Chapter Summaries

Dr. Charlie told Mr. Merck about Three Purities’ newly developed Artificial Heart, but learned that strict approval rules would keep it out of Eagle Country for now. After Bill arrived, he said the news gave their plan a sliver of hope.

• Dr. Charlie arrived at Mr. Merck’s estate and reported that Three Purities had successfully developed an Artificial Heart that supported wireless charging.
• Mr. Merck watched footage of the device and asked when he could see it in Eagle Country or receive one himself, but Dr. Charlie said approval would take time.
• Mr. Merck underwent a blood transfusion and discussed using Three Purities’ Artificial Blood and other treatments to pursue a longer, healthier life.
• Bill arrived, and Dr. Charlie told him about the Artificial Heart; Bill thanked him and said the news gave their plan a sliver of hope.

Bill and Mr. Merck planned to use Three Purities' Artificial Heart and other artificial organs to pursue life extension, secretly experimenting on people they called White Mice. They had already selected homeless people to send to China for surgery, and Dr. Charlie left the meeting frightened and burdened with their secret.

• Dr. Charlie explained the Artificial Heart's complexity, and Bill and Mr. Merck decided to observe it implanted in a clinical-trial patient by donating to the Three Purities Charity Fund.
• Bill revealed his decades-long plan to pursue immortality through artificial organs, eventual whole-body replacement, and ultimately brain-computer interfaces or consciousness transfer.
• Bill outlined his secret Cyber Hacker plan: test artificial organs individually, attempt multi-organ transplants, and then measure how much repeated replacements could extend aging subjects' lives.
• Dr. Charlie realized the White Mice were human participants, became alarmed, and hurried away after Bill and Mr. Merck joked about silencing him.
• Bill and Mr. Merck agreed to accelerate the plan, and Mr. Merck said he had selected homeless people to send to China for Artificial Heart surgery once they developed Heart Failure.

Ding Mian showed Xue Shen a functioning artificial urinary system and proposed moving the Artificial Bladder into clinical trials, with Xue Shen sharing credit for the project. After Wei Kang learned of the breakthrough, he considered how artificial organs might save lives but feared that organ replacement could let the wealthy monopolize longer lifespans.

• Ding Mian explained the rabbit transplant experiments and led Xue Shen to see the lab-grown artificial urinary system.
• Ding Mian demonstrated how the Artificial Kidney filtered blood and how the Artificial Bladder filled and emptied automatically, while noting that its urine still contained some blood and it lacked neural control in the laboratory.
• Xue Shen asked about blood vessel growth, and Ding Mian explained that cell growth factors could promote vascular regeneration after implantation.
• Ding Mian invited Xue Shen to share credit when reporting the project to Wei Kang, and Xue Shen felt a stronger sense of belonging at Three Purities.
• Wei Kang was pleased that the Artificial Bladder could advance to clinical trials and considered investing more in artificial organs.
• Wei Kang worried that cloned organs and longer lifespans could become privileges reserved for the wealthy, leaving him questioning the social consequences of medical progress.

Director Wu recruited five patients for Three Purities’ Artificial Bladder clinical trial, including Old Li, who had lived without a bladder for thirty years. After explaining the transplant process and its risks, he realized the sixteen-year-old girl’s surgery could affect her college entrance exam, leaving him worried about her future.

• Director Wu selected five patients and personally invited them to join the Artificial Bladder clinical trial.
• Old Li received the news that he might get a new bladder, then arrived at the hospital and met the other patients.
• The five patients signed consent forms, and Director Wu explained that Three Purities would grow custom Artificial Bladders for them before transplant surgery.
• The young boy learned that surgery could eventually let him remove his urine bag and return to school, while Director Wu warned Old Li that his full bladder transplant was especially uncertain.
• The sixteen-year-old girl asked whether surgery would affect her college entrance exam, and Director Wu worried that the operation might harm her academic future.

Old Li recovered bladder sensation and learned that his remaining kidney function might be improving after an Artificial Bladder transplant. As Director Wu faced rising demand for the procedure, he received a call about a paraplegic patient seeking an Artificial Bladder.

• Director Wu told Old Li his transplant had gone smoothly, explained that he needed a catheter while his bladder recovered, and said the other four trial patients were doing well.
• Half a month later, Old Li passed a large volume of urine, and Director Wu said his kidneys might be regaining their ability to remove water, though he still needed medication and dialysis.
• Director Wu instructed Old Li to train his bladder by clamping the catheter, and Old Li's urine output and bladder control gradually improved.
• Five days later, Old Li had his catheter removed and urinated on his own, celebrating his new bladder and improving kidney function despite urethral pain.
• Director Wu dealt with increased attention and workload after the successful transplants, then received a call about a paraplegic patient who wanted an Artificial Bladder.

Zhu Jun arrived at the hospital hoping an Artificial Bladder could save him, but doctors explained that his paralysis would make the transplant only a temporary solution. During a consultation with Sanqing Group, Chen Yiqing proposed rerouting nerves to restore bladder control, and the team began designing a mouth-controlled device so Zhu Jun could use the method despite his paralysis.

• Director Wu welcomed Zhu Jun and his family, then explained that an Artificial Bladder could ease his urinary problems but would not fix the effects of his spinal injury.
• Zhu Jun asked whether his condition could be cured, and Director Wu said his bladder problems could not be fully resolved unless he regained the ability to control urination.
• After consulting hospital experts, Director Wu joined a video meeting with Ding Mian and Sanqing Group to discuss Zhu Jun's case.
• Chen Yiqing proposed rerouting nerves to create a reflex urination pathway, which could allow Zhu Jun to control urination without a urine bag.
• Wenren Long pointed out that Zhu Jun could not move his arms or legs, so Ding Mian proposed a mouth-controlled device to stimulate the nerves in his legs.
• Wang Dali joined the discussion and agreed to make a wireless device, with its placement to be decided according to Zhu Jun's needs.

Zhu Jun underwent Artificial Bladder transplantation and Bladder Reflex Arc Reconstruction Surgery, allowing him to urinate on a regular schedule and finally have his catheter and urine bag removed. As he wished he could manage the process independently, Sanqing Group's R&D director Wang arrived to make him a mouth-controlled device.

• Director Wu explained the planned bladder and nerve surgeries to Zhu Jun, who eagerly agreed and learned that Dr. Hou would perform the nerve reconstruction.
• After the Artificial Bladder grew into place, Dr. Hou successfully reconstructed Zhu Jun's urination reflex arc, with Director Wu explaining how to practice urinating by tapping his heel.
• Zhu Jun's family helped him urinate at fixed times, and within a week he adapted to the routine and had his catheter and urine bag removed.
• Director Wu introduced Wang, Sanqing Group's Medical Device Division R&D director, who had come to make Zhu Jun a mouth-controlled device for independent urination.

Wang Dali developed a mouth-operated device that let Zhu Jun stimulate his bladder independently, and Zhu Jun successfully used it after months of testing. Zhu Jun returned to livestreaming and told his fans about his recovery and new freedom to urinate whenever he wanted.

• Wang Dali attached a pressure sensor to Zhu Jun's heel and recorded the pressure needed to stimulate urination.
• Wang Dali fitted Zhu Jun with glasses that had a blow-operated rod, and Zhu Jun successfully triggered urination with it.
• Zhu Jun returned to livestreaming after months away and reassured his worried fans.
• Zhu Jun explained that an artificial bladder and nerve surgery restored bladder function but initially required his brother to press his heel.
• Zhu Jun showed fans how his new glasses sent a signal to an ankle band, allowing him to urinate independently, and celebrated his return as the King of Strong Mouth.

Zhu Jun shared his recovery with viewers after regaining bladder function, while Chen Yiqing approached Wang Dali to propose a Brain-Computer Interface project. Chen outlined the limits of invasive and non-invasive devices, then hinted that a third approach was available.

• Zhu Jun read viewers' supportive messages and hoped other patients could receive similar treatment.
• Wang Dali told Chen Yiqing that Zhu Jun had rebuilt his bladder function and showed him a video of the mouth-controlled device.
• Chen Yiqing explained that repeated failures in his Motor Neuron Regeneration Project had led him to seek an engineering approach to neurological treatment.
• Chen Yiqing asked Wang Dali to collaborate on Brain-Computer Interface equipment, and Wang eagerly agreed.
• Chen Yiqing described the risks of invasive brain devices and the poor accuracy of non-invasive ones, then said a third approach was possible.

Chen Yiqing explained the brain-computer interface project to Wang Dali, who helped recruit Zhu Jun as a volunteer. Zhu Jun brought hundreds of other paralyzed patients’ interest, and Chen said the early research needed only three volunteers while the team still needed a neurosurgeon.

• Chen Yiqing explained how the semi-invasive brain-computer interface and exoskeleton would work, along with the project’s short- and long-term goals.
• Wang Dali suggested asking President Wei’s wife to recommend a neurosurgeon, and Chen agreed that the team needed to find one carefully.
• Chen told Wang Dali that previous volunteers had left and the project needed new participants.
• Wang Dali recommended Zhu Jun, who eagerly agreed to volunteer after hearing about the project.
• Zhu Jun told other patients in his group about the project, and more than two hundred expressed interest in joining.
• Chen said the research stage needed only three volunteers and promised the group priority during later clinical trials, while Wang explained that the team still needed a neurosurgeon.

Chen Yiqing demonstrated that rats could control a water lever through a brain-computer interface and prepared to begin a brain-computer interface and exoskeleton project. Wei Kang recruited Jian Lianyun as the project’s neurosurgeon, completing the core team and leaving them poised to start work.

• Chen Yiqing showed Zhang Li how rats used brain signals to control a water lever after he disconnected its paw-operated rod.
• Chen Yiqing told Zhang Li that the project was ready to begin the next day, with animal experiments planned before human brain experiments.
• Wei Kang reviewed the project proposal, decided the team needed a top neurosurgeon, and called his wife Jian Lianyun for recommendations.
• Jian Lianyun asked to join the project, explaining that its research could help her qualify for promotion to full senior physician before she turned forty.
• Wei Kang agreed to Jian Lianyun joining once she had recovered from childbirth, then added her to the core team alongside Chen Yiqing, Zhang Li, Wenren Long, and Wang Dali.

At a neuroscience lab meeting, Chen Yiqing explained how his team used implanted electrodes and algorithms to translate a macaque’s brain activity into movements of mechanical arms. The team had successfully reconstructed wrist movements, but their system could currently predict only movement parameters.

• Wang Dali asked Chen Yiqing about the progress of the motor-nerve and brain-computer interface research, and Chen presented successful animal experiments with a game-playing macaque.
• Chen Yiqing described the macaque’s implanted electrodes and neural chips, which transmitted brain signals to a computer controlling mechanical arms.
• Zhang Li and Chen Yiqing teased Wenren Long because the macaque had beaten him at Whac-A-Mole after he trained it.
• Chen Yiqing explained how primate brains plan movements and how brain-computer interfaces can detect and translate the corresponding neural signals.
• Chen Yiqing credited Wenren Long’s algorithmic work and explained how the team used multiple linear regression and arm sensors to reconstruct the macaque’s wrist movements, though the algorithm could only predict movement parameters.

Chen Yiqing assigned Wang Dali, Zhang Li, and Wenren Long tasks for developing a vascular-stent Brain-Computer Interface, and Wang designed a stent with a wireless signal-transmission system. A month later, Jian Lianyun visited the laboratory and watched a robotic arm control a Whac-A-Mole game through the monkey’s brain signals.

• Chen Yiqing explained the matching movement trajectories of the monkey’s arm and the robotic arm, then assigned Wang Dali to develop a vascular stent, Zhang Li to collect and classify neural signals, and Wenren Long to improve the signal-processing algorithm.
• Wang Dali designed a compact Cerebrovascular Stent and devised a plan to transmit its signals through a wire to a receiver implanted in the neck, then relay them wirelessly to a decoder.
• Wang Dali, Zhang Li, Wenren Long, and Chen Yiqing worked for weeks to prepare the Brain-Computer Interface experiment.
• Jian Lianyun arrived at the Neuroscience Laboratory and was greeted by its employees before Chen Yiqing led her to the others.
• Jian Lianyun watched a robotic arm use the monkey’s brain signals to play Whac-A-Mole and marveled that it was controlled by thought.

Jian Lianyun joined Chen Yiqing’s team to implant a vascular microelectrode device in a macaque and help test whether it could control a robotic arm. After an initial power-switch mishap, both the vascular-stent and wired systems tracked the monkey’s arm movements, leaving the team with a successful experiment.

• Jian Lianyun watched the macaque play a game using mind control and agreed to help Chen Yiqing’s project.
• Chen Yiqing and the team chose a cerebral vein for the implant and planned to compare vascular neural signals with signals from the macaque’s cortical electrodes.
• Jian Lianyun implanted coil-shaped microelectrode sensors in the macaque’s cerebral veins and connected them to a chip beneath its neck.
• Chen Yiqing’s team activated the vascular-stent and wired brain-computer systems, and the vascular-controlled robotic arm began moving while the other remained still.
• Wang Dali learned that the second robotic arm’s power switch had been left off, and a colleague turned it on.
• Both robotic arms moved in response to the macaque, and their trajectory lines converged until they overlapped.

After the animal experiments succeeded, Chen Yiqing’s team received approval for its first human test and chose Zhang Li as the volunteer. Following her surgery and recovery, the team prepared to test whether her neural signals could control a mechanical arm.

• Chen Yiqing told the project team that human testing had been approved and said the first test subject needed to be chosen.
• Chen Yiqing offered to be the test subject, but Zhang Li volunteered instead, and the team’s vote made her the chosen candidate.
• Chen Yiqing explained that the vote had revealed the team preferred Zhang Li and confirmed that the implanted equipment could be removed, though removing the stent might be difficult.
• Jian Lianyun and a surgical team at Kun City First People's Hospital implanted the equipment in Zhang Li, who recovered and was discharged three days later.
• The team finished installing its hardware and preparing its algorithms, then seated Zhang Li before the joystick and Whac-A-Mole game to begin the first human test.

Zhang Li successfully used a Brain-Computer Interface to control a robotic arm with her thoughts, demonstrating that her brain could adapt to the device as an extension of her body. Her success suggested a future path toward helping paralyzed patients use prosthetic limbs, while her game performance surpassed the monkey’s record.

• Zhang Li’s brain signals were recorded as she played a game, and Chen Yiqing’s team built a model to translate her neuronal activity into motor commands for a robotic arm.
• Wang Dali connected the Brain-Computer Interface to the robotic arm and switched the game’s controls so Zhang Li had to play through the device.
• After several failed attempts, Zhang Li focused on the game and guided the robotic arm to strike the moles with precision using only her thoughts.
• The team noticed Zhang Li’s neuronal signals changing, and Chen Yiqing explained that her brain was assimilating the robotic arm as an extension of her body.
• Wang Dali realized the approach might help paralyzed patients control prosthetics, while Wenren Long celebrated as Zhang Li surpassed the monkey’s game record.

After Zhang Li recovered well from brain surgery, Chen Yiqing proposed developing thought-controlled internet access as an early benefit for paralyzed patients while the team worked toward a more capable robotic hand. Zhang Li successfully controlled a computer with her thoughts, and Wenren Long mistook her messages for a romantic confession.

• Jian Lianyun reviewed Zhang Li’s normal CT results and praised her recovery, while Chen Yiqing proposed thought-controlled internet access as an interim project.
• Chen Yiqing explained that patients could imagine using a keyboard and mouse, allowing their motor-neuron signals to be converted into computer commands; he also said Zhang Li’s adaptability made her a strong learning template.
• Zhang Li collected computer-use brain-signal data for a week, and Wenren Long helped optimize the algorithm.
• With the keyboard and mouse removed, Zhang Li used her thoughts to open a chat window and type “Hello, world.”
• Wenren Long took Zhang Li’s greeting as a romantic message, replied with a programming-themed declaration, and became confused when she sent question marks followed by a smile.

Zhu Jun underwent surgery and tested Wang Dali’s Brain-Computer Interface, learning to control a mouse and send a message by imagining hand movements. After the successful trial, he asked when he could play games with his mind.

• Zhu Jun agreed to join the clinical trial and traveled to Sanqing Headquarters after his surgery and recovery.
• Wang Dali and Chen Yiqing explained how Zhu Jun would need to train his brain to control a computer through the interface.
• Zhu Jun practiced controlling the mouse and soon opened folders and browsed web pages with his thoughts.
• Zhu Jun struggled to use the keyboard but eventually typed and sent the message “Thank you.”
• Wang Dali explained how neural data had been turned into an optimized program, which Zhu Jun called an “Internet Skill Package.”
• Zhu Jun asked Wang Dali when he would be able to play games with his mind.

Wang Dali set Zhu Jun up with a Brain-Computer Interface and explained how it could record neural data while letting him control games and a phone through mental imagery. After training and easily defeating his disabled esports teammate, Zhu Jun asked why his gaming had improved so dramatically, and Wang Dali explained that the interface let his commands reach the computer with near-zero delay.

• Wang Dali gave Zhu Jun a Brain-Computer Interface device, explained its data collection and phone controls, and showed him the games installed for practice.
• Zhu Jun practiced League of Legends in Training Mode, gradually mastering controls and improving his last-hitting and combos.
• Dulong Knight invited Zhu Jun to duel and lost repeatedly as Zhu Jun's faster controls overwhelmed him, even when they chose the same champion.
• Zhu Jun asked Wang Dali why he had become so skilled, and Wang Dali explained that the interface bypassed the nervous system's slower hand movements and transmitted commands with near-zero delay.

After receiving zero-latency controls, Zhu Jun dominated ranked matches and climbed rapidly, turning himself into a mysterious high-ranked sensation known as Canyon Happy Man. Streamers eventually discovered that the player crushing them was Zhu Jun, a high-level paraplegic who had competed in disabled esports tournaments.

• Wang Dali explained that Zhu Jun’s brain-controlled gaming setup reduced his input latency, and Zhu Jun began playing ranked matches with it.
• Zhu Jun won ten matches in a row, then used Lee Sin to outplay and kill the top-ranked Yasuo in a high-ranked game.
• Streamers and professional players shared clips of Canyon Happy Man’s spectacular plays as he climbed into the Chinese server’s top ten.
• A streamer confirmed that Canyon Happy Man was Zhu Jun, a high-level paraplegic who had streamed on Bilibili and competed in disabled esports tournaments.