Chapter Summaries

At the Earthquake Early Warning Network launch ceremony, Chen Mo recounted how he developed the seismograph, while Wu Zhen celebrated the fulfillment of his lifelong goal. The ceremony highlighted Ant Army Company's workers, Xiao Yao the robot, and He Xiaoyu's support for Chen Mo as the network continued operating.

• The Chief asked Chen Mo about the seismograph's development, and Chen Mo described his research and the criticism his earthquake early-warning paper had faced.
• The Chief greeted Wu Zhen, who reflected on his lost family and said he had borne the people's worries by helping make earthquake warnings possible.
• Chen Mo introduced Ant Army Company's machinists and assembly workers, explaining how Xiao Yao and four other robots had helped train teams and assemble seismographs.
• Xiao Yao greeted the Chief, who praised her work and considered the wider implications of robots becoming common.
• Chen Mo introduced his girlfriend He Xiaoyu and credited her support during the criticism of his paper, and the Chief praised their bond.
• The employee representatives greeted the Chief, and everyone took their seats for the launch ceremony.

Xiao Yu’s family learned from the news that she was dating Chen Mo and asked her to bring him home for the New Year. After the earthquake early-warning network launch, Chen Mo agreed to meet her parents.

• Xiao Man showed Wang Lan the news broadcast of Xiao Yu beside Chen Mo and teased her mother by revealing that Chen Mo was Xiao Yu’s boyfriend.
• Wang Lan planned to ask Xiao Yu about Chen Mo after Xiao Yu’s father, He Zhenghua, returned home.
• Chen Mo attended the activation ceremony for the Huaxia Earthquake Early Warning Network, then told reporter Tong Fei that Ant Army Company would begin selling seismographs overseas.
• After the ceremony, Wang Lan called Xiao Yu and asked her to bring Chen Mo home for the New Year, while He Zhenghua warned Xiao Yu to come to him if Chen Mo bullied her.
• Xiao Yu told Chen Mo that her parents wanted to meet him, and Chen Mo agreed to go home with her.

Zhao Min negotiated with New Zealand ambassador MacCon over buying Ant Army Company’s earthquake-warning seismographs, refusing to lower the price of fifty million US dollars per unit. New Zealand had not decided by the time Chen Mo, Zhao Min, and Xiao Yu left the capital for Bin Hai City.

• Zhao Min told Chen Mo that New Zealand wanted to discuss purchasing seismographs, and Chen Mo sent Xiao Yu with her to meet ambassador MacCon.
• MacCon asked Zhao Min to lower the fifty-million-dollar price, but she refused and stressed that New Zealand had no alternative supplier.
• MacCon contacted his prime minister for instructions after Zhao Min left the negotiations undecided.
• Zhao Min estimated that New Zealand might need nearly twenty seismographs, worth about one billion dollars, and Chen Mo agreed they should not wait in the capital.
• Chen Mo, Zhao Min, and Xiao Yu boarded their scheduled flight to Bin Hai City after New Zealand had not replied.

Ant Army Company finalized lucrative seismograph export deals as Chen Mo continued researching superconducting computers. While shopping with Xiao Yu and Li Ruoxi, Chen Mo went off to find a New Year gift and entered a jewelry shop, where Zhao YanYu greeted him.

• Zhao Min told Chen Mo that seismograph contracts totaled 181 units and more than nine billion US dollars in revenue, with Nepal still negotiating.
• Chen Mo agreed to sell seismographs to the United States, Germany, and Russia, saying the encrypted core algorithm would prevent them from copying the technology.
• Chen Mo worked on superconducting computer research to increase Mo Nv's computing power.
• Chen Mo joined Xiao Yu and Li Ruoxi on a shopping trip, then separated from them while they visited a lingerie shop.
• Chen Mo entered a jewelry shop, where Zhao YanYu approached him and asked how she could help.

Chen Mo bought Xiao Yu an engagement ring and proposed to her at home, where she happily accepted. The chapter left them celebrating their engagement while Wang Hai hurried away to care for Tong Yu, whose connection to his deceased fiancée Tong Yan intrigued Chen Mo.

• Chen Mo bought an expensive ring for Xiao Yu and returned to meet her and Li Ruoxi.
• Wang Hai asked Chen Mo for three days off to care for Tong Yu, and Chen Mo agreed.
• Chen Mo asked Mo Nv to investigate Tong Yu and learned that she was Tong Yan’s twin sister and that Tong Yan, Wang Hai’s fiancée, had died during Cobra Operation.
• Xiao Yu found the ring box in Chen Mo’s coat, and Chen Mo proposed to her.
• Xiao Yu accepted, put on the ring, and playfully complained that Chen Mo had proposed without flowers.

Chen Mo accompanied Xiao Yu to her hometown to meet her parents, who welcomed him and learned about his relationship and company. Xiao Yu’s family began accepting him, while Xiao Man eagerly called him her brother-in-law and asked how he proposed.

• Chen Mo and Xiao Yu arrived in Haifeng Village, where Xiao Yu nervously led him to her family home.
• Xiao Yu introduced Chen Mo to her parents and younger sister, Xiao Man, and Chen Mo explained that he and Xiao Yu had met at university.
• He Zhenghua asked Chen Mo about his company, while Wang Lan questioned Xiao Yu about the engagement ring and whether Chen Mo treated her well.
• Wang Lan learned that Chen Mo was Zhang Yang’s nephew and urged He Zhenghua to call Old Zhang to ask about him.
• Chen Mo gave Xiao Man a necklace, and she called him brother-in-law before asking Xiao Yu how he had proposed.

Chen Mo won He Zhenghua and Wang Lan’s approval during a family dinner by promising Xiao Yu a proper wedding when they were ready. Xiao Yu embraced him afterward, and Chen Mo teased her about changing how she addressed him.

• Wang Lan and He Zhenghua welcomed Chen Mo at dinner and learned how he and Xiao Yu had first been connected through Old Zhang.
• Xiao Man asked when Xiao Yu and Chen Mo would marry, and Chen Mo said they planned to register first and postpone the wedding.
• Chen Mo promised to give Xiao Yu a grand wedding, reassuring He Zhenghua and Wang Lan and restoring the warm mood at the table.
• Xiao Yu thanked Chen Mo in private, and he reaffirmed his promise to make her his bride.
• Chen Mo whispered that Xiao Yu should change how she addressed him, leaving her blushing.

On New Year's Eve, Chen Mo and Xiao Yu's village relatives flocked to meet the wealthy company owner, and one aunt tried to secure her son a job at his company. Chen Mo offered the son a position in the African branch, prompting the aunt to retreat, and Xiao Yu's parents sent the couple home to avoid more awkward demands.

• Chen Mo endured neighbors and relatives crowding around him for photos and gossip about his wealth.
• Xiao Yu's aunt asked her to arrange a management job for her son at Chen Mo's company, but Xiao Yu refused to bypass hiring procedures.
• Chen Mo offered to hire the aunt's son for the African branch, explaining that he could learn a foreign language there, and the aunt backed away.
• He Zhenghua urged Chen Mo and Xiao Yu to leave before other relatives arrived, and Chen Mo and Xiao Yu drove away together.

Chen Mo and Xiao Yu were delayed by a New Year's Eve traffic jam, and Black Hawk shared the story of comrades lost on a mission. The next morning, Xiao Yu was welcomed as Chen Mo's daughter-in-law, and both families celebrated the New Year together.

• Chen Mo asked Black Hawk to find a hotel after traffic left them stranded, and Black Hawk told him how two comrades, including Wang Hai's fiancée, had died on a mission the previous New Year's Eve.
• Chen Mo, Xiao Yu, and Black Hawk spent the night at a hotel, then Chen Mo and Xiao Yu headed home early the next morning.
• Xiao Yu nervously called Chen Mo's parents Mom and Dad, and they welcomed her with red envelopes and jade bracelets.
• Chen Mo and Xiao Yu joined Aunt Zhen's family for New Year's dinner, where Zhang Yang teased them about having a child and Xin Xin joked that she wanted to be an aunt.
• After dinner, Chen Mo held Xiao Yu's hand as both families went out to enjoy the New Year's festivities.

Chen Mo returned to Bin Hai City after the New Year and agreed to lend his cousin money, remembering how his eldest uncle had helped his family in the past. He and Zhao Min prepared to move Ant Army Company into its newly completed headquarters, and the employees celebrated as the move-in ceremony began.

• Zhao Min told Chen Mo that Ant Army Company's headquarters was complete, and Chen Mo said he and Xiao Yu would return the next day.
• Chen Mo agreed to lend his cousin five hundred thousand and explained to Xiao Yu how his eldest uncle had once helped his family through a difficult time.
• Chen Mo left for Bin Hai City with Wang Hai after saying goodbye to his parents.
• Zhao Min reported increased earthquake detector orders and headquarters construction costs exceeding seven billion, and Chen Mo asked her to schedule the move that week.
• Zhao Min scheduled the headquarters move for the following Monday, and Ant Army Company's employees celebrated the chance to move into their new headquarters.
• The move-in ceremony began on Monday.

Chen Mo and Xiao Yu toured Ant Army Company’s new headquarters, where Zhao Min showed them the reserved factory area. Chen Mo revealed sixty robot assistants and moved sealed crates of room-temperature superconducting material into the laboratory, keeping their contents secret as the robots began work.

• Chen Mo and Xiao Yu toured the intelligent office area and saw the reserved factory building set aside for future robot research.
• Zhao Min told Chen Mo that trucks carrying his materials had arrived, and he showed her sixty robots inside one container.
• Chen Mo said the robots could be mass-produced and told Zhao Min to research their potential uses before preparing for a launch.
• Chen Mo had the robots unload sealed crates from the second container and take them into the laboratory without revealing their contents.
• Chen Mo explained that the robots would assist in the cleanroom, and he, Xiao Yu, and Zhao Min watched them enter and begin working.

Zhao Min restructured Army Ant into a holding company with independent subsidiaries, and the changes passed smoothly while creating new opportunities for employees. Chen Mo then learned that the first Superconducting Chip samples had been produced.

• Zhao Min proposed registering Marching Ant Holding Company, investing in emerging industries, and spinning off several businesses, and Chen Mo approved her plan.
• Zhao Min organized the restructuring, which led to promotions for employees including Xu Qiang and reorganized Army Ant's management under a board chaired by Chen Mo.
• Chen Mo reviewed the completed restructuring and found that the transition had gone smoothly.
• Xiao Yu delivered materials to Building No. 1, and Mo Nv later told Chen Mo that the first batch of Superconducting Chip samples had been produced.

Chen Mo verified that Mo Nv’s room-temperature superconducting Intelligent Robot Chips worked and tested one in an upgraded robot, which ran Mo Nv faster but could not sustain her through its ordinary circuit board. He then confirmed with Zhao Min that the company would launch its first-generation robots, leaving production ready to begin.

• Chen Mo examined the packaged Intelligent Robot Chips and read a test report showing they used far less power and processed data far faster than ordinary chips.
• Chen Mo ordered two more batches of Intelligent Robot Chips and told the robots to test the Supercomputer Chips next.
• Chen Mo installed a Superconducting Chip in an upgraded robot, and Mo Nv reported that its circuit board would burn out in under half an hour while she controlled it.
• Chen Mo told Mo Nv he would use Superconducting Materials for her body, while work on the Superconducting Computer continued.
• Zhao Min told Chen Mo that the robot production approval was ready, and Chen Mo decided to launch the robots.

Ant Army Company released an advertisement for its Succubus Robot, setting off public debate about its price and the effects of robots on society. As Chen Mo oversaw construction of a superconducting computer, Zhao Min told him that Saudi Prince Walid would visit in two days to meet him.

• Ant Army Company released a video introducing the Succubus Robot, and news outlets and social media users spread the advertisement widely.
• Ant Army Company announced that the Succubus Robot would cost 4.88 million yuan and require an advance order, prompting public arguments about affordability and unemployment.
• Chen Mo watched robots assemble superconducting computer cabinets in Building No. 1 while robots produced its components around the clock.
• Zhao Min called Chen Mo and told him that Saudi Prince Walid would visit Bin Hai City in two days and wanted to meet him.

Saudi Prince Walid arrived in Bin Hai City intending to invest in Army Ant Company, while Chen Mo and Zhao Min considered how to turn his visit into an opportunity for international expansion. Walid had not yet contacted them, and Chen Mo and Zhao Min prepared for the coming meeting.

• Walid ordered his think tank to find a way to acquire shares in Army Ant Company, then left them to prepare a workable plan before landing.
• Walid arrived in Bin Hai City with a large entourage and a procession of fifty BMWs, drawing intense media attention.
• Zhao Min told Chen Mo about Walid’s arrival and suggested he might want to buy Army Ant Company shares or its Intelligent Robot.
• Chen Mo refused to sell company shares, while Zhao Min proposed pursuing other cooperation that could help Army Ant enter international markets.
• Chen Mo teased Zhao Min about Walid being a bachelor, and Zhao Min joked that she would not be interested in him before leaving his office.

Walid visited Ant Army Company to negotiate an investment partnership with Chen Mo, but Chen Mo rejected an equity exchange and proposed international distribution for Butterfly Eye Phone instead. Walid declined the phone proposal but offered to distribute the company’s robots, and later explained that he would not cooperate on phone distribution.

• Walid arrived at Ant Army Company with a convoy of fifty BMWs and was welcomed by Zhao Min and Xiao Yao.
• Walid examined Xiao Yao and the rows of robots before meeting Chen Mo and Xiao Yu.
• Walid proposed exchanging shares in his oil companies and banks for shares in Ant Army Company, but Chen Mo refused.
• Chen Mo offered Walid a chance to help distribute Butterfly Eye Phone internationally, but Walid said he lacked telecommunications resources and proposed selling robots instead.
• Walid and Chen Mo agreed to discuss the robot distribution proposal, and Walid later told his adviser that he would not handle phone distribution.

Chen Mo explained that Western business interests resisted cooperating with Army Ant Company because it would not share ownership and profits. Zhao Min negotiated an exclusive Middle East robotics agency deal with Walid, leaving the company with a signed agreement and an urgent order for 200 robots.

• Chen Mo told Zhao Min that Army Ant Company's refusal to share its profits made Western companies wary of cooperating with it in telecommunications.
• Walid explained to his advisers that he would cooperate with Army Ant Company on robot sales but would avoid helping its phones enter the international market.
• Walid and Zhao Min negotiated exclusive Middle East agency rights and settled on a 1.51% agency fee with a 300 million US Dollar initial deposit.
• Walid signed the agreement and asked Army Ant Company to deliver 200 robots within a month for his own use.

Chen Mo and Walid announced a strategic partnership granting Kingdom Holding Group exclusive rights to sell Succubus Robots in the Middle East, while demand for the robots surged. Chen Mo set aside the blocked North American market and returned to the laboratory to work on a laptop powered by room-temperature superconducting material.

• Chen Mo and Walid attended a press conference at Ant Nest Headquarters, where they announced Kingdom Holding Group would be the exclusive Middle Eastern agent for Succubus Robots.
• Walid praised the robots and revealed he had personally purchased two hundred, while a Succubus Robot translated his speech for reporters.
• News of the partnership drew interest from companies seeking regional agency rights, and Zhao Min told Chen Mo that Walid's first order totaled two thousand robots.
• Zhao Min reported that the U.S. Ministry of Commerce was blocking the robots from entering North America by calling them spy robots, and Chen Mo said Ant Army Company could forgo that market.
• Chen Mo returned to the laboratory to design a laptop using room-temperature superconducting material, while the first batch of robot orders was shipped.

Cai Liang received and activated his Succubus Robot, naming her Lan Niu, while the first robots from Ant Army Company entered people's homes and quickly became a sensation. Their arrival sparked widespread debate about robot ethics, responsibility, and the risks posed by the Four Laws of Robotics, leaving public opposition to robots growing.

• Cai Liang unpacked his Succubus Robot, completed identity verification, and named her Lan Niu.
• Lan Niu activated and began serving Cai Liang, who asked her to call him Brother Liang and pour him water.
• The first customers showed off their Ant Army Company robots, and users found that the robots could adapt their behavior to their owners.
• People debated online whether the Four Laws could prevent robots from harming humans or controlling humanity, and who would be responsible for robot crimes.
• Public discussion of machine crises intensified, and more people began opposing robots entering human life.

Ant Army Company faced a coordinated international campaign claiming its robots threatened humanity and demanding disclosure of its Artificial Intelligence programs. Chen Mo ordered Mo Nv to strike back, destroying the equipment and promotional accounts of five paid-poster companies, and the online discussion returned to normal.

• Li Lingfeng reported that foreign media and domestic paid posters were spreading claims that robots endangered people and that Ant Army Company should reveal its intelligent programs.
• Zhao Min ordered the legal department to sue rumor-mongers and told staff not to waste time clarifying ordinary criticism.
• Chen Mo told Mo Nv to act against the people behind the campaign.
• Jiang Dong discovered that the computers and phones at his publicity company had burned out and that its promotional accounts and groups had been destroyed.
• The equipment and accounts of five paid-poster companies involved in attacking Ant Army Company were wiped out, and the paid posters vanished from the online debate.
• The controversy continued, and a new situation emerged.