Chapter Summaries

Liu Di learned what the City Lord’s peripheral banquet was after Scrap Dong’s girlfriend left him for Manager Zhang, who promised to get her into the event. Scrap Dong broke down over the betrayal while Liu Di remained at the registration hall, still unsure what to do next.

• Scrap Dong told Liu Di that his girlfriend had stayed with him despite his poverty and said he was motivated to work harder.
• Scrap Dong’s girlfriend, Xiao Si, arrived with Manager Zhang and ended their relationship, saying the banquet could help her rise in status.
• Xiao Si and Manager Zhang collected the receptionist, Xiao Zhao, who had changed into a revealing outfit, and drove away after Xiao Zhao called Liu Di a loser.
• Scrap Dong cried and blamed himself for the breakup, while Liu Di asked what happened at the peripheral banquet.
• Scrap Dong explained that wealthy men used the banquet to pursue female guests and called the event a prostitution ring, then said he wanted to buy suicide services.

Liu Di met a desperate manpower broker and agreed to sign with him, but their prospects changed when the T-two District city lord’s motorcade arrived to welcome Liu Di. Recognizing the city lord as an old acquaintance, Liu Di used his new standing to bring the broker, Xie Dong, into his service.

• Liu Di offered to sign with the disheveled broker and asked whether he could earn commission from his wages.
• The broker offered Liu Di 250,000 mental power, and Liu Di learned that the amount bought only about twenty-five bowls of noodles in T-two.
• Liu Di urged the broker to make money just as the city lord’s motorcade arrived and sealed off the registration hall.
• A Fu, the city lord’s personal butler, bowed to Liu Di and said he had come to welcome him on his master’s orders.
• Liu Di recognized A Fu and the city lord’s familiar face, then invited the broker to sign before the five minutes were up.
• Xie Dong changed his commission from seven percent to one percent, and Liu Di told him to use his real name and be called President Xie Dong.

After signing Liu Di’s contract, Xie Dong joined him on a helicopter bound for the City Lord’s Mansion, where the City Lord’s wedding was being prepared. Xiao Si saw what she believed was Xie Dong aboard and planned to use her kitten to stage a meeting with the distinguished guest.

• Xie Dong signed the contract, and Liu Di took him by helicopter over T-two District as a luxury-car convoy followed.
• Xie Dong asked Liu Di how he had earned the City Lord’s favor, and Liu Di said he had helped arrange a marriage.
• Xiao Si and Xiao Zhao watched the City Lord’s convoy pass and dismissed Xiao Si’s suspicion that Xie Dong was in the helicopter.
• Boss Zhang brought Xiao Si and Xiao Zhao to the City Lord’s Mansion, where Manager Sun’s group awaited the distinguished guest.
• Xiao Si revealed that she had created a kitten and planned to let it run onto the landing pad so she could engineer a meeting with the arriving guest.

Liu Di arrived at City Lord's Mansion by helicopter as the City Lord's honored guest, shocking Xiao Si and Xiao Zhao, who had mistaken him for a loser. He dismissed Xiao Zhao's attempt to reconnect and entered the mansion with the wealthy guests.

• Xiao Si and Xiao Zhao each tried to attract the helicopter's arriving guest by chasing a cat and a handkerchief.
• Xie Dong stepped off the helicopter and claimed he was the City Lord's honored guest, then deferred to Mr. Di Ba.
• Liu Di emerged, and Xiao Zhao recognized him as the man she had called social trash.
• The wealthy guests welcomed Liu Di, while bodyguards dragged Xiao Si and Xiao Zhao away.
• Xiao Zhao pleaded with Liu Di to forgive her, but he called her a real loser for wasting his time and entered City Lord's Mansion.

At the City Lord’s wedding, Steward A Fu expelled Alick for insulting the unknown matchmaker, while the guests waited anxiously for the matchmaker to arrive. Liu Di entered the hall as Alick screamed offstage, leaving everyone wondering whether the imposing young man was the matchmaker.

• Steward A Fu had Alick dragged out of the wedding and announced that the City Lord would end all business dealings with him.
• Outside the hall, Alick complained to Liu Di about being expelled and threatened the unknown matchmaker.
• Liu Di told Xie Dong to beat Alick, and Xie Dong lured him into a corner.
• Liu Di entered the hall as the guests watched and wondered who he was.

Yan Hongxin and Liu Manwen were married in the Brain Realm after fifty years apart in the real world and ten years there, with Liu Di honored as the benefactor who reunited them. The chapter ended with Yan Hongxin granting Liu Di free passage throughout T-two District and promising to destroy anyone who harmed him.

• Yan Hongxin placed the hemp-rope token from their early romance on Liu Manwen’s finger as they married before the gathered crowd.
• In Kyoto, Yan Qingwen saw tears and faint smiles on her unconscious father and Aunt Liu Manwen, and wondered whether the Second Heaven was real.
• Yan Hongxin announced that he had finally married Manwen after fifty years in the real world and ten years in the Brain Realm.
• Yan Hongxin and Liu Manwen bowed to Liu Di and thanked him for bringing them together, then invited him to the seat of honor.
• Yan Hongxin declared that Liu Di could travel freely through T-two District and threatened to use his full authority against anyone who offended him.

At Yan Hongxin’s wedding, he protected Liu Di and offered him the city lord’s residence, his position, and his wealth. Liu Di learned that returning to reality from T-9 District required fifty percent of T-two’s total mental-power wealth, leaving him to consider how to obtain the rest.

• Yan Hongxin threatened to wipe out anyone who offended Liu Di, prompting the wealthy guests to compete to offer him gifts and favors.
• Yan Hongxin privately offered Liu Di the city lord’s building, the city lord position, and control of his construction group, while Liu Manwen agreed to his suggestions.
• Yan Hongxin told Liu Di that he could buy a return slot to reality from T-9 District but lacked enough money to pay for it.
• Yan Hongxin explained that the slot cost fifty percent of T-two’s total mental-power wealth and that he controlled less than thirty percent.
• Yan Hongxin offered Liu Di all his wealth, but Liu Manwen softly refused.

Liu Di rejected Yan Hongxin’s offer of money and declared that he would take control of half of T-two District’s wealth within two days. On the City Lord’s Mansion rooftop, he discovered a mirage that let Magic Child detect a weak signal from the real world, then contacted Xie Dong through an earbud.

• Yan Hongxin offered Liu Di his position as City Lord, his group, and money, but Liu Manwen said the money could not be given to him.
• Liu Di announced that he would take control of 50% of T-two District’s wealth within two days, then left to walk on the rooftop and think.
• Liu Di raised a stone platform toward a mirage in the sky and learned from Magic Child that it carried a weak real-world network signal.
• Liu Di used the signal to connect to the Gemini server and instructed Xie Dong through a wireless earbud.
• Xie Dong put on the earbud and saw Liu Di hovering high above the banquet hall.

Xie Dong introduced Liu Di’s Soul Gemini app to the wealthy guests, claiming it could connect them with their families in the real world. Manager Mu volunteered to try it, and Liu Di created a laptop for him as the crowd began to believe in Liu Di’s abilities.

• Xie Dong announced that Liu Di’s new online social networking app was called Soul Gemini and claimed it could let users contact their families and see their recent lives.
• When Xie Dong misstated the price as fifty percent of a company’s shares, the guests laughed, and Yan Hongxin prepared to stop the pitch.
• Liu Manwen told Yan Hongxin to sit down, and Manager Mu stepped forward to try Soul Gemini because he longed for news of his family.
• Manager Mu asked for a computer, and Liu Di conjured a laptop into Xie Dong’s hands, impressing the guests and strengthening Manager Mu’s trust in him.

Manager Mu joined Gemini Stage and discovered that the stranger he matched with was his daughter, Xiao Yang, whom he had not seen in ten years. He learned that she remembered him as a good father who died rescuing a child, and the chapter ended with Manager Mu grieving as she said she was proud of him.

• Manager Mu followed the rules and matched with Little Girl Imitating Sunflower on Gemini Stage.
• Manager Mu recognized Xiao Yang in the photos and broke down as he saw her birthday and wedding pictures.
• Manager Mu asked Xie Dong if he could speak with Xiao Yang, and Xie Dong agreed as long as he followed the rules.
• Xiao Yang greeted Manager Mu and asked if he was on the winter swimming team, like her father.
• Manager Mu asked what kind of person her father was, and Xiao Yang said he had rescued a child from an ice hole ten years earlier and that she was proud of him.

Manager Mu learned that his daughter Xiao Yang and grandson Xing Xing were safe, and he thanked Liu Di for fulfilling his greatest wish. The wealthy residents of T-two rushed to seek contact with their families, and Li Lanxiang prepared to reveal her real appearance for facial recognition.

• Manager Mu watched a video of Xiao Yang’s baby, Xing Xing, and learned that his daughter was caring for her unconscious father.
• Manager Mu thanked Liu Di and promised to transfer 50% of his group’s shares to Xie Dong.
• Nearly three hundred T-two tycoons pleaded with Xie Dong for a chance to contact their families and offered large portions of their shares.
• Li Lanxiang offered up to 80% of her shares and sat down to use the computer.
• When the system required her true appearance for facial recognition, Li Lanxiang transformed into an elderly woman and explained that she had fallen into a coma at fifty-nine because of cerebral palsy.

Xie Dong showed Li Lanxiang the news and photographs of her husband Liang Bin, prompting her to reject a personal relationship and offer most of her shares to Mr. Di Ba. Liu Manwen then revealed her immense power and influence in the Brain Realm, warned Liu Di that his actions threatened its balance, and identified the Lord of the Brain Realm as Liu Zhengqing.

• The system found news about Liang Bin, whose devoted care for Li Lanxiang and kindness to others moved her to tears.
• Li Lanxiang refused to give herself to Xie Dong, offered Mr. Di Ba eighty percent of her shares, and planned to sponsor children in the Brain Realm.
• Liu Di reflected on the wealthy visitors' wishes and how much he missed the real world.
• Liu Manwen appeared beside Liu Di in the air and revealed that her mental power level was 2120 and that she had helped Hongxin become city lord.
• Liu Manwen warned Liu Di that his actions had upset the Brain Realm's balance, then used her connection to the Lord of the Brain Realm to secure his safety.
• Liu Manwen revealed that the Lord of the Brain Realm was Liu Zhengqing and asked Liu Di whether he knew him.

Liu Di learned that Liu Zhengqing was the Lord of the Brain Realm, then prepared to leave the T-2 district. As Yan Hongxin offered to open a passage, Liu Manwen revealed that Liu Di could choose between returning to reality and entering the T-3 district.

• Liu Manwen told Liu Di that Liu Zhengqing thought highly of him, though she did not know whether Liu Zhengqing knew him.
• Liu Manwen reunited with Yan Hongxin and silently asked Liu Di to keep her secret.
• Liu Di watched the enormous figure above the nine realms for two days while Xie Dong handled wealthy visitors and more than 55% of the district's wealth gathered under the Man in White's control.
• Xie Dong grew emotional as Liu Di prepared to leave, and Yan Hongxin offered to construct a passage back to reality.
• Liu Manwen told Liu Di that Yan Hongxin could also open a passage to the T-3 district and asked him to consider which path to take.

Liu Di chose to return to reality, but after entering the vortex, he unexpectedly came back to the City Lord’s Mansion as T-3 Zone robbers arrived to seize his mental power. The robbers attacked, and Yan Hongxin stood in their way to protect him.

• Liu Di told Liu Manwen and Yan Hongxin that he was not ready to explore the Brain Realm further and wanted to return to reality.
• Yan Hongxin warned Liu Di that T-3 Zone’s enhanced humans might come for his wealth, then used his mental power to open a vortex and send him away.
• More than thirty men from T-3 Zone, led by Mr. Lan, arrived at the City Lord’s Mansion and demanded Liu Di’s mental power.
• Liu Manwen prepared to confront the robbers, but Liu Di stepped out of the fading vortex and revealed himself to them.
• Mr. Lan ordered his men to capture Liu Di, and Yan Hongxin blocked their attack, declaring they would have to kill him first.

Liu Di’s meditated robot, Di Qi, returned to the City Lord’s Mansion and killed Lan Chengwen and the T3 visitors who accompanied him. As Lord Purger arrived to confront Yan Hongxin, Yan revealed the scale of the killings and insisted that the masked man help protect Liu Di.

• Di Qi blasted Yan Hongxin’s attackers, killing Lan Chengwen and most of the T3 visitors before falling silent when Liu Di returned to reality.
• Yan Hongxin picked up Lan Chengwen’s surviving Golden Thumb Ring, and Liu Manwen urged him to deny responsibility for Liu Di’s actions.
• Alick arrived with Lord Purger and accused Yan Hongxin of helping Liu Di break the rules, but Lord Purger knocked Alick unconscious and had him removed.
• Yan Hongxin told Lord Purger that Liu Di had killed the T3 City Lord’s younger brother and more than thirty T3 experts, then demanded help because of a promise.
• Lord Purger refused to intervene, while Yan Hongxin spoke of fate and his experiences in the Brain Realm.

The masked man discovered that Liu Di had sent a robot to massacre the T2 district, then covered up the case to protect him. As Liu Di traveled through a strange passage toward reality, he and Magic Child speculated about the Brain Realm’s higher-dimensional nature, while astronomers detected a superluminal object racing toward Earth.

• The masked man mistook Di Qi’s armored robot for Liu Di, then learned Liu Di had sent it to kill everyone in the T2 district.
• The masked man, revealed as Officer Duan and Scene Clearer Duan, ordered his subordinate to close the case with a fabricated account of the murderer’s escape to reality.
• Liu Di and Magic Child discussed how the passage’s folded space might allow consciousness to travel at near-light speed and connect the Brain Realm with reality.
• Liu Di concluded that Liu Zhengqing had discovered a higher-dimensional universe and become an advanced lifeform within the Brain Realm.
• Astronomers observed a meteor coming from near Fomalhaut b that appeared to be traveling at least ten times faster than light toward Earth.

Liu Di returned from the Brain Realm after experiencing a time ratio of 2400:1 and told Mo Yu about its consciousness entities and the clones he encountered. He revealed that he had solved the Mohist Mechanical City puzzle and offered Mo Yu the other half of its key in exchange for curing Heavenly Net.

• Liu Di awoke in the Experimental Graveyard and learned from Magic Child that five days in the Brain Realm had lasted only three minutes in reality.
• Liu Di told Mo Yu that he had explored two regions of a consciousness-filled universe and warned him that clones could develop thoughts of their own.
• Liu Di revealed that he had met the souls of seven of Mo Yu's eight clones in the Brain Realm, including one who had gotten lost.
• Liu Di drew half a key to the Mohist Mechanical City and said he had solved its puzzle in ten minutes.
• Liu Di offered to draw the other half of the key if Mo Yu cured Heavenly Net, and Mo Yu accepted that the Consciousness Universe existed.

Liu Di destroyed the artificial intelligence harassing Gemini, heard that his businesses were thriving, and visited the comatose Zhang Buzai and Zhang Weiguo, whose recovery he still felt responsible for. Meanwhile, twenty-five light-years away, Zhang Buzai and Zhang Weiguo waited for Di Ba to set off the promised fireworks.

• Liu Di visited Gemini Towers, where Magic Child traced the attack network and destroyed tens of thousands of computers, ending the artificial intelligence.
• Liu Di heard brief reports from Ruan Liangji, A Jia, and Heidina that Gemini, Witnesses, and TO Lingxi were thriving.
• Liu Di visited the Jing Medical Vegetative State Rehabilitation Center and saw Zhang Buzai and Zhang Weiguo unconscious in their hospital beds.
• Zhang Buzai wondered why Di Ba had not set off the fireworks, while Zhang Weiguo suspected that he had forgotten them.

Liu Di remembered the promise he had made to Zhang Buzai and responded to the suffering he saw by supporting schools and seeking recognition for another vegetative patient. After checking on Little Liu, he went to Yingzhi Group, where staff revealed how he had once rescued the company.

• Liu Di learned that Li Qin had mid-stage liver cancer and was afraid she would not live long enough to see Zhang Buzai wake up.
• Liu Di donated money to build a free school, hired Liang Bin as its principal, and ordered Heidina to establish a public welfare department that could fund schools across China.
• Liu Di asked Mr. Song to grant the vegetative Mu Qiang the honorary title of Brave and Selfless Hero.
• Liu Di spotted Little Liu watching Shui'er from a rooftop while Kun Sang folded paper cranes, and he told Kun Sang to protect the boy while he was away.
• Liu Di entered Yingzhi Group, where the vice presidents bowed to him and a receptionist explained that he had saved the company by buying 51 percent of its shares and rallying its executives.

Little Liu realized he had retreated from the Brain Realm because he feared losing control, and decided to face the unfinished challenges there. Yan Qingwen clicked the Metal Ballpoint Pen, sending Little Liu back toward the Brain Realm with a clear mind.

• Yan Qingwen told Little Liu she hoped to find a way to wake her father, Yan Hongxin, and asked whether he could help.
• Little Liu reflected on the friends and promises he had left behind in the Brain Realm and recognized that fear had driven him back to reality.
• Little Liu stopped Yan Qingwen from clicking the Metal Ballpoint Pen, then chose to return to the Brain Realm after realizing Liu Zhengqing had likely arranged the test through Liu Manwen.
• Little Liu asked Yan Qingwen to click the pen, and its metallic sound cleared his thoughts as he settled beneath a blanket.