangcheng.
• The group reached an uninhabited shore after dark, where a car was waiting to take them away.
• People who witnessed the roadside incident called the police, and Ye Cunxin and the others soon learned that something had happened.

Jiang Yan Hai escaped to shore as authorities mobilized to capture Qu Bi'a Zhuo and the other fugitives. With Dark Blade taking over the operation, Jiang Yan Hai used Er Dan to track the people supporting Silver Fox while preparing to uncover the full network.

• Ye Cunxin and her companions drove back along the highway after discovering Qu Bi'a Zhuo's identity, prompting a large-scale mobilization across the Southern Military Region.
• Jiang Yan Hai sent a message through Er Dan to the Old Commander, who learned that Jiang Yan Hai was safe and assigned Dark Blade to handle the follow-up operation.
• Jiang Yan Hai reached shore, changed into ordinary clothes, and used a disguise to avoid drawing attention.
• Er Dan tracked the locations of the people Jiang Yan Hai had encountered, while Jiang Yan Hai waited to learn whether Silver Fox's remaining personnel and border support had arrived.
• Jiang Yan Hai planned to deal with Silver Fox's network, confident that Black Star's influence across Southeast Asia could help him control the fugitives even after they left the country.