Chapter Summaries

Wei Kang had Tang Que and Wenren Long present competing strategies for curing HIV. Wenren Long’s CCR5 antagonist plan was approved for development, while Tang Que began considering the difficult task of removing HIV gene fragments from infected cells.

• Tang Que proposed knocking out CCR5 in patients’ stem cells, but Wenren Long warned that losing CCR5 could weaken defenses against other diseases and leave HIV reservoirs untouched.
• Wei Kang suggested directly removing HIV gene fragments from patients’ DNA, and Tang Que began examining the technical and financial challenges.
• Wenren Long proposed using a virus to deliver gene-editing drugs throughout the body, leaving Tang Que impressed but wary of the plan’s difficulty.
• Wenren Long presented a less aggressive strategy using highly effective CCR5 antagonists, potentially combined with other HIV drugs.
• Wei Kang approved Wenren Long’s plan and told him to help Tang Que work on the gene-editing approach.

Chen Yiqing submitted his paper on neural stem cell regeneration to Cell, and Editor-in-Chief Sweet recognized the discovery’s extraordinary significance. Sweet sent the paper to two experts for review and hoped to publish it as a cover story the following month.

• Chen Yiqing wrote a paper on brain neuron regeneration and emailed it to Dr. Sweet at Cell.
• Chen Yiqing put the submission out of his mind and returned to work, expecting the review process to take time.
• Dr. Sweet noticed Chen Yiqing’s email and was stunned by the paper’s results.
• Dr. Sweet recognized Sanqing as the research institution and recalled Chen Yiqing from the Lasker Award ceremony, dismissing his initial suspicions of fraud.
• Dr. Sweet forwarded the paper to two experts in regenerative science and neuroscience and planned to urge them to review it quickly.

Sudehoff tested Chen Yiqing’s paper and found its experiment compelling, while Cell rapidly accepted the work as a cover article. After the issue revealed a method for activating brain stem-cell regeneration, the discovery stunned scientists and sparked global excitement and speculation about whether Sanqing Group would develop a drug.

• Sudehoff received Chen Yiqing’s manuscript from Cell, rushed to his laboratory before dawn, and began an experiment to verify its findings.
• Chen Yiqing learned that his paper had passed editorial review and would appear on the cover of the next Cell issue, then told Wei Kang.
• Cell published the cover article two weeks later, and Professor Duren recognized his former student Lily Zhang as its second author and wrote to congratulate her.
• The discovery spread worldwide and became a Chinese trending topic, prompting netizens to debate whether Sanqing Group had developed a brain-regeneration drug and whether ordinary people would be able to obtain it.

Director Deng moved to classify Sanqing Group’s brain neural stem cell patent as confidential, while officials in Kun City confirmed the company’s Neural Regeneration Factor had begun clinical trials. Western researchers replicated Chen Yiqing’s experiments and rushed to catch up, frustrated that the paper withheld details of how the regulatory genes worked.

• Director Deng learned that Three Purities had filed a brain neural stem cell patent and ordered it examined as a confidential patent, with all of the company’s patents specially recorded.
• Director Xie confirmed that Sanqing Group’s Neural Regeneration Factor had received approval for a Phase I clinical trial at Kun City’s First People’s Hospital and said patients registered through the Longtu APP.
• A caller told Director Xie that Capital City doctors would go to Kun City’s First People’s Hospital for training and resource support.
• Neuroscience researchers at Western universities and research institutions replicated Chen Yiqing’s experiments, confirmed the existence of human brain neural stem cells, and worked to discover how their regulatory genes functioned.

At FDA headquarters, Davis summoned major pharmaceutical companies after learning Three Purities Group had applied for a clinical trial of its neural regeneration drug. The executives admitted they could not reproduce Three Purities’ progress and abandoned the research, leaving Davis to hope academia might succeed.

• Davis learned from a mysterious caller that Three Purities had applied for a Phase I clinical trial of its Neural Regeneration Factor and was ordered to gather pharmaceutical executives.
• Davis summoned leaders from Pfizer, Roche, Johnson & Johnson, and other companies to ask about their research into brain neural stem cell regeneration.
• The executives described years of failed research and said turning Three Purities’ theory into a working drug could take a decade or longer.
• Davis revealed that Three Purities had already developed a drug and was conducting a clinical trial in China.
• The Roche and Johnson & Johnson executives announced they were ending research in the field, and the other executives also gave up.
• Davis watched the executives leave and placed his remaining hope in academic researchers.

Sun Xiaoling enrolled her severely ill mother in a clinical trial for Sanqing’s brain nerve regeneration medicine, hoping to ease the burden of late-stage Alzheimer’s. After a month of treatment, her mother’s behavior and memory improved, while doctors found striking signs of brain tissue regeneration and prepared to publish their findings.

• Sun Xiaoling struggled with her mother’s worsening dementia until Dr. Zheng offered her a clinical trial slot for Sanqing’s new medicine.
• Sun Xiaoling brought her mother to the hospital, completed the examinations, and began the treatment under Dr. Zheng’s supervision.
• After a week, Dr. Zheng saw reduced hippocampal atrophy on the MRI and told Sun Xiaoling the medicine appeared effective.
• Two weeks later, Sun Xiaoling reported that her mother had stopped acting out and was no longer relieving herself around the home.
• After a month, Sun Xiaoling found that her mother recognized her again and had regained much of her former personality.
• Dr. Zheng and the other doctors examined the patients’ scans, saw substantial brain tissue regeneration, and began preparing a clinical paper.

After the Phase I trial of the Sanqing Brain Regeneration Drug succeeded, Dr. Zheng proposed testing it on vegetative patients, and Xiang Yong arranged a trial at his care center. Two weeks after treatment began, several deeply comatose patients had improved, and Xiang Yong spotted another patient's fingers trembling.

• After reviewing the successful Phase I report, Dr. Zheng called Xiang Yong and proposed trying the drug on vegetative patients.
• Xiang Yong agreed and prepared his care center's patients for the trial.
• Dr. Zheng explained the adjusted intravenous treatment to the families and caregivers, then distributed the medicine.
• Two weeks later, Xiang Yong found that several deeply comatose patients had entered a Minimally Conscious State and showed eye-tracking and weak limb responses.
• Xiang Yong visited patients with milder conditions and saw one patient's fingers trembling.

Three Purities' new drug awakened vegetative patients at the Sea City Care Center, drawing worldwide attention and prompting Corinna Schumacher to bring her husband there for treatment. Wei Kang agreed to meet her, and Corinna offered the family's remaining fortune if the drug could fully restore Schumacher.

• Xiang Yong reported that trial patients had made major recoveries, and Dr. Zheng joined him at the Care Center after the first patient awakened.
• Within a week, six minimally conscious patients regained consciousness, while news of the drug spread through the media and shocked multinational pharmaceutical companies.
• Dr. Erich told Mrs. Schumacher that Three Purities' drug might be her husband's only hope, so she brought Schumacher from Switzerland to Sea City to seek a trial slot.
• Xiang Yong welcomed the Schumacher family and referred their foreign trial application to Three Purities for approval.
• Corinna met Wei Kang and offered to donate the family's remaining assets, worth five or six hundred million dollars, if Schumacher could fully recover.

Corinna secured a Phase II trial slot for Sanqing’s new drug and brought Schumacher to a care center in Sea City, where she saw how many vegetative patients remained beyond help. Two weeks after treatment began, Schumacher awakened, and Corinna’s announcement sparked worldwide celebration and publicity for Sanqing Group.

• After donating eighty million dollars to the Sanqing Charity Foundation, Corinna secured a clinical trial slot and returned to Schumacher’s bedside at the care center.
• Corinna toured the care center’s wards, learned about its patients and limited trial capacity, and saw the difference between those still vegetative and those showing signs of recovery.
• Sanqing Group delivered the medicine, and Schumacher began treatment and routine awakening therapy.
• Two weeks later, Schumacher opened his eyes and followed the doctor’s instructions, confirming that he had regained consciousness.
• Corinna announced Schumacher’s awakening, and fans and media worldwide celebrated the news while she promoted Sanqing Group’s new drug.

Schumacher spoke after recovering during the Clinical Trial, and Corinna’s video spread worldwide, bringing hope to families of vegetative patients. Lu Kun brought his mother to the Sea City care center, where she joined the trial and woke up more than a month later.

• Schumacher spoke to Corinna and thanked the people caring for him, confirming his recovery was progressing.
• Corinna shared a video of Schumacher speaking, and fans and media spread news of his awakening around the world.
• After seeing the news, Lu Kun brought his mother to the Sea City care center to receive professional care.
• Lu Kun applied for his mother to join the Phase III clinical trial, and the director told him her application was approved.
• After more than a month of treatment, Lu Kun's mother woke up, and Lu Kun tearfully repeated, "Luckily, there was this place."

Racing God's recovery made Xiang Yong's care center famous and overcrowded, drawing Tencent's interest in investing in specialized care. Meanwhile, government experts urged Elder Tan to treat Sanqing's brain-regeneration drug as a strategic resource and restrict its export, leaving Wang Guiqing to discuss the proposal with Wei Kang.

• Xiang Yong's care center filled with patients seeking Sanqing's new drug, and he wished he had funding to expand.
• Liu Ping proposed that Tencent invest in Xiang Yong's care center, and the department head sent him to negotiate an investment agreement quickly.
• Wang Guiqing attended a meeting where experts recommended placing Sanqing's brain-regeneration technology on the export control list and using it to obtain foreign resources.
• Elder Tan endorsed the experts' proposal and assigned Wang Guiqing to handle the matter.
• Wang Guiqing worried that export controls could restrict Sanqing's sales and decided he needed to discuss the issue with Wei Kang.

Wei Kang agreed to make the neural regeneration drug a controlled strategic resource and turned away overseas access while recruiting Andre as a potential ally. Meanwhile, Xiang Yong received investment offers for the Yanhe Care Center but hesitated over terms that could threaten its mission and his control.

• Wei Kang agreed with Wang Guiqing to restrict overseas exports of the Brain Neural Stem Cell Regeneration Factor and use it to secure strategic benefits for China.
• Wei Kang told Andre that the drug could not be launched overseas, then offered to support Andre’s rise beyond Pfizer; Andre was tempted but asked for time to consider.
• Wei Kang planned to use Andre as a discreet ally alongside the Three Purities Overseas Charity Foundation to maintain influence in Eagle Country.
• Xiang Yong received investment inquiries from Penguin Investment and Sequoia Capital, and agreed to meet with them while refusing to sell the Yanhe Care Center.
• Xiang Yong met several investment institutions, but hesitated over their performance targets and offshore restructuring requirements, fearing he could lose control of the Care Center.

Xiang Yong rejected Tencent’s revised investment offer after learning that Liu Ping planned to turn the Care Center into an expensive, high-end business, because he wanted affordable care for patients. After Tencent sought another partner, Wei Kang learned Yanhe had refused investors and decided that Three Purities should invest in it.

• Liu Ping persuaded Xiang Yong to sign a letter of investment intent without a valuation adjustment agreement, but Tencent’s superior later ordered the investment increased to fifty million and the Care Center positioned for wealthy overseas patients.
• Liu Ping brought Xiang Yong a new contract that would make Tencent the largest shareholder, and Xiang Yong questioned him about the company’s plans and pricing.
• Liu Ping explained that Tencent wanted to charge domestic patients as much as thirty thousand yuan a month, prompting Xiang Yong to reject the investment over their conflicting business philosophies.
• Liu Ping returned to Tencent, which chose another Care Center and contacted Three Purities about drug supplies and clinical trials; Wei Kang refused the trial request.
• Wei Kang learned that Yanhe had turned down other investors and decided that Three Purities should invest in the Care Center to expand affordable treatment for vegetative patients.

At Three Purities' launch conference, Wei Kang announced the Neural Regeneration Factor's promising trial results, and Schumacher appeared publicly to describe his recovery. Wei Kang then revealed the drug would be restricted to domestic sales, setting off a huge online reaction in China and fury among families of patients overseas.

• Xiang Yong accompanied Schumacher and Corinna to Sanqing Headquarters, where Schumacher's appearance as a recovering patient drew media attention.
• Wei Kang announced that the Neural Regeneration Factor had shown strong results in its first two clinical trial phases, including recovery or improvement among all 186 patients.
• Schumacher told the audience about waking after nine years and praised Three Purities' treatment, then left the stage with Corinna.
• Wei Kang declared that the drug would undergo no overseas trials and would be placed on China's export control list, though overseas patients could come to China for treatment.
• Chinese netizens celebrated and debated the decision as videos of the conference rapidly went viral.
• The announcement reached Western countries, where media and public opinion erupted and families of millions of patients in vegetative states reacted furiously.

Three Purities’ Neural Regeneration Factor drew outrage overseas after the company refused to sell it abroad, while officials and wealthy patients sought ways to obtain it. The chapter left Yanai Taro furious and regretful after Three Purities rejected his Clinical Trial application because he was not considered a friend of China.

• Foreign netizens condemned Three Purities for withholding the Neural Regeneration Factor, which had reportedly awakened Schumacher and could treat severe brain conditions.
• Saul reviewed the Clinical Trial report and warned Chris that Three Purities’ breakthrough posed a major problem, while Chris urged pharmaceutical companies to copy the drug.
• Yanai Taro learned that his brain atrophy was worsening and that the Neural Regeneration Factor might be his only hope.
• Yanai Taro tried to secure a Clinical Trial slot through a charity donation, but Three Purities rejected his application over his unfriendly remarks toward China.
• Yanai Taro heard that Butler had also been rejected, then regretted making remarks that had cost him access to the treatment.

Bernault learned that LVMH’s lack of friendliness toward China had jeopardized his son Anto’s chance to receive Three Purities’ treatment, so he ordered Dior to apologize and discipline staff. After Anto’s trial application was approved, wealthy Western figures with sick relatives increasingly sought to improve their standing with China.

• Bernault learned that Three Purities’ clinical trials were limited to China Friends and realized Dior’s controversies might have hurt LVMH’s standing.
• Bernault ordered Dior and LVMH to apologize, blacklist the photography team, fire responsible personnel, and prioritize Chinese customers’ feelings.
• Dior issued a public apology and announced personnel changes, after which Three Purities approved Anto’s clinical trial application.
• Bill told Helen that several acquaintances had been rejected for insufficient friendliness toward China, including Butler, whose daughter’s condition was worsening.
• Netizens noticed that wealthy and famous Western figures were making increasingly positive remarks about China, often because they or their relatives needed Three Purities’ medicine.

Wei Kang and Chen Yiqing were blacklisted from Nobel Prize consideration because Wei refused to sell the Neural Regeneration Factor overseas. Both dismissed the award as unworthy, and Wei began considering a Chinese science prize as the Nobel Committee’s decision stirred anger in China’s academic community.

• Wang Guiqing told Wei Kang that international negotiations had ended with major concessions, and the Neural Regeneration Factor received approval for domestic sale with medical insurance coverage.
• The Nobel Committee removed Wei Kang and Chen Yiqing from its candidate list, citing Wei’s refusal to sell the drug overseas, and threatened to blacklist Sanqing researchers unless he changed course.
• Wei Kang told Academician Qi that the Nobel Prize was not worth having, then summoned Chen Yiqing to explain the decision.
• Chen Yiqing denounced the committee and said he did not care about the nomination, while Wei promised to secure recognition and rewards for him through other means.
• Wei considered establishing the Wei Science Award, and China’s academic community condemned the Nobel Committee’s decision as controversy surrounding the prize resurfaced.

Patients and families praised Three Purities' Neural Regeneration Factor in China, while overseas demand drove smuggling and China-bound medical care. Liu Yi was arrested for trying to export the medicine illegally, but Butler secretly obtained it for his daughter and Stein took his wife to Shenzhen for treatment, where she woke and recovered enough to return home.

• Chinese patients and their families posted accounts of Neural Regeneration Factor improving Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, strokes, and other brain conditions, while overseas families yearned for access to it.
• Customs officers discovered Liu Yi's shipment of more than a thousand boxes of Neural Regeneration Factor and arrested him for illegally exporting the controlled medicine.
• Butler obtained four boxes of the medicine through black-market channels, and after his daughter improved, he paid several times more to secure another supply.
• Doctor Hima told Stein that his wife could receive Neural Regeneration Factor only by traveling to China, so Stein chose a Shenzhen Care Center and brought his family there.
• After a month and a half on the medicine and another month and a half of rehabilitation, Stein's wife woke, regained some independence, and returned home with her family.
• Stein's family praised the treatment, and positive reports from early patients helped China-bound medical care take off among overseas families.

Sanqing’s researchers reacted to the Nobel Committee’s blacklisting of Chen Yiqing as Tang Que and Wenren Long began collaborating on an improved anti-AIDS drug. Zhang Li confirmed the rumor through Professor Duren and resolved to stay at Sanqing, while the chapter also showed the expansion of Xiang Yong’s care centers and Liu Ping discussing a new investment partnership.

• Wenren Long complained to Tang Que about Chen Yiqing’s removal from the Nobel Prize list, and Tang Que said Sanqing should make its own rules and helped him plan a combination CCR5 antagonist.
• Zhang Li called Professor Duren, who confirmed that Chen Yiqing had been removed from the Nobel Committee’s list and invited her to return to his laboratory; Zhang Li decided to remain at Sanqing.
• Xiang Yong oversaw construction of a new ward at Yanhe Care Center and expanded the plan to open branches in several provincial capitals.
• Liu Ping discussed a second investment round for Xiang Yong’s care-center project with an investor who offered overseas medical resources, and they agreed to meet and explore a partnership.

Wei Kang upgraded Three Purities’ portable monitoring module into an advanced wrist-worn device that measured six vital signs, then began developing it with the Aerospace Center. Lu Tingfeng’s team completed the initial hardware and design, while software development and testing remained underway.

• Wei Kang learned that Three Purities and the Aerospace Center had achieved over 90% accuracy in real-time astronaut health diagnoses and agreed to begin the next collaboration.
• Wei Kang spent one million system points to upgrade the Portable Monitoring Device module, expanding it from ECG monitoring to six vital-sign measurements.
• Wei Kang sent the advanced device blueprint to Lu Tingfeng and arranged for sample production with a smartwatch design from Huawei.
• Lu Tingfeng and his team completed the product design in a week, and an OEM factory produced hardware samples the following week.
• Lu Tingfeng assigned Longtu APP programmers to revise the software for the new functions, and the team began optimizing it for testing.