Chapter Summaries

Huang Ji used the Classic of Mountains and Seas to reconstruct God Shao Hao and explain that ancient records described an alien civilization displaced by Zhuanxu’s Severing the Heavens. He left the chapter eager to discover how Zhuanxu had driven the aliens away, with three possible ways to investigate the event.

• Huang Ji drew God Shao Hao as an eagle-headed machine and explained the meanings of several ancient rulers’ honorific titles to Lin Li.
• Huang Ji read the Classic of Mountains and Seas and concluded that its accounts preserved more reliable traces of ancient events than later historical works.
• Huang Ji explained that Zhuanxu had forced Shao Hao Country and the Qing Yang Clan westward during Severing the Heavens, rejecting later claims that Shao Hao was the Yellow Emperor’s son.
• Huang Ji told Lin Li that aliens had once openly visited Earth during the Era of Ten Suns before Zhuanxu cut off travel between above and below.
• Huang Ji considered searching Zhuanxu’s possessions or remains, visiting a site tied to Severing the Heavens, or examining Earth’s past from a planetary perspective.

Huang Ji interpreted the stories of Shao Hao and Zhuanxu as evidence of an ancient struggle against alien influence, then connected the defeated Qing Yang Clan’s sun-worshipping legacy to Egyptian mythology and the Illuminati. He left Lin Li considering how that culture had survived through centuries of decline and reinvention.

• Huang Ji explained that the “gods” in the Classic of Mountains and Seas referred to electrical devices and that Zhuanxu had studied music in Shao Hao Country.
• Huang Ji said Zhuanxu had driven out the Qing Yang Clan and ended the Era of Ten Suns, though he had not defeated the aliens themselves.
• Lin Li compared the High Sun, Young Sun, and setting Sun to Egyptian sun gods Ra, Khepri, and Atum.
• Huang Ji proposed that the defeated Qing Yang Clan’s cultural core had reached Egypt and influenced sun worship before eventually contributing to the Illuminati.
• Lin Li connected the Illuminati’s All-Seeing Eye to Horus, and Huang Ji described how Earth-traitor culture had been repeatedly inherited and transformed.

Huang Ji joined Hua Zhuang Village as a temporary doctor and secretly treated his grandfather while posing as a stranger. After surveying the village, he took Lin Li to the site of the buried Ruins of Zhurong and prepared to excavate the ancient city.

• Huang Ji submitted his résumé, became the village's temporary doctor, and visited households to examine residents.
• Huang Ji met his grandfather while disguised as Ji Hua, diagnosed his emphysema, and used acupuncture and massage to ease his breathing.
• Huang Ji promised to bring his grandfather medicine and prepared a customized Longevity Elixir for him.
• Huang Ji finished visiting the village and decided to stay until his grandfather had recovered.
• Huang Ji explained that a flood had buried the Ruins of Zhurong and led Lin Li to the site near Shang Shen River Reservoir.
• Huang Ji told Lin Li they were going to dig up an ancient city.

Huang Ji explained why the Ruins of Zhurong lay beneath Xin Zheng and used their discovery as bait to draw archaeologists away from a Tang Dynasty Golden Buddha he wanted to steal for the alien-related object hidden inside. After he and Lin Li unearthed a Jade Tablet, Lin Li eagerly helped dig more looters' holes, convinced Huang Ji would defeat the aliens.

• Huang Ji argued that floods had buried the Ruins of Zhurong beneath Xin Zheng and persuaded Lin Li to help search for the ancient city.
• Huang Ji and Lin Li dug through the night and unearthed a Jade Tablet more than six meters underground.
• Huang Ji told Lin Li to make more looters' holes so the discovery would bring archaeologists from across Henan Province to Xin Zheng.
• Huang Ji revealed that he wanted to use the excavation as a distraction to steal the alien-related object hidden inside a Tang Dynasty Golden Buddha at the Luoyang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.
• Lin Li accepted Huang Ji's plan and began digging again, declaring his faith that Huang Ji would defeat the aliens.

A farmer’s field in Xin Zheng revealed a vast, flood-buried city filled with pottery, jade, and bronze, prompting an urgent archaeological excavation. After uncovering a Bronze Divine Tree and massive production workshops, archaeologists identified the site as the Ruins of Zhurong, an ancient industrial and military center.

• A farmer found looters’ tunnels and artifacts in his fields, and the Village Chief halted digging and called the Cultural Relics Bureau.
• Villagers dug up more than twenty pits before officials secured the area and experts identified the site as a city ruin with valuable artifacts.
• Professor Chen urged emergency excavation after experts found bronze artifacts that suggested the site predated the Shang Dynasty.
• Archaeologists uncovered enormous pottery and bronze workshops beneath flood deposits, along with thousands of artifacts and a preserved city complex.
• Archaeologists found a Bronze Divine Tree resembling Sanxingdui artifacts and debated the city’s links to Zhuanxu and the Xia Dynasty.
• The experts concluded that the site was the Ruins of Zhurong, a centralized center for smelting, manufacturing, and military production.

After C14 tests dated the Caogou Village Ruins and fueled speculation that they were the Ruins of Zhurong, Huang Ji arrived in Luoyang and went looking for cheap antiques. He identified a valuable bronze mirror among a collection of fakes and arranged to buy the lot with gold, while its sellers privately discussed their bargain.

• Archaeologists dated the Caogou Village Ruins to roughly 2900–2000 BC, and online discussions speculated that the flooded city was connected to Zhurong and Gonggong despite a lack of evidence.
• After curing Grandpa, Huang Ji traveled to Luoyang and searched antique shops and street stalls without buying anything.
• Huang Ji and Lin Li followed Bai Hu to a courtyard, where Bai Hu and Mao Hou offered a collection of antiques for four million.
• Huang Ji pointed out numerous modern fakes, then agreed to buy the remaining pieces with gold.
• After Huang Ji and Lin Li left to fetch the gold, Mao Hou asked whether they were really selling the Flying Immortal Pattern Inscription Mirror for four million, and Bai Hu said the mirror had cost them nothing.

Huang Ji tricked a tomb-raiding crew into fleeing their hideout, then led the police to the stolen artifacts buried in its courtyard. The two thieves escaped, but the officers recovered ten artifacts and credited the young officer with merit.

• Huang Ji had Lin Li buy the genuine bronze mirror and leave the thirty-nine fake antiques behind, then followed Bai Hu and Mao Hou to their hideout.
• Huang Ji predicted two more crew members would leave to sell another artifact and had Lin Li call Bai Hu with a warning that the police were coming.
• Bai Hu and Mao Hou panicked and escaped over the courtyard wall when Huang Ji kicked in the gate, leaving the gold bars behind.
• Huang Ji took the gold bars, planted the shovel in the courtyard, cleaned the hideout, and told Lin Li to report the illegal artifact sale to the police.
• The bald man and Wolf Head returned, found the gold bars and their partners gone, and began digging when they spotted the shovel.
• The two police officers arrived as the bald man and Wolf Head fled, then the officers dug up a box containing nine artifacts alongside the porcelain jar, recovering ten artifacts in total.

Huang Ji used a forged donation and Lin Li’s staged car accident to get access to the Luoyang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, where he secretly removed the Buddha’s golden finger and replaced it with gold. The finger’s information called it a “Buddha Bone,” leaving Huang Ji wondering whether alien civilization also had a concept of Buddha.

• Huang Ji posed as Jia Hua and offered Tang Xia a Tang Dynasty bronze mirror, persuading her to take it to the preservation center for treatment.
• Huang Ji took Tang Xia’s keys and entered the storage room while Lin Li staged a car accident that drew the institute’s guards outside.
• Huang Ji removed the golden Buddha’s hidden finger, replaced it with a gold pestle, and restored the statue before returning to Tang Xia’s workshop.
• Huang Ji examined the finger’s information and learned that it was called a “Buddha Bone,” whose name translated from an alien language.

Huang Ji uncovered the Buddha Finger Bone’s function and explained to Lin Li how alien civilization shaped humanity’s Buddhist traditions and the cosmic pursuit of the Dao. He left Lin Li with the idea that Buddhism’s alternative to unattainable unity with the Dao was to enter a virtual universe and become its rules.

• Huang Ji donated the Flying Immortal Pattern Inscription Mirror to Tang Xia’s institute, gave false contact details, and left without approaching Lin Li.
• Huang Ji studied the Buddha Finger Bone at the hotel, then collapsed after chanting unfamiliar sounds; Lin Li carried him toward an ambulance, but Huang Ji woke in the elevator.
• Huang Ji told Lin Li that the Buddha Finger Bone had been assembled by Gautama Siddhartha, whom aliens had enlightened and appointed as Earth’s Buddha.
• Huang Ji explained that Dao culture guided civilizations seeking natural laws, while Buddhism arose from the belief that attaining the Dao was impossible.
• Huang Ji described Buddhist emptiness as a way to abandon the pursuit of the Dao by transferring consciousness into a virtual universe, where one could become its governing rules.

Huang Ji explained that the Buddha’s Pure Land was a virtual universe and revealed that the Buddha Finger Bone was a remnant of Shakyamuni’s mechanical body. He showed Lin Li how to log in to the damaged offline sandbox, where the two began exploring its limits.

• Huang Ji explained that Buddhism offered a virtual world of bliss while Daoism sought control over the real universe’s laws, and he privately knew that the Dao could be attained.
• Huang Ji told Lin Li that aliens had uploaded Gautama’s consciousness into a mechanical body, and that Shakyamuni had collected and transmitted Earthlings’ consciousnesses before the body was destroyed.
• Huang Ji tested the Buddha Finger Bone and found that it held an offline sandbox with a damaged database, then taught Lin Li the login phrase and precise image password.
• Lin Li and Huang Ji logged into Shakyamuni’s account and entered a small, empty virtual space containing the warehouse Huang Ji had started building.
• Lin Li created a sports car shell, but Huang Ji showed him it lacked an engine and explained that the sandbox required detailed construction from its available atomic building blocks.

Huang Ji explained how the virtual world could serve as a research laboratory and supercomputer, then uncovered its Karma and merit economy. He and Lin Li realized that the system could trap primitive civilizations’ members in eternal service, and the chapter left them concerned about the danger.

• Huang Ji told Lin Li that the virtual world could test inventions under adjustable conditions and that its computing power far surpassed Earth's computers.
• Lin Li entered backend mode and found an alien programming language, while Huang Ji concealed that he had already deciphered it.
• Huang Ji and Lin Li tested a transaction and discovered that purchases increased the buyer's Karma while clearing the seller's Karma.
• Huang Ji explained that merit could erase Karma and that reaching the Karma limit could turn users into NPCs serving the virtual-world company.
• Lin Li realized that ancient human recruits without money would eventually have filled their Karma, and Huang Ji agreed that the system preyed on the poor and primitive civilizations.

Huang Ji devised a way to board the Sea Garden without tickets by making the crew believe he was only visiting to repair the cold storage. After getting himself, Old Wang, and Lin Li aboard, he led them below deck to blend in with the ship’s crew.

• Old Wang told Huang Ji that the Sea Garden would sail the next day and explained the obstacles to boarding without tickets, passports, or visas.
• Huang Ji instructed Zhang Junwei to remain in the country and manage the gaming company, then arrived at the harbor with Old Wang and Lin Li dressed as ship workers.
• Huang Ji opened a side gate past the security checkpoint and sent Old Wang and Lin Li aboard with a ladder, claiming they had been called to repair the cold storage.
• Huang Ji pretended to call Captain Wu Tao, persuaded crew members Hu Xiaodong and Li Meng that he had permission to board, and walked onto the ship without an inspection.
• Huang Ji explained his deception to Old Wang and Lin Li, then took them to inspect the cold storage and blend in with the crew.

Huang Ji used a maintenance inspection as cover to win Tao Jun’s trust and secure rooms for his group aboard the ship. After examining a superconducting sample taken from an Illuminati base, Huang Ji learned that the beings humanity called Little Greys were artificial humans known as Watchdogs, and realized humanity was under their surveillance.

• Huang Ji convinced Tao Jun that the cold-storage inspection was unnecessary, then reassembled the unit and gained Tao Jun’s confidence.
• Huang Ji used Tao Jun’s help to move his group into rooms 9 through 12, and the group changed into casual clothes.
• Old Wang handed Huang Ji the golden pill, and Huang Ji removed its casing to examine the superconductor inside.
• Huang Ji perceived the Little Grey connected to the sample and learned its translated designation was Zeta Third-Generation Watchdog 1-6-33.
• Huang Ji realized the Little Greys were artificial humans created as tools and concluded that humanity was being monitored by Watchdogs.

Huang Ji explained the Little Greys’ role in humanity’s captivity and why the Roswell incident had been concealed, then discussed the ship’s superconductor with Old Wang. As they considered how to reach London without passports, Huang Ji proposed using a commotion to evade immigration inspectors.

• Huang Ji reasoned that the Little Greys were disposable Watchdogs and that a Little Grey pilot’s mistake had caused the Roswell crash.
• Huang Ji returned the superconductor to Old Wang and described how it could power handheld Electromagnetic Cannons and maglev aircraft.
• Huang Ji, Old Wang, and Lin Li ate in the ship’s restaurant while Huang Ji observed the passengers.
• Old Wang asked how they could enter London without passports, and Huang Ji ruled out escaping by swimming.
• Huang Ji proposed posing as inspectors and using a thief to draw attention away from them.

Pineapple Roll and Huang Ji planned to steal Zhang Rui’s diamonds by exploiting an immigration inspection and separating his bodyguards from him. Pineapple Roll agreed to join the heist while secretly considering how to betray Huang Ji and retire with the loot.

• Pineapple Roll robbed Uncle Tong’s room but lost the stolen cash and watches when Huang Ji stopped him and pickpocketed him during their fight.
• Huang Ji returned Pineapple Roll’s stolen valuables, introduced himself, and revealed that he was targeting Zhang Rui, who carried diamonds worth five hundred million.
• Huang Ji proposed stealing the bodyguards’ visas and knocking Zhang Rui unconscious during the immigration inspection so they could take the diamonds unnoticed.
• Pineapple Roll agreed to break into Zhang Rui’s room while Huang Ji guarded the staircase, and Huang Ji showed him detailed notes on the bodyguards’ schedules.
• Pineapple Roll accepted the fifty-fifty split while privately planning to frame Huang Ji and keep the diamonds for himself.

Huang Ji used a staged customs inspection to help catch Pineapple Roll while he, Old Wang, and Lin Li secretly entered London. Old Wang revealed that Michael Jackson’s comeback concerts were a planned gathering point for their comrades.

• Huang Ji identified the third deck as the likely base of the ship’s thief and warned Zhao Wanshan to watch Zhang Rui’s suite.
• Huang Ji arranged for Pineapple Roll to be caught during the customs inspection and used a disguise to finish the ninth-deck checks as a fake officer named Billy.
• Zhao Wanshan caught Pineapple Roll stealing from Zhang Rui, and customs officer James Maddison helped pursue him after Huang Ji called him by name.
• The crew caught Pineapple Roll and recovered the stolen property, while Huang Ji, Old Wang, and Lin Li left the ship without appearing on its passenger list.
• Huang Ji led Old Wang and Lin Li out of the port through unguarded routes, and Old Wang revealed that Michael Jackson’s London concerts would bring their comrades together.

Old Wang brought Huang Ji and Lin Li to the London O2 Arena to find Messiah members preparing to gather for MJ’s concert. After Chu Shaojun secretly tested Old Wang and asked him to meet alone, Huang Ji tracked him to his apartment and confronted him there.

• Old Wang and Lin Li revealed that Messiah member MJ would hold his final concert in London, then searched the arena poster for contact names.
• Huang Ji identified thirty-four signatures using the name Man, and a child delivered Old Wang a phone from Chu Shaojun.
• Chu Shaojun questioned Old Wang about bringing Huang Ji and Lin Li, then gave Old Wang a false meeting location to test whether he was followed.
• Huang Ji and Lin Li left, but Huang Ji located Chu Shaojun’s apartment and entered with the pizza Chu Shaojun had ordered.
• Huang Ji explained how he had found Chu Shaojun and revealed that the building’s doorman had given him the spare key after taking six thousand pounds.

Huang Ji discovered that the Illuminati had tracked Chu Shaojun through a Trojan and concluded that a mole within Messiah had exposed the group’s London gathering. After learning that Michael, Messiah’s Angel, was in danger from his doctor’s drug regimen, Huang Ji demanded that Chu Shaojun bring him to London by the next morning.

• Huang Ji revealed a new Trojan signature in Chu Shaojun’s Black Shield database, and Chu Shaojun found a tracking program on his laptop.
• Huang Ji deduced that a mole in Messiah had told the Illuminati about the London gathering, and Chu Shaojun realized that the London members were likely under surveillance.
• Huang Ji, Chu Shaojun, and Lin Li joined Old Wang at Joestar Apartments, where Old Wang explained Michael’s role as Messiah’s Angel and how his concert had summoned the members.
• Huang Ji learned that Michael was relying on strong sedatives and warned that his personal doctor might be helping the Illuminati endanger him.
• Huang Ji ordered Chu Shaojun to bring Michael to London immediately and warned that if he was not there by morning, the world would hear shocking news.

Chu Shaojun secretly summoned Messiah members in London while arranging for Michael to meet Huang Ji, who claimed he could cure him. When Maici failed to arrive, Huang Ji suspected the apparent emergency might be a trap and stayed behind with Sophia and Chuan Zhi as the others went to search.

• Huang Ji assured Chu Shaojun that he could cure Michael, so Chu Shaojun used a coded pizza order to summon the Messiah members and request that Michael come to London.
• Sophia and more than a dozen other members arrived at Chu Shaojun’s residence, where Huang Ji quickly read her electromagnetism books while the group waited.
• Maici failed to arrive, and the members realized he had neither received the pizza nor answered his phone, raising fears that the Illuminati had found him.
• Huang Ji suggested Maici might simply have missed the delivery, then asked Old Wang whether he needed to take his valuables; Old Wang handed him the superconductor.
• Sophia stayed behind with Chuan Zhi to watch Huang Ji and Lin Li while the other members split up to search for Maici.

Huang Ji revealed that the Illuminati had been tracking Messiah and that a mole had likely exposed their location. He disguised himself, outmaneuvered and defeated two attackers, then used one of them to confirm that a sniper was still watching the building.

• Huang Ji told Sophia, Chuan Zhi, and Lin Li that a hidden scope across the street was watching them and explained that the Illuminati had tracked the people who signed the concert poster.
• Huang Ji said he had kept the superconductor with their group to draw out the mole, and warned that leaving immediately could endanger the others searching for Maici.
• Huang Ji hacked the apartment surveillance, looped the hallway footage, and switched the room numbers with Lin Li to misdirect the approaching attackers.
• Huang Ji left the apartment disguised, lured the two men in sunglasses into the wrong room, and ambushed them after they discovered it was empty.
• Huang Ji dodged the surviving attacker's shots, knocked him unconscious, and found an All-Seeing Eye on the attackers' phone.
• Huang Ji exposed the unconscious attacker to the sniper's line of fire, and a bullet killed him as Lin Li held an umbrella nearby.