Chapter Summaries

After Zhu Jun’s League of Legends success exposed Sanqing’s Brain-Computer Interface to the public, he explained how he used the experimental device and fielded calls from esports clubs and media. At Sanqing, Chen Yiqing confirmed the implant was functioning safely and prepared to test thought-controlled wheelchairs with two more volunteers.

• EDG coaches and other esports clubs wondered how Zhu Jun played so quickly despite being paralyzed and decided to contact him.
• Zhu Jun reached King rank, discovered his gameplay had gone viral, and posted that he had used Sanqing’s experimental Brain-Computer Interface.
• Zhu Jun explained the semi-invasive device to an EDG assistant coach and directed callers seeking technical details to Sanqing.
• Chen Yiqing reported that Zhu Jun’s implant had integrated safely and that he was using computers, phones, and games successfully.
• Wang Dali said he would recruit two disabled volunteers, and Chen Yiqing planned wheelchair-control experiments before developing thought-controlled Bionic Robotic Hands.

After EDG could not find a medical way to extend Sky’s career, the club signed Zhu Jun, a paralyzed gamer who used a Brain-Computer Interface, as a substitute top laner. Zhu Jun won his debut match and inspired viewers with his postgame speech, leaving his esports career newly underway.

• EDG’s coaches concluded that Sky had to retire because his hand injuries had become too severe, then considered Zhu Jun as a replacement after learning about his ranked performance and Brain-Computer Interface.
• EDG contacted Zhu Jun, offered him a substitute role after Sky’s retirement, and he agreed to meet and discuss the contract.
• EDG announced Sky’s retirement and introduced Zhu Jun as a disabled player, provoking widespread surprise and debate.
• After EDG fell behind in its match, Zhu Jun entered as a substitute, solo-killed his lane opponent, and helped the team win 2-1.
• Zhu Jun thanked EDG, his teammates, and Sanqing Group in his postgame interview, then encouraged disabled viewers and others facing difficulties not to give up.

Qian Le drew inspiration from Zhu Jun’s esports success and learned that LGD Esports Club was recruiting disabled players under revised standards made possible by Three Purities’ Brain-Computer Interface trials. He updated his recruitment poster and looked ahead to opening his esports studio.

• Qian Le watched EDG win another match with Zhu Jun and felt newly resolved to pursue his own esports dream.
• A recruitment manager from LGD Esports Club told Qian Le that the club had lowered its player requirements and could recommend disabled candidates for Three Purities’ Brain-Computer Interface clinical trials.
• Qian Le learned that teams could field only one player with an implanted Brain-Computer Interface and agreed to help LGD find promising candidates.
• Qian Le revised his recruitment poster to match LGD’s standards and sent it to dozens of chat groups.
• Qian Le looked toward the apartment being renovated for his studio and anticipated building a team and pursuing esports opportunities.

Wei Kang reviewed the successful artificial-heart clinical trial and set Three Purities’ launch price at 299,000. After regulatory approval, the press conference astonished patients, competitors, and electronics manufacturers with the low price and the device’s wireless-charging technology.

• Wei Kang found that two trial patients had died from a traffic accident and alcohol-induced liver failure, while the other trial results showed the artificial heart’s effectiveness.
• Wei Kang set the domestic launch price at 299,000 and decided to price the product overseas according to local market rates.
• Three Purities received market approval and announced a press conference, prompting online speculation that the artificial heart would cost at least 500,000.
• Wei Kang presented the artificial heart’s specifications, including its 80-gram weight and 5W wireless charging, before revealing its 299,000 price.
• Patients and online viewers celebrated the affordable price, artificial-heart manufacturers feared bankruptcy, and consumer electronics makers considered using the wireless-charging technology.

Wei Kang set tiered licensing fees for Three Purities’ Wireless Charging patents, prompting manufacturers to develop wireless products. After Huawei planned a broad wireless ecosystem, Cook signed Apple’s license, and the industry moved to adopt the technology.

• Wei Kang instructed Lu Tingfeng to license Wireless Charging patents at rates based on product prices, with Apple in the highest tier.
• Cai Peng presented Huawei’s plans to add Wireless Charging to wearables, phones, tablets, computers, and smart-home devices, and Yu Dong approved a broad wireless ecosystem.
• Cook rejected Apple’s 6% patent fee and ordered his subordinate to negotiate again, but Three Purities refused to lower the rate.
• After learning Huawei planned to make nearly all its products wirelessly chargeable, Cook signed Three Purities’ contract and declared Apple would add the feature to its next products.
• Other electronics manufacturers accepted that Wireless Charging was becoming essential and began working to make their products wireless.

Huawei launched an ecosystem of products with true wireless charging, prompting a rapid buying frenzy and pushing other manufacturers to follow. By the end of January, Apple quietly listed several wireless charging products, but their identities remained unrevealed.

• Huawei announced its Winter All-Scenario New Product Launch, and Yu Dong unveiled phones, earbuds, watches, and other products that charged through the air.
• Netizens rushed to buy Huawei’s products, selling out the launch inventory and prompting Yu Dong to order factories to maximize production.
• Other manufacturers introduced wireless charging products later that month, and Le Jun promoted Rice’s Air Charging lineup for 99 yuan.
• Customers shared their wireless charging experiences online, helping make the technology a household trend after New Year’s Day.
• By the end of January, Apple listed several wireless charging products on its official website, leaving netizens stunned by what they were.

Wei Kang discovered Apple was using wireless-charging phone cases to avoid higher patent fees on its lower-end phones, but decided not to confront Cook. He then spent fifty million system points on a Surgical Robot, intending to develop it for his wife, Jian Lianyun.

• Apple users praised Cook and bought wireless-charging phone cases after the cases launched.
• Wei Kang saw that Apple would reserve integrated wireless charging for flagship phones and inferred that the cases let Apple pay lower patent fees.
• Wei Kang decided to let Apple’s cost-cutting strategy pass, reasoning that its sales would limit his losses.
• Wei Kang checked his system balance, found he had over fifty million points, and exchanged fifty million for a Surgical Robot.
• Wei Kang planned to give the first prototype to Jian Lianyun, who loved surgical robots, and hoped it would outperform the Da Vinci Robot.

Wei Kang read the specifications for a semi-automatic Surgical Robot capable of performing operations in four major fields and was astonished by its capabilities. After examining its robotic arms and imaging systems, he saw how it could make surgery more precise and accessible, bringing his dream closer to reality.

• Wei Kang learned that the Surgical Robot could perform procedures in Orthopedics, laparoscopy, Neurosurgery, and vascular intervention using nine human-controlled automatic functions.
• Wei Kang read how the control console, surgical memory, and 3D imaging could help doctors operate more easily and learn procedures faster.
• Wei Kang examined blueprints showing five robotic arms designed for different surgical specialties and auxiliary microsurgery.
• Wei Kang concluded that the robot could reduce fatigue and tremors, shorten doctors’ training, and improve access to consistent surgical care.

Wang Dali chose the technical path over a CTO position, and Wei Kang appointed him deputy director of a new Robot Laboratory. The chapter ended as Wei Kang introduced its central project: a semi-automated, multifunctional surgical robot.

• Wang Dali joked with Lu Tingfeng about being promoted, then sat properly when Wei Kang arrived for the year-end review.
• Wei Kang praised Wang Dali’s work and asked whether he wanted to pursue management or technical leadership.
• Wang Dali immediately chose to become a laboratory director, preferring research freedom and technical work over managing the division.
• Wei Kang appointed Wang Dali deputy director of a Robot Laboratory responsible for surgical robots, exoskeleton robots, and bionic prosthetic limbs.
• Wei Kang presented the laboratory’s main new project, and Wang Dali was shocked to see it was a semi-automated, multifunctional surgical robot.

Wang Dali joined Three Purities’ Miao Shou Surgical Robot project as its laboratory director, while Wei Kang chose Qi Liang to take over as R&D director. At the Stem Cell Laboratory, Ding Mian and Xue Shen discovered that their implantable bio-artificial kidney might have succeeded after being tested on a beagle.

• Wang Dali praised the Semi-automatic Surgical Robot’s potential, and Wei Kang named it Miao Shou and outlined his plan to challenge Da Vinci with a lower-cost device.
• Wei Kang presented Intuitive Surgical Inc.’s history and Da Vinci’s market dominance, and Wang Dali vowed to defeat the competitor.
• After Wang Dali left, Wei Kang appointed Qi Liang as R&D director and said he could become Chief Technology Officer if he completed the diagnostic room project successfully.
• Ding Mian reported strong filtration, reabsorption, and cell-activity results for the implantable bio-artificial kidney, suggesting the team’s device might have succeeded.
• Xue Shen rushed off to write a report and claim credit from the boss, while Ding Mian comforted the beagle that had received an artificial kidney.

Wei Kang learned how Ding Mian and Xue Shen had accidentally developed an implantable Bio-Artificial Kidney and examined the successful animal experiment. The kidney still faced cell degeneration and clotting problems, so they planned to pursue an external version while continuing to improve the implantable device.

• Ding Mian explained how the Bio-Artificial Kidney filtered blood and returned it to circulation, using the body's blood pressure instead of an external power source.
• Ding Mian revealed that the device had emerged from the Artificial Bladder Project and had successfully replaced a removed kidney in a dog.
• Wei Kang learned that the Renal Tubule Cells could become inactive after about six months and that clots could impair the Silicone Pore Membrane.
• Wei Kang suggested developing a lightweight Non-Implantable Bio-Artificial Kidney while the team continued working toward an implantable version.
• Wei Kang visited the experimental dog and found it energetic, recovering well, and showing no obvious external signs of its implant.

Ding Mian and Xue Shen tested their External Bio-Artificial Kidney on pigs with Acute Kidney Failure and found it outperformed conventional dialysis. The animal trial also revealed that the cultured renal cells helped suppress infection, leaving Ding Mian eager to test the device in patients.

• Ding Mian and Xue Shen planned animal trials after redesigning their Bio-Artificial Kidney for external use and discussing replaceable modules and accessories.
• Dean Liu prepared six pigs with Acute Kidney Failure, and Ding Mian assigned two to the Artificial Kidney, two to conventional Hemodialysis, and two to no treatment.
• A surgeon fitted an External Artificial Kidney to a pig, and Ding Mian and Xue Shen returned the next day to inspect the animals.
• Ding Mian observed that the pigs receiving the Artificial Kidney were energetic, while the dialysis pigs remained weak and the untreated pigs were close to death.
• Ding Mian examined the test reports and found that the Artificial Kidney preserved blood components and appeared to suppress infection.
• Ding Mian concluded that the cultured Renal Tubule Epithelial Cells produced Cytokines that resisted infection, and he declared the animal experiment a success.

Dean Liu contacted Three Purities after learning that Huahua, a giant panda with worsening kidney failure, might be saved by its Bio-Artificial Kidney. After Hu Zhengqiang arranged for the device to be implanted, Huahua produced urine overnight, giving the team hope that it was working.

• Dean Liu shared successful pig experiments with his veterinarian classmates and learned that Hu Zhengqiang's giant panda Huahua was critically ill with kidney failure.
• Dean Liu called Hu Zhengqiang, collected Huahua's medical records, and contacted Ding Mian about getting Three Purities' Artificial Kidney.
• Director Cui and hospital specialists struggled to find an effective treatment for Huahua, whose kidneys were failing despite dialysis.
• A Three Purities representative arrived with an Artificial Kidney, and Hu Zhengqiang asked Director Cui to implant it around Huahua's waist.
• Hu Zhengqiang found Huahua's urine bag full the next morning and wept with relief.

Huahua recovered after receiving Three Purities’ Bio-Artificial Kidney, helping bring its animal experiments to an end and launch human clinical trials. Director Cui secured a trial device for critically ill graduate student Xiao Zhou, whose gratitude for everyone who had helped him left his teacher Dong Jun in tears.

• Huahua’s kidney function recovered after a week on the Artificial Kidney, and the device was removed after two weeks; the panda Huihui then received one for lifelong support.
• After the animal trials ended, Three Purities began human clinical trials with its Artificial Kidney.
• Director Cui learned that Xiao Zhou, a young graduate student with Uremia and Peritonitis, had been rushed to Huaxi Hospital after years of self-administered peritoneal dialysis.
• Xiao Zhou’s supervisor Dong Jun told Director Cui how Xiao Zhou had endured illness and hardship while studying and helping others, and pleaded for him to be saved.
• Director Cui obtained a clinical trial slot for Xiao Zhou and fitted him with an Artificial Kidney, after which his Peritonitis disappeared and his Kidney Failure came under control.
• When Dong Jun and Xiao Zhou’s classmates visited, Xiao Zhou thanked them and recalled those who had supported him, promising to repay their kindness and the world; Dong Jun embraced him and said that living healthily was enough.

After learning that her end-stage uremia might kill her within a year, Zhao Xia arranged a marriage with Wang Ping, an ALS patient willing to donate a kidney and seeking someone to care for his father. Their bond grew after they married, but when Zhao Xia was hospitalized, she feared she would die before receiving his kidney.

• Zhao Xia posted a marriage proposal in a terminal illness chat group, offering to care for her future husband's father in exchange for his kidney after his death.
• Wang Ping contacted Zhao Xia, and they met, agreed on the terms, and registered their marriage in Kun City.
• Zhao Xia and Wang Ping signed an agreement about the kidney donation and care for Wang Ping's father, then began talking every day and growing closer.
• When Zhao Xia's condition suddenly worsened and she was hospitalized, Wang Ping rushed to Kun City First People's Hospital to find her.
• Zhao Xia told Wang Ping that she likely would not live long enough to receive a kidney transplant or care for his father.

Wang Ping and Zhao Xia chose to face their illnesses together after Zhao Xia discovered he had stopped taking his medication to preserve his kidney for her. When Three Purities offered Zhao Xia a successful artificial-kidney treatment, the couple planned a future together, including a child and a wedding.

• Wang Ping visited Zhao Xia daily, made soup for them, and grew closer to her while she recovered enough to leave the hospital.
• Zhao Xia learned Wang Ping had stopped his medication and rushed to the hospital, where she told his father they were married and insisted Wang Ping continue treatment.
• Wang Ping explained that he had hoped to give Zhao Xia his kidney before his own condition worsened, but Zhao Xia refused and urged them to face illness and life together.
• Zhao Xia's parents accepted Wang Ping as family, and she began visiting and caring for him as his condition stabilized under treatment.
• When Zhao Xia's kidney disease worsened, a doctor offered her a Three Purities bio-artificial kidney; the procedure succeeded, and her condition improved.
• Zhao Xia and Wang Ping decided to have a child and hold a proper wedding, which they celebrated a month later at the Hilton Grand Hotel in Kun City.

Ding Mian reviewed promising Artificial Kidney trial results with Xue Shen and Huang Qin, then proposed a three-step plan to grow human organs inside genetically edited pigs. Huang Qin agreed to partner with him on Xenogeneic Organ Transplantation research, though he doubted they could finish within a few years.

• Ding Mian shared Clinical Trial results showing far better outcomes for patients treated with Artificial Kidneys than for those receiving conventional dialysis.
• Ding Mian learned that Huang Qin worked on genetically edited animals and had been researching pig organs for potential human transplants.
• Ding Mian proposed creating pigs compatible with humans, removing the genes needed to develop a chosen organ, and injecting human stem cells so the organ would grow inside the pig.
• Huang Qin worried that the project would take too long for a doctoral thesis, but Xue Shen urged him to consider its potential significance.
• Huang Qin agreed to partner with Ding Mian, with Huang Qin handling the pigs and Ding Mian handling the stem cells.

Huang Qin pushed his advisor Du Biao to pursue the Distinguished Young Scholar Award and proposed changing his research direction to support Huang’s doctoral project on gene-edited pigs for xenogeneic organ transplantation. After learning about the project’s funding and collaborators, Du Biao eagerly agreed to join it.

• Huang Qin read the research papers Du Biao had sent and forwarded Du seven additional papers from Sanqing Group’s Gene Laboratory.
• Huang Qin urged Du Biao to work harder, read the papers immediately, and pursue the Distinguished Young Scholar Award, leaving Du exhausted and exasperated.
• Huang Qin told Du that Du should change his research direction to Developmental Biology so they could work together on Huang’s doctoral topic.
• Huang Qin revealed that his project on gene-edited pigs for xenogeneic organ transplantation had major funding and would involve Ding Mian’s Stem Cell Laboratory.
• Du Biao agreed to join Huang’s project and change his research direction, while Huang encouraged him to pursue grants, training programs, and an academic lecture.

Huang Qin laid out a two-stage research plan for using genetically modified pigs to grow human organs, impressing his advisor Du Biao with its detail and promise. Du Biao agreed to help pursue the work, which they hoped could lead to a major scientific breakthrough.

• Huang Qin attended his Cell Engineering Technology class and reflected on how easily his graduate courses came to him.
• Huang Qin brought lunch to Du Biao and outlined research to reduce infection, immune rejection, and coagulation problems in pig organ transplantation.
• Du Biao proposed using mathematical screening to identify key gene combinations, and Huang Qin said Three Purities's AI could analyze experimental data.
• Huang Qin explained how engineered organ niches might direct human stem cells to develop organs inside pig embryos and described the challenge of interspecies cell competition.
• Huang Qin proposed suppressing the NFKB Signaling Pathway in human induced pluripotent stem cells to improve their survival, and Du Biao enthusiastically committed to the research.

Huang Qin recruited Du Biao’s graduate students for a well-funded xenogeneic organ transplantation project and pushed Du Biao to pursue the Distinguished Young Scholar Award. After Dean Lu encouraged him and word of his ambition spread, Du Biao committed himself to producing results.

• Du Biao announced Huang Qin’s national key project to the students, and Huang Qin offered them generous allowances and bonuses to join the team.
• Huang Qin urged Du Biao to work harder, build academic connections, and apply for the Distinguished Young Scholar Award, while assigning him to design experiments and assess the students.
• Du Biao worked late into the night, then prepared project materials and visited Dean Lu to discuss the award application.
• Dean Lu praised the project, explained Huang Qin’s influence at Three Purities, and encouraged Du Biao to seize the opportunity.
• After colleagues congratulated him on becoming a prospective Distinguished Young Scholar, Du Biao resolved to work hard and prove himself.