Chapter Summaries

Jiang Hao and his friends prepared a Carmen-inspired magic performance for the Talent Show semifinals and traveled to Las Vegas. As their act began, FBI agent Dylan Rhodes and an old Black debunker watched Jiang Hao closely, each hoping to uncover what he could do.

• Jiang Hao, Merlin, and Dale organized the cast, props, costumes, and rehearsals for their Talent Show act.
• With five days remaining before the performance, Jiang Hao received instructions to report to Las Vegas and told the troupe they would leave the next day.
• Jiang Hao and his group traveled to Las Vegas, met with production staff, and discussed the stage design.
• At the semifinals, Jiang Hao's group prepared to perform their modernized excerpt from Carmen, and the judges recognized the opera piece.
• Dylan Rhodes watched Jiang Hao from the audience, while an old Black debunker attended to try to expose his magic.

Jiang Hao combined opera, magic, comedy, and dance in a performance that won over the audience and judges. His act placed first in the semifinal round and advanced to the finals, while FBI Agent Dylan and Tadeus remained puzzled by his beer trick.

• Jiang Hao sang the Toreador song, revealed a table full of chilled beer, and invited the judges and audience to drink with him.
• Jiang Hao and Dale performed a comic bullfight, then he transformed Merlin’s and the other women’s outfits before leading the cast in a Spanish dance.
• The judges praised Jiang Hao’s performance, and Heidi singled out Dale as the indispensable soul of both acts.
• Backstage, Merlin kissed Jiang Hao, while FBI Agent Dylan and Tadeus separately wondered how Jiang Hao had produced the beer.
• The show announced that Jiang Hao’s opera magic performance had won first place and advanced to the finals.

After celebrating their place in the finals, Jiang Hao went to a casino, won money at blackjack, and encountered magic exposer Thaddeus Bradley. He rejected Thaddeus’s demand to reveal his tricks and left after Thaddeus threatened to expose him.

• Jiang Hao helped the tipsy Merlin to her room, where she kissed him before slipping inside and shutting the door.
• Jiang Hao went to Caesars Palace Casino, played blackjack using card counting, and won more than five thousand US Dollars.
• Thaddeus Bradley stopped Jiang Hao and asked how he performed his magic tricks.
• Jiang Hao recognized Thaddeus as a famous magic exposer, mocked his promise to keep secrets, and refused to explain his magic.
• Thaddeus threatened to expose Jiang Hao, who left and reflected that the man’s actions could bring him serious consequences.

After his team advanced to the Talent Show finals, Jiang Hao returned to New York and struggled to devise a new act. A PetSmart commercial gave him an idea, so he called Merlin to discuss it, while Merlin eagerly prepared for their meeting and complained that he was a big idiot.

• Jiang Hao flew back to New York with the performance team, thanked them for their help, and told Merlin he had not settled on a finals act.
• Dale urged Jiang Hao to keep Merlin in the act, but Jiang Hao teased him and headed back to the dorms.
• Jiang Hao's team won the first semifinal round, earning him more than 100,000 fan points, while his theft mission remained at 0/10.
• Professor Ed Bryant congratulated Jiang Hao on reaching the finals and promised him full marks for the year's credits.
• After seeing a PetSmart commercial, Jiang Hao got a new act idea and called Merlin to arrange a meeting.
• Merlin told her roommate Serena she had a more important date with Jiang Hao and called him a big idiot for being too reserved.

Jiang Hao planned a bird-filled act for the Talent Show finals but could not afford the birds, so he secured PetSmart sponsorship by offering to promote the company. After preparing with Merlin and Dale, he and the team traveled with the birds to Las Vegas for the finals.

• Jiang Hao showed Merlin his plan to use hundreds of birds in his next Talent Show performance, but the birds’ cost exceeded his budget.
• Jiang Hao proposed a sponsorship deal to PetSmart’s manager, offering to advertise the company during his performance in exchange for birds and a fee.
• PetSmart agreed to provide three hundred birds and care for them, while making Jiang Hao’s 100,000 US Dollar bonus conditional on his winning the championship and mentioning the company.
• Jiang Hao and Merlin kissed, but Merlin pulled away and teased him before running off.
• Jiang Hao, Merlin, and Dale prepared the act for half a month, then traveled with the birds to Las Vegas for the finals.

Jiang Hao stunned the America's Got Talent finals with a performance in which hundreds of birds danced in formation, then won the eighth season. After the show, Merlin invited him into her hotel room.

• Jiang Hao eased Merlin's nerves backstage by making her laugh before his performance.
• Jiang Hao led parrots through synchronized bows and aerial formations, then joined them with hundreds of cardinals in a spectacular flight.
• The birds vanished behind the curtains, revealing Merlin dressed as an angel, and the judges and audience praised Jiang Hao's performance.
• Jiang Hao received a flood of Fan Points after the live broadcast and was announced as the champion with the highest vote total in Talent Show history.
• Merlin invited Jiang Hao into her hotel room for a drink, and the door closed after he entered.

After winning America's Got Talent, Jiang Hao collected his prize money, declined the agency contract, and returned to New York to claim PetSmart’s advertising fee. He invited Dale and Merlin to help choose cars, offering Dale up to $50,000 for a new vehicle.

• Jiang Hao saw a news report featuring his winning performance, and Merlin watched the broadcast with him.
• Jiang Hao chose a lump-sum prize payment and received a check for $398,000, then refused the Talent Show’s performer contract.
• Jiang Hao, Merlin, and Dale flew back to New York, where Jiang Hao collected his PetSmart advertising fee.
• Jiang Hao went to a Brooklyn car dealership and invited Dale and Merlin to help him choose cars.
• Jiang Hao offered to buy Dale a car costing up to $50,000, and Dale hurried off to browse the showroom.

Jiang Hao completed his first million-fan mission and accepted a magic performance at a Tiffany jewelry runway show. As he waited backstage, he spotted the supermodel Victoria and saw cases of jewelry being brought into the venue.

• Jiang Hao bought Merlin a red Jaguar XK and Dale an Infiniti QX70, then asked Merlin about her plans to become an actress.
• Jiang Hao gained over a million followers by livestreaming magic, and the system announced that he had completed Mission 1.
• Bruce offered Jiang Hao a Tiffany exhibition performance, and Jiang Hao agreed to perform an act involving flowers.
• At rehearsal, Jiang Hao made roses appear and showered the stage with petals, but Frank demanded a more stunning effect without increasing the budget.
• At the exhibition, Jiang Hao waited backstage, saw Victoria arrive, and watched men carry cases of Tiffany jewelry into the venue.

Jiang Hao stole the three-million-dollar Starlight Romance necklace during a jewelry exhibition and completed one theft mission before leaving the venue. Two days later, FBI agent Dylan Rhodes confronted him and accused him of hiding the necklace, while Jiang Hao challenged the assumption that he was guilty.

• Jiang Hao knocked out a Man in Black, took the briefcase handcuffed to him, and returned backstage before performing magic onstage.
• After Victoria's assistant found the unconscious guard, the staff discovered the necklace was missing, and police questioned people at the exhibition.
• Jiang Hao left after giving police his information and learned that his theft mission progress had reached 1/10.
• FBI agent Dylan Rhodes examined the case and identified Jiang Hao as a possible suspect based on his magician's background.
• Two days later, Dylan questioned Jiang Hao about the theft, and Jiang Hao objected when Dylan implied that he had taken the necklace.

After receiving a mysterious Magician tarot card inviting him to a gathering, Jiang Hao rejected the chance to follow the FBI agent’s plan and chose to pursue his own mission. He traveled to Toronto to reclaim Chinese Taoist artifacts and vowed to bring the Three Pure Ones statues back to their homeland.

• Dylan Rhodes accused Jiang Hao of being behind the Tiffany jewelry theft but admitted he had no evidence and left with a warning.
• Jiang Hao found a Magician tarot card bearing an all-seeing eye, a New York address, and a gathering time, then decided to stay hidden rather than follow the FBI agent’s plan.
• Jiang Hao saw a news report about Chinese artifacts at the Royal Ontario Museum and recognized what he believed was a Celestial Master Seal.
• Jiang Hao took leave from school, said goodbye to Merlin, and flew to Toronto to visit the museum.
• Jiang Hao surveyed the museum’s Chinese and Taoist collections and vowed to bring the Three Pure Ones statues back to their homeland.

Jiang Hao studied the Royal Ontario Museum, then used staged explosions to empty its Daoist exhibition hall and steal its artifacts. He escaped with the crowd as police sirens approached.

• Jiang Hao examined the museum's displays, cameras, and blind spots, then researched its security and planned a theft.
• Jiang Hao bought disguises and remote-controlled toys, modified them, and arranged for a false bomb threat to be called in to the mayor's office.
• Disguised as a visitor, Jiang Hao triggered explosions around the museum, causing visitors and guards to flee.
• Jiang Hao destroyed the exhibition hall's cameras and stole its statues, the Celestial Master Jade Seal, and more than two hundred other Daoist artifacts.
• Jiang Hao removed his disguise and escaped with the crowd as the police arrived.

Jiang Hao evaded Toronto police after stealing Daoist artifacts from the Royal Ontario Museum and delivered them to Maoshan under the name Dingyang. After Maoshan honored him for returning the treasures, he kept the Celestial Master Seal and headed to Las Vegas to watch the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

• Toronto police identified a bald middle-aged man as the suspected museum thief and searched the city, unaware that Jiang Hao had already left for Niagara Falls and Toronto sightseeing.
• Jiang Hao flew from Toronto through Hong Kong to China, then visited Maoshan and introduced himself to Old Daoist Xiangyun as Dingyang, a descendant of Maoshan.
• Jiang Hao showed Xiangyun rare Daoist books and led Cifeng and other Daoists to the hotel where he had left the stolen artifacts, then disappeared while they admired them.
• After learning the artifacts had come from the Royal Ontario Museum, Xiangyun declared that Dingyang had returned the Daoist treasures rather than stolen them and ordered the deed recorded in the Sect Classics.
• Jiang Hao returned to the United States with the Celestial Master Seal and headed to Las Vegas to see the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse perform.

Jiang Hao secretly replaced the real banknotes in the vault beneath the MGM Hotel Theater with prop money while The Four Horsemen prepared to stage their bank robbery magic show. He changed his appearance and settled in to watch as the performance began.

• A man in a jacket inspected the theater vault setup and bought three million Euros' worth of prop banknotes from Bayer Prop Company.
• In Paris, Daniel and The Four Horsemen celebrated their successful bank theft and planned to shock the world with their performance in Las Vegas.
• The Four Horsemen took the stage at the MGM Hotel Theater and announced that they would rob a bank in front of the audience.
• Before the show, Jiang Hao opened the vault, took the real Euros, and replaced them with prop banknotes, advancing his theft mission to 3/10.
• Jiang Hao washed off his makeup, changed clothes, and prepared to watch The Four Horsemen discover what had happened.

Jiang Hao watched The Four Horsemen use a hypnotized banker and a staged teleportation act to make money rain over the audience, but the bills turned out to be props. The Horsemen suspected they had been manipulated and were arrested by the FBI.

• Jiang Hao recognized that The Four Horsemen had arranged for banker Edian to be selected so he could witness his bank being robbed.
• Merritt McKinney hypnotized Edian, and The Four Horsemen made him appear in his Paris bank vault before banknotes began flying into the ventilation duct and raining down in Las Vegas.
• After the performance, Merritt discovered the bills were prop money, and the Horsemen realized their real cash had been replaced.
• The Horsemen suspected that the Eye or someone else had set them up, and Jack warned that a crowd was approaching their hotel room.
• FBI agents broke into the room, ordered the four Horsemen to raise their hands, and took them in for questioning over a suspected bank theft.

The Four Horsemen were questioned and released after the FBI failed to connect them to the French bank robbery, while Agent Dylan suspected someone had switched the money and worried about his plan. Jiang Hao returned to New York and reunited with Merlin, who told him her Jaguar had been stolen, and he comforted her.

• Daniel and the other Horsemen denied robbing the French bank, claiming the money in their Las Vegas performance was prop cash.
• The FBI found no evidence against the Horsemen, and their lawyers secured their release on bail.
• Agent Dylan watched the Horsemen leave and realized someone had switched the money, then worried the disruption could threaten his planned New York operation.
• Jiang Hao returned to New York after gaining three million Euros and called Merlin, who told him she had been doing voice work for an animated film.
• Merlin apologized to Jiang Hao because her Jaguar had been stolen, and Jiang Hao comforted her with jokes about losing vehicles.

Jiang Hao paid Wiggins’s car theft gang $100,000 to recover Merlin’s red Jaguar and returned it to her. The next day, he went back to La Hama intending to make the gang experience real violence.

• Jiang Hao paid Mr. Glover for information and learned that Wiggins led the local car theft ring from a used car dealership.
• Jiang Hao confronted Wiggins, negotiated for Merlin’s stolen Jaguar, and agreed to pay $100,000 for it.
• Jiang Hao collected the Jaguar and brought it back to Merlin, who joyfully thanked him.
• Jiang Hao and Merlin had the car cleaned and returned to their dormitory, where Dale gave them privacy.
• The next day, Jiang Hao returned to La Hama to retaliate against Wiggins’s gang.

Jiang Hao recruited stray cats to spy on Wiggins and nearby gangs, then broke into Wiggins's dealership and stole his hidden cash and valuables. He escaped with his revenge still in progress and advanced his theft mission to 4/10.

• Jiang Hao disguised himself as a foreigner, found stray cats, and tamed them with his Animal Communication Ability.
• Jiang Hao sent the cats to scout Wiggins's used car dealership and several nearby gangs, then returned to school to study.
• Jiang Hao returned to La Hama Street after eleven at night and used the cats' reports to enter Wiggins's room.
• Jiang Hao used silver needles to keep Wiggins and the woman beside him asleep, then opened Wiggins's safe with a key.
• Jiang Hao stole the cash, gold watches, and necklaces, reset the safe's combination, and escaped unnoticed.
• Jiang Hao received a system notification that his theft mission progress had reached 4/10.

Jiang Hao stole a shipment of cocaine from a Mexican Yakuza hideout and arranged a ransom call to their boss, Semala. After leaving the drugs hidden in his space, he went jogging in Prospect Park and waited for the gang to react.

• Jiang Hao gathered intelligence from stray cats and learned that the Mexican Yakuza had hidden a shipment in an apartment building.
• Jiang Hao climbed into the building, silently incapacitated the three guards, and found ten bags of cocaine.
• Jiang Hao stored the drugs in his space and received a system notification that his theft-task progress had reached 5/10.
• Jiang Hao drove to Brooklyn, rested at a coffee shop, and went jogging in Prospect Park as morning broke.
• Jiang Hao called Semala and demanded one million US dollars at Wiggins Car Dealership to get the shipment back.

Jiang Hao manipulated Semala and Wiggins into a deadly shootout that brought the police down on both gangs. After the gangs were arrested, Jiang Hao booked tickets to see The Four Horsemen perform in New York.

• Semala discovered his powder shipment was missing and led more than twenty armed men to Wiggins' used car dealership.
• Wiggins and Semala confronted each other over the stolen goods, and a shot fired from upstairs wounded Semala and triggered a shootout.
• Police surrounded the showroom, and the two gangs surrendered after their gunfire stopped.
• Police found stolen cars at Wiggins' dealership, and more than a month later both gangs were sent to prison on multiple charges.
• Jiang Hao left the gangs' fate to the authorities and booked tickets for The Four Horsemen's New York performance.

Jiang Hao attended Genesis’s birthday party with Merlin and performed a love song instead of magic. His rendition of “Love Me Like You Do” moved Merlin, who ran to embrace him as the guests applauded.

• Jiang Hao invited Merlin to a Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse show, and she asked him to accompany her to Genesis’s birthday party.
• Genesis asked Jiang Hao to perform at her party, and he agreed.
• Genesis’s boyfriend, Jason, gave her a necklace after performing a magic trick for her.
• Jiang Hao chose to sing a new song rather than perform magic, dedicating “Love Me Like You Do” to Merlin.
• Merlin ran into Jiang Hao’s arms after his song, while the guests applauded them.