Chapter Summaries

Wang Yi and Qian Yayan boarded a ship with Li Vida and bodyguards, where they met Hong Kong entertainment stars discussing industry gossip and the mainland film market. Wang Yi revived the conversation by bringing up Xing Xing’s upcoming film, The Mermaid.

• Li Vida brought Wang Yi and Qian Yayan aboard with bodyguards to prevent anyone from offending their guest.
• Qian Yayan spotted famous Hong Kong entertainers and discussed the industry’s decline and recent gossip with Wang Yi.
• Wang Yi overheard entertainers discussing Jiang Tai’s attacks on Xing Xing and Xing Xing’s silence.
• Zha Hui asked Wang Yi and Qian Yayan where they were from, and Wang Yi said they were from the mainland.
• Qing Yun and the other stars praised the mainland film industry, and Wang Yi brought up Xing Xing’s The Mermaid as a possible box-office hit.

Wang Yi repeatedly steered a gathering of Hong Kong entertainment figures toward Zhou Xingxing and the dispute involving Zhao Gongfu and Zhen Gongfu, leaving them unsure how to respond. Jiang Sheng arrived, recognized Wang Yi and Qian Yayan, and quickly changed his tune after learning they were honored guests of the Li family.

• Heavenly King Hua praised Zhou Xingxing and changed the subject to World Company's newcomer support program, while Wang Yi and Li Vida discussed the company's investment and the mainland film industry.
• Wang Yi repeatedly asked the Hong Kong guests what they knew about Zhou Xingxing and the conflict between Zhao Gongfu and Zhen Gongfu, but they answered cautiously.
• Jiang Sheng approached the group with a companion and began criticizing Zhou Xingxing before recognizing Wang Yi and Qian Yayan.
• The Li family's bodyguard captain identified Wang Yi and Qian Yayan as honored guests, and Jiang Sheng recalled his prior encounter with them and backed down.
• Wang Yi asked Jiang Sheng what he had been saying, and Jiang Sheng hastily praised Zhou Xingxing's talent.

Wang Yi revealed himself as Master Yi to Jiang Sheng and several Best Actors aboard a cruise ship, who quickly praised his music and scientific achievements. Meanwhile, Wang Yi’s paper connecting quantum and classical computing drew growing attention, and Google researchers worried that Umbrella might again outpace them.

• Jiang Sheng recognized Wang Yi’s influence, and Wang Yi introduced himself as Master Yi to Jiang Sheng and the Best Actors.
• Heavenly King Hua, Qing Yun, and Zha Hui praised Wang Yi’s music, science, and sponsorship work.
• Jiang Sheng offered his female companion Xiao Qian to Wang Yi, while Qian Yayan hid her displeasure behind a smile.
• Wang Yi’s paper on quantum and classical computing conversion formulas drew wider attention from mathematicians and researchers.
• Google researchers studied Wang Yi’s paper and discussed whether quantum computing could help improve artificial intelligence.
• Google’s researchers noted their progress still lagged behind Red Queen and wondered whether Umbrella was already ahead of them.

Wang Yi returned from the cruise ship and approved Heavenly King Hua joining Starry Sky 2, while Japan auctioned assets after the Tokyo disaster and Umbrella bought up valuable equipment. He then traveled to Mexico as Liu Zuo, where Umbrella’s security agreements had reshaped the country’s violent underworld without taking over its contraband business.

• Wang Yi reviewed research discussions on quantum computing and decided to travel to Mexico.
• Wang Yi approved Heavenly King Hua’s application to join Starry Sky 2 and left Qian Yayan in charge.
• Japan auctioned Mitsubishi and Kawasaki assets after the Tokyo incident, and Umbrella intercepted equipment purchases through a Hong Kong-linked company.
• Researchers examined Umbrella’s electrode materials and produced their own Lithium Metal Battery, while debating Umbrella’s market power.
• Wang Yi arrived in Mocheng as Liu Zuo and continued Umbrella’s work in Mexico, where the company had imposed rules on armed clashes and signed security agreements with the government.

Wang Yi arrived in Mexico, where Cheng Xue picked him up and complained about her workload. Umbrella prepared to expand its influence in Mexico and Brazil, displace Western capital, and establish a Mexican base for its upcoming seastead.

• Cheng Xue picked Wang Yi up at the airport in a Hummer and asked him for a raise.
• Wang Yi told Cheng Xue he was recruiting more employees, while she pointed out that new companions also meant more work.
• The chapter described how foreign influence, privatization, and water shortages had worsened Mexico’s economic and social conditions.
• Umbrella reached an unwritten agreement with major forces in Mexico and Brazil to replace Western capital while maintaining basic livelihoods.
• Wang Yi chose Mexico as the place to register Umbrella’s seastead after attempts to work with the Knights of Malta made no progress.
• Umbrella planned to clean up Mexico’s internal environment before assembling the seastead, as its offshore platform would need a country of registration.

Wernal, a disabled former gang member in Chimahuacan, worked to support his family and help his younger brother Simpson pursue an education. Simpson dreamed of joining Umbrella Corporation, and after he mentioned feeling unwell, Wernal planned to accompany him to a checkup the next day.

• Wernal's difficult upbringing and gang career ended with a gunshot wound that left his leg ruined, and he resolved to keep Simpson from following the same path.
• Wernal took odd jobs and handled the household chores so Simpson could study and aim for Mocheng Metropolitan University.
• Simpson returned home, drank cola, and told Wernal he hoped to attend Metropolitan University and work for Umbrella Corporation.
• Simpson praised Wernal's cooking and mentioned seeing a classmate with an Umbrella Corporation wristband, while Wernal said he hoped to open a food stall soon.
• Wernal reminded Simpson that his checkup was scheduled for the next day and said he would go with him.

After Simpson was diagnosed with uremia, he and Wernal sought help at Umbrella’s headquarters, hoping Simpson could join trials for its artificial kidneys. Wang Yi agreed to provide treatment and planned to have the brothers promote the technology, leaving them caught up in Umbrella’s strategy.

• A doctor diagnosed Simpson with uremia and said his treatment options were limited, but suggested he investigate Umbrella’s new artificial kidney technology.
• Simpson and Wernal went to Umbrella’s headquarters in Mocheng and asked to join its treatment trials because they could not afford care otherwise.
• Wang Yi noticed the brothers from Cheng Xue’s SUV and told Shi Qing to arrange treatment for Simpson in exchange for their cooperation in promoting the product.
• Wang Yi planned to use the brothers’ story to promote Umbrella’s treatment and shape public opinion about the causes of uremia.

Wernal agreed to promote Umbrella's experimental treatment as his brother Simpson underwent surgery. Wang Yi checked on Sakaguchi Taku after his enhancement trial and enlisted Mori Ryuichi for work, promising him a custom movie as a reward.

• A doctor explained Simpson's grim condition and Umbrella's proposed procedure, and Wernal signed the consent forms on his brother's behalf.
• Wernal agreed to have the procedure recorded and cooperate with publicity in exchange for waived expenses and possible follow-up benefits.
• Promotional staff interviewed Wernal while Simpson underwent surgery, and Wang Yi met Sakaguchi Taku after the first phase of his enhancement trial.
• Sakaguchi Taku told Wang Yi that he felt stronger than he had at his peak after the treatment, which was designed to keep him near his peak until shortly before his death.
• Ito Chiyo explained that Mori Ryuichi could leave the laboratory and return for occasional testing, and Wang Yi recruited him by promising a custom-made movie each year.

Mayo Clinic tested Umbrella’s artificial heart by implanting it in a critically ill patient, and the procedure went smoothly. The patient quickly began recovering, while the doctors considered what the device’s long-term success could make possible.

• Mayo Clinic doctors reviewed Umbrella’s claims and recruited patients with severe heart failure who had not received donor hearts.
• The surgical team implanted Umbrella’s artificial heart through a minimally invasive procedure, releasing its components inside the heart.
• The doctors found that the device worked alongside the patient’s heart muscle and could be adjusted through external controls.
• The patient awoke feeling his heartbeat and strength returning, and the doctors planned to increase the device’s power as he recovered.
• The doctors wondered whether the artificial heart could enable mechanical enhancement if it remained safe and durable over the long term.

Reports from four leading hospitals described forty-one successful Umbrella artificial-organ surgeries and highlighted the devices’ benefits for heart and kidney patients. Peking Union Medical College Hospital warned that adjustable artificial hearts might boost athletic performance but said healthy people should not undergo the invasive procedure.

• Mayo Clinic specialists reported that Umbrella’s artificial-heart surgery was unexpectedly straightforward and praised its results compared with alternative heart replacements.
• A Mayo Clinic urology specialist said patients’ kidney-function indicators were normal a week after implantation and noted that the device could improve quality of life and help patients regain some ability to work.
• University Hospital Zurich praised the artificial organs’ hydrophobic coating, while online commenters discussed Umbrella’s similar products and hoped the implants would become widely available.
• Peking Union Medical College Hospital said artificial hearts could potentially raise athletic performance by increasing power, and urged restrictions on their use in sports.
• Peking Union Medical College Hospital cautioned that implanting an artificial heart into a healthy person could damage the heart and said people should put health first.

Umbrella’s livestream of Simpson’s artificial-kidney surgery drew attention to his family’s account of Mexico’s poor water services and the role of foreign capital. Viral posts fueled public anger, leaving Mexico’s authorities to reopen water-service bidding under new requirements while existing suppliers accepted the terms.

• Umbrella livestreamed Simpson’s surgery and shared its results, while Simpson and his family described his illness and thanked the company for covering the costs.
• Simpson criticized the foreign capital controlling Mexico’s water services, and videos about similar hardships spread widely on TT.
• Mexican citizens rallied around the accounts of poor water quality and other hardships, creating a surge of public pressure.
• Mexico’s authorities announced plans to reopen water-service bidding and require providers to guarantee people’s basic needs.
• Demonstrators surrounded the suppliers’ company entrances, and the companies agreed to the new bidding terms in exchange for priority under equal conditions and reimbursement of their original purchase costs.

Congressman Vance warned Correy that Umbrella planned to enter Mexico’s water market, prompting Correy to weigh the threat against his company’s established position. Correy concluded Umbrella might be seeking influence rather than profit and proposed lowering prices and cooperating with it.

• Vance told Correy that the uproar over Mexico’s water companies might have been engineered to replace them, and named Umbrella as the force behind it.
• Correy panicked at the prospect of challenging Umbrella, then reassured himself that it generally followed the rules as long as its rivals avoided dirty tricks.
• Correy reasoned that Umbrella’s move into water likely aimed to expand its influence in Mexico, since it lacked the companies’ existing infrastructure and expertise.
• Correy proposed lowering water prices and sharing political influence with Umbrella rather than provoking a costly fight.
• Vance appeared poised to use the conflict to secure benefits from both the water companies and Umbrella.

Mexico’s water companies defended their prices and warned that Umbrella lacked the expertise and resources to run the country’s water system. Umbrella’s proposal to supply Mocheng with cheap, unlimited drinking water and meet industrial demand within six months left the bidding venue in disbelief.

• Correy told reporters that Mexico’s worsening environment and scarce, polluted water drove costs up, and argued Umbrella lacked water-service experience.
• Mexican water companies submitted bids with modest price cuts and commitments, backed by the value of their existing contracts and assets.
• The Mexican authorities revealed Umbrella’s offer of 15 pesos per ton for residential water in Mocheng, with drinking-water quality and unlimited supply.
• Umbrella also promised to increase production and meet industrial water demand within six months, prompting attendees to question whether it could deliver enough water or avoid losses.

Umbrella announced that it would provide Mexico with an unlimited water supply at a low price using new desalination and wastewater-treatment technology. Water companies, alarmed by the potential threat to their businesses, began considering compromise and cooperation with Umbrella.

• Mexican residents cheered when Umbrella promised water for fifteen pesos per ton, while water utility companies questioned how it could meet that promise.
• Umbrella presented reusable reverse-osmosis membranes designed to filter seawater, domestic wastewater, and industrial wastewater, and invited attendees to visit its trial plants.
• Water-company representatives realized the technology could threaten their parent companies and called executives to report Umbrella’s announcement.
• Major water companies discussed buying Umbrella’s technology or surrendering their Mexican operations to it.
• The companies considered cooperating with Umbrella by supplying manpower and market access in exchange for its technology.

Umbrella demonstrated filter membranes that rapidly turned sewage into clear water meeting drinking-water standards, impressing Mexico’s citizens and alarming established water companies. As the companies sought to buy the membranes and withdraw from Mexico, Wang Yi agreed to sell them, while recognizing that governments would limit Umbrella’s access to water utilities.

• Umbrella’s researchers showed representatives and reporters sewage passing through three filter membranes and explained how the plant separated waste for fertilizer and further treatment.
• An Umbrella researcher drank the filtered water and invited visitors to try it; selected public representatives tasted it and reported no strange flavor.
• Mexico’s citizens cheered the demonstration on a livestream, while water company representatives contacted their firms and learned that executives were already watching.
• The water companies offered to transfer their Mexican assets to Umbrella for one US Dollar, withdraw from the bidding, and purchase the membranes.
• Wang Yi told Lin Shiqin that Umbrella should sell the membranes, while noting that governments would restrict its ability to take over water utilities.

Wang Yi continued preparing magic-powered machinery while using Umbrella’s filter membrane sales to expand its influence and buy time. As researchers in the Beautiful Country uncovered silver’s strange properties, Wang Yi arranged for Umbrella to publish a theoretical paper, leaving the organization’s secrets still out of reach.

• Wang Yi told Lin Shiqin to expand filter membrane sales domestically while limiting Western orders and prioritizing water companies.
• Wang Yi worked with instruments and Lin Shiqin on a magic-powered machine tool and other technology needed for the Seastead.
• Lin Shiqin told Wang Yi that researchers had likely uncovered the unusual role of silver, and he ordered Umbrella to publish a theoretical paper ahead of the Great Beauty Atomic Energy Agency’s announcement.
• Researchers in a futuristic laboratory found patterned silver atoms in Umbrella’s filter membranes and other products, and speculated that the patterns could interact with Dark Matter.
• The researchers concluded that Umbrella’s security and advanced biotechnology made it too dangerous to seize by force, and that the organization would not surrender control of its technology.

Umbrella published research showing that Silver Element could interact with Dark Matter, which it named Magic Power, igniting scientific interest and public speculation about supernatural abilities. The chapter ended with Umbrella rebuffing the Great Beauty Atomic Energy Agency’s demand for cooperation by pointing out its hypocrisy over sharing technology.

• Umbrella published a Science paper describing experiments in which silver patterns absorbed and later released photons, demonstrating an interaction with Dark Matter that it named Magic Power.
• Silver prices surged, and people learned that Umbrella had acquired control of nearly all of Mexico’s silver mines.
• Media and internet users connected Magic Power to ancient magic and supernatural claims, while cults and get-rich schemes appeared.
• Umbrella issued a statement cautioning that Magic Power differed from popular ideas and that inherited techniques had little practical influence.
• The head of the Great Beauty Atomic Energy Agency praised Umbrella while urging it to share its research, and Umbrella answered that it would cooperate if technology companies worldwide opened their patents and technologies.

Beautiful Country tried to reproduce Umbrella’s Silver Sequence research while Umbrella recruited more scientists and uncovered Magic Mathematics’ role in deriving new atomic structures. In Mexico, a congressman who resented Umbrella’s control of the silver mines was killed by local businessmen after his messages were mistaken for a threat against them.

• Beautiful Country began experiments to crack the Silver Sequence and sought to steal Umbrella’s research, while Umbrella continued recruiting scientists and restricting access to its secrets.
• Researchers discovered that Magic Mathematics could help derive new atomic arrangements, and they suspected Wang Yi and other Umbrella researchers were involved in its experiments.
• A Mexican congressman complained that Umbrella controlled most of the country’s silver mines, while Hubert urged him not to act rashly.
• The congressman emailed that he agreed to oppose the local businessmen for a higher price, but the recipient interpreted his message as a threat against them.
• Tattooed men confronted the congressman outside his office and shot him dead.

Umbrella used pressure and force to expand into Mexico’s water and agricultural sectors, confronting Bunge over its farms. Bunge’s agent sought permission to consult headquarters after learning Umbrella had cleared out local businessmen and taken their land.

• Umbrella retaliated against Mexican officials and business figures who opposed its water-sector expansion, while offering benefits to those willing to reach a deal.
• Umbrella representative Junichiro told Bunge’s agent to sell its Mexican farms, warning that local businessmen were turning against the foreign grain companies.
• Junichiro revealed that Umbrella had taken the local businessmen’s plantations and planted medicinal herbs there with authorization from the Mexican Authorities.
• Bunge’s agent learned that the displaced businessmen might target Bunge and asked whether Umbrella could guard its farms, but Junichiro said Umbrella lacked manpower.
• Bunge’s agent requested permission to contact headquarters as he recognized the Four Grain Giants’ power and recalled how they had gained control over much of the domestic cooking-oil market.

Umbrella ended its crackdown on contraband crops by keeping ordinary farmers employed and driving violent traffickers out of Mexico. Meanwhile, Chen Feng led his wife and young son through a dangerous migration route toward the United States, only to encounter hostile men at a farm.

• Umbrella's representative explained that farmers could continue working for the company, while those unwilling to change could leave Mexico for places such as Colombia.
• Chen Feng recalled his failed businesses, his resentment toward his family, and his growing fixation on immigrating to the United States.
• Chen Feng borrowed heavily and paid an agent to take his wife and five-year-old son across several countries toward the United States.
• After enduring dangerous crossings, extortion, and his son's dehydration, Chen Feng reassured his numb wife that they would soon enjoy a better life.
• Several tattooed men emerged near the farm and challenged Chen Feng's family.