Chapter Summaries

After Li Quan’s group blamed Lin Li for the old man’s unpaid debt, Lin Li agreed to write a 100,000-yuan IOU but escaped when an unknown caller warned him the power would go out. Huang Ji revealed himself as the person who helped Lin Li and returned his wallet and student card.

• Li Quan’s group cornered Lin Li after the old man escaped and demanded that he repay 100,000 yuan.
• Lin Li agreed to write an IOU to avoid bringing the debt dispute to his university or parents.
• An unknown caller warned Lin Li that the power would fail, and Lin Li fled the shop during the blackout before Li Quan’s group could catch him.
• Huang Ji misdirected Li Quan’s group, took Lin Li’s wallet and student card, and left in the opposite direction.
• Lin Li called the unknown helper, and Huang Ji approached him and returned his wallet and student card.

Huang Ji rescued Lin Li from debt collectors and brought him to confront the old man who had scammed him. Huang Ji exposed the old man’s past and his own Cold Reading tricks, but the old man escaped while Lin Li was detained over an unpaid congee bill.

• Lin Li thanked Huang Ji for saving him, and Huang Ji told him to save his contact under the alias Hua Xu.
• Huang Ji led Lin Li to a late-night stall and told him to demand his gold back from the disguised old man.
• The old man tried to read Huang Ji, but Huang Ji countered by revealing the old man was a fifty-two-year-old former police officer hiding from dangerous pursuers.
• Huang Ji explained that he had used Cold Reading to uncover the old man’s situation, then the old man called for the stall owner and fled.
• The stall owner mistook Lin Li for the person who had not paid for the congee and grabbed him as the old man ran away.

Huang Ji tracked down the old man who had swindled Lin Li, recovered Lin Li’s gold, and revealed that he knew about the old man’s dead son. The old man fled but Huang Ji and Lin Li waited outside his home, where Huang Ji persuaded him to talk upstairs by hinting that he could help avenge his son.

• Huang Ji followed the old man through the alleys, deduced he was hiding in a dumpster from a clam-shell fragment, and forced him to return Lin Li’s gold.
• When Huang Ji asked how long it had been since the old man visited his son’s grave and mentioned revenge, the old man fled and struck Lin Li in the neck as he escaped.
• Huang Ji treated Lin Li with acupuncture, then took him by taxi to wait near the old man’s home.
• Lin Li grabbed the old man when he arrived, and the old man assumed Huang Ji had tracked him on behalf of a group pursuing him.
• Huang Ji said he was not who the old man thought and hinted that he could help avenge his son, so the old man agreed to talk at home.

Huang Ji detected two intruders hiding in the old man’s rented room and used the television to lure them out before defeating them. Afterward, he told the old man that Wang Xiaofan had shared everything with him and offered condolences for his son’s death.

• Huang Ji noticed signs that someone had entered the old man’s room and stopped him from approaching the sofa.
• Huang Ji turned on the television to trick the two men hiding in the bedroom into coming out, then led Lin Li and the old man into an ambush position.
• Huang Ji knocked one intruder unconscious and disarmed and incapacitated the second with precise strikes.
• Lin Li and the old man marveled at Huang Ji’s fighting skill, and Huang Ji explained his strike to Lin Li.
• Huang Ji told the old man that Wang Xiaofan had told him everything and that he had searched for the old man after Wang Xiaofan died.

Huang Ji convinced Old Wang that he had been Xiao Fan’s friend and explained the conflict between the Illuminati and the Messiah. After Huang Ji earned Old Wang’s trust, Old Wang remained unaware that Huang Ji knew he possessed an alien artifact.

• Huang Ji told Lin Li and Old Wang that the Illuminati served aliens on the Moon and that the Messiah opposed them.
• Huang Ji recounted the Messiah’s failed raid on a New Mexico research facility, where Xiao Fan died, and Old Wang mourned his son.
• Old Wang insisted Xiao Fan might still be alive, while Huang Ji said the police and media had reported his death.
• Huang Ji explained that Old Wang’s Golden Core was an alien room-temperature superconductor and connected it to the failed raid.
• Huang Ji described Xiao Fan’s dream and joked about his childhood, convincing Old Wang that he was truly Xiao Fan’s friend.

Huang Ji persuaded Old Wang to let Lin Li join them by revealing Lin Li’s cancer and arguing that the Illuminati would target him anyway. He recounted Messiah’s rise and destruction under the Illuminati, then declared that he had refused to join before because he believed Messiah would never amount to anything.

• Old Wang questioned Lin Li’s loyalty, but Huang Ji vouched for him, and Lin Li eagerly asked to join their fight against the Illuminati.
• Huang Ji argued that Old Wang’s Golden Core Dance had exposed Lin Li to danger, then told Lin Li that he suspected he had cancer.
• After Huang Ji said Lin Li’s tumor could be treated, Lin Li asked why Messiah did not appeal to the government, and Old Wang explained the lack of evidence and the Illuminati’s global influence.
• Huang Ji recounted how Messiah helped John Kennedy become president, how Kennedy challenged the Illuminati, and how his assassination and betrayals nearly destroyed Messiah.
• Old Wang warned Huang Ji that Messiah could not match the Illuminati, but Huang Ji said he had refused to join before because he knew Messiah would never amount to anything.

Huang Ji agreed to assist Messiah while assessing its members and resources, then uncovered a local gang’s unauthorized attempt to capture Old Wang. He led Old Wang and Lin Li toward Zhang Junwei, leaving the two thugs terrified and ready to cooperate under Lin Li’s supposed authority.

• Huang Ji offered Messiah funding and assistance but said he wanted to meet its other members before deciding whether to join.
• Old Wang found that the two men sent to his home were hired thugs, and Huang Ji tortured Xiao Zha until he revealed that Zhang Junwei had ordered them to capture Old Wang for a promised reward.
• Huang Ji realized Zhang Junwei had not reported Old Wang’s location to the Illuminati, so the group could stay hidden by taking control of the local boss.
• Huang Ji had the two thugs lead them to Zhang Junwei and threatened them with a supposed acupuncture castration to ensure their cooperation.
• Huang Ji told the thugs that Lin Li would be the boss of the area, leaving Lin Li confused.

Huang Ji entered Zhang Junwei’s warehouse with Old Wang and Lin Li, then defeated Zhang Junwei and took him hostage. He discovered that Zhang Junwei’s gun was a fake after one of the underlings fired it, leaving the gang’s loyalty and control in question.

• Huang Ji, Old Wang, and Lin Li arrived at the warehouse where Zhang Junwei’s men had gathered.
• Zhang Junwei questioned Old Wang about the million offered for his capture, and Huang Ji warned him before attacking.
• Huang Ji struck Zhang Junwei down, disarmed him, and held a dagger to his neck while reading his phone.
• An underling grabbed Zhang Junwei’s imitation gun and fired three shots at Huang Ji and Zhang Junwei.
• Huang Ji revealed that the gun was fake and asked the shooter if he wanted to become the boss.

Huang Ji warned Zhang Junwei that his client would retaliate if he reported finding them, but Zhang Junwei and his men attacked anyway. Huang Ji used the warehouse darkness and his Information Sense to defeat them, leaving Zhang Junwei, Old Wang, and Lin Li amid the fallen men.

• Huang Ji revealed that Zhang Junwei’s client, saved as “666,” was powerful and warned him not to report their whereabouts.
• Huang Ji deleted the client’s number and call records, then released Zhang Junwei after he promised not to contact the client.
• Zhang Junwei slid away from Huang Ji and signaled his underlings to attack, while Old Wang and Lin Li joined the brawl.
• Huang Ji evaded the attackers and reached the warehouse entrance, where he switched off the lights.
• Using his Information Sense in the darkness, Huang Ji beat down the men in just over twenty seconds.

Huang Ji defeated Zhang Junwei’s gang and used a hidden memory card to make Zhang Junwei trust him and agree to conceal the job from their client. Zhang Junwei accepted Huang Ji as his boss, while Huang Ji identified a disloyal subordinate and left the gang to deal with him.

• Huang Ji beat Zhang Junwei and his men, then discovered Zhang Junwei’s secret memory card by reading his reactions.
• Huang Ji inspected the card, promised not to expose its contents, and warned Zhang Junwei that the client’s people posed a danger to him and his family.
• Zhang Junwei submitted to Huang Ji, named him his boss, and agreed that the gang would tell anyone asking about the job that they had found nothing.
• Huang Ji named Lin Li as his representative and promised to pay Zhang Junwei’s five-hundred-thousand-yuan reward himself.
• Huang Ji identified the armed subordinate as a likely traitor, and Zhang Junwei arranged to have the man sent to a mental hospital.
• Zhang Junwei told his men that the card contained evidence of murder, while Old Wang suspected Huang Ji had uncovered a different secret through Cold Reading.

Huang Ji gave Lin Li money and detailed instructions for winning Zhang Junwei’s trust while procuring medical equipment and medicines. After Lin Li carried them out, Huang Ji reassured Old Wang that he could manage the group and said he might be ready to go to London within four months.

• Huang Ji gave Lin Li 2.4 million and coached him to pass money and a procurement list to Zhang Junwei while acting cold and following a fabricated backstory.
• Lin Li gave Zhang Junwei 500,000 for his men, added 100,000 of his own, and delivered Huang Ji’s list of equipment and medicines.
• Zhang Junwei spent the day using his connections to obtain the listed items, though some medicines were beyond his reach.
• Huang Ji scolded Lin Li for trying to steal medicines, then told Zhang Junwei to forget the items he could not obtain.
• Zhang Junwei came to see Lin Li as loyal and trustworthy, easing Old Wang’s concern about Lin Li managing him.
• Huang Ji told Old Wang he could leave for London in at most four months, or as soon as one month if his plans went smoothly.

Huang Ji infiltrated a cancer treatment seminar as a substitute assistant and impressed Vice President Lü Qinggong with his preparation. He left Lü stunned by arguing that cancer could be a form of evolution and should be guided toward beneficial mutation rather than simply suppressed or removed.

• Huang Ji posed as Hua Xu, a student of Yang Qizhong, and distributed prepared patient records at Lü Qinggong's seminar.
• Huang Ji smoothly operated the projector and supplied materials as Lü Qinggong and the other doctors discussed a Lymphatic Cancer treatment plan.
• Lü Qinggong praised Huang Ji's work and asked about his cancer research.
• Huang Ji explained that he was studying drugs targeting immune T cells and PD-L1, then challenged the idea that immune-based treatment was the best approach.
• Huang Ji proposed that cancer could be a form of species evolution and argued for guiding it toward beneficial mutation, leaving Lü Qinggong angry and astonished.

Huang Ji spent the morning discussing medicine with Lü Qinggong, who tried to recruit him as a student. After Huang Ji left, Lü discovered that the student had used the false name Hua Xu and could not be identified.

• Huang Ji and Lü Qinggong discussed medical research for hours until Lü regarded Huang Ji as an equal and offered him a stipend to join his institute.
• Huang Ji left without giving Lü his contact information, and Lü called Professor Yang Qizhong to ask about Hua Xu.
• Xiao Qian told Lü that she had not asked anyone to cover for her and did not know Hua Xu, while Yang confirmed Hua Xu was not his student.
• Lü and Xiao Qian searched surveillance footage and found Hua Xu leaving with his face hidden, but could not identify him at the university.
• Lü wondered who Hua Xu really was and regretted letting him leave.

Huang Ji interviewed at Tongji Hospital under the name Hua Xu and explained his research connecting respiratory illness with the digestive system, impressing Dean Hong despite his poorly written paper. Dean Hong arranged for him to pursue a doctorate at Tongji University with Lin Tao, leaving Huang Ji on track to gain further medical knowledge.

• Dean Hong received Lü Qinggong’s recommendation for Hua Xu and, after learning Hua Xu was already waiting, invited him into his office.
• Hua Xu explained his research linking respiratory diseases to digestive function, while privately withholding his theory about gut bacteria and traditional Chinese medicine.
• Dean Hong downloaded and read Hua Xu’s paper as they spoke, then recognized that Hua Xu’s reasoning was strong despite the paper’s poor writing and his hesitant delivery.
• Dean Hong asked Hua Xu to pursue a doctorate and offered to arrange a place at Tongji University.
• Dean Hong called his former student Lin Tao and directed Hua Xu to the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, where Lin Tao would guide him.

Huang Ji used forged identities and social engineering to infiltrate Tongji University laboratories and the Academy of Sciences’ Human Genome Research Laboratory, where he gained access to leading experts and their knowledge. Meanwhile, Old Wang intercepted the real Li Wensi and drove him away, secretly blocking Director Zhao’s number on his phone.

• Huang Ji used Lü Qinggong’s email and recommendation to meet Dean Hong, who introduced him to Professor Lin Tao and other Tongji University researchers.
• Huang Ji spent several days entering laboratories and hospitals, gathering medical knowledge and clinical experience while posing as Professor Lin’s student.
• Huang Ji impersonated Li Wensi to enter the Academy of Sciences research institute, then used a staged phone call to get Liu Xin to escort him into the experimental building.
• Huang Ji convinced Academician Pan that they had met years earlier at UBC, securing his place among the institute’s experts.
• Old Wang met the real Li Wensi outside the institute, lured him into a car under the pretense of changing the interview location, and added Director Zhao’s number to Li’s blacklist.

Huang Ji completed his studies with Academician Pan, bringing his expertise in medicine, chemistry, and biology to the international forefront. Meanwhile, the doctors and professors he had deceived compared stories and tried to uncover his identity, but he left them with only a mysterious nickname and no clear explanation.

• Huang Ji spent four hours with Academician Pan and reached the international forefront in medicine, chemistry, and biology.
• On April 29, Huang Ji went to Hua Shan Hospital, realized Doctor Li had uncovered his false identity, and left.
• At an exchange meeting, Lü Qinggong, Dean Hong, Yang Qizhong, and other professors discovered that Hua Xu had given each of them conflicting identities and credentials.
• The professors mobilized to find Hua Xu and shared stories of how he had fooled doctors, professors, and Academician Pan without taking money or causing harm.
• The medical community recognized Hua Xu as a highly knowledgeable all-rounder and dubbed him the “Mysterious Graduate Student,” but failed to learn his purpose or find a clear photograph of him.

Huang Ji discovered that a highly contagious new virus had infected Tang Yan, a taxi driver, and took steps to contain the danger. He brought Tang Yan to his warehouse, quarantined him, and ordered the group to disinfect and prepare another building.

• Huang Ji sensed that Tang Yan carried a level-six virus and realized that Tang Yan could become a superspreader if treated for an ordinary cold.
• Huang Ji gave Tang Yan a mask and money, then had him disinfect his taxi before driving to the West Suburbs used-car market.
• Huang Ji brought Tang Yan into the warehouse, where Zhang Junwei and the others initially threatened him over the unpaid fare.
• Huang Ji sprayed Tang Yan with disinfectant, warned the group that his illness could kill people, and ordered them to wear masks and keep Tang Yan contained.
• Huang Ji told Zhang Junwei to clear out a nearby warehouse and move their equipment into it.

Huang Ji held Tang Yan captive and began studying the H1N1 virus, using Tang Yan as a test subject while promising to develop a special medicine within twenty days. The chapter ended with Huang Ji concluding that the best treatment might be to fuse with the virus rather than kill it.

• Huang Ji ordered Zhang Junwei to smash Tang Yan’s phone and offered Tang Yan money for staying captive, then charged him for a bed, food, and water.
• Huang Ji confronted Tang Yan about a hit-and-run six years earlier, and Tang Yan agreed to cooperate with his experiments, believing Huang Ji was the victim.
• Huang Ji drew Tang Yan’s blood and pricked his Hidden Acupoint to strengthen his immunity before taking the sample to the warehouse laboratory.
• Huang Ji realized Tang Yan had only hit a plastic mannequin, but he let Tang Yan believe otherwise so he would cooperate and find relief from his guilt.
• Huang Ji examined Tang Yan’s blood, determined that he was in the H1N1 incubation period, and set himself twenty days to develop a special medicine.
• Huang Ji considered the role of viruses in evolution and concluded that treatment should aim to fuse with a virus rather than kill it.

Huang Ji developed a staged method to tame viruses and use them to accelerate genetic evolution, then deliberately infected himself with H1N1 and began treatment. The process was expected to take about three months, and his predicted lifespan after evolution reached 178 years.

• Huang Ji developed an 86-percent-effective influenza medicine in seventeen cumulative hours, then spent two more days trying unsuccessfully to improve it.
• Huang Ji concluded that perfect genetic fusion required repeatedly suppressing a virus while allowing it to adapt, rather than simply eradicating it with medicine.
• Huang Ji combined low-efficiency medicines into a personalized treatment plan with 99-percent efficiency and determined that each person required a tailored genetic medicine.
• Huang Ji chose H1N1 for its high human compatibility, deliberately infected himself, and injected a targeted medicine and adaptation agent.
• Huang Ji outlined three stages of adaptation over roughly three months, and his predicted post-evolution lifespan rose to 178 years.

Huang Ji cured Tang Yan with medicine he had developed and kept his H1N1 infection secret to protect his warehouse and associates. He then published his research under the name Messiah and sent it to medical experts, aiming to make Messiah known as he considered the Illuminati’s influence.

• Huang Ji cured Tang Yan with the medicine, told him he had forgiven him, and sent him away without revealing that he had carried a level-six virus.
• Tang Yan left after pressing money into Zhang Junwei’s hand, while Huang Ji kept his infection and cure secret to protect the warehouse from scrutiny.
• Huang Ji wrote a detailed paper on H1N1 research, including prevention, testing, and treatment, and uploaded it from an internet café.
• Huang Ji emailed the paper to medical experts in several cities under the codename Messiah.
• Huang Ji reflected on how the Illuminati used rumors and its reputation to expand its influence, and decided that making Messiah known mattered more than whether people trusted it.